It seems these days there are more mechanical mods and clones than there are sea shells on the beach. Sticking with that nautical theme is the Stingray clone from Gearbest. The question remains: does this mod stick out in a sea of clones, or is it just another fish in the sea? If you stay for the rest of the review, I promise to stop with the maritime puns.
Get one at Gearbest use the code Remi05 for a 5% discount.
Disclosure: this product was provided by Gearbest for review purposes. This review contains affiliate links
Stingray X Review
Mechanical mods tend to have the same basic design and function. They are metal tubes that transfer power as directly as possible from the battery to your RBA, RDA, Tank or however you roll. The difference between the models tend to come down to aesthetics, and to a lesser degree materials used.
The Stingray tries to combine both of those differentiators into a single platform. The device is actually two tubes: an inner copper tube and a stainless steel overlay. Copper, in theory, is a better conductor than steel.
It’s also redder. To make something in the way of an interesting design aesthetic, there are cut outs in the outer tube that expose the copper beneath, creating a contrasting pattern.
In this case, there’s a few lines where the copper is exposed and the caps meet, as well as a highly stylized logo cut out from the steel outer tube. The bottom fire button features what best can be described as some sort of a coin.
Naturally, these design queues can be attributed to the original maker of the devices. Sort of.
Here’s where things get a little strange. The Stingray was originally made by a company called JDTech out of the Philippines. It was cloned by a company called Infinite, which changed the logo to the one that is featured on the mod I am reviewing. The bottom coin looking inlay, however, still sports the JDTech logo, so there’s that.
Heck, for all I know this could actually be an Infinite version, my review unit came wrapped in a bag with no box or documentation.
Of course the appeal of all that is you can get this version, no matter how many copies removed from the original for under $30.
Getting back to the mod itself, clone or no, much of the engineering is pretty tight on the device. This mod features a modular body that allows you to swap between 18650, 18500 and 18350 sized batteries by switching out different parts of the body tube.
That’s nothing new, but what is nice is that unless you look very closely, you can’t see the seams between the three sections of the body.
On the flip side, there’s a bit of a gap between the end caps and the body. I’m not sure if that’s an intentional reveal to give it a copper accent, or things being a little off based on the differences in battery heights between manufacturers.
Either way, the look actually works. Two-tone mods seem to be all the rage these days. I tend to prefer simple designs (sorry, iTaste 134 MX-Z).
Other than the contrasting colors, this mod is very simple. There’s a slight lip and insets on the top cap, which is helpful for you drippers, but it’s not overdone. More importantly, there’s nothing to this design that adds extra bulk or heft.
That makes the Stingray X a very compact and streamlined mechanical mod. Between that and the price, this is certainly a mechanical device worth considering.
You can get this one from Gearbest (don’t forget the coupon code Remi05 to get an extra 5% off)
