Do we need touch screens on our mods and will they be convenient to use? In today’s review, I will try to answer this question using the example of a new product from Smoant – Charon TS 218.

I admit honestly, until recently the idea of ​​using touch screens on electronic mods seemed, if not madness, then an undertaking, to put it mildly, incomprehensible. It is enough to recall the generally good, but terribly inconvenient to operate Ocular C, converted from a “cuboid”, to once again exclaim: “Who the hell needs this!” And when Lena, the Smoant manager, asked me whether there was any point in touch control, I answered exactly that. It is much more familiar and easier to use a couple of control buttons that can be locked and not worry that the huge panel will work from the slightest touch and instead of the set parameters you will suddenly get a terrible garrick or, for example, switch to temperature control on nickel. But, as you know, progress does not stand still, and even more so in the vaping industry, where it actively requires some updates so as not to lose the interest of its buyer, be it a new battery format, increasing tank diameters or just some unusual solutions. One of the latest trends due to the development of electronics manufacturers has become the emergence of large color and / or touch screens used in battery packs. Agree, when you have a varivolt / variwatt, where you just need to increase the voltage or power value, then you can easily get by with a simple potentiometer or buttons, but when your electronic friend is stuffed with graphs and countless settings to the brim, managing all this wealth with the help of “+” and “-” becomes inconvenient.

Today, there are several very similar (even visually) mods with touch screens, for example, the recently released Cuboid Pro from Joyetech and the Smok G-Priv, which has already been updated to the second version. e-cigarettes online boutique in new zealand The new Smoant Charon TS 218W VW/TC Curve Touch Screen Mod Stormborn from the Targaryen house, called the first, is one of such devices, in which a large screen is designed to simplify the management of all the board’s capabilities.

The Charon TS 218 box mod comes to the buyer in a box made of white thick cardboard with a honeycomb pattern and the name of the device on the lid. There is also a small sticker indicating the color scheme of the device, in my case it is Stainless Steel. On the bottom, only the main features of the box are listed without detailed technical specifications, there is also a sticker with an originality check, the manufacturer’s details and several pictograms with certificates and warnings. The copy that fell into my hands came from the manufacturer and was sealed with paper seals with the inscription Sample. There are no markings on the device itself that this is a sample, and not a serial device.

Smoant Charon TS 218 delivery set

Smoant Charon TS 218 Mod box mod

Micro USB cable

User manual

Smoant Charon TS 218 delivery set

The set, in general, is unremarkable; I would only like to note the absence of protective films, since our device is equipped with a glossy touch panel. Special attention should be paid to the bright, nice accordion-style instructions in two languages: English and Chinese. Of course, I would also like to see them in the great and mighty, but even a minimal knowledge of English is enough to understand the mod’s operation “from the pictures”.

Externally, the new Charon TS resembles another box mod from Smoant, which went almost unnoticed in our country — Gaia 200W. With the only difference — instead of engraved metal walls, the device is decorated with glass panels. All edges, corners and even the metal frame of the case are rounded as much as possible, the device is very comfortable to hold in your hand. In general, it looks like a very swollen smartphone, the designers were clearly inspired by mobile trends when creating the device. On the left panel from the Fire button there is a name, several icons and the inscription Designed by Smoant, here the battery compartment is hidden; on the right — the manufacturer’s logo, under it is the device’s screen.

Out of the box, the device is sealed with protective films, unfortunately, there are no others, and judging by the protruding labels, they are precisely “packaging”, they will have to be removed before use. The panels themselves are made (according to the manufacturer) not of plastic, but of protected glass (as indicated on the box — glass panel to resist scratches). I will neither confirm nor deny this statement, but it does feel like glass, and no scratches have appeared on it during use. Naturally, all this glossy beauty instantly gets dirty and covered with fingerprints.

Charon TS 218 Specifications

Dimensions: 59.5mm * 85.3mm * 29.5mm

Weight: 222g (314g with batteries)

Powered by dual 18650 batteries

2.4″ (61mm diagonal) screen

User-friendly interface

Customizable heating schedules in variable wattage and TC modes

Variable wattage:

Power setting: 1 — 218W

Resistance support from 0.1 Ohm

Five operating modes: Min / Norm / Hard / Max / VW Curve

Temperature control:

Support: nickel, titanium, stainless steel, TCR and customizable heating schedule

Resistance support: 0.05 — 2.0 Ohm

Temperature setting: 200°F — 600°F/ 100°C — 300°C

Maximum current: 50A

Maximum output voltage: 8.4V

Screen lock

Brightness adjustment

Support for pasta and charging with 5V/1A current

Protection:

10s cut-off

Protection against incorrect battery installation

Overheating protection

Protection against low battery voltage

The Charon TS 218 box mod is available in six colors: Rainbow, Dark blue, Black, Stainless Steel, Wood Grain and Digi camo. I received an unpainted one for review, the surface is matte, reminiscent of brushed metal, together with rounded shapes and such processing causes excellent tactile sensations.

The connector pad is only ∅19 mm, located on a 25 mm metal “patch”, a couple of tens of millimeters raised above the case. There are questions about this part, because the connector is not located exactly in the center, but slightly offset, but this is noticeable only if you look closely, with atomizers this unevenness is more obvious. In general, atomizers up to 25 mm look great on the box, those that are larger will already protrude. The stroke of the gold-plated spring-loaded positive contact is only about 1 mm, atomizers with long pins are not screwed in all the way, “levitation” remains. But with most drippers and tanks there are no gaps.

Impressions and conclusions

Dot Mod Petri V2 with Conversion Cam 24mm on Smoant Charon TS 218In general, Charon TS 218 evokes only positive impressions. Good assembly, excellent bright screen, responsive sensor and convenient control directly on the display contribute to all this. The lock button saves you from a lot of headaches with accidental presses, the main thing is not to forget to use it, as we are all used to doing with our smartphones. The device has every right to exist and active daily use. Just do not forget that such a device is more fragile than conventional boxes and can easily order a long life after the first fall from a fairly small height – glass is like that. The Fire button works quickly (in Max mode, it is the modes that are responsible for supplying power to the winding), it is very pleasant to hold the box in your hand, despite the weight.

Comparison of dual-battery mods: Hotcig R150 on the left and Smoant Charon TS 218 on the rightTo the disadvantages I would like to include things that are not entirely obvious at first glance. The most skeptical thing is the organization of the menu. It is the same as if you had a 0.96″ screen, i.e. a bunch of settings are placed in the menu, submenu and sub-submenu. This is all justified when there is not enough space on the display, but not in this case. Why can’t you adjust the power in TC mode directly from the temperature control screen? Why can’t you select the modes in variwatt directly on the VW Mode screen? Why can’t you set the power on the scale with one touch? Why do you have to go to the menu to do this, select there, and then return? Why do you have to switch between seconds in the graphs with small inconvenient arrows, and not just poke along the lines and move them at once? Hey, guys from Smoant! You installed a huge, convenient display on which you can display a lot of information and make everything interactive! The tiny shortcomings include the “Chinese” fonts that peek out here and there, giving away the manufacturer; it is clear that they made a beautiful and futuristic interface, but did not finish it. The ability to update the firmware and settings via software raises a lot of questions. Here, more than anywhere else, a program with the ability to configure and customize the interface is needed. Perhaps everything will appear later, if the manufacturer has included this function in the board. It is clear that not everyone needs to put a photo of themselves on the screensaver or find out the weather forecast on a box mod, but you should not neglect this opportunity to attract a buyer. And if there were also options for the user interface, i.e. various “themes”, like in the latest Yihi board, it would be great. As a result, there is still room to grow in terms of refinement and convenience of the software, and the manufacturer already has a reserve, this is definitely not such a stillborn creation as the Ocular C from Joyetech. Liked:

Build quality

Large and bright screen

Excellent sensor

Separate power and screen lock button

High charging current

Disliked:

Quite heavy

Interface not optimized

Glossy glass surfaces

Sliding lid (phantom)

Unclear situation with firmware update

To be honest, the mod turned out to be very good, although far from ideal, I expressed my complaints and comments above. It seems that this is the direction in which the development of electronic mods will move now. Whether to support this trend and whether there is a need for another “smartphone” in your pocket, the vaper will have to decide for himself.