Smok I-Priv Review – Iron Man Inspired

Even a blind man standing a mile away will be able to see that the Smok I-Priv takes direct inspiration from Iron Man of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. From the colorful chrome-like finish to the aggressive and futuristic design that very closely resembles the Marvel superhero’s power armor, the mod definitely has a very niche appeal when it comes to the overall aesthetic design. Even the color screen on the Smok I-Priv heavily mirrors the arc reactor located on Iron Man’s chest.

While Iron Man fans might think to rejoice at this very moment that a mod has finally been designed to cater to their needs, its all bad news from here on out, unfortunately. The shiny and shimmery finish is easily marred by fingerprints, the overall feel is far from great, and the build quality of the entire kit acts as the antithesis to how durable actual power armor is supposed to be.

For starters, it’s practically impossible to keep the mod looking nice and clean. Aside from the fingerprints that inevitably find their way onto the device, there are simply way too many nooks and crannies that easily attract and catch dirt. While some might say that proper maintenance and cleaning should come normally to any device, the Smok I-Priv makes it a lot harder as getting to those small flecks of grime, lint, debris, or any other detritus proves to be quite a challenge thanks to the mods unconventionally “non-flat” surface. 

If you’ve been using big box mods with 510 carts it may be time to look for something smaller, most vapers tend to start with Linx Hermes 3 for their oil because it’s much more compact than a mod.

While you might think that many of these issues are only skin deep and don’t necessarily affect the performance or functionality of the kit, it doesn’t end there, unfortunately. The battery door meant to keep the batteries from falling out of the mod feels remarkably loose and rattly and doesn’t inspire confidence at all that your precious (and volatile) batteries aren’t going to go “KER-SPLAT” on the ground at any given moment.

The 510 connection is similarly plagued with basic quality control issues such as imperfect machining resulting in a very rough connection between the device and the Prince tank included in the kit. While the latter doesn’t affect the performance in any noticeable way, it still detracts from the overall fit and finish of the kit.

Thankfully, Smok opted to go for a more tried and tested tank to be bundled with the kit. The included TFV12 Prince tank vapes like a wonder and most of that is due to its large air chamber and the strip and mesh coils that come with the kit. Rated at a very low resistance of 0.15-ohms, these coils are power hogs.

But what you get out of that is more e-liquid vaporized, more flavor, and of course, more clouds. The new coil designs also have the advantage of having a much larger surface area for heating and vaporizing your chosen e-liquids, and this results in a much more even and consistent vaping experience.

The TFV12 Prince tank also as the benefit of having a fully adjustable airflow system that allows you fine tune how restricted or loose you want your pulls to be, and a simple rotation of the airflow ring is all that’s required to make these adjustments. The tank is also virtually leak-proof thanks to the top-fill mechanism that all your precious e-liquid stays in the tank and only exits as pure vapor from the heat insulating drip tip that comes with the kit.

Ease of Use

Voice commands aside, the Smok I-Priv functions just like any other box mod. While familiarizing yourself with the basic functions of the device is far from a challenge, getting more in-depth with the complex features does have a slight learning curve. This is where the convenience of the voice commands come in to play.

When switching vaping modes, for example, it’s become standard practice to click the fire button thrice then use the up/down buttons to cycle between the various vaping modes. This becomes less tedious with the voice commands as simply using the voice command “Wattage Mode” or “TC Mode” automatically switches the mod over to the corresponding vaping mode with considerably less input required.

When it comes to the overall maintenance of the kit, it’s a pretty straight-forward and simple affair. The Prince tank uses a sliding push mechanism on top of the tank making quick refills easy and painless, while the large 8ml tank capacity ensures that you won’t find yourself refilling the tank all too often. The on-screen display also does a good job of quickly conveying important information such as the individual life of each of the dual battery cells used, helping you stay on top of the mods condition pretty easily.

While the build quality of the Smok I-Priv definitely has a lot of room for improvement, it’s pretty safe to say that this isn’t necessarily a kit for the serious vaping enthusiast. It does its jobs well enough as a high powered box mod and also a conversation piece for die-hard Marvel fans.

While the voice command feature might seem like a gimmick at first, there are scenarios that speaking to the mod has its advantages over pressing a series of buttons that might be hard to memorize for more casual users.

If you are looking for the most portable and straightforward unit we would probably chalk that up to the Kandypens Rubi. If you are looking for a mod-style vape to start with we suggest checking out the Smok X-Priv.

We hope you enjoyed reading our Smok I-Priv review! We would love to hear from you! Feel free to leave a comment in the section below, you can do so anonymously ;) Thanks for reading and as always, keep vapin’! 😉