**REVIEW** Sigelei Chronus Shikra

First, let me just say what an absolutely beautiful mod. Just gorgeous...

Except for the ugly branding at the bottom.
What the hey, Sigelei???

This is the first Sigelei that I have ever had and I have to say that, so far, I am loving it.

I first saw this device in gold-tone sometime last year, back when I was just cruising vape shop sites. I stopped and gaped until I saw the price tag. I had to cruise right on past that beauty. Every now and then I thought about it though. While discussing the different vape devices we like, I mentioned to someone (apparently someone very sweet!) that I thought this one was a fave in the looks department. They had just started vaping and were checking out several types of devices so they went over and took a look. That person was kind of into the Voopoo Drag (ugh!) and later on ended up getting a jaw-droppingly beautiful piece of art called the Wismec Reuleaux. It is that kind of hot-damn pretty steampunk-ish and copper-looking device with a hot-damn price tag and a name I bungle when I'm drinking. But then they did something nice and got me the Sigelei for a surprise gift after asking if I really thought I'd like it more than the Drag. Are you kidding? I sure as heck did and I sure as heck do. I told them all about my Voopoo boycott.

So, the Sigelei got here and I was so freaking happy that I did a little dance around the living room. Until I lost my balance and had to sit my happy behind down!

When I was window-shopping, I couldn't decide between the red one and the black one. This Gunmetal Stainless Steel Shikra is everything I drool over. I will explain later why I'm glad I didn't get the red one. Of course, I went and looked at comparison photos and, yep, I am digging this Gunmetal more than ever. I think others are too showy for my personal tastes. (And, by the by, there is a "regular" Chronus and this Chronus Shikra  Edition)

Enjoy the photos then check out what I thought was pro and con about it all.

The tank and the mod had their own separate boxes inside the main box. That was cool. I liked the attention they paid to padding the tank box. By the way, I didn't know until recently that shops sold mods without tanks. I guess it's a good thing I've always gotten starter kits with everything included but the juice! This starter kit comes, as others do, with extras and accessories.

I have mine set up in the simplest way. You know, cos I'm simpleminded... This is what my main screen looks like while the device is in use:

This right here is the joystick. It doesn't stick out too much from the device.

I dig the joystick feature more than I expected to. The joystick will get you into the settings. From there you can customize a bunch of stuff such as the GUI (the visual interface), the clock, puff time, etc.

Being able to check the battery
with a flick of the joystick is cool

So, what do I think after using this bad boy for a few days? I was kind of worried about writing a review for such a nice gift because I didn't want any criticism to sound ungrateful but I want my reviews to be solid. Luckily, I don't really have much negative to say.

Other than being a looker, the Shikra (I don't like that name so let's call it the Chronus SE) the design is really functional. But let's get right into the Pros and Cons.

PROS:

• As with a lot of beautiful things, photos don't catch the full understated elegance of the Chronus SE. The design is not cheap or painted on. I saw a video where a guy tries to scratch the finish alloy and steel finish with a pocket knife. The finish held up without a mark. I understand that you can't do the same thing with the Chronus.
• The clock is nice although it only seems to show military time (unless I just have not found a way to adjust that). When you power off, the clock appears for about 10 seconds; you can hit the firing button or press the joystick to show the time again. Neat.
• I like the joystick feature for adjusting settings and setting wattage, etc. It's easier to use than I expected. That it's in copper-tone really adds to the overall look. One guy in a  video review cracked me up when he said it reminds him of a human nipple. That image comes back to me every time I adjust a setting on this thing.
• The battery door seems solid. That's important to me because I have a Smok Priv V8 that's got the crappiest door. I have to hold it shut in order for the vape to fire. 
• The firing button is awesome and I don't understand all the other reviewers' complaints about it. Mine is not loose and does not jiggle or rock at all. It doesn't move until I press it to fire the vape. Maybe Sigelei updated the design after some criticism from their compensated reviewers? ~shrug~
• I haven't had to change the coil yet, but someone else pointed out that because these coils are "drop-ins", you don't have to wait to finish the juice in the tank or dump it. That is really nice. 

I like being able to adjust the screen brightness

CONS:

• Staying on the subject of the design... With such a beautiful device that comes in such a lovely array of colors, I have no idea why the brand name is placed and colored to be as ugly as can be. It's white and is right on the bottom front of the device. The color and font just don't work with the rest of the design. I have even considered blacking it out with a marker.
• The ... coil... sucks. I'm no pro at vaping and even I can tell that the coil in this thing really mutes the flavors. Any of my Smoks (and even the crappy Voopoo Caliber) give full flavor to almost any juice I have used. I tried using a tangy lemon in this one and... nothing. I can tell it's lemon but that's it. In my Smok, that lemon is so tangy that it just about locks my jaw every time I hit it. Luckily, another reviewer pointed out that I can use Smok Baby Beast coils in this. Sigelei even supplies an adapter pin so that you can use other coils. Maybe they know theirs are no good???
• This device goes through battery life as if it's powering a Humvee. My Smok Veneno (yes, I compare everything against Smok) can go for up to three days - sometimes more - on a single charge-up. Maybe it's because the Sigelei is running a clock that the battery drains so fast?
• And the biggest negative, in my opinion, is the passcode feature. Now, this might be helpful even though I have no kids around here, but when I want to protect the mod from accidentally firing in my purse, I just power it off. And, that annoying passcode has to be entered every time you change the batteries. Since I charge my batteries externally, this is going to be a minor pain in the hind parts. Also, I have read where some users had problems with the code after updating the firmware - some even getting locked out of the device. Yikes.
• This last one is petty but I really hate that Phoenix on the back of the mod. That would have been a nice spot to put the brand name and stop there.

Bad segue here, but I want to point out something another reviewer spotted: the tank sits off-center just slightly. You don't notice (or I didn't) until you look down at the mod from the top. This shouldn't be a problem for me but, as the other reviewer pointed out, some tanks might protrude over one side.

All in all, the positives sweep away any negatives. As you can see, I solved the coil problem by swapping out the tank for the one from my Smok. Works for me. Not pretty but it works.

The Smok tank is MUCH nicer!

The Chronus SE is really comfortable in the hand and it's so gorgeous. What a lucky gal I am to have this one. I will have to order some Baby Beast coils so that my Smok tank is always ready. Good thing that the Smok coils fit the Veneno, the Caliber and this Chronus SE.

Before I go, I want to mention that thing about the device in red... The Chronus SE is a little more expensive than the regular Chronus but it's also slightly heavier and the firmware can be upgraded (not that I ever do that) Here's the thing, if I had bought this mod, I would have probably considered getting the red one or that rainbow - thank goodness someone has much better taste than I - but I learned that the red SE is constructed of the same materials as the regular Chronus. That means that it's lighter weight and probably easier to scratch up. Weird that they did this one only one color of the SE. Anyway, that's about it for this review. As always, I will do updates as needed.

Peace
--Free

While I was watching the 2nd season of Lost In Space, this song came on and I remembered how much I love it. Whenever we heard it, my dad and I would sing the line "Some people call me Mo-Reece" together and break out laughing for some reason. So, yeah.