Uwell Crown B Pod Kit
Uwell have already made a big impact this year with a top quality line up but the Crown B Pod kit might just be the next heir to the throne
-
by Si Davies
Share on:
Supplied by Uwell for review
https://www.myuwell.com/products/pod-system/crown-b.html
Price TBC
As much as I love Caliburns, I think I am all (cali-)burned out, so it was a welcome and pleasant surprise to receive the new Crown B out of the blue. This thing is right up my street when it comes to RDL/MTL pods, I’ve been a fan of the classic box shape since the Smoant Pasito and Smok Trinity Alpha.
At a Glance
- Materials: PCTG, Zinc Alloy
- Dimensions: 92mm x 42mm x 18mm
- Net Weight: 82 g
- E-liquid Capacity: 3.5ml / 2.0ml
- Output Power Range: 13W - 35W
- Coil Specifications:
- UWELL PA Coil 0.3 Ω M: 25W - 35W
- UWELL PA Coil 0.8 Ω M: 15W - 18W
- Battery Capacity: 1150mAh
- Draw or Button firing
- 3 Power Levels via Thumbwheel
- LED Backlit on one side
- USB-C 2 Amp Fast Charging
- Adjustable Airflow (RDL-MTL)
Unboxing
The Crown B kit comes in a simple box with an outer sleeve and inner box with inserts. Specs, features, and contents are listed on the back, and the device itself is held in a foam layer with a little accessories box below it. The manual is underneath in an envelope.
The kit includes everything you need to get going other than e-liquid, you get the Crown B device with the pod and 0.3ohm coil preinstalled, an additional 0.8ohm coil, a small USB-C charging cable, manual and warranty info, and then there’s a bonus 510 drip-tip (MTL).
First Impressions and Overview
I just loved this little thing from the moment I first picked it up, the size, shape and weight were just right for a compact all-rounder pod kit. I had no idea at this point of what the Crown B had to offer, but visually it impressed me.
The first thing that stood out was the dial on the side with the fire button inset, I just had to test it out and it has a satisfying clicking action, no clue what it’s for just yet but I liked it.
The classic box shape is well done, the corners are rounded off and it feels comfortable. The edges are quite hard but not sharp as they are chamfered, but it adds to the feel for me. The ergonomics are so good due to its size, 92mm x 42mm x 18mm, which should fit in most people’s grip comfortably.
The 82g (86g with a full tank) weight makes all the difference as it feels lighter than it looks, it always felt comfortable and lightweight in my hands even while doing other tasks.
The shiny plastic body was always going to be a fingerprint magnet and does get a bit grotty when you have sweaty hands, but it is easy enough to wipe clean and the darker colouring helps.
The construction is mainly translucent plastic with a metal control face. As you can see in the photos, there’s an electronic circuit pattern covering the battery, at first I just thought it was a battery wrap until I turned it on.
It lights up! It can’t be a wrap as it is backlit with a three colour LED array which has a smooth fade in and out transition. It acts as a battery/power level display also, the usual RGB, or should I say RBG (Notorious RBG) Red = Low, Blue = Medium, and Green = Full.
The lighting only appears on one side which feels a bit odd as it isn’t always obvious which side it’s on, but the ‘PRO FOCUS’ logo is the side that lights up and you soon become familiar with it. I was surprised that I could fully cover it up in my palm for stealth vaping.
Controls
- 5 x Fire = Turns Crown B On/Off
- 3 x Fire = Enters power selection (rotate the dial to cycle through and Fire to confirm
- 2 x Fire = Locks the Fire button (Auto-Draw still works)
That’s all there is to it, a simple affair but enjoyable to fiddle around with. The Fire button lock was especially welcome and since the auto-draw worked well, I never needed to resort to the fire button at all.
The charging port is underneath so you need to charge it on its side; it features proper 5V/2A fast charging which is always welcome, especially for the large 1150mAh battery. I rarely let it run down flat but the longest I had to wait was 35 minutes. A typical daily charge only took around 25 minutes.
Pods n Sods
Uwell have impressed me no end with their pod development, they have really got it sussed and they always feel user friendly. The Crown B is a bit different to any of their other pods but it still has that user friendliness at its heart.
The pod is a magnetic fit and kinda slides/plops into place. The fit is superb with no wobble or obvious edges protruding, it looks and feels like it’s all one part.
As with the Crown D, they have made the replaceable coil a doddle to pull out with the bevelled access to help you grip the coil and pull it out, fitting a new coil requires attention as to the orientation as there’s a flat edge that needs aligning.
The included coils are very different from each other:
- UWELL PA Coil 0.3Ω M: 25W - 35W (DL to RDL)
- UWELL PA Coil 0.8Ω M: 15W - 18W (RDL to MTL)
The filling port is quite discreet as it’s tucked away under the front edge, it is quite easy to pull out and the fill port is generous enough to allow for thin 10ml bottles right up to standard shortfill bottles.
On the opposite side is the airflow adjustment slider which is quite effective, slide down for more air, upwards for a tighter draw. How tight it is will be down to which coil you are using, the 0.3ohm will easily do RDL and a borderline DL draw, with the 0.8ohm you can achieve a fairly tight MTL.
Uwell kindly include two different 510 drip-tips, one is suitable for RDL/DL and the other is for MTL, but since it is the standard 510 connection, you can use your own if you have one, a nice and welcome touch.
It feels like Uwell have got you covered for RDL to MTL in one kit, even a tame DL is possible. It will never be as airy or powerful as a full blown sub-ohm tank but still a handy pocket cloud chucker none the less.
Performance
I had to try the 0.3ohm coil first as I was dying to see how it performed as a DL/RDL device. The first surprise was how airy the draw was with the airflow fully open, I would class it as a borderline full DL draw when using the wider drip-tip. I could happily live with this in the right occasion. As for RDL, it is near perfect. The airflow will adjust to pretty much any RDL draw you prefer and will tighten up to a MTL draw with a 0.3ohm coil! (not advisable as it gets a bit too warm).
My next pleasant surprise was the superb UWELL flavour I’ve become accustomed to with their MTL kits but now in a DL vape, for such a little coil it sure delivers a well saturated, flavourful vape. I played around with the power levels and airflow: full power (GREEN) and the airflow wide open the DL vape was spot on, not too warm but warm enough for my taste, narrower airflow for RDL did require lower power settings though, I found GREEN too warm with a tighter airflow so I ended up right down to LOW (RED) and that suited me just fine. The beauty is that you should find YOUR ideal setup quite easily.
Now will it do MTL as well? Indeed it did. With the 0.8ohm coil and narrow 510 drip-tip, I soon found my ideal MTL vape. With closed off fully airflow and medium power (BLUE), I was in my element, the flavour was as good as the latest Caliburns and the airflow was proper MTL tight.
I didn’t have any coils left to compare it to the Crown D but I don’t remember being as pleased as I am with the Crown B as a good all-rounder as I didn’t find the Crown D as good for MTL, mainly due to the wide mouthpiece. After adding my own even narrower drip-tip to the Crown B, I loved it as much for MTL as I did for RDL/DL.
Conclusion
Uwell are on such a good run of new products already this year, you can hardly make a bad choice. The Caliburns have MTL nailed and there are a few good options for RDL (Crown D, Crown M, Valyrian SE etc.), but I felt the Crown B is the perfect bridge between them all as it was as good with RDL/DL to MTL.
The compact size and light weight along with a decent 1150mAh battery made it a good backup for my higher powered sub-ohm mod and tanks, but I never felt unsatisfied with the DL vape, it just felt a bit less so I simply vaped a bit more. I’m torn which coils to buy for it though, I think I will go for the 0.3ohm as I have the Caliburns to cater for my MTL needs.
Whichever vaping style you choose to use with the Crown B, I think you will be more than happy with this true all-rounder pocket rocket.
Pros
- Compact and Lightweight
- Clicky wheel power adjustment
- Decent all-rounder (excels at RDL/MTL equally)
- Classic box styling
- LED Backlit
- 510 drip-tips
- Large 1150mAh battery
- 5V/2A fast charging
- Uwell high quality flavour (both coils)
Cons
- Fingerprint magnet
The fingerprint magnet con wouldn’t put me off buying it, the pros far outweigh this. I’m a sucker for shiny and fingerprints are the price you have to pay.
Final Thought and Score
Testing the new Crown B has been a genuine pleasure, I love the device and how it feels to use. Then there’s that UWELL vape quality with the all-rounder airflow and coil options, what’s not to like?
Score: 9/10 – Crown Jewel
Si Davies
Reviewer at POTVMy 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!
Join the discussion
UWELL Havok R Pod Kit
Stephen goes a little mad for the mayhem when he got to try out the UWELL Havok R pod kit
Lost Vape Centaurus e40
Antony got to test the pretty in pink Lost Vape Centaurus e40 pod kit
-
by Antony Lord
Innokin Trine SE Pod Kit
Innokin have released a new addition to the Trine lineup which feature a user replaceable battery. Antony checks out the new Innokin Trine SE pod kit
-
by Antony Lord
Lost Vape Centaurus E40 Max Pod Kit
Stephen lets us know his thoughts on the new Centaurus E40 pod kit from Lost Vape
