Stingray Mechanical Mod clone in Polished Brass (18350/18500/18650)
* Stingray mod provided for review courtesy of Focal Ecig
Product Information (from Focal Ecig)
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Specifications:
| Color | Golden |
| Length | 2.2 CM |
| Width | 2.2 CM |
| Height | 10.1 CM |
| Weight | 114 g |
| Total weight | 130 g |
First Impressions:
When FocalEcig.com asked me what I wanted to review I jumped at the chance to request the polished brass Stingray due to it’s super sexy looks and great reputation for being a hard hitter. Physically it’s pretty much a 1:1 clone of the original with the same great switch design and silver plated contacts. The Stingray arrived in my mailbox from China in just two weeks after placing the order using their regular free shipping.
The Stingray arrived in a generic black box with “MOD” printed on it. Opening the box revealed a black, soft, synthetic, drawstring bag in which the Stingray was packaged. I found this to be a really nice touch and it’s the first time I’ve received anything in such a bag. For such an inexpensive mod this was a nice touch from the usual white box with zero protection.
The Stingray inside was beautiful with nice etching, great threads, and a lovely overall fit and finish. I’ve been using this for about 2 weeks and it’s already taking on a nice patina which you can see in these pics. I took the pics just the other day but I can assure you it was a lot more consistent in it’s coloring and shine. This is especially visible in the 18500/kick tube section which I never use.
The stainless steel sections on the head and tail are polished to a mirror finish. My only possible complaint in the appearance of this particular Stingray clone would be the visible joints where the body sections meet. It really doesn’t bother me because I use it primarily in 18650 and 18350 configuration.
Let’s have a closer look at the mod and what it looks like in greater detail. As usual, nearly all my pics will open to the original size image when clicked.
Here you can see the visible tube section seam I mentioned earlier. The engraved “Stingray” logo is made by laser etching and is satisfyingly deep, detailed, and clean for such an inexpensive mod.
The top cap is made of stainless steel with a brass center. The threading is super clean and crisp. The stainless steel is polished to a mirror finish that looks and feels almost like liquid. Thanks to the venting in the unique design of the Stingray top cap there is no issue getting enough airflow when using an atomizer with the air intakes in the base of the 510 connection. It’s not only beautiful but functional.
The switch/base of the Stingray is a unique design based upon the successful design of the Nemesis siwtch but vastly improved. The engraving is nowhere as deep as that of the logo on the body tube but it is detailed and very crisp and should hold up for a good long time.
Above you can see the Stingray mod in 18350 configuration along side it’s 18650 tube and the smaller 18500/kick tube. Threading on all the sections is clean and well machined. All parts thread together easily with very little play or looseness.
In this group of pictures I show the Stingray in all it’s cell configurations.
Above left is the 18650 + Kick configuration. Above right is the 18650 or 18500+ Kick configuration.
Below left is the 18500 or 18350 + Kick configuration. Below right is the 18350 configuration.
Here, below, is my favorite pic. This shows the wonderful etching of the logo and the liquid metal look of the polished stainless steel lock ring and switch base.
The top cap is machined of solid brass and pressed into a stainless steel cover. The 510 threading is clean and perfect and atomizers spin on easily and smoothly.
The floating center pin is silver plated and held in place by a delrin piece that is pressed into the brass base.
Threading on the body for the lockring is super fine and smooth. A good flick will spin the polished stainless tell lock ring all the way up or down. The threading in the locking ring is just as nice. All threading in this mod is flawless, free of excess play and buttery smooth.
The switch, while similar to the Nemesis, is an improved and evolved design.
The contacts are silver plated and wide for maximum contact with the cell base.
Parts of the switch consist of the base button, the threaded insert and heart of the switch, a small stainless locking pin which allows the button to move vertically while still allowing the switch to be threaded in or out, a silver plated center pin with a neodymium magnet in it, a delrin sleeve that threads into the switch housing, and a silver plated cell contact that contains a neodymium magnet which threads into the delrin part.
The switch threaded housing drops onto the button/base. Notice the round channel cut into both the button and switch housing. Turn the switch housing until the line up to form a cylindrical channel then drop the short stainless steel pin into the hols as shown below. This simple design allows the threaded switch body to be turned using the switch base/button while allowing the button itself to freely move vertically.
Next the threaded center pin is threaded into the switch button. With that tightened fully the delrin adpter threadeds into the switch base. This insulates the cell from the flashlight body. The 2nd and 3rd photos below show how the switch button and inner contact are able to move freely with just over 1mm of travel.
The main contact is then threaded into the delrin section The two neodymium magnets in the two contact points repel against eachother making no need for a metal spring. This makes the button action very smooth. With the switch base/button fully depressed the two magnetic contacts connect and allow the current from the cell to conduct into the body of the mod which is the path for the negative current to the top cap.
The beauty of this design is that the mod can accommodate cells that are flat-topped or button-topped along with the small variation in length between different makes of cells. No matter what brand or type of cell, when the switch is fully tightened, coupled with the floating center pin in the top cap, there is no battery play and you can ensure tight battery connection for both anode and cathode with zero fuss or readjusting no matter what atomizer and cell combination you are using.
Here are all the main components of the Stingray.
When assembled, the atomizer always sits flush, and there is no need to adjust a single thing on the top cap or base. Just pop in a cell and
thread on the switch until it is fully seated.
Above is the Stingray with the Gaia atomizer in 18350 mode. Below is the same in 18650 mode.
The Stingray hits hard, hard, hard! Harder than any of my other mods and looks better than all of them while doing it.
Since getting the Stingray I’ve been enjoying it with dual twisted coils running at 0.4 ohms total. The flavor is outrageous and the clouds are abundant. LOVE IT!
Conclusion:
Get it! You won’t be sorry you did. The price is right and the looks and performance are fantastic. I rarely use one mod for longer than
a few days at a time and for the last two weeks the Stingray is all I’ve been vaping on. Look at the pics and see what you would get – pictures don’t lie and they speak volumes more words than I could write here. Aside from the fairly visible seams there isn’t really anything I would change. Great performance, great etching, superb machining of the threads, nicely polished brass and stainless components, and looks to make your girlfriend and friends jealous. Not much more to be said.
MAC APPROVED!
Johnny Mac Reviews 
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