Geekvape Frenzy Review: Is it Worth Going Crazy Over?

Product intro and specs

The Geekvape Frenzy is a new little AIO that looks eerily familiar. Similar to what SMOK did with the Trinity Alpha, Geekvape appropriated the basic design of the Lost Vape Orion. This design will likely become known as the “Orion-style”—expect more brands to follow suit soon.

Aside from the general design, the Frenzy has its own identity. It has impeccable manufacturing, and it features the Geekvape AS chipset that integrates automatic temperature control and power mode. Additionally, each Frenzy mode has three pre-sets to work with the two included—Flint compatible—coils. It holds 2 mL of juice and has a battery capacity of 950 mAh.

The Frenzy is priced the same as the Trinity Alpha—around $22—which is a little less than the Orion Q, and a lot less than the Orion Go. Furthermore, instead of the lung hits of its doppelgangers, the Frenzy has adjustable airflow for honest-to-goodness MTL up to a really restricted-lung hit.

Geekvape sent me this kit free of charge for the purpose of this review.

Price: $21.95 (at MyVpro)

Colors: Four carbon fiber options (black, silver, gold, blue), four black & resin options (magma, onyx, ghost, azure)

Build quality and design

I got the blue/carbon fiber and the black magma swirl. They’re both gorgeous, but the resin is my favorite. It’s feels soft and supple. The rest of the device has a fit and finish that are practically perfect, and its main body is made out of a single piece of beefy zinc-alloy—unlike how you see screws all over the Orion holding separate pieces together. Also, unlike the Orion and the Trinity Alpha, the Frenzy has no hard edges or corners. At each turn of its exterior, the Frenzy is precisely beveled and smooth. Altogether, it’s a high level of refinement for this price range.

The Frenzy is slightly smaller than the Orion and Trinity Alpha, but it’s a bit thicker. It measures at 15 mm x 37 mm x 72 mm and weighs about 92 grams with a 2 mL full pod (actually weighing a few grams more than the Orion).

For several reasons, I think the Frenzy is more elegant than the others, but there are some major differences and some concessions in the design.

The Frenzy has a non-removable drip tip but a more convenient airflow controller. The bottom fill and coil-swap can be a little messy if not careful—but it looks classier to me without the top fill knob of the others. Also, the Frenzy pod connection is not secure as with the Orion-style pods that lock in place. Nevertheless, the Frenzy’s pods are easier to insert and remove. The Frenzy is a little shorter than the Orion, but has a bit of extra thickness to it. Out of my two Frenzy devices, one has a tiny bit of button rattle and the other has none.

Frenzy pods

The Frenzy comes with one 2 mL pod and two types of coils. The pods slide into the battery housing on a track system with a magnetic connection. It inserts with remarkable ease, but it’s removed with too little effort. The magnets are strong enough to hold the device by the tip, but you wouldn’t want to jerk it. Similarly, if you drop the device, the pods will most likely pop out.

The Frenzy AIO pods are dark shaded like most pod systems, but they’re really dark. You’ll have to hold them up to a light to see the juice levels. Moreover, there’s a block inside of the pod that covers half of the bottom. Apparently, it’s part of a juice feed system where liquid is funneled through there and to the coil, but it makes assessing the juice level kind of challenging. Even when it looks like you’re low, there’s still more juice in the pod... but it's hard to say just how much.

Output mode and coil types

Powered by the AS Micro Chipset, the Frenzy has automatic temperature control and power mode, each having three presets which are selected by clicking the fire button three times. The two modes are activated by the type of coil you have installed.

0.7-ohm Kanthal A1 mesh coil (power); pre-installed

1.2-ohm SS316L coil (TC):

The coils are super tiny. It’s incredible to see a mesh coil in the small Flint heads. But it’s important to know that the 1.6-ohm Flint coils are not compatible with the voltage output of the Frenzy.

Luckily, these heads are not expensive! A 5-pack is sold widely online for less than $10.

Coil swapping

The coil swap happens through a thread-less connection operated by turning the knurled airflow ring. The thread-less connection is just for removing the coil head from the pod. These aren’t drop-in coils. To remove a coil, take out the pod, turn it upside down, then give the airflow ring a quarter turn until you hear a click. Pull it out and unscrew the coil from its housing and replace.

It’s a relatively easy coil swap but it has its shortcomings. You can’t swap a coil with more than 40% liquid in the tank. If you do, your juice will start to come out of the tip. Even with 40% or less liquid, you’ll still have to hold it at an angle so the liquid isn’t hovering over the drip tip. Granted, there might not be much liquid lost considering it’s only a 2 mL tank, but it’s still a con. Although this issue exists in plenty of other kits, I still don’t like it.

Refill

Airflow and adjustments

The Frenzy has a bonafide MTL with a narrow-bore tip. This is unlike the Orions where I struggle to find a legit cheek-pull draw, even after shutting the airflow down completely. And it’s definitely different from the Trinity Alpha, even with SMOK's MTL coils. The airflow of the Frenzy goes from super tight to a restricted lung hit (that feels more like part of the MTL family).

The 0.7-ohm mesh coils have more airflow than the SS 1.2-ohm MTL heads, though. With the mesh heads and the airflow fully open, the draw is similar to the Orion’s airflow shut down completely. With the Frenzy fully closed using the SS 1.2-ohm heads, the airflow has a super-tight restriction rivaling something like the PHIX.

Adjusting the airflow is easy because of the knurled airflow ring. It stops on the turn and is easily accessible even while vaping. But due to the ring being so thick, you won’t be able to easily see where its set inside its little air hole. If your eyesight is not great, don’t even bother trying to check. It’s not really a problem though because a quick drag on the tip will tell you all you need to know. Adjusting back to your sweet spot is easy.

Performance

I’ve had an absolute blast vaping on the Frenzy. I vape all types of ways, but I tend to use strict MTL devices most of the time. Surprisingly, my favorite coil by far is the mesh 0.7-ohm coil, which has the most airflow and the most flavor! I use it with 70 VG juice at about 9-12 mg/mL (the exact percentage is a guess; I’m boosting my “sub-ohm juice” with tiny bit of high-strength unflavored nic).

For a low-strength VG-based juice, I get a defined and satisfying throat hit, and a whole lot of flavor for such a tight draw. It’s been impressive. I like the mesh coils best at 2.7 V (blue) or 2.9 V (green). The 2.5 V (white) works fine too, it just feels underpowered. Either way, this device and mesh coils have expanded my horizons. My juice stash is more flexible now. I have no issues using 70 to max VG with the mesh heads. The mesh head is a really nice middle ground between MTL and DL.

On the other hand, the 1.2-ohm SS coil is perfect for the strict MTL hits of high-strength nicotine. It gives a solid but comfortable throat hit, which is something I crave. This is what I use first thing in the morning. The flavor is decent but not as good as the mesh coils, which is fine. I’ve been using 50 mg/mL nic salt with these coils at 420 F (white) and 440 F (blue). The 460 F (green) setting is too hot for my tastes. But so far, the TC seems to be working how it should. I didn’t have enough coils to sacrifice checking for dry hits, but I do draw for a long time and the taste doesn’t get stressed out. It feels consistent throughout a long hit like how TC should feel.

I’ve only been able to test a total of four coils. I’ve had about six refills on each but I feel like the max flavor only went up to maybe five refills. Other than that, there’s been no wonky performance. Additionally, the coils vape quietly, and there’s been no real leaking or spitting. The couple of times that I did get juice in the mouth or see juice at the pod connection—I'm almost certain—was from a botched coil swap when I had too much juice in the tank.

Battery life and charging

The 950 mAh battery life seems to be accurately rated, though I can’t say for sure. Basically, I haven’t been disappointed or anything. Even though I vape my two Frenzy kits totally differently, they both last me at least a day. However, due to me using low strength e-juice in my resin Frenzy, that battery needs a charge more often.

The battery status is indicated by a little LED above the charge port on the fire-button side. Normally when you press the fire button to vape, the LED will show you your temp/power preset color. To check the battery life remaining, press the fire button twice: red light (0-30%), blue light (31-69%), and green light (70-100%). The battery life light will flash a couple times before turning off.

When you’re ready to charge, the charge status has two ranges and colors: pulsing red (0-70%) and pulsing green (70%-99%). Once it’s fully charged to 100%, the green light will stay on. I clocked the charge at approximately one hour. It’s a bit long, but the device does have pass-thru charging.

Pros / Cons

Verdict

Based on the two kits and four coils I tested, I’d say the Frenzy is one of the best kits out right now in this price range. Of course, the Frenzy doesn’t have the best of everything. That doesn't yet exist in any one device.

I have some questions about the longevity of the coils for max flavor. And I really don't like the weak magnetic connection of the pods!

But, despite those two matters, the build quality, feature-set, and especially the flavor of the mesh coil is why I am confident in recommending the Frenzy. It's a few cons short of great, but it's a very good AIO for the money.