A super huge thanks, and shout out to not only @Deb50, but out to Maggie @SteamCrave for providing this pair for the purposes of this review. I had briefly thought of reviewing them separately, but they paired up SOO well together, it just HAD to be done. So, YOU the readers, get the MEGA review, all for the low, low, low price, of … well, …NOTHING !!!
Starting this mega review off with the SteamCrave Hadron Mini DNA100C 100W powerplant
Steam Crave HADRON MINI DNA100C 100W Box Mod Features:
- Evolv DNA100C Chipset
- Dimensions - 96mm by 39.7mm by 26mm
- Single High-Amp 2X700 Battery - Not Included
- Optional 18650 Battery - Battery Sleeve
- Wattage Output Range: 1-100W
- Voltage Output Range: 0.2-9.0V
- Resistance Range:
- Temperature Range: 200°-600°F
- Replay
- Watts Boost
- TC Mode
- Zinc-Aluminum Alloy Chassis Construction
- Intuitive Firing Button
- 0.9" TFT Color Screen
- Two Adjustment Buttons
- Atomizer Protection
- Low Resistance Protection
- Reverse Polarity Protection
- Short-Circuit Protection
- Overheat Protection
- Low Voltage Step Down Protection
- Threaded 510 Connection
- Available in Black or Gunmetal
Included:
- 1 Hadron MINI Mod
- 1 Type-C Cable
- 1 18650 Battery Sleeve
- 2 21700 Battery Wraps
- 1 User Manual
- 1 Steam Crave Sticker
We all know the DNA chipset, but just in case …
And don’t forget the Escribe Software,leaves you completely in control, with updates, and customizable options…
Enough blah, blah, blah, on with the show …
Sometimes all you need, is, well, all you need. Extras included a USB-C charging cable (for 3.0A charging), 21700 battery wraps, an 18650 adapter, and a user manual and sticker (not pictured)…
The Monolith, in all it’s glory …
SteamCrave imprinted on one side, Hadron Mini on the other, and some nice carbon fiber to round out the rear …
Spring loaded 510 connection and a clean, flush top plate …
Ample venting on the bottom …
Two very strong magnets held on the back cover, revealing the battery sled.
Polarity was marked, and the spring loaded battery terminal kept the battery snugly in place …
Yeah, you COULD adapt, but why ?? 21700’s rule, especially in single batt mods …
HEY, it’s got FOUR buttons !!! The front face greeted you with a 0.9" TFT display, up/down/select/fire buttons, and USB-C charging port, also used for updating with the Escribe software (linked below review) …
The DNA menu system was simple to navigate and use …
Onto the topper …
SteamCrave Classic MTL RTA Specs:
- 23mm Diameter
- 3.5mL Tank Capacity
- Threaded Top Fill System - Dual Fill Ports
- Stainless Steel Tank Construction
- Dual Post Build Deck - One Terminal Per Post
- Side Secured via Hex Screws
- Single Coil Configuration
- PEEK Insulator
- Interchangeable Air Pins - 0.8, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0mm
- Threaded 510 Connection
- Available in SS and Black
Included:
- 1 AROMAMIZER Classic MTL RTA
- 2 0.8mm Airflow Pin
- 2 1.5mm Airflow Pin
- 2 2.0mm Airflow Pin
- 1 Blind Air Pin
- 1 3.5mL Glass
- 1 Spare 510 Delrin Drip Tip
- 1 Spare Bag of O-Rings and Screws
- 1 Clapton Ni80 Coil
- 1 Kanthal Coil
- 1 Allen Key
- 1 Steam Crave Sticker
- 1 User Manual
Enter the SteamCrave Classic MTL RTA.
SteamCrave knows how to package the goods…
They included the RTA, extra drip tip, spare glass section, driver, AND, the MYSTERY BOX !!!
Yes, AND, the manual (which was quite good BTW), and a sticker…
Mystery Box, what’s that ??
Well, well, well, what do we have here. COILS !!! (inside joke), LOADS of o-rings (we’ll talk about this more later), and air screws.(air flow pins)…
Wait, what ?? !!! Airflow pins ?? Yes. This isn’t entirely new, BUT, it was beautifully executed here…
Now these deserve a little closer look, and more thorough explanation for those who haven’t seen these before. They come in multiple airflow openings, 0.8mm, 1.0mm (installed), 1.5mm, 2.0mm, and a single plug. They are marked, but BE ADVISED these are macro shot images, and they are actually fairly small…
Simply screw in/out and switch as desired. They range from very restricted, to a “claimed” RDL (Restricted Direct Lung). Because the center hole gets larger on the 1.5mm, and 2.0mm pins, using a quality driver is recommended, to avoid rounding out the pins …
The tank itself, is very good looking, and was surprisingly heavy…
Let’s take a look at how well thought out and designed, this one actually was…
Tearing this one down for cleaning really revealed how well thought out the design was, how well all of the parts mated together, and how smooth the threads were …
When comparing the SS tip installed vs. the spare plastic, I had no trouble deciding…
Metal it is !!! Dual o-rings left it completely solid in the top cap…
Smooth threads, and another o-ring greeted you on the top cap…
Stupidly generous dual fill ports were included at no extra charge …
The tank caps continued to showcase the engineering, and machining …
Let’s take a look at how well designed and thought out the air pins were. Perfectly situated, and with the proper length to avoid any internal issues …
Yes, there’s ample juice flow as well…
As is becoming more common, the “keyed” deck and tank allowed for perfect alignment …
Rounding out the bottom, the end cap was knurled, and the cap in a cap design.
Hehe, YES, it DOES look this good in person. Tastefully finished off, and a removable gold plated screw, peekly insulated …
For a 23mm tank, the single coil deck proved to be a non-issue when loading…
The grub screws worked perfectly, and the ample juice wells left LOTS of room …
I actually tested both provided coils, SS, and my tried and true 24ga. Kanthal for comparison, and in this setup, the Ni80 coil won out …
What was nice was SteamCrave KNEW that coil height was critical to success and spec’d out 4.5mm coil length. They also stated you could place the coil rod on the two tabs for perfect height. Sure enough !!!
Pulsed and stroked …
I slightly thinned down my normal 3mm cotton down to 2.5mm for the smaller MTL coils. For tail length I folded them down and trimmed even with the o-ring…
Because the wells were fairly large, I made sure to completely cover the juice flow ports …
Dosing the juice …
Topping off with 3.5ml , and using a Cosmo bottle …
Ready to Rumble !!!
Testing/Usage:
Hadron Mini
Throughout the entire test, the Hadron Mini performed flawlessly. Wattage mode was my preferred mode, but I did toss in a SS coil, and Temp Control, and Replay (more on this below the review) worked as expected. Using a 21700 battery life was actually pretty good, and I got almost a full day during testing @ 20w. , It handled the decreasing battery charge with good vapes all the way up until the battery completely died. Pretty impressive The battery stayed snugly in place as did the battery lid, and without a single rattle. The buttons while tactile were almost silent, and felt good when using. The display was sharp, easy to read, and the DNA menu was simple to use as always. No round robin-ing on the power adjustments, but they were speedy none the less. It felt good in the hand, and perfectly complimented the Classic MTL RTA.
Classic MTL RTA
The first thing I thought when picking this up was, “Wow, is this solid Stainless Steel” ?? Very substantially built, very well thought out, and machined. Every part fit together like a glove, literally. Buttery smooth threads, and talk about o-rings. They really put a lot of thought and effort into this one, and it showed. Knurling where it needed to be, tasteful branding, and clean looks set this one apart from much of the pack. The air pins did work as advertised, and I settled on the 1.0mm for my MTL needs, and it did range from a typical MTL restriction up to a fairly restricted DL (RDL). I experimented with both provided coils, and also tried kanthal and SS, with the Ni80 supplied coil being my favorite of the bunch. Fuh, fuh FLAVA was there in this one, and it might just be the MOST flavorful MTL I have tried to date. Reducing the air pins to the lowest (0.8mm) did ever so slightly increase/saturate the flavor when moving down from the 1.0mm but only slightly. While realizing the limitation of single coil setups, and smaller coils at that, I had no issues with accuracy on my fruits and tobaccos (YES, I tested some baccos), and with bakeries and custards, there was actually not as much missing as I had feared. VERY interesting.
I ran between 70p/30v and 50p/50v with no wicking issues, and overall it proved to be relatively leak free. The only issue I had was when I didn’t land enough of the tails into the juice wells, which was easily solved by cutting them longer. The build deck while smaller, was easy to work on, and the ample juice wells, made wicking easier than I had expected with little to no fiddling. I honestly never tried the extra plastic drip tip, as the stainless looked just too damned good. The grub screws were higher quality as were the air pins, with only minor issues inserting them with the provided driver. Picking up a better, somewhat wider bladed driver is advised.
Pros:
Hadron Mini
- Felt good in the hand
- Great buttons
- Sharp Display
- ZERO rattles
- Efficient
- Upgradable (ESCRIBE)
- USB-C 3.0A charging
- Easy navigation and use
Classic MTL RTA
- SS version is stunning
- Fit, finish, threading
- O-ring deployment / Design
- Fuh, fuh, fuh, Flavor !!!
- Adjustable air flow (air pins)
- Deep juice wells
- Large juice fill slots
- Ample juice flow ports
- Did I say Flavor ?? !!!
Cons:
Hadron Mini
- Single battery
- No round robin in power adjustments
- Firing LED blocked with thumb on fire button (I know, I know, that’s all I could think of)
Classic MTL RTA
- Included driver may deform larger opening air pins
- Heavy
- Tail length specific to avoid leaking (see here for updates and more info)
Conclusion:
Wow, wow, and MO wow. When I was contacted by Maggie from SteamCrave I was excited to see what she would send out, and although I hadn’t originally considered testing their Classic MTL RTA or Hadron Mini, now that I have, I’m glad she sent them. Unexpectedly good, and color me surprised, as I had thought, “Yeah, just another MTL setup” and “Mod”. Both were better than I had expected, and the flavor, was MORE than a surprise. The Classic MTL produced enough flavor, that I’ll bet you could put it in some DTL’ers hands, and they might just be surprised. You may not fog a room out with these two, but for a smaller, single batt, and single coiler, this pair proved to really get the job done, AND, in a surprisingly flavorful way. Color me impressed. With soo many pro’s for each, and soo few cons it would be hard to NOT recommend this one to any series MTL’er or someone looking to try MTL’ing.
Once again, thanks out to @Deb50, and Maggie from @SteamCrave for sending these out for the purposes of this review. I didn’t know what to expect when going into this one, but as any reviewer will tell you, when you’re surprised, typically, that’s a GOOD thing.
Colors:
Hadron Mini – Gunmetal, Black
Classic MTL RTA – Stainless Steel, Black
Linkage:
BONUS:
OK, if you REALLY made it ALL the way down here, in this MEGA REVIEW, you deserve a bonus !!!
Pickity Pics:
https://imgur.com/a/PMHOW5R
ESCRIBE:
https://www.evolvapor.com/escribe
Themes:
https://forum.evolvapor.com/files/category/6-dna-75-color-100-color-250-color/
Evolve DNA Explained:
Now you Harcore-ians may know this, but many of you may not. Replay on Ni80 ?? !!!
@illogik YES, I actually DID like the Ni80 !!!
If you made is THIS far:
Then I salute you. Thanks for taking the time to stick with it, all the way to the end. If you’ve had a great year (COVID not withstanding), and would like to help some of those in need, take a look at the Semper Fi and America’s Fund, which is rated at 97/100 by Charity Navigator, and is doing outstanding work, and could use your support.
Thank you.
S.D.
