The Prettiest Pod Device OUT NOW! - SMOK Mico Resin Review

daniel craig

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SMOK has entered the pod device market a while back and has managed to gain a lot of market share by producing some of the best pod devices of the time at very affordable price tags. Their previous releases include the SMOK Infinix, Rolo Badge, Novo as well as the Nord which is still most peoples #1 Pick and rightfully so.

Many users have asked for a pod device that has a decent battery life and juice capacity and SMOK has designed just that. The SMOK Mico AIO device features a refreshingly new design that still maintains a stunning look to it by introducing an eye-catching resin finish on the body which has multi-coloured ‘fluid’ lines running through it to give it that gorgeous yet unique look.
Is this just a good-looking paperweight or does it perform as good as it looks?

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Manufacturer Specs:
  • Size: 56.3×46.5×14.8mm
  • Weight: 65g
  • Battery: 700mAh Internal
  • E-Liquid Capacity: 1.7ml
  • Output Power: 10 – 26W
  • Material: Zinc Alloy
  • Input Voltage: 3.3V – 4.2V
  • Output Voltage: 3.0V – 4.0V
  • Resistance Range: 0.6ohm – 2.0 ohm
  • On / Off Switch
  • E-Liquid Viewing Window
  • Battery Life LED Indicator
  • Available in 7 Colour Options (Prism Chrome, Black, Red, Prism Blue, Prism Gold, Prism Rainbow, Green
Inside the box:
  • 1 x Mico Device
  • 1 x Mico Pod (0.8-ohm mesh coil) (1.7ml)
  • 1 x Mico Pod (1.0-ohm regular coil) (1.7ml)
  • 1 x Lanyard
  • 1 x USB Cable
  • 1 x User Manual
Design:
The SMOK Mico pod device comes in a myriad of colour options (7 to be exact) which include: Prism Chrome, Black, Red, Prism Blue, Prism Gold, Prism Rainbow, and Green. The body is constructed of Zinc Alloy and it does have some weight to it despite its small form factor. This heftiness makes the Mico feel like a quality device. It doesn’t feel like a ‘cheap’ or piece of junk device at all.

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When it comes to design, I honestly don’t think I’ve seen a pod device that looks this good. Granted, this device does share similarities to another popular US pod device in terms of design, I still feel that the Mico has the upper hand in the looks department. The Glossy, Resin panels with its abstract colours, makes this device a show stopper and it will certainly gather attention.
The paint work is still as good as the day I got it. It has taken a few drops and still has no sign of chipping or anything like that. Overall, I’d say that the build quality on this device is pretty good.
Apart from the stunning looks, you’ll notice just how tiny this device actually is; measuring just 56mm in height (including the pod). The tiny size of this device makes it an easy to carry device which doesn’t take up much space in your pockets.

Starting at the top of the device, there’s a compartment to insert your pod of which there are 3 options to choose from: A 0.8Ω Mesh Pod, 1Ω Regular Pod or a 1.4Ω Ceramic Coil Pod (Not included). The pods click into place with the help of a magnet. The magnet has a pretty strong grip on the pod so you won’t be having issues with the pod falling off or anything like that. On the one side at the top there is a small cut out which is the airflow opening. Air enters through this 1 side, travels down and enters through the bottom of the pod.

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On the side of the device there’s an e-liquid window so you can always see your juice levels however, you are unable to get a full view of the bottom which means you tend to think your pod is empty before it actually is. Next to the e-liquid window, there’s some minor branding on it namely, the words ‘SMOK’ on one side and ‘MICO’ on the other side.

At the front face of the device you’ll notice something most draw activated devices lack; a switch which is the On/Off switch which allows you shut off the device when not in use. This is a pretty handy feature especially since it is a draw activated device.

Below the switch is a LED indicator which works as expected. At the base of the device is the USB Charging port which is placed at a rather inconvenient position. I would assume that the reason for placing the USB charge port at the base was to maintain the aesthetic look of the device.

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Performance:

The Mico comes with 2 pre-included pods, a 0.8-ohm mesh and a 1-ohm regular pod. I first tried the 1-ohm pod which was designed for Mouth-To-Lung. The 1-ohm pod did have quite a bit of airflow to it making it more of a restrictive lung hit rather than a mouth to lung vape. The 0.8-ohm pod seemed to have a bit more airflow which I did expect as this pod is directed towards lower nicotine, sub-ohm vaping. The power output was great with both pods and the vape didn’t feel underpowered at all however, with the 0.8 ohm mesh pod, the power output was higher which meant that there was a decrease in battery life and due to the power output decreasing as the battery depletes, this meant having a weak, almost unsatisfying vape towards the end.
One of the downsides I did notice was that the 1 ohm and the 0.8-ohm mesh pod had the same size wicking holes. I would’ve expected the 0.8-ohm mesh pod to have a larger wicking hole since this pod will be used with higher VG e-liquids. The small wicking holes meant that event at 60VG/40PG, the pods struggled to wick fast enough.

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Using a 50/50 Nicotine salt and freebase e-liquid, the device performed excellent. It didn’t skip a beat and was very responsive when taking a draw. I did find the power output to be a bit high when the device is fully charged, and this could lead to ‘burning’ or inefficient wicking when using thicker e-liquids.

Flavour-wise, I find the Mico to be pretty good for a pod device. Using the 1-ohm pod, I would say the flavour was on par with most top pod devices however, with the 0.8-ohm mesh pod, flavour seemed to be a touch better. The 0.8-ohm mesh pod favours e-liquids like bakery and desserts and when using these types of e-liquids, the difference in flavour is noticeably better than something like my Aspire Breeze 2. I was just bummed that I couldn’t get to use higher VG liquids.
The 700mAh battery capacity did get me through a day comfortably. When using a pod device and high nicotine e-liquid, you don’t vape as much and therefore even the 1.7mL capacity was enough to get through the day even when using this device exclusively.

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Pro’s:
  • Design
  • 3 types of pods available (Ceramic, Mesh, Regular)
  • Ability to be used as a restrictive lung hit or sub-ohm device
  • Flavour
  • 1.7mL Juice capacity – Maybe?
  • Battery life – Maybe?
  • Mess free
  • Size
  • On/Off switch
  • Draw activation
Cons:
  • USB Charging port location and charge speed
  • Not as tight a MTL draw as I would’ve expected
  • Wicking holes should’ve been bigger on the 0.8-ohm mesh pod
  • Unable to wick higher VG e-liquids
  • Power output is not adjustable
  • Draw activation – Subjective

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Conclusion:

The SMOK Mico device is quite a stunner when it comes to design and performs almost as good as it looks. It is not a perfect device and does have a few minor flaws such as the inability to wick higher VG e-liquids. If you are the type of vaper who isn’t interested in a tight MTL vape and is set on using 50/50 e-liquids, you would love this device. In my opinion, this is the nicest looking pod device and the performance is almost as good as it looks.
 
Thanks for the great review and the lovely photos @daniel craig
Insightful
 
Thank you for the well-written, informative review @daniel craig!

I think the difficulty in using anything above a 50/50 juice is a major disadvantage, since most commercial juice is 70/30.
 
Thank you for the well-written, informative review @daniel craig!

I think the difficulty in using anything above a 50/50 juice is a major disadvantage, since most commercial juice is 70/30.

I agree. This is point that is overlooked by many when it comes to pod devices. I have tried a lot of pod devices and most of them suffer with wicking higher VG e-liquids. This, of course, limits your choice of juice and limits you to juices designed for pod devices like nicotine salts or MTL juices that some juice makers have started to offer.

I would assume the reason why companies opt for smaller wicking holes is that 90% of the salt Eliquids (aimed toward pod devices) are 50/50 and it's what most people will use so if they were to use larger wicking holes, the people that use 50/50 may experience spit-back or over saturation of the wicks which is something manufacturers want to prevent.

It would've been nice if the Sub-ohm pod for this device had larger wicking holes so that it could accommodate higher VG Eliquids.
 
I agree. This is point that is overlooked by many when it comes to pod devices. I have tried a lot of pod devices and most of them suffer with wicking higher VG e-liquids. This, of course, limits your choice of juice and limits you to juices designed for pod devices like nicotine salts or MTL juices that some juice makers have started to offer.

I would assume the reason why companies opt for smaller wicking holes is that 90% of the salt Eliquids (aimed toward pod devices) are 50/50 and it's what most people will use so if they were to use larger wicking holes, the people that use 50/50 may experience spit-back or over saturation of the wicks which is something manufacturers want to prevent.

It would've been nice if the Sub-ohm pod for this device had larger wicking holes so that it could accommodate higher VG Eliquids.

@daniel craig The Breeze 2 is fantastic. It takes two coils - one 1.6 ohm or thereabouts for nic salts and a sub-ohm coil. The sub-ohm coil has larger wicking holes than the other coil. I use it for 70/30 juice and I've had no problems at all.
 
@daniel craig The Breeze 2 is fantastic. It takes two coils - one 1.6 ohm or thereabouts for nic salts and a sub-ohm coil. The sub-ohm coil has larger wicking holes than the other coil. I use it for 70/30 juice and I've had no problems at all.
I do have the Breeze 2 but I don't use it much these days. I have used the 0.6 coil in the breeze and the power output was too weak for my liking so I now use the 1 ohm NS coil with it and stick with 50/50. The advantage with the breeze is that you can poke holes into the coil head if you use higher VG Eliquids and this seems to work however, if you poke too many holes, you'll need to scrap the coil head because it will oversaturate all the time.
 
Looks great! I like the color and the size. Roughly, how much juice did a single pod last?
 
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