Well well well, what do we have here, a pod review…sigh. When I was approached by Geekvape to review the new Aegis Boost I was not excited and was going to turn it down. I then read it has an optional rebuildable deck, that sparked my interest. I don’t have anything against Pod systems and have bought a lot for myself, they come in handy for stealth vaping. So many pods are released monthly that there is no way I could keep up, my main reason for turning most down for review.
If you’re interested in the rebuildable portion I will save you some time, it was not available so I did not receive it. I was told it will be sent once available and I will update my review if that does indeed happen. As is though I felt this was worthy of a review and here we go.
Stock pic
What I received, marked as a review sample
Parameters:
- Size: 106.8x 27.7x 39.2mm
- Powered by AS chipset
- Output wattage: 5- 40W
- Kit set coil: 0.6ohm (20- 25W)
- Input voltage: 3.0- 4.25V
- Output voltage: 1.0- 6.0V
- Display: 0.42" OLED screen
- 1500mAh built-in battery
- Pod/ Tank capacity: 3.7ml
- Material: Zinc alloy + Top grain leather + silicone
Features:
-Easy access airflow valve design
-Supports the usage of both pod and RDTA
-Over-discharge/ short circuit protection
-Output over-current/ overcharge protection
-Switch timeout/ over-temperature protection
-Quick-lock & release design for switching pod systems
Package includes:
- Aegis Boost Pod Mod Kit
- User Manual
- USB cable
- 2 - proprietary drip tips
- 2 - mesh coils
Getting to know the Aegis Boost Pod Mod
Carrying on the Aegis tradition the Boost definitely shares a family resemblance as well as the mod being IP67 rated made to be corrosion-resistant and tear-resistant. Being that the pod has an open airflow I would toss it out if this happens to fall into water, the mod should be fine.
For being a relatively low priced pod system the build quality is pretty nice. Like most of the Aegis line the bottom and sides have a black rubber with the back having a nice leather, if it is actual leather I do not know but it looks and feels like quality.
Comes with 2 proprietary drip tips, a wide one which was annoying as depending on how I picked it up the drip tip would not be in the right direction at times. I preferred the normal round drip tip, used that for 90% of my review evaluation time. Also included is a cover when you put into a pocket or purse to keep debris out of the drip tip.
USB port is kept under a rubber plug which is attached so you don’t lose it and slides aside for charging. Being that it has a built-in 1500 mah battery this will be your way to charge. Passthrough charging which is nice, won’t leave you vape-less in case you run down the battery too far.
The kit includes 2 mesh coils, 0.40 ohm for normal juice and a 0.60 ohm for salt nics.
Airflow is easily adjustable upfront but it’s placement made it that I would sometimes block it with a finger when firing it, not a problem if thumb firing.
The fill port is a good size and positioned so you can fill with a 100ml gorilla bottle without removing the drip tip. Filling can be a bit of a pain though, you have to move the pod around to fill it up and even then I was not able to fill it to it’s stated capacity of 3.7ml. Using a syringe I got about 3.2 to 3.4ml if I moved it around but there was still an air pocket I could not remove to replace with juice.
The coils are press-fit and didn’t have any leaking problems with either coil, they sealed up well.
Easy to remove and install but you must do it with an empty or nearly empty tank or you will lose your juice.
Performance
I started with the 0.40-ohm coil and my normal 1.5mg juice I use for all tank reviews, a juice I am very familiar with. After priming the coil and letting it sit for 5 minutes to let the juice saturate the coil I began with the watts set to the lowest rating of the coil, 25 watts. My first puff was…hmmmm, that is pretty good and I continued at 25 watts for a full tank. The second tank I decided to turn up the watts, 30 then 35 watts and it was still good but eventually went back to 25 watts, that was my sweet spot. Went 2 weeks of daily vaping and filling, this coil sucks down some juice. After 2 weeks I was still getting good flavor, a coil change was not needed but I still wanted to try the 0.60-ohm coil and see what kind of coil life it would give me.
The 0.60-ohm coil is meant to be a MTL coil for salt nic but really it is still pretty airly. With wide-open airflow it is a restricted DL coil, cutting the airflow down and lowering the watts gets you a somewhat MTL vape but it is still a cloudy coil. The flavor is almost as good as the 0.40 coil, very close. Since the pod is not easy to clean I used the same 1.5 mg juice, I was nervous to use a salt nic even though I make myself a 10 mg salt nic juice, can’t take 25mg and above. I reluctantly tried my 10mg salt nic and low and behold and nice smooth vape, very nice. The 0.60 coil is not as thirsty and is easier on the battery than the 0.40 coil, I am leaning towards the 0.60 being my favorite but it is really close.
I decided to sack up and try the 35mg salt nic of Propaganda Cookie Butter. I know this nic level will make me cough up a lung on some pods. I closed off the airflow about 75% and lowered the watts to 15 with the 0.60-ohm coil and prayed. Wow, I am alive and didn’t cough once, this is actually a nice flavor too, the Aegis Boost did it justice.
Although I still want to test the rebuildable the premade coils are actually excellent, some of the best flavor I have gotten from a pod system. I had a few friends try it and they were all impressed, a few said they plan on buying 1 when it is released. I normally PIF pod systems to friends but not this one, sorry peeps.
This does have me thinking, I have tested the rebuildable for the Squid Squad Pod, Smoant Pasito and one other pod that I can’t recall right now. In each of those, I wish they had a mesh RBA as there equivalent mesh premade coils would sometimes better the RBA section. I still hate buying coils and why has no one come out with a pod that uses a mesh rebuildable deck? While researching I did find a mesh RDA pod but it is a dripper, not about to drip a pod mod, the Nevoks Angus Mesh RDA Kit is the mesh dripper pod I am referring to.
Battery life
Using the puff counter I was able to get over 200 puffs (I take long 5 second draws) using the 0.40 coil at 25 to 30 watts. The 0.60 coil was better but I kept forgetting to reset the puff counter. I got 495 puffs but recharged in the car and didn’t reset the puff counter using the 0.60-ohm coil at 15 to 20 watts.
Comparisons
The Smok Trinity Alpha using the Nord 0.60 ohm mesh coil has always been reliable for me with good flavor. The Purge Ally pod wasn’t on my radar until a friend let me try his and I picked one up when I found a sale.
Loaded fresh coils in the Trinity and Ally and let them sit for close to 20 min. I had to use the already used 0.40 ohm Boost coil but it was only used with 1 flavor so loaded up all 3 with the same flavor.
The Smok Trinity still puts out some good flavor and for a pod kit that can be found for cheap now, it is a good value. The Purge Ally was expensive when it first released but can be found in the $40 range now but you have to buy the pods separately. The Ally has good flavor, maybe a tad better than the Trinity. I would not recommend the Ally though, when I purchased mine at a local vape shop 2 of the 4 they had on hand had problems. 1 we could not open up the hinge after installing the pod, it was stuck and 4 people tried to open it with no success. The 2nd one the hinge was so loose it would open up by itself. The last one they had worked just fine, that was the one I took. The flavor on the Aegis Boost bested the other 2, not night and day but it was richer and got the closest to a lower-powered sub-ohm tank like the Freemax Mesh with the 0.50 ohm coil.
I still like all 3, the Purge Ally definitely the cooler looking of the bunch. For just performance though the Aegis Boost is the clear winner and the only one of the 3 that will have a rebuildable available in the future.
Pros:
- Well built and comfortable to hold and fire with either your thumb or finger
- The flavor from both coils is great
- Good looking, got a lot of…“oh, what’s that” when people saw it
- Smooth experience with high MG salt nic using the 0.60-ohm coil
- Changing the coil is easy but the tank must be near empty
- Passthrough USB charging and good battery life
Cons:
- Proprietary drip tips, if you lose both your gonna be in trouble, 510 compatibility would have been nice
- Might hold 3.7ml of juice but was not able to get that pesky air pocket out, 3ml would be closer
- Was not sent the RBA (or as they call it RDTA) to test, will update review if it shows up
- Cleaning the pod to change flavors is not the easiest
Final Thoughts
Color me impressed, the Geekvape Aegis Boost scores high due to the quality of the coils. The mod itself is nice and rugged, a bit big for a pod mod, really closer to an AIO than a pod based on size. Love the coil life too, both coils are still going strong and I have had it for over a month. Definitely a pod I intend to keep on hand and purchase coils for once available, the 0.40 is my favorite but the 0.60 MTL coil is great with high mg salt nic and the flavor is so close. I am hoping Geekvape follows through and sends the RDTA base, if so I will follow up this review.
Not planning on buying any more pods unless someone comes up with a mesh rebuildable that is tank based, not a dripping RDA like the Nevoks Angus Mesh RDA Kit. Not planning on reviewing any more pods as well, this is my first pod review in what seems like forever. I initially agreed to this review based on the RDTA which I did not receive. Using the mesh coils and how well they perform makes me glad I did agree, it was really an eye-opener how good the flavor is from these coils.
If your looking for a pod-based kit for stealth vaping then I can highly recommend the Geekvape Aegis Boost. Its performance has surpassed the probably 20 to 30 pod systems I have, most will be thrown away or PIFed if I still have coils for them. You can find out more here: https://www.geekvape.com/store/geekvape-aegis-boost-pod-mod-kit-1500mah.html
Check out how this stacks up to other tasty gear and meet the Steampugs team of reviewers. Your bound to have a good time and read up on some great products, not so great ones too http://www.steampugs.co.uk/
