The Eleaf iStick has been around for donkeys’ years, or at least it seems that way. I think the first one was released around 2014, and at the moment, there are six current versions, so it is a real stalwart of the Eleaf line-up and there is a reason it has stuck around for so long. The iStick has always been a solid workhorse that just gets the job done. The Electronic Cigarette Store very kindly sent over the latest Eleaf iStick i75 kit over for us to test out.
First Impressions and Unboxing
The Eleaf iStick i75 kit comes in a pretty basic but highly functional box with a small picture of the device and a surprisingly large and bright font telling you the name. There is also a massive warning banner which I guess explains why the main graphics are out of balance. Around the sides, you will find all the details about the kit, and the back has a list of contents. Even more space is given to Eleaf’s social links, they really seem to want to connect with their customers!
Sliding the outer sleeve off, you are presented with the device and the tank with the 0.8ohm coil prefitted, and things start to look up. The main bits are held nicely in place with a foam insert, so you should have no trouble if your postie is a little heavy handed, things felt very safe and secure. Underneath this, there is a tray containing a charging cable, a 1.2ohm coil, a warranty card, and an easy to follow fold out instruction sheet.
- Size: 38mm x 28mm x 122.5mm
- Battery Capacity: 3000mAh
- Tank Size: 2ml
- Output: 1-75W
- Coil Resistance: 0.6ohm, 0.8ohm, 1.2ohm
- Charging: USB-C
You may be expecting the Eleaf iStick i75 to be quite chunky with the 3000mAh battery, but it is a surprisingly compact kit. It really makes you realise how much has changed, as just a few years ago, this kind of capacity would not have been an ideal pocket companion, but this latest version was quite happy being stashed in the side pocket of my hiking trousers. It feels very well balanced too, and the fire button is well positioned and feels equally comfortable for thumb or finger firing. The smooth, oval shape helps too as your hand will naturally wrap around it in a very comfortable position.
Whilst leatherette wraps are hardly a new idea, I really love the one used here as it feels very soft and is well padded. It feels squishy, but in all the best ways. It all adds to the comfort and feel, and I really like how it has been implemented here.
Along the front, there is a basic built in OLED screen and the buttons, along with the USB-C charging port so you can keep it upright whilst charging. I really like the screen, with one caveat. It is very basic, just showing the power setting (in either watts or volts) and the remaining battery capacity shown by a large, segmented bar. Whilst vaping, it turns into a puff timer, but you can’t really see it whilst you are vaping. I love the simplicity; it suits the mod well. But if you are out and about on a sunny day (a rare phenomenon, I know!), you have little to no hope of reading what is on the screen. There is no way to adjust the brightness either, so if you want to check how your battery is doing, you will need to find somewhere dark enough for the screen to be readable.
Thankfully the kit is so simple that you won’t find you need to refer to the screen much anyway. There are only two modes, Power and Volts, but which ever you choose, the iStick will automatically select the best setting for the coil, and I found it to be pretty accurate. The 0.8ohm coil selected 15W, and the 1.2ohm set to 12W, and although I did experiment with this, I ultimately just went back to the defaults. Once you are happy with your power setting, you can press the + and – to lock the buttons so you won’t accidentally change anything unexpectedly. You can also power down by pressing the fire button five times quickly, and it is the same to turn it back on again.
The real star performer in the kit is the battery, it is already a very generous capacity, and the kit is very efficient, so I was getting nearly two days solid vaping before I needed to recharge. Now I vape a lot and vary rarely find a kit that will last me over a day, so I was very impressed here. This makes it a great choice for an all-day workhorse that you can just stick in your pocket and not have to worry about.
The EN Air Tank
The Eleaf iStick i75 comes bundled with the latest EN Air stock coil tank, and it looks great. The build quality is superb, with beautiful threading so everything is a pleasure to use. To access the coil, you unscrew the base, just watch out for the O-ring as I needed to reseat mine the first time I took things apart. Once you have the base off, the coil is just a push fit so is easy to change.
To access the fill port, the top slides out. It feels firm and I can’t see it coming loose unexpectedly. It is better suited to 50ml bottles as the chunky drip tip gets in the way. You can just about use larger bottles if you get the angle just right, but 8 out of 10 times, I had juice coming back out and things got a bit messy. If you use larger e-liquid bottles, it is just easier to remove the mouthpiece first.
Just under the top cap, there is an airflow adjuster ring which slides very smoothly but also stays firm, the perfect combination. The options are definitely aimed at MTL vapers, even fully open gives a good amount of resistance. You can direct lung vape, but it is not what it is designed for.
As well as being cumbersome when filling, I really didn’t like the mouthpiece. It feels too chunky for a mtl tank and would be better with a narrower bore as this would focus the flavour more. Of course, this is a very personal thing so I am sure there will be plenty of folks who will love it, I just prefer something a bit slimmer for this style of vaping. But it isn’t really an issue as you can just swap it out for one of your own anyway.
The Coils
The kit comes with two EN coils, a 0.8ohm which is better for salts, and a 1.2ohm mtl coil, both mesh based so are capable of bringing the flavour. The 0.8ohm is capable but not spectacular. The flavour is good, and the clouds are satisfying, but neither will wow anyone. I also found the lifespan wasn’t great, after just a few days, it was beginning to taste a bit funky. Moving on to the 1.2ohm coil, things improve a lot. This is a really decent mtl coil with vastly improved flavour and detail. Coil life was also much better, although I would have expected a little longer, especially when compared to some of the competition which can easily manage a couple of weeks per coil. You will be doing very well to get a week out of one of these ELeaf coils.
Final Thoughts
I have mixed feelings about the Eleaf iStick i75 kit. The actual device is a fantastic, back to basics mod which looks great, feels lovely, and has more than enough power to keep you going all day and then some. The tank is a bit trickier. The build quality is up there with the best, but the coil life and the mouthpiece let things down a bit which is a shame as it could have been an essential mouth to lung kit with a few small tweaks. Of course, there is the added bonus that it is just a regular 510 fitting, so you can just use your own tank, and that is how I will be using it moving forward, as I really do like the device.
If you would like to try the Eleaf iStick i75 for yourself, you can pick the kit up from TECC for £44.99 and this includes two free e-liquids and free shipping as it is over £25. A pack of five EN coils is £11.99 but you may want to try the ones included with the kit before deciding which to stock up on first.
Many thanks to TECC for sending in the Eleaf iStick i75 Kit in for review.
- Great build quality
- Stylish looks
- Compact size
- Impressive battery
- Easy to use
- Mouthpiece doesn't suit the vape style
- Coil life could be better
- Filling can be messing
Michelle (Purplefowler)
Reviewer at POTVWhen her usual forum closed, Michelle found herself in a brave new world full of excitement that something fresh and new was happening. A few days later she somehow found herself on the moderating team and is still not really sure how that happened. Even stranger, she slowly worked her way up to admin and now helps behind the scenes, liasing with vendors and coordinating social media but she can still be found making smutty comments on the forum. If all that wasn't enough, she also is a proud member of the Potv review team specialising in E-liquid reviews for the discerning vaper.
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