The Odyssey 18650M Gets Reviewed
Tom McBride – Today Totally Wicked eLiquid releases the their new 
mechanical mod, the Odyssey 18650M. This brand new mechanical mod is an authentic design, by Totally Wicked, and assembled in the UK, is made from #303 stainless steel, with a polished finish, and comes with a 5-year guarantee. No doubt this inexpensive mech mod is a quality device. Check out this interesting piece in Wikipedia about stainless steel ‘grading’ “Type 303—free machining version of 304 via addition of sulfur and phosphorus. Also referred to as “A1” in accordance with ISO 3506.[
Kinda takes the magic out it, no?
Are Mechanical Mods Still Relevant?
Before I get to my experience with, and impressions of the Odyssey 18650M I think it’s a good idea to say a few things about where the mechanical mod fits in the vape community today. Does Totally Wicked believe they can move a lot of these devices in today’s market? Are vapers still adventuring into the mechanical mod territory?
Recent History
The past several months have been a major upheaval for the vape community. As more and more people leave behind the cig-a-like e-cigarette faster then ever, the same can be said of vapers that have always used ‘tube’ shaped vaporizers leaving those devices behind in favor of the box mods. Today, plenty of my friends that were once devout mechanical vapers are leaving them (mech mods) behind in favor of variable wattage box mods that can vape sub-subohm tanks with reckless abandon, while vaping safely.
Since the advent of the influx of subohm tanks vapers are getting closer than ever to a genuine RBA/RDA flavor and vapor experience without the hassle of building and wrapping coils, and cutting and stuffing cotton wicks.
Variable wattage box mods such as the inexpensive eLeaf iStick 50w are more flexible, and safer, than any mechanical mod on the market.
I know a lot of mechanical mod users will hate me for saying this, but that doesn’t make it any less true. I find myself using my various mechanicals less and less, and instead opting for a good VW box mod and a good subohm tank, something I never thought would happen.
So what was Totally Wicked Thinking?
Of course I can’t answer that, but I imagine the powers that be at Totally Wicked did their due diligence before moving ahead with a new mechanical mod and placing that mod under their Odyssey label. Thankfully, they did many things right with the Odyssey 18650M, which I’ll cover below.
Quality vs. Price
Regardless of whether I’ll use the mod again, or give it away, I have to give props to TW for building a quality mod while keeping the retail price below $60USD. I like that TW is using a high quality stainless steel, building it in the UK, and including features like a floating pin, nickel-plated at that, and hiding safety features like vent holes in the tear drop divots that surround the device. The Odyssey 18650M is a well thought out mechanical mod that can fire down to the sub-subohm levels.
TW calls the Odyssey 18650M a “no-nonsense” mechanical mod and that rings true after using it for more than a week. There is nothing ‘fancy’ about it… it is rather ordinary looking really, with some soft curves and tapering that sort of makes it look more like a XXXX than a vaporizer. Rather than design some fancy-smancy mech mod they put their efforts into the materials and the features. That’s smart, and appreciated in today’s marketplace.
Some of my favorite things about the Odyssey 18650M are;
- The Firing button is a twist-lock button. You’ll never worry about it firing while sitting straight up as long as you remember to twist it into its locked position.
- It is a very comfortable device to use, with dimensions of 18mm to 22mm back down to 18mm.
- It requires a flattop battery. I use the blue Samsung 25R batteries, allowing for good battery life.
- The threads are silky smooth.
- The 510-pin is spring loaded with a phosphor bronze spring. I have no idea what phosphor bronze does, but the spring is firm and there is zero battery rattling.
- The 5-year guarantee is a first in the community, I believe.
- The price makes it and easy to reach, authentic mod, made in the UK.
Performance
As a long time mechanical mod user I can attest to the fact that the Odyssey 
18650M is a very good mod. I have been able to fire off all the RDA’s I have as well as the subohm tanks I own, including the Arctic Tank with the 0.2-ohm coil. The lowest ohm I can personally attest to using with good results was a 0.16 coil in my Prometheus Tank (Grand Vapor authentic), a somewhat heavy rebuildable tank. Even with the Prometheus tank attached I can stand the Odyssey 18650M straight up and it will not fire.
A Mechanical is a Mechanical
There are plenty of reasons why mechanical mods should only be used by advanced vapers. The biggest reason is there are no electronics onboard. You don’t control much of anything when using a mechanical, no matter how you much you spend on one. A mechanical mod is the simplest of all vaporizers; it is, in essence, a simple power source sending electricity to the coils in the RBA/RDA/RTA/Glassomizer/Subohm Tank.
It is not regulated… and as the battery drains so does the performance. A wise mechanical mod owner always keeps a few fully charged batteries on hand so when the performance begins to wane a new battery is inserted and the old one goes back into the (Nitecore) charger.
In MY circle of vapers, a circle that does not include other members of Spinfuel, I can feel the desire to own mechanicals begin to whither. Every week someone in my circle is showing off his or her new box mod, his or her new subohm tank, and the last time someone showed off a new mechanical was a month ago.
Certainly the new crop of subohm tanks and feature-rich box mods are the main reason for the rush to leave the mechanicals behind. However, when these vapers, who were once passionate about their latest mechanical mod acquisition find the Odyssey 18650M in their local vape shop, or vape convention, or even through a friend, Totally Wicked will have the opportunity to bring back some of the excitement to this segment of the community. I don’t think Totally Wicked will sell a ton of Odyssey 18650M’s, but they will sell more than enough to breathe a little bit of life into an area of the market where vapers still use mechanicals.
“A quality mechanical mod that is not made in China, selling for $60USD is going to be hard for mech mod fans to resist.” – John Manzione
Question: If I lost the Odyssey 18650M would I buy another one?
Answer: For $60? Hell yes. Why wouldn’t I?
Best Feature: Construction
Worst Feature: Can’t get into the head of the device
Tom McBride
