Review of lil SOLID tobacco heating device from IQOS

IQOShas taken the latest development under its wing, launching the lil SOLIDdevice on the market. A special feature of the new product is its affordability, along with excellent assembly and ergonomics. Let’s tell you more

The market for alternative means of nicotine consumption continues to develop. One of the new products was the lil device, a trademark of KT&G, a developer and manufacturer of devices for heating tobacco. The IQOS company entered into an agreement with KT&G and took the new development under its wing, launching the lil SOLID device on the market. The main feature of the new product is its affordability. At the same time, the user receives the same high-quality assembly, thoughtful design, absence of fire, ash and cigarette smell, and a reduced concentration of harmful substances.

Appearance, design

The design of lil SOLID resembles a certain symbiosis of tobacco heating systems already available on the market. On the one hand, to use it, you first need to move the cover of the shaft for the stick, on the other hand, this same stick is heated from the inside, and not from the outside in a circle. To do this, an element resembling a knitting needle is installed in the center of the shaft. It is made of metal and seems quite sturdy.

The lil SOLID case itself is heavier than the IQOS holder, but fits comfortably in the hand. Made of plastic with an extremely pleasant-to-touch coating. The length dimensions, however, are rather convenient for a man’s hand, but in general it will be convenient for girls to use.

Although nothing in the case needs to be opened or removed to use it, there are a few removable parts. This is a cap, approximately a quarter of the length of the device body, and a shaft housing element underneath it.

At the end there is a noticeable button to activate the device with an indication LED. It signals the state of the device and its operating modes.

There is a charging port at the bottom of the case. It was quite unexpected to see here the morally outdated Micro USB, and not the symmetrical USB Type-C interface. This is perhaps the only complaint regarding ergonomics.

Using lil SOLID

Before the very first use, the device must be activated by connecting it to the charger.

The device can then be used. To install the stick, you need to slide the round cover on the top plane. The stick should simply be smoothly inserted into the shaft, allowing the heating element to pass through the center of the tobacco filling.

Then, press the button for 2 seconds, the device warms up in 20 seconds and warms up the stick. Everything can be used. The entire session lasts 4 minutes or 14 puffs, whichever comes first.

To remove the stick, it is recommended to rotate it several times in the shaft so that the heated tobacco does not stick to the heating element and does not spill out of the stick.

There is no need to take any pauses between sticks; the device is immediately ready for the next session. The only thing is that after four uses in a row you will need a break so that the device cools down a little. To do this, it will automatically block the possibility of activation for three and a half minutes. But if you don’t use 4 sticks directly one after the other, then you will most likely never encounter the cooling mode.

A full battery charge is enough for about 20 sticks, the exact number depends on the usage scenarios.

Heets sticks from IQOS are suitable for use with lil SOLID, as well as the new brand of Fiit sticks. Fit is currently available in three flavors: Regular, Viola and Crisp. In terms of size and content, they are similar to Heets sticks. They are even produced in the same factory in Italy.

What the indication will tell you

Since there are minimal controls here (just one button with a built-in indicator), the operation of all modes was visualized through the LED in it, using various combinations of glow colors and duration.

Blue color – charge level is 60-100%, blue – 30-60%, orange – up to 30%, red – the device is completely discharged. To check the charge level, just press the button once.

The indicator flashes when charging and turns off when the battery is full. It takes approximately 2 hours to fully charge.

At the beginning of the warm-up, the indicator flashes blue, and when ready for the session, it lights up constantly.

30 seconds before the end of the session or three puffs, the device will vibrate and the indicator light will begin to flash.

In any unclear situation, if the device somehow reacts incorrectly to pressing, it can be rebooted. To do this, you need to hold down the button for 8 seconds and wait for the LED to blink twice in blue, cyan and orange. At the end it will vibrate, lighting up blue for a second.

Device care

As with other IQOS devices, the kit includes a brush for cleaning the shaft and alcohol-soaked sticks. The brush is housed in a compact body of two halves. Of course, you can clean it when the device has completely cooled down after use.

To get to the shaft, you need to remove the cap with the sliding lid, as well as part of the heating chamber housing underneath it.

Additionally, the shaft can be treated in a special self-cleaning mode. In it, the device anneals the tip for a long time. To activate this mode, you need to quickly press the button five times. No tools should be used for this. The indicator light will flash orange during the self-cleaning process for 90 seconds.

Conclusions

lil SOLID turned out to be an interesting device in terms of characteristics and price. A more affordable price is combined here with thoughtful ergonomics and the principle of well-proven devices. lil SOLID is intuitive to use, has a more reliable heating element design and a minimum of moving parts. It looks like the model will be able to successfully take its place in the smoking alternatives market.

Rating:

+ autonomy

+ ergonomics

+ price

- use Micro USB

Andrew Writter
Editor

  

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