Steamcrave, what an interesting company. While most of China is focusing on mass appeal products, here, these guys are churning out ridiculous products that don’t really have a point. Why is it though, that I am so drawn to these gigantanormous units and why do I like them so much?
Steamcrave Hadron 220 – 70%
The Steamcrave Hadron is one of those products that you don’t really need. It’s huge, houses an extremely watered down Yihi chip and is impractical in every way. Even so, it’s so uniquely awkward that it shines between the rest of the mass churned products on the market.
Steamcrave Hadron Pros:
- Houses up to 35mm atomizers
- Takes dual 21700 or 18650 batteries
- The optional backpack gives you a 16ml squonking option
- Fantastic screen
Steamcrave Hadron Cons:
- So, so big
- Doesn’t feel of terribly great quality
- Silicone rings to prevent battery rattle is just stupid
- Entry level YiHi chipset perhaps not the best choice
STEAMCRAVE HADRON 220 REVIEW
So you have a brand new Steamcrave Ragnar or other similar, ridiculous 35mm atomizer but just can’t find a mod big enough to fit that behemoth? The Steamcrave Hadron 220 may just be what you’re looking for. Not only does it accommodate attomizers up to 35mm, but comes with a very interesting squonk attachment and YiHi chipset.
Design
The Hadron 220 is quite possibly the new Marmite of box mods, you’ll either love it or hate it. There’s nothing flashy here, it’s a brick with a large screen. The colour options are also limited to two, black and gunmetal. Oddly, I like it and it fit the larger than life persona well. With a majoosive tank on there, the Hadron is quite intimidating and easily confused for a weapon, too bad it won’t stand up too much abuse.
The materials quality on the Hadron feel subpar at best. The buttons have that typical cheap appliance feel and the battery door hinge is made of what seems to be plastic Chinese chrome; the type you find on children toys. The chassis feels cheap as well.
Furthermore, to prevent battery rattle, Steamcrave included 4 silicon o-rings to dress your batteries in, I can’t even begin to express how much this gets on my nerves. Surely tighter tolerances would be the answer. Luckily, I experienced no battery rattle with any of my batteries, but still, o-rings?
Thankfully, things improve from there. The screen is a quality piece, large, vibrant and easy to read. The YiHi SX480 chipset used may be an entry level variant, but I’d take that over a proprietary chip any day. It functions well and claimed power output is actual. It may not be the easiest to navigate, but it does what it claims and for that I can’t fault it.
Of course, the star of the show, the optional backpack attachment, which seems to have received more thought than the mod itself. The 16ml backpack attaches to the Hadro with 2 screw and offers 16ml of juice capacity. Instead of a squueze bottle, the backpack makes use of a pump system. While this works great for my needs, pump activated squonk devices do not suck back excess juice, making over squonking a possibility. Each pump produces 4.5ml. The best part of the backpack is how easily it is to convert your Hadron back into a regular mod. Simply remove the screws and put the metal bung back in, job’s a goodun.
Performance
The Hadron 220 accomodates two 21700s (or 18650 with the included adapter) but don’t expect days of power if you’re running those large build atomizers. Running a sane sized build will get you about 2 days of casual usage on 21700. It needs to be noted that YiHi are known for parasitic battery drain, although I have not seen this in my review unit.
Power delivery is instant too and the accuracy feels about right for YiHi levels. 100w is 100w and the 220w claimed power usage is definitely reached. Temperature control seems damn near spot on too and comparable to a DNA, although there’s no replay mode here. Thanks to it’s large chassis size, battery heat is isolated from the chassis and even at high power, the Hadron remains cool through rigorous usage.
Steamcrave 220 Hadrom Specs:
- Size: 99.2x38x48mm
- Batteries: dual 21700/18650
- Capacity: 16ml with optional squonk backpack
- Chipset: YiHi SX480
- Max power: 220w
- Max Atomizer size: 35mm with no overhang
Conclusion
The Steamcrave Hadron 220 is far from the best box mod on the market and this review reads like an obituary for SC, but that’s far from the case. The materials used are horrid and some design decisions are questionable, but that’s where my complaints end. It’s a niche device, sure; no more than a desktop mod specifically made for larger atomizers, but it runs flawlessly, even with a cheap chipset. Power output is spot on and so is TC. The optional backpack? Genius. Couple that with a Ragnar in Mesh RDA mode and some 21700 and you’re tooting for a day without a charge. The screen is fantastic too.
If Steamcrave updates the Hadron with a better build, this thing would be so good. until then, $100? Urgh
Gadget Vape 