Honest review time: The iStick Rim from Eleaf

Eleaf one of the industry giants never seems to sleep. Hot on the heels of their latest pod release they just launched a new subohm kit called the Rim. It seems a recent trend that’s been arising is a return to simplicity with a number of devices hitting the market lately that seem to give up some of the more complex features the advanced users have gotten used to. Basically it makes it easier for folks just starting out who won’t understand concepts like battery safety, Ohms law or temperature control dial in on the vape that they need without over complicating things. The iStick Rim seeks to do just that and after spending some time with it this is what I think of it.

Package contents:

Listed features and specs:

Packaging and contents:

The rim kit comes packed in a nice white cardboard box like most Eleaf products do. It’s got a bright image on the front of the kit with a listing of the contents on the back. In the kit you get the iStick Rim mod, the Melo 5 atomizer, an EC-S 0.6ohm coil head, an EC-M 0.15ohm coil head, a QC 3.0 USB type C cable with built-in micro USB adapter, a spare tank glass, two user manuals one for the tank and one for the mod and a bag of spare parts. It’s a pretty standard list for a kit so no complaints here.

The istick rim mod:

The istick rim mod is deceptively simple but still sports some interesting features that if you weren’t aware of may have gone unnoticed. Starting with the body of the device it uses the same IML or in mould labeling process we saw on the iStick Mix which applies the graphics directly to the plastic during the moulding process. This process leads to significantly better wear resistance as the label becomes part of the plastic itself, so no more peeling or scratched off graphics with these devices. The body was also designed to be ergonomic and uses a rather uncommon form factor. If you saw the Cube from OBS it’s similar to that but much more rounded in the hand, it’s actually pretty similar in shape and size to a 60ml Chubby Gorilla bottle. It’s available in a number of unique colour combinations and from what I can see they all have a sort of colour changing film over top of them. Like depending on how you hold it the colour sort of changes. I think it look pretty nice but we all know taste is subjective. On the backside of the device it’s got a strip of rubber that’s been patterned with a low-poly design so it blends in well with the motif of the device while adding some extra grip. It stands about 133mm tall, roughly 36mm wide and 30mm thick with a weight of 187.4g which makes it lightweight, compact and super comfortable to hold and use.

At the top of the mod is the stainless steel 510 connection. It sits in a slight depression on the top of the device which is actually good because the 510 protrudes from the top just the littlest bit. Having that depression around it means whatever you attach should sit flush as long as it’s wide enough to cover that depression. The tank that comes with it is 26.5mm at it’s base which fits perfectly on top and there’s still a bit of room left so it should fit 28mm atomizers without any overhang. Down the face of the mod it’s got a big oblong fire button with a nice click to it and no rattle or anything. It’s easy enough to find with your finger and is comfortable to press with either the index or thumb. Below the fire button is the black and white 0.69″ OLED screen which is easy to read and contains all the usual info we like to see like resistance, on screen parameter(Puffs, Amps or Puff time), wattage and a basic battery bar. Just below the screen are the adjustment buttons which also have a nice click and no rattle when shaken. It’s got an internal 3000mAh battery and comes with a USB C Quick charge 3.0 cable so the thing can be fully charged in about 40mins. With a max output of 80W the 3000mAh battery tends to last me all day long but if I’m on the go it’s pretty quick to top up thanks to that quick charge feature.

Feature-wise it’s actually very lightweight and Eleaf has stripped out most of the extra function their standard devices tend to have. So no temp control, no TCR and no bypass mode just a basic variable wattage mode. It does of course have the usual protections built-in like over-charge, over-discharge, over-current, over 10s cutoff, short circuit and dry-burn protection so it should remain safe in nearly any condition. But wait, did that say dry-burn protection!? The iStick Rim does in fact have a temp control feature of sorts. It’s actually sports a simple automatic dry-burn protection function that is supposed to work without needing to adjust any settings. It works in conjunction with the included EC-S coil only and with it installed you just fire it as you normally would and when the mod detects the coil is running dry it will attempt to throttle the power to save your coil. Their recent iTap release used a similar function and it looks like Eleaf is going to make it a standard. When testing it out it actually works quite well and prevented me on more than one occasion from burning my coil out.

Using the device is very simple and anyone who’s used an Eleaf device before should be familiar with it. It uses the usual five clicks to turn it on and off but there isn’t any three click menu like we’d normally see as all of those features have been removed. We can still lock the buttons by pressing both adjustment buttons and we can also enter the submenu by pressing fire and up which gives options to change the subparameter that’s displayed on the main screen so amps, puff time or puff count, turn stealth on or off, set a pre-heat(yes that survived), set the screen timeout, check the version of the device and software as well as check the exact voltage of the internal battery.

The tank:

The tank that comes with the kit is the Melo 5, the latest in a long line of atomizers from Eleaf. It looks quite similar to the Ello Pop the tank that shipped with their recent iStick Mix kit but with a slight change to the airflow and the same sytle of coils that came with the iJust ECM. At the top it comes equipped with a delrin 510 drip tip. It’s pretty standard looking with a decent sized bore and being delrin should help with heat transfer. Just below the tip is the child-proof fill cap. It’s a slide to open cap but they’ve added a spring loaded feature that requires you lift up before sliding it open. Also once open there’s a silicone diaphragm over the fill port to help prevent leaking. In the spares bag you get a replacement diaphragm but also an alternate one that’s more traditional without the flaps that you have to push your tip past. The other interesting feature on the tank is when removing a coil from the tank it will close off the juice channels going from the chamber to the tank so your juice will stay contained in the tank even without a coil installed. This makes changing coils quick and convenient and you no longer have to drain the tank to maintain it. It’s not a perfect seal so if left sitting it will eventually leak out but for quick coil swaps it’s ideal.

The tank stands 57.3mm tall with a base that measures 26.5mm. The standard kit comes with a bubble glass that bulges the diameter out to 28mm but it allows the tank to hold 4ml of liquid. There is of course a TPD version which only holds 2ml if you’re in a TPD region. Working down the tank you’ll notice the glass has been ringed with a silicone swirl just like we saw on the Ello Pop. It’s sort of like a built-in vape band that will help prevent your glass breaking if your mod tips over but it’s unlikely it will save you from a full on fall. It gives the tank a somewhat unusual look but if you’re fidgety at all you might find yourself slowly picking it off the glass. Of course if you really don’t like the look of it you can swap it out for the plain glass that they also included. Around the base of the device is the adjustable airflow control. You can turn the ring to adjust the airflow and it has stops at either end. For airflow they’ve given you three options, a small hole probably about 1mm, a slightly bigger hole maybe 2mm and then a wide open cyclops slot so you can adjust the airflow to your liking. I’ve been going with the two small holes open and just a tiny bit of the cyclops slot for a nice slightly restricted direct lung hit. You can sort of do mouth to lung with this tank but considering the coils it ships with I think it’s more meant for a restricted direct lung hit.

The coils:

The coils that come with the kit are the EC-S SS316L 0.6ohm mesh coil which is rated from 15-30w which is the one that works with the automatic dry-burn protection and the EC-M 0.15ohm head which is a more standard mesh coil without the dry-burn protection rated from 30-75w. Both of them use an older style body but now use mesh as the coil type. With the EC-S coil I found it performed great around 30w which was the high end of it’s recommended range. It produced good flavour and nice clouds and if the coil happened to run dry the mod will throw a dry-burn protection error and stop firing preventing your coils from burning up. With the EC-M coil I found it was somewhat overrated with the high end being 75w which it could keep up with on the first few pulls but subsequent hits could start tasting burnt or just overly hot. So for me I was running it around the 60w mark which still produced decent clouds and good flavour. Personally I’m a fan of these types of coils as they give me the kind of vape that I enjoy.

Overall:

The istick rim kit couldn’t get much easier to use and with the automatic dry-burn protection already in place a user only needs to fill the tank, adjust the wattage to their preference and press the fire button. I think this istick rim kit would be well suited to new vapers but also for folks who’ve wanted to try out temp control but have been hesitant with all of the knowledge required around it, this kit just makes it easy and intuitive and provides a really good experience while doing it. Great job on this one Eleaf!!!