Innokin Kroma 217 Z Force Kit Review: Test Results Are In

Product intro and specs

The Kroma 217 Z Force is the latest kit from long-time popular manufacturer Innokin. They aren’t as in-your-face as some other brands because they don’t pump out products at a crazy pace, but they’ve been around for a long time and have been known to make great products—especially aimed towards beginners. Some of their highlights have been the Proton kit, the Zenith MTL tank, and the Coolfire mods. They have definitely been a quality-over-quantity company, which is a good thing in my book.

The Kroma 217 is the latest in the line of Kroma kits. The original Kroma was an internal battery mod that came with the Zenith MTL tank, and the Kroma R was an 18650 mod that was paired with the Zlide tank. This one however is a single 2x700 box mod and it’s rated for 100 watts with a 21700 or a 20700 battery or 80 watts with a single 18650 battery. It comes with the Z Force tank which is a new sub ohm tank made for DL vaping.

Price: $49.99 (at Element Vape)

Colors: Riverwood, Mariana Blue, Stealth Black, Carbon Fiber, Glass Fiber.

First impressions

It’s been a while since I got to review a product by Innokin, mostly because they don’t make a lot. The last one I did was the Proton which I loved. And before that, I did the Zenith tank, which was probably the best MTL tank of its time. So I have pretty high expectations from Innokin.

The Kroma 217 looks great, and in many ways feels like a throwback to the times when companies actually made mods—with the original sense of the word. The metal body has a nice design, and the panel material is soft, looks great, and feels comfy.  The tank itself isn’t anything new at a glance, but it is a nicely designed tank that fixes some issues found on similar tanks. I got exactly what I expected, which was good quality and nice looks.

Build quality and design

Anyone who has used an Innokin device should know what to expect from design and build quality by now. They’ve been around for years. If you haven’t used an Innokin mod yet, you’ll be in for a pleasant surprise.

The Kroma 217 does a great job of not reinventing the wheel but instead taking the wheel and making it better. It’s nicely built. It feels solid and not cheap or flimsy and has some heft to it for sure. The fire button is built right into the mod, so you just squeeze it. I don’t know why mod makers got away from the fire bar design, but it’s awesome, and I’m glad Innokin brought it back.

Below the screen are the up and down buttons. The charging port is Type-C and located below the up and down buttons on the front of the mod. They don’t list the screen size, but it is nice and large and bright. It’s rectangular and I'm going to estimate it at 0.96 inches.

The Kroma comes at a nice size for a 2x700 mod. Still portable, not tiny but not large. The 510 pin is great and gave me no issues with any atomizer and the included tank fits nicely on it and looks great. It uses the same latch-style battery door we’ve seen on many mods in the past.

I received the Mariana Blue which looks really nice from up close—but based on the pics, I really prefer the look of the Riverwood one. Still, the one I have looks great. The outside frame is a shiny brushed gunmetal that doesn't fingerprint when you touch it. Reminds me of the nicer-looking mods of the past years like the Tesla Steampunk Nano 120.

The back panel is a soft rubberish like material. It looks great and feels great. Branding was also kept nice and simple. The metal frame has a small “Kroma 217” etched in on each side and that's it. There is some minor button rattle on the up and down buttons, but other than that, zero complaints.

Using the Kroma 217 mod

As far as usage and menu navigation, it’s pretty straightforward. Here is a quick rundown of basic operations:

Overall, very simple and easy to use with a good menu. I personally love the ease of use of their menu system.

Power mode performance

Testing on this mod was done with a Samsung 30T battery. They only list one max output, which is watts at 100 (80 with an 18650 battery). Volts and amps aren’t listed on their site, and I do wish all three were listed.

During my testing, the max achieved wattage was 103, so excellent rating at 100 watts. The amp limit I got was 32 amps with a 0.09-ohm coil which is average for single battery mods. Most are around 30. The volt limit I got was 7.784+ and I say plus because I was hitting the watt limit with a 0.6-ohm coil. There is a boost circuit like they say, and I'm sure the volt limit will never be an issue.

The mod hits pretty accurately overall as well. It adjusts in one-watt increments which is nice, and it scrolls fast and does round-robin as well. Overall, a good performer as expected, and you can see the full test results above.

As for charging, they list the device at 1.7A. The max charge rate I got during my testing was 1.8A which is more than good enough to earn a 1.7A rating. Most companies do round up so even a 2A rating would have been fine, but props to them for listing a more accurate one. It charges as fast as most mods rated by companies at 2A. It also offers pass-through vaping so, overall, a great job there.

Z Force tank rundown

The tank included in the kit is the Z Force sub ohm tank which uses the new DuoPrime ZF coils. It’s a bottom-airflow tank, which beats top airflow when it comes to flavor. It uses a bubble glass for a 5 mL capacity and comes with a spare bubble glass. For refilling, it uses a slide-back top which works great. Nothing new, but a proven method. The coils are plug-n-play, and the drip tip is a standard but very nicely-matching resin 810 tip.

To replace the coil, you unscrew the base from the tank and pop it out. However, there are two great parts about this tank that other tanks have gotten wrong. First off, the coil is easy to grip and can be removed by hand without the use of tools. Secondly, the tank locks the juice in when the coil is removed, which is a great system. I think the first time I saw it was on the Aspire Tigon tank, but I don’t know why it’s not adopted by more tanks. It’s great and makes it so you can change the coil whole the tank is full, with no leaks or loss of juice. Love that feature.

There are two coil options in total, and it comes with one of each:

The concept of the coils' DuoPrime design is that each coil has two mech strips, one on the outside of the cotton wick and one on the inside. According to their description, "the outer coil increases the capillary action of the cotton wicking material, pulling liquid into the coil head, pre-heating it, and directing it to the inner coil for vaporization, creating a more fully saturated and flavorful vape."

I started my testing with the 0.2-ohm coil, which performed best at around 70 watts. The flavor was great, and it lasted 100 mL before dying which was impressive. Just an excellent coil. Then with the 0.3-ohm coil, which I found best at around 40 watts. Flavor wasn’t as good as the 0.2-ohm coil, which was expected, but it was the best coil I've ever had at under 50 watts. I also got 80 mL of juice from it with no issues, which is great for that wattage.

Overall, that new coil design is just awesome. I did take one apart after dying and found the inside coil burned hotter than the outside one. Not a big deal but just a note. Either way, both coils are excellent. And as far as tanks included in kits go, one of the best I’ve ever had.

Pros / Cons

Gallery

Verdict

Overall, this is just an excellent kit! Not much to say here. Very minor complaints with it, with the only worthy of a mention being the button rattle. Even the included tank is great, which came as a surprise as most companies seem to add mediocre tanks to kits. It comes with excellent coils and a very well-thought coil replacement system. If you are in the market for a new single-battery kit, you can’t go wrong with this one.

Let me know how you feel in the comments below!