The Kamry K101 Review
A straight up mechanical mod has no electronics to fail, no circuit boards, and can fire any cartomizer, clearomizer, or tank that is attached to it. They are simple devices that last forever and cannot be banned by the government because; in its simplest form it is not much more than a flashlight. A mechanical mod should be in the arsenal of every Vaper, even Vapers who use nothing more than cig-a-like batteries and prefilled cartomizers. When all is said and done, a mech-mod and a few batteries will keep you going when all others fail.
Convinced? You should be. The question shouldn’t be whether or not to own a mechanical mod, but rather which one and how many. The nature of my job allows me to use many different e-cigarettes, from simple mods to the most advanced electronic APV’s. For an inexpensive mod I found one that was so inexpensive, yet performed so well that I bought two of them, one to use, one to store “just in case”. I think you’re going to like it.
The Kamry K101 Telescopic is available at MyVaporStore for $33.
The Kamry K101 comes in three different colors; blue, purple, and bronze. I decided on two blue ones, for aesthetic reasons only. The purple and bronze colors are also nice, but I’m a ‘blue’ kind of person.
Specs:
- 510 Threaded with air holes offer compatibility with flush sitting tanks
- Lockable fire button
- Telescopic: Fits 18350, 18500 and 18650 LiMh batteries
- Beautiful anodized aluminum finish
Dimensions:
18350: 99mm/ 3.9 inches tall 18500: 113mm/ 4.4 inches tall 18650: 129mm/ 5.0 inches tall Base unit without upper tube attached is 64mm/ 2.5 inches. Width: 25.5mm/ 1 inch
By looking at the photos you can see that it’s a very modern, but simple design. Like the SMOKTech Magneto mech-mod reviewed yesterday by Tom McBride, the Kamry also sports a bottom-firing button. It’s not a magnetic switch, but it is lockable and it works well.
The Kamry K101 is simply a fully mechanical 510-threaded mod, nothing more and certainly nothing less. It is compatible with ‘most’ 510-threaded cartomizers, and even Vision eGo Clearomizers. The collar on the switch at the bottom can be screwed down to lock the switch and prevent accidental firing. There are multiple vent holes that have been punched into the metal tube for added protection.
Batteries
The Kamry K101 is compatible with a wide array of batteries including 18350, 18500, 18650, button-top and flattop LiMh batteries only. (Basically any 18-series battery will work) Simply unscrew the tube to the proper length and you have battery choices that once required extension tubes. This is definitely a 2103 idea, and in this case it works fine.
The $32.87 price tag at MyVaporStore buys you the mod only, no batteries, charger, or anything else. Though the cool thing about MyVaporStore is how they make it so easy to put together a starter kit right there on the product page, allowing to choose compatible add-ons, you don’t have to go wandering about making sure what you might buy is going to work with the mod. If you’re going to add a charger to this I highly, almost insistently, recommend the new Efest LUC Charger with the LCD display. I love this charger! When you insert the battery, or batteries, in the charger it reads the power left in it, shows it to you, and begins charging it up to the proper amount, and it takes all three of the above batteries easily. Not at the same time mind you, but two at time though.
What I Like About It
First, the finish. It is a great shade of blue, and it has a really nice anodized aluminum finish. It’s not heavy, but for the size (small) it has heft, it feels like a mechanical mod. It fits in the palm of your hand and the bottom button, strange at first, quickly becomes second nature.
The K101 is an updated version of the K100, which is a copy of the Empire PV mod, except the Empire mod had a 901 connector, not a 510. The Empire also uses brass parts at the switch whereas both the K100 and K101 use stainless steel. Not a big deal in my book, the switch works fine for me.
I like that the K101 will allow me to use eGo collared and threaded connection devices. Its deep drip well handles such devices like the Kanger EVOD. (Though the larger Kanger T3 or MT3 is NOT compatible without a 510-eGo adapter).
Carto-tanks and Vivi Nova types sit flush on the flat top of the device. And the K-101 has 3 holes in the top cap to allow airflow, adding a layer of protection that is really needed in all mech-mods.
Finally, the Kamry K101 hits harder than a lot of mech mods I’ve tried before, and because of the low voltage drop of the K101it produces a ton of vapor with eLiquids of all types. In other words, as a workhorse, you can’t go wrong.
What I Don’t Like About It
There are only two things I’m not happy with. The first is that the pricing for the K101 is all over the board. I’ve seen it for as little as $25 and for as much as $80. The $32.87 price from MyVaporStore looks to be the sweet spot. The second thing I didn’t like is that it seems the K101 comes as a kit, with a few extras I’d like to see in the MyVaporStore package. But that complaint is directed at users that may need to buy these extras because they have little to no extra vaping gear rather than myself, which would wind up just adding to an already out of control box of “extras”.
Should You Buy One
While I can appreciate the question, and I agree this question should be a part of all of Spinfuel’s reviews, in this case the question isn’t easy to answer. YES, by all means you should have a couple of mechanical mods at your disposal. Does it have to be a Kamry K101? No, of course not.
Tom’s review of the SMOKTech Magneto had me wanting one badly, and I’ll probably pick one up because he described it so well. The Kamry has plenty to offer, and its less expensive, so I’m certainly not unhappy with the two I have. But that’s just the thing; most mech mods are inexpensive, unless you go for a special built rig or hand engraved models, which are awesome by the way, but cost a couple hundred bucks to start.
This time I can’t tell you if the Kamry K101 is the one you should buy. I like it, Keira likes it, but there are loads to choose from. The major selling point for me, over the Magneto, is the price. For $32.87 it’s worth picking up one if for nothing else but a backup device. If I had it to do all over again I think I would have bought a Magneto and a Kamry K101 and have the best of both. Now that’s an answer I can live.
There are a few cautions that are pretty serious when you own a mech-mod. Since there is literally no protection, so don’t ever stack batteries, and don’t ever use a mech mod to test a coil. These are unregulated, wireless and circuit-boardless devices that send power to the atomizer in a straight line. So be CAREFUL.
Julia Hartley-Barnes
