Introduction and Overview
What's going on everyone, been a bit since I did an official review, life's been crazy a bit (hasn't it been for everyone?) and until recently I just didn't have the time to sit and properly test mods and attys, photograph them, and everything else that goes with reviewing a product, so I had been unfortunately turning down a lot of the products I was contacted about reviewing over winter/spring, but I am very glad that these two kits came through my Inbox right when I was officially available to properly test and review products again, as these have really been a treat to use!
So, this review is kind of a 4 for 1, I debated a bit on how to put together the reviews/posts for these kits, and decided that since the mods are very similar (just 21700 vs dual 18650) I'd do the review for both mods and tanks all in one post to cut down on submission clutter, it would have been annoying for everyone if I had dropped four or even two separate posts at the same time on the boards. Right, so without further ado, I present to you: The FreeMax Maxus 100w w/ Fireluke 3 and Maxus 200w w/ M Pro 2 Kits
(Disclaimers at bottom)
Product Pages:
Freemax Maxus 100w w/ Fireluke 3
FreeMax 200w w/ M Pro 2 Kit
------------
Album link, though I'll be linking relevant images throughout the review-
------------
The Maxus 100w and 200w are two new, honest to god, actual mods (!) recently released by FreeMax. It's SO incredibly refreshing to see two new kits in the sub $75 price range that aren't just more pods or pod mods. These mods also represent FreeMax's first foray into removable battery, full function mods with a slew of new proprietary features that are pretty impressive, particularly when it comes to batteries and power management. Really impressed, especially for a Ver. 1.0.0. (not only on Firmware, but Hardware as well).
With these mods, FreeMax introduces their new 'SmartLoad Tech - Load At Will' technology, which allows the batteries to be inserted in any orientation (or even a single battery in the 200w) and still safely function. I'll put this up here as it was one of the first things I wondered when I saw the features, despite what orientation you have the two cells in, it will always run as a regulated series box (except in Bypass on the 200w, which is an issue I'll get into below), no 'Parallel Mode' or anything like that for lower wattage users. Not sure if that would even be possible to be honest, but hey, who knows? Seems like it could be a natural next step for the Smart Load tech. This feature is extremely interesting, and while some may think "But what's the point?", it's a reminder of the days when almost every new release had some kind of new feature or innovation...seeing that kind of innovation being brought back is only a good thing, and I applaud FreeMax for not only stepping out of the pod/pod mod bubble but also introducing something new with their mods. I truly hope to see more companies follow suit and come up with new or improved technologies instead of just spitting out the same mod over and over with maybe one change...
The mods also both incorporate USB-C and 2v/5a fast charging, though I always recommend using an external charger, particularly with dual battery devices. Still, I did give it a test, and it fully charged a Samsung 40t from 3.3v to 4.2v in just under 2 hours. With all the attention given to the battery and power management, and with the use of USB-C, I'm more inclined to trust the onboard chargers on these mods than I would with most others, but again, onboard charging is an emergency backup, pull those cells out to charge as much as possible! (That goes for any mods though)
Both mods come in a dual resin color scheme, which seems to be a point of contention for some folks, though I've been told that single color resin panels (and possibly even other material) is a discussion being had, and the likelihood for single color resin panels being available as accessories is high-to-confirmed. I do hope to actually see that, and not because I dislike the dual-tone, I actually think it looks pretty good, but because customization is always welcome, especially in the vaping community.
Both tanks are great, and that's coming from a rebuildable guy, with FM Coil Tech 4.0 coil heads using SS904L Mesh and a Tea Fiber Cotton blend (95% Tea Fiber Cotton, 5% Organic Cotton). FreeMax's speciality has been their tanks and coils, so no surprise these new ones perform excellently. The M Pro 2 is definitely the bigger and airier tank (Just compare it's coils to the Fireluke's), though the flavor is still fantastic. I'd say the M Pro 2 is the one you want if you plan to use the triple or quad coil heads (I am basing this on my experience with the single and dual coils included in the kits, I didn't receive the triple or quad coils, but I'm confident in that extrapolation from the performance of the singles and duals in each). I preferred the smaller Fireluke with the Single Coil, however.
Full review following Manufacturer Specs:
Manufacturer Specifications
FreeMaX MAXUS 100W Kit
FreeMaX MAXUS 200W Kit
Packaging is your standard sleeved box, Blue accent on the 100w, Black on the 200w, with specifications on the rear. When opening the boxes, you're greeted with the devices and tanks. The M Pro 2 sits underneath the mod, while the Fireluke 3 fits next to the 100w. Accessories for both include a standard bubble glass (the glass installed has this beautiful diamond pattern), a single mesh coil head (dual coil preinstalled), user manuals/warranty cards, extra clear O-Rings, and a USB-C cable. The 100w also includes an 18650 adapter (I always suggest positive side up on any mod using these adapters, just in case of a venting situation on a bad battery, better to not have the positive terminal sitting inside a second tube hah). Both mods have a nice weight to them, with nice and clicky square buttons. The 100w looked awkward to hold in pictures, but it actually has a great feel in the hand and is comfortable to hold in a few different ways. It takes 21700, 20700, and 18650. The 200w feels like your standard dual 18650 box, no complaints there. The branding is done nicely, shows what the mods are called and who makes them, but isn't overbearing (looking at you, Drag). The 200w has even less, with an all-black back with a small FreeMax logo in the corner and Maxus 200w printed down the side opposite the buttons/screen. The screens are protected with a film, which I took off specifically to show here. There is a nice Fade In/Out effect on the screen when batteries are inserted, buttons are pressed, or the screen times out.
Build Quality
Both feel good in the hand, with full metal construction. Buttons are responsive and clicky, and the resin itself looks and feels good (though again, the dual-tone may be an aesthetics thing for some), and I like the way it's broken up into individual panels. The 510 plates do sit very, very slightly raised to prevent scratching the top of the mod, which, if you're looking close, does create a tiny gap between the atty and top of the mod. It's not something you'd likely notice without looking for it, however, I do think the plates could be lowered to sit flush, but I also generally am not switching out attys super often. I can see how this feature would be helpful to someone who likes vaping on both 22mm and 28mm attys though. Speaking of which, the 100w can fit 26mm comfortably, 27mm with some overhang, while the 200w can fit up to 28.5mm flush (or near enough to not notice). 30mm will, however, overhang. Top-down view of both mods. Very little play on the battery doors, mayyybe half a mm (if that?) up and down on the 100w and side to side on the 200w. Nothing that will get in the way of vaping, or even be noticeable any time other than switching out batteries. The resin panel for the 200w is able to be flipped (though it's not really meant to be), but the 100w's cannot.
Functionality and Performance
Okay, so they look and feel good, but how is FreeMax's firmware? It's good, but there is some room for improvement (and also some functions that are very good). Before I get into that, let's go over some of the basic button combos-
You have-
Lots of modes on the mod, including 3 separately saved TCR settings. I absolutely LOVE this little touch in the TCR screen, they list out the values for commonly used materials! Great feature that would a welcome addition to most mods. It's the little things, y'know? SS904L (the material of the coils) seems to have a TCR of around 085, but more on the TC in a bit.
The Set Menu allows you to set/toggle various features, Timeout for Overtime protection can be adjusted between 5-15 seconds (10s default), Coil is for locking resistance in, Coil Test On/Off is the prompt for 'New Atomizer Y+ N-', Puff is your puff counter (visible on main screens as well) and reset option, with Timer as the same for total puff time and reset option. Celcius/Fahrenheit is self explanatory, and Reset is your factory reset.
The Info Menu has...wait for it...information on the device. Firmware Version (1.0.0), Device Temperature, and most usefully, your batteries' remaining voltage, which was accurate. Works the same with one cell in or on the 100w.
Wattage Mode
Wattage adjusts in 1 Watt increments, which I generally prefer over 0.1 all the way up through 100 or 200w, though being able to adjust in 0.5w increments under 25w only would have been welcome for lower wattage/higher resistance vapers where 1 watt can be a fairly dramatic difference. When using a single battery in the 200w, Wattage is capped at 80w for safety. Wattage does not round robin.
Bypass Mode
We all know Bypass, it turns the mod into an 'unregulated' device, but a big caveat here for the 200w. Current Resistance and Puff Counter are displayed in the same place as they are in Power Mode, with current Voltage (of the cell) and Wattage (being fired) are flipped.
Now, this is where I was trying to figure out whether battery orientation on the 200w changed the mod from a series to a parallel and vice versa. At first, I thought so, because with fully charged dual batteries it's pulling 4.2v, but that's regardless of orientation. In fact, as far as I can tell, it's only pulling from Battery #1. I stopped testing when the onboard chip and my own tester showed Battery #1 was discharged to 3.88v and Battery #2 was still at 4.11v. This is NOT good with a married pair in the tray, as it will essentially 'divorce' them. I'll be testing the 200w's Bypass again with a pair that's ready to be 'divorced', letting FreeMax know about it for a firmware update, and updating this section my findings, but for now, I only recommend Bypass on the 100w or with 1 unmarried cell. Everything else regarding power management and battery safety on this mod is great, but this is a potentially big oversight on the 200w in a mode that isn't really used all that often, but still. I would like to see dual battery Bypass outputting the full 8.4v in Series, or drawing from both cells and having a 4.2v Parallel style mode.
Temperature Control
While I absolutely adored having the TCR values shown on the screen where you set it, Temp Control is kind of your typical middle of the road TC, similar to say Vandy Vape or Smoant, not as good as YiHi or Evolv (obviously), but better than Wismec/eLeaf. It takes some fiddling with the TCR to dial in the TC, though it does feel right when you get it, 440 F feels like 440 F and prevents dry hits. Can't really ask for much more than that in this price range. Presets for Ti, Ni, SS, and 3 TCR modes. Temp adjustable by 10 degrees in both Celsius and Fahrenheit, I would like to see that brought to 5-degree adjustments, as sometimes 10 is too much or too little. Coil resistance is locked by going to Coil in the Set Menu (Coil Test On/Off is the prompt for 'New Coil? +Yes -No'), but, Fire+Down isn't used on the Temp Control main screen, I'd like to see that button real estate be assigned to Resistance Lock in future firmware updates. Overall, it's what you would expect, and fairly impressive when considering it's Ver. 1.0.0 of a company's first step into TC on their own proprietary firmware.
VPC (Variable Power Curve)
A well done VPC mode, with wattage adjustable in ten 1-second, 1-watt increments. Note that Timeout setting isn't applied here, if you have it set to 5 or 15 (or anything other than 10s) the VPC overrides it to provide you with the full 10s you have set. Good for builds that need some extra preheat in the beginning.
M Pro 2 and Fireluke 3 Tanks
(Re-linking the full album here, in case you wanted to look at every little angle of them - )
Before I get into this section, I just want to say that I'm a rebuildable guy, and haven't used many Sub-Ohm tanks in-depth for a long while. That said, FreeMax's reputation for these tank and coil lines preceded them, and I was impressed. Both were very smooth and extremely flavorful, and each excelled equally in different areas. Long story short, I loved both coils on both tanks, but the larger (27mm) M Pro 2 had more vapor production and excelled with the dual coil head, and the smaller (24mm) Fireluke 3 had less (though still a lot of) vapor production and I think a tad bit more flavor, and was better with the single-coil head. I do want to try to triple and quad coils that are coming out for both.
Really, construction of both tanks are very similar, with resin inside a metal cage (and it does seem to be a big single block of resin under both rings, as you can just barely make out along the edge of the top of the Fireluke 3) Both have the full resin on top, with a small hole for air pressure to escape when sliding the cap back to fill. The slide mechanism is smooth yet strong, no amount of shaking made it slide out of place, nor did it ever open in my pocket.
I have a friend with the entire M Pro and Fireluke lines and tested backward/forward compatibility, it's as follows:
The Fireluke 3 has smaller coils, and fits the Fireluke 2 and Fireluke Mesh tanks (and vice versa).
The M Pro 2 has much larger coils, and fits the M Pro, Fireluke Pro, and original Fireluke (and vice versa).
All four included coils compared
M Pro 2
The M Pro 2 was really great with the dual coil head, lots of flavor, lots of vapor. The single coil was a bit too airy and slightly muted as a result. I'm excited to see what the triple and quad coils are like in this one, I can see those really being excellent in here! Very impressive flavor for a cloudy tank.
Fireluke 3
The back of the 100w box says Meshluke Tank, however, it is indeed the Fireluke 3. This tank I enjoyed immensely with both coils, though the dual could have some trouble keeping up with Max VG chain vaping. Still, the flavor? Absolutely amazing, past what I thought was possible for a sub-ohm tank. Very smooth, very enjoyable all around. I found myself reaching for this one more often, though that could also just be because the M Pro 2 would give me a nic buzz after a couple hits with only 2mg/ml juice haha.
Just absolutely fantastic tanks with incredible coil heads, I tried vaping the duals to death to get a time frame, but it's been over two weeks and a BUNCH of tanks, and while darker, they're still going strong, no burnt out taste. All in all, highly recommend both if you use sub tanks, which one depends on your style of vaping and mod size.
Oh, a word on the tanks and the kits: do note that the resin on the tank will match the upper portion of resin of whichever kit you pick, so plan accordingly!
In Conclusion
Really, these are both fantastic kits, and both will be used by me regularly (particularly the 100w for out and about). I know some didn't like the dual resin, and I can see where they're coming from, but overall the aesthetics are great. Both are comfortable to hold and use, and are worth looking in to, if for nothing else because it's great to see actual mods with new and innovative features coming out in the sub-$75 price range. Especially considering this is FreeMax's freshman entry into the true box mod market. There are a couple of areas with room for improvement, but they're mostly in an area most people wouldn't be using regularly. Sub tank users will absolutely love these tanks and new coil heads. All in all, it's a recommend from me!
Pros
I really enjoyed my time with these kits, and I just love to see actual mods and innovation making their way back into manufacturers' minds. Aside from the Bypass mode hiccup on the 200w, there really isn't much negative to be said that isn't just a stylistic opinion. I'll continue using the 100w as a pocket mod, and the 200w will be replacing the Famovape Magma (whose screen died around 50k puffs) in the rotation. Both tanks surprised the hell out of me for how clean and smooth they were, and man, the flavor is great! Never expected that kind of experience out of a premade coil head. I definitely recommend these kits to Wattage users, and I applaud FreeMax for making true mods with actual innovation on them to boot!
(Disclaimer: These kits were sent to me by FreeMax for the purposes of this review, though that has zero influence on the review itself. I spend at least one, usually just about two weeks using all products I review to really get a feel for how they perform and if there are any issues that may not be immediately obvious.)
Previous Reviews
The Famovape Magma 200w Box Mod
Taifun GTR ('Typhoon' GTR) (ULTON Clone)
Satburn 18350/18500/14500/18650 Mech Mod (ULTON Clone)
Atmizoo Tripod RTA (ULTON Clone)
What's going on everyone, been a bit since I did an official review, life's been crazy a bit (hasn't it been for everyone?) and until recently I just didn't have the time to sit and properly test mods and attys, photograph them, and everything else that goes with reviewing a product, so I had been unfortunately turning down a lot of the products I was contacted about reviewing over winter/spring, but I am very glad that these two kits came through my Inbox right when I was officially available to properly test and review products again, as these have really been a treat to use!
So, this review is kind of a 4 for 1, I debated a bit on how to put together the reviews/posts for these kits, and decided that since the mods are very similar (just 21700 vs dual 18650) I'd do the review for both mods and tanks all in one post to cut down on submission clutter, it would have been annoying for everyone if I had dropped four or even two separate posts at the same time on the boards. Right, so without further ado, I present to you: The FreeMax Maxus 100w w/ Fireluke 3 and Maxus 200w w/ M Pro 2 Kits
(Disclaimers at bottom)
Product Pages:
Freemax Maxus 100w w/ Fireluke 3
FreeMax 200w w/ M Pro 2 Kit
------------
Album link, though I'll be linking relevant images throughout the review-
------------
The Maxus 100w and 200w are two new, honest to god, actual mods (!) recently released by FreeMax. It's SO incredibly refreshing to see two new kits in the sub $75 price range that aren't just more pods or pod mods. These mods also represent FreeMax's first foray into removable battery, full function mods with a slew of new proprietary features that are pretty impressive, particularly when it comes to batteries and power management. Really impressed, especially for a Ver. 1.0.0. (not only on Firmware, but Hardware as well).
With these mods, FreeMax introduces their new 'SmartLoad Tech - Load At Will' technology, which allows the batteries to be inserted in any orientation (or even a single battery in the 200w) and still safely function. I'll put this up here as it was one of the first things I wondered when I saw the features, despite what orientation you have the two cells in, it will always run as a regulated series box (except in Bypass on the 200w, which is an issue I'll get into below), no 'Parallel Mode' or anything like that for lower wattage users. Not sure if that would even be possible to be honest, but hey, who knows? Seems like it could be a natural next step for the Smart Load tech. This feature is extremely interesting, and while some may think "But what's the point?", it's a reminder of the days when almost every new release had some kind of new feature or innovation...seeing that kind of innovation being brought back is only a good thing, and I applaud FreeMax for not only stepping out of the pod/pod mod bubble but also introducing something new with their mods. I truly hope to see more companies follow suit and come up with new or improved technologies instead of just spitting out the same mod over and over with maybe one change...
The mods also both incorporate USB-C and 2v/5a fast charging, though I always recommend using an external charger, particularly with dual battery devices. Still, I did give it a test, and it fully charged a Samsung 40t from 3.3v to 4.2v in just under 2 hours. With all the attention given to the battery and power management, and with the use of USB-C, I'm more inclined to trust the onboard chargers on these mods than I would with most others, but again, onboard charging is an emergency backup, pull those cells out to charge as much as possible! (That goes for any mods though)
Both mods come in a dual resin color scheme, which seems to be a point of contention for some folks, though I've been told that single color resin panels (and possibly even other material) is a discussion being had, and the likelihood for single color resin panels being available as accessories is high-to-confirmed. I do hope to actually see that, and not because I dislike the dual-tone, I actually think it looks pretty good, but because customization is always welcome, especially in the vaping community.
Both tanks are great, and that's coming from a rebuildable guy, with FM Coil Tech 4.0 coil heads using SS904L Mesh and a Tea Fiber Cotton blend (95% Tea Fiber Cotton, 5% Organic Cotton). FreeMax's speciality has been their tanks and coils, so no surprise these new ones perform excellently. The M Pro 2 is definitely the bigger and airier tank (Just compare it's coils to the Fireluke's), though the flavor is still fantastic. I'd say the M Pro 2 is the one you want if you plan to use the triple or quad coil heads (I am basing this on my experience with the single and dual coils included in the kits, I didn't receive the triple or quad coils, but I'm confident in that extrapolation from the performance of the singles and duals in each). I preferred the smaller Fireluke with the Single Coil, however.
Full review following Manufacturer Specs:
Manufacturer Specifications
FreeMaX MAXUS 100W Kit
- FreeMaX FM Chip-MAXUS 1.0 Chipset
- Dimensions - 90.2mm by 37.5mm by 27.9mm (Mod Only)
- Single High-Amp 20700 / 21700 Battery
- SmartLoad Technology - Load At Will
- Wattage Output Range: 5-100W
- Voltage Output Range: 0.7-7.5V
- Resistance Range: 0.1-3.0ohm
- Temperature Range: 100-315°C / 200-600°F
- Nickel, Titanium, and Stainless Steel Wire Compatibility
- Power Mode
- VPC Mode
- Bypass Mode
- TC Mode
- TCR Mode
- Zinc-Alloy Chassis Construction
- Intuitive Firing Button
- OLED Display Screen
- Magnetic Battery Door
- Two Adjustment Buttons
- Low Resistance Range
- 10s Timeout Protection
- Open Circuit Protection
- High-Temp Protection
- Low Voltage Protection
- Short-Circuit Protection
- Automatic Coil Test
- Same/New Coil Selection
- Type-C USB Port
- Threaded 510 Connection
- 24mm Diameter
- 5mL Bubble Glass Capacity
- Pyrex Glass Reinforcement
- Sliding Top Fill System - Single Fill Port
- FreeMaX Maxluke Coil Series
- FM CoilTech 4.0
- 0.15ohm 904L X1 Mesh Coil - rated for 40-80W
- 0.2ohm 904L X2 Mesh Coil - rated for 40-80W
- Tea Fiber Cotton Wicking Material
- Threaded Coil Installation
- Dual Slotted Bottom Airflow Control Ring
- 810 Widebore Drip Tip
FreeMaX MAXUS 200W Kit
- FM CHIP-MAXUS 1.0 Chipset
- Dimensions - 90.2mm by 52.5mm by 29mm (Mod Only)
- Single or Dual High Amp 18650 Battery
- SmartLoad Technology - No Polarity, Load At Will
- Wattage Output Range - Single Battery: 5-80W
- Wattage Output Range - Dual Battery: 5-200W
- Output Voltage Range: 0.7-8.4V
- Resistance Range: 0.1-3.0ohm
- Temperature Range: 100-315°C / 200-600°F
- 15ms Firing Speed
- Power Mode
- VPC Mode
- BYPASS Mode
- TC Mode
- TCR Mode
- Titanium, Nickel, Stainless Steel Wire Compatibility
- Zinc-Alloy Chassis Construction
- Single Firing Button
- OLED Display Screen
- Magnetic Battery Door
- Two Adjustment Button
- Low Resistance Range
- 10s Timeout Protection
- Open Circuit Protection
- High-Temp Protection
- Low Voltage Protection
- Short-Circuit Protection
- Automatic Coil Test
- Same/New Coil Selection
- Type-C USB Port
- Threaded 510 ConnectionFreeMaX M Pro 2 Sub-Ohm Tank:
- 27mm Diameter
- 5mL Bubble Glass Capacity
- Pyrex Glass Reinforcement
- Superior 304 Stainless Steel Tank Construction
- Sliding Top Fill System - Single Fill Port
- FreeMaX Maxus Pro Coil Series
- 0.15ohm 904L M1 Mesh Coils - rated for 40-70W
- 0.2ohm 904L M2 Mesh Coils - rated for 60-90W
- FM CoilTech 4.0
- Tea Fiber Cotton Wicking Material
- Threaded Coil Installation
- Dual Slotted Bottom Airflow Control Ring
- 810 Widebore Drip Tip
Packaging is your standard sleeved box, Blue accent on the 100w, Black on the 200w, with specifications on the rear. When opening the boxes, you're greeted with the devices and tanks. The M Pro 2 sits underneath the mod, while the Fireluke 3 fits next to the 100w. Accessories for both include a standard bubble glass (the glass installed has this beautiful diamond pattern), a single mesh coil head (dual coil preinstalled), user manuals/warranty cards, extra clear O-Rings, and a USB-C cable. The 100w also includes an 18650 adapter (I always suggest positive side up on any mod using these adapters, just in case of a venting situation on a bad battery, better to not have the positive terminal sitting inside a second tube hah). Both mods have a nice weight to them, with nice and clicky square buttons. The 100w looked awkward to hold in pictures, but it actually has a great feel in the hand and is comfortable to hold in a few different ways. It takes 21700, 20700, and 18650. The 200w feels like your standard dual 18650 box, no complaints there. The branding is done nicely, shows what the mods are called and who makes them, but isn't overbearing (looking at you, Drag). The 200w has even less, with an all-black back with a small FreeMax logo in the corner and Maxus 200w printed down the side opposite the buttons/screen. The screens are protected with a film, which I took off specifically to show here. There is a nice Fade In/Out effect on the screen when batteries are inserted, buttons are pressed, or the screen times out.
Build Quality
Both feel good in the hand, with full metal construction. Buttons are responsive and clicky, and the resin itself looks and feels good (though again, the dual-tone may be an aesthetics thing for some), and I like the way it's broken up into individual panels. The 510 plates do sit very, very slightly raised to prevent scratching the top of the mod, which, if you're looking close, does create a tiny gap between the atty and top of the mod. It's not something you'd likely notice without looking for it, however, I do think the plates could be lowered to sit flush, but I also generally am not switching out attys super often. I can see how this feature would be helpful to someone who likes vaping on both 22mm and 28mm attys though. Speaking of which, the 100w can fit 26mm comfortably, 27mm with some overhang, while the 200w can fit up to 28.5mm flush (or near enough to not notice). 30mm will, however, overhang. Top-down view of both mods. Very little play on the battery doors, mayyybe half a mm (if that?) up and down on the 100w and side to side on the 200w. Nothing that will get in the way of vaping, or even be noticeable any time other than switching out batteries. The resin panel for the 200w is able to be flipped (though it's not really meant to be), but the 100w's cannot.
Functionality and Performance
Okay, so they look and feel good, but how is FreeMax's firmware? It's good, but there is some room for improvement (and also some functions that are very good). Before I get into that, let's go over some of the basic button combos-
You have-
- Five Clicks of Fire to power on/off
- Three Clicks of Fire to enter the menus
- Up/Down Adjustment buttons to navigate, Fire to Select
- Up+Down to enter Key Lock, only locks adjustment, no Fire Lock
- Fire+Up in Temp Control to Adjust Wattage
- Hold Fire for 2 seconds in any menu/adjustment to return to selected mode
Lots of modes on the mod, including 3 separately saved TCR settings. I absolutely LOVE this little touch in the TCR screen, they list out the values for commonly used materials! Great feature that would a welcome addition to most mods. It's the little things, y'know? SS904L (the material of the coils) seems to have a TCR of around 085, but more on the TC in a bit.
The Set Menu allows you to set/toggle various features, Timeout for Overtime protection can be adjusted between 5-15 seconds (10s default), Coil is for locking resistance in, Coil Test On/Off is the prompt for 'New Atomizer Y+ N-', Puff is your puff counter (visible on main screens as well) and reset option, with Timer as the same for total puff time and reset option. Celcius/Fahrenheit is self explanatory, and Reset is your factory reset.
The Info Menu has...wait for it...information on the device. Firmware Version (1.0.0), Device Temperature, and most usefully, your batteries' remaining voltage, which was accurate. Works the same with one cell in or on the 100w.
Wattage Mode
Wattage adjusts in 1 Watt increments, which I generally prefer over 0.1 all the way up through 100 or 200w, though being able to adjust in 0.5w increments under 25w only would have been welcome for lower wattage/higher resistance vapers where 1 watt can be a fairly dramatic difference. When using a single battery in the 200w, Wattage is capped at 80w for safety. Wattage does not round robin.
Bypass Mode
We all know Bypass, it turns the mod into an 'unregulated' device, but a big caveat here for the 200w. Current Resistance and Puff Counter are displayed in the same place as they are in Power Mode, with current Voltage (of the cell) and Wattage (being fired) are flipped.
Now, this is where I was trying to figure out whether battery orientation on the 200w changed the mod from a series to a parallel and vice versa. At first, I thought so, because with fully charged dual batteries it's pulling 4.2v, but that's regardless of orientation. In fact, as far as I can tell, it's only pulling from Battery #1. I stopped testing when the onboard chip and my own tester showed Battery #1 was discharged to 3.88v and Battery #2 was still at 4.11v. This is NOT good with a married pair in the tray, as it will essentially 'divorce' them. I'll be testing the 200w's Bypass again with a pair that's ready to be 'divorced', letting FreeMax know about it for a firmware update, and updating this section my findings, but for now, I only recommend Bypass on the 100w or with 1 unmarried cell. Everything else regarding power management and battery safety on this mod is great, but this is a potentially big oversight on the 200w in a mode that isn't really used all that often, but still. I would like to see dual battery Bypass outputting the full 8.4v in Series, or drawing from both cells and having a 4.2v Parallel style mode.
Temperature Control
While I absolutely adored having the TCR values shown on the screen where you set it, Temp Control is kind of your typical middle of the road TC, similar to say Vandy Vape or Smoant, not as good as YiHi or Evolv (obviously), but better than Wismec/eLeaf. It takes some fiddling with the TCR to dial in the TC, though it does feel right when you get it, 440 F feels like 440 F and prevents dry hits. Can't really ask for much more than that in this price range. Presets for Ti, Ni, SS, and 3 TCR modes. Temp adjustable by 10 degrees in both Celsius and Fahrenheit, I would like to see that brought to 5-degree adjustments, as sometimes 10 is too much or too little. Coil resistance is locked by going to Coil in the Set Menu (Coil Test On/Off is the prompt for 'New Coil? +Yes -No'), but, Fire+Down isn't used on the Temp Control main screen, I'd like to see that button real estate be assigned to Resistance Lock in future firmware updates. Overall, it's what you would expect, and fairly impressive when considering it's Ver. 1.0.0 of a company's first step into TC on their own proprietary firmware.
VPC (Variable Power Curve)
A well done VPC mode, with wattage adjustable in ten 1-second, 1-watt increments. Note that Timeout setting isn't applied here, if you have it set to 5 or 15 (or anything other than 10s) the VPC overrides it to provide you with the full 10s you have set. Good for builds that need some extra preheat in the beginning.
M Pro 2 and Fireluke 3 Tanks
(Re-linking the full album here, in case you wanted to look at every little angle of them - )
Before I get into this section, I just want to say that I'm a rebuildable guy, and haven't used many Sub-Ohm tanks in-depth for a long while. That said, FreeMax's reputation for these tank and coil lines preceded them, and I was impressed. Both were very smooth and extremely flavorful, and each excelled equally in different areas. Long story short, I loved both coils on both tanks, but the larger (27mm) M Pro 2 had more vapor production and excelled with the dual coil head, and the smaller (24mm) Fireluke 3 had less (though still a lot of) vapor production and I think a tad bit more flavor, and was better with the single-coil head. I do want to try to triple and quad coils that are coming out for both.
Really, construction of both tanks are very similar, with resin inside a metal cage (and it does seem to be a big single block of resin under both rings, as you can just barely make out along the edge of the top of the Fireluke 3) Both have the full resin on top, with a small hole for air pressure to escape when sliding the cap back to fill. The slide mechanism is smooth yet strong, no amount of shaking made it slide out of place, nor did it ever open in my pocket.
I have a friend with the entire M Pro and Fireluke lines and tested backward/forward compatibility, it's as follows:
The Fireluke 3 has smaller coils, and fits the Fireluke 2 and Fireluke Mesh tanks (and vice versa).
The M Pro 2 has much larger coils, and fits the M Pro, Fireluke Pro, and original Fireluke (and vice versa).
All four included coils compared
M Pro 2
The M Pro 2 was really great with the dual coil head, lots of flavor, lots of vapor. The single coil was a bit too airy and slightly muted as a result. I'm excited to see what the triple and quad coils are like in this one, I can see those really being excellent in here! Very impressive flavor for a cloudy tank.
Fireluke 3
The back of the 100w box says Meshluke Tank, however, it is indeed the Fireluke 3. This tank I enjoyed immensely with both coils, though the dual could have some trouble keeping up with Max VG chain vaping. Still, the flavor? Absolutely amazing, past what I thought was possible for a sub-ohm tank. Very smooth, very enjoyable all around. I found myself reaching for this one more often, though that could also just be because the M Pro 2 would give me a nic buzz after a couple hits with only 2mg/ml juice haha.
Just absolutely fantastic tanks with incredible coil heads, I tried vaping the duals to death to get a time frame, but it's been over two weeks and a BUNCH of tanks, and while darker, they're still going strong, no burnt out taste. All in all, highly recommend both if you use sub tanks, which one depends on your style of vaping and mod size.
Oh, a word on the tanks and the kits: do note that the resin on the tank will match the upper portion of resin of whichever kit you pick, so plan accordingly!
In Conclusion
Really, these are both fantastic kits, and both will be used by me regularly (particularly the 100w for out and about). I know some didn't like the dual resin, and I can see where they're coming from, but overall the aesthetics are great. Both are comfortable to hold and use, and are worth looking in to, if for nothing else because it's great to see actual mods with new and innovative features coming out in the sub-$75 price range. Especially considering this is FreeMax's freshman entry into the true box mod market. There are a couple of areas with room for improvement, but they're mostly in an area most people wouldn't be using regularly. Sub tank users will absolutely love these tanks and new coil heads. All in all, it's a recommend from me!
Pros
- Excellent tanks
- Mods are enjoyable to use
- Smart Load Battery Tech is innovative
- Nice form factors
- Both mods can accommodate larger attys than you'd think
- Crisp and Clear OLED Screen
- Chip and build quality is good for a company's first step into box mods
- Puff Counter/Timer
- 2a/5v onboard charging (the only reason this is a neutral instead of a pro is because of how much I encourage external charging, with any device)
- 1 watt/10 degree adjustment
- Off-centered 510 plate
- Dual colored Resin
- TC can be a bit fiddly
- Unused button real estate (Fire+Down) in TC that could have a use (Lock Resistance)
- Bypass on 200w only drawing from Bay 1 in the tray when a married pair is installed
I really enjoyed my time with these kits, and I just love to see actual mods and innovation making their way back into manufacturers' minds. Aside from the Bypass mode hiccup on the 200w, there really isn't much negative to be said that isn't just a stylistic opinion. I'll continue using the 100w as a pocket mod, and the 200w will be replacing the Famovape Magma (whose screen died around 50k puffs) in the rotation. Both tanks surprised the hell out of me for how clean and smooth they were, and man, the flavor is great! Never expected that kind of experience out of a premade coil head. I definitely recommend these kits to Wattage users, and I applaud FreeMax for making true mods with actual innovation on them to boot!
(Disclaimer: These kits were sent to me by FreeMax for the purposes of this review, though that has zero influence on the review itself. I spend at least one, usually just about two weeks using all products I review to really get a feel for how they perform and if there are any issues that may not be immediately obvious.)
Previous Reviews
The Famovape Magma 200w Box Mod
Taifun GTR ('Typhoon' GTR) (ULTON Clone)
Satburn 18350/18500/14500/18650 Mech Mod (ULTON Clone)
Atmizoo Tripod RTA (ULTON Clone)
