Introduction
This should be quite simple, the ZQ Xtal is intentionally or not, a Caliburn rival. Not the Caliburn G – the original Caliburn. In this review, it will stand or fall based on a direct comparison with the Caliburn. Images are here – I ran out of ideas for photos as this is such a simple device, so I tried to get artistic and creative.
The Xtal is a 520mAh pod device, with button/autodraw, micro-USB charging and a choice of two 1.8ml pods, a 1.2ohm nichrome wire and a 1.0ohm mesh. Neither airflow nor power are adjustable.
Use
As expected, it’s all very simple. Five clicks to power on/off and then three clicks to cycle through autodraw mode, fire button mode and combined autodraw + button mode.
The fire button displays different colors to show which mode you’re in, battery level while in use and battery level while charging.
The pods are press-fit into the device and fit very securely, they are bottom fill with the entire base of the pod lifting open to expose a fill port and an air pressure relief hole – this setup works really well, filling is simple and mess free.
The one issue that I encountered with the Xtal is the battery life. When I used salts in it, I was restrained and didn’t encounter any issues, however once I switched to freebase (and especially with the mesh coil) I chained it non-stop and depleted the battery quite quickly. It will charge within an hour or so and does support pass-thru charging, so you can vape while charging, but a larger battery capacity would have been nice.
Pods
Conclusion
If you liked the original Caliburn, then you will like the Xtal. The filling system is great and both pods give a very nice vape. There’s nothing game-changing with the Xtal, but that’s not the point.
Pros
The ZQ Xtal was provided for me by ZQ for the purposes of this review.
On a side-note, I’ve reviewed a lot of stock-coil tanks, DTL pod systems and MTL pod systems over the last year or two – while the general quality has improved throughout the board, the most noticeable improvement for me has been in MTL and very restricted DTL – I’d still say that a pod system or sub-ohm tank running at 30w or higher is nowhere near as good as a comparable RDA/RTA with a decent build in it – however once you get under 30w and especially under 15w, these tiny pod systems are getting much closer in performance to their rebuildable rivals.
This should be quite simple, the ZQ Xtal is intentionally or not, a Caliburn rival. Not the Caliburn G – the original Caliburn. In this review, it will stand or fall based on a direct comparison with the Caliburn. Images are here – I ran out of ideas for photos as this is such a simple device, so I tried to get artistic and creative.
The Xtal is a 520mAh pod device, with button/autodraw, micro-USB charging and a choice of two 1.8ml pods, a 1.2ohm nichrome wire and a 1.0ohm mesh. Neither airflow nor power are adjustable.
Use
As expected, it’s all very simple. Five clicks to power on/off and then three clicks to cycle through autodraw mode, fire button mode and combined autodraw + button mode.
The fire button displays different colors to show which mode you’re in, battery level while in use and battery level while charging.
The pods are press-fit into the device and fit very securely, they are bottom fill with the entire base of the pod lifting open to expose a fill port and an air pressure relief hole – this setup works really well, filling is simple and mess free.
The one issue that I encountered with the Xtal is the battery life. When I used salts in it, I was restrained and didn’t encounter any issues, however once I switched to freebase (and especially with the mesh coil) I chained it non-stop and depleted the battery quite quickly. It will charge within an hour or so and does support pass-thru charging, so you can vape while charging, but a larger battery capacity would have been nice.
Pods
- 1.2ohm nichrome wire - according to ZQ this is their flavor pod and it doesn’t disappoint. I tried salts and freebase, fruit, and pastries and they all tasted really good, while you can vape this coil as loose MTL, I enjoyed it the most as a very tight restricted DTL. But does it vape as well as the Caliburn? Yes, absolutely, a very similar experience.
- 1.0ohm mesh - this is the Xtal’s vapor production pod and like the 1.2ohm coil, it is impressive. To put it bluntly, I vaped the crap out of this coil and really didn’t want to put it down. Of course, at 1.0ohm it’s not going to be a huge cloud machine, but it is very satisfying and performs well with all juices, however I enjoyed it the most with freebase fruit flavors. Maybe it was my vaping style, but this pod seemed a little thirstier for juice than the 1.2ohm. This pod doesn’t give the same experience as a Caliburn, it’s different and for me, it’s better.
Conclusion
If you liked the original Caliburn, then you will like the Xtal. The filling system is great and both pods give a very nice vape. There’s nothing game-changing with the Xtal, but that’s not the point.
Pros
- Very nice flavor from both pods.
- Good filling system.
- Simple and intuitive usage.
- Battery might not last a day, depending on your vaping style.
- No type-C charging.
- No adjustable airflow/power.
The ZQ Xtal was provided for me by ZQ for the purposes of this review.
On a side-note, I’ve reviewed a lot of stock-coil tanks, DTL pod systems and MTL pod systems over the last year or two – while the general quality has improved throughout the board, the most noticeable improvement for me has been in MTL and very restricted DTL – I’d still say that a pod system or sub-ohm tank running at 30w or higher is nowhere near as good as a comparable RDA/RTA with a decent build in it – however once you get under 30w and especially under 15w, these tiny pod systems are getting much closer in performance to their rebuildable rivals.