Vandy Vape Kylin M AIO

The Vandy Vape Kylin M AIO is a feature packed kit that promises a lot in terms of vaping diversity, but can it deliver all it promises?

by Craig Chambers
Sep 21, 2020

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The Kylin M AIO is a feature packed pod/mod/aio that promises a lot in terms of diversity. It takes its cues from the Billet Box with a pod/tank system that can use stock coils as well as mesh strip and hand/premade coils. Many thanks to Newvaping for providing this for review.

In the box

The Kylin M comes well packaged in a sleeved box. The colour of the supplied Kylin M AIO is shown on the front picture. The rear has the contents listed, and it’s not a short list. One side has the usual scratch and verify, and the other shows the prebuilt and stock coil options.

Package Content

1 x Kylin M AIO device
1 x Kylin M AIO diy pod (2ml)
1 x Kylin M AIO pod (2ml)
1 x Kylin M AIO coil (.3Ω)
1 x Kylin M AIO coil (A1 M – .2Ω)
1 x Kylin M AIO coil (SS316L M – .15Ω TC)
1 x Kylin M AIO coil (Dual M – .15Ω)
1 x Kylin M AIO coil (Ni80 M – .15Ω)
1 x Triple fused clapton coil (.23Ω)
1 x M wire rod
1 x lead guide
2 x cotton laces
5 x steel wires
1 x wire heating tool
1 x accessory bag
1 x usage guide
1 x instruction manual
1 x Type-C usb cable

Kylin M AIO contents

Specifications

Size: 100mm x 46.5mm x 24.5
Output Power: 5W – 70W
Battery: 1 x 18650 (not included)
Operating Voltage: 3.2-4.2V
Output Voltage: 0.5-5.5V
Charging Input Current: 1500mAh
Operating Mode: VW/VV/TCSS
Maximum Output Current Protection: ＜30A
Capacity: 2ml Rebuildable, 2ml Pre-Built Coils
Coil: M Coil .3Ω (35W – 45W) Single Meshed

Opening the main box reveals the mod with the rebuildable pod installed, the stock coil pod, rebuilding tool, and a pack of VV mesh strips. Under the top tray are the manual, accessory bag, 0.3Ω coil, steel wires, cotton laces, usb type C lead, and a mini coily tool. There’s more stuff here than you can shake a stick at, but Vandy Vape should be commended on supplying all the bits needed to start with and not being on a cash grab selling the RBA parts separately.

The mod

The mod has a zinc alloy body with the PCBA waterproof board. A magnetic panel covers the small but simple screen, below which are the +/- buttons. The pod fits above the screen, and a single 18650 battery compartment sits to the left. A ribbon aids removal of the battery as it is a tight fit with the firm positive pin spring. On the left side is the fire button, which is nice and positive with no excess travel or rattle. The right side has a cut out so you can see the juice level, and the back has a rather large Kylin logo. The base has what appears to be battery vent holes but these are directly below the PCB, not the battery. The removable panel has gloss inset with various patterns depending on which colour/style you choose. There are four finishes to choose from, silver moonlight or polar phantom with a grey body, and fantasy forest or wormhole with the black body.

The adjustments for the device are as follows:

Clicks five times to turn on/off
Click three times to change modes
Click the up/down to change settings like wattage, temperature
Click the fire button and down button at the same time to flip the screen
Click the fire button and up button at the same time to lock

The screen, although small, is easy enough to read as there’s only watts, volts or temp, resistance, and battery shown. Six levels of protection are provided, over temp, open circuit, over current, short circuit, ten second cut off, and low battery

Kylin M AIO device close ups

The pods

The Kylin AIO comes supplied with two pods. The stock coil pod accepts VVs Kylin AIO 0.3Ω coil and is a push fit. This limits juice capacity to 2.5ml due to its size and airflow channels, and at present there are no other options. Filling on both pods is via the fill port on the front which is covered by a silicon flap/bung. The airflow comes through the top cap where a honeycomb inlet is adjusted by twisting the top cap. Both caps have a removable 510 drip tip should you want to use a favourite.

The RBA pod has a bigger 5ml capacity and deck designed for mesh or coil fitment. The deck is the familiar clamp style seen in the Kylin M RTAs, with the sprung centre to help keep cotton in contact with the mesh. Four holes in the juice wells are for the steel rope wicks. There’s a cap that fits over the deck and to this the airflow/drip tip section fits. A special tool is supplied to allow fitting and dry burning of the mesh/coil on the pod as there is no other way to do this. This tool fits where the top cap would be and lets you fit and remove the pod without disturbing the build or burning ones fingers.

Both pods are fitted with bungs to comply with TPD but these are easy to remove.

Kylin M AIO pods

In use

I used the stock coil pod first and it was a decent performer. Juiced up and left to stand for a few minutes, starting at the low end of the 35-45W range this delivered good flavour and clouds. Airflow was silky smooth. Pushing the watts to the top end, and the flavour was still good, if a little too warm for my liking but this was understandable given the smallish airflow available. It is a more RDL vape that can be closed down to an MTL vape, but it would be better with higher ohm coils. The coil lasted a good 7-10 days with 70/30 juice swapping between the two pods.

The RDA deck is easy to build on with its spring loaded clamps. First I used the supplied triple fused Clapton and cut the legs at the recommended 5mm leg length using the supplied tool. I fitted the pod to the mod and dry burned to eliminate any hotspots. Dropping the four steel wires into the juice well holes and wicking with a 3mm lace, the capillary action of the wire ropes means there’s no need to thin the tails, just a good fluff before tucking them in. The coil showed at 0.25Ω and started off quite promising, but they soon highlighted problems with the small chamber. It got quite hot quickly despite the airflow being fully open, and dropping power resulted in a flavourless vape. I swapped it out for an SS316L simple coil build around 0.3Ω, this was far superior and didn’t need loads of power. As this build was in, it also gave me the chance to try the TC mode. TCR settings for SS are around 880-920 but this is set at 1100. Resetting to 900 resulted in a hot vape even at 220C. Dropped to 800, and the problem was sorted and it vaped fine with no dry hits at around 240C/460F. Power is pre-set to 50W, but that caused no issues.

Vandy Vape Kylin M Aio pod and coils

On to the mesh next, and due to it being almost impossible to differentiate between the supplied SS316L mesh and the Ni80, I used a strip of NexMESH SS316L given both brands are the same size. If you’ve used the Kylin M RTA or any of the Profiles, you’ll be familiar with the process of fitting and wicking. No need to thin the tails again as you need enough in the juice wells to maintain juice flow. I have found this to be more finicky than the Profile RDTA, that also uses wire wicks, and it needed a little tweaking to the cotton to prevent dry hits. As with most mesh decks, there’s a little variation to wicking but once you figure it out, it’s easy to replicate consistently. Vape wise, this is closer to the Unity, being somewhat restricted but it still delivers a great experience. Fully open and at 50W was my sweet spot, and flavour was everything that a mesh RDA/RDTA can deliver. The steel ropes kept up wicking wise until about a quarter tank, and I found myself tipping the mod more, a little surprising as this is shorter than the Profile, so juice doesn’t have the same distance to travel.

Summing up

Vandy Vape have to be commended for putting everything into one package, a rarity with the current norm being to offer RBA alternatives as extras at more cost. The mod itself is well built if a little heavy compared to others around the same dimensions, but there’s no rattle from buttons and no unwanted movement from the panel. The finish has stood up to being a pocket/van carry very well. Drip tips are comfortable, and the airflow is smooth on both set ups. It is a shame they can’t be swapped though as the stock coil did feel smoother and more adjustable, but that will be down to personal preference. The menu is easy enough to navigate, the screen is small but only displays relevant info and is hidden in use anyway. Being top airflow, there has been zero leakage or condensation, and filling is easy as there’s no need to remove the pod. Juice levels can be seen through the side window but can be a struggle with darker juices or in poor light. VV mode worked fine in the short testing I did but it’s not normally my style.

Lack of diversity in the stock coils does make this kit limited though. Using Claptons and the like didn’t work as well as simple single wire builds for me, and the vagaries of the TCR settings will require the user to experiment if TC is to be used.

Kylin M AIO boxed

Craig Chambers

Reviewer at POTV

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Searched extensively for info on ecigs & vaping & found this forum. The knowledge gained gave me confidence to go and buy an ego/C4 set up which allowed me to break the smoking habit. Alas this wasn't totally satisfying but from the knowledge gained here I quickly moved to a Kanger Subox & Sub tank & so began the rebuilding learning curve. 3 yrs on & I have aquired a few more mods & atties, make my own juice & built a squonker. I use a variety of set ups including temp control, regulated & mech set ups & still picking up tips & ideas. Been fortunate enough to meet a few apes over time & can honestly say the community spirit shown on the forum extends to real life