Innokin LEA – Impressions

Steve K 06/27/11

The LEA by Innokin is a handsome electronic cigarette kit.  The kit is a tank system along the lines of the eGo-T style kits.  Like the eGo e cigs, the LEA uses the popular 510 threads for connecting atomizers and cartomizers.  Don’t confuse this with your average eGo kit, the LEA has a few interesting tricks up her sleeve.

Features

Under the cap

The Innokin LEA feature set starts off pretty similarly to that of an eGo.  The battery is slightly smaller in diameter than an eGo and is of the 650mAh variety.  That will buy you between 4-8 hours of vaping depending on your habits.  The LEA battery features USB pass through charging, a color changing LED button that indicates battery charge status and a 3 click shut off feature.

The other half of the LEA kit is a custom atomizer and tank cartridge system.   The atomizer is designed to fit with the collar on the battery and gives the whole system a 3 step tapered appearance.  Unlike the eGo, there is no cone, but rather a handy cap that snaps over the atomizer and cartridge assembly.  The cap features a pen clip that gives the electronic cigarette a nice little profile for easy toting around.  Unlike a pen, however, the cap can’t be placed on the battery end for storage when not in use.

What’s in the box
The LEA came in a nice two piece box with a sliding outer shell.  The packaging gave the whole thing a very nice presentation.  Inside was the electronic cigarette with cap and under the felt cover holding the PV were two boxes for accessories and cartridges.  In total the kit came with:

  • 1 650mAh battery
  • 1 atomizer
  • 6 empty tanks (5 in the box, 1 installed in the e cig already)
  • 1 retractable USB cable
  • 1 AC to USB wall charger
  • 1 cap with pen-style clip
Compatibility
As I may have mentioned before, I’m sort of a fan of eGo batteries.  Naturally, my inclination is to then think of the LEA as an eGo kit.  That is a wrong assumption, there are some notable compatibility issues between standard eGos and this kit.  Most notably, the collar designed for the pen cap means that some atomizers and cartomizers won’t correctly fit on the LEA.
Rocking the Iken Cannon
In my testing, I specifically found that Giantomizers will not connect to the battery at all, the storm tank fits, but results in an incredibly tight draw.  A couple of others actually fit better than they do on an eGo battery, most notably the IkenVape Cannon and 3.5ml dual coil cartomizer look like they were made for the LEA.
The good news is a simple 510 to 510 adapter should clear up the fit issues for most accessories.  The bad news is that the nifty pen cap, one of the signature features of the LEA will probably only work with the included atomizer and tanks.
Performance
The LEA is sold as a tank kit, so a big chunk of the performance of this electronic cigarette is going to be dependent on the included tank atomizer and tanks.  From a reliability standpoint, the tanks are awesome, they do not leak at all, and wicking performance is fantastic.  I had a hard time getting a dry hit out of the tank even when doing it on purpose.
I’ve not used a standard eGo Tank system, but reading others opinions and my experience with the LEA tells me that the vaping experience is very similar.  Compared to large tank atomizers and cartomizers, the tiny capacity (less than 1/2ml) means frequent refills for chain vapers.
  • Medium draw resistance
  • Excellent vapor production
  • Moderate throat hit
  • Somewhat muted flavor
Aside from the slight downgrade in flavor and throat hit performance, the vaping experience is sublime.  The battery portion of the equation works out very well.  The battery construction is solid, this thing can probably handle a few drops from the table. The finish on the battery is rubberized giving the unit a nice, finished feel.  The indicator light on the button goes from green on a full charge, to  yellow, to red when it’s time to recharge.  Of course since it’s a passthrough, you can continue to vape while you recharge.
The only thing I thought a little odd is when I first recharged the battery, the light stayed a solid green and then went out when charged. After that it used the same indicators while charging, going from red to green when finished.
Light color anomalies aside, in total, the Innokin LEA is a very nice tank-style kit.  The additional little features set it apart from your average eGo kit.  The overall kit is solid and stylish, although adding a 510 to 510 adapter may throw the looks off a little bit.
I just like the USB cable
You may also like:  CE3 XL Clearomizers Review - Better than the Smokymizer?

Too Long; Didn’t Read
The Innokin LEA starter kit is a tank based electronic cigarette similar to the eGo-T tank kits. Additional features like a nifty pen cap, USB pass through charging and a multi-color LED button help the LEA stand out from the pack.  An adapter may be required if you wish to stray from the included tank atomizer in search of flavor and throat hit improvement in your vape.

Pros:

  • Attractive design with the pen-style cap
  • USB pass-through charging
  • Battery level indicator via activation button
  • Solid design, no leaks in tank system
Cons:
  • Not 100% eGo compatible
  • Muted flavor and throat hit with included atomizer
  • No place to put pen cap or USB cover when not needed
  • Pen Cap won’t fit most other atomizer/cartomizers
Rating: From this article going forward, I have decided to stop applying ratings to reviews.  I found them somewhat arbitrary based on my personal tastes.  Rather, I think that you as a reader are capable of drawing your own decisions based on the details I’ve provided in each article.  Do you agree or disagree?  Let me know in the comments below!

Details:
Product: Innokin LEA
Manufacturer: Innokin
Distributed by: Bogetech
Avilable at: eLiquid Planet
Price: $50(ish)
Full Disclosure: The LEA used for this review was provided as a review sample by the distributor, Bogetech at my request.

Steve K

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9 Comments

  • Terraphon

    (11/29/99 - 2:00 pm)

    Heya Steve. Glad we were able to talk. Just wanted to comment that there seems to be an issue with the Lea, which I have been able to reproduce on 2 units, so far. If you have the unit plugged in to the passthrough and manipulate the button it can get stuck in "on" mode, cooking the atomizer ad-infinitum. It seems that over-manipulation of the button breaks the programming and allows the unit to get stuck when trying to turn it "off" while on the passthrough. Innokin says the 12 second cutoff should kick in but I've shown that it can go much, MUCH longer.While I don't think this is an earth shattering issue, it's something I believe all Lea owners and potential Lea owners should be aware of. It's a potential hazard so I just want to make sure the community is informed and knows to be careful.Here's links to the videos.The original review, where the issue was discovered :

    follow up, prompted by comments made by Innokin :

  • Steve K

    (11/29/99 - 2:00 pm)

    Thanks for the update. I sat there watching your video, playing along at home. Fortunately, I wasn't able to replicate the issue, so it might not be across the board. I did have the opposite issue where it would turn off and wouldn't turn back on until USB was disconnected. Thanks for the heads up as users of this device should be aware there is a potential issue.

  • Terraphon

    (11/29/99 - 2:00 pm)

    Hey again, Steve. I got another Lea from Innokin, through one of the distributors and got a chance to test it and I am happy to report that the battery issue with the Lea appears to be fixed. They made some changes to the programming so that now, if you attempt to "turn off" the Lea while it's plugged in, it will disable the switch and shut down the battery.In my opinion, this is a WIN for vapers, everywhere. It's shown that the manufacturers are willing to listen to the community and make the appropriate changes to ensure their devices are safe.Here's the video update .http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G54kIqy6n0ACheers!

  • Steve K

    (11/29/99 - 2:00 pm)

    That's awesome news! Thanks for updating.

  • Sébastien

    (03/14/12 - 8:57 pm)

    Hi steve
    I havé a problem with my lea innokin 800 , it s leaking from the hole why ?????

  • Jamie

    (05/30/12 - 3:24 am)

    Any idea when they will release the infinity (not sure if that is the name) but it is square? i love the look of it!!!

  • Jamie

    (05/30/12 - 3:27 am)

    Sorry…I forgot to click notify me of replies on this question!! respond to this post..hopefully I can not activate my first comment. Any idea when they will release the infinity (not sure if that is the name) but it is square? i love the look of it!!!

    • Steve K

      (05/30/12 - 5:37 am)

      Yeah they wanted to be different and make it square I guess. I'm all for it because my stuff rolls off the table all the time :)

      Anyway, they should be out now if not within the next week or so. Check whitestagvapor.com and see if they're in stock. I should be getting my review sample today, but I won't have a review out for a couple of weeks since I'll be on vacation next week.

Comments are closed.