Innokin ArcFire 3 mL 650 mAh Open Pod Kit | Reviews by Z-Lee
- By Z-Lee
- Device Reviews
- 6 Replies
Innokin ArcFire
Hello ECF! Innokin has sent me their newest pod kit, the ArcFire, for review. There's a lot that you can expect from this pod device being that Innokin has always been a quality name brand for vape gear. You may or may not be familiar with the Innokin Klypse or Klypse Zip, but they've won several prizes for best new pod and other such awards. They may not always have the flashiest designs, but the quality you can be sure of, and that is what I'd recommend you invest in most when it comes to vape gear - quality and dependability. In this review, we'll see if the Innokin ArcFire continues to hold this tradition.
Before we begin, I want to give a bit shout out to @Innokin_timmy for reaching out and coordinating the shipment of the ArcFire. As a reviewer, this critique will be conducted in a fair and honest manner. Any and all opinions expressed in this review are my own.
Alright, let's check it out!
(Pictures can be clicked on for easier/better viewing)
- BRIEF SITE OVERVIEW -
Colors:
From left to right, we have:
> Stellar Black
> Nebula Grey
> Galactic Silver
> Cosmic Pink
> Ocean Horizon
> Green Forest
Key Features:
> No Leakage
> Elegant Design
> Recharge to 75% in 30 min.
> 3 LED Power Indicator
> 650 mAh Internal Battery
> 3 mL Pod Capacity, 2 Different Ohms
Specs:
- TESTING RESULTS & OBSERVATIONS -
Intro:
So, right off the bat, you can see that this kit is very bare bone. You get the 650 mAh pod mod/battery, a single 3 mL ArcFire refillable pod (1.2Ω), a USB Type-C charging cable, a quick guide, and a warning booklet. We've seen this quite a bit recently, where the kit comes with just enough to vape pretty much out of the box (with the exception of your own vape juice), but not much else.
Pretty much the only pro to this is the cost reduction for the starter kit. Some people probably appreciate this, and I guess I can too if I already know what I like to vape resistance-wise. The downside to this is, if you happen to toast the only pod you have in the kit, you're SOL. With an auto-draw only type of device like the ArcFire, it helps in preventing you from accidentally firing the coil w/out juice in the tank, but that doesn't mean it can't happen by accidentally vaping the tank dry. In addition, if you're new or newer to vaping and are still exploring what you like in a vape device, there really aren't any options here. Many kits in the past have given you two different coils or pods of different resistances, so that you can try them both out and decide which you like better. In this kit especially, since I ended up liking the 0.8Ω coils much better than the 1.2Ω, it would have been nice to give you, the purchaser, a chance to try both of them out before deciding on buying a pack of refill pods. Furthermore, if you try the 1.2Ω coil pod and you sorta like it, but aren't sure - are you going to risk purchasing the 0.8Ω refill pods on the chance that they could be better, but they might also be worse? I suppose that's what reviews like this are for, so let's help you out with that.
Pretty much the only pro to this is the cost reduction for the starter kit. Some people probably appreciate this, and I guess I can too if I already know what I like to vape resistance-wise. The downside to this is, if you happen to toast the only pod you have in the kit, you're SOL. With an auto-draw only type of device like the ArcFire, it helps in preventing you from accidentally firing the coil w/out juice in the tank, but that doesn't mean it can't happen by accidentally vaping the tank dry. In addition, if you're new or newer to vaping and are still exploring what you like in a vape device, there really aren't any options here. Many kits in the past have given you two different coils or pods of different resistances, so that you can try them both out and decide which you like better. In this kit especially, since I ended up liking the 0.8Ω coils much better than the 1.2Ω, it would have been nice to give you, the purchaser, a chance to try both of them out before deciding on buying a pack of refill pods. Furthermore, if you try the 1.2Ω coil pod and you sorta like it, but aren't sure - are you going to risk purchasing the 0.8Ω refill pods on the chance that they could be better, but they might also be worse? I suppose that's what reviews like this are for, so let's help you out with that.
The ArcFire Pod Mod/Battery:
The exterior body of the ArcFire is made of aluminum with a sandblasted finish. I think the overall aesthetic is pretty nice, and it has a nice, quality hand-feel. Plastic pod devices of this size always feel very flimsy and cheap to me, but the ArcFire does a very good job of distinguishing itself from that.
The front-facing side of the pod battery (top middle picture) is a slightly receded strip of shiny plastic that has an airflow inlet at the top, and just below it, a rounded-rectangular button exclusively used to turn the device on, off, and to check the status of the battery. As mentioned above, this device is activated with auto-draw, only. Near the bottom of this plastic strip are 3 LED lights that are lined up vertically, which are the battery indicator lights. One light means there's less than 15% battery left (definitely charge it if you're able). Two lights means there's between 15% and 65% battery left, and three lights means there's anywhere from 65% to 100% battery left. Personally, I'm a fan of a 4+ light indicator system, so that you have a little bit more of an idea of where your battery charge is currently sitting at. Leaving the house with anywhere between 100% and 65% is quite a difference, and I'd like to be able to tell that.
To the left of the front-facing strip, ArcFire is engraved near the bottom, and to the right there's an INNOKIN engraving. I think these have been done pretty stylishly and it looks much better than a big ole painted logo or something of that nature.
On the top of the pod battery is where you'll pop the pod in. Near the center, you'll notice two gold-plated spring-loaded positive and negative pins (you won't need to worry about getting these backwards, the pod only goes in one way). In a triangular fashion, you'll notice 3 larger round buttons that are magnets to keep the pod in, and a smaller round button that looks to be a miniature pitot tube. Any aviation geeks here? The pitot tube serves as an air pressure gauge that activates when it detects negative pressure - that would be you taking a puff. One very good thing I see here is that the pitot tube is raised up from the base of the reservoir. This is particularly important if you were to end up with a leaking pod (which I've not experienced in either of the pods I've extensively tested) since juice is a huge culprit for causing auto-draw devices to malfunction. Auto-draw detectors placed at the bottom of this reservoir are known to get clogged up from juice rendering your device no longer useable - at least not reliably. Nicely done Innokin.
On the bottom of the pod mod, you'll find the USB-C charging port, as well as the battery size and total watt-hours. 1 watt-hour means if you were to drain the battery at 1W consistently, it would last for an hour. Being that this device fires at 10W with the 1.2Ω coil pod, and 14.5W with the 0.8Ω coil pod, you can divide 60 min. by 10W, (so 6 min. of fire time), multiplied by 2.4 to get total firing time with the 1.2Ω pod. Likewise, divide 60 min. by 14.5W (4.1 min.), and then multiply by 2.4 to get the total firing time with the 0.8Ω pod.
The ArcFire Pod:
The ArcFire pod introduces a brand new Innokin coil, the Arc-Coil. I've been a fan of Innokin coils for some time, primarily the Z Coil and their newer Duo Prime coils featured in their Z-Force tank and fitted into their Duo Prime Z Coils. The new Arc-Coils are something else, especially the 0.8Ω coil pod. I remember back when I reviewed the C100 from Innokin's sister company, Okino, and I was very impressed with the flavor output of their coils; especially from a brand I'd never heard of. I mentioned in that review that I'd love to see Innokin use those coils in one of their products, and this is what that tastes like. Utter deliciousness!
Now, I don't actually know if these Arc-Coils are a rendition of the coils from Okino, but I will say I'm thoroughly impressed with them for a few reasons. Firstly, I've run into an issue a few times with some of Innokin's older pods where if I was using a DL (direct lung) draw with their MTL devices, the coils would start burning prematurely. If I stopped using a DL draw and went back to using an MTL draw, it vaped flawlessly. Very weird. The only thing I can think of is, the juice ports in the coils weren't large enough to supply the wick with enough juice to allow a longer consistent draw. Going back to "tootlepuffs" as some ECFers call it, or cigarette-like draws allowed the wick to keep up. With the Arc-Coil, I've been DL drawing for the entirety of my testing, and it's been a complete champ. So, it's safe to say that these coils support both a DL and MTL draw which is super great to see. Secondly, I think the flavor output tops any pod coil Innokin has put out, to date. However, this statement is particular to the 0.8Ω pod coil, which you won't get to try out unless you purchase a refill pack of 0.8Ω pods. You're just going to have to trust me, it's well worth it. On a flavor scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the worst coil I've ever tasted, and 10 being the best - I'd put the 1.2Ω coil at around 7. It's above average, but harder to tell in MTL coils because you don't get nearly the same amount of vape production, which often leads to less flavor output. On that same scale, I'd rate the 0.8Ω pod very easily at a 9+. It's a banger.
The pod itself is quite basic and nothing irregular from what you usually see in most pods. The rubber plug has a recessed area under the end you need to pull up on to remove the plug (also denoted with an arrow). Also, I think Innokin has done a better job of labeling their coils than most pods I've seen from them and other companies in the past. One thing is missing however, and that's the coil metal used. Innokin almost exclusively uses Kanthal (as far as I've seen), so you shouldn't need to be worried about allergies from nickel or metallic hybrids.
The mouthpiece is pretty thin making it very comfortable between the lips and also makes it easy to secure a tight seal for MTL vaping. The airflow is what I would consider a loose MTL. You can tighten it ever-so-slightly by plugging the airflow hole located just above the button, but it doesn't restrict the airflow enough to be considered a true MTL draw (like that of a packed cigarette).
The pod can only be inserted into the pod battery one way, which I've noted with the arrows. The plastic between the arrows juts out just a bit, and that portion slides into the open side of the pod battery just above the airflow inlet hole.
The refill hole is large enough to easily fit a large Chubby Gorilla nozzle down into it, so you won't have to be worried about making a mess. Just be sure not to overfill the pod - leave a little bit of air near the refill hole when pushing the rubber plug back into the pod. Also, if you see the juice line receding below the top of the pod mod, refill it. You still have a ways to go before you reach the bottom of the juice ports, but just play it safe. Once you burn the coil, it's only downhill from there.
The bottom right picture is to show you how much "leakage" I got after almost a full month of using the first pod. No, I was not vaping on it the entire time, but I wanted to leave it in to see if, and how much leakage there would be. As you can see from the picture, there's hardly anything there - I would consider this a very solid pod in terms of leakage. There are plenty of pods I will not bring into my car, because I know they can't be trusted. The ArcFire is definitely one of the exception.
Refill Pods:
Now, I don't actually know if these Arc-Coils are a rendition of the coils from Okino, but I will say I'm thoroughly impressed with them for a few reasons. Firstly, I've run into an issue a few times with some of Innokin's older pods where if I was using a DL (direct lung) draw with their MTL devices, the coils would start burning prematurely. If I stopped using a DL draw and went back to using an MTL draw, it vaped flawlessly. Very weird. The only thing I can think of is, the juice ports in the coils weren't large enough to supply the wick with enough juice to allow a longer consistent draw. Going back to "tootlepuffs" as some ECFers call it, or cigarette-like draws allowed the wick to keep up. With the Arc-Coil, I've been DL drawing for the entirety of my testing, and it's been a complete champ. So, it's safe to say that these coils support both a DL and MTL draw which is super great to see. Secondly, I think the flavor output tops any pod coil Innokin has put out, to date. However, this statement is particular to the 0.8Ω pod coil, which you won't get to try out unless you purchase a refill pack of 0.8Ω pods. You're just going to have to trust me, it's well worth it. On a flavor scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the worst coil I've ever tasted, and 10 being the best - I'd put the 1.2Ω coil at around 7. It's above average, but harder to tell in MTL coils because you don't get nearly the same amount of vape production, which often leads to less flavor output. On that same scale, I'd rate the 0.8Ω pod very easily at a 9+. It's a banger.
The pod itself is quite basic and nothing irregular from what you usually see in most pods. The rubber plug has a recessed area under the end you need to pull up on to remove the plug (also denoted with an arrow). Also, I think Innokin has done a better job of labeling their coils than most pods I've seen from them and other companies in the past. One thing is missing however, and that's the coil metal used. Innokin almost exclusively uses Kanthal (as far as I've seen), so you shouldn't need to be worried about allergies from nickel or metallic hybrids.
The mouthpiece is pretty thin making it very comfortable between the lips and also makes it easy to secure a tight seal for MTL vaping. The airflow is what I would consider a loose MTL. You can tighten it ever-so-slightly by plugging the airflow hole located just above the button, but it doesn't restrict the airflow enough to be considered a true MTL draw (like that of a packed cigarette).
The pod can only be inserted into the pod battery one way, which I've noted with the arrows. The plastic between the arrows juts out just a bit, and that portion slides into the open side of the pod battery just above the airflow inlet hole.
The refill hole is large enough to easily fit a large Chubby Gorilla nozzle down into it, so you won't have to be worried about making a mess. Just be sure not to overfill the pod - leave a little bit of air near the refill hole when pushing the rubber plug back into the pod. Also, if you see the juice line receding below the top of the pod mod, refill it. You still have a ways to go before you reach the bottom of the juice ports, but just play it safe. Once you burn the coil, it's only downhill from there.
The bottom right picture is to show you how much "leakage" I got after almost a full month of using the first pod. No, I was not vaping on it the entire time, but I wanted to leave it in to see if, and how much leakage there would be. As you can see from the picture, there's hardly anything there - I would consider this a very solid pod in terms of leakage. There are plenty of pods I will not bring into my car, because I know they can't be trusted. The ArcFire is definitely one of the exception.
Refill Pods:
The refill packs come with 2 pods in each package. There are 4 different pods you can purchase, so be sure you're purchasing the correct ones. 2 of the pods are 3 mL in capacity that come in 1.2Ω and 0.8Ω resistances. The other 2 pods are 2 mL in capacity (for TPD regulated countries) that also come in 1.2Ω and 0.8Ω resistances. If you buy the base kit featured in this review and are not satisfied with the 1.2Ω pod that comes with it, I very much encourage you to give the 0.8Ω pods a try. I think you will be pleasantly surprised.
- CONCLUSION -
There isn't too much to nag on about the Innokin ArcFire pod kit. Yes, the base kit is very bare bones. Yes, the 1.2Ω coil that comes in the base kit isn't the best. However, if you give the 0.8Ω pods a try, I'm fairly confident that you won't regret it. With regard to dependability and product quality, it's going to be very difficult to beat Innokin's reputation in these departments. I've been quite taken aback by the new ArcFire, and really hope to see these coils being used in their future line of products. Replaceable coil atomizers, maybe? Hopefully they broaden the resistance ranges for these coils as well, because I think they hold a very competitive and deserving spot with what's currently available on the market.
I've been vaping 70/30 VG/PG, 3 mg/mL freebase juice in both coils and have had long-lasting luck with both. No signs of burning at all using a DL or MTL draw. I'm very impressed by this.
I've been vaping 70/30 VG/PG, 3 mg/mL freebase juice in both coils and have had long-lasting luck with both. No signs of burning at all using a DL or MTL draw. I'm very impressed by this.
++ Pros ++
> Delicious (specifically the 0.8Ω pods)
> Reliable (no leaks after a month)
> Solid build quality
> Durable
> Sleek look
> Great hand-feel
> Easy to use
> Supports both DL and MTL draw
> Very portable
> USB-C charging (0.6A)
> Battery is actually 700 mAh
> Pass-through vaping
- - Cons - -
> None
+- Considerations -+
> Bare bone kit, although has everything you need to vape (excluding juice)
> 1.2Ω pod that comes in the kit is slightly above average in flavor output
> LED battery indicator has only 3 lights
> No airflow adjustment (loose MTL or loose MTL)
> Auto-draw only (can be both a pro and a con)
Overall Rating:
9.0
(I'd give it a 9.5 if they added the 0.8Ω coil to this kit)
That's all I got! If you're looking for a solid pod device that's going to satisfy your flavor cravings, the Innokin ArcFire is a definite winner. As I've stated several times throughout this review, buy some 0.8Ω refill pods along with this kit and you're not likely to turn back. The online user manual can be found here, and the official Innokin ArcFire page can be found here. Keep your eyes open for participating vendors. You can purchase the ArcFire on Innokin's online store for $15.99, and also find their refill pods there as well for $8.99 as of the posting of this review. Again, I want to thank @Innokin_timmy and you the reader for sticking with me. I hope you enjoyed this review.
Happy vape hoarding!
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