Pod System Reviews

Aspire Nautilus Prime X

Antony takes a look at the Aspire Nautilus Prime X, an update to the classic AIO kit

by Antony Lord
Feb 22, 2021

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Aspire Nautilus Prime X

Our friends at UK Aspire Vendor asked if we’d be interested in taking a look at the updated version of the Nautilus Prime, the Nautilus Prime X. I was a little on the fence with the original version with its internal 2000mAh battery, but with this updated revision moving over to an external 18650 battery I was more than a little interested to see what Aspire's latest take on the billet box style AIO was going to be like.

Inside the box you’ll find the Nautilus Prime X with a preinstalled BP pod with coil, a second Nautilus Pod with coil, an instruction pamphlet and finally a USB-C charge cable.

Aspire Nautilus Prime X unboxing and contents

Specifications

90mm x40.2mm x 25.2mm (including drip tip)
114.5 grams
External 18650 battery
Supports Aspire BP coils and Nautilus coils (2 different pods included)
4.0ml (BP Pod) 4.5ml (Nautilus pod) {both 2ml for TPD regions}
Auto/Variable Wattage/Voltage/Bypass modes
Output 1~60W / 0.5~8.4V

Unboxing and in use

Once I’d removed the Nautilus Prime X from the box, I was surprised by just how small and light it is. It's almost exactly the same size as my DotAIO which is no mean feat in itself, and it even manages to incorporate a colour screen into the mix which is doubly impressive given its diminutive size.

This is now powered by a single 18650, which is a big improvement over the internal 2000mAh battery on the original release in my opinion. There are of course those that prefer internal battery mods, and the original Nautilus Prime is still available as well.

Aspire Nautilus Prime X battery and screen

The front is dominated by a vibrant colour display above which you’ll find the adjustment lever for the airflow. This is one of the best airflow adjustment systems I’ve come across on this type of AIO, and it actually allows you to completely shut off the airflow where most competing products still allow some air to leak in even in their fully closed positions. The air doesn’t actually come in from here though, it comes in through what appears to be a small window just above it and gets redirected down the side of the pod to bottom of the coil. Care should obviously be taken not to cover this with your fingers, but thanks to the position of the buttons this hasn’t been an issue.

One side is dominated by the power and up/down buttons. I’m a big fan of these side fire systems and all the buttons seem perfectly placed for me with the fire button coming naturally to rest under my thumb when using it in my right hand. If I’m using it left handed, it’s comfortable to use in either the thumb or finger fire orientations, I couldn’t find a natural way to hold this as a finger fire mod in my right hand though, and all the buttons have a really satisfying click to them as well. The board seems snappy and responsive with the same performance and screen as the Aspire BP80 that I reviewed recently. This has all the modes you’re likely to need and I’m glad to see that it can achieve outputs of 60 watts and 8.4volts which means it has true boost/buck capability as well as all the modern safety features you would expect.

The other side is quite plain with just a USB-C charge port located near the bottom corner. In my charge test, this achieved a peak charge rate of 1.6amps but it spent the bulk of its time in the 1.4~1.5amp range and everything remained surprisingly cool throughout the test.

This is all finished off with a “leather” pad wrapped around the back of the Nautilus Prime X which has minimal branding embossed into the sides. The eagle eyed amongst you may have noticed that this doesn’t seem to be fitted quite right on the lower corner of the control button side and you’d be right, this was easily remedied by running my fingernail along this edge though which popped it into place under the frame, and I’m happy to report it hasn’t budged since. This is lightly padded with a pleasant texture which greatly aids in both grip and comfort in use.

Aspire Nautilus Prime X pod and coils

Two pods are included for the BP Coil and Nautilus coil systems and these are pressure fit into the recess at the top of the Nautilus Prime X. Both of the supplied coils are of the mesh variety, and I know from my previous experience with the BP coil system that these are Kanthal, and I believe the Nautilus mesh coil is also kanthal. These are great coils. I especially enjoyed the restricted lung hit of the BP coil but was slightly disappointed to find that the included Nautilus coil, although more restricted, was also fairly airy and it also seemed to struggle a little with 70vg juice so a 60/40 mix would be better here. For those of you that prefer a tight mouth to lung, a traditional Nautilus coil would work better here but I won’t be able to use those as they are Nichrome anyway.

As this kit came from UK Aspire Vendor, they are both 2ml TPD compliant pods but I was easily able to remedy this as it was a fairly trivial task to get them open and remove the dreaded 2ml bungs. Filling is easy, and I found that it’s best done with the pod held upside down. The Nautilus Pod is constructed from PCTG, and the BP pod is made from PCTG and food grade nylon so both should be fairly resistant to tank crackers as well. It’s worth checking under the pod whilst refilling as I have experienced some minor condensation build up.

Each pod comes with a delrin 510 drip tip, the one on the Nautilus pod having a narrower bore. This of course means that you can use your own preferred drip tips but I found these to be very comfortable and perfect for this setup.

Aspire Nautilus Prime X pod modding

Pros

Compact 18650 AIO
Supports restricted direct lung and mouth to lung
Great airflow system

Cons

Slight rattle

Conclusion

This has barely left my side for the last two weeks, I’m a bit of a sucker for these small boxy AIO systems and this is rapidly becoming a firm favourite especially with the BP Coil and I’m sure all you Nautilus coil lovers out there will find this just as charming. There are also optional 510 adapters and a rather intriguing looking RDTA pod as well that I might have to seek out once they become more widely available.

Build quality is great as you would expect from Aspire, but one disappointing aspect of the build is there’s a slight rattle present and for once this isn’t coming from the buttons. For a while I suspected it was coming from the battery door as it’s worse when this is closed but this also proved to be a dead end. Short of tearing it apart, I doubt I’ll find the cause, it's not a deal breaker though and you’ll not really notice it in daily use.

Many thanks to UK Aspire Vendor for sending the Nautilus Prime X out for review.

Aspire Nautilus Prime X different sides

Antony Lord

Reviewer at POTV

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I 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.