Smok Tech247 Review – More Battery & Tech Than You Would Expect!

In for review is the Smok Tech247 kit!

Smok knocks out many pod kits – with their Nord and Novo ranges being the most popular.

What To Expect From The Smok Tech247…
This looks to be a simple pod kit at a first glance – but looks can be deceiving!

For a start this has Variable Wattage control – meaning you can adjust the output manually from 5 to 30W. If this sounds a bit too techy for you it will also automatically set the optimum output for the coil installed.

Plus a 0.69in OLED screen is provided to view all your vape data and make adjustments.

Inside the device is a 1800mAh battery which should keep you vaping for a while. A USB Type C port is provided for charging at a 1.6A max charge rate.

To fire you can either manually press the fire button or inhale on the mouthpiece to trigger the automatic draw firing. You can also lock the fire button so it is draw fire only to help prevent accidental firing in a pocket or bag.

The pod is refillable via the top fill port with up to 4ml of your own e-liquid. Sadly for us in TPD regulated areas the capacity is reduced to 2ml.

This uses removable coils and they are a new range especially for the Tech 247.

These are the “M Series” coils and they come in 0.8ohm (included in kit), 0.6ohm (included in kit) and 0.4ohm (available separately).

You can adjust the incoming airflow to your preference using the slider on the pod.

There are 8 colours to choose from: Black, Silver, Gun Metal, Red Black, Pink Purple, Green Gradient, Blue Gradient and Purple Blue.

Kit Includes
·Smok Tech247 device
·Tech247 pod
·0.8ohm Meshed M-Coil
·0.6ohm Meshed M-Coil
·Lanyard
·USB Type C cable
·User manual

Smok Tech247 Specs
·Size: 34.9×18.3x100mm
·Battery: 1800mAh (internal)
·Display: 0.69in OLED screen
·Output: 5-30W
·User modes: Variable wattage, smart automatic output setting
·Type C USB charging – 1.6A charge rate
·Resistance range: 0.4-3ohm
·Capacity: 4ml (Standard) / 2ml (TPD)
·Pods: Refillable, replaceable coil
·Compatible with: M-Coil range
·Auto draw or manual fire
·Adjustable top airflow
·Top fill port
·IQ Chipset

Smok Tech247 Design & Build Quality
I received the Purple Blue version in the 2ml TPD friendly variant.

It comes in a shiny fancy box with plenty of info.

Remember to scan the QR code A on the top of the box with your mobile phone camera to open the verification webpage.

It will ask you to scratch off the panel on code B and scan it to fully verify that the device is genuine. I had a bit of a struggle as my phone kept denying access to my camera. I got around this by taking a photo of the QR code sticker and choosing the photo option (see arrow).

Then it will ask you to input your email address and will confirm that the device is genuine.

When you open the box you will pull out a plastic box tray type thingy!

On the top of the tray the device and pod is sat nested into the packaging.

Under the tray is another tray which you have to remove – this was quite tight and very difficult to remove even with the hole cut out in the base which is supposed to help.

Inside that tray you will find the Lanyard, spare coil, USB Cable and paperwork.

When you get the device out of the box – there is a protective film applied to the screen area – make sure to remove this.

Also there is a horrible QR code sticker on the device itself. I removed this and it left behind all the sticky residue.

I tried Nail Varnish remover in the end to try and shift it, but it did discolour the mod a bit. Smok this is very naughty please apply the sticker elsewhere!

The lanyard is of good quality and even has a handy little mouthpiece cover to help prevent dirt getting in.

When it comes to paperwork – there is a lot of it! There is a warning card, safety booklet, warranty card and the instruction manual.

The instructions booklet is very thick with only 6 pages per language. It is decent in terms of getting up and running but there is no information on protections and faults?

Sadly there is no digital online version (I often prefer to read the online / download versions as you can zoom in!)

Smok Tech247 Mod
The device has a textured finish – almost like a rubber spray. As this version has the gradient colour scheme, it starts as a lovely Lilac at the top of the mod and it fades into a light Baby Blue towards the base.

It has lots of rounded smooth edges and feels like a bar of soap in the hand, very comfortable.

On the front of the mod the “tech247” logo is etched in using a White finish. Other branding appears above the screen in the same finish.

The rear is plain apart from the text “Powered by IQ chip technology” in White at the bottom.

One edge is plain but the other houses the screen, USB port and power button.

You can install the pod either way around but it will only work when the airflow adjuster is the opposite side to the screen. This is because of the position of the electrical connectors in the pod compartment.

Inside the pod compartment you will also find the securing magnets which are extremely strong but pulling out the pod is easy. There is no rattle or wobble to the pod.

The base of the mod is a Black rubber like material which helps prevent scratching or damage to the mod or surface it is sat on. It does stand vertically and is stable.

Etched into the base are the required legal symbols, battery capacity and “Designed by Smok”.

Workface
The main workface comprises an oval panel of Black plastic.

At the top is the oval fire button which is quite small at 8x5mm but it is clicky and responsive.

Below that is the screen area, which is invisible until the screen wakes up.

The screen layout is clear and bright.

On the left is the battery icon and charge remaining in %.In the centre is the power level (in Watts) and the padlock symbol to display when the power button is locked. It does not display when unlocked.

Finally on the right it tells you the coil resistance in ohms ( Ω ) and then the puff counter is bottom right.

At the bottom of the panel is the USB Type C port which works fine and slightly recessed to prevent damage to the contacts.

Smok Tech247 Pod
This is quite heavily tinted and 2/3rds of the pod are obscured with a solid Black area. I think this is a feature on the 2ml TPD pods as there may be an insert inside the pod to reduce the capacity.

You can see the e-liquid level a bit on the remaining 1/3rd of the pod but it is a bit dark.

This has a strange cylindrical mouthpiece which is only around 8mm in diameter, but it is comfortable and you do get used to it.

On the top of the pod is the fill port cover which is made from a thick Silicone material so should not wear out as quickly as some port covers.

The outer edge of the cover has an arrow marking and this is where you lift to access the fill port. You can also swing the cover out of the way for filling.

The oval fill port itself measures 4.25mm x 3.35mm which is fine for the majority of bottle nozzles. I did get a few issues with air locks, where the pod did not fill fully. There was a slightly lower level on one side whilst the other side was overflowing. I am not sure if this issue is caused by the TPD capacity reducer, restricting the flow of e-liquid through the pod.

On the side opposite the mouthpiece is the airflow adjustment slider. It doesn’t have much travel but is surprisingly effective!

The pod base houses 2 magnets which secure the pod into the mod. Also you will see coil base which provides the electrical contact.

It is extremely hard to remove the coil. I tried with my strong thumbnails but it would not budge. You will need a flat blade screwdriver or similar to prise out the coil.

Quick Start Guide
The device arrives with the 0.8ohm coil installed.

On the base of the pod is an isolator sticker which must be removed after filling with e-liquid before vaping. The sticker prevents the device firing before there is e-liquid in the pod. If the device fires with an empty pod you will permanently damage the coil.

Make sure to check the battery is fully charged – mine arrived with only 57% charge remaining.

Basic Operation
·Power On/Off = Press the power button 5 times to turn on/off.
·Vaping = Simply inhale on the mouthpiece to trigger the auto draw activation or manually press the fire button.
·Lock power button = If you want to just use the auto draw activation and lock the power button, press the power button 4 times. Repeat this step to unlock the button.
·Battery indicator = The screen will display the battery charge remaining.
·Battery indicator when charging = The screen will display the charge percentage and approximate charge time remaining.
·Adjust airflow = Slide the airflow slider fully up to open up the airflow or down to make it tighter. You can of course choose any position on the slider to suit.

·Output = The device will automatically set the recommended output power level but you can adjust it further.

·Adjust output = Press the power button 3 times and the output value will flash. Each further press of the power button adds 1W to the output. Stop pressing when at the desired power level. Note: if you remove the pod the output will reset to the default – so you will have to adjust again – bit annoying!

·Puff counter = you can reset the puff counter by removing the pod, then holding down the power button whilst replacing the pod.

Protections

Sadly the instructions only cover one fault / protection scenario…

·Overtime Protection: If you vape for over 8 seconds the screen will display “Time Over” and the current firing will cut out. Press the fire button or inhale to continue.
During use I have also found…
·No Atomiser: Clean all the pod and pen contacts. Replace with a new pod. If fault persists the device may be defective.
·Low Battery: When the battery charge drops to a point where there is no power left to vape, the
·AUTO DRAW ONLY: This means the power button is locked. Unlock it for adjustments or manual firing.

How To Charge The Battery
The charging rate is specified as 1.6A.

·Using a USB type C cable, connect the small end into the USB port on the device
·Connect the large end of the cable into a suitable USB outlet.
·The screen will display the charge percentage and approximate charge time remaining. Sadly you will only see this when you plug in the USB cable. The screen will turn off during charging, so briefly press the power button to wake up the screen to view the charge level.

How To Fill the Pod
If using a new pod leave to stand for 5-10 minutes after first fill to allow the coil to saturate with e-liquid.

You do not need to remove the pod for refilling – I have just removed it to make photographing the process easier!

·Lift up the port cover in the direction of the arrow and swing it out of the way.

Add e-liquid to the port whilst observing the level through the side of the pod.

·Replace the fill port cover firmly.

How To Change The Coil
If there is e-liquid in the pod you may need absorbent material when you remove the coil as the remaining e-liquid will escape.

·Remove the pod from the mod.
·Use a flat bladed screwdriver or similar to prise the coil from the base of the pod.

Pull out the coil – if there is any resistance it is due to the sealing O-ring doing its job.

Push a new coil into the pod base. Make sure the 2 flat edges on the coil base align with the 2 flat edges on the base of the pod.

·Make sure the coil is pushed in fully.
·Fill the pod and install on the mod – make sure that the airflow adjuster is the opposite side to the screen.
·Leave to stand for around 10 minutes before vaping to allow the e-liquid to soak into the coil head.

How Does The Smok Tech247 Perform?
I used my 50% PG / 50% VG Bubblegum e-liquid with 6mg nicotine salt. I mix this myself from the IVG concentrate.

If any of these terms are over your head – have a read of our handy guides below!

·MTL V DTL V RDL – A Guide To Vape Styles
·VG and PG in E-liquid – all you need to know
·Beginners guide to E-liquid
·Nic Salt E-liquid

The 0.8ohm coil has the Blue O-ring at the base and the 0.6ohm coil has the Red O-ring at the base.

0.8ohm M Coil
The device automatically set the output to 14W but it felt a bit weak to me, so I increased the power to 16W which was a big improvement.

However this is not quite as flavourful as other pod kits such as the OXVA Xlim SQ Pro or Uwell Caliburn.

It is not lacking flavour by any means – I would rate it around 7/10 but I was hoping for a bit more as other Smok pod kits have performed well for flavour.

The vapour is quite thin and slightly dry and there is not much warmth either.

So not a failure at all, but I was hoping for a bit more.

0.6ohm M Coil
The mod automatically set to 17W for this coil.

For some reason this just does not feel right?

The vapour is very hot, dry and you can only take very short vapes.

I was wondering if it was because the power was too high, but I dropped it down to 16W and it still felt similar but with less heat. In fact it was only tolerable at 15W which is lower power than the 0.8ohm?

The mod feels accurate in its output as the 0.8ohm coil was perfectly happy at 16W, so why shouldn’t the 0.6ohm be happy at a higher output?

My conclusion is that the airflow doesn’t open wide enough for this coil. With some extra air coming in this would cool the vapour and make it travel quicker. It feels a bit hot and claustrophobic?

Even with the airflow slider fully open it just does not feel right. Try a normal pod kit with the airflow almost closed and that is the feeling you get. The vapour needs somewhere to swish around but it feels like you are sucking straight from the top of the coil and it is not very comfortable?

For me this kit would shine if Smok replaced the 0.6ohm coil with 2 of the 0.8ohm coils instead. They seem to be more suited to the airflow available.

Airflow
To help rate how restricted the airflow is, I use a scale – where 0 = fully closed, no airflow up to 10 = breathing fresh air.

For the 0.8ohm coil I found fully open was around 5.5 and fully closed was 1. So this happily caters to MTL vapers and may even suit those who like an RDL vape. I mostly used this is in the mid airflow position.

With the 0.6ohm coil the airflow was too restricted even in the fully open setting. Not in the way that the airflow was too tight, more in the way the vapour was too hot and didn’t seem to have the space to cool down? Fully closed I would rate it around 0.5 and fully open I would say 5. Which is odd as this coil has tighter airflow than the 0.8ohm which is supposed to be for MTL vaping?

Mod Performance
The auto draw and button operation were super quick to activate. Also the output felt correct according to the wattage shown on the screen. I like the fact you can lock the power button too which prevents accidental activation in a pocket or bag.

One slight annoyance was that the screen went off during charging. The initial screen shows charging time remaining and charge percentage, but when the screen goes off you can’t just check. You have to press the power button but this brings up the main screen with only the battery icon and percentage on the left – you lose the time remaining screen. Also there is no way of knowing when fully charged apart from pressing the button.

Another slight annoyance was the fact that if you remove the pod the wattage will reset to the default. This is not a problem if you are happy with the output the mod automatically selects. But I did increase the output and had to adjust it again after removing the pod to check for any leaks!

The estimated charging time on the screen is not always accurate. Also the actual charging time was not consistent either.

For example:

·Charge 1: device said 74 minutes approximately until fully charged, it actually took 79 minutes – so the estimate was not too far off.
·Charge 2: the screen said 88 minutes to charge whilst it actually took 69 minutes.
·Charge 3: estimated 90 minutes, actually took 75.

Leaks
Not a single dribble – great work Smok!

Battery Life
This is always variable, different factors such as your own vaping habits, power level, coil and length of inhale will affect this. I am a very heavy vaper, but as I guide I got…

·0.8ohm coil at 16W: a whopping 10-12 hours of vaping (416-436 puffs and 5-6 refills) – pretty good going!
·0.6ohm coil at between 15W and 17W (I did set it to 15W but forgot that it changes back to 17W when you remove the pod!): another long stint of 13 hours (403 puffs, 6 refills)!

Pros
·Screen clear and well laid out
·Good quality lanyard with mouthpiece cover
·Lovely design and texture to the device
·Easy to see e-liquid levels
·Adjustable output and airflow is always a good thing to have
·Top fill makes life easier
·Generous kit contents considering the price
·Ability to lock the power button
·Auto draw and manual firing makes me happy as you have a backup if the auto draw system fails.
·Excellent battery capacity means longer between charges!
·No leaks

Cons
·QR sticker applied to the device is hard to remove. Leaves behind the sticky stuff. Spoils the appearance.
·Hard to pull out the coil with a fingernail – you will need a tool for this.
·Difficult to unpack (I do have some dexterity issues though)
·Instructions OK but do not cover fault / protection alerts and charging instructions
·Only one button to make adjustments which some might find fiddly
·Only 1/3 of the pod has a decent e-liquid view (may only be issue on 2ml TPD pods)
·Airlocks when filling (again may be due to the 2ml capacity reducer)
·Charging timer only shows when you plug cable in. After that the screen goes off and you have to press the button which only shows the main screen.
·If you remove the pod the output will reset to the default. A bit annoying if you have adjusted the wattage manually
·The airflow does not open sufficiently to make the 0.6ohm coil perform well

Smok Tech247 Review Verdict
I love the shape and texture of the mod, it does feel nice in the hand!

The large battery capacity is surprising for such a compact device and I found you could get a lot of vapes between charges. Initially I did think the charging was a bit slow (1.6A charge rate compared to most kits having a 2A rate) but this does have a bigger battery than a lot of pod kits!

In general the build quality is great, but I have had to reduce this score due to the sticker which left sticky residue on the beautiful mod finish – bit of a schoolboy error that Smok!

The ease of use score dropped a few marks due to missing info from the instructions, needing a tool to pull out the coil and there is only one button to make adjustments.

Once you have the settings correct though, it is very simple to use with the ease of auto draw plus the reassuring backup of a manual fire button should that fail (which I have had happen on kits in the past).

The 0.8ohm coil was good, but for some reason the 0.6ohm coil could not get enough airflow. Instead it kicked out a very hot and dry vapour which I could only tolerate in short inhales. Sadly this did impact the score for the 0.6ohm coil – which is a shame as I believe it is the airflow design causing this not the actual coil. I would prefer 2 of the 0.8ohm coils in the kit instead.

I do like the very useful top fill, although the pod is spoilt by the 2ml TPD capacity reducer. This impedes the view of the e-liquid level and I think causes the airlocks when filling.

Whilst there are better pod kits for a similar price, there are also a lot worse! The price is reasonable and the kit contents are generous with USB Cable, Lanyard and a spare coil.

Overall it performs OK, but I would not swap it for my Voopoo Argus G2 or P2 or my favourite OXVA Xlims. I do wish there were 2 of the 0.8ohm coils as the 0.6ohm coil just does not seem to perform well in this kit.

REVIEW OVERVIEW

SUMMARY
There are better pod kits on the market for a similar price, but on the flip side there are a lot worse too! This performs well, is pretty and well built. Plus has more features than some pod kits with adjustable output and airflow. The excellent battery capacity means you will be vaping longer between charges. But it is not without issues...