Eleaf iStick T80 Kit Review

The Eleaf iStick T80 kit arrives five years after the birth of their iStick mini 10W internal battery mod. A lot of vape has passed through their tanks since then!

After the success of the iStick Mini, the iStick 20W, 30W and the classic iStick 50W swiftly followed on its heels. As the need for more powerful devices increased, so did Eleafs reputation.

They were soon regarded as manufacturers that offered ease of use, great performance and value for money.

The iStick T80 is the latest in a line of integrated battery kits such as the NOWOS, Amnis and Rim kit, which shares the same maximum power output and battery capacity.

What Can We Expect from the iStick T80 Kit by Eleaf?

The iStick T80 comes in two variations. There’s the standard version and the childproof version. The only thing that differentiates the two is the locking mechanism on the top cap of the latter.

Should the unthinkable happen and the battery or tank fail it’s worth noting they can both be purchased separately.

Kit colours are available in Black, Blue, Silver, Rose Gold, Grey and Red. I’ve received the Silver even though I actually like the Rose Gold design. It helps brings out the feminine side of me!

Expect the iStick T80 kit to provide ample battery life under moderate use thanks to the large 3000mah internal battery. The resistance of the included coils also look well matched, always a good sign when purchasing a kit.

You may need regular juice refills using the preinstalled 2ml (TPD compliant) glass section if you’re a chain vaper. Eleaf have provided a 5ml version in the box to alleviate much of this annoyance.

Finally, the iStick T80 kit looks compact and portable. The aluminium alloy build of the mod will ensure durability and resistance to quite a few knocks.

I would like to thank Eleaf for sending this product for the purposes of review. It’s very much appreciated but as always iStick to my own thoughts and opinions!

The childproof version is under the spotlight during this review. As previously stated there are minimal differences between this and the standard version.

What’s in the Box?

The box contents for both standard and childproof version are identical and you will find:

• iStick T80
• Pesso Tank (2ml glass installed)
• Spare 5ml glass
• EF 0.3ohm kanthal coil rated 30-60W
• EF-M 0.6ohm SS316L mesh coil rated 18-35W (installed)
• USB Type C charging cable
• Spare O rings and fill gasket
• 2 User manual
• Warranty card

iStick T80 kit Specs

I mentioned that both the T80 battery and Pesso tank can be purchased separately. Let’s look at their individual specs.

iStick T80 mod

• Width 36mm. Diameter 28mm. Height 78mm.
• Weight 120g.
• 3000mah internal battery.
• 1-80W power output.
• Type C USB charging port.
• Aluminium alloy build.
• Built in circuit protection.
• OLED screen display.

Pesso Tank

• Diameter 25mm
• Diameter 28mm with 5ml glass tube
• Height 57mm
• Weight 66g
• 2ml / 5ml E-liquid capacity
• Available in black or silver
• Top fill child proof slide mechanism

Design and Build Quality

Eleaf tell us that the weight of the T80 battery is almost twice that of the supplied Pesso tank. I have serious reservations about that when holding them both.

To me, the tank feels heavier being steel as opposed to the aluminium alloy body of the T80. Consequently when combined as a kit the Pesso feels slightly top heavy, even without e-liquid.

(Having weighed both the tank and T80, I can confirm that the manufacturer specs are indeed correct! It’s all about mass, distribution and volume, apparently.. but you’re not here for the physics lesson! lol)

The Eleaf T80 Battery

It feels very comfortable in the hand and all chrome buttons are easy to access. The fire button (located at the top) is of ample size and very responsive. A black plastic trim runs down the front which helps when reading the OLED display.

Featuring some scratch inducing chrome plating on the top, the spring loaded 510 pin is off centred. This allows the Pesso tank to sit flush to the rear of the T80. Something of a familiar arrangement across the iStick range of devices.

Two smaller chrome plated menu function buttons (commonly referred to as + and -) can be found under the main display screen and the USB connecting port is rather sensibly placed below these, allowing the device to sit in a vertical position when charging.

The underside reveals more of the infamous Eleaf chrome plating and two banks of three venting ports for the internal battery, offering a degree of assurance should the built in circuit protection fail in any way.

How To Use The Eleaf iStick T80

The iStick T80 uses the usual five clicks of the fire button to power on, five clicks to power off. No shock value to be found here!

To select vaping mode:

• Press the fire button three times.
• Press the + or –  button to cycle through the various vape modes.
• Hit the fire button to select mode of choice.
• When in the selected mode use the + or – buttons to make further adjustments.

Other settings

• Press and hold the fire and + button simultaneously to allow adjustments

Using other settings allows you to view product version, battery level, preheat settings and stealth mode among others.

Responsive

The battery is incredibly responsive. Turning the device on and off is instant. There’s no unnecessary welcome or goodbye messages meaning zero boot up time wasted.

Power adjustment between 1-20W is displayed in increments of .1 for those wishing to use a dedicated mouth to lung tank and scrolling beyond to 80W is quick. There’s no round robin feature but there’s really no need for it.

Screen brightness is adequate but suffers somewhat in direct sunlight. Eleaf have not provided a brightness control feature but in all fairness this is to the benefit of battery life.

The OLED display is otherwise quite large and readable.

Screen Display in Wattage Mode

• Battery status icon
• Coil resistance
• Voltage output
• Amp draw (only available while vaping)
• Wattage output
• Vape time (only available while vaping)

(NB: The display information will differ, depending on the settings you make).

Charging Time | Battery Life

Testing the type C charging, I was able to bring the iStick T80 back to full battery strength in just over an hour which is quite impressive.

During charge the screen will remain illuminated displaying the current battery status.

When fully charged the battery icon bars will continue to flash until you remove the USB cable.

Expect battery life to last around a day/day and a half under moderate vaping conditions and using the included coils.

Short circuit protection features

• Resistance 0.05ohm – 3.0ohm
• If the vaping time exceeds ten seconds the device cuts off automatically
• In the event of a short circuit the screen will display “Atomizer short”
• When the device voltage falls below 3.3V the device will power off. Time to recharge the battery.

The Eleaf Pesso Tank

This is a dedicated sub ohm tank that also has airflow features to suit the mouth to lung vaper.

More: Mouth to Lung Vs Direct to Lung Vaping

It’s constructed of a stainless steel body with pyrex glass tubing (2ml/5ml) and a rather bland, basic 510 drip tip. No doubt you will be reaching for a suitable replacement of your own!

The threading on the deck is very poor. It’s loud and crunchy during maintenance and I experienced a fair deal of resistance during periods of assembly.

There are two large cycloptic airflow ports on the control ring that provide plenty of vaping options and adjustment is buttery smooth.

The glass tube is held in place by a very strong O ring under the top cap. So much so that I was unable to release it! There’s also a removable knurled ring at the base together with two more O rings to ensure a leak free seal.

Featuring dual O rings that look quite delicate, the coils refuse to lock into place when installing inside the chimney for “plug and play”.

Air pressure inside the chimney forces them to spring out so they are entirely reliant on the tank deck for securing. More on this later.

How to Install & Replace the Eleaf Pesso coil

1. Unscrew the base of the tank from the main body.
2. Push the coil up and into the chimney of the tank.
3. Screw the deck of the tank back into place.

As a general rule of thumb I always prime the coil prior to fitting. Simply place a few drops of e-liquid onto the exposed areas of cotton on the coil before installing.

How to Fill the Pesso Tank

1. Locate the child proof pin on the top cap. Push and hold in.
2. Slide the top cap back at the position of the red marker.
3. With the juice port now exposed, push the nozzle of e-liquid bottle into the rubber gasket and gently fill.
4. Push the top cap back until it clicks into place.

Allow the e-liquid to soak into the cotton for five to ten minutes before taking your first vape. This will prevent any dry hits or early burning of the coil.

How Does the Eleaf iStick T80 Perform?

The Eleaf iStick T80 kit comes with the 0.6ohm stainless steel mesh coil pre installed so let’s start here.

0.6ohm EF-M Stainless Steel Mesh Coil (rated 18-35w)

It wasn’t the greatest of starts for the partnership of the iStick T80 and Pesso sub ohm tank.

The coil resistance was jumping all over the place! It started with 0.75ohm, jumped up to 0.88, dropped to 0.86 and settled for 0.77ohm. I decided to opt for a conservative 30W output which placed me inside comfortable limits for the coil.

Cuttwood Sugar Drizzle (70VG/30PG) was used for testing.

The tank was producing a medium amount of vapour across the less restrictive airflow settings. Nothing to write home about.

The caramelised sugar cane was most effective on a semi restrictive setting and cloud production was more effective.

Reducing the airflow to a single pinhole slot provided a mouth to lung experience but resulted in an unpleasant throat hit with flavour being almost completely lost.

Having used this coil for a few days I’ve found it to provide very little satisfaction. There’s almost a diluted taste to the flavour and there’s no warmth to the vape.

In all honesty for a mesh coil, I feel this one is under performing. It certainly isn’t bringing out the flavour notes I was expecting from this type of coil.

0.3ohm EF Kanthal coil (rated 30-60w)

100 Large Banana Haze (70VG/30PG) was used to test this standard kanthal coil featuring significantly more power capability.

Shooting at a conservative 50W.

As with the mesh coil, there’s minimum restriction with the airflow wide open. It’s a very airy draw and again, quite loud. The flavour was muted with the faintest hint of ripe banana appearing on the exhale.

Cloud production was better than that of the 0.6ohm coil but again I experienced a dull and cold vape.

Mid airflow setting and the flavour (for want of a better word) was marginally improved but still somewhat muted and the tank also became warm to the touch. Cloud production was now dense and more satisfying.

Attempting a mouth to lung with this coil is absolutely pointless. Within seconds the tank became very hot to the touch and there was absolutely no flavour production. I may as well be vaping heated air!

Although the screen display read 0.25ohm, the only positive from this kanthal coil was that the resistance remained the same. Instead of jumping around like Zebedee on acid!

It may be possible the fluctuations in coil resistances were due to the apparent tightness within the chimney itself. Both prebuilt coils only held in place when the base was screwed back on.

There could also be an issue with the actual contact on the inside of the base, although I found no obvious signs of damage.

In general, there’s very little to separate the poor performance experienced between the mesh and the regular kanthal coil. The majority of the time I received a cold, flavourless vape.

When switching to the MTL option there was a rapid build up of heat and a total loss of flavour. Cloud production was average to good for a sub ohm tank.

Pros

• Instant power on/power off.
• Very responsive buttons.
• Ample battery venting.
• Fast Type C charging.
• Minimal leaking (occasional residue around the top cap. None from bottom airflow)

Cons

• Tank will attempt to unthread from base while removing from battery.
• The threads of the base are noisy and crunchy during maintenance.
• Impossible to remove the included 2ml glass.
• The 0.6ohm mesh coil under performs.
• The 0.3ohm kanthal coil produces poor flavour.
• Unsightly child lock pin and red arrow indicator on top cap. (Subjective con)
• 2ml tank drains very quickly. You’ll be forever filling the Pesso tank.

Final Review Verdict

To be honest, I feel let down. Not so much by the iStick T80 but the Pesso tank.

It’s far too easy to start unscrewing the base instead of removing the tank from the battery.

The threads on the base itself are very crunchy and feel like they’re going to strip after a very short period of time.

Try as I might, I was unable to remove the pre installed glass for fear of breaking it and the child proof safety pin on the top cap is unsightly, as is the red arrow indicator. I’m very much reminded of those old fashioned hot water basin or bath taps of the 70’s! lol

The Pesso, for me, is one of the worst sub ohm tanks I’ve used. It’s very much like stepping back in time as opposed to the innovation of the last few years. I attribute the failure of the coils partially to their tight fit when plugged into the chimney.

It can’t be the juice flow itself as there are four sizeable ports incorporated into the chimney itself.

It’s clear why both the tank and battery can be purchased separately. The solid performance of the T80 is wasted on such an awful tank that not only has design faults but coils that fail to deliver.

Would I Recommend the Eleaf iStick T80 Kit?

In kit form I cannot recommend this to any vaper out there. My reasons are due to the Pesso tank alone. It’s a crying shame because the T80 battery as a standalone product is very good and functions admirably well.

Yes, the spray coat finish is prone to knocks just as the chrome plating is bound to scratch early doors. All purely aesthetics.

I just don’t think Eleaf did themselves a favour by including a tank that performs so miserably. I’m off to wash my hands of it. Where’s the hot tap?

Did you buy the Eleaf T80 kit? What did you think? Let us know in the comments below!