SMOK XPRO M65 Review | A Compact Vape Mod That Fails To Deliver

Coming as an update to the Mini 65 watt box mod, Smoktech brings you the XPRO M65.

What Can We Expect From The SMOK Xpro M65?

This very small mod is constructed from aluminium and zinc alloy to ensure it is extremely light even with the 18650 battery that is needed to power the device.

It has been designed to handle up to 65 watts but will you actually ever get 65 watts of power from it?

That is the most important question here. Lets take a look.

The SMOK XPRO M65 features:

• Aluminium and zinc alloy construction
• Spring loaded brass pin
• OLED Display Screen
• Variable Wattage
• 6-65w output
• Resistance range: 0.2-4.0 ohm
• Dimensions: 85mm height, 38mm width, 22mm depth
• Supports Micro USB charging
• High Temperature protection
• Mech Mode and VW mode options
• DC-DC Flat Signal
• Requires 1x 18650 battery. Rated for 16 amps or better
• Short circuit and low resistance protection

In The Box:

• 1x XPRO M65 mod
• 1x Micro USB charging cable
• 1x 510 Ego Adapter
• 1x Allen Key
• 1x Spare Silicon Button (Was not included with the review item)
• Spare Hex screws
• 1x User Manual
• 1x Warning card stating that the battery should not be changed frequently and that the battery used must have a current output higher than 16 amps.

The SMOK XPRO M65 actually looks rather nice:

In terms of aesthetics this mod definitely looks good. It is a compact size comparable to an iStick 30w. It fits the hand nicely, feels comfortable and is extremely light.

The buttons on the whole don’t have a bad feel to them. I would say the plus button is rather stiff compared to the others. The problem though is when you give the mod a light shake you can hear the buttons rattle.

It is a known issue that the firing button is prone to falling out which is why Smoktech included the silicon one, sadly this was absent from the review item.

The display is certainly clear enough and displays all the required information. I have read accounts of the resistance reading being very inaccurate on some of these but the review version seems to be free of this problem.

The spring loaded 510 pin works as you’d expect and the various tanks and RDA’s I have tried on this mod have all fitted without issue but not everything sits flush. There was a noticeable gap of about 3mm when fitting the Freemax Starre tank. Its not the worst gap I have seen and you could certainly live with it.

The top and bottom of the mod are something of a fingerprint magnet. They seem to get very dirty extremely quickly.

So on the whole this appears to be a reasonable mod except:

Firstly the battery compartment which requires you to unscrew the hex screws with the Allen Key before you can insert a battery.

If that sounds like something of a chore then be assured it most certainly is. While there are four actual holes only two screws were actually fitted, so either this was changed at the last minute because Smoktech thought it would be too much effort to undo four hex screws or they are simply missing.

Why Smoktech felt this was a good idea to design the battery compartment this way I will never know but its a real pain to swap your batteries.

What is worse is that the device is actually active once you are trying to screw down the base of the mod after you have put the battery in. I have read reports of sparks flying out and the possibility of shorting occurring.

Thankfully I did not encounter these problems but the design lends itself to suggest that these issues could crop up.

Even more troubling is upon inspecting the inside of the battery compartment lid I noticed a lot of scorch marks around the vents.

If I didn’t know better I would speculate a battery had vented in there at some point. The scorch marks are ground in and there is no way of polishing the mod up. Appallingly enough this is how the device arrived for review and I find that rather shameful to be honest.

I am also not keen on the fact that the circuit board is clearly exposed when accessing the battery compartment, it should ideally be protected in some way and the fact that the wiring sits so close to the battery is troubling.

XPRO M65 Operating Procedure:

• Standard five clicks to switch the device on. Five clicks also locks and unlocks the device
• Three clicks swaps to the Mech Mod/VW option, then with a press of the plus button and a short delay the device changes mode.
• Completely switching off the device is only achieved by navigating to Menu Mode 2 otherwise it will just go into standby mode.
• Wattage is adjusted by the plus and minus buttons.

So How Does the SMOK M65 Perform?

Sadly its not what you’d really expect. I fitted my Derringer to it, the RDA currently has a 0.9 ohm single coil build in it. I set the M65 to 65 watts and upon pressing the fire button it immediately dropped to 60 watts.

With the fire button still pressed and still not getting a vape the device then decided to drop to 55 watts before finally choosing to let me vape.

I had previously read reports of this issue occurring but actually witnessing it in action really is most undesirable.

I put this first test aside as a one off experience and then tried the Tobeco Turbine RDA that I am currently reviewing. The Turbine was fitted with a 0.8 ohm single coil. Once again I started at 65 watts, it dropped to 60 watts, then 55 watts and finally 50 watts before it actually let me vape.

This is frankly abysmal. Who could possibly want a device that claims to be 65 watt capable but can’t even be vaped at a consistent wattage by the user since the on board wattage reduction wizard automatically decides for you.

Clearly then this is not really a 65 watt device since it continually wants to only let me use my RDA’s at 50 watts.

I only have managed to get 60 watts once in the time I have spent using it but it didn’t let me stay at that wattage for long. However 65 watts seems unobtainable.

According to Smoktech the logic behind all this wattage reduction is to save on battery life but I find the concept itself utterly absurd.

If the wattage drop only occurred at set battery charge levels then it would make some kind of sense, say when the battery reaches 50% or 25% charge but to do it immediately with good quality batteries that have come straight off the charger is a deal breaker.

The problem is exactly the same with both my Samsung 25R’s and my Sony VTC4’s. I think someone needs to inform Smoktech that their device is not functioning correctly.

To be completely fair though the device offers a decent vape at whatever wattage level it decides you are worthy of receiving but the real problem is the wattage reduction kicks in more and more as the battery drains further.

This is not a good device for almost every vaper because just about every other similar device on the market will give you a continual wattage until the battery runs out.

Is the XPRO M65 worth it?

Absolutely not. It doesn’t work as advertised and the 65 watt limit is not actually accurate.

The button rattle, the hex screw battery compartment, the nasty scorching found on the battery compartment interior all say to me that this is a poor device.

When you add in the wattage reduction mode and the rather dicey way the mod is active when screwing in the battery compartment lid I would urge you to keep well away from this product.

The circuit board inside the compartment isn’t protected either and the wires in there sit very close to the battery contact points which is just another fault to list with all the others.

Its a shame because the actual design in terms of being a lightweight device could have been a winner and perhaps it would have been if more thought had been applied to it.

I think if Smoktech want to continue development of this mod that they should make the battery compartment hinged or fit magnets. They also need to fix the poor quality button rattle.

The auto wattage reduction also needs to go or at the very least be tweaked so as not to irritate users.

The scorching inside the mod is troubling and if this is a common occurrence then they also need to look at their production standards.

If I had bought this device from a vendor I would certainly be sending it back.

Pros

• Light, compact design
• Good clear display

Cons

• Battery compartment access is annoying
• Poor quality standards, buttons rattle, interior scorching, firing button prone to dropping out
• Exposed circuit board that should be isolated from the battery
• Device will not let you vape at the desired wattage
• Not all devices sit flush
• Not truly 65 watt capable

Final Thoughts:

This had the potential to be a very compact and handy 65 watt device but due to all the problems highlighted it is very substandard. One to avoid.

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