The SMRT Pod Kit was sent to me for review from Wotofo. This kit is a new smaller internal-battery version of the Manik device, which they call the Manik S. This also includes Wotofo’s new innovative rebuildable coil head.
Specs
- Colors: Black, Gold, Black/Red, and Black/Blue
- 17.3mm height, 23mm thick, 29.2mm wide
- 4.5ml capacity (2ml in the EU)
- $39.95 from Wotofo.com
In The Box
- Manik S Device
- USB-C cable
- SMRT PnP Pod cartridge
- SMRT PnP rebuildable coil
- Coiling rod
- 6 mesh coil strips
- 6 cotton strips
- Accessories
Design
The Manik S looks a lot like the original Manik. It has the same shape but it’s smaller, has an internal battery, and has a metallic finish. Personally, I was really digging the leather-like panels and stitching that the Manik devices had so I’m a little bummed to see that gone in this new device.
There’s a clicky firing button on the front, a bright OLED screen, and an up and down button to adjust the wattage. And on the bottom is the USB Type-C port for charging. The original Manik had a micro-USB port so it’s nice to see that upgraded here.
Features
The features and menu system of the Manik S is the same as the full-size Manik.
To turn the device on, click the firing button five times fast.
The screen shows the battery charge, the wattage, the button lock symbol, the coil resistance, voltage, a puff counter, and a hit timer.
The wattage moves in one-watt increments or you can scroll fast by holding it down.
You can lock all of the buttons by clicking the firing button three times while the device is on or you can lock only the wattage buttons by holding the up and down buttons for a few seconds. If you want to clear the puff counter, hold the down button and firing button together. You can also change the colors on the screen by holding the up and firing buttons at the same time.
And that’s really it for features.
Pod
The pod holds 4.5 ml of liquid so you’ve got a lot of capacity here. This pod is refillable and uses replaceable or rebuildable coils. It’s smaller than the original Manik so you can’t swap the pods out.
But it’s a perfectly fine pod that’s comfortable to use and easy to fill.
The mouthpiece is a basic round piece built into the pod, so you can’t remove it.
Rebuildable Coils
Now here’s what makes the SMRT Pod kit really cool – the rebuildable coils. Wotofo says “Less Money, More Fun” and I would have to agree with that.
I think rebuilding is one of the most enjoyable parts of vaping. It’s one of the things that really got me into hobbyist vaping. There’s obviously not as much customization available in rebuilding this pod as there would be with an RDA, but it’s still fun.
And it’s definitely cheaper. Rebuildable coils always save money. Since these coils are specialty coil strips with little leads attached to them, they’re not as cheap as normal mesh strips but at least it’s cheaper than buying a full pack of pre-built coil heads.
And if you want to use pre-built coil heads rather than rebuilding your own, you can still do that too.
How to Rebuild the Coil
So let’s talk about actually rebuilding these coils. Wotofo put together a guide here if you can’t see the directions clearly in the image above.
So you have six cotton strips in the box and six mesh strips – 2 of each type that Wotofo makes. Pick a mesh strip and place it on top of the cotton strip, right in the center of the strip.
Then you put the smaller end of the coiling rod in the middle of the strip, opposite of the leads, and pull the ends of the cotton together on the other side.
Now you can slide your build into the coil shell with the cotton sticking out of the slot on the side of the shell. Pinch the cotton really tight to get it in easier. The leads should now be sticking out of the bottom of the shell. Then screw the top of the shell on. Leave the coiling rod installed through all of this.
Now you need to bend one of the leads over and into the little channel on the bottom of the shell. It doesn’t matter which lead you use so pick whichever one is closest to the channel.
Place the black insulator ring into the bottom with the straight lead in the middle of it and the bent lead under it. Now stick the gold cap into the insulator ring to close it off. Make it nice and tight. Then, snip off the excess wire on the leads, cut off the extra cotton, and pull out the coiling rod.
Screw on the outer shell and the coil is done!
I’ve already reviewed Wotofo’s line of pre-built coil heads when I did the review for the Manik so I’m not going to cover each of those here. All of them perform really well and have excellent flavor. This pod can use Wotofo’s GTX Coils or PnP Coils.
As for the rebuildable coil, it’s the same deal. It’s basically the same coil as the pre-built coils and you can change which strip you’re using, so you can expect the same type of performance and flavor. I think the flavor production is great.
Airflow
The airflow comes in from the sides of the device and in through the bottom of the pods. There’s no adjustable airflow, so that’s a drawback but the airflow works really well as it is anyway. This little device is designed for big flavorful hits so there’s a lot of airflow coming in. You basically get a wide-open lung hit.
Battery
The SMRT device has a built-in 2000mAh battery and charges using a USB-C cable. It’s a big battery so you should get plenty of life out of it.
Final Thoughts
I really like this kit. The Manik S is basically a smaller version of the Manik but with an internal battery, so it’s better for portability. It also has a USB-C charging port, so it’ll charge faster. But otherwise, it’s the same thing and works great.
The real star of the show is the SMRT rebuildable coil. I think it’s really cool what Wotofo has come up with here. It’s fun to build your own coil and also save some money doing it. The rebuildable coils come out to about $1 each while pre-built coil heads cost about $20 for a pack of five, so you really are saving a lot if you do it yourself.
Wotofo told me that this first release of SMRT coils are compatible with Wotofo’s GTX and PNP coils and the next release will support the RPM2 coils. Then they plan to release more options for other coils on the market so keep an eye out.
Priced separately, the SMRT pod cartridge costs $3.95 and the rebuildable coil kit costs $9.95. The rebuildable coil kit comes with 10 mesh strips and 10 cotton strips, so you’re getting each coil for a dollar each.
The SMRT Pod Kit was sent to me for review from Wotofo.com and you can get the full device and pod kit for $39.95.