Phiness Vega Review: The First from Vandy Vape’s Sister Brand

The Phiness Vega is the first release of Vandy Vape’s sister brand for pod vapes. It’s a cute little box-shaped pod vape with refillable MTL pods ideally suited for nic salt and high-strength e-juice. The 1 mL pods come with a top-fill under the mouthpiece (no removable rubber plugs), and it has an efficient 250 mAh battery.

The Phiness Vega is sold with a chain-link lanyard for easy carry and access, and the devices comes in 12 distinct color combinations and finishes. All the colorful resin designs you can imagine, and even textured leather and carbon fiber.

Vandy Vape sent me these kits free of charge for the purpose of this review.

Price: Less than $20 for the kit; 9.99 for 4-pack of refillable pods
Colors: Zircon Green, Volcano Orange, Pince Cone Green, Coral Red, Crystal Purple, Rock Grey, Peacock Green, Gem Blue, Carbon Fiber Black, Leather Black, Python Green, Diamond Black

Without any goofy gimmicks, the Phiness Vega is a breath of fresh air. It’s a stunning yet simple design. Although the auto-draw Vega is a beginner-type device, it looks like a shrunken box mod—clearly meant to catch the eye of vapers. I have the resin designs and they’re all manufactured cleanly with no unsightly gaps or rough edges.

The first time I saw the Vega was at the IECIE Expo in Shenzhen earlier this year. I was immediately intrigued by its look and its small stature. But you really have to hold it to appreciate its size. I don’t have big mitts, but I can easily hold four of these in my hand (five with some effort). It’s little! With a pod in, the device measures 12 mm x 28 mm x 66 mm, and it weighs only 25 g.

As mentioned, the Vega comes with a chain-link lanyard. It attaches in the upper shoulder of the battery case but, unlike the Aspire AVP, it’s not the airflow hole. The tight airflow is on the bottom of the device and from what I can tell, it’s coming through the USB port.

The 1 mL Vega pods look almost like JUUL pods though they’re not compatible. The pods are press fit into the Vega battery, which holds them in more firmly than most of these weak magnetic connections we’re inundated with. Sometimes pressing them in reveals a click, and other times it doesn’t. That part could be a bit more satisfying, but that’s a minor quibble.

To refill the pods, the pod must be removed from the battery. Just hold the base of the pod, which is transparent, and remove the black mouthpiece by pulling up. Under it, there’s a rubber insert leading to the pod’s chamber that has two circular fill ports. I can use any bottle to refill, be it needle tip, unicorn, or dropper.

After the pods are in the battery case, there’s a tiny juice window that shows your juice level. But, it’s just the upper-most portion of the pod’s chamber–you’re going to have to either remove them to see where your juice is or just turn the device upside down to see how much flows back up.

The Phiness Vega has a legit MTL draw that’s fairly tight. It’s tighter than the Moti and requires more of a pull, which I like. And it puts out some serious flavor. For this to be a 250 mAh battery, other pod vapes in this class rarely measure up to the Vega’s flavor output. The flavor is saturated and quite clean. No weird off tastes or over-heated feeling.

The vapor is plentiful for the size of the device, and it’s comfortably warm with a solid throat hit. The tip never gets hot, even with the long draws I like to take. And speaking of long draws, the Phiness Vega can keep up without tasting burnt. I haven’t gotten one dry hit and I’m on my sixth refill without any decreased performance. I’ve only used nic salts in mine with either 36 mg/mL or 50 mg/mL, but they’re all 50/50 blends.

The only issue I’ve gotten with the pods is the occasional juice dribble in the mouth and subsequent gurgle. That typically comes after a refill. To alleviate that, put back on the mouthpiece, and then blow through the bottom of the pod into a napkin or tissue and wipe inside of the tip—but I only do that if I notice a gurgle. It’s a minor inconvenience to do, but it ensures that juice won’t dribble into my mouth. Other than that, I haven’t had any other issues like popping or leaking. Just a couple tiny drops of condensation.

Lastly, the Vega vapes relatively quietly, but I think it could be a tad quieter. This isn’t really an issue for most, but I do appreciate pod vapes that are virtually silent. The Vega is not loud per se, it’s just that it produces an audible vape sound like most other devices of its kind. The airflow noise level is not a con, but it’s also not a pro.

For only 250 mAh, the battery is rather efficient. I was able to vape 2.5 pods to empty before needing a charge. Since the pods only hold 1 mL, that’s approximately 2.5 mL per charge. I have pod vapes with similar specs that can’t make through a whole 2 mL pod before needing a charge.

There’s a discrete little LED on the bottom side of the device. But there are only two lights. Blue for charged or mostly charged, and red for needing a charge.

Charging the Phiness Vega happens on the bottom of the device through a micro USB port. Even though the Vega is supposed to only have 250 mAh, the charge took 57 minutes to complete. It stays red for the majority of the charge until it starts to flicker (around 50 minutes), then the light turns off when it’s complete. With such a long charge, it’s a good thing that it has pass-thru charging.

Based on the couple pods I tried, I think the Phiness Vega vapes really well. And I think it looks incredible. Aside from the occasional gurgle after a refill and the long charge, I don’t have any cons with it that give me a pause from recommending it.

I first got a chance to try the Phiness at the IEICE Expo earlier this year, and then later at the Vandy Vape offices. But those were pre-production models. The retail version is even better, though I was impressed with the hand-made versions.

Considering the Phiness Vega’s low price and its above average performance and build quality, I highly recommend it. I don’t always consider price when making a recommendation, but it’s hard not to with the Vega. At just below $20 for the device and two pods, and 4-pod packs at only $10, the Phiness Vega is a winner!