SMOANT Cylon 218W Box Mod Review

Not that anyone’s keeping score but if there ever were a king of the mid-range mods,’ it would be the SMOANT Cylon 218W box mod. It doesn’t take an expert eye to see that this is one of the best mods in the market.

A robust build, excellent performance, and a commanding design all point to it being a one-of-a-kind mod, but don’t take my word for it.

Smoant Product Series continues its love affair with high-grade leather in the design of the Cylon (not that anyone’s complaining), and it has resulted in one of the toughest-looking builds I’ve seen in a long time. There’s no question about its performance, especially since it comes with a second-generation ANT chipset, the ANT 218.

I’d venture to say that this could be the last mod you’ll ever need, but instead of making bold claims, let’s talk about why the Smoant have possibly struck gold with the 218W Cylon box mod.

Included in the SMOANT Cylon 218W TC Box Mod Device you will find:

• 1X Smoant Cylon Mod
• 1X Usb charge & Update cable
• 1X User manual
• 1X Warning card

It’s not flashy, but it’s eye-catching, and it’s certainly easy to love. The word that comes to mind is “robust” because the Cylon is all brawn. The dimensions aren’t too bad. Sure, it is tall and quite thick, but it also fits snugly in hand.

There’s something about this mod that’s very commanding. I suspect the faux-leather build. It’s not soft by any means, but it is beautiful and grippy, like something you wouldn’t have a hard time handling even with slick palms.

The chassis is made from zinc alloy, which is lighter than stainless steel even though it doesn’t feel like it. I also noticed that there are a bunch of star screws placed throughout the chassis, though I’m not sure if they’re purely aesthetic or serve a purpose.

Anyway, there is a Smoant logo at the back that’s low-profile but good-looking all the same. At the top of the mod is a centered 510 connector nestled in a tough-looking top plate. You can hook up 30mm atomizers to this without the slightest hint of overhang. Centering the connection also gives it a more balanced look.

The fire button and rocker bar are tactile but not too soft that they’ll get pressed accidentally when the mod is in your pocket. The highlight of this sturdy build is a 1.3-inch TFT display, a thing of beauty. In terms of clarity and ease of navigation, I rank it quite highly. However, when it comes to customization, I have some doubts.

There’s no reason why a mod of this caliber shouldn’t allow me to upload my wallpapers. You only get to choose from the ten pre-installed wallpapers, which is beautiful but kind of limiting.

Bottom line is the build quality, and design of the mod is damn near faultless. I hope they will fix this wallpaper limitation in future software upgrades.

Do you think that the V2 ANT chip is just another board in a sea of impressive chipsets? Think again. I’ve seen a lot of mods with impressive chips in my day, but few can keep up with the lightning-quick ramp-up and battery efficiency of the SMOANT Cylon 218W Box Mod’s ANT 218 chip.

That’s not the only reason you’ll like it, though. This chip is behind one of the most intuitive UI’s I’ve had the pleasure of using recently. Menu trees open up like a breeze, and information is displayed in crisp, legible letters. Locating settings and selecting modes on this mod is effortless, but that’s not all.

This same chip can deliver a maximum power output of 218 watts. That’s nothing to sneeze at. Besides that, there is a full suite of modes at your disposal: temperature control, preheat settings, customizable curves, adjustable TCR, safety features—you name it. If vapers chose mods based on modern features alone, then the Cylon would be eons ahead.

Coil detection is exquisite, as it should be in any mod from this decade. It may sound like an exaggeration, but the Cylon has, by far, the most accurate coil detection system I’ve had the pleasure of using in a long time. Even homemade coils are detected without a cinch when in other mods there’s always a stutter or glitch.

It is safe to say that the second generation ANT chip delivers.

Where other mods falter and hesitate, the SMOANT Cylon 218W Box Mod delivers with dependable performance. Tested using both high-wattage and RDA tanks, there wasn’t any significant drop in battery consumption. At 65 to 85 watts, I got close to 7 hours of constant use before the batteries petered out. Bear in mind that I was testing out as many new features as I could, so this battery life could certainly be better.

What’s impressive is that the Cylon does ramp up quickly. Dry hits and power spikes were never an issue, and I started to see why this mod is considered one of the most reliable ever built. I welcomed the numerous protections too because the last thing I wanted was to burn through my coils on the first try. Some people think that for a mod this size, the Cylon is overpowered, but I beg to differ.

Overall, the performance is steady, reliable, and safe.

• Robust build
• 218W power output
• Beautiful TFT display
• Classy leather side panel
• Zinc alloy construction
• Upgradeable firmware
• Powerful chipset

• No support for user-uploaded wallpapers
• A bit chunky

As good as it gets; that is precisely what the 218W Cylon TC box mod is. It is robust yet reliable enough to entrust with your most delicate coils. I wouldn’t call this an entry-level mod, but it’s highly unlikely that any beginner would have trouble working it. All in all, it is an excellent mod that’s made even better by its surprisingly small price tag.