Ohm Brew Refill Bar
Supplied by Ohm Brew for review
https://ohmbrew.uk/refill-bar/
Ohm Brew were my favourite Nic Salts pre disposable-like e-liquid days (Rhubarb and Custard was the mutts nuts!). They have just released a new e-liquid range based on vape-bar favourites. I will be reviewing the e-liquids shortly, but first I will be covering their dedicated refillable vape, the imaginatively titled Refill Bar.
At a Glance
- Rechargeable 400mAh internal battery
- Draw-activated
- Refillable pod
- Up to 15 refills before expiring
- Fixed mesh coil
- Dimensions: 108mm (height) 20mm (width) 11mm (depth)
At the time of writing I don’t have the full info, but I ‘think’ the Refill Bar will be sold along with 1 x 10ml bottle of their Double Brew Bar Series. I have seen them advertised like this for £7.99, they are claiming it lasts up to 15 refills which is quite ambitious, but if it does, then that means 3 x 10ml bottles.
Unboxing
I will fly through this, it comes in a simple carton which is basic but it really doesn’t matter a jot, inside you will find the device wrapped in a foil type bag.
The bag is a simple tear open with a notch, similar to disposables so far.
But wait… there’s more in the box, there’s a USB-C charging cable and an instructions manual.
First Impressions and Overview
I didn’t want to like this as it is still a disposable at heart (once the coil fails), but I really like the style and that yellow contrasting colour. It’s a good example of making it colourful but not childish.
Since it is designed to be thrown away after the coil fails, it has been kept minimal in design. The whole body including the e-liquid section is all one piece, it appears like everything is just push up through the base. There a printed wrap covering the battery and electronics with a kind of wood grain pattern in a subtle grey, the branding is large but suits the contrast looks.
It has the Ohm Brew logo on the back which is nice and small, and there’s the usual legal markings which are even smaller and don’t ruin the looks. On the base is a semi opaque plastic insert with the charging port.
Recharging shows a single white LED which pulses during charging and stays on once full, it only shines through the base plate so it is easy to cover up when stealth vaping. It took around 25 minutes to recharge.
Filling the pod is pleasantly easy as the silicone bung swings out the way, and the fill port has plenty of room for standard 10ml bottle. I filled it right up without spilling a drop.
The mouthpiece is a bit naff though, it is a little thicker than I prefer but it’s the very edge I don’t like as it is squared off and quite hard.
That pretty much covers the device, now it’s time to complete it by pairing it up with its intended fuel: Double Brew Bar Series e-liquids. I lobbed in 2ml of the Pineapple Ice (because the colour matched).
OMG! This e-liquid is lush! I always knew Ohm Brew were good but their latest venture into Bar Series could be the best I have tasted so far, it certainly pisses over any disposable I’ve tried. It wasn’t just the Pineapple Ice as I had a sneak vape of the other flavours in advance of the e-liquid review (coming real soon), they all had a similar impact on me. The Double Apple one I had to resist consuming it all before photographing.
E-liquid aside, the device was an equal part in delivering the flavour. Considering Ohm Brew are an e-liquid manufacturer, I wasn’t expecting the pod to be this good, perhaps they partnered up with another manufacturer but either way it was the perfect partnership between hardware and e-liquid.
I soon got used to the mouthpiece but my only other niggle was the airflow is a bit on the loose side, you do need to draw quite hard to vape. I could tighten it up with my finger covering most of the base (where the air comes in) but I couldn’t be arsed doing that every draw so I just got used to it, besides I was just enjoying the flavour too much to care.
The battery lasted more or less the whole 2ml, but since it is refillable I generally kept on topping up the e-liquid so I lost track. Personally I think buying two of them would make it far more convenient and you can swap flavours.
As for the ‘Up to 15 refills claim’, I tried my best to reach that by always making sure the e-liquid was topped up more than halfway and not over chain-vaping, but I found that the flavour started suffering after 18-20ml. You could continue, but the longer you do, then the worse it will taste. 18-20ml is still pretty good and is on par with most refillable pods.
Unfortunately they only sent me one to review so I wasn’t able to test the full range of the Double Brew Bar Series, but I am confident that they will all perform as well as each other.
While I admire Ohm Brew for not going straight into fully pre-filled disposables, I still found it wasteful to throw away the device once the coil had expired, especially as it has a rechargeable battery and charging circuit inside. Hopefully we might get to see a refillable, replaceable pod version in the future.
As it is, it’s much less wasteful as a 2ml disposable but more wasteful than a replaceable pod system, BUT there’s a huge pro with this kit; it should be appealing to die-hard disposable users as well as a gateway to more sustainable vape kits. Best of all is you can still use the exact same e-liquid in other vapes.
Double Brew Bar Series review is coming soon, but spoiler alert, they are simply superb!
