Flexus Q Kit by Aspire
Review by Jen_Turista
Aspire Flexus Q Kit – Pod MTL Supremacy!
Good day, vapefam! I hope your year-end festivities or rest are going well and are looking forward to the New Year!
Before leaving 2021 though, let’s have a quick look at Aspire’s latest gambit to the already quite congested pod kit market: the Aspire Flexus Q Kit!
Big thanks to Aspire (thanks, Tina!) who have sent this kit to me for the purposes of a review.
2021 has brought us a spate of pod kits from different manufacturers. I can always remember when I first seriously looked at pod kits – the Smok Nord, at the time – that it was still a little unique as far as e-cigarettes go (it was mostly either box mods or pen-style kits). Pod kits from a few years ago were good but nowhere near to the calibre we are currently seeing in the market. The usual problems of pod kits, most notably the leaking/condensation, are becoming a thing of the past with each new model released. And alongside, more features are being incorporated in pod kits such as adjustable airflow and power. Indeed, it does seem like we are approaching a sort of zenith when it comes to pod kit superiority, which from my perspective is great for the vaping community, and especially for smokers who want to try vaping (a pod kit is a good starter kit).
That being said, it is then pertinent to ask how will the Flexus Q set itself apart amongst the seeming sea of pod kits?
As always, I will be reviewing this kit as an average vaper, as most in our community are.
Packaging and Contents
I was sent a sample pack that included:
- The Flexus Q device.
- 1 x 2 mL Flexus Q pod that is refillable via a side fill port.
- 1 x Aspire Flexus (AF) 0.6 ohms mesh coil.
- 1 x Aspire Flexus (AF) 1.0-ohm mesh coil.
- USB-C cable.
- User Manual.
Salient Features include:
- The device with a 700 mAh battery.
- 3A fast-charging and Aspire claims to achieve 80% battery within 10 minutes of charging (don’t worry, we shall be testing this claim, of course!)
- LED lights to indicate power level and battery life.
- 3 levels of power via the ASP chipset: green = hard, blue = medium, red = low/easy.
- Dimensions at around 113 x 23 x 14 mm. Yes, it looks like a slightly tall highlighter!
- Has both button and auto-draw firing.
- Airflow control.
- And of course, has the standard protections we are familiar with.
Impressions and Experience
The box containing the kit is minimalistic and yet compact. In front is an embossed and coloured photo of the device, with kit contents and manufacturer information printed around the outer box. The kit and its accessories sit atop a plastic tray that slides out. All in all, a clear and efficient way to package a classic starter kit.
The kit as a whole is quite pleasing to the eye, especially in the fuchsia finish! It is petite and lightweight (just over 50 g without any e-liquid in the pod, I reckon) and easily very portable. It looks and feels solid, largely due to what I think is zinc alloy used as the device shell. Even in this typically “louder” colour and design, the device looks quite elegant, I must say!
A. Flexus Q Device/Battery
Keeping to its minimalistic principles, the device has only one button to fire, adjust the wattage (3 clicks), and turn the device on or off (5 clicks). The USB port is at the bottom of the device, which does mean that you can’t charge it in an upright position. The pod slides and clicks into place at the top of the mod that houses the coil contacts and microphone for the auto draw function.
Airflow control is achieved via a slider to one side of the mod. And I have to say that this is probably one the best implementations of airflow control I have ever seen in a pod system. The slider isn’t loose and has just the right amount of resistance that makes it stay to where you’ve placed it, giving you a consistent draw even if you’ve pocketed the kit, for example. A tight MTL can be achieved as well as a restricted direct lung draw, whichever you desire. For the type of MTL vape I like, I had the slider with around 2 mm of the airflow open on the 0.6-ohm coil, and just a hair wider with the 1.0-ohm coil. It is effective in letting the exact amount of air in and at the same time keeping the warmth, making for a satisfying MTL vape with either coil!
I feel that this is important for two main things. One is to really make use of its auto draw function as I have found that in some pod kits, the auto draw doesn’t engage as well or the vape becomes cool without an effective airflow control. And I am pleased to report that the warmth is roughly the same whether I used the fire button or just used auto-draw!
Another reason is for its intended audience: a smoker wanting to switch to vaping will look for the draw and warmth they get from cigarettes, and so the ability to tailor both of these factors is crucial to help make sure that vaping will replicate that experience for the smoker wanting to quit. Aspire deserves a round of applause for their design and engineering on this front!
And for the piece-de-resistance of this kit- we need to talk about the 3A fast charging! I was indeed sceptical at first, after some not-so-pleasant experiences with other manufacturers making similar claims. But with the supplied USB-C cable and a suitable fast charge plug, it took no time at all to charge the Flexus Q device! in my (amateur) testing, it did take roughly around 10 mins to see the green light from red. So even if the device has just 700 mAh, you’d be able to quickly charge this in a few minutes, but with the right equipment, of course.
B. Flexus Q Pod and AF Coils
The pod is made from what seems to be PCTG, and is well tinted, which does make seeing juice levels a tad challenging in the dark. Saying that though, I just held it up to a light and then it’s easy enough to see how much juice I had left (no need to squint!).
I am usually not a fan of duckbill mouthpieces, but this pod is well-sculpted and is very comfortable to use. The side fill hole is covered by a rubber bung and is just the right size to accommodate most e-liquid bottles.
The coils press fit from the bottom, and I’ve had no leaking issues with either coil. There was some condensation that can be easily cleaned, but that is inevitable in my opinion as we tend to exhale a little bit as we inhale for a puff.
The 0.6-ohm coil (15-18 W) gave a very flavourful (8/10) and warm vape. Although I have no instruments to read the actual output, it did feel like the device was giving out around 18 W of power at the highest wattage setting. This is something I’d like to take note of as I have found that some pod kits out there can’t really reach the maximum limits of the coils. It is a very warm MTL, so much so that I even found myself adjusting the power to the medium setting. I felt that I could do this without sacrificing warmth and also maximising battery life – a major pro for me!
The 1.0-ohm coil (12-15W) was also great for flavour (8/10) and was perfect for 50/50 e-liquids. I usually don’t prefer coils at 1.0 ohms or above because of the lower power limits (and therefore loss of warmth), but this coil really impressed me in that it was still able to deliver a great MTL vape to my liking!
Overall: Yay or Nay?
I honestly think Aspire smashed it out of the park again with the Flexus Q Kit! It’s a phenomenal starter kit for smokers wanting to quit, and at the same time, a great MTL device even for experienced vapers. And so indeed, this one gets a resounding Yay from me!
I am a fan of the Aspire Nautilus coils (they were my first true vaping coils), but these AF coils are also great AF (get it?)! They are right up there with my favourite 0.7 ohms mesh Nautilus coil. So even if this kit does not use the Nautilus platform, these AF coils are awesome in their own right, and I can only hope that Aspire brings out more devices that will be compatible with these new coils.
The 3A fast charge is very convenient and for me, is icing on the cake of what is already a commendable device.
My warmest appreciation again to Tina and Aspire for sending this kit for my review! To purchase the Flexus Q Kit, check out the links to Aspire at the start of the review.
This review was written by jen_turista who is very active within the vape community. You can go give her a follow on Instagram and Twitter.
