OXVA Origin AIO Review

Today’s bit of kit isn’t a fresh, completely brand new release, it’s been out for a little while already. But the feedback on it so far has been nothing short of exemplary. In today’s sea of cheaper POD kits, from companies putting out products left, right and centre, it’s a nice change of pace to come across something that is unique, and goes in it’s own direction rather than simply mimicking other already available devices.

From it’s unique retro styling to it’s custom board that has some magical battery optimising technology, this device has been designed from the ground up.

I’d never heard of OXVA before and only while reading up on other reviews, have I become aware that the CEO of OXVA and designer of the Origin is no other than Justin Lai (the designer behind the Aegis line of Geekvape products) Apparently ‘Origin’ symbolises the first letter of the brand name and the fact that this is their first device.

Big thank-you goes out to Your Local Vape Shop for sending this through for me to review!

Photos

First Impressions – Rundown

This is quite different than many of the other PODs and AIOs that have been coming out of late, it has a very retro and quality feel to it. From the size, weight and general feel of the panels, the OXVA Origin is not something that has been put together hap-hazardly, this is something that has been designed from the ground up, in probably one of the most compact sizes I’ve seen of any 18650 device!

There are currently 5 colours available, which all lend themselves to a slightly different look, I received the white/marble look design, which is a little feminine, but at the same time gives off a bit of an old school shaver vibe.

The Origin houses a 3ml clear POD above the battery bay, with a replaceable coil, which is a pretty decent size considering that the entire device measures in at a tiny 32 mm x 23mm x 113mm.
It comes with 2 types of coils, the 0.3ohm and 0.5ohm offerings from OXVA, with another 1.0ohm coil available to purchase separately, and an RBA base on it’s way to market.

The Main Body

With the POD and battery tucked neatly inside the zinc-alloy chassis, this tear-drop shaped mod is a refreshing design, that feels great in the hand and is super stealthy. The door panel and inside battery terminal are injection moulded plastic, quite good quality I might add, with some chrome trim along the edge, bottom and top for that extra retro look.

The main door of the mod is moulded plastic, with a nice gloss, but at the same time, a little cheap feeling. The magnets are great, and the door snaps back into place really well, with the fitment also quite good also.
There is the tiniest bit of movement of the door when holding the device, which is noticeable but really not an issue.

From top to bottom, you’ll notice a nice ergonomic drip tip, it’s a reverse 510 meaning the drip tip actually sits over a male 510 connector. It’s a little strange and I would have liked to have seen a female recess here, so that I could use any custom 510 drip tip I want.

Below is a recessed power button, small led screen and recessed wattage button followed by a micro USB toward the bottom of the device.

As mentioned earlier, opening the removing the magnetic door panel gives you access to the inside where you’ll find a clear POD above an 18650 battery terminal complete with ribbon which makes inserting and removing batteries super simple.

Releasing the clear POD from the device is not straight forward at first, but it’s pretty satisfying once you get the hang of it. If you look closely, OXVA have provided a small notch in the side of the pod allowing you to grip it with a finger nail, and swing the POD to your left, effectively levering the POD out in a swinging action. Putting the POD back in can be a little trickier, but putting a little force behind it sees the POD pop in without issue.

The POD & Coils

The POD will carry approximately 3mls of eliquid, and is completely clear, with a push in coil design. There is a fill port on the side, covered by a silicone plug, which is a wonderful position for it, because you can lay the mod down remove the door and access the fill port really easily.

The way that the POD clips into the body of the device is also a really unique way of doing things, it is sort of press fit into the POD cavity, held there by the pressure from both top housing and bottom where the pins are. Once you learn how to remove the POD it’s really easy, in fact, even fun to pop that POD out from time to time, putting it back in is not so easy to begin with but loosens up the more you do it.

Putting a coil in the POD is similar to many out there already on the market, you simply push in from underneath. I did notice that the coils have very little resistance going in, they stay inserted but quite loosely.
Even though it feels loose, I haven’t noticed any issues with seepage or, had the coil fall out, so I’m not calling that a negative, just a head’s up in advance.

The Origin ships with a 0.3 ohm and a 0.5 ohm coil in the package, of the two, I’ve found the 0.3 ohm Mesh coil to be phenomenal. The 0.5 ohm is ok, but not my preferred coil. The 0.3 ohm has big flavour, keeps the coil wicked really well, and can handle up to 35 Watts really easily, even though I’ve only been running it at about 27 Watts the entire time.
It simply provides a nice smooth, really dense flavour that honestly, I’d usually only get from vaping at least 50 Watts.

The small airflow adjustment actually unscrews from the base of the coil, so be careful here when you go to change the coil, don’t throw that little piece out. You’ll need it to screw onto your new coil. Lose it and you’ll need to purchase another complete POD or airflow adjustment if you can find one being sold somewhere.

Airflow

The airflow on the OXVA Origin is really versatile, with the airflow control accessible from the bottom of the inserted coil. This is a little bit of a pain having to remove the POD every time you need to adjust airflow, but it also acts to avoid any accidental adjustments at the same time.

There are also 3 large holes on the back of the device, to allow air to flow into the mod into the bottom of the coil.

I’ve found that you can spin the coil around a little in the POD for extra airflow adjustment, instead of tightening it right down with the airflow ring. Spin the coil around a little to point toward the side wall of the mod and you’ll get a slightly tighter vape, point it toward the 3 airholes in the side of the body and you’ll get a more direct airflow.

Having said all of that, the airflow adjustment ring below the coil, will tighten right down to a restricted Mouth to Lung style vape right through to a not quite open, restricted Direct to Lung type of airflow. So quite a range of airflow is available on the Origin.

Power & Battery

This is quite a powerful little device for what it is. 30-40 Watts feels like it’s a lot higher with the dense vape that this puts out, and you’ll likely find yourself not even stretching right up to the full 40 Watts. I’ve found around 27-30 Watts completely satisfying, without having to go any higher.

The ‘Photon’ chipset in the Origin is a no-nonsense chip with a fairly minimalist feature set. Power on/off, fire device, one button to change wattage, and that really is about it.
Instead of bells and whistles, OXVA have focused on behind the scenes features. Battery optimisation as well as efficient power, have been at the forefront of it’s development, and it shows. I don’t remember an 18650 battery lasting quite so long as it does in the Origin. A full day out of an 18650 simply doesn’t happen for me, in anything else, but the Origin does it easily.

There is a side effect of this battery optimisation, a little bit of an electrical hum when you fire the device. It’s not obtrusive, and to be honest, barely noticeable, but it is there, and hints to some type of ‘Pulse width modulation’ being used to regulate it’s power output.

You’ll find a micro usb port at the bottom of the device for charging on the go, but as with all devices, please be careful, and use an external charger for charging your removeable batteries.

Filling

As mentioned earlier, filling is really simple, open the device, lay it on it’s side and open the silicone plug from the side of the POD. Fill up the clear POD and put the silicone plug back in. Easy and clean.

I did notice that the diameter of the fill hole is a little on the small size, compared to a normal Chubby Gorilla needle tip bottle, so you might struggle with filling at first, but you get the hang of just inserting the tip of the bottle nib to fill.

Usage & Operation

You have your typical x5 click fire button to turn the device off and on, and a single button to adjust wattage. This single wattage adjustment button operates in 1 watt increments, and using the 0.4 ohm coil, round robins back to 5 watts when it reaches it’s maximum 40 watt setting.
If you’re using the 0.5 ohm coil, the device will not allow any higher than 25 Watts, and will then round robin you back to 5 watts also.

Leaking

No. Simply none at all. I get a little tiny bit of condensation behind the POD but that is it. Zero leaking or seepage.

Pros:

• No leaks
• Powerful little device
• Very long battery life due to battery optimisation
• Ergonomic shape, and solid quality feel
• Flavourful and Dense vape
• Long life from coils
  

Cons:

• Non 510 Drip tip
• Airflow Control requires you to remove the POD
• Cannot lock wattage
• Difficult to insert POD

Where to Buy:

You can purchase the OXVA Origin AIO right now from Your Local Vape Shop for $69.95 AUD. It’s a little bit pricier than other POD or AIO devices out at the moment but it’s worth spending the extra bucks on something as quality as this, with such great flavour and battery life!

Conclusion

This is simply a top notch device. I’m really impressed with the quality of vape from this little AIO.

There are a few small issues, from the strange reverse 510 drip tip, to not being able to lock your wattage in, but all in all these things can be looked over, because the long battery life and phenomenal vape really do make them look very insignificant.

This is now going to be another device that I recommend to anyone and everyone, it really is a winner!

Fantastic work on this OXVA!

Shane Presser

Shane Presser has been vaping since 2013, and has extensive experience with advanced equipment, coil builds and DIY mixing. He is the man behind VapersGarage, and also more recently Aussie Vape Stores, a resource to help vapers find their nearest Vape Shops, and eLiquid Vendors.