Today we will talk about a new product, released by the joint efforts of the manufacturer FIR and Misha “Korobka”, a compact and hot mechanical mod Kraken.
The manufacturer of mechanical mods FIR is well known to the readers of our site for the beautiful and unusual Metamorphose and inexpensive everyday Constanta and Helix, these devices, thanks to their simple and reliable design, have long and firmly won their loyal fans among lovers of compact setups. The device turned out to be interesting, tricked out, with the ability to customize and interesting ideas, but quite large and expensive. The guys thought, tried on a battery to the dripper, radically revised the design and at the very end of last year presented an equally interesting, but completely different device – a new mechanical mod Kraken.
The new device came into my hands in a yellow-gray postal envelope with practically no identification marks. Only if you don’t count the small sticker on the valve with the inscription Serial 105 as such. I remember Misha said in his presentation that the sticker with the awesome Kraken logo would move from the packaging inside and you could stick it somewhere yourself, but it wasn’t in the envelope either.
Kit
Kraken mechanical mod
Originality card
User manual
Kraken mechanical mod manual by FIR I got the Kraken mod from the store, i.e. this is not some special version “for review”, but what you will most likely buy. In my case, in the simplest configuration, in addition to the Kraken itself, it only includes an originality card with a handwritten serial number and a small instruction manual for use and care of the device with a welcoming word from Misha. vape store The first buyers of the new product were luckier, they got interesting goodies in the form of ready-made coils, liquid and a package of Cotton Vago cotton. If you order a customized mod from the manufacturer, the originality card will be brown, and if your imagination runs wild with a large number of different “wants”, then it will also be in a beautifully designed box, which can be purchased separately.
Appearance and design of the Kraken mech mod
The mech mod has an ergonomic shape, which has recently become very popular with many manufacturers. And, in our case, it is quite interesting: the body above the middle has a smooth and barely noticeable silhouette of a barrel, expanding from the connector platform ∅24 mm to ∅25 mm, and then narrowing again at the grip to ∅24 mm; at the bottom, where the button is located, it already has a diameter of 26 mm. This shape turned out to be pleasant and convenient to use, the recess is designed for a low grip, when you hold the device between your thumb and palm and press the button with your index or middle finger. The main feature that the manufacturer draws attention to is the record low height – only 77.5 mm with constant contact with the battery, and, as they say, this is the lowest among mechs with a similar design produced in Russia. The device is actually very compact, it turned out to be even half a millimeter smaller than the legendary SMPL, and this is taking into account all the advantages of the Kraken. The mod easily hides in the palm of your hand even with a dripper (at least in mine), and with a low atomizer you get a small bundle. My device has a black powder coating, the device has a rough surface with a large grain, due to which it does not slip in your hands when using. If you do not like this design or texture, the FIR company offers options for painting with Cerakote or Taiga (the latter is promised even according to the RAL catalog), combined colors, cutouts on the body, engravings and even full silvering and nickel plating.
Specifications
Body material: brass (they also promise aluminum)
Diameter: 24 mm (on the landing), 26 mm (in the area of the button)
Height: 77.5 mm
Weight: 130 g (178 g with the battery)
Battery used: 18650
Connector: 510
Button mechanism: spring
Contact group: constant contact
Automatic adjustment to the length of the atomizer pin and battery
Coating: bare brass, nickel plating, silver plating, powder paint, Taiga, Cerakote
Possibility of customization during production to order
The connector pad is made with a recess in the form of a small bath, has an external diameter of 24 mm, however, due to the rather thick coating in my copy it is rather 24.5 mm, which is especially noticeable on the Dotmod Petri V2 (the Conversion Cap 24mm skirt has The actual size is ∅23.8 mm), but it is less noticeable when using other atomizers. The positive contact is connected to the battery not directly, but through a spacer inside the case, so the connector cannot be called hybrid. But since the platform is wide and flat, and safe too, the pin of your atomizer should still protrude above the negative thread. Therefore, be careful what you screw on your Kraken. There are no complaints about the thread, the quality of the turns is excellent, there are only a few spots from paint. The pusher of the button is at the same level with the housing, there is no button lock, the button has six decent holes for emergency gas release. On the polished to a mirror surface (almost all the photos show the device before cleaning) deep engravings are concentrated: the name of the device and its serial number. I would like to mention the button area right away: a wide pusher (∅22 mm), which is impossible to miss, plus the pressing is confident both in the center and at the edges without jamming or catching.
Impressions
The Kraken mech mod left only positive impressions during use, it also “fries” perfectly, several lines of liquids were tested on it. The device turned out to be compact, convenient, simple and well thought out in details. There were no problems with any of the tested atomizers, even with the very picky Battle Deck and its huge protruding pin (almost 2 mm) there was no autofire, although the button stroke was simply microscopic. There are no complaints about the processing either, all the threads and surfaces look great, including on the inner surface of the glass, the only complaints can be about a small amount of paint on the connector. What personally pleased me separately was the name that appeared on the device, which was not on the manufacturer’s mech mods before. The constant contact has not disappeared anywhere, the design is not much different from what we saw before, but now it is hidden in the case, well protected from dirt and does not spill out every time the battery is replaced. And at the same time, it is simply and effectively implemented. The surfaces of the button and the housing involved in the contact are also hidden in the housing, are not subject to contamination and do not smear debris. Here, I can only attribute the brass contacts, not coated with silver, to a controversial decision. The only difficulty that this can cause is the faster appearance of traces of short circuits with very low winding resistance. But on the other hand, these same contacts can be safely cleaned with sandpaper, without worrying about the thin coating. In any case, they can always be ordered separately from the manufacturer.