The Kilo 1K starter kit is a prefilled 350 mAh pod vape that comes with four flavors to get you up and running. The pods hold 1.5 mL and the nic salt concentration is 4.5%. The flavors are sweet mango, smooth tobacco, lemon berry ice, and dewberry fruit. If that’s not enough, after your pods run out or maybe on your first purchase, you have the additional option of many more flavors. Most prefilled systems have only a handful of flavors, but the Kilo 1K has a whopping 17 total flavors to choose from! All the flavors are made by the Kilo, a popular juice manufacturer. Here’s what you need to know about the kit.
The Kilo 1K is a nicely designed stealthy pod vape built on a familiar form-factor. The dimensions are 9.5 mm x 18 mm x 109 mm, which makes it slightly larger than the JUUL, but it only weighs 26 grams. Although it’s lightweight, it does not feel cheap or unrefined. It’s finished with a supple rubberized coating that’s a pleasure to touch. The body is made of zinc alloy and it’s got a flattened octagon shape, which, along with the rubberized coating, also makes it easy to grip.
The Kilo 1K uses drop-in pods prefilled with nic salt e-liquid. The pods have a large diamond-shaped window that keeps you up to speed on your juice levels. The pods are held in place with strong magnets, but all they’re easy to remove. This is a delicate balance that Kilo nailed! A lot of devices have pods that are either hard to remove or come out far too easily. If you drop your Kilo 1K, the pods will not pop out like with so many of its competitors. If you get aggressive and are trying to make them come out, they can, but not under normal circumstances.
The pods are color-coded with silicone caps. But once those caps are removed, all the pods look alike. It shouldn’t be too hard to distinguish them if they get mixed up, but if you want to be sure which pod you’re grabbing, do yourself a favor and keep the silicone caps to help you identify which flavor is which.
The most difficult part of beginning to use the Kilo 1K is deciding which flavor you’ll begin with. Or maybe getting the device out of the packaging. Either way, actually beginning to vape with it is basically a two-step process: insert a pod and take a drag.
The Kilo 1K has an automatic draw which means there are no buttons to press or menus to navigate. The device does come with an instruction manual, but only the most anal-retentive people will find a reason to use it. Consider the Kilo 1K “idiot-proof.”
If there was anything that maybe you should watch out for is the battery charge upon opening the package. You may need to charge it up before getting started. That’s normally a good idea, but it also makes sense that you’re going to want to get to using it immediately. Chances are your battery will arrive to you almost fully charged, but there’s a slight chance that the capacity of the charge will be close to drained. It’s up to you if you want to charge it first. To learn more about the charging of the Kilo 1K, see the Battery Life and Charging section. There are some things you should know about the charging.
A tight MTL draw with a nice throat hit that’s neither too aggressive nor too light. The vapor is slightly cooler than warm, but it’s not a cool vape per se. Lukewarm is a better description. The vapor is about what you’d expect from a device of its size. It produces a bit more vapor than a cigarette produces smoke, but nothing like the big vapes that make a scene when exhaling. You can stealth or zero vape the Kilo 1K if you need to be discreet. And there are no loud smells that we’ve experienced either. You might be able to get a faint aroma of the flavor if someone is in close proximity to you when you’re vaping it, but it’s nothing obnoxious. If someone complains about the smell, it’s probably because they’re obnoxious.
The pods haven’t leaked since we’ve been using them, and there’s hardly any sound either. Unlike the JUUL that has a loud sizzle and sometimes a pop, the Kilo 1K is super quiet. That makes it that much more discreet, which is something we like.
The pods hit fairly consistently without any excessive burning, though we occasionally did get dry hits. It normally followed a charge, but they went away quickly after a few hits. It might be a good idea after fully charging the battery to take a couple light puffs instead of long drags. In general, the Kilo 1K can be chain-vaped, but we recommend taking shorter pulls of a few seconds or less. Taking long drags that exceed 6 seconds didn’t fare too well. Normally, most people vape with shorter pulls anyway. But it’s something to be aware of.
The Kilo 1K flavors are on the lighter side. If you want loud flavors, these might not be what you’re looking for. Besides the flavors in the kit, we received all of the 17 flavors and there’s no consensus around the office as to which ones are “best” that didn’t come in the starter kit. There’s simply too many! One thing we do all agree on is that they all smell remarkable out of the package. As for the starter kit flavors, it was easier for us to come to a consensus.
Smooth tobacco: This was our favorite of the four. It’s definitely a tobacco flavor, probably a “Virginia” base. But it has more than that. There’s also the velvety sweetness of caramel and vanilla, though we stop short of calling this an RY4.
Sweet mango: It’s not as sweet as the name suggests, like how some mango flavors have an almost puree taste. But it’s a natural tasting mango. It’s just not as strong as some others on the market. Depending on your preferences, a lighter taste might be a benefit or a downside.
Lemon Berry Ice: The unmistakable citrus sour of lemon and a subtle taste of berries finished with an icey inhale. This is not a pink lemonade flavor like we originally suspected. It’s mostly lemon and a cooling sensation with the berries being more in the aroma. It’s a solid flavor all in all.
Dewberry Fruit: Sweet berries tasting like berry bubble gum flavor. Dewberry is a fruit that’s reminiscent of raspberries and blackberries, but it’s all pretty faint in the juice. That said, it’s an enjoyable flavor though it’s missing oomph. As an aside, most of us liked the mentholated version more that’s available for separate purchase.
Additional flavors: Blue Raspberry Menthol, Dewberry Fruit Menthol, Fruit Popover, Geen Apple Delight, Green Apple Menthol, Lemon Royale, Menthol Tobacco, Coffee Sunrise, Vanilla Almond, Peach, Strawberry Moo, Strawberry Menthol.
The FDA announced Jan. 2 that it will begin enforcing all Deeming Rule requirements immediately for prefilled pod- and cartridge-based vaping products in flavors other than tobacco and menthol. Products sold after Feb. 2 are subject to enforcement if the FDA has not granted them marketing approval through a premarket tobacco application (PMTA). No PMTAs have been approved for vaping products yet. The FDA guidance only applies to products sold in the United States.
Either with the supplied USB cord or your own, you can charge your Kilo 1K in your computer or wherever you charge your electronics. Luckily, there’s no proprietary plug like with the JUUL.
You know it’s time to charge when your LED indicator turns red and stops making vapor. It’s difficult to say how long a charge will last, but should be able to get at least a half-day of frequent usage. Unfortunately, the charge takes 1 hour and 25 minutes to completely replenish the battery, and there’s no pass-thru charging, so you can’t use it while it charges. Of course, if you’re getting antsy, you can always unplug it, vape, then plug it back up. It’s not a huge inconvenience to do it that way, but we do consider it a con.
Note: when the Kilo 1K is charging, the LED indicator will remain red. It turns white right before finishing, then it turns off.
The Kilo 1K is a well-executed pod vape with a quality design, top-notch manufacturing, and a good range of flavors standard with the kit. Additionally, there are a plethora of other flavors for you to choose if you’re looking for more. Aside from the long charge time and lack of pass-thru charging, this kit is most definitely above average based on the sum of its pros. If you’re interested in the Kilo 1K, first-time purchases get 20% off their order with the coupon code NEWTOKILO.