INTRODUCTION
______________________________________________________________________________
Hello everyone Pizza Dave here, delivering a review of the Zip by Usonicig. Many of us have heard of Usonicig, mostly because when they released the Rhythm last year, the idea of an ultrasonic system intrigued us. Needless to say, this was a bit of a letdown. It was big, didn’t work all that great, and for whatever reason they presoaked the wicking material in PG which was flat out nasty until it was vaporized. This time around, the company has made something much different. The Zip is smaller, lighter, and much more pod-like than the Rhythm ever was. It features a 1200mah battery, 2.0ml capacity, and still is using the ultra-sonic (3.0mhz) action to create vapor. Let’s dive down and see if their second go around is a flop like the first, or is this actually something I can see myself using?
Disclaimer: This device was sent to me by Usonicig for review.
______________________________________________________________________________
WHAT YOU GET
Available in black, orange, pink, blue, and silver.
Packaging
Out of Box
______________________________________________________________________________
OPERATION
At first glance, the Zip has the look of a typical pod system. It is very similar to an Aspire Breeze 2 in shape and size, and it is much less obnoxious than the funky shape of the Rhythm before it. Like many pod systems, operation is basic. Turn it on and off with 5 clicks of the fire button, fill the pod (more on that below), charge it up, and vape. Super simple and similar to what we see in other products.
CHARGING / BATTERY
Charging this up is done via micro USB. The multicolor LED will flash in white while charging and will go out when it is complete. Battery level and other fault conditions are shown with this LED as well. I was able to get to the end of my work day on a full charge, but it went dead on the drive home. The battery indication could be better. It is white when above 20% and is red below 20%. It will run for a while when it turns red, but it is too much of an unknown in between.
PODS / REFILLS
Filling the pods is pretty awesome. There are two small buttons on the wider sides of the pods. Press, and turn. It will expose two fill ports, which also have check valve style flaps on them to help prevent leaking. It is a nice system and it works well. The tinted pods can be challenging to see level in low light, but they aren’t terrible. After about 5 minutes waiting for saturation, you are good to go. There is an “anti dry burn” fault, which will happen if the ceramic wicking gets dry or it hasn’t had time to wick. A blue light will flash and it will power off. I had this happen for a while on one pod, but eventually it went away.
______________________________________________________________________________
HOW IT VAPES
I was super skeptical when vaping this, as my experience with the Rhythm was not good at all. Everything from the nasty tasting pre-soaked with PG cotton, to flooding pods and battery life that didn’t make it all day. I have to say I was impressed with this, but only based on how bad the previous model was. The Zip is quite a different story. It provides a similar vape experience in terms of how the ultrasonic action works, but it is MUCH improved. The ramp up time is faster than the Rhythm, and the flavor is better as well. It is at the point now where I can compare it directly with pod systems, where I felt the predecessor was in its own niche world. Like the Rhythm before it, the vapor production is cooler than what we may be used to. It is like breathing in a cool mist with a less dense feeling, but with 25mg nic salts I was still getting a similar throat hit to other pod systems. To get the best performance I held the fire button down for a little while before I took my first puff, each time I used it. Without that preheat time, the vapor was minimal on the first puff, with the 2nd and 3rd puff being noticeably more profound. After those first couple of puffs, each thereafter was consistent, and it also provides a similar puff all the way down until the red LED starts to illuminate. Like I said before, I was just barely able to get through a work day, and the pod needed refilling after two days of work. As for my testing, 10+ refills in and flavor and performance are the same as day one. They claim 5000 puffs per pod, and I have no reason to doubt that, but can’t honestly say yes or no as I am nowhere near that amount of puffs! Without the level of heat created by standard coils, I must assume longevity of the pods should be up there.
______________________________________________________________________________
PHOTO GALLERY
______________________________________________________________________________
FINAL THOUGHTS
So, what do I really think about the Zip? It is impressive that they were able to use this technology in a much more pocket friendly device. I think it looks great, and the build quality of these is as solid as any other pod system out there. Unlike its big brother (Rhythm), it was much harder to find cons with this. I tested a few of these and had one pod that just didn’t do want to work. I kept getting the blue “dry hit protection” LED, no matter how long it sat. This was an isolated thing, as 3 other pods worked as intended. One of the only other cons I have is battery indication. It shows either good, or low, with no good indication between. It would have been nice to have an earlier warning of when a charge was going to be needed, and it gave me battery anxiety. With just these few cons, I think the company, at the very least, should be recognized for doing something new and innovative and it actually functions decent. Is it as good as some of the best pod systems? No. Is it bad? No. It is just a different device. The whole way it feels and operates is unique. However, I was still able to get good flavor and the nicotine hit I desired, but in a different fashion. I like what this company is doing and look forward to seeing how they progress with this technology.
OVEN TEST
If this were to accidentally go into the pizza oven would I go out and get another? I have yet to find a pod system I will say yes to on this. New ones keep coming out weekly and they keep on improving. No reason to settle on one now.
______________________________________________________________________________
PROS
CONS
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Thank you everyone for reading my review and thank you to Usonicig for sending it my way for review. Price tag on this one looks like about $35 on the interwebs.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Pizza Dave – delivering real reviews with no extra toppings
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
REVIEW CRITERIA: I use each item extensively for about two weeks to ensure I have collected enough data to adequately write a review. I use the same e liquid in tanks or rdas throughout all my reviews to ensure that I am comparing apples to apples between all modern equipment. I do not post reviews until I feel confident that I have used all products enough to give an educated review. The reason I started doing reviews was due to poor purchasing decisions in my vaping infancy about two years ago. Back then, I purchased several different pieces of hardware without really enjoying them and I hope my reviews can guide people into spending their hard-earned money more wisely than I did! ****Keep in mind that some items I receive may be pre-release and not in retail packaging. Quality may be less than the finished product and what is in the package may differ from the retail package as well.
______________________________________________________________________________
Hello everyone Pizza Dave here, delivering a review of the Zip by Usonicig. Many of us have heard of Usonicig, mostly because when they released the Rhythm last year, the idea of an ultrasonic system intrigued us. Needless to say, this was a bit of a letdown. It was big, didn’t work all that great, and for whatever reason they presoaked the wicking material in PG which was flat out nasty until it was vaporized. This time around, the company has made something much different. The Zip is smaller, lighter, and much more pod-like than the Rhythm ever was. It features a 1200mah battery, 2.0ml capacity, and still is using the ultra-sonic (3.0mhz) action to create vapor. Let’s dive down and see if their second go around is a flop like the first, or is this actually something I can see myself using?
Disclaimer: This device was sent to me by Usonicig for review.
______________________________________________________________________________
WHAT YOU GET
- 1 Zip 1200mah battery
- 1 2.0ml p
- USB charging cable
- Paperwork
Available in black, orange, pink, blue, and silver.
Packaging
Out of Box
______________________________________________________________________________
OPERATION
At first glance, the Zip has the look of a typical pod system. It is very similar to an Aspire Breeze 2 in shape and size, and it is much less obnoxious than the funky shape of the Rhythm before it. Like many pod systems, operation is basic. Turn it on and off with 5 clicks of the fire button, fill the pod (more on that below), charge it up, and vape. Super simple and similar to what we see in other products.
CHARGING / BATTERY
Charging this up is done via micro USB. The multicolor LED will flash in white while charging and will go out when it is complete. Battery level and other fault conditions are shown with this LED as well. I was able to get to the end of my work day on a full charge, but it went dead on the drive home. The battery indication could be better. It is white when above 20% and is red below 20%. It will run for a while when it turns red, but it is too much of an unknown in between.
PODS / REFILLS
Filling the pods is pretty awesome. There are two small buttons on the wider sides of the pods. Press, and turn. It will expose two fill ports, which also have check valve style flaps on them to help prevent leaking. It is a nice system and it works well. The tinted pods can be challenging to see level in low light, but they aren’t terrible. After about 5 minutes waiting for saturation, you are good to go. There is an “anti dry burn” fault, which will happen if the ceramic wicking gets dry or it hasn’t had time to wick. A blue light will flash and it will power off. I had this happen for a while on one pod, but eventually it went away.
______________________________________________________________________________
HOW IT VAPES
I was super skeptical when vaping this, as my experience with the Rhythm was not good at all. Everything from the nasty tasting pre-soaked with PG cotton, to flooding pods and battery life that didn’t make it all day. I have to say I was impressed with this, but only based on how bad the previous model was. The Zip is quite a different story. It provides a similar vape experience in terms of how the ultrasonic action works, but it is MUCH improved. The ramp up time is faster than the Rhythm, and the flavor is better as well. It is at the point now where I can compare it directly with pod systems, where I felt the predecessor was in its own niche world. Like the Rhythm before it, the vapor production is cooler than what we may be used to. It is like breathing in a cool mist with a less dense feeling, but with 25mg nic salts I was still getting a similar throat hit to other pod systems. To get the best performance I held the fire button down for a little while before I took my first puff, each time I used it. Without that preheat time, the vapor was minimal on the first puff, with the 2nd and 3rd puff being noticeably more profound. After those first couple of puffs, each thereafter was consistent, and it also provides a similar puff all the way down until the red LED starts to illuminate. Like I said before, I was just barely able to get through a work day, and the pod needed refilling after two days of work. As for my testing, 10+ refills in and flavor and performance are the same as day one. They claim 5000 puffs per pod, and I have no reason to doubt that, but can’t honestly say yes or no as I am nowhere near that amount of puffs! Without the level of heat created by standard coils, I must assume longevity of the pods should be up there.
______________________________________________________________________________
PHOTO GALLERY
______________________________________________________________________________
FINAL THOUGHTS
So, what do I really think about the Zip? It is impressive that they were able to use this technology in a much more pocket friendly device. I think it looks great, and the build quality of these is as solid as any other pod system out there. Unlike its big brother (Rhythm), it was much harder to find cons with this. I tested a few of these and had one pod that just didn’t do want to work. I kept getting the blue “dry hit protection” LED, no matter how long it sat. This was an isolated thing, as 3 other pods worked as intended. One of the only other cons I have is battery indication. It shows either good, or low, with no good indication between. It would have been nice to have an earlier warning of when a charge was going to be needed, and it gave me battery anxiety. With just these few cons, I think the company, at the very least, should be recognized for doing something new and innovative and it actually functions decent. Is it as good as some of the best pod systems? No. Is it bad? No. It is just a different device. The whole way it feels and operates is unique. However, I was still able to get good flavor and the nicotine hit I desired, but in a different fashion. I like what this company is doing and look forward to seeing how they progress with this technology.
OVEN TEST
If this were to accidentally go into the pizza oven would I go out and get another? I have yet to find a pod system I will say yes to on this. New ones keep coming out weekly and they keep on improving. No reason to settle on one now.
______________________________________________________________________________
PROS
- New technology bonus
- Flavor is decent
- Pocket friendly
- Nice pod refill method
- Long pod life
CONS
- Could have better battery indication
- Slow ramp up at first
- Cooler vape than what most will be used to
- Flavor is middle of the road for pod systems
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Thank you everyone for reading my review and thank you to Usonicig for sending it my way for review. Price tag on this one looks like about $35 on the interwebs.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Pizza Dave – delivering real reviews with no extra toppings
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
REVIEW CRITERIA: I use each item extensively for about two weeks to ensure I have collected enough data to adequately write a review. I use the same e liquid in tanks or rdas throughout all my reviews to ensure that I am comparing apples to apples between all modern equipment. I do not post reviews until I feel confident that I have used all products enough to give an educated review. The reason I started doing reviews was due to poor purchasing decisions in my vaping infancy about two years ago. Back then, I purchased several different pieces of hardware without really enjoying them and I hope my reviews can guide people into spending their hard-earned money more wisely than I did! ****Keep in mind that some items I receive may be pre-release and not in retail packaging. Quality may be less than the finished product and what is in the package may differ from the retail package as well.