ForestMagpie
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- Feb 4, 2020
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Hello vapers, today for review we have the Freemax Maxus Max 168w pod mod kit. This was kindly provided to me for review by @Freemaxtech themselves, I do not have any affiliation with Freemax and nor do I get paid for my reviews. What follows is all based on my own experiences and thoughts.
Freemax are marketing this with the tagline “Unleash the Mesh Pro Beast” and believe me the coils are absolute beasts but is the flavour? All will be revealed dear reader. One thing I can say is that when I have this device in my hand I want to hold it aloft like I’m Lion-O signalling the ThunderCats.
The packaging is pleasing and sturdy and I especially like the little ribbon to aid removal of the mod and of the sleeve to access the other bits and pieces underneath, it’s so simple but it’s very welcome.
In the box you get:
Maxus Max Pod Mod
Maxus Max Pod
MX1 Mesh Coil (0.15ohm)
MX2 Mesh Coil (0.2ohm)
USB-C Charging Cable
User Manual
Warranty Card
The kit is available in 5 colours – Black, Blue, Gunmetal, Silver and the one I was sent, Gold
“You hold in your hands what built the ThunderCats empire. But only he who is deemed worthy can harness it’s power” – Claudius, ThunderCats
All the specs and protections can be found on the Freemax website but the main ones are:
Size - 43mm x 30.9mm x 128.5mm
Weight - 200g
Output Modes – Power/VPC/Bypass/TC SS316/TC NI/TC TI/TCR
Output Wattage – 5w – 168w
Output Voltage – 0.7v – 8.4v
The coils in the kit were the MX1 Mesh 0.15ohm rated 50w – 80w and the MX2 Mesh 0.2ohm rated 60w – 90w. Freemax also sent me a box of the MX3 Mesh Coils rated 80w – 110w.
Currently available is the MX1 SS316L coil and coming soon are the MX4 and MX5 mesh coils which will have 4 and 5 mesh cores respectively.
“Who am I? Wouldn’t you like to know. Suffice to say that I have lived here for a thousand years. I am not the intruder, it is you who have disturbed my rest! But I have time” – Mumm-Ra, ThunderCats
The Mod
The mod itself is a thing of beauty in my eyes, it looks like it wouldn’t look out of place on a sci-fi show of some description. It’s quite heavy due to being powered by 2 x 18650 batteries but it feels nicely balanced and is a delight to use and hold. The side fire bar makes it nice to grip and is very responsive. On the front of the device there’s the USB-C port, the + & - buttons and a large bright screen. On the back there’s a raised design which if activated in the right way means you can join the secret society of vaping afficionados which now rules the world from the shadows, or it’s just a nice little design, I’ll let you find out.
The battery door is on the base and is a push and slide to open and it feels nice and secure when fitted and I’ve not had any problems with it sliding open, it just works well. There are 6 venting holes and on the inside of the door the orientation for the batteries is clearly visible as well as some sort of gel cushioning which not only means the door fits nice and snugly but also provides extra battery protection.
Now onto the screen, what a thing of simple yet elegant beauty. There’s a nice curved design on each side then the output power in the middle in a large font. It also shows the Output Mode, Battery Level, Voltage, Coil resistance and whether or not the buttons are locked. It’s big, it’s bright and it’s effective. You’ll have no trouble viewing it in bright sunlight and anyone with vision issues will be able to see clearly the power they are putting through this.
The mod is packed with features and if you want to see them all then you can download the manual from the Freemax Website Here
5 clicks of the fire button turns the device on/off
3 clicks of the fire button opens the menu
Pressing Fire and – button changes the screen colour – choose from Blue, Yellow, Green or Red
Pressing + & - together locks those buttons but not the fire button.
At the top of the mod is the pod housing with the airflow ring which has a nice grip and good resistance to it which means it doesn’t move unless you want it to. It has wide slots on either side to allow for maximum airflow available so just twist to suit.
“Next he’ll be wanting his own ThunderTank.” – Panthro, ThunderCats
The Pod
The pod is made of strong plastic with a metal chimney and is held in place magnetically which gives a nice click and it slots into place. The fill port is on the side of the pod so you can fill it without removing the pod from the base, this sounds nice but it just doesn’t work that well in practice. Because the pod spins in the base peeling back the rubber bung is tricky as it’s a struggle to keep in place so you’re better off just removing the pod to fill. The sheer size of the coils can also cause an issue with filling as they get in the way, you have to tilt at an angle to avoid the tip of your bottle hitting the coil and making it spill out so just be careful. The pod capacity is stated as 5ml but the coil you use will affect this as the MX2 & MX3 are noticeably larger than the MX1 so the capacity will be less. I also have no idea how they are going to implement the 2ml TPD compliant tank as I can see where any bung would go, also, the rate that you get through liquid with this will mean that at just 2ml you will be refilling this pod, a lot. The drip tip is part of the pod so it’s fixed so you can’t use your own drip tip but it’s nice enough to use.
“We’re all leaves passing in the wind; here and then gone. But while we’re here, we live life to the fullest” – Lion-O, ThunderCats
In use
Unicorn Shake at the ready off. I went starting with the MX1 coil. I started low and worked my way up, adjusting the airflow as I went to find my optimum vape. The flavour starts to come through at about 50w and because I found my sweet spot at 60w with the airflow about 1/2 closed. The flavour was good but not quite as good as I was expecting and the airflow on that coil is loud and quite turbulent. The MX1 is really airy and produces a good amount of vapour but the flavour was a little lacking for me.
I switched to the MX2 coil and again loaded up some Unicorn Shake so I could make a direct comparison. The flavour on this coil starts to come through at about 60w and I found my sweet spot at 82w with the airflow again about 1/3 closed. The flavour on this coil is different entirely, wow, bags of flavour, a lovely warmth and a decent amount of vapour here. The vape on this coil is smooth, incredibly flavourful and intensely satisfying indeed.
As Freemax provided me with some MX3 coils I tried them in the kit as well. I don’t usually go over 60w normally but damn this was lovely. I had this up at 95w with the airflow about 1/3 closed and slap me with a penguin’s flipper that’s good. The flavour floods the mouth with each vape, it’s rich, it’s deep, it feels like a flavour monster is dancing on your taste-buds. What an outstanding vape this is.
“Thunder! Thunder! THUNDER! THUNDERCATS, HOOOOO!” Lion-O, ThunderCats
Conclusion
When I was young, I wanted to be an astronaut, I wanted to go into space and explore new worlds, conduct experiments and figure out the secrets of the universe. I didn’t just want to gaze at the stars, I wanted to be among them. I would have this reoccurring daydream where I was able to visit the horse-head nebula, to witness the birth of stars. While I was there an ancient race of intelligent life would speak to me, they spoke in a language not that dissimilar to whales, a series of clicks and song. Their songs would entrance me and I longed to know more about that. Just as I thought I was close to communicating with them I would be cruelly whisked away by the cruel mistress that is life. Once while having this daydream I fell out of a tree and broke my nose, it bled everywhere, all over my t-shirt and I had to walk home in pain. The dream was what kept me going, I could reach the stars, a broken nose was not going to stop me from what I was destined to become, it was written, it shall come to pass, no minor issues will prevent me from this great feat.
This reminds me of that a little, what I mean is this is a stellar device with some minor setbacks.
The MX2 & MX3 coils are superb, they give an immensely flavourful vape which is a delight. The mod is absolutely superb, it’s all the modes you could need, it’s nice to hold, the screen is clear and the fire button provides power to the coils in an instant.
It’s not without it’s niggles though, the MX1 coil is good but it’s not great and it’s very turbulent and noisy. The fill port isn’t the best as it could be bigger and you still have to remove the pod to fill. My other main gripe is that the mod is soooo good I wish they would produce a 510 adapter.
Overall I think this is a fantastic kit producing outstanding flavour and if the coils fit your vaping wattage range, you’ll struggle to find better.
FM Out.
