Pod System Reviews

ELFX Pod Kit by ELFBAR

There's a new pod kit on the block from an unlikely source. We are taking a look at the new ELFX pod kit from ELFBAR

by Michelle (Purplefowler)
Jul 2, 2024

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With all sorts of nasty restrictions and bans looming here in the UK, we have seen a scramble as traditional disposable vape manufacturers find ways to make sure they are still the first port of call for people looking to get away from smoking. Most seem to be going down the prefilled and rechargeable semi disposable route, but ELFBAR have decided to follow a different path, and I, for one, am all for it. So what is this revolutionary new product? Well, the ELFX is a proper rechargeable, refillable pod kit which has been specifically designed to work in perfect harmony with their ELFLIQ e-liquid. Genius!

First Look and Unboxing

I was very kindly sent a selection of kits in four of the available six colour variants. I was particularly happy to see a purple one in the bundle, always an excellent way to get on my good side! I think you can guess which has been my favourite one, but all four look great so I don’t think anyone will be disappointed by what they choose.

The full package contains everything you will need too, it is a great bundle, especially if you are just moving away from disposables. You get the main device, two pods, a charging cable, and an instruction leaflet. You are meant to get two different pods, a 0.6ohm and a 0.8ohm, but my purple kit only contained two 0.8ohm pods. This is not a problem as these are probably the best to use with bar salts type e-liquids anyway, but the other kits all had the right pods in them, so I think it was a one off.

Before we get any deeper, I think it is a good time to mention the price, as I was really impressed that ELFBAR have put together such a comprehensive kit for this money. You get all of this for just £14.99. It looks like there will also be bundle deals shortly too, which will offer even better value and will include bottles of ELFLIQ too, so you will be able to pick up everything you need in one hit. Normally I leave the price till the end, but I wanted to get it out there early as it reflects on how the rest of the review balances out.

So back to the kit. This is a very user friendly, basic kit so it will make the change to pod kits as easy as possible. But don’t be fooled by the simplicity, as the ELFX still has a couple of tricks up its sleeve. First up is the battery capacity, a very welcome 1000mAh. That is at least double what you normally get with a disposable. Whilst the capacity is decent for a kit like this, I found it was an impressively efficient device which easily lasted me a full day, although there is something that may impact that, but I will get to that a little later on.

When the battery gets low, you can charge it with the included USB-C cable, and it charges quite quickly considering it only has a charging rate of 5V/1A. I would always recommend picking up two kits anyway as you can make sure you always have one charged and ready, plus it is insurance against the unlikely event that something goes wrong. There is nothing worse than finding you have nothing to vape if disaster strikes. Always have a backup!

There is a smoothness to all of the kits which I really like. All edges have been rounded off, and the main body feels smooth and tactile. There are two different visual styles, some are a single colour body paired with the upper section which doubles as the immersive RGB lights, and the others have an almost matt finish with metallic spots printed on them. I like both, but I prefer the feel of the slight texture from the patterned ones. I also like how it seems more graduated from the top section, making it visually flow better, but that will be down to personal preference.

The upper section is fun but may not be for everyone. When you take a puff, pretty much the whole of the top half lights up with the RGB lighting, and it flows from one colour to the next seamlessly. It only lasts for a few seconds, but it does provide quite the light display. I love it, it has been done really well and isn’t so loud that is looks tacky. Not everyone likes a lightshow when they vape though, so there is the option to turn this off. Although there are no buttons, you can do it by removing and inserting the pod three times in quick succession. This puts it in full stealth mode which is much more discreet and will also save on the battery life so if you need you kit to last longer between charges, switching it off might be a sensible option. Unfortunately the weather was too sunny when I was taking the photos, so I couldn’t capture the lights in a way that does them justice, so you will just have to take my word on that!

The light also lets you know your battery status too. By removing the pod and putting it back again, the light will shine in whichever colour is closest to the remaining charge, green – 100% to 80%, green to yellow – 80% to 60%, yellow – 60% to 40%, orange – 40% to 20%, red – 20% and under. We are used to using coloured lights to find out how much charge we have left, but the extra colours available, thanks to the RGB lights, mean that you can get much more detailed feedback as you vape.

One the base, you can find the charging port, so you will need to rest it on its side when it is plugged in. I prefer to keep my kit upright, but it caused no problems. On the side, there is an airflow slider which can take the draw from a loose mtl, to a very slightly tighter pull. I have to be honest and say it really didn’t make a huge difference, the change is fairly subtle.

The pod is held in place by magnets, and they do a good job of keeping everything in place. There is a tiny bit of wobble, but no more than you get with most other pod set ups. Filling is done via a port on the side of the pod, but it is far enough up that you don’t need to remove the whole thing. It is perfect for 10ml bottles with pointy filler nibs, but you might struggle with rounded ones. I found it was a completely mess free system which works perfectly.

The pods themselves are a slightly dark, clear plastic, but they are light enough that you can easily see how much liquid is left. The only thing that is slightly harder to see is the minimum juice level which is printed on the coil. It is recommended not to vape the pod dry, but to be honest, that is just common sense.

All in all, the ELFX is a really nice little kit, which looks smart and feels comfortable in your hand, and you can’t ask for much more than that in a pod kit.

Performance

The ELFX uses dual mesh coils, which are perfect for highly sweetened bar style nic salts which can be too sweet for some coils to deal with. They work really well so you get a decent lifespan before you need to swap things out so the coils will be good value for money. New pods come in packs of three for £8.99, and this represents a good deal thanks to the extended lifespan offered by the coil technology. I found both the 0.8ohm and the 0.6ohm pods worked equally well. The 0.6ohm was ever so slightly more intense, but I will take the boost to battery life which the 0.8ohm pods will give you. But as you should get one of each in the pack, I'll leave it up to you to decide which you prefer. They are very close in performance so it will be down to individual preference.

I was also sent a selection of ELFLIQ salts to try with the ELFX, in all different strengths. I loaded up my first 0.8ohm pod and let it sit for the recommended five minutes before taking my first puff, and it was well worth the wait. I had a feeling the flavour would be good, after all it has been designed specifically for these types of e-liquids, but I wasn’t expecting it to be this good. The flavour was thick and full, and I found it was much more even than you find with regular disposables which can be too concentrated at the start of their life and can feel a little watered down towards the end. It has the same sort of intensity though and I think if you are used to using ELFBAR vapes, the taste and feel with be very familiar to you. I have previously tried both ELFBAR disposables and ELFLIQ in a different pod kit, but I really do think the ELFX has been my favourite way to vape bar salts.

Of course, you are not limited to just the one brand of e-liquid either. If you want to experiment a bit more, this is a very good kit to use with any 50/50 e-liquid suitable for mtl vaping. It makes it a surprisingly versatile little set up.

Final Thoughts

I must admit that when we were first asked if we would like to try the ELFX pod kit, I wasn’t the most enthusiastic, I guess I expected it to be a rather average kit that was just jumping on a tried and true system rather than bringing anything new or interesting to the scene. But I fell in love with the look and feel, I felt the lights were strangely endearing, but most importantly the performance takes sweet nic salts to a much higher level. I was expecting to give away my review samples straight after finishing this article, but sadly for my friends, these are staying firmly in my kit box as there really is currently no better way to enjoy bar salts.

Many thanks to ELFBAR for sending in the ELFX pod kit in for review

Pros

Superb flavour
User friendly
Smooth design
Funky lightshow
Perfect for bar salts and 50/50 e-liquids

Cons

None

Michelle (Purplefowler)

Reviewer at POTV

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When her usual forum closed, Michelle found herself in a brave new world full of excitement that something fresh and new was happening. A few days later she somehow found herself on the moderating team and is still not really sure how that happened. Even stranger, she slowly worked her way up to admin and now helps behind the scenes, liasing with vendors and coordinating social media but she can still be found making smutty comments on the forum. If all that wasn't enough, she also is a proud member of the Potv review team specialising in E-liquid reviews for the discerning vaper.