Artery Pal 18650 Pod Kit Review – Looks Good But There’s A Few Niggles

The Artery Pal 18650 pod kit is quite different to the typical pod mods in nearly every aspect.

It’s square, it takes an 18650 battery, the screen, buttons and adjustable airflow are all internal.

Although I’ve heard of Artery and seen a few of their products, like the original Artery Pal and the Nugget, I’ve never actually held an Artery device before, so I’m quite interested to get started.

Artery’s website doesn’t say a great deal about their target audience. It does say they have 5 years experience in manufacturing and designing their clients products (OEM/ODM). I think that can be very valuable experience for a company to have.

What I do know about Artery is they have more pods on the market than any of type of vape device, and they were pretty early into the “pod scene”.

Lets just hope all that experience shows in the Artery Pal 18650.

What Can We Expect From The Artery Pal 18650?

If you have heard of Artery before, you will have probably seen the Pal AIO, Pal 2 or Pal 2 Pro, in which case you’ll be thinking how much this device looks those predecessors.

Having never used those devices I won’t be able to compare them with the new Pal 18650.

However from a quick look at the reviews linked above, it’s clear that although the original Pal AIO could do with some improving across the board, the Pal 2 and Pal 2 Pro were pretty awesome.

I’m expecting and hoping the Artery Pal 18650 will be more like the latter.

The biggest difference I can see, is obviously the Pal 18650 uses an external 18650 battery, its predecessors made use of an internal battery.

This little beast is practically weightless weighing in at just 84grams (127grams with the battery).

Straight off the bat, I’m going to say I’m a little bit concerned about how low the mouth piece is, but it wouldn’t be the first time my first impressions were wrong.

Hands On Artery Pal 18650 Review

 

Inside the Box

• 1 x Pal 18650 Mod
• 1 x Pal 18650 Pod
• 1x 0.4ohm Mesh coil + Coil Base A -Pre-installed
• 1x 1.4ohm coil + Coil Base
• Spare O-Rings
• 1 x USB-C Cable
• User Manual
• Warranty Card

Specs

• Size: 89x45x23mm
• Weight: 84grams (127grams with battery)
• Output: 5-60W, VW
• Battery: 1×18650 (not included)
• Resistance range: 0.3-2ohm
• Charging: USB-C 1.5A
• E-liquid capacity: 3ml (standard) / 2ml (TPD)
• Drip Tip Size: 510
• Pods: Refillable, replaceable coil
• Materials: Aluminium Alloy, PCTG, PC

Features

• Adjustable airflow
• Variable Wattage
• Big Juice Window
• RBA Section Available
• Short Circuit Protection
• Overtime Protection (8 seconds)
• Overheat Protection
• Overcharge Protection

Design and Build Quality

My first impressions of the Artery Pal 18650 were not good ones.

Frankly I thought it felt cheap and tacky, I actually likened it to a toy you’d get in a McDonald’s Happy Meal.

My thoughts have changed a bit since then.

The Artery Pal 18650 Kit

The device is very light, weighing in at just over 80grams without a battery and it feels very plastic.

That’s the main reasons it felt like a cheap toy, however, rest assured it isn’t made entirely out of plastic.

The Artery Pal 18650 frame, panels and one internal side is made of aluminium alloy, although it is all covered in a thick paint that gives it that smooth plastic-like feel.

In most cases, the only way I could tell what was and wasn’t plastic, was by tapping it and listening to the sound it made.

It comes in a variation of 2 colours, Honeycomb and Blasted Rainbow.

Artery Pal 18650 Fire Button

The fire button is a round button in the top left corner of the device.

It is flat to the device which is awesome because it’s still easy to press, but makes it alittle bit less likely to fire in your pocket.

The button rattles, a lot. Which I know for a lot of people is a massive downside to any device.

Artery Pal 18650 – Screen and Power Adjustment

The panel on the opposite side to the fire button covers the screen and the power adjustment buttons.

The Screen is 10 x 6mm – that might seem very small compared to the screens that we are used to seeing, but you have to remember that this device is very basic, with very few features.

With that in mind, I really like the screens size and position.

The screen displays the current battery level, coil resistance and power setting, for a device like this what more do you need?

Just below the screen is the power adjustment buttons, they’re small, easy to press and don’t rattle, I like the screen and buttons. I even like their position, I imagine it could get annoying if you was forever adjusting the power settings but I’m pretty sure, once you’ve found a power you’re happy with that wouldn’t be necessary.

Artery Pal 18650 – Side Panels

Again, the side panels on the Artery Pal 18650 are made of aluminium alloy, but don’t feel like it.

Not only are they covered in the paint that feels like plastic but they also have full sized stickers on the front that also feel quite plastic.

I have to admit, I do like the stickers. They are well stuck, smooth and the honeycomb is reflective and looks awesome!

One panel has a round hole the fits the fire button nice and snug, while the other panel had a generously sized rectangular hole to see the liquid level, which is nice and convenient.

It’s hard to tell where the magnets that hold the panels on are located because they are concealed within the system, but the pull is strong and seems to come from the majority of the devices length.

I’ve hit the system with the palm of my hand a few times and neither of the panels fell of.

However whenever I dropped the device onto the floor most often than not a panel fell of, which is to be expected.

Artery Pal 18650 – Coils and Airflow

This pains me a lot, I’ve seen this design from other brands and I really dislike it.

First of all the coils, including the coil bases, are huge – the bases have a 15mm diameter.

And that brings me onto the part that I really dislike.

The coil bases are separate to the coils.

In my opinion this is completely unnecessary, unless it is it make the coils cross compatible, in which case you should be able to buy the coils as a solid unit or the bases separate as an adapter.

The coil bases act a lot like the base of a regular tank, the coils screw into the base and the base controls the adjustable airflow.

My problem isn’t that the adjustable airflow is internal or built into the coils.

Just like the enclosed power adjustment, I don’t think its location makes a huge difference on a device like this. My problem is purely the inconvenience of having a coil in 2 equally important parts, that can’t work without each other.

To make matters worse, there is 3 different types of bases for 3 different coil connections – it just seems like far too much unnecessary effort.

Artery Pal 18650 – Mouth Piece and Drip Tip

Looking at pictures of the Pal Aio and Pal 2 Pro there is one main difference that I notice about the Artery Pal 18650, the size and shape of the drip tips.

The Artery Pal 18650 drip tip seems a lot shorter than it’s predecessors.

It’s not the first mouth piece style that I haven’t liked, but it’s the first one that I haven’t got used to over time.

The problem isn’t purely the drip tips size, it’s a mix of that and the shape of the kit.

There doesn’t really seem to be enough room to comfortably fit your lips. It’s also quite thick on the outside of the tip…

It’s just not very comfortable, in my opinion, although I’m sure one or two people would disagree.

It’s not that much of a big deal because it’s a standard 510 tip, so you should easily be able to replace it…if you don’t like it…not that you should have to.

Artery Pal 18650 – LED Indicator

I’m not impressed with the Pal 18650s LED Indicator at all.

I’m not sure, if it a mistake with mine or it is a design/ build quality, regardless, as a reviewer I have to review the device I have been given.

And on the Artery Pal 18650 that I have been given the LED Indicator does not line up with the Indicator hole!

This makes it incredibly hard to see, in fact outdoors you can’t see it at all. Indoors you can see it through the indicator hole at certain angles but it is more prominent around the USB-C port.

The Artery Pal 18650 Pod

The pod sits inside the system, just below the mouth piece.

I have no usable finger nails, that usually makes devices like this a little hard to operate, but luckily for me, the panel on the side of the device is capable to pry the pod out.

The pod sides in and out nicely, it’s not too loose, nor is it too tight.

There is a o-ring on the top of the pod that seals the airflow from the mouth piece into the coil, very nice.

The fill hole is on the side of the pod, so there is no need to remove the pod from the system to fill it, although you do have to remove the panel, obviously.

Artery Pal 18650 Kit – Quick Start Guide

How To Fill The Artery Pal 18650 Pod

• Remove the back panel (the panel with the window)
• Place/hold the system flat and lift the plug from the pod
• Fill the pod through the hole
• Replace the plug and the side panel.

Leave the liquid 5 minutes to soak into the coil.

How To Change The Artery Pal 18650 Coil

• Remove back panel
• Pull to remove the pod
• Unscrew and remove the coil from the Pod
• Unscrew the base from the coil
• Screw the new coil into the base (if needed)
• screw the coil into the pod, replace the pod into the system

I would recommend pressing the fire button on the mod after removing the pod.

If I didn’t do this the mod didn’t recognize that I’d changed the coil and treat the 1.4ohm coil as if it was 0.4ohm and visa versa.

How To Add / Remove A Battery In the Artery Pal 18650

• Remove the front panel
• Pull the black ribbon to remove the battery
• Reinsert battery over the ribbon, as the ‘+’ / ‘-’ symbols indicate, reapply panel

How To adjust The Artery Pal 18650 Airflow

• Remove the pod from the system, as above
• Adjust the airflow band on the coil base
• Reinsert pod

Operations

• Turn on/off: Press fire button 5 times
• Adjust wattage: ‘+’ and ‘-’ located under panel
• Screen on/off and lock ‘+’ / ‘-’ buttons: press’+’ and ‘-’ simultaneously for 2 seconds

Warnings display on the screen such as, Low Voltage, No Atomizer, Atomizer Short, Temp Too Hot, 8S Timeout.

While charging the LED Indicator will display red, at 100% charge the LED Indicator will turn off.

How Does The Artery Pal 18650 Perform?

The screens battery indicator has 4 bars. A fully battery provides a completely different experience to what “half” a battery (2 bars) provides.

Artery Pal 18650 – 0.4ohm Mesh coil – Pre-installed

The recommended wattage for this coil is 20-28W. The website describe this coil as “Intense flavour and huge vapour”. I’m using the Got Salts Peachy Promise Nic Salt mixed at 50VG/50PG.

As all ways we’ll start way down low. At 15w there isn’t a lot to talk about regardless of the airflow settings.

At 20w with the airflow turned down there is a less vapour production in comparison to the smoke from a cigarette. Some puffs seem smooth, while other puffs seem a little bit heavy on the chest and there is very little to no sign of flavour.

With the air flow fully open the puffs are naturally a lot smoother and it carries a subtle sweet peachy taste. A slow Direct To Lung inhale provides a fairly nice but small cloud however there is no noticeable flavour.

With the airflow turned down, 28w seems a bit heavy on the chest again, with little to no flavour.

Opening the airflow up removes some of the heaviness on the chest but it’s still a little heavy at times. Although the flavour is more prominent although it doesn’t flood the mouth, like I’d hoped it would.

Above and beyond the recommended wattage; at 50w with the airflow fully open it provides a very prominent peachy taste. Although using it Direct to Lung doesn’t provide much flavour.

Artery Pal 18650 – 1.4ohm coil

The recommended wattage for this coil is 7-11W and the website describe this coil as “Best Flavour”.

I’m using the Got Salts Peachy Promise Nic Salt mixed at 50VG/50PG.

Down low, below recommended wattage, I’m starting at 5w, here you get a little vapour than smoke from a cigarette.

The peach flavour is fairly prominent, although it’s not very prominent. Baring in mind we’re firing at the lowest setting, this does give me hope.

At 7w the vapour production is very much like a cigarette and it’s very smooth. The flavour production is very prominent with the airflow fully open but is lessened when you turn the airflow down.

11w is at top of the recommended power range and the flavour is really nice and prominent with the airflow turned down. Fully opening the airflow provides a brilliantly prominent sweet peach flavour.

Above and beyond wattage, at 25w the system performs a lot like it does at 11w…which I think is very strange, maybe the system is limiting the power output without telling me.

Direct to lung obviously doesn’t give much with this coil, but it does give a nice prominent peachy flavour at the back of the throat with a just above cigarette smoke amount of vapour.

Artery Pal 18650 – High VG

I used Juccier Strawberry Mango Crushed mixed at 70VG/30PG, zero nicotine to test the coils out.

The 0.4ohm coil seemed to handle the high just as well as it handled the 50/50 juice. The 1.4ohm coil also seemed very similar to 50/50, however the vapour production from the 1.4ohm coil was lessened up to 11w.

I recommend using 50/50 juice on both of these coils, to preserve the life span of the coils.

Artery Pal 18650 – Battery Life

It’s hard to talk about battery life with devices that use external batteries because there is so many factors to take into account (the wattage you’re using, battery capacity, even the battery brand can make a difference in some instances).

I will say that for me, external batteries are always preferred.

If you are using a 3000mah battery and you’re using the kit at the max recommended wattage (28w) you will get approximately 714 x 2 second puffs, that’s a puff every other minute for about 23 hours.

The best thing about external batteries, is the availability to carry extra batteries, if you go out with an extra 3000mAh battery you’re going to be set for a wicked 46 hours!

If you don’t want to charge your batteries externally or carry extra batteries, the kit has a 1.5A charging rate, that will fully charge a 3000mAh battery in roughly 2 hours.

2 hours charging for all day use is ace, although I’m sure why Artery decided to give the Pal 18650 a 1.5A charge rating rather than 2A; which would fully charge a 3000mAh battery in 1 hour and a half.

While charging through the system the screen displays a loading battery icon and the red LED Indicator. When fully charged the LED Indicator turns off.

Artery Pal 18650 – Leaking?

I can happily say that this is the first pod system that I have used that has had absolutely zero leaking.

At no point while using this device have I seen any evidence of liquid inside the system.

Artery Pal 18650 – Airflow

Although the coil bases being separate really annoys me, I have to take my hat off to Artery, the airflow is capable of providing a restrictive Mouth To Lung draw, a restrictive Direct To Lung draw and everything in between.

Adjustable Wattage

The wattage goes up and down in increments of 0.5w and it loops round – if you press ‘-’ when you are at 5w, the power does to 60.

If you hold the button down it goes up or down quite fast, which is a nice feature. Even better than that, when you reach the max or min power setting it stops.

As I stated above, there is one really annoying downside, the system doesn’t inform you if it doesn’t have enough power to provide your requested wattage.

I’ll also use this space to say, when I changed between the 0.4ohm coil and the 1.4ohm coil the device didn’t recognize the difference, unless I fired when there was no coil attached.

Pros

• Good Flavour
• Good Adjustable Airflow
• No Leaking
• It’s very Light

Cons

• Coils have separate bases
• Button Rattles
• Suffers premature lack of power without warning

Final Verdict

I don’t look at the cost of an item because it is subject to change but to me the Artery Pal 18650 is OK as a budget device.

If it’s the same price as other pod mods, I don’t think I’d choose this device.

There is just too many little things that I don’t like for example: the button rattles, the drip tip is too short, it suffers a lack of power quite early in comparison to the battery indicator.

It’s not a bad device and I can imagine there will be some people that really like it, but for me the only good thing about it is the flavour capability.