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Freemax Autopod50 Review: Flat Out Amazing Coils!
Product intro and specs
The Autopod50 is a pod AIO (or pod mod) that’s rated for 50 watts and houses a 2000 mAh battery. But most importantly, it takes the latest iteration of Freemax’s coils, the Coiltech4.0 mesh coils, with the ones included in the package being dual mesh. Freemax is known for making some of the best, if not the best mesh coils on the market, so dual-mesh coils sounds like great times two, right?
Keep reading to find out if the Autopod continues Freemax’s tradition of solid vapes and excellent coils, and if the Autopod is a contender in the pod mod market.
Price: $56.99 (Here)
Colors: Gunmetal, coral, blue, green, black/red, blue/yellow
Specifications
- Dimensions: 94 mm x 43.5 mm x 24.5 mm
- Weight: 151.5 grams
- Battery capacity: 2000 mAh
- Pod capacity: 4 mL
- Output voltage: 0.7-7.5 volts
- Output wattage: 5-50 watts
- Material: FeCrAl / PCTG / SS904L / tea fiber cotton
Kit contents
- 1 x Freemax Autopod50 mod
- 1 x Freemax Autopod50 pod 4 mL (AX2 mesh coil 0.25 ohm)
- 1 x AX2 mesh coil 0.5 ohm
- 1 x Silicon protection case
- 1 x USB cable
- 1 x Warning card
- 1 x Warranty card
- 1 x User manual
Build quality and design
The Freemax Autopod comes in six colors, with three of them being solid colors and the other three gradient, and all of them have a glossy paintjob. I am not a huge fan of glossy stuff, but then again, I wasn’t a fan of their graffiti-inspired Twister pen and those things sold like hot cakes. In any case, you don’t see glossy vapes that often, so the Autopod sure is different.
At 94 mm x 43.5 mm x 24.5 mm, the Autopod comes in a boxy shape, and it is shorter than most vapes in this category. The form factor reminds me of the Innokin Z-Biip I reviewed a while ago, but that’s about it as far as similarities go. The Autopod also has a significant heft at around 150 grams with a full pod on, but that’s to be expected for a regulated pod mod with a 2000 mAh battery. The weight and the mostly metallic construction make it feel relatively well-built, but the front panel is plastic, so it also gives some cheap vibes.
The pods hold 4 mL of juice, they are dark tinted, and only a small part of them is exposed. Honestly, I am never sure how much juice is left inside the pod. And as you’ll read in the performance section, that causes some issues. Another thing about the pods is that they come with a built-in, non-replaceable drip tip. That’s never a good idea, and I am pretty sure they could have designed them to take a 510 tip. But that’s not the first AIO with a built-in tip and it’s not a big deal anyway.
The device comes with a basic black and white screen that gets the job done and shows all the essential info you’ll need. The magnets are strong and snappy, and the buttons are clicky and responsive. As a note, I saw a silicon protection case mentioned at the kit contents. I didn’t receive anything like that in my package so I can’t speak about it, but it does look good in the pics I saw at Freemax’s website.
As you can see, the Autopod doesn’t really excel from a build quality and design perspective. There are some issues with it, but as long as the coils are Freemax level, I’d be willing to let them slide. Spoiler: the coils are great!
Getting started
When it comes to ease of use, pod mods lay somewhere between mod and tank kits and pod vapes, and the Autopod is no different. The menu is easy to use and basic operations are very straightforward.
Make sure you prime your coil with 4-5 drops of juice before your first use. These dual-mesh coils need to be fully saturated or you will risk burning them, which tastes as awful as it sounds! Once you prime your coil, screw it on to the airflow adapter (don’t throw this away when replacing coils!) and line up the two tiny gaps that are directly above the airflow slots with the two small notches that are on the sides of the pod. Give the adapter half a turn to secure it, and fill the pod through the hole that’s under the silicon plug. Set the wattage before you insert the pod back in, give it five minutes, and you’re good to go.
As far as operations go, Freemax kept it pretty simple:
- Five clicks of the fire button to turn on and off
- Press + and – to lock the buttons (the device can still fire)
- Press fire and – to rotate the screen
- Press fire three times to enter the menu
- The SET submenu allows you to set puff timeout (5-15 seconds,) reset the puff counter and vape duration, and do a factory reset
- The INFO submenu allows you to check battery levels, firmware version, and device internal temperature
- To exit the menu, navigate to the EXIT option
The Autopod sets the wattage automatically when you insert a pod, but unfortunately, it sets it on the lower recommended wattage. I found both coils to be very weak at the auto setting, so I had to raise the wattage every time. I get why they added this feature to the chipset, but I really wish it was setting the power at the “best” wattage, and not the minimum.
Performance
The Autopod comes with two coil options in the box, and there are both dual-mesh coils:
- The AX2 0.25-ohm mesh coil (30-50 watts, best: 40 watts)
- The AX2 0.5-ohm mesh coil (15-35 watts, best: 30 watts)
Both coils are made out of stainless steel (SS904L) and incorporate tea fiber cotton. From what I understand, this material combination is what Freemax calls FM Coiltech, and it’s is the fourth version of this technology. Note that SS904L has a high nickel content, so if you are allergic you should avoid using it.
Before I get into the performance of the coils, I need to note that you should take care to refill the pods once the juice is low. Don’t let it get empty! I managed to burn two coils with the pods being around 20-25% full—luckily, I still had one of each coil for the rest of my testing. I get that these are dual-mesh coils in a pod, but in combination with the dark tinted pods and the auto-setting of the wattage, I soon got tired of the “remove pod to check, insert pod, set wattage, vape” process. With that out of the way, let’s talk coil performance.
The 0.15 coil of the Voopoo DRAG S used to be my favorite pod mod coil, but not anymore. The 0.25-ohm coil of the Autopod blows it out of the water, while using around half the power! Just hear me when I say this: these are the best coils I’ve used in this power range, and that includes sub ohm tank coils. The flavor I am getting on this coil with just 40 watts is flat out impressive. And I think that the culprit is these tea fiber wicks. All juices taste great on these coils, but fruity juices (and especially the mentholated ones) taste amazing.
The 0.5-ohm coils are also great, but still one step behind the 0.25-ohm coils if you are looking for performance. The flavor is crisp and clean, and the draw is super smooth and very slightly more restrictive. But the vapor is a little bit cooler on these coils at the 30-watt recommended wattage, making them a tiny bit less flavorful. Still, they’re miles ahead from most of the competition, especially considering their low power requirements.
I liked both coils with the airflow fully open, and I found that the dual-mesh configuration restricts the airflow just enough to make it a very satisfying RDL. The coils also seem to last for a long time (given that you don’t burn them like I did). Freemax claims that they last for 30-40 fills, which sounds over-optimistic; but then again, it is Freemax so it would surprise me to be honest. I’ve run around 30-40 mL of juice through my second pair of coils, and they still feel like new. But I did notice some leaking on the contacts in day to day use, which ended up creating a pool of juice when one of my Autopods was left unused for around a week. That’s not out of the ordinary for bottom-fill pods, but I suggest not storing it with a full pod for longer periods.
Finally, I didn’t feel any drop of power, up until the charge went down to one bar. The Autopod seems to be providing constant output, which is a great feature that we don’t see very often on pod-based devices.
Battery life and charging
The Autopod charges through the Type-C port that’s placed at the bottom of the mod, and Freemax lists the charge rate at 2 amps. I timed a full charge at 77 minutes, which is great considering that the battery has a 2000 mAh capacity.
As for battery life, I went through around one and a half pod on a charge with the 0.25-ohm coil at 40 watts, which translated to around 300 two-second puffs. I am very satisfied with battery life and all their ratings seem legit.
The screen has battery indication in the form of a four-bar battery graphic. I wish it were a percentage instead, but the graph does the job. Finally, the Autopod supports pass-thru so you can use it while it is plugged in.
Pros / Cons
- (+) Large capacity (4 mL)
- (+) Comfortable in the hand
- (+) Relatively lightweight and compact
- (+) Bright and clear screen
- (+) Adjustable airflow
- (+) Easy to use
- (+) Possibly the best coils on a pod mod
- (+) Unreal flavor on the 0.25-ohm coil
- (+) Good performance and battery life on the 0.5-ohm coil
- (+) Both coils last long
- (+) Large battery for its size (2000 mAh)
- (+) Quick charging (2-amp)
- (+) Type-C port
- (+) Constant output
- (+) Supports pass-thru
- (-) Hard to see juice levels
- (-) Coil can get burnt when the pod is below 1/3 full
- (-) Not the best build quality
- (-) Built-in drip tip
- (-) Mod automatically sets the wattage too low
- (-) Pods leak when left unused for long
Gallery
Verdict
In an ideal world, Freemax would make coils for every sub ohm vape on the market. This tea fiber mesh combo is a killer, and I find it hard to go back to a non-Freemax coil after using one of their vapes. At this point in time, they are leaps and bounds above every other company when it comes to coils. But they still need to cover some ground in regards to making mods.
The Autopod is not a bad device; it’s actually pretty good. But unlike some other pod mods I’ve tried recently, it feels like it was put together in a rush. Part of it has to do with its overall construction, which doesn’t feel as premium as something like the DRAG S I reviewed a couple of months ago. But if you don’t mind that, and you are looking for the best flavor you can get in a compact vape, look no further. These excellent coils are enough for me to give the Autopod a full recommendation.
What do you think of the Autopod50? Are you a fan of Freemax’s coils? Let me know in the comments!
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Article Author: Spyros Papamichail
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