Astral
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Innokin EQ-FLTR.
Disclaimer: This is an independent review of a vape device kindly provided to me by @Innokin and is not associated with Planet Of The Vapes or any other organisation. The opinions here are purely my own and I am not receiving any payment or inducement for them.
Oh yes. Oh yes. Oh yes. We like. We like this a lot.
I was hoping Innokin would choose me to review this new EQ-FLTR pod kit and fortunately they did - but I wasn’t just hoping on my behalf, I was hoping on my Dads.
It took me all of a minute to write back and agree to it when I got the email asking me to do it, and to be honest I couldn’t have been happier - and right now that’s a little strange.
There’s been a lot of pod kits released recently, and frankly I’ve been getting a little bored of them and running out of things to say, but this one’s a little different.
You see, this one excited me a little, and unlike a normal vape, the EQ-FLTR is a novel device that features a disposable biodegradable soft tip that’s supposed to give the feeling of smoking a normal cigarette, rather than a Biro - which is something I thought I might enjoy - but in all honesty it’s not the only reason I wanted it, but if it kills two birds with one stone then what’s the problem?
So what is that problem, I hear you ask?
Well, in short, it’s my Dad. You see he’s what’s known as a ‘slurper’. He very much loves his vaping but his technique leaves a lot to be desired.
We’ve done all sorts to try and cure his slurping problem since he started, but so far nothing’s worked. We’ve exchanged pods, liquids and ideas to see if anything would work but so far nothing has, and there’s nothing we can do - it’s very much down to him and not the device. So when Innokin announced they were bringing out this EQ-FLTR pod kit system with a cigarette style soft tip, I saw it as an innovative opportunity to cure a problem rather than a novelty, even if the problem wasn’t converting him like they intended.
So did it? Well, read on and find out...
The short answer is yes...
You see, the first thing I noticed that might be an obstacle is that the soft tip isn’t entirely soft. It actually has a little hole running down the middle of it and a plastic liner starting half way down extending into the pod where turbulence could still possibly occur if sucked hard.
Thankfully though, the soft tip did its job and made this harder - which is why Innokin correctly wants you to think of as a more normal cigarette.
The half of the tip that is unlined and goes into your mouth however, is soft and nips together nicely between the lips, giving a nice comfortable mouth feel and a slower tighter draw.
An added bonus to this is that if you don’t want the draw to be quite that tight, you can also use an included plastic mouthpiece, which also provides a more pod-like or old-fashioned cig-a-like feeling in the mouth - and this is exactly the first thing my Dad said to me when I told him we were getting it.
“So it’s like my little vape pen then” he said, getting the impression that it was more akin to a little cig-a-like pen than a pod. It isn’t quite - but it isn’t that dissimilar.
Like many people - me included - his first experience of vaping was with a cig-a-like, and while some of them find these so off putting they never go back to vaping, many used them to successfully transition to vaping and never went back.
So then, was he right to think of this as a more modern cig-a-like rather than a pod?
Well, sort of. This is very much a pod, but at 90.9 x 18.6 mm and 30g in weight it’s a sort of intermediate between the two - but while not necessarily exactly the same, Innokin is definitely trying to solve the same problem as the cig-a-like was, they’re just doing it in a slightly different and far better way.
The soft tip - albeit even a partially lined one - is far superior to a metal mouthpiece, and with a 400mah battery and 2ml juice capacity to boot it really is approaching the problem from a different angle.
The size of the mouthpiece and the solitary auto-draw system can certainly be compared too.
Everything else is far more modern though. It features 7.5 - 9w in power output and 3 amp charging, but unfortunately only micro-usb and not USB Type-C.
If there is anything else that can be compared to a cig-a-like though, it’s that the pods are almost as convenient as cartomisers.
The EQ-FLTR comes with a modern replaceable coil affair that uses the 1.2ohm coil from the Sceptre to allow for good flavour, prolonged usage and financial savings.
As a Sceptre user myself, I already expected the EQ_FLTR to have a great flavour before I even tried it as I know how great those coils are, but I really didn’t know what effect the soft-tip filter would have on them.
Fortunately it didn’t have at all and the flavour was just as good.
When I tried it I was really quite surprised at how little it changed it, and just seemed to alter the draw instead, which for me was unusual but also extremely pleasant.
So what did my Dad think of it? Did he like it? And more to the point, did it cure his slurping problem?
Well I’m pleased to say yes.
When he vaped it he was more than suitably impressed.
Typically he likes a much airier and cooler draw than me, so ironically I thought he’d like its restriction less than I did, but all that went out of the window as soon as he tried it. He enjoyed the feeling of the soft mouthpiece too. The first thing he actually said to me when he tried it was: “This is just like smoking a rollie” - not something Innokin will particularly want to hear I suppose but it’s something that could definitely catch on.
His only complaint was the colour. He wanted a Stealth Black one but got Green. The other colours are Storm Grey, Azure Blue, Ruby Red and Rose Gold. All are lovely and would’ve been just fine by me - I like them all - they’re all beautifully sparkly and metallicized - which I love, but he really wanted that black one...
The box is far less colourful though. Innokin are using biodegradable cardboard packaging these days, which is none to decadent but offers good protection for its contents within - the pod, the 1.2ohm Coil, 5 biodegradable filters, an internal airflow guide, a protective cap and mouthpiece, plus the Micro USB cable and user manual.
Pleasingly, that’s one less problem to think about...
As for the slurping one, it did entirely as I’d for hoped, yes.
The squishy tip put an end to the turbulence he suffered and slowed him down a bit - and all in all, I think this is a great triumph for Innokin.
Some may see it as an experiment, some as a novelty and some may even see it as a joke, but what you need to account for is the purpose and clientele this is for, and for that I think you can only see it as a success.
It doesn’t completely replace the feeling of a cigarette, but comes close and mitigates some of the issues new vapers may have with a pod or mod, and this really could be a great first step for them, and anything that gets them off the chemical laden leaf can only be a good thing.
The real surprise here though is who this kit actually served.
I started off looking for something for my Dad, but ended up finding something for me too.
The versatility of this kit means it’s not just one for beginners [or slurpers], and it can serve better equipped and more enthusiastic vapers too.
The problem only here is that it’s so good it may prove counterproductive and revert a few back to smoking rather than convert them in the first place, and that may entirely defeat the object of what this device sets out to achieve.
As long as you’re not a snob and prepared to give something relatively basic a try, I recommend every enthusiastic MTLer give this try. You might just end up liking it. I certainly did, and it’s now going to be a firm fixture in my vaping kit. This is so simple, I can’t believe it’s taken someone so long to come up with it, and I definitely now wouldn’t want to be without it.
And as for my Dad’s opinion on it? Well, he said the following: “You can say on there that Dad thinks it’s fabulous. Truly excellent. Tremendous. I can't say enough about it”.
“It’s no good if you take it direct-to-lung, but if you only take little puffs like me then it’s perfect. It’s absolutely fine for someone like me”
There was one slight criticism though...
“The only thing I don’t like about it is the end cap is a bit rough, so annoying”
So, there you have it. Well done Innokin, you’ve almost certainly got yourself a winner on your hands here, just smooth off that end cap and you’ve just won yourself a continued fan and long term customer.
Actually I tell a lie… You’ve won yourself two long term fans and long term customers - because I’m going to continue using it too.
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