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The TEC Telescopic MOD Review – Tom McBride
I love surprises, I really do. So, imagine my surprise when Julia walked up to me and asked if I would enjoy reviewing a new Mod that we had just received from the Official Supplier of Vaping Gear, MyVaporStore. The great people over at MyVaporStore stock some really cool vaping mods, APV’s, supplies and accessories, at terrific prices and with wonderful customer service. Heck, whenever we get an email from someone that has purchased something from MyVaporStore based on our recommendation it makes us all feel great about our decision to make them our official supplier. The best thing about them, with respect to Spinfuel, is that they never ask us to mention them in our reviews, they just send us stuff that they think Vapers will like or should be made aware of, and the rest is up to us. You have to respect a company like MyVaporStore for their willingness to give back to the community like they do.
Well, enough of that. Let’s get on with the review. The device we are reviewing today is the new Chrome-Plated TEC Telescopic Mod.
The TEC Telescopic Mod is a fully mechanical device. This type of mod is not meant to replace your ProVari, eVic, VAMO, ZMAX, or any other advanced Variable Voltage and/or Variable Wattage APV. If you already own an APV on the level of the ones mentioned above the TEC Telescopic makes an almost-decent backup unit or, a go-to mod when you really don’t feel like messing with various settings, you just want to attach a Tank, Clearomizer, or Cartomizer and vape. A 3.7v mechanical mod is the perfect ‘cure’ when you’re suffering from too much high-tech. Sadly, the TEC Telescopic is, other than being chrome-plated, nothing to brag about.
Specs
The TEC Telescopic is capable of handling several different batteries, including the 18350, 18500, and 18650, button-top or flat-top. The feature comes in handy in a couple of different ways. I like the idea of being able to use a battery that I know will last a few hours to a battery that will last all day and then some. Or, depending on what size mod I want to carry around that day I can choose the 18350 for the shortest footprint possible to the 18650 for the tallest footprint possible. Best of all, if you’re like me and have a bunch of batteries for various mods then chances are you’ll never need worry about having one to fit the Telescopic when you need a freshly charged battery.
Like many of the more expensive mods and APV’s the Telescopic is a 510-threaded device that accepts 510-threaded attachments, and Joye eGo Clearomizers and even Vision Clearomizers like Vivi Nova’s and others. Pretty much any attachment you have in the 510/eGo threads. (With the proper adapter, which you can also pick up at MyVaporStore, you can use any attachment, even 808’s.)
I’ve heard from a few people that have picked up this mod and they report some issues with some cartomizers being ill fitted to the 510 connector; specifically ones from Boge (something about air-flow). The only cartos I had here to test were some leftover Apollo blank cartomizers and they fit decently enough. I don’t own a “Kick”, but a few of my friends do and they tell me that the TEC Telescopic can handle one. Lastly, because I am totally into rebuildable atomizers these days I’ve been using one of the AGA-T’s on it and it works well.
The mechanical “switch”, or button activator, is located at the bottom, or rather; it is the bottom plate that is the activator. Some people like this feature, others don’t. I used the Totally Wicked “Odyssey” last year and it too had the activator button at the bottom and I liked it at the time.
If you’re not used to that position for the button it will take you a little time to get used to it. You may even have to adopt a new way to hold your fingers so that you can easily activate the mod and enjoy the vape. Luckily for me it wasn’t a big deal but Keira had a tough time with it when I let her use it for a day, and to be honest it just wasn’t something she wanted to deal with.
Oh, I nearly forgot, the switch can be locked into position so you won’t need to worry about activating it accidentally when you carry it around in your pocket or purse. Though to be honest, if you’re a woman you might not want to carry it around in your purse. I’ll leave it up to you as to why that might not be the best idea.
Before I get to the actual real world usage I want to mention the plating on the TEC Telescopic. The mod comes in one finish at this time, and that is a chrome-plated finish over brass. Over the past 2 weeks it’s seen a lot of action and so far the chrome-plate has maintained a flawless finish, very smooth to the touch with a brilliant and shiny look. The whole “chrome over brass” adds a bit of weight to it but to me that is definitely a positive. Put an 18650 battery in it and you’ll feel it.
Real World Usage Report
I’m not going to beat around the bush, the TEC Telescopic is a $45 mod at MyVaporStore (some sell it as high as $65), and the adage “you get what you pay for” applies here. It’s not much money because it’s a ‘decent’ fully mechanical mod that makes a decent backup mod.
After using it for several days I can tell you that it is not a mod I would normally buy. For those on a strict budget who can’t spend than $50 on a mod it’s not a bad product. Those of you that have used more expensive and feature-rich APV’s will never want to replace them with this one of these. I might even go as far as saying that if it were me I would pick up a couple of Vision Spinners at $25 apiece at MyVaporStore rather than the TEC Telescopic. For the price of one Telescopic you can buy two Spinners and enjoy the variable voltage and with the same adapter you’ll need to buy for the Telescopic in order to use a high-quality cartomizer you can pick up one for the Spinners and use whatever you want on it.
Don’t get me wrong though, the TEC Telescopic works, and it provides a decent enough vape. Use a protected high-quality battery and with the built in and plentiful vent holes the Telescopic is safe enough not to have to worry about it.
I didn’t have any issues with it while I was using, and I used a variety of batteries out of the Spinfuel Toolbox and all was well. I suppose the bottom line for me was that it felt like I was using a $45 mod. The AGA-T performed well on it so there is that to consider.
Recommendation & Buying Advice
Sometimes it pays to spend a little more to get a lot more in a mod. The new VAMO Rev 2 is expected here any day now, and I suspect that it will be even better than the Rev One VAMO. The Rev Two sells for $46 at MyVaporStore, so how can I tell you to spend that money on a TEC Telescopic when you can spend it on a VAMO Rev 2, which is obviously better? I can’t.
I understand that the eCigarette industry thrives on putting out model after model, and that many of us own or will own several mods and APV’s. The Chinese manufactures have to keep putting different devices on the market in order to keep the industry alive, but sometimes they are a hit and sometimes they are a “miss”. To my mind, the TEC Telescopic is okay, but for the money there are better devices to buy. So, for me the Telescopic is a clear “miss”.
My recommendation is to either spend more and pick up a new Red or Yellow Brass ZMAX Rev 2 ($96) or the new VAMO Rev 2 for $46, $2 more than the TEC Telescopic. I own both the ZMAX and the VAMO and both are so much better devices it isn’t funny. I cannot, in good conscious, recommend this mod. Spend the money on the VAMO, you’ll be much happier with it. Trust me on this.
Update* I’ve been asked to clear up a couple of things and instead of rewriting the review I’ll provide this update. I should have made it clear that the TEC Telescopic did work, as it should. Mechanically it worked without any problems and depending on the battery I was using at the time the length of time between charges were as expected. It’s not a terrible device; nor is it “junk”. Having said that, the fact remains that for the same price the VAMO Rev 2 is whole lot more APV than the TEC Telescopic. The choice is certainly yours, and if you did buy this mod, or plan to, I would love to hear your report on it in the comments below.
Tom McBride
