Asvape MICRO Pod Review: Does it Vape as Good as it Looks?

Product intro and specs

The Asvape MICRO Pod is an adjustable 30-watt AIO in a Billet Box-style design. The Billet Box-style AIOs are turning out to be the “thing” for 2019, rivaling if not surpassing the Orion-style AIOs.

The Asvape MICRO Pod is a really good-looking kit with stunning resin panels and a matchy-matchy drip tip. The kit comes with two mesh coils: a 0.5-ohm DL and 1.0-ohm MTL coil. It has both adjustable wattage and airflow, and it’s powered by an 1100 mAh battery with a USB-C charge port. On paper, and especially in the hand, the device looks like it has everything it needs to be one of the best kits this year. But does it vape as good as it looks?

Myvpro sent me this kit for the purpose of this review.

Colors: black/white resin, green/purple resin, orange/blue resin, yellow/purple resin, red/blue resin

Build quality and design

The Asvape Micro Pod isn’t really micro and technically it’s not a pod; it’s an AIO. The Micro Pod measures 18 mm x 43 mm x 70 mm (not including the tip); it weighs about 83 g. It’s a compact kit with an easy access removable panel that reveals the cartridge and airflow control, as well as the adjustable wattage buttons and a small but bright LED screen that shows the battery level and power setting. The button is on the opposite side of the removable panel and it’s embossed with the Asvape logo. Mine is clicky and has no rattle or wiggle room.

The resin panel is held in by relatively strong magnets and slides on track halfway open for easy access. You can easily remove the entire panel just by pulling it off after sliding it to the side, but if you only need access to the cartridge or adjustable wattage, the track will prevent the panel from sliding beyond the halfway point. It’s a simple design but it works well. Also, there’s a little side-play when you push a little with your thumb. And if you drop the Micro Pod, the panel will come off and the removable 510 drip tip can also pop off. The tip isn’t seated as firmly as I would like. I can easily pull it out with my lips. It’s a gorgeous tip, but the O-rings should be beefier. Also, the drip tip opening is a bit wide for a legit MTL.

When holding the device, you have to be careful of palming it like a box mod because you can cover up intake on the outside. That shouldn’t be such an issue because the button placement pretty much forces you into holding it with your fingertips and thumb.

As far as aesthetics, this kit looks amazing! Even the packaging is nice. What I thought was just the reviewer packaging is actually the retail packaging. It comes in a corrugated flip-top box that matches the color of the mod. The device and panel are displayed nicely inside when you open it. As for the device, the chassis is made of a vibrant but matte colored zinc-alloy that matches with one of the colors of the drip tip and resin panels. The resin panels are really well-done. A lot of resin on the market looks haphazard, but the MICRO resin is very attractive in both the swirls and the color-combos. It's clearly designed by someone that knows their way around a color wheel. Secondary colors like green and purple looks great together, along with complimentary colors like blue and orange, or yellow and purple. My favorite color combination on this kit (and in general) is purple and green. It’s the Joker “look.” Arthur would approve.

Coils and cartridges

The 2 mL cartridges are dark tinted and there’s no juice window. To see your juice level, it’s best to remove the cartridge altogether.

The cartridge slides into the device to make a connection. They only slide in one way, so you have to make sure the rounded corner meets up with the right side. The pod isn’t held in as snug as the Rincoe TIX, so don’t misplace the panel like I did with the TIX.

The refill is a little rubber plug near the top of the pod on the side. It’s easy to pull off and it’s anchored to once side. The refill port is about 4.5 mm, so every dropper will fit.

Coils heads and airflow controller

The heads screw directly into the airflow controller before getting screwed into the bottom of the cartridge. The airflow controller stops on the turn but too far away from the internal airflow slot. It can be a little tricky to adjust when the cartridge is inside the device. I find it easiest to pull out the cartridge and adjust it.

The Micro comes with two mesh coil heads:

Both heads have the same airflow which interferes with the 1.0-ohm achieving an optimal MTL. It can be done when closing off the airflow controller, but it doesn’t quite feel right as a strict MTL. Another issue with the heads is that they have a bit too much cotton. Because of that, I’ve had some issues wicking 70 VG, even with the 0.5-ohm coil head.

I think both heads work best with 50/50 juice or no more than 60 VG, whether high nic or low nic. You can use 70 VG with the 0.5-ohm heads if you take it easy on them, but you may run into dry hits when chain vaping. I’ve been using medium strength regular nic (12 mg/mL) Five Pawns for both coils.

Lastly, the 2 mL capacity doesn’t fare too well with the coil heads. You will need to refill often.

Power

Performance

Aside from the wicking issues I mentioned that mostly occurred with 70 VG, the Asvape Micro Pod exceeds my expectations when using 50/50 juice. The flavor is above average for an AIO and especially a pod kit. I’v had no issues with spitting, popping, or gurgling, even with using 50/50 juice most of the time. Typical seepage of juice out of the fill port, but no real leaking to mention.

With the 1.0-ohm coil, I can get a good MTL, but I wish the drip tip and coil head diameter had a narrower ID. Luckily you can replace the tip—though nothing will look as good on this as the included tip. The tip doesn’t really affect the performance that much, but it does prevent it from being a great MTL vape.

However, with the 0.5-ohm head and the 1.0-ohm head, you can get a really good loose MTL or a as much as a restricted lung hit with the 0.5-ohm. That’s why I think it’s best to use 12 mg regular nic. It’s the perfect middle ground for this device with either coil.

Based on my experience:

The lifespan of the coils has been average at best. With some of the coils I’ve used, they didn’t make it past much more than one refill before tasting off, but that was when I was trying to use 70 VG. When using 50/50, I’ve been able to get a couple refills without too much of a drop off, but after three fills it starts to loose steam, so to speak.

Battery

The Asvape Micro Pod has an 1100 mAh battery that lasts a long time. I have several of these in rotation and haven’t drained a battery yet, so I can’t say how long a charge takes. One thing to note is that does not have pass-thru charging.

Although there's no pass-thru charging, the Asvape Micro Pod has USB-C charge. It’s just a more convenient way to charge, plus more and more electronic devices have it. In my opinon, Micro USB is outdated and more prone to fail. I think it’s time for all vape devices with internal batteries to move to USB-C charging! With micro USB cords, it's almost as if I've never been able to insert them correctly easily on the first try, especially if I'm not looking closely—it's always the other way. Damn! Furthermore, having vape devices that take a USB-C will allow me to only have to keep one cord for my phone and vapes. Android user here.

Pros / Cons

Verdict