GEEKVAPE Z100C DNA 100W Pod Mod Kit Review – Amazing DNA Chip 2-in-1 Vape

Intro

Introducing the latest Z100C DNA pod mod by Geekvape! We’ve been rather thrilled since we heard Geekvape was on the go launching a vape powered by DNA chipset, and the vape is a pod mod. It’s one of the few pod mods capable of temperature control.

The Z100C DNA pod mod fires up to 100W, and provides accurate temp control for 5 types of coils within the range of 100-315°C. It houses 5ml vape juice, runs on single 21700 or 18650 battery, coupled with Type-C fast charging. By packing the cutting-edge chip inside, it also offers alluring Wattage Boost and Replay mode to beat its counterparts to it.

This review covers all the pros and cons of the Geekvape Z100C DNA based on our days of testing on the kit. By the way, we highlight aspects we like in green, and those we don’t in red, to make your reading easier. Read further down the page to see whether the Geekvape Z100C DNA pod mod is your go-to!

Product Info

Design & Quality – 9

Mod – 10

Geekvape Z100C DNA kit offers a hefty mod. The sample we got is Black Carbon Fiber, and most part of it is totally matte black metal. Geekvape embellishes it a tad with two pieces of shiny panel embedded in the two larger faces. The panels sport braided patterns, with black and mazarine blue intertwined, not overcomplicated. If you’re not a fan of so understated colorway, Z100C DNA mod has another three colors to choose from: black blue, silver red and blue green. They use relatively more vibrant colors. That being said, I guess the design focus of this new release is just to keep a low profile, or create some classic business vibe.

Z100C DNA’s mod is cube-bodied, while it smooths out each and every edge to step up its game in comfortable grips. We love this fusion of cool looking and ergonomics.

The display screen lies on one narrower face, so does all the other functional components. We can see the fire key, display screen, + button, enter button, – button and charging port in turn, presenting a compact and sensible layout. The fire key is scaled up, obviously. No matter it’s the bigger size or the position where it stands, the key hits the spot. As for the screen, it’s bright enough and shows good refreshing rate. We’re allowed to adjust the display brightness by the way.

The top section of the mod looks no different from others—there’s a hollow with magnetic pogo pins for securing the pod in place. The pod and mod can interlock tightly. We tried to shake the entire device hard, proving that the pod couldn’t drop off.

Pod – 9

Lightweight is a hallmark of the pod of Geekvape Z100C DNA. I think it’s not the kind of tiny slim pod—considering the 5ml capacity. Rather the opposite in fact. This is a really chunky pod, but light in the meantime.

We fill the pod from the side. Pull out the rubber lid and squeeze e-liquid in, filling is done. Some vapers see the side fill as a sticking point, and one of their major worries is every refill might end up with a gunky machine. However, it’s not the case for this pod. It doesn’t leak at all no matter how we flipped it over. And whether we want to admit it or not, side fill does have an edge over top fill—it doesn’t need us to remove a top cap first. So to conclude, we like it. The e-liquid reservoir uses translucent shell, so we can check the e-liquid level. It’s only the shell color is too dark to make for quick checking—it always takes quite a while to tell the liquid apart from the almost-black shell itself.

The pod adopts Geekvape’s signature AFC design, with a top air ring on the outside and a top-to-bottom airflow system to improve flavor on the inside. For instance, the well-loved Geekvape Z series ranging from RDA to sub-ohm tank. This is the best airflow mechanism on the market that avoids leakage while sacrificing flavor delivery as few as possible. The AFC ring is fully adjustable and easy to spin.

The coils use press-fits and we didn’t run into any issues when pressing them in. But as for taking a coil off, it requires lots of forces. Or rather, it’s just impossible to prize it off with bare fingers. The kit offers a wrench-like tool in it for solving this issue.

2-in-1 Vape Design – 10

Also note that Geekvape makes a new twist this time. The Z100C DNA kit offers a 510 adapter, which enables the mod to connect to any sub-ohm tanks or RBAs aside from the original pod. That means the pod mod can double as a mod vape to pump out bigger clouds carrying better flavor. To assemble the 510 adapter, just press it down with some forces, and right away a 510 connector is readily available. To take it off, hold two buttons on the adapter and lift it up. It’s a breeze to get all these done.

Battery & Charging – 8

The Geekvape Z100C DNA runs on single battery, both 21700 and 18650 dimensions compatible. Its battery holder is sized to hold a 21700 just enough; if you want to pack in a 18650 as we did, use the battery adapter included in the kit. That’s an adorable accessory to have at hand.

Let’s move on to the battery door on the mod base. It uses the same matte black material as that covering the body of the mod, looking and feeling of really nice quality. The door is easy to open—just by pulling a toggle on it backwards a tad and it bounces open. But we ran into a bummer when closing the door back off. The door wouldn’t latch as long as we pressed it down on its front end, exactly the same issue as we experienced in the Voopoo Argus GT II mod. Emm…thinking maybe this is a common flaw in this sort of closing mechanism?

The mod comes with a Type-C 3A charging port resting under the function buttons. It’s not on the base, so we can get the device charging without putting it down and anxious about a possible leakage. This mod never leaks in our testing though. But anyways, it’s good to see 3A fast charging seems to become a must-have on almost all mod kits launched this year. Less time required for charging, less hassle we need to deal with.

Functions – 9

The Z100C DNA pod mod is powered by the DNA chip. This is also the biggest selling point of the new launch, without a doubt. Temperature control of DNA chip has always been viewed as the benchmark in the industry, as well as its consistent output power. That’s why Z100C DNA can offer us a really complete set of TC modes, providing accurate temperature regulation for coils in Kanthal, SS 430, SS 316, Titanium and Nickel 200.

In addition, Geekvape Z100C DNA has another three modes: Wattage, Wattage Boost and Replay. Replay isn’t a new name for experienced vapers for sure. It’s firstly introduced in 2018 and designed for delivering consistent performance (such as flavor, hits and etc.). According to Geekvape, Wattage Boost mode aims to make the device start off from a little higher power so that it can quickly reach the desired set power. Let’s check how the two perform differently in the next section.

We could set a lock on this pod mod to prevent accidental firing, by pressing the fire key for 5 consecutive times. Additionally, the device starts screen timeout after we put it aside for around 30 seconds. Love the function as it really saves battery.

Performance – 10

In testing the Geekvape Z100C DNA kit, we used the Blue Razz by Candy King (3mg), and most of the time vaped at the highest recommended wattage for each coil. 60W for the 0.4Ω coil, 85W for the 0.4Ω coil.

On the whole, the pod mod has top-rated vapor production and flavor intensity, given that it’s just a pod mod by Geekvape’s definition. Clouds are immense, and keep giving a harsh hit. No burnt tastes cropped up throughout the testing. In terms of the performance, it really surpasses any typical pod mods.

Wattage vs Wattage Boost

We can basically know the differences between the two modes by Geekvape’s explanation. The Wattage Boost is in essence a small tweak to the regular variable wattage. Every time we take a drag, the mode pushes the device to fire at a higher watt than the set one in the first seconds, thus making for super quick ramp-up. As a result of this, differences mainly happen in the first few seconds.

Compared to the regular Wattage, vapor in the Wattage Boost from the very start comes out warmer, and delivers more noticeable hits on the back throat. As for the vapor amount and flavor, I think the two modes are pretty much the same.

Replay Mode

A distinct feature of the Replay mode is stable. It does what it says on the tin—creating stable performance in each puff. In addition, we found vapor in this mode is smoother as well, but less dense somehow.

Ease of Use – 7

Geekvape Z100C’s manual gives explicit explanation most of the time, but sometimes it really gets us perplexed. The first bummer is about how on earth we can turn the device off. The manual says we lock the device by pressing the fire button five times, and turn it on or off by pressing the fire button five times, as well. It’s supposed to be a wrong description. Five clicks are only for setting a key lock. As for powering the device on and off, we’ve yet to find a way aside from pulling the battery out. Three clicks on the fire key don’t work, neither holding the “+” and “-” together. Luckily the pod mod offers a standby mode which turns off screen after 30 seconds, so the battery life can hold up.

It’s also bizarre that the instruction doesn’t specify what the three buttons under screen are respectively used for, but only call them as function buttons. Of course we could figure that out in just a few minutes: highest button is “+”, lowest button is “-” and center one is “Enter.” But we still believe they need simple basic describing. The device would be easier to work with if Geekvape would love to improve the manual writing.

On top of these issues, Geekvape is a straightforward pod mod. It provides very comprehensive parameters on the screen, including watt, coil resistance and battery level, and even time and date. The screen brightness is adjustable. It’s simple to switch from one mode to another and do any further set-ups.

As we said above, refills are truly hassle-free although the gadget uses side fill system. But removing a coil is always a toughie. If you don’t have enough patience to slowly pry it out with the tiny wrench, high chances that the coil would shoot off, like what we experienced.

Price – 7

• Geekvape Z100C DNA pod mod kit (standard ver.) MSRP: $167.17

Geekvape’s official online store also releases a bundle, which adds in 5 P series coils (also compatible with its Aegis Boost line-up) and another two cartridges.

• Bundle MSRP: $197.62

The pricing is quite high even compared to an average mod kit on the market, let alone for pod mod kits. But then, the price difference is actually common in DNA chip powered vapes. Let’s say the Dovpo Top Gear DNA250C which is priced at $149.99, and the Lost Vape Thelema DNA250C at a higher $169.99 (Element Vape price, not MSRP). Typically, a DNA-powered vape cost $50 – $100 more than others, even though the specs and most features look all alike. But their great temperature control, flavor representation and customization always make every penny worth it.

In our view, the position of the Z100C DNA is a bit awkward. It’s indeed a fully capable pod mod with differentiated feature set—think about the TC and Replay modes. It makes sense that consumers have to pay some extra pennies. However, the truth is with the same amount of money, we could almost buy a DNA mod vape, running on dual batteries and topping out absolutely higher than 100W. Although the device’s performance is honestly amazing, there’re more cost-effective options than it. Buy it, if money isn’t what you always factor in.

Verdict

As a pod mod vape, Geekvape Z100C DNA has beaten out most its counterparts. The device takes it seriously to offer truly all-around temp control, and other versatile modes to satisfy desires for customization. It’s fully capable, but doesn’t require too much expertise to navigate. Refills are easy-breezy, and battery can last for days. Most importantly, the vapor production and flavor both knock others out of the park.

But its user manual is a real issue. It would be friendlier to beginners if using more clear-cut description. The pricing is high, without a doubt. If price isn’t your breaking point, don’t hesitate to get it.

How do you like this Geekvape Z100C DNA pod mod? Feel free to tell us in the comment section below!