First Look: SMOK R-Steam Mini
SMOK has introduced a new temperature control mod, the R-Steam Mini. Our friends at DirectVapor sent one for a Seven Report review.
The SMOK R-Steam Mini has a temperature range of 200° F – 600° F in 10° increments and 100° C – 315° C in 5° increments. It will operate in temperature control mode with Ni 200, Titanium or Stainless Steel coils. In temperature control mode the R-Steam Mini will fire coils with a resistance of 0.06 – 2.0 ohm. To switch between Celsius and Fahrenheit you scroll through the top or bottom of one scale to get to the other.
In variable wattage mode the SMOK R-Steam Mini has a range of 1 – 80 watts in 0.1 watt increments. It will fire standard coils with a resistance range of 0.1 – 3.0 ohm.
The R-Steam Mini has a spring loaded 510 connector. It’s powered by a single, external 18650 battery, not included, that can be charged via the micro USB port with the included micro USB cable while in the mod. There are three buttons on the SMOK R-Steam Mini, a square fire button above the Bare OLED screen and below the display are the down and up buttons. The firmware is upgradable through the USB port. Upgrades are listed on the SMOK website. The firmware edition is displayed when you first turn on the R-Steam Mini.
Power on the R-Steam Mini with five quick clicks of the fire button. When you attach a new coil the display will ask “New atomizer?” Use the down or up button to select “yes” or “no” and press the fire button. In temperature control mode the display shows a battery meter, your selected “draw effect” setting, resistance of the attached coil, voltage, wattage and your selected temperature. In variable wattage mode the display shows the battery meter, “draw effect,” voltage, puff counter and your selected wattage.
SMOK has outfitted the R-Steam Mini with a pretty comprehensive menu system, allowing you to really fine tune its operation. To access the menu press the fire button three times. Menu option 1 allows you select wattage or temperature control mode. In each mode you have the option of setting the “draw effect” to one of five options, min, soft, norm, hard or max. If you select temperature control you’ll next be able to choose your coil material; Ni 200, Titanium or Stainless Steel and then coil type, single or dual.
Menu option 2 displays puffs since your last reset and allows you to set the maximum number of puffs the device will allow in a 24 hour period. Select “never” to disable the puff plan. You can also reset your puffs in this menu.
The third menu option allows you to set the initial resistance of your attached atomizer. Menu 4 allows you to adjust the TCR (temperature coefficient of resistance) of each type of temperature control coil.
Menu 5 allows you to set adjustments to the display itself, including stealth mode, contrast, orientation and the length of time the display stays lit. Menu 6 allows you to power off the R-Steam Mini and menu 7 exits the menu system.
There are two shortcuts available in addition to the menu system. Press the fire button and the down button simultaneously to switch between wattage and temperature control modes. Press the fire button and the up button at the same time to switch between the draw effect settings.
You can lock the SMOK R-Steam Mini by pressing the fire button 5 times, which puts the device in total lock down. Holding in the up and down buttons at the same time locks the power change function, but still allows you vape. When the device is locked the same combination of buttons will unlock it. If you’ve locked the device by pressing the fire button five times you can view the amount of time you’ve vaped and the puff counter by holding in the up and down buttons.
I attached a Kangertech Subtank Plus Black Edition with a Ni 200 coil and set the draw effect at Normal and temperature at 480° F. Vapor production was very good and a little on the warm side. Vapor production and warmth seemed to increase a little at the Hard setting. At Max there was a bit more vapor but to me the flavor seemed to suffer a little. At Min I seemed to have to draw a little harder but vapor production was still more than adequate if a little cooler.
I’ll be using the SMOK R-Steam Mini extensively over the next week or so and then come back with a full, in-depth review. If you follow Seven Report on Twitter or Facebook you’ll find out that way when that review is live.
DirectVapor, who provided the mod, offers the SMOK R-Steam Mini for $49.95. You can find out more about it and order it here.
