Vapeccino Mate 1
The Mate 1 pod system from Vapeccino is a refillable pod system that features a 410mAh battery, GCT (gold coated) coils and pods to cater for both MTL and DTL vapers.
Specs
The kit is nicely presented in box that contains the battery in a secondary box, a USB charging cable, an MTL atomizer / pod and a manual.
Design and build quality
I have used quite a few of the pod systems that are on the market at present, and this is a sturdy one! It is encased in a metallic body that gives the device more weight than the competition, where plastic bodies are much more common. One of my favourite things about the smaller pod devices is that I can keep them in my mouth while I work, like I used to with a cigarette when I was a smoker. This is too heavy for that, so it should give you an idea as to the weight of the item!
The product has a good finish and I used the device for a couple of weeks until the pods died (more about this later) and the paint work did not tarnish or flake, so if you do choose to get one of these pod systems then it should last you a decent amount of time.
I like the design of the device, I would have liked it to be a bit smaller and lighter but I do appreciate that it packs in a 410mAh battery so it will last a decent amount of time. The mod also features a vibrating feature and the extra weight on the device could well be due to having this extra vibration feature built in to it. It is a nice feature to have but I am not sure that it is wholly required when a flashing or colour changing LED system is already in place and could be refined to make it of more use.
The metallic body has three cut out strips at the top of the device that allow you to see how much juice is left in your pod. It is nicely designed overall, clean, functional and stylish!
There is no doubt that the mod feels sturdy and well made, only long-term use will show how reliable the device is though so let us know if you have been using one of these for a good period of time and it is still going for you!
One of the major selling points of this mod is that is uses “GCT” coils in the pods. The Vapeccino website states:
“GCT, an advanced Nano tech, presents strong antioxidation, and keeps high cleanness by preventing ejuice's carbides from gluing to coil, so that it prolongs vaporizer lifespan and for purer taste. The next puff is always like the first.”
I don’t know about most of you, but I certainly look more closely about the amount of plastic that I dispose of as a vaper and it does sadden me that there aren’t more pod systems out there that try and reduce plastic consumption as much as possible. We are starting to see more pod systems coming out that have replaceable coils rather than needing to throw the whole pod away, and that would be a real selling point for me as a consumer. So if these coils stack up as well as the manufacturer state then that would help persuade me to try this product.
Using the Vapeccino Mate 1
This is a really easy device to fill and use. The pod has a rubber plug in the bottom of the coil, these are a really good size, easy to grip and remove and replace so that is a good point. Filling is very easy with a standard plastic dropper bottle.
The device has an “intelligent vibration system” – it vibrates initially when you pop in the pod, this tells you that the device is powered up and ready to go! It will then device twice when the power drops to 15% and then three times to alert you that the device needs a recharge very soon! There is also a system a bit like the Juul, you can give the device a tap and the LED will light up and the colour will indicate how much charge you have left, green indicates over 60% battery life remaining.
The Mate 1 is like a lot of the smaller pod systems on the market in as much as it is a draw-activated device, it has no button and the action of you inhaling or drawing air into your mouth through the pod will activate the atomiser. This worked very well for me when using the MTL and DTL pods.
The USB charging port is on the bottom of the device and it worked perfectly for me with no issues. There is an LED light system on the device as well and this does change colour when charged but then it will go out so it wasn’t always easy to see when it was completely charged or if I had knocked the charger so it would be good to see a constant light when it is fully charged. It only takes about 25 minutes to charge from drained, so you won’t have long to wait if you do drain it completely.
One of the main selling points is the GCT coils that the pods use. I must admit that I did not get a really long life span out of the pods. By the fourth refill of the pods the liquid was starting to look very funky and dark – and all of you tank vapers out there will know this is a sure sign that the coil is getting gunked up and could do with a change. The MTL pods do perform very well though, the amount of vapour that it produces is good and if you are getting into your nic salts then it will provide a good vape for you.
Also keep in mind that this is still a simple coil and cotton (or some sort of wicking material) set up – so while the coil itself may have some hi-tech nanoparticle tech going on, if you suck on the pod while it is connected to the device you will still get a dry hit! This may have been the issue with one of my pods keeling over relatively quickly, only a couple of days and three refills. Once you have scorched your wick then it tends to be game over for and coil, pods are no exception.
The DTL pods were way too much for me, even filling them with lower strength juice gave me a bit of a cough! Extra air is drawn through the top of the DTL pods, this just seems to add a lot more air to the vapour, meaning that is not as condensed and the MTL one the flavour was a bit weaker for me and not as enjoyable. If you are a DTL vaper looking to move to pod devices my advice is to go back to MTL, it’s how most of us smoked and at higher strength you don’t need to inhale much vapour at all.
I did have another issue with the pods as well, the black top section of the pod is attached to the lower, clear, section of the pod by a couple of little plastic clips. When pulling the pod out of the device I had these break on me a couple of times, as you can see from the picture on the right. The design of this could really do with a tweak to make them more robust and less likely to fail.
Conclusion
The Mate 1 is the first vaping device from Vappecino and it is a valiant first effort! If you are looking at trying a pod system, then the positives are that the pods are refillable and that if you get pods that live up to the manufacturer’s expectations then you might get more life span than me.
The pods are a bit flimsy and this was a bit of a killer for me, once the top of the pod broke I needed to get a pair of pliers to extract the embedded pod and, while I could still refill and re-insert the pod you of course needed the pliers to get the thing out again!
The vape from the Mate 1 is good though, the draw activation works well and delivers a decent vape. It was reliable and easy to use – a few tweaks to it and it has the potential to be a really good device but until the issues with the pods are resolved then it isn’t something that I would look to use long term.
Vapeccino also kindly sent us four of these devices to give away! You can enter the competition here - https://www.planetofthevapes.co.uk/competitions/four-vapeccino-mate-1-pod-systems.html.
If this device if of interest it is available from Vape Wild, they have the devices and replacement pods available - https://vapewild.eu/vapeccino-mate1-kit/. The device itself is priced at £19.62 and replacement pods at £6.68 each.
If you are interested in stocking this device in your shop you can check out the details on the Vappecino site here http://www.vapeccino.com/Mate1.html.
The Mate 1 pod system from Vapeccino is a refillable pod system that features a 410mAh battery, GCT (gold coated) coils and pods to cater for both MTL and DTL vapers.
Specs
- Size: 110.8 x 20.6 x 10.85mm
- Weight: 36g
- Capacity: 1.5ml
- Fast charge enabled
- MTL and DTL pods
The kit is nicely presented in box that contains the battery in a secondary box, a USB charging cable, an MTL atomizer / pod and a manual.
Design and build quality
I have used quite a few of the pod systems that are on the market at present, and this is a sturdy one! It is encased in a metallic body that gives the device more weight than the competition, where plastic bodies are much more common. One of my favourite things about the smaller pod devices is that I can keep them in my mouth while I work, like I used to with a cigarette when I was a smoker. This is too heavy for that, so it should give you an idea as to the weight of the item!
The product has a good finish and I used the device for a couple of weeks until the pods died (more about this later) and the paint work did not tarnish or flake, so if you do choose to get one of these pod systems then it should last you a decent amount of time.
I like the design of the device, I would have liked it to be a bit smaller and lighter but I do appreciate that it packs in a 410mAh battery so it will last a decent amount of time. The mod also features a vibrating feature and the extra weight on the device could well be due to having this extra vibration feature built in to it. It is a nice feature to have but I am not sure that it is wholly required when a flashing or colour changing LED system is already in place and could be refined to make it of more use.
The metallic body has three cut out strips at the top of the device that allow you to see how much juice is left in your pod. It is nicely designed overall, clean, functional and stylish!
There is no doubt that the mod feels sturdy and well made, only long-term use will show how reliable the device is though so let us know if you have been using one of these for a good period of time and it is still going for you!
One of the major selling points of this mod is that is uses “GCT” coils in the pods. The Vapeccino website states:
“GCT, an advanced Nano tech, presents strong antioxidation, and keeps high cleanness by preventing ejuice's carbides from gluing to coil, so that it prolongs vaporizer lifespan and for purer taste. The next puff is always like the first.”
I don’t know about most of you, but I certainly look more closely about the amount of plastic that I dispose of as a vaper and it does sadden me that there aren’t more pod systems out there that try and reduce plastic consumption as much as possible. We are starting to see more pod systems coming out that have replaceable coils rather than needing to throw the whole pod away, and that would be a real selling point for me as a consumer. So if these coils stack up as well as the manufacturer state then that would help persuade me to try this product.
Using the Vapeccino Mate 1
This is a really easy device to fill and use. The pod has a rubber plug in the bottom of the coil, these are a really good size, easy to grip and remove and replace so that is a good point. Filling is very easy with a standard plastic dropper bottle.
The device has an “intelligent vibration system” – it vibrates initially when you pop in the pod, this tells you that the device is powered up and ready to go! It will then device twice when the power drops to 15% and then three times to alert you that the device needs a recharge very soon! There is also a system a bit like the Juul, you can give the device a tap and the LED will light up and the colour will indicate how much charge you have left, green indicates over 60% battery life remaining.
The Mate 1 is like a lot of the smaller pod systems on the market in as much as it is a draw-activated device, it has no button and the action of you inhaling or drawing air into your mouth through the pod will activate the atomiser. This worked very well for me when using the MTL and DTL pods.
One of the main selling points is the GCT coils that the pods use. I must admit that I did not get a really long life span out of the pods. By the fourth refill of the pods the liquid was starting to look very funky and dark – and all of you tank vapers out there will know this is a sure sign that the coil is getting gunked up and could do with a change. The MTL pods do perform very well though, the amount of vapour that it produces is good and if you are getting into your nic salts then it will provide a good vape for you.
Also keep in mind that this is still a simple coil and cotton (or some sort of wicking material) set up – so while the coil itself may have some hi-tech nanoparticle tech going on, if you suck on the pod while it is connected to the device you will still get a dry hit! This may have been the issue with one of my pods keeling over relatively quickly, only a couple of days and three refills. Once you have scorched your wick then it tends to be game over for and coil, pods are no exception.
The DTL pods were way too much for me, even filling them with lower strength juice gave me a bit of a cough! Extra air is drawn through the top of the DTL pods, this just seems to add a lot more air to the vapour, meaning that is not as condensed and the MTL one the flavour was a bit weaker for me and not as enjoyable. If you are a DTL vaper looking to move to pod devices my advice is to go back to MTL, it’s how most of us smoked and at higher strength you don’t need to inhale much vapour at all.
I did have another issue with the pods as well, the black top section of the pod is attached to the lower, clear, section of the pod by a couple of little plastic clips. When pulling the pod out of the device I had these break on me a couple of times, as you can see from the picture on the right. The design of this could really do with a tweak to make them more robust and less likely to fail.
Conclusion
The Mate 1 is the first vaping device from Vappecino and it is a valiant first effort! If you are looking at trying a pod system, then the positives are that the pods are refillable and that if you get pods that live up to the manufacturer’s expectations then you might get more life span than me.
The pods are a bit flimsy and this was a bit of a killer for me, once the top of the pod broke I needed to get a pair of pliers to extract the embedded pod and, while I could still refill and re-insert the pod you of course needed the pliers to get the thing out again!
The vape from the Mate 1 is good though, the draw activation works well and delivers a decent vape. It was reliable and easy to use – a few tweaks to it and it has the potential to be a really good device but until the issues with the pods are resolved then it isn’t something that I would look to use long term.
Vapeccino also kindly sent us four of these devices to give away! You can enter the competition here - https://www.planetofthevapes.co.uk/competitions/four-vapeccino-mate-1-pod-systems.html.
If this device if of interest it is available from Vape Wild, they have the devices and replacement pods available - https://vapewild.eu/vapeccino-mate1-kit/. The device itself is priced at £19.62 and replacement pods at £6.68 each.
If you are interested in stocking this device in your shop you can check out the details on the Vappecino site here http://www.vapeccino.com/Mate1.html.