GeekVape Max100
Antony is our resident techie vape geek so it was only right that he took a closer look at the new GeekVape Max100 kit
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by Antony Lord
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By now everyone should know that I’m a bit of a fanboy when it comes to single battery 21700 mods so when I saw that Geekvape were releasing the Max100 kit, my ears pricked up. This is of course the latest release in Geekvape's hugely successful Aegis series which I’d always avoided in the past because I thought that they looked a bit bulky but the updated appearance of the Max100 mod appealed to my senses so I was straight on the case and our good friends over at Sourcemore have been kind enough to send one over for review.
Specifications
- 42 x 31.5 x 92.7mm
- 130.7 grams (Max100 Mod)
- “Tri-Proof” IP68 rated
- Single 21700 battery / 2 amp charging
- 1.1 inch Colour TFT screen
- Output 5~100 watts / 0.8~8.5 volts
- Range 0.1~3.0ohms
- Kit includes the updated Z SubOhm 2021 tank
Inside the Geekvape Max100 kit you will of course find the Max100 mod paired up with the Z SubOhm 2021 tank (an updated version of the Z SubOhm tank) along with two coils and plenty of spares. In this international version two whopping 5.5ml bubble glasses are included, but of course the TPD edition will come with two 2.0ml tank sections instead. The Max100 kit is available in five colours and I was sent the classic black version to test, but I must say that the red and blue variants in particular look very nice.
My initial impression out of the box was “wow, that’s small”, don’t get me wrong, it’s not tiny, but I compared it to the OXVA UniBox 18650 iP68 mod I’d been sent recently and it’s basically the same size and just 5mm taller! The previous Aegis mods have all sported a largely rubberized outer shell with a curved “leather” back section but to be honest this is one of the main things that had always put me off trying them out beforehand as they always looked a bit bulky and awkward. The Max100 mod features a much more contemporary look in a slimmed down chassis along with a larger 1.1 inch colour screen and still manages to retain its “tri-proof” iP68 rating (water, dust, and impact resistant).
Whilst the main chassis has a matte finish, the softly cushioned leather grip around the back is set off in a gloss finish surround and this is unfortunately a bit of a fingerprint magnet. There are still two rubberised sections in play here at the top and bottom of the mod which are lightly textured, and as you might expect these do have a nasty habit of collecting any debris or pocket lint that they come into contact with. If these are the sort of things that set off your OCD, then you may want to take a look at one in person before committing to a purchase, but in day to day use I haven’t found it to be too much of an issue (and yes, those sorts of things do sometimes trigger my personal OCD tendencies!)
The larger 1.1” screen makes the display very easy to read, it’s surprising how a fairly small jump from the typical 0.96’ screen can make quite a dramatic difference. It should be noted though that this is behind a darkly tinted facia and although it’s clear enough indoors, it can sometimes be tricky to see in sunlight even with the brightness turned up to 100%.
At first glance the 510 platform looks like it should accommodate fairly large atomisers, but in practice you’ll start to get a bit of overhang with anything larger than 25mm. The threading does seem to be fairly robust though unlike the Obelisk 200 mod I tried last year which felt like butter (that was made from aluminium) so I don’t feel like I’m going to strip the 510 by looking at it funny which is a massive improvement.
The Max100 mod sports a screw in battery cap and whilst I understand this may not be everyone’s favourite design, it seems to be becoming the norm these days and it’s something I’ve gotten quite used to by now. Battery polarity is clearly marked on both the battery cap itself and at the bottom of the battery tube. This easily passed both of my oversized battery tests as well which is always a bonus.
There is of course built in charging capability via a concealed USB-C port at the top of the mod, this can be a bit awkward to access and I’d recommend perhaps removing any atomiser as well as having one in situ does appear to put a little pressure on the cable as shown below. In a quick test, this hit a peak charge rate of 1.5 amps which is handy when you need to use it, but as always I’d recommend using an external charger whenever possible.
This is all backed up by Geekvape's excellent board which I’ve used several times over the last year or so, it’s easy to use and has plenty of modes to suit whatever your preferred vaping style may be. One excellent addition to the controls this time is the A-Lock system, this is a small slider found on one side of the Max100 which you can use to disable all the controls which is very handy if you’re throwing it into bags or jacket pockets.
An updated version of the Z SubOhm tank along with two of the tried and tested Z series coils are included in the full kit. I hadn’t had the opportunity to use these before and after a couple of weeks of use, I have to say these are cracking little coils. My choice out of the included coils would be the slightly more restricted 0.25ohm dual core one. As an added bonus, this also has lower power requirements so I was getting pretty good battery life with this coil in play as well.
Pros
- Fairly compact
- iP68 rated mod
- Good sub ohm tank with Kanthal coils
Cons
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Screen can be difficult to read outside
Conclusion
The Geekvape Max100 kit ticks a lot of boxes, it’s a very nice looking single 21700 setup, and the iP68 rating is simply the icing on top. If you’re after a rugged daily driver, then this is well worth a look.
Many thanks to Sourcemore for sending the Max100 kit out for review. As always they sent me a handy discount code if you’re interested: $45.99 GeekVape Max100 Kit Code: A100K
Antony Lord
Reviewer at POTVI was a twenty a day smoker for 25 years and like most smokers I was always going to quit "next week". Having hit my mid forties and having the usual smokers cough and difficulty with anything more than moderate exercise it was obviously time to give up the cancer sticks. I bought my first e-cigarette in 2013 when they were expensive, difficult to find and quite frankly... crap. I used it for about a week then went back to the roll ups, mark up another failed quit attempt. The fact that I had just changed jobs and was under quite a lot of stress probably didn't help. Move on to 2016 and whilst I was browsing eBay I noticed that one of the suggested items that would occasionally pop up was for a cheap e-cigarette. It looked similar to the one I'd bought 3 years earlier but it was only £5 (about 8 times cheaper than before) so I decided to give it another go on a whim. Once the kit arrived I managed to gradually replace the cigarettes with my new kit over a two month period and got into watching YouTube reviews for newer kit. My cheap and cheerful kit was replaced by a more upmarket affair, and being a noob I made a mistake once it arrived... I put in the supplied direct lung coil, this was of course a complete revelation and I haven't touched a cigarette since. Oh and I no longer spend the first five minutes of every day having a coughing fit either.
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