Honest review time: The Cube kit from OBS

Here’s a look at a kit from OBS that definitely stands out in a crowd. It was recently sent over from the wonderful folks over at Sourcemore for review. This one sort of caught be by surprise and I’ve barely put it down since it arrived. Here are my honest thoughts on the OBS Cube kit from OBS c/o Sourcemore.

Package contents:

• 1 x Cube Kit
• 1 x m6 occ Coil
• 1 X Mesh Coil
• 1 X Extra Glass Tube
• 1 X USB Cable
• 1 X User Manual

Listed features and specs:

Packaging and contents:

The kit comes packed in a nice cardboard box with a slide off cover that display an image of the product on the front and a listing of the contents as well as some basic details on the back. Their look has definitely changed from past products I’ve seen and the black mixed with bright yellow reminds me of another companies packaging but it still looks nice and clean. In the kit you get the Cube mod, the Cube tank, an M6 OCC coil, an M1 Mesh Coil, a spare clear glass tank and some orings, a micro USB cable and a user manual. Pretty much everything you’d need to get started so no complaints from me.

The Mod:

The Cube mod is one of the most unique looking devices I’ve come across. It doesn’t sport a typical shape like most other mods out there but after handling it I’m really surprised it’s not a more common form factor. The Cube mod is made mostly of zinc-alloy, stands about 81.5mm tall and is 30.6mm in diameter. It weighs about 200g and feels really solid in hand. Despite being cubed it’s incredibly comfortable to grip with it’s ergonomically rounded edges and corners.

It’s an 80w mod with an internal 3000mAh battery that seems to last a really long time. As a hobbyist it would have been nice to be able to change the battery manually but I know a lot of people appreciate an internal battery for it’s ease of use. There’s a tiny vent hole on the bottom of the device should anything go amiss with the battery but it’s also got all the usual protections built in like overcharge, short circuit, overtemp, overtime, low voltage and voltage protection so even in extreme cases it should keep you safe.

At the top of the device it’s got a nice 510 connection that’s integrated into a large stainless steel plate with two little torx screws securing it to the device. The threads are silky smooth and the gold plated spring loaded center pin has plenty of travel and everything I’ve tried on it has sat flush. The device tapers in at the top meaning even though the diameter of the device is essentially 30mm anything beyond 25mm will likely overhang.

On one of the sides it’s got a big a bright 0.96″ LED screen that’s well laid out and easy to read. At the top it shows a basic battery bar, no actual percentage for the battery but it’s a minor complaint. Below that it shows the set wattage, whether the device is locked or unlocked, the resistance, the voltage it will fire at, the puff count and puff time. Oddly enough every time you turn the device on and off it resets the puff count. I don’t tend use it much myself unless I’m testing something but it should be noted. On the other side of the device is a black plastic inlay with a sort of honeycomb pattern in it and the name Cube in the center of it. It looks nice without being too over the top as I know plenty of people are adverse to big branding.

While the screen is quite bright there doesn’t seem to be any way to adjust the brightness but I haven’t really had any complaints with viewing it. On the side to the right of the screen are the buttons. They’re surrounded by a brushed metal as is the back of the device unlike the screen face and inlay side. The fire button at the top is flat, round and made of metal. It’s got a really faint concentric circle pattern on it which is echoed in the smaller but similarly styled adjustment buttons. None of the buttons rattle or make any noise other than a satisfying click when I press them. There is a tiny bit of movement when running my finger over the buttons but it doesn’t lead to any rattle or anything like that. On the same face as the buttons near the bottom is a micro USB port for charging. It can charge at a rate of 1.5A and should fully charge withing 2-3 hours but there’s no indication that it will support any firmware updates.

One thing I particularly appreciate about the device is how simple it is to use. It takes the usual five clicks to turn it on and off. When powered on you can adjust the power level or fire the device and that’s about it, so variable wattage only. The adjustment buttons auto-lock after firing the device but three clicks of either adjustment button unlocks them so you can make changes. There’s no sub menu or hidden settings, just adjust the power using the adjustment buttons to your preference and then press the fire button. It makes it really easy for new users to get into but also for seasoned vapers who don’t care about temp control, power curves and things like that. The battery easily lasts me all day and the performance I’ve been getting from it is exactly what I’d expect.

The tank:

Now the tank that comes with the kit is called the OBS Cube tank and it pairs up really nicely with the mod. It comes equipped with an unusual delrin Goon style 810 tip that covers the entire top of the tank. I’ve actually got a few other tips like it but not quite as big and I find it very comfortable to use. If you ask me it really completes the look of the tank. It can be a pain to get it off since there’s nothing to grip but a fingernail in the crease usually does the trick. It doesn’t really lend itself to mouth to lung but I’m pretty sure this tank is meant for direct lung only(spoiler: there’s also a mtl version of this kit available!). Just below the drip tip is the easy off top fill. It only takes about half a turn to remove the top cap which makes it super handy and underneath it hides two very large and very accessible kidney shaped fill holes. I really really like the top fill on this one, it’s quick and easy to use and so far for me has been completely mess free. The tank comes with a tinted glass installed but also includes a clear glass tank if tinted isn’t your thing. I think it looks great so I’ve been keeping the tinted one on!

The tank can be broken down in to three or four main parts for cleaning, changing the coil or swapping the glass. I believe the kit was supposed to come with a bubble tank for extra capacity but for some reason I just got a tinted straight glass and a matching clear one. I believe with the regular glass it holds 3.5ml but the specs vary depending on where I check. The tank has bottom airflow which is adjustable by turning the airflow control ring. It’s got two wide cyclops style slots that provide plenty of airflow however I found on mine if I opened it up more than halfway I would get a terrible whistle from the tank. It turned out it was the mesh coil that was causing it as it completely went away when I swapped to the other coil. Hopefully it was just a one off with the coil I received and it won’t affect any others. The tank has a short chimney so you can swap coils without emptying the tank completely which is always handy.

The Coils:

The kit comes with two coils, one is a 0.2ohm M6 triple coil rated from 40-80W with the best recommended range being 50-70W while the other coil is an M1 0.2ohm mesh coil rated from 50-80w with a recommended range of 50-80w. I started with the mesh coil since mesh coils are all the rage these days and found despite the whistle at full open it performed admirably with the sweet spot for me being around 55-60w. Flavour and vapour production were on par with most mesh coils out there and break in time seemed minimal. With the triple coil which I believe also shipped with their Damo tank I actually got pretty similar performance but the mesh coil still felt a bit fuller and more flavourful. It too ran well around the 60w mark but also felt a bit hotter. In terms of longevity it always depends on the liquids used, personal vaping habits and QC on the coils themselves but I imagine they’ll be on par with most other equally specked coils on the market.

Likes:

• Shape/Form factor
• Looks/finish
• Nice buttons
• Build quality/solid feel
• Ease of use/simple interface(no TC)
• 3000mAh battery capacity
• Performance from Cube tank
• Great top fill
• Flavour and vapour from M1 mesh coil

Dislikes:

• Coil whistle(probably not an issue)
• Non-replaceable battery(subjective)

Overall:

I’ve got to say I was very impressed by this little kit. I really love the form factor of the device and as a guy who doesn’t tend to use TC I also appreciate it’s stripped down functionality. OBS has been making some really incredible gear and even some of my favorites like the Engine and Engine Nano so it’s nice to see them expanding in to other realms. For one of their first real mod and tank kits they did an incredible job. I know they’ve already released an updated mouth to lung version of this kit but I still think this kit deserves the attention for the direct lung vapers out there. That also means it’s available for a very reasonable price! Great job on this one OBS and thanks Sourcemore for sending one my way!!