Lost Vape Thelema Solo Quest

"A basic, no-frills, inexpensive mod with user-experience and build quality that will likely serve your Dimitri vaping needs for decades - but best to be familiar with its quirks!"

Intro

The Thelema Solo "Quest" is externally almost identical to the more expensive DNA version of this mod, as reviewed here, apart from the (imo superfluous) "status" LED.

This review covers only the Solo Quest, but there are several other "Quest" mods including the dual cell Thelema 200, Grus 100, Centaurus & Cyborg. These can be expected to have almost identical user interface & electrical characteristics.
Lost Vape's air of mystique surrounding the "Quest 2 Chipset" is imo as hilarious as it is absurd. The term "chipset" here is simple marketing drivel to describe a capable, but fairly run of the mill STM-32F CPU (possibly a clone) together with its programming (aka firmware).

Being impressed by the DNA version's general build quality (see links to disassembly videos below), I wondered if the cheaper "Quest" version would be a sound recommendation for a Dimitri mod at a reasonable price. And as it turns out - yes it certainly is, but like most mods it has a few idiosyncrasies to be aware of.

The comical vision of how Lost Vape would like you view their "Quest Chipset" 😃

The board from a Lost Vape Grus Quest, likely almost identical to the Thelema Solo Quest, which apparently employs an STM32F072 processor - or probably a pin-compatible clone as I can't find a datasheet for the STM32FEC pictured. Likely a capable CPU, but not the wondrous proprietary bespoke creation that Lost Vape would prefer us to imagine!

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Build Quality
The general finish appears remarkable for such an inexpensive mod, the only potential weak point is the OLED display being mounted directly on the chassis without a secondary protective window (unlike its sister mod the Lost Vape Grus) which can make it vulnerable to impact.
However, unlike the Geekvape S100/L200 mods, the interior build also quality seems highly impressive (see links below to disassembly videos). I read a Reddit post expressing concern about shortness of the 510 faceplate screws, but mine protrude a credible 3.2mm for thread engagement - IMO more than adequate especially engaging into a robust steel backing plate. There are also reports of rattles from the magnetic battery door, but easily solved on mine with very careful slight bending adjustment. IMO, the Thelema Solo seems to possess many hallmarks of decent durability.

3 x Torx T4 screws hold the faceplate securely onto a substantial steel backplate. Far superior to the M100, S100, L200 and other later generation Geekvape Aegis mods

C-frame door, secured in place by magnets top & bottom. Here shown fitted with a 21700 cell but includes an adaptor to fit an 18650 if desired.

If fancy colours are your thing, the Thelema will delight!

Set Vs Actual Wattage Has the same Power Mode Wattage inaccuracy issue as the Geekvape Z50, Smok Rigel, and probably many other mods. (Described on this page scroll down to "Wattage Calculated For Cold Coil Resistance"). For power mode, there are several ways round this, perhaps the simplest is to use Kanthal A1 or Ni80 wires. If SS316 is used then a power drop-off occurs as the coil heats up - about 5W at a 30W setting, resistance independent.

Proven workaround options for using stainless steel are one of the following:-

- Just live with the power reduction with temperature (see graph on this page)
- Use Kanthal or Ni80 coils instead
- Once coil is upto temperature, quickly release and re-press/hold the fire button
- Reset coil, set mod to Temp Control "Ni" mode, and use "Watts" in this mode to set the Wattage

Soft/Normal/Hard (Sub-option in Power Mode). The quick answer is leave it on "hard" and forget it. There's zero info in the user manual, but live tests reveal infinitesimal differences in startup Wattage overshoots (see pics), plus a slightly higher settled Voltage from soft-normal-hard. Far too small to detect vaping differences, I suggest leaving permanently on "Hard". If you want to play with ramp-up times then use the VPC mode, mentioned below
Excellent Auto Coil Detect/Reset The auto coil resistance measurement procedure is imo superior than I've seen on my Geekvape mods, which triggers immediately upon coil contact. But at this point, the user will be in the act of attaching the tank, so resistance is more likely to fluctuate. However with the Thelema, coil detection is delayed until the first press of the "Fire" following a new coil installation, which is likely to provide a much more stable/accurate reading. The coil can also be manually reset (via settings/atomizer/measure menu), which again is imo commendable
A Voltage mode is included, settable between 0.8-7.0V. Voltage mode is unusual, and imo of little real use. Some may use it for driving atomisers from "dumber" Voltage-settable devices like cart batteries. However the conversion to Watts is so simple it's hardly worth the menu space. Volts = √ (Power in Watts x resistance in Ω)
Power Mode Increment Step Below 20W, a single press up or down will change Wattage setting by 0.1W, above 20W it's a 0.5W change. As well to be aware if changing Wattage by feel
Non-updating text fields For example resistance & Wattage in TC mode are not shown in real time during a fire cycle, which isn't a showstopper but not ideal

The max difference (i.e. between "soft" and "hard") is, at most, an extra 0.2V for the first ~200ms of a 35W fire cycle (0.36Ω coil). Similar percentage oveshoots were found at a range power settings

Excellent VPC Mode (Variable Power Curve is described on this page, scroll down to "modes of operation") The Thelema Solo's ½ second power intervals are highly useable. My Geekvape mods have 1 sec intervals, which imo is a bit too long. Pic shows a 5 sec fire cycle with P1->P8 settings covering half sec intervals upto 3.5 seconds and the final (P8) being applied for any remainder of the fire cycle.
Obviously, this is a contrived demo example, a proper use case would be to set a Wattage overshoot for the first half second only, which would help speed up the coil heating time.

Pros

Apparently durable build quality inside & out (apart from the aforementioned screen vulerability)
Outstanding VPC mode, & auto coil detection procedure (both superior to the Original Solo & other Geekvapes imo)
Simple coil reset (if required) via settings menu
Large clear Wattage text field in power mode (thankyou Lost Vape!)
Slightly unconventional but imo a more natural look and feel to the user interface
Takes higher capacity larger 21700 as well as 18650 cells
Possibly board swappable with a DNA100C module (haven't researched, but looks doable at first sight). Unlike the Grus 100, which has a different button spacing
Some will appreciate the different settable display colour schemes

Cons

For Power and VPC mode, works best (unless using a workaround technique) with Ni80 and Kanthal A1 coils. For SS316L & others with significant TCR, a power reduction will occur as coil heats up
Some text fields don't update during the fire cycle (e.g. resistance, Watts in TC mode)
Temp Control not really a viable option - non-updating Wattage/resistance fields make in-toke confidence checking almost impossible (I no longer use nor recommend TC anyway)
Some text fields are (for me) so small as to be illegible without magnifying assistance

Mode screens, with some sub-options

Conclusion

The Thelema Solo Quest and likely the other Quest Mods are imo definitely no Original Geekvape Aegis Solo killer, but do have some truly useful plusses as well as some quirks. But if you're aware of these and fine to work with them, then the Thelema Solo might well prove to be a mod which, not only you'll fall in love with but will serve your Dimitri vaping needs for many years to come. I'd argue it's well worth a look.

Will I use mine? For sure, but I'll probably have to stock up on Ni80 & Kanthal wire - most of my stock is currently SS316L.

Disassembly Videos

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