The Electronic Cigarette Company (TECC) have sent over the latest entry in the Geekvape Q Series of starter kits for us to try out. This is my first experience with the Q Pod as I skipped the earlier Sonder Q and Wenax Q kits, so I was quite looking forward to trying out the AQ Pod kit.
Specifications
- 112 x 24 x 13.5mm
- 51 grams
- 1000mAh internal battery
- 3 adjustable power levels
- Uses Q Pod system (2 Pods included)
The Geekvape AQ Pod is available in six colours and I was sent the blue version for testing, black, silver, grey, red and turquoise fill out the rest of the line-up. As is customary with these kits aimed at the starter market, the packaging is rather simple with the device itself, two Q Pods, a short USB-C charge cable, and some brief documentation. As an added bonus, I found a spare top cap for the pods inside the box containing the USB cable which I thought was a nice touch.
The main body of the AQ Pod utilises an aluminium alloy chassis, this was finished in a vibrant anodised blue finish with softly rounded edges for comfort and is accented on one side with a soft “leather” pad which helps it stand out from the crowd. I was impressed by the colour as the blue is the one I would most likely have picked for myself, and the small details like the dimples on the sides and the subtle Geekvape logos etched down either side of the chassis.
This is something of a featherweight at just 51 grams making it perfect for slipping into a shirt pocket. Even so, this still manages to feel well made and robust enough to stand up to daily knocks and bumps, and Geekvape even rates this as a Tri-Proof design (water, dust, and drop resistant) although they don’t actually give this an official iP rating so if you’re a bit rough with your gear, this might be something that piques your interest.
Despite the small and lightweight form factor, Geekvape have still managed to cram a 1000mAh battery inside which is charged via the USB-C port at the base which is surrounded by a large rubber foot. In my tests, this charged at a peak rate of 0.8 amps reaching a recorded capacity of 1000mAh in 1 hour and 25 minutes.
Up top is the recess for the pods with two magnetic contacts and an airflow inlet. The AQ Pod can be used as an auto draw system and has worked flawlessly, or alternatively, you can use the clicky power button located on one side for manual operation. You have an adjustable airflow control located on the side just above a bright LED indicator.
This LED shows your approximate charge levels whilst vaping, and you also get three selectable power outputs low (red), medium (blue), and high (green), allowing you to tailor your vape to your personal preferences.
Two Q Pods (0.8ohm and 1.2ohm) are included in the AQ Pod kit with an optional 0.6ohm pod also being available. These are available in packs of three at a very reasonable £6.99, making this a fairly cheap to run system.
Pods are filled from the top by removing the mouthpiece, and this uses a simple flap that is displaced when you put the nozzle of an e-liquid bottle through and it simply snaps back into position to give a good seal once you’re done. This simple but effective design has made this really simple to use, and I like the crystal clear pods which make it easy to monitor how much e-liquid you have remaining.
These use a modern mesh coil design which I believe is baked into a ceramic core surrounded by cotton. These have remained saturated throughout, but as I’ve found with other coils that use this ceramic style design, they do tend to feel a bit dry at times and the flavour, whilst decent, perhaps lacks some of the high notes in other similar pods I’ve used recently. I also can’t find any mention of the coil material used so if you’re nickel sensitive, proceed with caution before considering a purchase.
Pros
- Robust “TrI-Proof” design
- Easy to use pods
- Good battery capacity
Cons
- Flavour is a little muted
Conclusion
The Geekvape AQ Pod is a bit of a looker with a decent sized battery for this class of starter kit, and that “Tri-Proof” (water, dust, and drop) resistance might be worth considering if you’re prone to butter fingers. The Q Pods performed reasonably well although they’re perhaps a little outclassed on the flavour front by other pod kits.
Many thanks to The Electronic Cigarette Company for sending the Geekvape AQ Pod kit our way for review. It’s available now at just £18.99, and don’t forget your POTV10 discount code on checkout.
Antony Lord
Reviewer at POTVI was a twenty a day smoker for 25 years and like most smokers I was always going to quit "next week". Having hit my mid forties and having the usual smokers cough and difficulty with anything more than moderate exercise it was obviously time to give up the cancer sticks. I bought my first e-cigarette in 2013 when they were expensive, difficult to find and quite frankly... crap. I used it for about a week then went back to the roll ups, mark up another failed quit attempt. The fact that I had just changed jobs and was under quite a lot of stress probably didn't help. Move on to 2016 and whilst I was browsing eBay I noticed that one of the suggested items that would occasionally pop up was for a cheap e-cigarette. It looked similar to the one I'd bought 3 years earlier but it was only £5 (about 8 times cheaper than before) so I decided to give it another go on a whim. Once the kit arrived I managed to gradually replace the cigarettes with my new kit over a two month period and got into watching YouTube reviews for newer kit. My cheap and cheerful kit was replaced by a more upmarket affair, and being a noob I made a mistake once it arrived... I put in the supplied direct lung coil, this was of course a complete revelation and I haven't touched a cigarette since. Oh and I no longer spend the first five minutes of every day having a coughing fit either.
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