Honest review time: The Golden Ratio from OneVape

Here’s a look at a new pod device from a company called OneVape. They’re a fairly new company but some of you may remember the Lambo that they released at the tail end of last year, a sleek looking pod style starter kit that was recently followed up with a Lambo II. Obviously looking to compete with all the major players this kit takes on that popular new style of pod device which I’ve lovingly dubbed boxpods. I got mine from Heavengifts where’s it’s available at a fairly reasonable price. Here are my honest thoughts on the Golden Ratio kit from OneVape.

Package contents:

Listed features and specs:

Packaging and contents:

The kit comes packed in a small cardboard box with a slide off sleeve. On the outer sleeve it shows an image of the kit on the front and a listing of the contents as well as some warning and company info on the back. In the kit you get the OneVape Golden Ratio device, an empty pod, two coils, a micro USB cable and a user manual. There’s also a little card with QR code that you can scan for service and warranty concerns. It’s a lightly packed kit but it does include all the things you need to get started. Personally I’d love to see these kits start shipping with an extra pod so you can easily flip between flavours but it’s hardly a complaint.

The golden ratio device:

The Golden Ratio device follows a similar rectangular candy bar shape that the other boxpods in it’s class have been using. A boxpod being what I call a device that’s shaped like a box with a pod in the top. In comparison to some of the others that I’ve tried it’s on the bigger side and comes in just slightly smaller and thinner than the Smoant Pasito one of the biggest in it’s class and probably comes in second for overall size. It weighs roughly 114g, which surprisingly is around 24g heavier than it’s slightly bigger competitor the Pasito due to the materials it’s constructed with. It feels substantial in the hand which gives it a slightly more premium feel but at the same time it’s not too heavy and still looks and feels really compact for what it is. It appears to be made with a variety of materials such as aluminum, plastic and possibly an alloy of some sort though I didn’t see it specified anywhere. It even has a nice little resin insert along the left side next to the One logo that also happens to light up when firing or indicating a status such as charging. On the same face is a sliding textured button that allows you to release the pod. The pod sits nice and flush though there is a tiny bit of wiggle to it but nothing that’s really noticeable in usage.

On the working face is a single square button which can be used to turn the device on and off with the usual five clicks or fire it with a single press. I found it was a bit of an adjustment to fire it as I constantly wanted to press the release latch on the side instead. Once I got used to it it wasn’t an issue. It’s got a tiny bit of branding along the bottom where it again shows the One logo and on the back it has the name Golden Ratio printed in white. The overall design is nice and slick and it’s one of the better looking boxpods that I’ve seen. On the side opposite the glowing logo is the micro USB port which allows you to charge the 1100mAh internal battery at a rate of 5V 1A. It indicates remaining battery with only two coloured lights, blue for above 3.5V and red for below. On the bottom of the device it’s got plenty of little vent holes should anything go amiss with the battery but it also includes the usual safety features like short circuit and overcharge protection as well as an 8 second cutoff. It also has a little lanyard hole on the bottom so you can attach it to a lanyard or key-chain though they don’t include one in the kit. It’s available in a variety of colours such as silver, rose gold, gold, blue, rainbow and black. I got the the gold version and it looks to be an anodized finish of some sort but after only the first week mine is already showing some noticeable signs of wear from traveling in my pocket with keys and stuff.

The pod:

The pod which also acts as the mouthpiece is made of plastic and holds 2ml of liquid. It’s a squared off duckbill sort of shape that’s a bit unusual but comfortable enough in daily use. The capacity I found was a bit low for such a considerable device but they were probably considering the TPD market when designing it. It uses a side airflow system unlike any other boxpod out there with a spinning dial adjustment ring. It’s knurled around the edges to help with grip and can open and close off the airflow for a fairly tight mouth to lung hit all the way up to a likewise fairly tight direct lung hit. The dial is quite tight and if you have thick fingers it might be hard to turn even with the knurling but once you set it you can pretty much forget it.

To fill the pod you have to remove it and locate the silicone plug on the bottom. It’s a pretty common ordeal but there isn’t any kind of air vent so when filling it if there’s any build up in the hole it tends to spit back out a bit. Again nothing uncommon with this type of fill system but in comparison to others that have top fill it’s a bit inconvenient.

One of the best features of the pod is the plug and play coils. Just slide it in the hole in the bottom and line up the flat sides with the sides of the pod and you’re all set. You can even change coils without completely emptying the tank by tilting it to one side and pulling out the coil. It makes coil changes really quick and easy and the way the side airflow is implemented it means no liquid will leak from the bottom of the coil. There is of course the fill port but as long as you wipe it up after a refill you shouldn’t see any liquid touch the device.

The coils:

The two coils that come with the kit are quite different. One is a 1.2ohm MTL coil rated for 14W max while the other is a 0.6ohm Mesh coil rated 27W max. I started with the mesh coil which produced a nice warm flavourful vape. The vapour production was about what I’d expect from a mesh coil and the flavour was pretty much spot on. I used it steadily for a week straight before swapping coils but I might have been able to get a few more days out of it before swapping. Airflow with the mesh coil is much more suited to direct lung vaping and with the airflow full open it gives a pretty solid though slightly restricted direct lung hit.

The other coil that comes with the kit is a 1.2 ohm regular round wire coil meant for mouth to lung vaping and more specifically nic salt based liquids. I was pleasantly surprised by the vape I got from it as it still managed to put out a decent amount of vapour and while it wasn’t quite as warm and full flavoured as the mesh coil it still produced a very satisfying and flavourful vape. It’s a bit tighter than the mesh coil and with the airflow closed down just over halfway I was getting a rather nice mouth to lung hit from it. I’m still running with the MTL coil several days in with no signs of slowing down and considering the life I got from the mesh coil I’d imagine this will last just as long if not longer with the right juice.

Usage and Performance:

The device is extremely simple to use, just install a coil, fill up the pod, attach it to the device, turn it on and go. It doesn’t appear to be regulated so as the battery declines so too can the vape it produces however it cuts off at only 3.5V and I hardly notice any drop before it does so most likely it’ll cutoff such that you’ll never notice. It lasts a really long time though before you hit that cutoff. However it hardly gives warning and just goes from blue to red and then pretty much dead. I was still able to get nearly two full days from it before needing a recharge so it’s not lacking in capacity.

Overall:

Based on the name alone I’m guessing they’ve used the Golden Ratio to help design this device, which if you’re not familiar is a mathematical formula that appears recurrently in beautiful things throughout nature. When used in the context of design it leads to beautiful structures and art works. The Golden Ratio definitely looks the part and though it may lack some of the more advanced features it’s priced such that it would make sense for plenty of folks looking for an easy to use pod device with good battery life and overall solid performance.

Check out other pod devices available at Heavengifts here.