Hi Vaping Underground members, In this review i take a look at the Defender 80W TC Kit from Starss. The Defender 80W TC Kit was supplied for the purpose of this review by Rebort from Starss.
https://www.starssvape.com/products/defender-kit.html
Introduction
Starss mainly come to the attention for their recent pod devices most noticeably the Bravo, but in the past have also designed a few mods. The Defender Kit comprises of the very familiar looking Defender Mod which was available in the past on it's own as simply the Starss 80W TC Mod and the Defender Tank which uses mesh coils and has a propeller top-fill design. The Defender is described as having a Hybrid Stone construction with Gold accents in the way of face plate, 510 plate, battery plate, visible battery tube through the spine cutouts and fire button.
The defender has power, bypass and TC modes and the colour screen can be customised by altering the RGB values. It's a gorgeous looking device and for those that cry out but it's not an original design please read the next section then i'll crack on with the review!
___________________________________________________________________
It's The CKS VR Stride! Or Is It?
Apart from the cut-outs extending completely around the spine (giving it superior ergonomics) and a less busy working screen the Defender is identical both aesthetically and functionality wise including the menu system to whatever VR Stride you might of seen in the past.
This nearly left me with egg on the face as i originally was going to criticise the copying of the Stride which Asmodus couldn't seem to make their mind up who they were in collaboration with as it was released in various reincarnations the most recent to my knowledge being the CKS VR Stride.
I did some research to find out just how identical the devices are and noticed on all the other Stride devices including the CKS Stride when the battery plate is removed it clearly say's "Designed by Starss" and also any videos for the Starss 80W TC Mod (the original name of the Defender) are previous to the stride so actually the Defender isn't a copy but is the original and still available!
___________________________________________________________________
In The Box
Contents:
1 x STARSS Defender Mod
1 x STARSS Defender Tank
1 x STARSS V8 Mesh Coil 0.5ohm(pre-installed)
1 x Spare 5ml glass
1 x User Manual
1 x Micro USB Cable
1 x Battery Warning Card
___________________________________________________________________
Aesthetics and Ergonomics
The Defender Mod and Tank are packed in separate cardboard boxes and an outer cardboard sleeve binds the 2 together to complete the kit. In my opinion the device looks stunning in all colour versions with what is said to be an Hybrid Stone (not sure of the actual material) finish with plenty of shiny metallic Gold sections, the stone type material is polished and looks great when the light catches it! I received the Green version but it's also available in Black, Blue, Red, and Dark Green, all versions come with a Gold Defender Tank.
The top has a cut corner where it meets the face of the device and on this slant is where we find the large, domed, Gold fire button with Gold rim. The face of the device has an indented Gold coloured metallic plate which has the Starss logo etched top followed by a decent sized colour screen, this is followed by round, Gold navigational buttons and finally at the bottom a micro USB port. The rest of the body of the device is the Hybrid Stone finish apart from the spine having 3 large cutout sections which extend partially around the sides, the cutouts reveal the Gold outside of the battery tube. The base has a Gold coloured sliding plate with grooves for finger grip and venting, moving up top we have a Gold coloured 510 plate with inner and outer rim, the 510 is Gold plated and spring loaded.
The Defender is a thumb firer all the way with the fire button being in the perfect position and cutouts are perfect for resting your 3 main fingers while also giving grip.
___________________________________________________________________
Defender Tank Specs and Features:
Size: 26 x 53.5ml
Capacity: 5ml
Coil: V8 Mesh Coil 0.5ohm
Also 0.2ohm Mesh Coil available
Propeller top-fill design
Bottom airflow
Thread: 510
Colour: Gold
___________________________________________________________________
Defender Tank Overview
The Defender Tank comes in Gold only which matches the metallic parts of the device, it's 25mm at it's base and 26mm at it's widest. This slight bulge to the glass is barely noticeable and unless looking closely you would think it's a straight glass however the bulge is still enough to give the Defender Tank a 5ml capacity, a spare glass is also included.
The included coil is a pre-installed 0.5ohm kanthal (i beleive) mesh coil but although there is also a 0.2ohm Mesh coil option for the tank it's not included in fact the pre-installed coil is the only one provided which is just not good enough. The coil screws into the base section and the top of the coil has threads which screw on to the chimney when screwing the tank secure, the glass is secured and sealed top and bottom by o-rings.
The tank has dual airflow slots with stoppers and when i first received the tank the control ring squeaked like a Mouse every time i turned it which went right through me, i also couldn't seem to remove it to try lubrication to solve the problem. In the end just out of desperation i aggressively adjusted the airflow stopper to stopper as quick as i could for a good minute which seemed to of adjusted the squeak out as afterwards adjusting is now silent and the Mouse hasn't returned.
Up top we have got what looks to be a very nice Resin 510 drip tip but is quite short, their is no tapering from the top section of the tank to the drip tip so lips will constantly be touching the tank which i really don't like especially once a tank gets hot! Not a problem, i thought as i can just fit my own drip tip but then found it's fitted like a sleeve over a protruding tubular section with o-rings so a proprietary fit which is a big con for me personally.
I do like the idea of the top-fill method, it's like a 3 blade propeller design and when turning (we have an arrow on the top section to show the direction to open) 2 of the 3 blades reveal they were covering silicone lined fill holes (it's less than a quarter turn), just press your nozzle into one hole to fill while air escapes from the other. From shut empty tank to shut full tank this must be as quick and easy to fill as any tank available but we have a problem! When turning the top to open or shut it's loose and i mean very loose, if this was much tighter or better still locked this would be one of the best tanks for filling instead i will not use the tank out and about when it will spend time in my pocket because it isn't a case of if but rather how often this tank is going to open in someone's pocket!
___________________________________________________________________
Defender 80W TC Mod Specs and Features:
Size: 90 x 45 x 26mm
Hybrid Stone and metallic plate
Wattage Range: 5.0W - 80W
Battery: 1 x 18650 Cell (Not included)
Temperature Range: 200°F - 600°F / 100°C - 315°C
Continuous output current: 15 - 20 amps
Atomizer resistance range: 0.1 - 3.0 ohms
Battery input voltage range: 3.3 - 4.2 volts
Conversion efficiency: 93%
Shutdown current: 0.3mA
Output Modes: Power (Wattage), Bypass, Temp Ni/Ti/SS, Soft Mode
Display: 0.99-inch LCD Screen
Charge: Via Micro USB Port
Ergonomic shape for easy carrying
Customizable Colour Display
Thread: Spring-loaded 510 Pin
Colours: Black, Blue, Red, Green, Dark Green
___________________________________________________________________
Review Continued Below:
https://www.starssvape.com/products/defender-kit.html
Introduction
Starss mainly come to the attention for their recent pod devices most noticeably the Bravo, but in the past have also designed a few mods. The Defender Kit comprises of the very familiar looking Defender Mod which was available in the past on it's own as simply the Starss 80W TC Mod and the Defender Tank which uses mesh coils and has a propeller top-fill design. The Defender is described as having a Hybrid Stone construction with Gold accents in the way of face plate, 510 plate, battery plate, visible battery tube through the spine cutouts and fire button.
The defender has power, bypass and TC modes and the colour screen can be customised by altering the RGB values. It's a gorgeous looking device and for those that cry out but it's not an original design please read the next section then i'll crack on with the review!
___________________________________________________________________
It's The CKS VR Stride! Or Is It?
Apart from the cut-outs extending completely around the spine (giving it superior ergonomics) and a less busy working screen the Defender is identical both aesthetically and functionality wise including the menu system to whatever VR Stride you might of seen in the past.
This nearly left me with egg on the face as i originally was going to criticise the copying of the Stride which Asmodus couldn't seem to make their mind up who they were in collaboration with as it was released in various reincarnations the most recent to my knowledge being the CKS VR Stride.
I did some research to find out just how identical the devices are and noticed on all the other Stride devices including the CKS Stride when the battery plate is removed it clearly say's "Designed by Starss" and also any videos for the Starss 80W TC Mod (the original name of the Defender) are previous to the stride so actually the Defender isn't a copy but is the original and still available!
___________________________________________________________________
In The Box
Contents:
1 x STARSS Defender Mod
1 x STARSS Defender Tank
1 x STARSS V8 Mesh Coil 0.5ohm(pre-installed)
1 x Spare 5ml glass
1 x User Manual
1 x Micro USB Cable
1 x Battery Warning Card
___________________________________________________________________
Aesthetics and Ergonomics
The Defender Mod and Tank are packed in separate cardboard boxes and an outer cardboard sleeve binds the 2 together to complete the kit. In my opinion the device looks stunning in all colour versions with what is said to be an Hybrid Stone (not sure of the actual material) finish with plenty of shiny metallic Gold sections, the stone type material is polished and looks great when the light catches it! I received the Green version but it's also available in Black, Blue, Red, and Dark Green, all versions come with a Gold Defender Tank.
The top has a cut corner where it meets the face of the device and on this slant is where we find the large, domed, Gold fire button with Gold rim. The face of the device has an indented Gold coloured metallic plate which has the Starss logo etched top followed by a decent sized colour screen, this is followed by round, Gold navigational buttons and finally at the bottom a micro USB port. The rest of the body of the device is the Hybrid Stone finish apart from the spine having 3 large cutout sections which extend partially around the sides, the cutouts reveal the Gold outside of the battery tube. The base has a Gold coloured sliding plate with grooves for finger grip and venting, moving up top we have a Gold coloured 510 plate with inner and outer rim, the 510 is Gold plated and spring loaded.
The Defender is a thumb firer all the way with the fire button being in the perfect position and cutouts are perfect for resting your 3 main fingers while also giving grip.
___________________________________________________________________
Defender Tank Specs and Features:
Size: 26 x 53.5ml
Capacity: 5ml
Coil: V8 Mesh Coil 0.5ohm
Also 0.2ohm Mesh Coil available
Propeller top-fill design
Bottom airflow
Thread: 510
Colour: Gold
___________________________________________________________________
Defender Tank Overview
The Defender Tank comes in Gold only which matches the metallic parts of the device, it's 25mm at it's base and 26mm at it's widest. This slight bulge to the glass is barely noticeable and unless looking closely you would think it's a straight glass however the bulge is still enough to give the Defender Tank a 5ml capacity, a spare glass is also included.
The included coil is a pre-installed 0.5ohm kanthal (i beleive) mesh coil but although there is also a 0.2ohm Mesh coil option for the tank it's not included in fact the pre-installed coil is the only one provided which is just not good enough. The coil screws into the base section and the top of the coil has threads which screw on to the chimney when screwing the tank secure, the glass is secured and sealed top and bottom by o-rings.
The tank has dual airflow slots with stoppers and when i first received the tank the control ring squeaked like a Mouse every time i turned it which went right through me, i also couldn't seem to remove it to try lubrication to solve the problem. In the end just out of desperation i aggressively adjusted the airflow stopper to stopper as quick as i could for a good minute which seemed to of adjusted the squeak out as afterwards adjusting is now silent and the Mouse hasn't returned.
Up top we have got what looks to be a very nice Resin 510 drip tip but is quite short, their is no tapering from the top section of the tank to the drip tip so lips will constantly be touching the tank which i really don't like especially once a tank gets hot! Not a problem, i thought as i can just fit my own drip tip but then found it's fitted like a sleeve over a protruding tubular section with o-rings so a proprietary fit which is a big con for me personally.
I do like the idea of the top-fill method, it's like a 3 blade propeller design and when turning (we have an arrow on the top section to show the direction to open) 2 of the 3 blades reveal they were covering silicone lined fill holes (it's less than a quarter turn), just press your nozzle into one hole to fill while air escapes from the other. From shut empty tank to shut full tank this must be as quick and easy to fill as any tank available but we have a problem! When turning the top to open or shut it's loose and i mean very loose, if this was much tighter or better still locked this would be one of the best tanks for filling instead i will not use the tank out and about when it will spend time in my pocket because it isn't a case of if but rather how often this tank is going to open in someone's pocket!
___________________________________________________________________
Defender 80W TC Mod Specs and Features:
Size: 90 x 45 x 26mm
Hybrid Stone and metallic plate
Wattage Range: 5.0W - 80W
Battery: 1 x 18650 Cell (Not included)
Temperature Range: 200°F - 600°F / 100°C - 315°C
Continuous output current: 15 - 20 amps
Atomizer resistance range: 0.1 - 3.0 ohms
Battery input voltage range: 3.3 - 4.2 volts
Conversion efficiency: 93%
Shutdown current: 0.3mA
Output Modes: Power (Wattage), Bypass, Temp Ni/Ti/SS, Soft Mode
Display: 0.99-inch LCD Screen
Charge: Via Micro USB Port
Ergonomic shape for easy carrying
Customizable Colour Display
Thread: Spring-loaded 510 Pin
Colours: Black, Blue, Red, Green, Dark Green
___________________________________________________________________
Review Continued Below: