Header
IN SHORT:
Rader Duo Core GT211 by Hugo Vapor
Rader Duo Core GT211 by Hugo Vapor

Rader Duo Core GT211 by Hugo Vapor

Commercial characteristics

  • Sponsor having loaned the product for the magazine: Happesmoke 
  • Price of the product tested: 56.90 Euros, general public price
  • Product category according to its selling price: Mid-range (from 41 to 80 euros)
  • Mod type: Power electronics and variable voltage and temperature control
  • Is the mod telescopic? No
  • Maximum power: 211 W
  • Maximum voltage: 8.4 V
  • Minimum value in ohms of resistance for a start: 0.06Ω

Reviewer comments on business characteristics

Hugo Vapor is a Chinese manufacturer who enjoyed his first hours of glory with a Boxer chronicled in these pages, a good box despite a slight tendency to gradually lose his painting.

The manufacturer returns with his latest opus, the Rader. From the start, it's pretty easy to see a huge resemblance to one of 2017's bestsellers, the Teslacigs WYE 200. First, by the shape, modeled almost identical on its model and then by the material used, here the nylon, which mimics the PVC body of the WYE by its lightness.

Motorized by a proprietary chipset, the Rader costs around € 56 and announces a power of 211W, very comfortable for a use that we imagine versatile. It offers several classic operating modes, variable power, variable voltage with a possible switch to mechanical mod emulation, classic temperature control, adjustable preheat and a Curve mode that allows you to draw the output power curve on a time frame given.

Available in several colors, today we will see a special “camouflage” version.

This set is completed by the possibility of upgrading the firmware and adjusting the customization of the box by installing an available external software. HERE.

A rather tempting program on paper that should be compared to practical reality, which we will try to do below.

Physical characteristics and felt quality

  • Width or Diameter of the product in mm: 41.5
  • Product Length or Height in mm: 84.5
  • Product weight in grams: 175
  • Material composing the product: Nylon
  • Form Factor Type: Classic Box - VaporShark type
  • Decorative style: Military
  • Quality of decoration: Good
  • Is the coating of the mod sensitive to fingerprints? No
  • All components of this mod seem well assembled? Can do better and I'll tell you why
  • Fire button position: Lateral near the top cap
  • Fire button type: Mechanical plastic on contact rubber
  • Number of buttons making up the interface, including touch zones if they are present: 2
  • Type of user interface buttons: Mechanical plastic on contact rubber
  • Quality of the interface button (s): Good, the button is very responsive
  • Number of parts in the product: 2
  • Number of threads: 1
  • Quality of the threads: Good
  • Overall, do you appreciate the quality of manufacture of this product with regard to its price? No

Rating of the vapelier as to feelings quality: 2.6 / 5 2.6 5 out of stars

Reviewer's comments on physical characteristics and perceived quality

In its “camouflage” livery, the Rader presents very well and shows a massive form factor and a military-inspired design that will delight fans of this type of aesthetic. The grip of the form is rather good, the box fits well in the palm.

The box is very light, the use of nylon as a base material gives it this advantage. The Rader proudly bears its name stamped on its side, always like a Tesla WYE which, decidedly, will have inspired the designers of the Rader undoubtedly beyond reason.

Unfortunately, the comparison stops here because the switch, although perfectly integrated, has a particularly unpleasant surface to the touch. It is the same for the bar [+/-], the roughness of which is even more marked. Where the WYE shone with its softness, the Rader imposes a grained appearance and fairly sharp edges, little worked, which are all obstacles to a serene and comfortable grip.

The finish is very limited, it is felt as soon as you look at it and even more when you charge the batteries in the slot provided for this purpose. The bonnet providing passage to the cradle benefits from a perfectible adjustment which sometimes makes it not very intuitive to handle. No tape to extract the batteries, it will therefore be necessary to stick the nails. Where the WYE (yes, still it!) Offered a useful bodywork design for the extraction of the batteries, the stiffness of the Rader imposes unnecessary contortions for such a trivial gesture.

This continues with the remarkable absence of vents for cooling the chipset. There are many degassing slots for the batteries but they will not be able to cool the engine, which remains well insulated. I remind you that the chipset promises us 211W and 40A in output, data to be taken into account for a possible heating of the circuits.

Not perfectly trimmed, the nylon is particularly uncomfortable when extracting the hood and marks a too visible demarcation line between the frame and the door. 

On the top-cap, large enough to accommodate large diameter atomizers, we notice a large steel plate engraved so as to convey air for the (rare) atomizers feeding on it through the connection. Too bad the placement of the plate which is just flush with the nylon makes this functionality quite unnecessary. We will console ourselves with a positive spring pin even if, again, hardness is required and some friction noises when installing a rather long ato on its connection make fear, perhaps wrongly, for the durability of the assembly.

In summary, we can not say that the Rader will mark its time thanks to its finish, far below what the competition does, including in similar prices. Although most of the reported defects may seem venial, the general perception of the object suffers. The Rader does not appear to be a well finished box.

Functional features

  • Type of chipset used: Owner
  • Connection type: 510, Ego - via adapter
  • Adjustable positive stud? Yes, through a spring.
  • Lock system ? Electronic
  • Quality of the locking system: Excellent, the chosen approach is very practical
  • Features offered by the mod: Display of the charge of the batteries, Display of the resistance value, Protection against short circuits from the atomizer, Protection against reverse polarity of the batteries, Display of the current vape voltage , Display of the power of the current vape, Display of the vape time of each puff, Display of the vape time since a certain date, Temperature control of the atomizer coils, Support the update of its firmware, Support customization of its behavior by external software, Clear diagnostic messages
  • Accusability: 18650
  • Does the mod support stacking? No
  • Number of batteries supported: 2
  • Does the mod retain its configuration without batteries? Yes
  • Does the mod offer a recharge feature? Charging function possible via Micro-USB
  • Is the recharge function pass-through? Yes
  • Does the mode offer a Power Bank function? No power bank function offered by the mod
  • Does the mode offer other functions? No other function offered by the mod
  • Presence of air flow regulation? Yes
  • Maximum diameter in mms of compatibility with an atomizer: 27
  • Accuracy of the output power at full charge of the battery: Good, there is a tiny difference between the requested power and the real power
  • Accuracy of the output voltage at full charge of the battery: Good, there is a tiny difference between the requested voltage and the actual voltage

Vapelier's note regarding functional characteristics: 4.5 / 5 4.5 5 out of stars

Reviewer's comments on functional features

Hugo Vapor is full of technology with its homemade chipset! Here again, we notice a desire to do well with the manufacturer and to offer more for a price that is quite attractive.

Variable power mode allows you to navigate between 1 and 211W, in increments of 0.1W between 1 and 100W, and increments of 1W beyond. 

The temperature control runs on a scale between 100 and 315 ° C and natively accepts SS316, titanium and Ni200. It has a TCR mode accessible by pressing the switch and the [+] and [-] buttons at the same time which will allow you to implement your own resistive wire.

The preheat mode, which will give a slight boost to your assembly or otherwise clamp the horses to go smoothly, is adjustable. You can choose the amount of power to apply, positive or negative (from -40 to + 40W !!!) and the duration of this step (from 0.1 to 9.9s!).

There is a curve mode (C1) that will be useful if you want to carve your output signal. On seven levels, you will choose power and time.

A By Pass mode, which emulates the operation of a mechanical mod by directly passing all of the residual voltage from the batteries to your resistance, is also present. Be careful, however, do not forget that the batteries are connected in series and that it is therefore 8.4V that you will send to your atomizer, batteries fully charged.

All these modes are accessible in a very simple way, by clicking three times on the switch. The [+] and [-] buttons allow you to modify the choice of mode and a last press on the switch validates your choices. When you have chosen the “Preheat” mode, for example, you just have to click twice on the switch to access the settings, adjust using the [+] and [-] buttons and validate your options by double clicking on the switch. .

The ergonomics are intuitive and Hugo Vapor has endeavored to offer everything that current technology has to offer in terms of choice of vape. A good quantitative point for the brand that will unfortunately have to be sifted through a more in-depth analysis of the quality of the rendering.

Note, again, the ability to download an application that will be used to upgrade your firmware with the latest release but also to customize your menus. Another good point.

Evaluation of the packaging

  • Presence of a box accompanying the product: Yes
  • Would you say that the packaging is up to the price of the product? Yes
  • Presence of a user manual? Yes
  • Is the manual understandable for a non-English speaker? No
  • Does the manual explain ALL features? Yes

Vapelier's note on packaging: 4 / 5 4 5 out of stars

Reviewer's comments on conditioning

The packaging is very efficient and surprising. Indeed, it is in a round and red box that the box will reach you! I am not sure that this will be the joy of stock managers in wholesalers or in shops, but this originality is welcome and should be noted.

Our friendly scarlet case contains the inevitable USB / Micro USB cord, paperwork and an English manual that briefly explains the features. A khaki silicone skin is provided, an interesting note, even if its use “camouflages” the camouflage which typifies the aesthetics of the box. 

Appreciations in use

  • Easy transport with the test atomizer: Nothing helps, requires a shoulder bag
  • Disassembly and cleaning facilities: Super simple, even blind in the dark!
  • Easy to change the batteries: Super simple, even blind in the dark!
  • Did the mod heat up? weakly
  • Has there been any erratic behavior after a day of use? No
  • Description of situations in which the product has experienced erratic behavior

Vapelier's rating in terms of ease of use: 3.3/5 3.3 5 out of stars

Reviewer's comments on the use of the product

Equipped with firmware 1.0, the chipset of the Rader produces steam, latency and bugs ... What finally to wonder if it was necessary to leave this box as it is as the problems are numerous and moreover raised by the users on the different sharing platforms. 

So I upgraded to version 1.01. There has been the best. The bugs have, a priori over a week of testing, disappeared. Latency has decreased but still remains higher than boxes of the same category. Of course, the result remains usable but, at the level where the competition is today, we can not help but find that the Rader is singularly lacking in responsiveness. Even by implementing a rather heavy preheat, we only end up with a temporary increase in power but not a decrease in latency, which is after all very normal ...

Obviously, the rendering suffers, especially on the strongest powers. Indeed, if we use a heavy and low resistance assembly, requiring good reactivity to wake up and we take into account the latency of the chipset, we should not expect a miracle. Added to this is a tendency, weak but noticeable, to heat up a bit when you go up in towers. It's not really annoying, the Rader won't blow you up in your face, but it's an additional gene which, combined with all the other gene sources, makes the picture not really convincing.

Did the mistake consist in putting too much and betting on quantity to the detriment of quality? Or was it a matter of offering an unoptimized version of the chipset? I don't know but the rendering is inferior to what you would expect on such material. The vape is correct in absolute terms but does not shine, neither by its precision, nor by its reactivity. It would have been acceptable two years ago but it seems very anachronistic nowadays.

Recommendations for use

  • Type of batteries used during the tests: 18650
  • Number of batteries used during the tests: 2
  • With what type of atomizer is it advisable to use this product? Dripper, Classic fiber, Sub-ohm assembly, Genesis-type rebuildable
  • With which model of atomizer is it advisable to use this product? All
  • Description of the test configuration used: Vapor Giant Mini V3, Saturn, Marvn, Zeus
  • Description of the ideal configuration with this product: The one that suits you best

was the product liked by the reviewer: No

Overall average of the Vapelier for this product: 2.6 / 5 2.6 5 out of stars

The mood ticket of the reviewer

Take a good box model that has worked well commercially. Copy the dimensions, weight, characteristics. Fill your chipset with technical possibilities that shine on paper but which, in the end, only concern very few vaping geeks. Make a clear cut on the quality of finish to be able to offer your object at an audible price. Take care of your packaging to make everything attractive. Crash out with an upgrade to try to reduce the mistakes that a sloppy design missed. Shake and serve hot!

Here is the recipe that prevailed in the design of the Rader. A recipe that could have worked with a little more work, a little less pride in the implementation of uncontrolled technologies and a rendering consistent with the time. Even if it means focusing on the study of a real original box and not a pale copy of a bestseller.

The Rader gets 2.6 / 5, which is the deserved reward for an unfinished product, whose lineage is far too assertive to be honest and which, in the end, looks much more like a commercial coup than a true novelty.

(c) Copyright Le Vapelier SAS 2014 - Only full reproduction of this article is authorized - Any modification of any kind is totally prohibited and infringes the rights of this copyright.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Com Inside Bottom
Com Inside Bottom
Com Inside Bottom
Com Inside Bottom

About the Author

59 years old, 32 years of cigarettes, 12 years of vaping and happier than ever! I live in Gironde, I have four children of whom I am gaga and I like roast chicken, Pessac-Léognan, good e-liquids and I am a vape geek who takes responsibility!