Chris 'majorvapes' SissonHere’s a look at a truly interesting new kit from Vapefly. Probably best known for their selection of atomizers they don’t really have a ton of devices to their name. That might be why I was a bit surprised when I cracked open this kit I recently received from Heavengifts.com. It’s called the Vapefly Optima Pod Mod and it’s got to be one of the more notable devices I’ve used recently. Packed with handy features and even some rebuildable surprises, this one was a fast favourite of mine! There’s a lot to cover but I’ll try and keep it relatively brief!
Package contents:
| 1 x | OPTIMA Mod |
|---|---|
| 1 x | Pod Cartridge(3.5ml) |
| 1 x | FreeCore™ Mesh Coil(0.3Ω) |
| 1 x | FreeCore™ Mesh Coil(0.6Ω) |
| 1 x | RMC Accessories Pack |
| 1 x | RMC Pod Cartridge(3.5ml) |
| 1 x | Type-C Cable |
| 1 x | User Manual |
Listed features and specs:
| Dimension: | 22.4 x 30.7 x 115.0mm |
|---|---|
| Weight: | 100g |
| Input: | Type-C 5V/2A |
| Screen: | 0.91inch |
| Coil: | 0.3Ω mesh coil & 0.6Ω mesh coil |
| Pod capacity: | 3.5ml, 2ml(TPD) |
| Battery: | external 18650 |
| Output wattage: | 5-80W |
Packaging and contents:
The kit comes packed in a black and grey box with an image of the kit on the front and a listing of the features and some company info on the back. Opening up the kit reveals quite a lot and includes the Optima Pod mod with a pod already attached, a spare pod, a spare coil(one already installed), a user manual, warranty card and instruction pamphlet as well as a black box. The black box is actually their RMC kit and in it you get a USB Type-C cable, two strips of cotton, two mesh coils and a rebuildable mesh coil head. The rebuildable head comes with several spare insulators, o-rings and positive pins and the instruction pamphlet in the box explains it all. HG were also kind enough to send the Optima RDTA Meshed cartridge. Yes that’s right, it also supports an RDTA style tank and it comes with two mesh strips, two agleted cotton sticks, two spare steel cables, four spare screws, a spare set of o-rings, a coil forming tool, a t-shaped multi-tool and a fused clapton coil(ni80 0.35ohm). While I doubt the kit ships with the RDTA base you definitely get the rebuildable coil in the kit and of all the kits I’ve reviewed lately this is one of the best equipped!
The Vapefly Optima Pod Mod:
The mod reminds me a lot of the Thelema from LostVape only significantly slimmer. It’s hardly thicker than an 18650 which is what powers the device. It does stand a bit taller since the tank sits above the battery but the whole thing is extremely pocket friendly and just barely bigger than some of the salt pod devices I’ve used. At the top like most there’s a slot for inserting the tank/pod which are held in place by a series of magnets. On the back side of the device there’s a removable magnetic battery cover stamped with the name Optima. The battery compartment is well labelled but I will note that without a ribbon or anything it can sometimes be a bit tight getting the battery out.
Around the front of the device there’s the Vapefly logo which sits above the oblong fire button. It’s nice and clicky and it sits above a 0.91″ black and white screen. The screen is a bit busy but bright and clear and lists all the usual info we expect to see like resistance, voltage, mode, watts, puff count/puff time and a battery bar. Just below the screen is a rocker style adjustment button and below it is the USB C port for charging which it does at a rate of 5V/1.2A. I would have preferred 2A charging but at least it’s Type-C. Nothing else really stands out on the body of the device save maybe the embedded decorative panels. On mine they’re a sort of carbon fiber style but they do come in a variety of designs and colours.
Operating the device is actually super simple and it even includes a smart mode. Actually the default mode is called NORM which is Vapefly’s smart sensing mode which will automatically adjust the wattage to the recommended range when you attach a new coil. Clicking the fire button three times highlights the mode and using the adjustment buttons you can cycle between mode and the puff count letting you either change modes or reset the counter. If you select mode you are presented options for NORM, SOFT, HARD, DIY and USER. NORM acts like wattage mode but automatically sets the output, SOFT and HARD both use curves to ramp up slowly or more aggressively while USER lets you set your own curve and DIY lets you adjust and set the wattage up to 80W like a regular VW device. No temp control but still pretty full featured, intuitive and very user friendly.
The tank and coils:
The kit comes with two 3.5ml tanks with one pre-installed and the other ready to accept the spare coil or the rebuildable mesh coil head. HG also sent over the RDTA kit so technically I’ve got three different tanks available. All three tanks have a silicone plug on the side for filling and the two that come with the kit are plug and play meaning the coils just get inserted into the bottom and away you go. There’s no chimney or collar in the tanks so you will have to empty them most of the way before swapping coils to avoid any mess. Also the drip tips are proprietary and are built into the pods so they can’t be replaced with a standard 510, in fact they don’t even come off with the exception of the RDTA. The pods are also top airflow or rather what Vapefly calls U-shaped airflow where air comes in from the two little slots on the side and down under the coil to help avoid any leaking but with this set up there isn’t any form of airflow control.
As for the coils that come with the kit, the two default coils are pretty standard with one being a 0.3ohm DL mesh coil(30-40W) and the other a 0.6ohm DL mesh coil(20-28w). Both provide good vapour and flavour with the 0.6ohm coils being considerably cooler running with a tighter draw but not quite MTL territory. I’d compare them to Geekvapes G or maybe P series coils in regards to performance. When it comes to longevity I got a solid six days from the 0.3ohm coil with steady use, roughly 2-3 refills a day and about 30ml total so again pretty much on par with most standard mesh coils these days but obviously that will vary with different juices and wattage settings. No word on compatibility with other brands but the few I tried out didn’t seem to fit.
Build, wick and Performance:
The Optima comes with an RMC rebuildable mesh coil and at first it looks a bit daunting but they also include a separate instruction manual just for building the coil. It’s actually super simple and with the included coil building tool it only took me about two minutes to get the coil built and ready. The kit comes with two 0.2ohm(40-60w) meshes with long legs on them as well as some long multi layer cotton strips. You simple wrap the coil around the tool followed by the cotton and slide the whole thing into the top of the coil, trim the excess cotton, screw on the outer sleeve, insert the insulator, bend one of the legs out and insert the positive pin clipping off any excess leads. Again it sounds a bit complicated but really couldn’t be much easier and the performance I got from the rebuildable coil was pretty much on par with the stock 0.3ohm coil. I also didn’t get any leaking from it despite being my first attempt at building it. This will definitely save some money on replacements and considering the ease of use and performance it’s a heck of an option.
The other buildable option for the Optima is the separately sold Mesh RDTA. It comes packed with a whole slew of goodies which I’ve already listed above. The build deck on the RDTA is a lot like Wotofos spring loaded Profile decks but considerably smaller. It also builds the same way with two vise style clamps on either side of the spring loaded push block and wick channels on either side. Underneath the deck it uses a set of SS cables to wick the liquid up to the cotton wicks sort of like a mini Brunhilde. The cap for the RDTA has two rows of perforated air holes on either side and you can turn the outer sleeve to adjust the airflow. I was running it with the top row closed off and was very impressed with both the flavour and performance of it while also being quite compact. Performance will obviously depend a bit on your ability to build it but I found it a breeze and with the 0.2ohm mesh foils it was pretty impressive at 50W and the combination of SS cable and cotton had no trouble keeping up.
Too much cotton, needed to be cut down
Overall:
I tried to keep this relatively brief but there is a lot in this kit. From my time with it I have to say though, I’m quite impressed. The few cons I listed were minimal at best and overall the experience of using and building with the Optima has been extremely pleasant. I love it’s compact nature, it’s versatile functions and it’s well stocked accessories. Not only that but the rebuildable coil head and RDTA both left me pleasantly surprised. It feels like it’s been ages since a company has included an RBA in their kit or better still an RMC so Vapefly definitely scores some points with this well rounded release! This one will be for the direct lung crowd only but I think nearly anyone could get down with this kit!!