Tube style APVs used to be the lion’s share of the vaporizer market. Lately, it seems that all the cool advanced devices have been more… boxy. Fortunately for fans of tubes, there are devices like the Sigelei 30W that stick to the tried-and-true form factor while including all the new bells and whistles. Let’s do a review of the Sigelei 30W and see if towers above its boxy brethren.
Visit GearBest.com and use the coupon code SIGELEI30PC to get the 30W for just $56.99!
Disclosure: This product was provided by Gearbest for review. This review contains affiliate links.
Sigelei 30W Specs
- 7-30w adjustable wattage
- .5 ohm – 3.0 ohm load capacity
- OLED display
- SX 300 chipset
- IMR 18650 battery required
- Adjustable battery post
- eGo and 510 compatible
Sigelei 30W Review
In the intro, I talked about the 30W as if it were a revolution in design by sticking with the tube form factor. The reality is that this is an older model and predates many of the fancy new devices like the Defender. Considering Sigelei keeps cranking out tube mods, I think that means it’s definitely a design choice.
Unlike a lot of other tubes out there, both mechanical and APV, there’s no telescoping body or modular section. This is strictly designed for 18650 batteries.
You can use any variety of battery (flat top or button) so long as it can handle the higher amperage loads required for 30 watt operation. This is accomplished through what is probably the most annoying feature of this device.
The bottom cap features an adjustable battery contact. Simply loosen or tighten the bottom part of the battery cap to adjust for the height of your battery.
It’s a great idea in theory, but on the 30W I received, the bottom part was so tight from the factory that I had to use tools to break it loose for adjustment. To make matters worse, before I did that It wasn’t apparent to me that the bottom part unscrewed at all, so I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how it works.
My second annoyance with this system is much less important. There’s a dress up ring attached to the bottom cap above the height adjustment. The idea is that you can spin this in place to sort of dress up the gap. It works like the button lock on many mechanical mods.
I hate that style of button lock!
Also, the gap is never quite closed no matter where you put the ring. I think Sigelei should have stuck with a traditional spring in the battery cap.
Since I’m in a complaining mood apparently, I’ll spend a little time on the battery connector. It seems that the threading may be a little shallow. Several of the tanks I’ve used on the Sigelei sit a bit high off the flat-top 510 connector. One of my tanks I really have to screw on tight to get it to recognize the correct resistance.
The positive pin in the battery connector can be adjusted, so perhaps I’m just a touch lazy. I’ll also throw in that you can unscrew the top cap of the battery connector to reveal an eGo connector. That’s a handy feature to be sure.
Moving along from my little rant. Above the battery tube you’ll find the single button located directly above, centered under the OLED display.
Unlike single button APVs of days gone past like the venerable ProVari, the button is not used for voltage adjustment exactly.
In addition to firing the device, the button is also used to enter the menu and lock the device. Three clicks will lock or unlock the 30W while 5 clicks get you into the menu.
Using the menu is a sort of odd experience. You press the fire button to get to the desired menu option. But, to adjust the settings, you tilt the device to the left or the right. A little gravity switch detects the movement and scrolls through the power settings or options until you right the device.
The system works well enough. It’s certainly easier than the frenzy of button pushing found in older single button devices. Some will like the idea while others will likely think it’s more of a novelty and would prefer a couple more buttons. Since I’ve already complained enough in this review, I’ll go ahead and shut up about it.
Above the button section is a black band behind which the OLED sits. The display is fairly typical of a modern device. The current wattage setting is displayed in large font, while other information such as resistance and operating voltage are displayed in a group in smaller font.
Battery life is displayed in both bar graph form as well as the actual output voltage of the battery.
Because the Sigelei uses basically a commodity chip, this display is the same one you’ll find in a lot of devices on the market.
Using the same chip also means that you can expect the same performance as competing box mod devices. Since that’s not necessarily a bad thing, this device is a great option, particularly if you’re a fan of the tub-mod style of personal vaporizer.
As far as the versatility of a 30 watt chip goes, it’s going to depend on your use case. If you plan on belting out ginormous clouds from a .02 ohm RBA, well you’re probably not reading this review. However, for the vast majority of products out there, 30 watts tends to work well.
I find running things like my Lemo, which is an RBA as well as the Kanger Subtank is no problem for the 30W.
While there are a few oddities with the Sigelei 30w like the oddball battery post and the finnicky 510 connector, it’s otherwise a competent midrange device.
Most of the workmanship is decent, although the head unit where the OLED display lives appear to be press fitted. I’d recommend not putting the 30W in situations where you might drop it often.
Indeed the Sigelei 30W and other members of the Sigelei is a great choice if you want to keep that classic tube form factor while not missing out on the performance and tech features of the new generation of variable wattage vaping devices.
You can pick one of these up from GearBest for only $56.99 with coupon code SIGELEI30PC
