Recently there has been a noticeable decline in demand for mechanical mods, coinciding with the rise of the high power box mods. Gone are the days when you needed a trusty mechanical mod if you wanted to achieve a high power vaping experience. However the demand is definitely still out there for mechanical mods, hard-core collectors still swear by them, I personally am still a big fan of them and a believer that they will never die out and will always have their place within the industry. A good quality and well maintained mechanical mod will never let you down, due to the lack of electronic parts to fail. They give a fantastic pure vaping experience that I believe is unmatched. You can always rely on them each and every time. They can be virtually indestructible and last indefinitely when cared for. A decent mechanical mod should always be part of any hard core vapers arsenal purely for that reason!
I have been lucky enough to get my hands on the new Odyssey 18650M Mechanical Mod from Totally Wicked, and I am really impressed with it. Here's why…
SPECS
- UK designed, polished and precision made
- Floating pin connector so no need for manual adjustment
- Takes 18650 Batteries
- Bottom twist locking bayonet switch
- 126g weight
- Short 106mm height- short height, ergonomic and sits perfectly in your hand
- 22mm width
- Electroless Nickel Plated Brass pins (minimizing voltage drop)
- Battery compartment tube made of 303 Austenitic Stainless Steel
- Phosphor Bronze Springs
OVERVIEW
The Totally Wicked Odyssey range has been going for a good few years now, comprising of various mechanical and variable voltage mods, and the Odyssey 18650M is the latest addition to the range. The parts are all designed, hand polished and precision machined within the United Kingdom, and in my opinion are of the highest standard. The battery compartment itself is machined from 303 Austenitic Stainless Steel, connector pins from electroless nickel plating, the springs from phosphor bronze, all combining to transfer power with minimal voltage loss.
This has been designed with low resistance use in mind, the parts used in the manufacture of the mod itself are there to maximize the potential power from your battery and minimize the voltage drop itself. However that does not mean it is solely for sub ohm use, it performs just as well with builds over 1 ohm. The price point of £50 is excellent, the machining quality is well worth this alone, you definitely get your money's worth here. Totally Wicked are that confident in the build quality that each Odyssey 18650M comes with a 5 year guarantee, and I would expect with the quality of this mod for it to last far longer.
LOOKS
The Odyssey 18650M comes in a minimalist box, with the mod itself presented complete in the centre of the packaging.
Parts are minimal, there is no faffing around unscrewing different parts of the mod and playing around with the pins to ensure a flush fit, simply unscrew the top of the mod, pop a battery in, screw an atty on and away you go. The floating 510 connection ensures a flush fit every time, and I tested a wide range of different atties on there. It's as easy to use as it gets.
Ergonomically this sits perfectly in your hand, and the floating connection really does ensure a flush fit for your atties. It looks beautiful with my Darkhorse RDA sat on top! It definitely does feel much smaller in your hand than it actually is.
The build quality is a class apart, right up there with the very best mechanical mods available. There was not a single trace of machine oil present, this was good to go right out of the box. The manufacturing materials used minimize voltage drop making this one of the hardest hitting mechanical tube mods I have ever had the pleasure of experiencing. Each individual one is hand polished and you can definitely tell from the finish. A lot of thought and care has gone into the manufacturing of the Odyssey 18650M.
SWITCH
Arguably this is the key part of any mechanical mod and the switch on the Odyssey 18650M does not disappoint. It is a tactile bottom twist locking bayonet switch with phosphor bronze springs to reduce voltage drop, give it a simple twist to lock and unlock. No locking rings to get stuck here! The throw is short and the switch is very smooth and responsive.
I have carried it around in my pocket and had it stood up on the switch for extended periods of time and it never misfired once. This gives excellent piece of mind.
Using builds as low as 0.18ohm the switch did not even get a little warm once! The same build on my Nemesis mod did not yield the same pleasing result.
If you are looking for a mechanical mod that hits like the proverbial train, then you will be more than happy with this one.
CONCLUSION
For £50 this is an absolute steal for a genuine, precision built UK made mechanical mod. In terms of build quality, this is right up there with the Super T mods, the machining is faultless, it has performed fantastically well in the time I have spent with it using builds in my atties as low as 0.18 ohm, and the switch has to be one of the best I have used on any mod. The floating 510 pin ensures any 22mm atty sits flush and the risk of battery compression (a common cause of hard shorts) is vastly reduced.
The Odyssey 18650M has single handedly rekindled my love of mechanical mods due to the excellent switch and machining quality of the highest standard. The switch has not failed me once during rigorous testing. It is extremely simple and reliable which is what you need with a mechanical mod, you do not want one with a switch that could let you down. It is clear to me that Totally Wicked have definitely done their research, poured plenty of time and effort into this, and it has paid off with an excellent mod at a very affordable price.
From the image above we can see that the device will also be available with the branding of the Odyssey range as well... Will update this article when that is released. Pre-order of the Odyssey can be made here - you can use our discount code PLANET for a 20% reduction too - taking the price down to just over £40.
You can check out the dedicated pages for the Odyssey here:
https://twitter.com/theodysseyrange
https://www.facebook.com/theodysseyrange
