Start your vaping engines as we take a look at the eye-catching sporty trio of Rev Tech mods sitting on the starting grid and ready to vape!
This is a kind of preview/quick review first impressions kind of deal – a test drive if you like – given the three mods I received are all pre-retail versions so it’s nigh on impossible for me to fully review them!
The Rev Sport – Nitro and GTS are designed here in the UK and developed out in China by Triangle technology with the aim to bring vape mods to the fans of high performance cars and motor sport.
Given I don’t drive or have any interest whatsoever in motor racing – not since the days of James Hunt anyway – I was the obvious choice to review these bad boys lol!
Put it this way if I had to choose any car it would probably be a battered up old Land Rover with real mud rather than a shiny sporty type 😉
They’re Sporty and Sleek and Modeled On Sports Cars – But How Do They Vape?
Anyway – design wise I think it’s fair to say the Rev Tech pit crew has achieved the dream of a sports car to vaping crossover – especially the Nitro which does look very sporty.
But as I try to tell all the ladies – looks aren’t everything and as always with vaping it’s what’s under the bonnet that counts [do sports cars have bonnets?]
All three have pretty much the same menu system so we’ll look at that first and then a quick first impression/review – and yes they are in order of finishing with the 3rd place first!
The devices were sent to me by Rev Tech free of charge for the purpose of this review and as always my thoughts and opinions are my own.
Right – lets hit the pedal to the metal and see what these bad boys can do!
Retail Version Update [01/11/2017]
OK as I’ve been at pains throughout this pre-review to point out the ones I received were pre-retail however I’m pleased to say the glitches and niggles I and other reviewers who were sent the mods identified HAVE been ironed out.
I was fortunate to meet Rev-Tech MD Aftab Sabir at the recent Vaper Expo and spent a good half hour chatting with him about the devices and indeed the issues I’d mentioned.
He revealed the feedback from reviewers had been exactly what the company had been looking for and spent time taking me through the issues we’d identified.
OK all the doors and buttons are now rattle free – the Sport ramp up is indeed a lot sharper – the irritating memory function is now fixed – indeed he took batteries out of half a dozen random mods and showed me that your settings are still there when you swap the batteries out!
One issue that he is still a little concerned about is in temperature mode.
We’ve found that if you put a ‘hot’ tank on top the temp control can be a little iffy however if you use a room temperature or ‘cold’ tank you wont get an issue – though how many people put hot tanks on their mods! Once the tank is on there’s no problems in temp control and this is something firmware upgrades will sort out.
Aftab very kindly gave me the three retail versions and I have been using them since expo and I’m pleased to say those niggles have well and truly been ironed out!
I also tried to replicate putting a ‘hot’ tank on board all of them but didn’t once get the issue he mentioned – maybe I’m too cool for school 😉
I have to say his stand was extremely busy over the two days I was there with interest from both vapers and companies and with more exciting new products coming out in the near future I reckon these guys are a name to remember.
I have now updated the review scores to represent the improvements.
Quick Start Guide For the Rev Tech Mods
- X5 clicks of the fire button on and off
- X1 click of the menu button scrolls through dashboard colours
Hold menu button to access options:
- Bypass
- Preheat
- Colour mode
- Dashboard style
- Display mode
- Brightness
- Time settings
- Factory re-set
- Turn off
Rev Sport Mod Preview and Quick Review
Powered by an internal 4200mAh battery the Rev Sport powers up to 100 watts and has a decent temperature control suite.
The design is indeed very sports car-esque however despite fitting nicely in the hand it is rather heavy handling – not light as you’d expect a sporty model to be let’s put it that way.
It comes with interchangeable ‘grills’ one of which might be a little shall we say close to a well-known car manufactures emblem.
Access to the menu is via the M button and here you can tailor your settings by holding it down to access the options or click once to change the colour of the light around your ‘dashboard’.
I used this with a number of RDAs and RTA’s if I’m honest I felt the performance was a little short of what I expected – even with the ramp up mode at max – it took a bit of a chug before firing – maybe a bit of dirt in the pistons – let’s hope before they are released as retail versions these slight issues will be tweaked.
As this is pre-retail it’s difficult to judge the finer details of the mod but let’s say I hope the retail version will include the chip remembering your settings when swapping out batteries.
I have had to set both my wattage and indeed the time every time the device has been powered off – which may seem a little picky but trust me it becomes a chore.
The fire button had a rattle to say the least – Rev said in their covering letter the GTS has button rattle which will be sorted before release – however the Sport version I received rattled a lot.
Of the three I’ve ‘pre-viewed’ the Rev Sport was the one I put last on the finish line mainly due to the awful button rattle and the almost cold engine start.
Again I must reiterate these are pre-retail mods – so most of us reviewers are going to be a bit in the dark as to how to judge them!
The Rev Sport – Inside the Box
- X 1 Sport Mod
- X2 spare grills
- X1 USB cable
- X1 Rev key ring
Rev Sport Mod Specs
- Mod Size: 88x44x31mm
- Capacity of Battery: 4200mAh
- Internal Wattage: 5W to 101W
- MODE: POWER/VT(NI200,SS,TI)
- TCR:(M1,M2,M3,M4,M5,M6) / BYPASS / PREHEAT
- Voltage Range: 0-4.2v
- Resistance Range: 0.08-3Ω
The Rev Nitro Preview and Quick Review
OK this is apparently capable of a top speed of 200 watts and is powered by two 18650 batteries.
I received the black and white version and Rev say they’ve modeled the design on a Ferrari steering wheel.
Given I know absolutely nothing about cars or motor sport I had to check Google images and I can maybe see a similarity!
Performance wise the Nitro is more like it but again not the quickest to get firing on all cylinders and again the preheat function made only the slightest difference in ramp up time.
The menu is again accessed by holding down the M button or clicking once changes the colour of the dashboard outline.
Sadly the memory on the Nitro is none existent and each time I swapped out the batteries I had to alter all my settings to how I wanted them – if there’s one tweak the pit crew at Rev do is to fix this!
This one has the very cool red pedal styled fire button at the top of the mod making it ideal for thumb firing – and despite x2 18650 batteries this one felt slightly lighter.
It certainly feels good in the hand and the pleather accent/grip on the side fits nicely into the design with grill like battery venting at the base of the mod.
The battery door is on the base and fits snugly with no rattle at all.
I actually quite like the look of this one and even given this is pre-retail model – it’s not a bad mod to vape on.
The Rev Nitro – Inside the Box
- X1 Rev Nitro Mod
- X1 USB charger
- X1 Rev key ring
- X1 protective cover
The Rev Nitro Specs
- Mod Size: 86x57x32mm
- Capacity of Battery: 2×18650
- Wattage: 5W to 200W
- MODE: POWER/VT(NI200,SS,TI) TCR(M1,M2,M3,M4,M5,M6) / BYPASS / PREHEAT
- Voltage Range: 0-8.5v
- Resistance Range: 0.08-3Ω
The Rev GTS Preview and Quick Review
The winner by a mile for me in the Rev race with this one boasting a cruising speed of 230watts – I’ll leave the experts to judge that!
Powered by x2 18650 batteries this looks a lot more like your typical vape mod and Rev say it’s modeled on the shape of a Bentley – high end stuff!
I received the racing green colour and I have to say the Rev GTS does look classy with an extremely large screen.
Again the menu is accessed via the M button and again you click once to scroll through the dashboard outline colour options.
It’s lighter than the others and whilst it’s not quite ergonomic it still feels good in the hand.
Rev told me this one DID have button rattle that would be fixed before release – however I found none at all!
Performance wise the GTS outshone the others leaving them in its wake with near instant ramp up time and a definite feeling this was hitting the wattage I’d set.
Design wise it’s one of those less equals more moments and I really love the look and feel of this one.
The battery compartment is accessed by removing the back plate which in itself is a work of art – very touchy feely – and venting is on the base which might not be the best place for it.
Speaking of the base you’ll need to be careful with this one as its curved and rocks alarmingly when you touch it – a case of new tyres for better grip maybe?
Sadly swapping out the batteries means you once again need to re-set all your settings which as I keep saying become a chore.
Of the three this one definitely deserves the win.
The Rev GTS – Inside the Box
- X1 GTS Mod
- X1 USB charger
- X1 Rev key ring
- X1 protective cover
The Rev GTS Specs
- Mod Size: 94x55x32mm
- Capacity of Battery: 2×18650 Wattage: 5W to 230W
- MODE: POWER/VT(NI200,SS,TI)
- TCR(M1,M2,M3,M4,M5,M6) / BYPASS / PREHEAT
- Voltage Range: 0-8.5v
- Resistance Range: 0.08-3Ω
Final Thoughts and Placings On the Trio of Rev Tech Mods
The designers at Rev Tech set out to create a line of mods modeled on high performance cars and to some extent they’ve certainly achieved that.
It has to be said this trio certainly stands out from the vaping crowd and it’s a refreshing change to see another take on how a mod should look.
As I said at the start as a reviewer my hands are tied somewhat given the three I’ve received are all pre-retail versions with the Rev engineers saying final tweaks will be done by the pit crew before these roar off the retail starting grid.
The devices are designed in the UK but manufactured and developed in China with the emphasis on vapers who love cars and motor sport:
We wanted to bring something new into the industry – with new innovation and technology to make it simple and easy to use.
I think it’s fair to say these are indeed simple and easy to use vape mods – the menu is a cinch to navigate and very clear to understand.
Please note as far as the contents are concerned retail versions will ship with a USB cable and a user manual and firmware upgrades are planned.
As to innovation – there’s nothing really innovative if I’m honest except I guess the design which on the whole is good and achieves its objective of a synergy between vaping and high performance cars.
Vaping performance wise I can’t really comment honestly or in great detail without having the full retail versions to run a few test laps.
However if the pit crew iron out a few niggles – especially the slow start from the Nitro and Sport AND sort out the annoying menu issue – Rev will have 3 worthy vaping winners on their hands.
