3stars

VapeOnly Space Pod Mod Review

While VapeOnly isn’t one of the large players in the vaping industry – at least not in the Western world – the Chinese company has been around for at least four years now (that’s when I reviewed my first VapeOnly product) and it seems to be doing very well in its home country. Today we’ll be looking the the manufacturer’s latest pod mod, the VapeOnly Space, a very cool-looking device with eye-catching panels.

A Look at the Contents

The VapeOnly Space comes in a white cardboard box with a cutout offering a clear view inside. The fact that they put “mod pod” instead of pod mod on the box wasn’t very reassuring, but then again, this kind of thing isn’t that uncommon with Chinese products.

On the back of the box we have a table of various specifications, from dimensions, to power output and compatible battery type, as well as a list of the Space’s main features, kit contents and manufacturer information.

Inside the box, we have the VapeOnly Space pod mod, a USB Type-C charging cable, a spare coil-heads, user manual, and a warranty card. It’s worth mentioning that a refillable pod complete with another coil-head comes pre-installed in the mod.

Design and Build Quality

The VapeOnly Space looks like a compact box mod. It measures 91mm x 49mm x 24mm, and weighs just 96 grams, without an 18650 battery inserted. That’s not very surprising, considering the Space is made primarily of aluminum alloy. It’s so light that the first time I picked it up, I was sure it was all plastic.

For this review I received a very eye-catching version with both side panels decorated with colorful resin, but you can also get this device with leather-covered panels, and carbon fiber imitation. There are six variants in all, each very appealing in its own way.

Starting at the top, we have a stubby 510 drip tip that you can remove and swap with your own favorite tip. The round fire button is placed on one of the larger sides of the device, similarly to the Billet Box fire button. Speaking of the Billet Box, I personally think that it served as an inspiration for the VapeOnly Space, as many of its features and design elements seem somewhat similar to those of the Billet Box. That’s just my opinion, though…

The air intake slots and the charging port are located on the metallic frame of the mod. Right above the Type-C charging port, we also have a tiny LED indicator that lights up different colors to show battery level.

Like the Billet Box, the VapeOnly Space maintains a very clean exterior by putting some of the elements usually found on the outside of the mod, on the inside. To access the inside of this pod mod, you have to remove one of resin panels – you can see which one has a small cutout at the bottom of the device. The door is magnetic, held in place by three pairs of magnets, and doesn’t rattle or move around at all.

Another way to identify the removable panel is bay the thin slant supposed to offer a view of the e-liquid pod inside. You should be able to keep an eye on the juice level through there, but honestly, it’s so incredibly narrow that you can barely see anything through it.

The VapeOnly Space and the Billet Box are very similar on the inside as well. The Chinese product has the same style removable pod, display and power output controls and even the same orientation of the battery compartment as the American-made device.

The refillable pod can be easily pulled out if its slot by grabbing on a small plastic notch design for this very purpose. The rectangular plastic container holds up to 3.5ml of e-liquid and ca be refilled through a fill-port on the side. It’s sealed with a silicone plug, and, because of the location of the fill port, I advise you to hold the pod horizontally when filling, to fill it up completely and prevent any spillage.

At the bottom of the pod we have an airflow control adapter the kind we’ve seen before on the VapeOnly Mind Pro and the Eleaf Tance Max, among others. It’s a very simple and effective airflow control system, but because it attaches to the removable coil-heads, you have to be very careful not to throw it away by mistake. The airflow control is a part of the pod, not the coil-heads. Spare coil-heads don’t come with their own base, so you want to keep an eye on the one you receive in the kit.

Right under the pod slot, we have a small display and three buttons that you can use to switch through the various modes and adjust power output. These are normally placed on the outside of the mod, but I guess VapeOnly wanted to do things differently, just like the makers of the Billet Box…

Personally, I like the look of the VapeOnly Space – especially the resin version – even more than that of the Billet Box, but taste is subjective. In terms of build quality, it’s not the most solid device I’ve ever held in my hand, as the light aluminum body makes it feel a bit cheap. However, I really have nothing to complain about. The resin decor is smooth, genuine leather, not that fake stuff we saw on the SMOK RPM80 Pro, the magnetic door doesn’t wobble or rattle, and the paint finish looks pretty flawless to me.

Menu System and Navigation

The VapeOnly Space has a very simplistic menu system, but I thought I’d go over it quickly, just so you know what features are available. Just keep in mind that this is a pod mod, not a feature-rich box mod.

After inserting an 18650 battery (not included in the kit) into the allotted slot, you have to press the fire button five times in rapid succession to power on the device. The small display on the inside will turn on and you will be able to use the + and – buttons to adjust the power from 5W to 60W.

The VapeOnly Space always boots into Power mode, but you can use the M button between the + and – keys to switch to voltage mode as well. Another press of the M key will also present you with three intensity settings (Soft, Mid and High) for the preheat feature.

There is no Temperature Control, but considering that this is a simple pod mod, no one expects one anyway. To be hones, the preheat function and voltage mode can be considered bonus features.

Battery Life and Performance

The VapeOnly Space is a single-18650 battery device, but how long that battery will last you depends on a variety of factors. First, the power output is the main influence on battery life. using the pod mod at 10W output is quite a lot different than using it at 60W in terms of energy consumption. Then there is the battery capacity, how much you vape, etc.

It’s impossible to estimate how much a battery will last, as each user’s experience is different, but I can tell you that one full Sony VTC5A battery lasts me about 6 hours, vaping at around 35W. Luckily, the VapeOnly Space features 2A fast charging through the Type-C USB interface, so on-board charging is going to be very fast.

In terms of performance, I need to start by saying that the VapeOnly Space was designed with direct-lung vaping in mind. Both included mesh coil-heads (0.4Ω and 0.6Ω) work best with the airflow wide open, and even though you can close up the airflow almost completely to the point where you can do a mouth-to-lung draw, it’s nowhere near as tight as a cigarette draw. If that’s what you’re looking for, I suggest a pod system like the Renova Zero or Vladdin RE.

If you’re into direct lung vaping, you’ll probably find the Space pod mod more to your liking. Vapor production is decent, although I personally expected more from a device that can output up to 60W. Those coil-heads are on the small side, though, as is the diameter of the mesh element inside, so you really can’t expect to blow huge clouds with this thing. Still, with the airflow wide open and a VG-heavy e-liquid, the Vape-Only Space puts out decent plumes of vapor.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t very impressed with the flavor I got from this device. It’s not that there is anything wrong withe the coil-heads or the system as a whole, it’s just one of those devices that reeks of chemicals. Right out of the box I was stunned by the plasticky smell that never really went away. Even drawing on the drip tip I got this nasty taste in my mouth, and while it has gotten better after two or three pod refills, you shouldn’t have to get rid of this nasty taste.

I had the same problem with the original SMOK Novo pod system, and a lot of people contradicted me in the comments, saying that they felt the flavor they got was great, so maybe it’s just me. Still, subjective or not, I felt it was something worth mentioning.

Conclusion

The VapeOnly Space is an eye-catching pod mod inspired by the popular Billet Box (in my opinion). It’s one of the better-looking vaping devices I’ve had the pleasure of testing in the last year, and it’s decent in terms of performance as well. If you like the design of the Billet Box but can’t afford to spend over $200 on a pod mod, think this of cheaper alternative.