As a rule, I don’t use, or review PODS and have turned down quite a few request to review them. David from SXmini hit me up, and asked if I was interested, and I was hesitant, until he started explaining some of the features. Buckboost, Temp Control (w./ Dry Hit Protection), and their PURE tech, which oscillated the power rate(s) to allow for better flavor production across the spectrum. Well, now I HAD to try it out, as this did NOT seem like a standard low-tech, throw away Pod.
SX Mini Pure Max Specs
- Size: 94x26x19mm
- Battery: 1050mAh (internal)
- Display: LED indicators
- Pure Temperature Control – Anti Burn
- Output: 12-20W (4.5-5.5V)
- Type C USB charging – 1A charge rate
- Resistance range: 0.6-1.2ohm
- Capacity: 4ml
- Pods: Fixed coil (SS316L) replaceable pods
- Chipset: YiHi SX303J
- Side fill
- Auto draw
- Adjustable airflow
What’s Included:
- 1 x PureMax Pod
- 1 x 0.8ohm PX20 Cartridge
- 1 x USB-C cable
- 1 x User manual
Some of the interesting features …
Well let’s get INTO this one …
They included the PUREMAX, (1) 0.6 ohm Pod, USB-C charging cable, User’s Manual, and PURE spec. sheet …
The User’s Manual was very good, as always from the SXmini Team …
The “Pure Card” as I called it, filled in some more of the blanks …
Including info on the Presets, which varied by Pod …
David also threw in some extra Pods (0.6 ohm, 0.8 ohm) …
The PUREMAX …
I left the info sticker on for some of the pics, and the controls were clear, easy to use and simple. Power button, and airflow slide …
- 3 clicks – Turn unit On/Off
- Press and hold once turned on to select one of the 4 Power Presets
USB-C charging on the bottom …
Looking closer at the battery revealed some of the trademark attention to detail …
Moving onto the Pod, which was cleanly laid out, easy to read with min/max fill lines, and specs. The side fill rubber plug is also visible …
Keying on the sides kept the alignment correct …
Power, and airflow ports on the bottom …
Slightly flattened 510 drip tip. YES, you can use your own too !!!
Double o-ring’ed, and keyed …
It was very hard to get a shot of it, but the SS mesh coil is/was visible …
Back of the Pod with the filler plug visible again …
Easy to remove …
And easy to fill with any needle tipped bottle …
Filled and ready to go …
Power pins and keyed slots for easy insertion …
When inserted, it was very snug, with no wobble …
The LED’s were very bright, and showed charging level, charged level (while using), and Power Presets (when selecting). They also chased when the Pod was inserted …
The airflow slider was snug, but easy to move. Down fully open (Restricted Direct To Lung) …
And fully closed (fairly tight MTL) …
Testing / Usage:
Because I’ve turned down numerous offers to review Pods, and not being a huge fan OF them, I was not sure what to expect. David made a compelling case for the PUREMAX, citing the Temp Control, Anti Dry-Hit, Power Presets, and the PURE power oscillation. Throughout my extended tests using RDTL, and MTL it performed very well. I tested the Anti Dry-Hit quite a few times, and sure enough, when not filled, or running empty, it did it’s thing, and NO dry hits. As the charge ran down, it did a pretty seamless job of handling the power, and it was hardly noticeable. The airflow ranged from a somewhat restricted DTL, to a pretty tight MTL. The draw firing also worked perfectly, with only a very short sizzle when you stopped drawing on it.
When David contacted me, he WAS pretty excited about it, and encouraged me to throw some COMPLEX juices at it. Well, hehe, I DID. I torture tested it with one of my ADV’s at 70v/30p, which has creams, custards, bakeries, and some fruit, and I was actually shocked. It did a pretty damned good job reproducing the flavors. I don’t think I’ve ever had a Pod do much of anything with that type of juice. Wow, color me shocked. It wasn’t fully up to the level of my daily driver SteamCrave, but it was getting closer. No leaking, and I switched over to MTL with my 14mg fruit only ADV running 50v/50p, and it had no problems with it either. I closed the airflow all the way off (still some airflow), and dammit, worked fine as a pretty tight MTL as well. At one point I think I had 4 pods floating around the lab and I was bouncing back and forth, trying to muck it up, and I couldn’t. Even though this WAS sent for this review, I can honestly say I see what David was excited.
Pros:
- 4ml capacity
- Leak free
- Able to run 70v/30p no problem
- Airflow ranged from fairly restricted DTL to fairly tight MTL
- Easy controls
- Bright, multi-function LED’s
- 510 drip tip compatible (bring your own if you want)
- Draw firing (no fire button)
- USB-C charging
- Did quite good with complex creamery/bakery juices
- Anti Dry-Firing
- 3 or 4 Power Presets (different depending on Pod installed)
Cons:
- Average battery life
- Not 100% flavor reproduction (nit-pick, it’s a Pod !!!)
- Tinted tank can be hard(er) to see juice levels
- Slight sizzle after stopping draw (nit-pick)
- A little too restricted on the DTL (but, it’s a Pod !!)
Conclusion:
Wow, wow, and MORE wow. Let me drop this disclaimer again. I am NOT a huge fan of Pods, have barely used many of them, and cannot directly compare the PUREMAX to them, as I have not used many. BUT, with that said, it just figures that the SXmini team would figure out how to take a “Pod” to the next level. The PUREMAX although not completely mimicking my SteamCraves, it was getting close(r). I was surprised by the amount of creamy-ness, and some mouthfeel that I got from the PUREMAX with my ADV, no other way to say it. I can only assume that the PURE tech’s buckboost had something to do with this. My biggest nit-pick (yeah, I know, it’s a Pod dude), would be that it was a little too restricted for my tastes on the DTL, but I emptied 4 tanks, and it didn’t slow me down.
I don’t think it would replace any of my SteamCraves, BUT, there ARE times where I wished I’d had a smaller, leak-free (the SteamCraves are NOT leak-free) setup, and having one that could DTL in a pinch (albeit RDTL), and run a solid MTL as well, is/was just another bonus.
BREAKING NEWS [We interrupt your normally scheduled Review]!!!
Yes, of COURSE I did …
SIDE BY SIDE COMPARISON. I know, just a little theatrics for you guys. YES, after I was shocked at how good the flavors WERE, especially with my cream/bakery heavy ADV, I did run side by side comparisons. NO, the PUREMAX wasn’t as good as the SteamCrave RDTA Supreme. BUT, dammit, hehe, it did a pretty good job, and with my limited Pod experience, FAR better than any other Pod I’ve ever tried before. The PUREMAX seemed a bit “cleaner” than my SC, and it reproduced most of my ADV’s profiles, but for SOME of the heavy creamy-ness, and some of the lower, bottom end notes. Pretty impressive, and only doing SBS could I really check that.
[Back to your normally scheduled Review]
In conclusion, OF the conclusion, this was a smart, intelligent Pod designed by the SXmini team, and it had far more P’s than C’s, and if you are even remotely on the fence, or even like myself, “Pods, who uses Pods ??”, then you might be surprised, as I know I was.
I’ve been really busy lately with all of the new flavor releases, and still have more in the queue, and I’m sure you guys are busy as well, so I appreciate you taking the time to read this review, and if you HAVE made it ALL the way down here, I again, salute you.
Linkage: Limited Availability Currently
https://totally-vapour.co.uk/product/sxmini-puremax-vape-kit/
https://totally-vapour.co.uk/product/sxmini-puremax-replacement-px-pods/
Colors:
Bonus Shots for the Faithful:
S.D.
