Freemax Marvos S Kit
Supplied by Freemax for review.
https://www.freemaxvape.com/marvos-s-80w-kit
While Freemax have been around for as long as I remember, I must admit I’ve not tried anything of their since the awesome Freemax Mesh Pro tank which I still use a lot, when I was offered the opportunity to test some of their latest products, I jumped at the chance, and it turned out I was in for quite a treat. The first one I tested was the Marvos S.
The Marvos S Kit is a single 18650 mod and a pod style tank with a 510 base adaptor, this kit is clearly aimed at direct lung (DL) vapers looking for a compact but powerful vape.
- Size: 26*51.7*110.2mm
- Pod Capacity: 4.5ml (2ml TPD)
- Coil: MS Mesh Coil (Tea Fiber Cotton Formula+SS904L Mesh)
- Coil Resistance: 0.15ohm/0.25ohm/0.35ohm/0.5ohm
- Output Mode: Power, Smart, Bypass
- Battery: External 18650
- Output Voltage: 0.7-4.2V
- Output Wattage: 5-80W
- Material: Zinc Alloy+Artificial Leather+SS+PCTG
- Weight: 156.42g
As you can see by the size and weight, this kit is pretty pocket friendly and has a decent range of coils available. One thing that stood out was the mention of ‘Artificial Leather’ which might not sound important but is definitely important information for vegans, and I’ve not seen this mentioned on other ‘leather wrap’ mods.
Unboxing
The kit comes in quite a compact open box with an outer sleeve showing your colour choice, some specs and the contents.
A nice touch was a little ribbon to pull out the Marvos easily. Underneath this layer is a box containing the extras, this was a bit of a faff to get out though, and I had to get quite rough with it which pretty much destroyed that box.
The kit includes the Marvos S mod, the pod and 510 base adaptor, 2 coils, a USB-C cable, a user manual and a warranty card. The coils are different, MS 0.15ohm (preinstalled) and an MS 0.25ohm.
First Impressions
The compact size grabbed my attention first, as soon as you hold it, you appreciated how Freemax have skimmed down the dimensions to the minimum. The next thing was the weight; 156g for a proper mod and tank kit is impressive, and they have kept the metal mass down but it still feels solid in construction.
The ergonomics are superb as every edge in your grip is smooth and rounded, and the faux leather wrap adds to the comfort. The natural grip position is held with your top three fingers wrapped around, and your little finger acts as a support. Your index finger naturally hangs over the fire button, it just feels so right and there is little to no chance of accidental adjustments as the Up/Down buttons are tucked out of the way.
The battery cap and 510 adaptor are nicely styled with matching knurling which also make them grippy. The artificial leather wrap is padded and squishy, it looks exactly like real leather and features good quality stitching.
The base has battery vent holes with subtly etched mandatory markings. The top edge has a spring loaded 510 thread and will take up to 26mm diameter tanks, in fact it took a slightly larger Freemax Mesh Pro (V1) which surprised me as there was enough clearance between the 510 thread and battery cap to allow it.
To fit an 18650 battery (not included), you simply unscrew the battery cap counter-clockwise, the threads feel smooth and locate well which minimises the risk of cross threading. There is a clear red cross on white background on the inside of the battery tube for orientation.
The screen is positioned on one side with the adjustment rocker buttons underneath, and the screen is just about right and can be seen in outdoor light. The display is well laid out and is easy to read, the only niggle is there is no battery percentage.
Controls
The Marvos S is pretty basic in functionality, on the plus side this makes it beginner friendly, but more advanced users will find it lacking.
- 5 x Fire = Turns device On/Off
- 3 x Fire = Cycles through the 3 power options:
- POWER (basic wattage mode)
- SMART (sets wattage automatically)
- BYPASS (supplies voltage relative to coil resistance and battery level)
- Press and hold Up/Down = Locks adjustment
- Press Fire & Down = Cycles through colour schemes
- Press Fire & Up = Reset Puff Counter (Y/N)
- Press and hold ALL buttons = Resets to factory default
Full instructions can be found here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TfnJBVhmhoVMSpmBDB4YTnr9l98FF7VE/view
Though basic, it is very easy to navigate the options and there’s nothing confusing about it at all. The Smart setting is all I used as it still allows you to adjust the wattage unrestricted.
Pod/Tank
When is a pod a pod? and when is a tank a tank? I have no idea these days! The lines are well and truly blurred now, with this kit I’m going to call it a magnetic tank.
The coils are a simple push fit and are easy to remove, there’s no need to remove the 510 base adaptor once fitted as your tank section is magnetic. To fill up the tank, you prise open the silicone bung on the base and I found it mess free, in fact I had no niggles what so ever with the tank, it is just simplicity.
There was a little hidden bonus; the mouth piece (drip tip) is removable and uses the standard 810 fitting (O-ring type), a welcome touch!
I know I said I had no niggles with the tank, but those nasty killjoy TPD fascist bully-boys meant that the UK version is restricted to 2ml, Freemax has achieved this with a double walled tank so there’s no way around it other than obtaining a non-TPD one from abroad, but at least there’s no ugly silicone bung shoved inside, and it looks good.
Performance
With the preinstalled 0.15ohm coil primed and set at 50 watts, using my favourite test e-liquid (Super Juice – Mapple), it was time to vape. With the airflow wide open, it pretty much felt spot on. A bit of a tweak at 60 watts and the airflow closed off a little, I was well happy with the vape. It might sound daft, but in my mind it was ‘this is proper Freemax’, flavour and vapour production were on par with the best tanks I own. The only thing I wasn’t as keen on was the warmth (or lack of it) as it gave quite a cool vape and I didn’t really want to push it over 60 watts due to the coil life and battery performance.
Fortunately the 0.25ohm coil suited this kit better but at the cost of a little less vapour production. For me, that’s absolutely fine as more often than not I prefer less clouds and flavour is king, 50 watts was my sweet spot for flavour and warmth, vapour production was still pretty decent.
Both coils wick fast and keep up with chain vaping, better still they love you long time. I’ve proper hammered the 0.25ohm for 10 days and it still looks good with no flavour drop off so far.
Battery life will be dependent on what cell you use, but I found it lasted me around 6 hours of moderate use at 50 Watts. It’s one of those kits where carrying a spare 18650 is handy if you need a full working day’s vaping.
Charging, I only tested the charging screen as I prefer to charge my cells in a dedicated charger. The charging screen was a bit pants as it only had a five bar icon with no percentage or estimated time.
My Marvos story won’t end here as Freemax also sent the Mesh RTA kit! Due to the time testing the stock coils, I’ve not had time to use it yet, but inspecting it I can see that this is gonna be good! Top airflow, easy build, and short height all sound promising. I will include it in my next review of the Marvos 60W
There are some alternate pods/tanks that fit this kit too:
The GLASS one has gone right onto my shopping list as I think it will improve the overall look of this kit a lot.
Conclusion
My initial thoughts on the Marvos S kit before I tested it were that it’s nothing new or innovative, but none of that mattered once I got my hands on one and tried out how it felt and vaped. Freemax make fantastic coils, and the Marvos S kit utilises these perfectly. The vape quality is amongst the best and it feels great to use, though it’s no ‘Mesh Pro’ as that tank favours 90 watts upwards. Think of this as a toned down version but with superb flavour and less thirsty, and you’re in for a treat.
If you desire that high powered cloud lobbing big coil vape, Freemax still have you covered with the all new Maxus Max (the name says it all), and I will be reviewing that soon. I can tell you that the coils are huuuuge!
Pros
- Compact and light weight
- Ergonomic
- Good screen
- 510 mod
- Well-made Pod/Tank
- Superb flavour
- Coil life
- Vegan friendly faux leather
Cons
- Limited functionality
- Battery bar – bah
The cons are minor, and neither bother me during normal everyday use.
Final Thoughts
Freemax are well and truly back on my radar with the Marvos S Kit, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed testing this kit and I can see I’m going to use it for a long time to come (especially once I get a glass tank). It fits nicely into my jeans pocket and doesn’t weigh much, that’ll do for me.
Score: 8.5/10 – Marvo-lous
Si Davies
Reviewer at POTVMy background is Engineering and Professional Photography. Mostly from POTV users knowledge I learned so much about pretty much all styles of vaping and equipment, Cloud Chasing, Squonking, Mouth To Lung, Direct To Lung, Pods, Mechs, Rebuild-able tanks and atomisers etc, and have experience with many many devices and atomisers, it's become a hobby and enjoy trying out the latest gear. I like to think my reviews are plain speaking and informative without getting too technical, if I have to resort to reading the manual then I don't consider it user friendly!
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