Pod System Reviews

Joyetech ObliQ Pod Kit

Happy Happy Joy Joy-etech when Si checked out the new Joyetech Obliq pod kit!

by Si Davies
Jan 7, 2021

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Supplied by Vapesourcing for review purposes:
https://vapesourcing.com/joyetech-obliq-kit.html

Joyetech are a bit of a mystery company for me as I’ve hardly paid much attention to them. In fact looking back, I haven’t owned a single Joytech device up until my previous review of the Tralus, likely a personal taste thing but very little appealed to me. Being totally honest, I wasn’t overly keen to review the ObliQ, but the quirky looks appealed to me so I agreed to take this one on. I wasn’t expecting too much but damn was I in for a real treat. Read on to find out the many reason why I ended absolutely loving this superb bit of kit!

Joyetech ObliQ Pod Kit boxed

Features

1800mAh Battery Capacity
2A Type-C Fast Charge
60min Full Charge
Avatar Memory Chip
Max 60W Output
3.5ml Capacity
Top Filling E-liquid
Leak Proof
Compatible with EZ Coils
Side Airflow
Ergonomic Mouthpiece

There are a few things that stand out in the features: 2A charging, a very decent 1800mAh battery capacity, top filling, adjustable airflow and 60W output.

Joyetech ObliQ Pod Kit specs

Unboxing

The packaging is all pretty nice and minimal, no bloated and unnecessary padding yet secure enough for Mr Postman to still have his fun lobbing it around. It has a solid base box, lid and a sleeve displaying the ObliQ’s colour choice.

Joyetech ObliQ Pod Kit presentation

Opening the box reveals the ObliQ with a rather interesting dual purpose wrap, it is protective and features the instructions printed on both sides, very nice indeed.

Specifications

Size:85*42*22.6mm
Battery Material: Zinc Alloy, Bending Glass
Cartridge Material: PCTG
Battery Capacity:1800mAh
Output Wattage: Max 60W
Charging Current:5V/2A
Charging Port: Type-C
E-liquid Capacity:3.5ml/2ml
Filling Type: Top Filling
Coils: EZ 0.4ohm/0.8ohm Coil
Colours: Lavender, Tropical Green, Black Rose, Obsidian, Blue Orchid, Modern Rose

Joyetech ObliQ Pod Kit colours

Colours

Usually I try to select the colour of my choice, colours can really influence my opinion on devices as it’s difficult to like something when you hate the colour, but in this case I made no attempt to request a colour as I think they all look good. I was sent blue and chrome, but I can imagine how good the others look.

Joyetech ObliQ Pod Kit instructions

Not only are the instructions nice and clear, they are also pretty much all you need to know, though I did find the included instruction manual to be wasteful as a result. But to be fair, it does include specs and safety information which they couldn’t possibly fit onto the wrap, either way it’s a pro in my book.

Joyetech ObliQ Pod Kit contents

In the box

1* OBLIQ Battery
1* OBLIQ EZ Cartridge(3.5ml)
1* EZ 0.4Ohm Coil
1* EZ 0.8Ohm Coil
1* USB-C Cable
1* Warranty Card
1* User Manual

First Impressions

It’s when you first pick up the ObliQ that you begin to realise that it’s something rather special! Larger and more weighty than I was expecting, in a good way though, it is still very compact and sits in your hand so comfortably. I honestly couldn’t wait to rip its clothes off so after a quick read of the wrap, I removed it and took a few moments to admire just how stylish it was.

Joyetech ObliQ Pod Kit all angles

It is one of those things that photos simply cannot do justice to, the glass panels are iridescent and the 3D effect as you rotate it is beautiful. The chrome chassis is just my cup of tea, naturally the chrome is a fingerprint magnet but the glass panels are incredible. I have no idea what they are coated with, but it simply does not show up fingerprints.

As the name suggests, ObliQ-ue neither parallel nor at right angles to a specified or implied line, slanting. Joyetech have not only been faithful to the shape, but have used the angles wisely to fit into your hand perfectly and make it comfortable to fire.

There is a lanyard bar but I think it’s a bit on the weighty side to be comfortable around your neck. I would possibly use it on a long car journey, but for walking I would find it smacking me around to be very annoying. But it is still a pro for including it though.

The base has battery vents which are welcome as so many pods omit this important safety feature, and they also look pretty cool. You can see the designers have put thought into them and even included a tapered recess so they won’t be blocked when the ObliQ is standing up.

As you can probably tell by now, I was really loving this little beauty. All I could hope is that it vapes as good as it looks!

Pod

The pod has had equal attention paid to it, top filling, adjustable airflow, leak-proof chamber, plug-n-play coils, and easily removable.

The airflow adjustment is positioned at the back of the pod, and the flow of the air is directed via a leak-proof chamber to the coil base. This is very effective and pretty clever as any condensation or excess juice will, at worse, collect into the chamber and not into the electronics. A clever part that I didn’t notice straight away was the chamber naturally tips any excess juice back towards the coil which will eventually vaporise rather than overfill the chamber, now that’s what I call attention to detail!

So far the only thing I was unsure of was the mouthpiece but even that had to be admired. The internal shape of it was contoured in a mouth shaped….. erm shape (grammar fail sorry), you could tell it was a compromise between MTL and RDL. I found it perfect for RDL but a little too large for MTL to suit my personal tastes, though to be fair it isn’t far off and is much better than a lot of pods I have tried.

Joyetech ObliQ Pod detail

Coils were super easy to fit and change as they were a simple press fit and easy to remove with your fingernail without too much resistance (pardon the pun).

The pod is just that little bit too dark though, it’s very difficult to see your juice level in poor light and it’s still quite hard to see in bright light, I often found myself removing the pod to check my level.

Operations and performance

The screen is superb and a real surprise upon first powering up. There’s a nice boot-up animation that doesn’t take too long, and once that has finished, the screen layout and clarity is really impressive, the use of colour is just classy and certainly not garish, the resolution is crisp and clear, and I can easily read every single detail (even with my older eyes).

Operation and menu navigation is a breeze:

Joyetech ObliQ Pod Kit controls
(Just after complimenting the classy use of menu colours, I go and use garish colours in my controls photo – oooops!)

As you can see, the menu and controls are very easy to use. The adjustment buttons feel really nice and the resistance is very tactile and firm enough to prevent accidental adjustments to the point that I never found the need to lock the buttons.

Smart power is pretty accurate, it sets the wattage automatically for the chosen coil but you can increase or decrease if you prefer. As with many other ‘smart’ pods/AIOs, I have got into the habit of going with smart wattage suggestions to preserve coil lifespan. The fire button’s position is just right and has a tactile click when pressed.

You will rarely need the menu other than colour selection. You should find one to suit the colour of your chosen ObliQ, naturally I went for blue, but the other colours didn’t look out of place which is nice.

Usually I dislike lack of functionality, but there is just enough for this kit. It’s not like it’s a ‘Pod/Mod’ so you won’t need anything other than adjustable wattage, preheats simply aren’t required with small mesh coils as the vape is instant.

Battery

The 1800mAh cell is impressive for such a compact chassis. Bearing in mind it needs to power a colour screen, then the capacity is a smart design decision. It turns out to be very capable and easily lasts me a full day for RDL and almost two days MTL (around 16W). Charging time was impressive for the capacity, the 2A usb-C charge rate made all the difference, from 30% it charged in just over 40 minutes which I am more than happy with. The usb-C port is well positioned at the base which means you can charge it while it is stood up. A daft little touch I liked during charging was the screen animation, hard to describe but it really caught my eye, though it only displayed percentage rather than estimated time. No biggie as you soon know how long it takes.

Joyetech Obliq sexy and smooth

Performance

So onto the important bit. I was half dreading that the ObliQ would be looks over substance, but again I was in for a treat. I knew I would favour the MTL option, but I started off with the 0.4Ω RDL coil, 25 watts and, opening the airflow fully, I took my first toot. Right off the bat I was so impressed, warm, flavourful and a surprisingly large vapour production. The draw was suited for a restrictive direct lung vape, not too tight, and fully open suited me nicely but you can restrict it more if you prefer. I would say it is too restrictive for a full DL draw though, this was fine for me as I would have been miffed if it beat my favourite full DL pod (PM80). Despite the 60W power, I doubt users will take it over 30W unless you put a lower Ohm built into the optional RBA.

After filling my living room with clouds, I moved on to the 0.8Ω MTL coil which defaults at 20W. I closed the airflow off fully and took my first vape, again the flavour was there right off the bat, but I found the airflow a little bit loose for my preference and there is no way to tighten it further. Though looser than I would have liked, it wasn’t as loose to be unusable and still tighter than a lot of other pods I had tested. It’s one of those that you can easily get used to, and I soon did. The flavour made it all worth it and I soon found myself really enjoying the whole experience of the ObliQ.

I did however find a bit of a hack/bodge to tighten the airflow up to my preference, a slither of cardboard shoved into the air intake tightened it up nicely but I ended up removing it as it made it look worse. I might 3D print a little plug for it though as I think it is worth the effort.

In the hand took a little bit of getting used to, I’m fairly sure it’s designed to be fired with the mouthpiece down which feels the most natural when index finger firing. Thumb firing can be done when flipped over, but it didn’t feel right. The most comfortable way I found was mouthpiece down and fully wrapping your hand round it whilst using the inside of your second index finger to fire. It felt so natural and the shape moulds into your hand just right, this feels instinctive now I am used to it and in fact I like it that way. It feels quite grippy too, surprisingly the smooth glass panels add to the grip, but it’s the oblique shape that moulds it firmly in your hand.

I did discover a minor flaw in the design though, when you grip the pod to thumb slide the pod out, you often end up hitting the fire button with your grip. This is a minor annoyance and a quirk you soon adapt to.

Joyetech ObliQ Pod Kit top and tail

Conclusion

There’s so much to like with the Joyetech ObliQ. I fell for its charm right from unboxing, and thankfully everything else delivered really well. Often I end up reboxing and giving away review kits if I don’t think I will get use from them, even stuff I really like as I have so many others to choose from, but the ObliQ is one of those keepers and something rather special. With design and performance, Joyetech have really gone to town with perfecting this kit. I never considered Joyetech as a mainstream coil manufacturer but I will be stocking up on these as they perform so well and, more importantly, they last a long time.

Far from being JAFP (just another f*****g pod), it has put some of my previous favourites to shame. Though I would have preferred the MTL airflow to be a little tighter, I can happily live with it as it still feels very much an MTL vape. The RDL vape I cannot fault, the flavour and draw make it one of my favourites in a RDL Pod/AIO, and I just wish Joytech had included a spare pod so I could flip between the two.

I was trying to think of a way to describe the ObliQ’s experience, the easiest way I can think is how I felt many moons ago when I got my first iPhone, there’s a certain ‘Joy’ that you get with special devices and the ObliQ is one of those.

If you prefer a full open direct lung vape, then I doubt you would enjoy what the ObliQ has to offer though I have yet to come across a good all-rounder that goes from tight MTL to loose DL. There has to be a good middle ground, and the ObliQ lends itself towards the tighter draw end.

Pros

Simply beautiful design
Attention to detail
Leak-proof pod design
Anti-fingerprint coated glass panels
Proper 2A fast charging with 1800mAh battery
Screen is very easy to read
Oblique shape is very comfortable
Top fill pod
Putting the ‘Joy’ into tech

Cons

MTL airflow could have been tighter
Removing the pod can cause you to accidentally fire

I could have gone on and on with the pros, but the cons are minor and easily lived with.

Final Thoughts

The evolution of pod systems can often be tiresome and there really is too much choice out there, thankfully Joyetech have gone to town in refining a superb and more than capable pod system that deserves to stand out as one of the very best, and it has instantly become one of my all-time favourite vapes, it’s that good.

Score: 9/10 – One of the very best RDL/MTL pods out there.

Would have been close to a perfect 10/10 if the MTL draw was a little tighter.

Joyetech ObliQ Pod Kit what's new pussycat?

Si Davies

Reviewer at POTV

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My background is Engineering and Professional Photography. Mostly from POTV users knowledge I learned so much about pretty much all styles of vaping and equipment, Cloud Chasing, Squonking, Mouth To Lung, Direct To Lung, Pods, Mechs, Rebuild-able tanks and atomisers etc, and have experience with many many devices and atomisers, it's become a hobby and enjoy trying out the latest gear. I like to think my reviews are plain speaking and informative without getting too technical, if I have to resort to reading the manual then I don't consider it user friendly!