The days of the pod are far from over, and brands are constantly innovating to offer products that meet vapers’ expectations. Aspire is one such brand, and they’ve just launched a new and improved version of their Nautilus Prime pod: the Nautilus Prime X.
A surprising pod
Running on an 18650 battery, the Nautilus Prime X is a pretty surprising pod. It is a true pod in some respects, but in other ways it’s a pod mod, and gives users some great options when it comes to choosing consumables.
Technical specs
| Pod dimensions | 45 x 25 x 90 mm |
| Pod weight | 110 g |
| Charging | USB-C |
| Battery | 18650 mAh |
| Range of use | 1 to 60 W |
| Tank capacity | 4.5 ml |
What’s in the box?
- Pod
- Tanks
- USB cable
- User guide
A complete kit
The Nautilus Prime is great – it comes with everything you need to start vaping with complete confidence: the vape, two coils, a cable, an extra cartridge and a manual. You can start vaping from the moment you take it out of the box.
First of all, the Nautilus Prime X comes with a sort of box that uses an 18650 battery. The air intake and a slider to adjust it are on the front. A colour display just beneath that harmoniously completes the layout of the front.
On its right side, there’s the fire button at the top and two control buttons at the bottom. Everything is tightly put together and the buttons fit snugly in their housings. The overall design and build quality is fantastic. On the left side there’s a USB-C port for charging the battery.
The rest of the body of the box is covered with a sort of leather-look fabric sporting the name of the pod, but it looks too plasticky to be real leather. That’s a pity, because the brand could have made more effort here to improve the otherwise good looks of the Nautilus Prime X.
On the underside of the pod is a 18650 battery hatch that opens and closes easily. The whole thing is solid and should survive daily use pretty well.
The cartridge is easy to slide into its housing on the top. Again, everything fits perfectly and there is no play between the different parts.
The plastic cartridge slides into the pod. It’s very easy to use. You slide in the coil via the base, add the liquid through the hole, sealed with a small silicone tab, and away you go. The whole thing is well-designed and does not leak.
It comes with two cartridges, depending on which coil you want to use. The 4.5 ml cartridge is designed to take the brand’s own Nautilus coils, and is really intended for indirect inhalation (into the mouth then into the lungs like a tobacco cigarette), which is perfect for beginners. The second tank is for restrictive direct inhalation using coils from the BP range, and only holds 4 ml of liquid.
There are some big differences between the Nautilus Prime X and its big brother, the Nautilus Prime. First of all, the box includes a second cartridge to make it more compatible with the brand’s own coils, button positions have been rethought, they’ve added a bigger screen and, above all, they’ve got rid of the built-in 2000 mAh battery. These are all changes that should please vapers a great deal.
An extremely functional pod
The Nautilus Prime X is a great example of what a pod ought to be. Its 18650 battery will let you vape for ages, but you may need to change the battery during the day rather than constantly charging the device.
The chipset it comes with is really simple and functional. It has an auto mode that selects the power level depending on the coil you’re using, a power mode, a voltage mode and finally bypass mode. You want to use the last two if you put in the BP RBA cartridge, which the company sells separately. That lets you transform the Nautilus Prime X into a rebuildable pod. The automatic system is really well-calibrated and doesn’t burn out the coils too quickly. We’d recommend it to all new vapers.
The way the brand has positioned the buttons and air intake make it particularly practical to use, as does the idea of putting the air intake on the front of the pod so you can adjust it easily via the slider.
Versatile when it comes to coils
Another big plus point for this pod is the possibility of using different coils, so anyone can adjust it to suit. There are two of them in the box. The 0.7 ohm Nautilus Mesh Coil is for MTL (indirect inhalation), and delivers great flavour. The tighter draw is perfect for when you’re quitting smoking. The second coil in the BP range, the 0.3 ohm BP mesh coil, works brilliantly if you want a lot of vapour with direct inhalation. Again, it’s great for flavour and the amount of vapour is pretty decent for this type of kit.
The whole range of Aspire coils works with this kit, the Nautilus and BPs, and the fact that there’s something for everyone is really great. The brand has even considered making an RBA base for fans of rebuildables. The only drawback is that this is sold separately from the normal kit.
Summary
What we like
- Ease of use
- Design
- Versatile when it comes to coils
- Works with an 18650 battery
- Button placement and optimum air intake
What we don’t like
- Nothing
