Today we will review a device that will please real oldfags with its strict forms and ingenious design ideas – a clone of the SunBox Moonraker E8 stick from SXK.
Today’s vapers, spoiled by a variety of inexpensive devices, know little about devices that were a real dream of vapers just a few years ago. I’m not talking about Ryx, Sigels and other E-cigs that the Chinese conveyor belt was constantly and inexorably churning out. We are talking about truly interesting mods that rarely reached our latitudes and had a cost comparable to a used “Zhiga”. The picture was slightly brightened by the fact that there were always “kind” cloners ready to offer “something very similar” for a more humane price tag. The original of the hero of our review today remained, as they say, “widely known in narrow circles”, I can’t say that the device was “hyped”, the mod went largely unnoticed and interested only true connoisseurs and enthusiasts. e-cigarettes in canada Moonraker E8 was produced by the Italian company SunBox (it seems that it is now defunct) and was a rather unusual version of the stick. Moreover, this format has nothing in common with “i-sticks” and other “swags”, we are talking about a rather specific version of the mod, in which the atomizer is partially or completely hidden in the body of the device. “Moon Racer” was released at the end of 2015, it is from this time that the Internet has been storing reviews of the device, although, it seems, it then existed only as a prototype. And it cost accordingly, for the treasured box they asked for no more and no less than 405 €. Until recently, it seemed that the device had remained in good memory and extensive collections of true connoisseurs of old school, and today it has been safely forgotten by everyone else, but four years later (!) something prompted the famous SXK cloners to release a replica of that very Moonraker E8.
The device is sold on Chinese sites in a simple black box, the only marking on which is a foil inscription with the name of the real manufacturer of the device – SunBox. In the copy that came to me, right on top of the Italian logo, there was another piece of paper with some hieroglyphs, letters, numbers and a barcode, apparently for convenient searching in the store’s warehouse.
SXK Sunbox E8 Moonraker Kit
SXK Sunbox E8 Moonraker Packaging
SXK Moonraker E8 Mod
Micro USB Cable
User Manual
Of course, you won’t find any certificate of originality, stickers from SubBox, or a branded pouch to wear your setup around your neck (holy-holy-holy!), this is pure “Chinese stuff”, dear to the hearts of many vapers (I confess, I am a sinner, I am one of them). However, of everything listed in the description on the Chinese site, only the mod itself was found in the box, there was no cable inside, much less instructions.
Appearance and design of the SXK Sunbox E8 Moonraker
The first thing that strikes the imagination when you take the device in your hand is its size. Yes, I understand perfectly well that the mod was developed back when Hana Modz was a model of ergonomics, and in order to replace the battery it was not considered shameful to unscrew a couple of screws, but the Moonraker E8 has very impressive dimensions, which hardly allow it to fit in a man’s palm. Yes, we have a stick in front of us, i.e. the atomizer will not increase the height of the setup, but even taking this into account, it still turns out to be a rather large mod, which fits in a pocket with difficulty. But on the table it looks great, especially as a paperweight.
The brick shape still has some claims to convenience: on the left side of the screen on two end edges there are two wide chamfers with which the mod fits in the palm. The front edge has the MOONRAKER name, to the right on the panel under the Fire button – E8, under the cover – the “serial number”, on the opposite side – the SunBox logo.
SXK Sunbox E8 Moonraker Colors
And although the original had a fairly rich palette of colors (it seems, eight), you can buy only two from the Chinese – green and black. Moreover, even from the photos from the Chinese site it is noticeable that the paint is uneven, and at the end of the review I will show it a little closer. Yes, and SXK ignored the replaceable carbon panels that SunBox produced (they were sold for mere pennies – “only” 85€), the Chinese do not offer anything similar for their clone.
SXK Sunbox E8 Moonraker Specifications
Dimensions: 92 mm * 27.5 mm * 52 mm
Weight: 153 g (with battery: 201 g)
Material: aluminum
Battery: 18650
Screen: 0.96 ″
Used board: SEVO 70
Operating modes: variable wattage, temperature control, bypass
Output power: 1 – 70 watts
Charging from micro USB
Atomizer placement: 22 mm (shaft diameter: 23 mm)
Sliding design for adjusting the connector position
Colors: Black, Green
Impressions
The device will certainly find its buyer, but only among very nostalgic vapers, for whom the sun used to shine brighter, the grass was greener, and the nicotine was stronger. It is impossible not to mention the objective shortcomings of both the SXK-made example and the design of such a stick itself. As for the implementation of the Moonraker E8 from the Chinese, first of all, the extremely careless attitude to painting after anodizing catches the eye, the entire case resembles a leopard – in uneven spots, as if a preschooler painted the mod with gouache. But the lid, on the contrary, is a model of neatness, but at the same time it noticeably differs in color depth by a couple of tones from the case. In fairness, it must be said that this is not very striking, only under certain lighting, but what you see once is “never unseeable”. Like the unevenly installed display, it is shifted relative to the window to the upper right corner. From a device (clone!), for which they ask a lot, you expect at least the appearance to match the price. There is also something that you can’t convey in photographs – it is a not strong, but noticeable smell of either metal or soldering, which the device steadily emits. The magnets have not come unstuck yet, the slider mechanism works without jamming, the board fries as it should, although I have not even tested the temperature control modes, so I cannot say anything about the adequacy of their work. As for the idea of using a “sliding” contact, I also have a couple of thoughts on this matter. The undoubted advantages include the ability to “drown” the atomizer into the body, and leave only the mouthpiece or the tank cap sticking out on the surface, this is exactly what the mod format called “stick” implies. But when you first fill it, you already encounter inconveniences: whether your atomizer has a top filling cap or not is not so important. Moreover, it is even better if you have an old-school tank that is filled from the bottom, since unscrewing it from the connector every time to pour liquid is not as annoying as if you have to do the same thing, but with a modern tank. Removing the lid, trying to hold the atomizer with your finger so that it does not unscrew from the connector, and removing the filling cap with your other hand – to hell with it. And Kayfun Prime, which also implies shutting off the supply, is even more pleasing in this regard: you need not only to close the filling, but also open the supply, which is generally difficult to do in the narrow window of the Moonraker E8 case. In general, as already mentioned above, only for true connoisseurs. Oh yeah. It is big. Just huge, although it clearly could have been 10-15 mm smaller in height if the board, control buttons and micro USB connector were moved to the front panel.
For this miracle of honestly stolen engineering thought, Chinese sites are asking approx. $60-70, and this, I remind you once again, is for a clone of a device that you are unlikely to find on sale in the original. Yes, there are some cosmetic flaws, but the design of the device is also far from ideal. So think for yourself, decide for yourself, if you love real old-school vaping so much that your cheekbones begin to ache, then Google and Chinese online stores are at your disposal.