Hi Vaping Community, In this review i take a look at the Hastur 88W TC Box Mod from Cthulhu Mod. The Cthulhu Mod Hastur 88W TC Box Mod was supplied free of charge for the purpose of this review by Joshua from Cthulhu Mod.
https://www.cthulhumod.com/hastur-mod-88w-tc/
Introduction
Cthulhu Mod was the first manufacturer i came across that bridged that gap with some of their early RDA’s and RTA’s between mainstream and High End while keeping prices reasonable of course now Thunderhead Creations and BP Mods are very similar with both Dovpo and Aspire with their Manufacture collaborations also upping their game in this regard!
Cthulhu Mod for a long time were rebuildable specialists whether that being RDA’s, RTA’s or RDTA’s but then they released their Mosfet tube semi-mechanical mod and now they enter the regulated scene with the Hastur 88W TC Mod.
The Hastur 88W TC Mod is a single 18650 device powered by the Atom chip offering up to 88w in power. The Hastur is user friendly being simple to use lacking features such as curves, preheats and also no extra settings or puff counter but it does host a full TC suite as well as Bypass and Variable Wattage modes. With it’s SS304 and Aviation Aluminium construction both it’s high build quality and compact size makes this a device worth a closer look, let’s crack on!
In The Box
Contents:
1 x Hastur mod
1 x USB cable
1 x User manual
Aesthetics and Ergonomics
The Hastur Mod is packaged in quite a useful deep tin with “HASTUR” raised on the front and a round coloured small sticker in the corner depicting the chosen colour. I received the Midnight Green option which has a SS304 battery tube then a Midnight Green or what i would describe as Forest Green Aviation Aluminium front section but if the use of Aluminium fools you into thinking despite having a Stainless Steel battery tube the device would be on the lighter side you would be wrong the Aluminium shell is thick and this is one weighty solid device!
The style is kind of the SL Class, Cold steel battery tube with added front end for the PCB set up but this is much slicker in design without that funky look! There has been two new colour options added recently so now the option is Silver, Black, Midnight Green, All Black or Black & Midnight Green!
The device has 6 prominent screws so if needed taking the device apart will be easy and in general it just feels and looks old school but with a modern colour display. The face of the device has a nicely machined concave SS304 fire button top with some travel before giving a satisfying click, we then have the screen followed by 2 smaller round SS304 navigational buttons lined up vertically which are much stiffer but again very clicky, right at the bottom of the face we have a Type C USB port.
On the base we have small understated branding and Gold plated, old school style threaded battery plate with central raised section to use for grip when turning, we also have a large venting hole either side. Moving up top fitted tanks sit flush on the tube surface rather than having a plate and is raised slightly above the protruding front section to protect it’s surface but not enough to give any visible gapping of note.
The build quality is excellent and both it’s compact size, curved spine and fire button position makes it very ergonomic but bare in mind it’s a very solid device and heavy for it’s size!
Hastur Mod Specs and Features:
Size: 3.5cm x 2. 4cm x 8.5cm
Battery type: Single 18650 battery
Output power: 5W-88W
Output voltage: 0.7V-9V
Coil resistance: 0.05ohm-3. 5ohm
Temperature control: 200F -600F
Efficiency: 85%
Colour OLED screen
USB: Type
Recharging current: 1A
Supports Data Upgrades
Thread: 510 Thread
Chip: Atom chip
Colour: Silver, Black, Midnight Green, All Black, Black & Midnight Green
Fitting The Battery
The Hastur accommodates a single 18650 which gets fitted into the battery tube by unscrewing the bottom battery plate and then just sliding in. The plate has a negative battery orientation in White on the underside which is good to see and once fitted we have no battery movement whatsoever.
I wouldn’t exactly say the threading was super smooth but not really crunchy either just perfectly adequate but i do wish this had one of the fold out levers to make unscrewing and tightening in place less fiddly!
The Display
I like the display, it’s nice and colourful but not offensive, well laid out and both bright and sharp.
At the top we have “HASTUR” and then underneath your current mode. Underneath the mode we have either the Watts, Temperature or “BYPASS” depending which mode you are in, this is followed by the time of your vape but no puff counter.
We then have to the left the resistance and to the right the Voltage when in Variable Wattage mode or Wattage when using either Bypass or Temperature Control modes, finally at the bottom positioned horizontally we have the battery status bar.
Operating The Hastur Mod
Although the Hastur has s full TC suite and Bypass mode as well as standard Variable Wattage it’s a very simple device to operate. When installing a battery we get the Cthulhu Mod Logo followed instantly by the working screen so no waiting for this to boot up! The usual 5 clicks of the fire button to turn on and off on the Hastur is actually how you lock and unlock it and then once locked holding down the fire button (the device doesn’t fire when locked) turns the device off, once off it does revert back to the standard 5 clicks to turn back on again and despite the device needing to be locked first to turn off once turned back on it’s unlocked by default! I really wish this was a much more standard affair as i want to be able to lock just the navigational buttons but still be able to fire and turning the device off takes longer needing to lock it first, after saying that the navigational buttons are nice and stiff (in a good way)!
Clicking the fire button 3 times enters the menu giving the options of Regulated (Variable Wattage), Bypass, Temper (TC modes), colour and back which takes you back to the previous working screen! When choosing Temperature Control you get a further screen giving the options of SS, NI, TI, TCR and back. Once on a Temperature materials screen holding up and down together allows you to set wattage and pressing up and fire together allows the resistance to be altered! selecting colour allows you to change the main colour accents on the display, the options are Blue, Green or Red!
The wattage adjusts in 0.1W increments from 5W right up to 88W and round robins. I do like devices to adjust in point 1 increments up to 20w so MTL vapers can get more precision but i wish from 20w to 88w this adjusted in either 0.5w or 1w increments, on the upside when a button is held down it scrolls extremely quickly! Just to also point out the screen times out after 30 seconds but springs back into life with any button press and also fires from timed out screen with absolutely no delay!
Protections:
Over 10s Protection
Short Circuit Protection
Low Resistance Protection
Over Current Protection
Low Voltage Protection
High Temperature Protection
Over Charge Protection
Could be more, protections not listed but above are active taken from alerts listed and other information given in the manual!
Charging
As usual i would always recommend charging externally but if you do need to charge in the device the Hastur has a Type C USB connection and supports a 1A charge rate. I am seeing this more often (slow charge rate with Type C), one advantage Type C has i have always been led to believe is that you can charge much faster safely so why have Type C but then only a 1A charge rate? If it had an in-built battery i would find this quite a big con.
While charging a battery charging progress bar is displayed, the Hastur also supports pass-through and firmware upgrades!
My Thoughts!
I love the slickness of it’s design which helps make it ergonomically sound, i also am very impressed with it’s build quality although some may find it too heavy for their own liking!
There is nothing complicated about it’s operation probably because we have no settings other than modes and changing display accents which many will prefer while others would prefer being able to monitor their puffs, set a curve or alter screen time out settings etc!
I also wish the wattage switched to either 0.5 or 1W adjustments after 20w but do like the 0.1w adjustments for lower wattage settings. I also do like this old school style of fitting the battery as it means you can’t damage your wraps and guarantees no battery movement but would much prefer a fold out lever to make it less fiddly to turn!
The layout of the display i can’t fault and being able to customise the colour is also for me a pro. Up to 24mm in diameter atomizers will fit no problem which covers the vast majority you would want to use an a single 18650 device although the top of the tube does just slightly bevel away but you would need to really suffer badly from OCD for it to be an issue!
Seeing in the stats the efficiency is 85% (kudos to Cthulhu for displaying that) i did wonder if battery life would be an issue but i have noticed no difference between the Hastur and the vast majority of the other single 18650 devices i have used.
I don’t test TC so for TC users you would need to do more research but in power mode it worked flawlessly with no noticeable delay when firing while hitting set wattage instantly, just a damn fine device, i like this a lot!
Likes
Excellent build quality
Solid, durable device
SS304 & Aviation Aluminium construction
Compact and Ergonomic
Slick design
5 Colour options
Bright, sharp, well laid out colour display
Colour of display can be customised
Full TC Suite (Not tested)
Wattage and Bypass modes
Fired without delay hitting set wattage instantly
performed flawlessly
Nice clicky buttons
0.1increments for MTL users
Scrolls very quickly and round robins
User friendly, very easy to navigate
Old school bottom battery plate
Venting holes and clearly marked battery orientation (in White)
Type C USB
Supports both pass-through and firmware upgrades
Cons
Wish just navigational buttons could be locked
Need to lock before powering down
No puff counter or extra settings (con for some, pro for others)
Battery plate a little fiddly (wish it had fold out lever)
Only 1A charge rate (external battery so only a con if needing to charge in the device)
Wish wattage adjustment switched to 0.5 or 1w increments after 20w
Atomizers over 24mm will overhang (most atomizers you would want to use on a single 18650 would be 24mm or less)
Heavy device (but solid build quality, subjective)
I would once again like to thank Joshua from Cthulhu Mod for supplying the Hastur 88W TC Box Mod for the purpose of this review, thanks for reading and stay safe!
https://www.cthulhumod.com/hastur-mod-88w-tc/
That’s a nice looking creature, errhrmm, device!