Hardware Review: Evive POD System
I’ve got something interesting for you all today.
OK it’s another POD system, but this one is from our cousins over in New Zealand, a little closer to home than usual, it’s the Evive POD System.
Evive Vapes have sent this over for me to try out and I’ve decided to review it at the same time.
The Evive POD system is a closed system (you can’t refill the pods), that was created with the sole purpose of helping smokers quit the cigarettes and jump onto their system seamlessly.
To get this done effectively, Evive Vapes, had to get a few things right.
The system would need to:
- Deliver Nicotine effectively and in a dose that minimises cravings
- Be of small and lightweight form factor
- Be convenient enough for a smoker to use
- Be simple to use
- Offer a variety of choice without confusion
This system does all of this and very well.
It is a no-nonsense closed system. No purchasing e-liquid, you buy this kit, and use it. If you run out of pre-filled PODS, you simply order more.
No mess, no fuss.
Obviously something like this isn’t going to be everybody’s cup of tea, but I think for smokers wanting to quit, and needing to keep things simple, this just might be the ticket for those wanting the result without the headaches.
Conforming to their want of keeping things simple, it’s been quite difficult to actually find specifications for this device, as it’s designed to just be “used” without having to worry about all of the nitty gritties.
I know however, some of you will find them useful to gauge the kind of vape that this will output and give you a better idea of how it functions.
Specifications and Features
- Size: 102 x 19 x 6.5mm
- E-liquid Capacity: 1ml
- Micro USB
- 280 maH battery
- I do not have any information on the coil in the PODs, but it’s a tiny spaced coil, I’m guessing around the 1.8 Ohm-2.5 Ohm resistance range.
- POD Nicotine level (5%/50mg) Nicotine Salts.
Product Includes:
- 1 x Evive Battery
- 1 x Micro USB Charging cable
- 1 x User Manual
POD Packs are available separately.
Photos
The Review
The Evive device is quite a lean and clean looking device, probably about the same size as a Juul, and just as easy to use, this has a fantastic form factor and is lightweight to boot!
I’ve been carrying this little guy around for the last few weeks, and most of the time I completely forget that it’s even in my pocket, it really is that slim and lightweight.
The reason that it’s so compact is because it’s not designed to be anything but a low power, high nicotine dosage vapouriser.
This is supposed to be a dead simple, easy to use device, and I think it does exactly that.
The POD
The Evive PODs are prefilled, so new vapers won’t even need to worry about filling them. You simply take them out of their sealed packaging, remove the rubber stoppers and push them into position. It really couldn’t be easier!
Obviously being non-refillable, these PODs are disposable, I have not tried to refill one yet, but I’m sure you could so so very easily if you drilled a tiny hole and then filled with a silicone plug.
PODs come in 3 flavours:
- Mango
Not a bad Mango, a very simple mix. This has a slight chemical note to it. - Smooth Tobacco
Very much a simple Red Tobacco, or Cigar/Virginian Tobacco - Watermelon
Not a candy, or a realistic watermelon, a very fake tasting Watermelon flavour with a little chemical note to it like the Mango.
It’s only a small selection of flavours to choose from but Evive are working on more, and is a good base to work from.
Due to the high nicotine level of the PODS, the flavours can seem a little medicinal, or chemical in flavour. Because of this and the very simple flavouring, I don’t rate them too well. The more you vape them, the more this feeling will go away however.
PODs are purchased by the pack, and each pack has x4 PODs in it.
Each POD is said to last up to 300 puffs, with what looks like about 1ml of eliquid in them, the equivelent of 25-30 cigarettes.
PODs only come in one strength at the moment, (50mg/5%) but Evive Vapes are also looking at adding a few other levels in the future.
50mg is a bit high for my liking, and with the current spotlight on vaping and high nicotine strengths, I’m a little torn as to what to think about it.
On the one hand 50mg delivered through this device with it’s lower power battery and high resistance coil, does work very well. I’d venture to say that it might even be at a perfect level of nicotine intake to help a current smoker beat the cravings and move over to e-cigarettes.
On the other hand, 50mg (5%) is quite high, it really is on the higher end of the scale, right up there with Juul pods.
I’ll be interested to try other levels when they come out with them, a 30mg / 3% option would be perfect in my opinion.
The Main Body
The body of the vapouriser is a quality build, it appears to be an aluminium or steel frame, with a generic gun metal grey coating, you have your micro usb port on the base, nice and securely fastened. It’s of a flatter shape with rounded sides that really do make this feel a lot smaller than it really is.
On the side or face of the device, you’ll find the Evive logo etched into it and a little battery indicator LED a little further up, which lights up as you take a draw.
The POD simple pushes down into the top of the enclosure. There’s no real audible click, instead the POD is held inplace by the tolerances and small indents in the side of the frame above the airholes.
Usage
Like many pod devices, the Evive has no ‘power on’ or ‘power off’, in fact it has no buttons at all. None.
You simply push your POD into place, and inhale. The automatic draw system will detect the suction and activate the coil, which in turn vapourises the eliquid in the POD.
It’s a great system, particularly for beginners who need things to be simple. You push in and you go. There is nothing more to it. When your POD is done, you simply push in another, and get the same vape every time.
Autodraw
As mentioned earlier, this has an auto-draw, no buttons, just inhale and the vacuum created fires the device. The autodraw works well, it could perhaps be a little more sensitive, as I found taking a few puffs consecutively wielded the best results, the 2nd or 3rd puff taken in a row was much better than the first, when the coil was only just ramping up.
If you’re a Direct to Lung inhaler (some cigarette smokers are) it will be very restricted, but a nice long inhale will get that coil going and give you a satisfying hit.
Charging
The charging mechanism here is nothing special, a simple micro USB port at the base of the device. Plug it in and it charges.
You’ll typically get up to 300 puffs from a full battery, (the approximate amount of puffs you’ll get from a POD, which is a nice touch).
And be alerted to a low battery when the LED on top of the device flashes 10 times in a row.
The 280 mAH battery does not take very long to charge, only about 30 minutes and you’ll be up and vaping again.
Pros:
- Great Looking
- Comfortable to hold
- Quality build
- Great pods and vapour production
- Dead simple to use
Cons:
- Pods are not refillable (one time use only)
- Closed system
- Very low power system
- Autodraw not as reactive as I would have liked
Where to Buy
You can purchase the Evive POD System directly from the Evive Online Store, where you’ll find the battery kit you’ll need to get started, and POD Packs a plenty, with more flavours and nicotine choices coming soon.
Conclusion
What a fantastically simple little device! I’ve been carrying this around with me for the last few weeks and everytime I’ve taken a puff from it, it’s done a really great job of giving me a bit of a throat hit, and providing a pretty good cigarette like experience.
I’ve noticed that you’ve got to kind of get this one going a bit, first puff, second puff, third puff, ahhh there it is. The first is winding up, getting the coil going a little, and the 2nd and 3rd consecutive puffs are the ones that will give you a good vape.
To me, this just says that the autodraw is not as sensitive as it could be, which I’d like to see improved. A true autodraw device should be sensitive specially when it’s a low power/high nicotine hit device.
Other than that small negative, this has been a pretty good little POD.
It’s build quality is great, it has a fantastic feel in the hand, and operating this is dead simple.
This is great for a nice cool vape, it is restricted, but not airy enough to need to take a direct to lung inhale. A great setup for a beginner, and with it’s high nicotine PODs, perfect for the smoker trying to quit.
The price on this isn’t too bad, with the basic battery kit including single battery, charging cable and instructions coming in at $29.90NZ and POD Packs starting at $20.90NZ it’s a little pricey initially setting up (you might like to get x2 batteries to start with) but once you’ve got your batteries, the pre-filled pods are reasonably priced.
I am looking forward to seeing what Evive do with a few extra flavours and also a few extra nicotine options in the future, I think that will be the icing on the cake!
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