The Kamry K100

We recently received some vapemail, courtesy of a co-op over at nu-vapor, in the form of a shiny new K100 mod from Kamry.

This is one of those controversial Chinese clones. The K100 is an obvious copy of the look of the Empire PV Mod from Empire Mods, if not a part-for-part clone.  The K100, for example, features a 510 connector, unlike the Empire Mod’s 901.  The brass parts of the Empire Mod, such as the switch, are replaced in the K100 with stainless steel, and it’s a somewhat longer mod, mostly due to more internal space being taken up by the bottom-mounted switch. This extra length is particularly apparent in 18350 mode. Where an 18350 would completely hide the center telescoping tube in the Empire mod, there is still about an inch of it visible in the K100; there is no configuration we’ve found in which the telescoping tube is completely hidden. Internal contacts are stainless steel.

Like the Empire mod, the K100 is available in a variety of anodized colors, though the variety is not nearly as wide as that of the Empire mod, and not nearly as detailed.  The two-toned option of the Empire in the body and sleeve, for example, are not available; the anodized parts of the K100 are all only available in a single color.

The matching drip sleeve and drip tip give the K100 a nice, consistent look, though the sleeve will not be usable with anything bigger than a standard size atomizer or cartomizer. This sleeve screws down into the eGo well around the 510 connector, and we found it, when attached, to be just slightly shorter than a Boge standard-length cartomizer.  As a result, we had to choose between either leaving it slight loose, or allowing a millimeter or two of the cartomizer to protrude from the top of the sleeve.

The bottom button includes a locking ring, though the way the switch is built, it’s hardly needed. Our K100 had a very stiff switch spring, and it’s not likely it would ever go off accidentally.  Even when the mod is stood on end, the switch would not move.

On to the judging:

Build Quality: 7/10

As far as Chinese clone mods go, the K100 is actually a very good one.  It has a decent amount of weight to it (more than the Empire mod it emulates, actually), to the point that when we took it out of the box, the first thing we did was check to see if it had shipped with a battery inside it.  The parts thread together well, though with ours there is quite a bit of metal-on-metal screech as parts are screwed and unscrewed.

Looks: 8/10

This is a rather good-looking mod, which should be expected considering that it is a relatively accurate copy of the look of another popular mod.  The finish is good, and consistent across the various parts of the mod.  The inclusion of a matching drop tip is a nice touch.

Flexibility: 8/10

We appreciate how easy it is to telescope this mod to accommodate various battery sizes. Also, unlike with many other inexpensive mods, Kamry had the foresight not to anodize the internals of the mod, so using a Kick with it is not a problem.  We were able to use 510 and eGo-threaded atomizers without any issues, though the small size of the slanted top may make it a challenge to find an atomizer or that’s a good match, if you choose not to use something small enough to hide under the drip sleeve.

Performance: 7/10

The performance of this mod was quite good.  Testing indicated very low voltage drop, even with the use of stainless steel contacts: roughly .01 volts were lost between the battery and the 510 connector in our tests. We did experience occasional, but rare, misfires with the button.

Price: 7/10

We’ve seen the K100 selling for retail prices around $50, and ours was obtained through a co-op at a price of $34.00, shipped.

Overall Score: 7.4

The Kamry K100