Aegis X Zeus Kit a review by ScottP
I would like to express my gratitude to Clay from GeekVape for supplying this kit for review.
Aegis x zeus sub-ohm tank
GeekVape
The GeekVape Aegis line of mods, have long been the “go to” mods when you want something that is durable, dependable and of course water and dust resistant. Some people though may have had some difficulty reading the smaller black and white screens. The Aegis X sets out to change that. The Aegis X comes with a large, easy to read, 2.4-inch color TFT display; making this the most advanced Aegis yet. Of course, like all Aegis mods the Aegis X is built to the IP67 Water and Dust resistance standard utilizing the rugged design we have come to love about the Aegis line. This kit pairs the Aegis X with the wildly popular Zeus sub-ohm tank that utilizes a push in coil system, top airflow and leak proof design. If you work or play in areas that make you afraid you will damage your vape, you love flavor, and hate leaks, then the Aegis X Zeus kit just might be what you are looking for.
Specifications:
What’s in the box:
How to use the menu:
This image borrowed from GeekVape to show the theme and color options available.
First Impressions:
This is not my first Aegis product so I knew about what to expect, but I still can’t help but get excited to see what new innovations GeekVape has come up with. The kit I received was the black and gold set which includes the black mod with gold trim and all gold colored tank with black drip tip. Upon opening the box, instead of being greeted by the usual color trim of most Aegis mods, you immediately notice the screen… the glorious, big, 2.4-inch screen. From the picture on the cover you know it’s a color screen but you can’t wait to see it for real. Pulling the mod from the protective foam insert, you can’t help but notice the weight, the build quality, and how reinforced the front area that houses the electronics section feels. Pulling the Zeus sub-ohm tank from the box, the first thing you notice is the large dual air flow ports at the top of the tank and instinctively know this is not going to have any leaking issues. The next thing you notice is the oversized dual juice flow ports inside the tank putting your mind at ease that this tank is not going to have any issue with dry hits either. Screwing the tank to the mod completes the beautiful black and gold aesthetic design.
What it's like to use the Aegis X Zeus Kit:
As always, I like to use a product exclusively for a full week before writing a review. This gives me time to fully explore all the functions and get a really good idea of all the features and performance. The Aegis X Zeus kit does not disappoint. The coil in the tank is replaced by unscrewing the bottom piece and simply pulling the coil straight out. A special tool is included in case you need it, but it didn’t seem to be needed (before using the tank anyway). To fill the tank, you remove the top cap by twisting about ¼ turn then pulling it straight up. The large fill port allows filling with almost any bottle type or size. I really like this ¼ turn top as this eliminates the need for threads that can easily get damaged or cross-threaded if not careful. For the duration of this test I only used the Z2 (0.2 ohm Kanthal-A1) mesh coil that came pre-installed.
First, I tried the power mode. This coil is rated for 70-80w but for me personally I found I liked it best at 55w (Standard pre-heat setting) with the air flow slightly closed. This gave a nice, cool but thick, and flavorful vape. I did not notice any ramp up time or overheating at this level. I also tried changing the pre-heat setting to powerful and soft but I could not tell any real difference. This could be because I was using the coil at a lower power than suggested. I also tried using the suggested 70w. The vape was good at this level, but just a tad warmer than I like with the flavor I was using (Wintergreen).
Next, I tried the Variable Power Curve (VPC) mode. In the VPC mode you get 6 data points to adjust the wattage over time. The total time of the curve is also adjustable from 0.5s - 1.2s in 0.1s increments. I set it to 1.2s. After the 1.2 second mark all additional puff time will use the 6th data point up to the 10s cutoff point. I set the first data point to 60w, and tapered the remaining data points down to 50w at the last point. This wasn’t a huge margin of difference so the vape was pretty close to the power mode. I don’t think this mode is needed using the Zeus sub-ohm tank but it could be very useful to get a similar experience to TC (quick ramp up time, then a slow decline in power to maintain temp and prevent overheating) when using a rebuildable tank and non-TC compliant wire.
Finally, I tried TC-SS mode. Since the included coils are NOT TC compliant, I decided to use an old favorite tank of mine which is a single coil RTA built with SS-316L. I set the mod to 435F and 35w. Everything seemed to work as expected. For comparison sake I then took the tank off and vaped the same tank using the Aegis Squonk mod and also a DNA 75C based mod. All three mods gave an identical vape which indicates that the TC functionality is working correctly and accurately.
I did not use the TCR mode which allows you to use a custom TC complaint material since the SS316L I used in my TC tests seemed to be spot on already. I also did not use bypass mode. The bypass mode should give a similar experience to a Mech Mod, but with many of the safety features of a regulated mod. To use this mode, you should be familiar with Ohm's Law and be aware of battery limitations. Using a regulated mod in bypass mode does not excuse this requirement.
PROS:
CONS:
Thoughts and Observations:
Should YOU get the Aegis X Zeus Kit?
The quick answer is… maybe. I can definitely say the Aegis X mod is 100% worth it and you should definitely give it a shot. The tank however depends on a couple of things. If you don’t like rebuilding, don’t use TC and live in a country that isn’t facing a potential ban in the next couple of months, then absolutely give the full Aegis X Zeus kit a shot. If you do prefer rebuilding, do use TC, or live in the US with a looming PMTA cutoff date, then you might consider the Aegis X mod paired with the either GeekVape Zeus RTA (single coil) or the GeekVape Zeus X RTA (dual coil). I have not personally used either of these tanks (I would be up for reviewing them), but if they perform anything like the Zeus sub-ohm tank then it would be hard to go wrong with either of these. I say give one of these options a try I think you will be impressed.
I would like to express my gratitude to Clay from GeekVape for supplying this kit for review.
Aegis x zeus sub-ohm tank
GeekVape
The GeekVape Aegis line of mods, have long been the “go to” mods when you want something that is durable, dependable and of course water and dust resistant. Some people though may have had some difficulty reading the smaller black and white screens. The Aegis X sets out to change that. The Aegis X comes with a large, easy to read, 2.4-inch color TFT display; making this the most advanced Aegis yet. Of course, like all Aegis mods the Aegis X is built to the IP67 Water and Dust resistance standard utilizing the rugged design we have come to love about the Aegis line. This kit pairs the Aegis X with the wildly popular Zeus sub-ohm tank that utilizes a push in coil system, top airflow and leak proof design. If you work or play in areas that make you afraid you will damage your vape, you love flavor, and hate leaks, then the Aegis X Zeus kit just might be what you are looking for.
Specifications:
Mod Specifications:
Tank Specifications:
- Chipset: AS 2.0
- Dimensions: 90mm x 30.9mm x 52.3mm
- Connection: 510 threading
- Output Power: 5W - 200W
- Output Voltage: 0.1V - 12V
- Resistance Range: 0.05ohm - 3ohm
- Charger: USB Micro 5V 2A
- Battery: dual 18650 (NOT included)
- Display: 2.4in TFT Color
- Puff cutoff: 10s
- Temperature Control: 100C – 315C / 200F-600F (Round Robin)
Tank Specifications:
- Dimensions: 25.4x 42.5mm (not including drip tip)
- Type: Sub-ohm tank with press in factory built mesh coils
- Air flow: Top air flow control
- Capacity: 5ml (installed bubble glass) or 3.5ml with straight glass (included)
- Connection: 510 threading
- Drip Tip: 810 Wide bore
What’s in the box:
- One Aegis X mod
- One USB Cable
- One Replacement USB cover
- Four Replacement screws
- One Zeus Sub-ohm tank
- One Delrin 810 Drip Tip
- One Mesh Z1 Coil (0.4ohm Kanthal A-1)
- One Mesh Z2 Coil (0.2ohm Kanthal A-1) (pre-installed)
- One 5.0ml bubble glass (pre-installed)
- One replacement straight glass (3.5ml)
- One Coil removal tool
- One Bag of replacement O-rings
- Owner’s manual
- Warranty / Registration card
- Promotional card
How to use the menu:
Basic use:
5 Clicks of the fire button will turn the mod on/off
Use the Up and Down buttons to change Wattage or Temp depending on mode
Hold both Up and Down buttons to lock/unlock the menu to prevent changes.
Hold Up + Down and Fire buttons to toggle Stealth mode.
NOTE: In TC mode the Temp defaults to C. To change between C and F, scroll all the way to either the highest or lowest setting and press the same direction again to change to the opposite unit.
Changing Modes and Options:
3 Clicks of the fire button will enter the “Settings” mode. Signified by highlighting the Memory slot
Use the Up and Down buttons to change modes between the Memory slots (M1, M2, M3, M4)
1 Click of the Fire button to move down to the Mode setting
Use the Up and Down buttons to change modes between the following:
Modes: Power > VPC (Variable Power Curve) > Bypass > TC-SS > TC-Ni > TC-Ti > TCR
1 Click of the Fire button to move down to the next option in the menu
Use the Up and Down buttons to change the option
NOTE: In Power mode you can also choose “Standard, Powerful, or Soft” to modify ramp up time
NOTE: In VPC mode you can control the duration that the 6 data points cover
NOTE: In VPC mode you change data points by moving down to the Watts setting
NOTE: When on the coil resistance option, the Down button will lock/unlock the coil resistance while the Up button will cause the mod to re-read the coils resistance.
Changing Theme and Color:
3 Clicks of the fire button will enter the “Settings” mode. Signified by highlighting the Memory slot
Press and hold both the Up and Down buttons at the same time for a couple of seconds to enter the Menu.
Use the Up and Down buttons to select the menu option.
Press the fire button to allow changing the option.
Use the Up and Down buttons to cycle through the Theme/Color options or change the On (UP) / Off (Down) setting depending on the menu item you are in.
Press the fire button to return to the menu
NOTE: In this menu there is an option called “Auto” that can be turned on (Up button) and off (Down button), but I cannot find any info on what this does. I thought it might auto-read the coil and suppress the “New Coil” question but it did not. If I can get an answer to this, I will update this section. The default is OFF.
NOTE: In this menu there is an option called “ABB” (Auto Battery Balancing) that can be turned on and off. This allows the device to “move” power from a more fully charged battery to a more discharged battery. The default is OFF. I suggest always using properly married batteries at the same charge level and leaving this OFF so you can more easily tell when one or both batteries are getting old and need replacing.
5 Clicks of the fire button will turn the mod on/off
Use the Up and Down buttons to change Wattage or Temp depending on mode
Hold both Up and Down buttons to lock/unlock the menu to prevent changes.
Hold Up + Down and Fire buttons to toggle Stealth mode.
NOTE: In TC mode the Temp defaults to C. To change between C and F, scroll all the way to either the highest or lowest setting and press the same direction again to change to the opposite unit.
Changing Modes and Options:
3 Clicks of the fire button will enter the “Settings” mode. Signified by highlighting the Memory slot
Use the Up and Down buttons to change modes between the Memory slots (M1, M2, M3, M4)
1 Click of the Fire button to move down to the Mode setting
Use the Up and Down buttons to change modes between the following:
Modes: Power > VPC (Variable Power Curve) > Bypass > TC-SS > TC-Ni > TC-Ti > TCR
1 Click of the Fire button to move down to the next option in the menu
Use the Up and Down buttons to change the option
NOTE: In Power mode you can also choose “Standard, Powerful, or Soft” to modify ramp up time
NOTE: In VPC mode you can control the duration that the 6 data points cover
NOTE: In VPC mode you change data points by moving down to the Watts setting
NOTE: When on the coil resistance option, the Down button will lock/unlock the coil resistance while the Up button will cause the mod to re-read the coils resistance.
Changing Theme and Color:
3 Clicks of the fire button will enter the “Settings” mode. Signified by highlighting the Memory slot
Press and hold both the Up and Down buttons at the same time for a couple of seconds to enter the Menu.
Use the Up and Down buttons to select the menu option.
Press the fire button to allow changing the option.
Use the Up and Down buttons to cycle through the Theme/Color options or change the On (UP) / Off (Down) setting depending on the menu item you are in.
Press the fire button to return to the menu
NOTE: In this menu there is an option called “Auto” that can be turned on (Up button) and off (Down button), but I cannot find any info on what this does. I thought it might auto-read the coil and suppress the “New Coil” question but it did not. If I can get an answer to this, I will update this section. The default is OFF.
NOTE: In this menu there is an option called “ABB” (Auto Battery Balancing) that can be turned on and off. This allows the device to “move” power from a more fully charged battery to a more discharged battery. The default is OFF. I suggest always using properly married batteries at the same charge level and leaving this OFF so you can more easily tell when one or both batteries are getting old and need replacing.
This image borrowed from GeekVape to show the theme and color options available.
First Impressions:
This is not my first Aegis product so I knew about what to expect, but I still can’t help but get excited to see what new innovations GeekVape has come up with. The kit I received was the black and gold set which includes the black mod with gold trim and all gold colored tank with black drip tip. Upon opening the box, instead of being greeted by the usual color trim of most Aegis mods, you immediately notice the screen… the glorious, big, 2.4-inch screen. From the picture on the cover you know it’s a color screen but you can’t wait to see it for real. Pulling the mod from the protective foam insert, you can’t help but notice the weight, the build quality, and how reinforced the front area that houses the electronics section feels. Pulling the Zeus sub-ohm tank from the box, the first thing you notice is the large dual air flow ports at the top of the tank and instinctively know this is not going to have any leaking issues. The next thing you notice is the oversized dual juice flow ports inside the tank putting your mind at ease that this tank is not going to have any issue with dry hits either. Screwing the tank to the mod completes the beautiful black and gold aesthetic design.
What it's like to use the Aegis X Zeus Kit:
As always, I like to use a product exclusively for a full week before writing a review. This gives me time to fully explore all the functions and get a really good idea of all the features and performance. The Aegis X Zeus kit does not disappoint. The coil in the tank is replaced by unscrewing the bottom piece and simply pulling the coil straight out. A special tool is included in case you need it, but it didn’t seem to be needed (before using the tank anyway). To fill the tank, you remove the top cap by twisting about ¼ turn then pulling it straight up. The large fill port allows filling with almost any bottle type or size. I really like this ¼ turn top as this eliminates the need for threads that can easily get damaged or cross-threaded if not careful. For the duration of this test I only used the Z2 (0.2 ohm Kanthal-A1) mesh coil that came pre-installed.
First, I tried the power mode. This coil is rated for 70-80w but for me personally I found I liked it best at 55w (Standard pre-heat setting) with the air flow slightly closed. This gave a nice, cool but thick, and flavorful vape. I did not notice any ramp up time or overheating at this level. I also tried changing the pre-heat setting to powerful and soft but I could not tell any real difference. This could be because I was using the coil at a lower power than suggested. I also tried using the suggested 70w. The vape was good at this level, but just a tad warmer than I like with the flavor I was using (Wintergreen).
Next, I tried the Variable Power Curve (VPC) mode. In the VPC mode you get 6 data points to adjust the wattage over time. The total time of the curve is also adjustable from 0.5s - 1.2s in 0.1s increments. I set it to 1.2s. After the 1.2 second mark all additional puff time will use the 6th data point up to the 10s cutoff point. I set the first data point to 60w, and tapered the remaining data points down to 50w at the last point. This wasn’t a huge margin of difference so the vape was pretty close to the power mode. I don’t think this mode is needed using the Zeus sub-ohm tank but it could be very useful to get a similar experience to TC (quick ramp up time, then a slow decline in power to maintain temp and prevent overheating) when using a rebuildable tank and non-TC compliant wire.
Finally, I tried TC-SS mode. Since the included coils are NOT TC compliant, I decided to use an old favorite tank of mine which is a single coil RTA built with SS-316L. I set the mod to 435F and 35w. Everything seemed to work as expected. For comparison sake I then took the tank off and vaped the same tank using the Aegis Squonk mod and also a DNA 75C based mod. All three mods gave an identical vape which indicates that the TC functionality is working correctly and accurately.
I did not use the TCR mode which allows you to use a custom TC complaint material since the SS316L I used in my TC tests seemed to be spot on already. I also did not use bypass mode. The bypass mode should give a similar experience to a Mech Mod, but with many of the safety features of a regulated mod. To use this mode, you should be familiar with Ohm's Law and be aware of battery limitations. Using a regulated mod in bypass mode does not excuse this requirement.
PROS:
- The large screen is easy to read.
- The ability to change themes and colors allows some customization and can be useful for the color blind.
- High accuracy and plenty of mode options to suit most people.
- The design aesthetics make this a great looking mod.
- The heavy duty housing makes this mod highly durable and relieves fear of damage from dropping it.
- IP67 Water/Dust resistant means you can use this by the pool or in harsh environments without worry.
- Rounded back end and beveled front corners make it comfortable to hold.
- Four “memory” slots to have completely different settings for up to 4 tanks.
- Dual batteries means longer time between replacement.
- Good battery life (using 2 new Samsung 25S (2500mAh 25A) batteries, I got a bit more than a day of fairly heaving vaping.
- Zeus tank has great flavor.
- Innovative top fill design removes risk of cross threading.
- Top air flow design makes it highly leak resistant if not leak proof.
- Coils are easy to change.
- Good coil life. I have put at least 100ml though this coil with no noticeable degradation of vapor or flavor. This is with a clear and non-sweet juice (Wintergreen). Darker and more sweet juices may or may not alter results.
CONS:
- $13-$17 per 5 pack coils (from checking with a few sites).
- Not rebuildable, so if coils become obsolete or sales of it are banned, you will not be able to continue to use this tank.
- No TC compliant coil option.
- When trying to go into the menu to change theme and color, you have to click both the up and down buttons, this ALWAYS results in changing which memory slot which you are using. So, after changing these options, you have to go all the way back out and back into settings again to switch back to the desired memory slot. Thankfully, you will likely only do this once. However, the same thing can happen to wattage when trying to lock it.
- While the battery orientation indicator deep inside the battery tube is easy to see the indicators on the door are a bit difficult to see. I wish this was more prominent.
- User manual does not say what the “Auto” and “ABB” options do. I had to search the internet to find out about “ABB” and I still don’t know about “Auto”. See “How to use the menu” section for details.
Thoughts and Observations:
- The Aegis X is a very solid entry to the Aegis line. It may even be my new favorite mod.
- The Zeus sub-ohm tank is a solid performer, with great flavor, top air flow and virtually leak proof.
- The tank can be a bit juice hungry but the extra juice is required to produce more flavor. More flavor requires more juice in any tank.
- I think there should be a SS-TC mesh coil option.
- With plenty of room on the front of the device, they could have added a “select” button between the Up and Down buttons. This could have been used not only to select choices (instead of using the Fire button) but also been a hold for 2 seconds to enter the Theme and Color menu thereby eliminating the CON of it changing the memory slot you are using by entering the menu or accidentally changing the wattage trying to lock it.
- Since there is now so much screen real estate, it would have been nice to include a clock function.
- For future versions it might also be nice to allow user created themes, updateable via the USB port.
Should YOU get the Aegis X Zeus Kit?
The quick answer is… maybe. I can definitely say the Aegis X mod is 100% worth it and you should definitely give it a shot. The tank however depends on a couple of things. If you don’t like rebuilding, don’t use TC and live in a country that isn’t facing a potential ban in the next couple of months, then absolutely give the full Aegis X Zeus kit a shot. If you do prefer rebuilding, do use TC, or live in the US with a looming PMTA cutoff date, then you might consider the Aegis X mod paired with the either GeekVape Zeus RTA (single coil) or the GeekVape Zeus X RTA (dual coil). I have not personally used either of these tanks (I would be up for reviewing them), but if they perform anything like the Zeus sub-ohm tank then it would be hard to go wrong with either of these. I say give one of these options a try I think you will be impressed.
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