The Artery PAL AIO is from a fairly young, fairly small Shenzhen vaping brand, specializing in environmentally friendly manufacture and distribution of gear that, in my experience, is of a very high standard.
Not necessarily the hard-hitting, cloud machines of VGOD or Smoant, for example, but compact gear with a flawless aesthetic and sweet performance in the mid-intensity vaping range.
Indeed, at this stage, the MIX 150 is the highest powered box mod in their catalogue, with the brand seeming to favour innovations in compacting designs and making them pocket, bag and purse friendly.
They’ve really succeeded on that front, with winners like the adorable Nugget X Mini Kit, which I had the pleasure of reviewing, and the likes of the Lady-Q (I guess that one’s reserved for the ladies) which looks for all intents and purposes, just like a tube of mascara!
Well, today’s review features an AIO that’s about as pocket-friendly as it gets, the billet-box like Artery PAL features some truly unique design elements and certainly that flawless aesthetic I mentioned earlier…but how does it vape?
This item was sent for the purposes of this review. As always, my views are my own.
What’s In The Box
- 1 x Artery PAL AIO
- 1 x Pre-installed 0.7 Ohm LQC Ceramic coilhead
- 1 x 1.8 Ohm LQC Ceramic coilhead
- Micro USB charge cable
- Coin tool for dismantling
- Spare glass tank cover, o-rings and other spares
- Warrantee card and User manual
Features
- Cardcase inspired design
- Available in black, grey, red., blood diamond, carbon fibre, azure resin, cracked paint
- Colour covers are all interchangeable
- Dimensions 19.4 mm x 79 mm x 47 mm(without drip tip)
- Aluminium 6063 construction
- Innovative side slide fill
- Voltage: 3.2 -4.2 V
- 1200mAh built-in battery
- 3ml e-liquid capacity
- 8 second cut off, short circuit protection, overcharge protection, overheat protection
Build Quality & Design
I was lucky enough to receive the cracked paint colour PAL and was decidedly pleased when I opened up the neat, white box packaging to reveal the simplistic but exquisitely finished Artery PAL.
The external design couldn’t be more basic. Card-sized and shaped, only with a thickness of 19.4 mm. This rectangular box looks very much like a Billet Box, which was equally rectangular!!!
The only external difference here is in the placement of the fire button, its black plastic clickiness set flush with one of the device’s removable side panels, at the upper left corner, with a silver finished ring surrounding it and adding an aire of quality. 
The only irregularity or protrusion is the little 510, removable Delrin drip tip which sticks out of the AIO’s top, in line with that fire button.
The finish is as pretty as a picture, the cracked-paint finish looks more like an art mosaic, as you can see from the pictures, instantly making this device one of the prettiest AIOs I own, simply beautiful!
Only the large, removable side panels are coloured, everything else is black…and the whole chassis construction is Aluminium so the box is light, but not so light that it feels cheap…it weighs approximately 120g. The side panels are plastic and the colour finish, glossy on mine.
There is a micro USB port close to the base of one narrow vertical side.
There are four, small battery ventilation holes in the middle of the base and visible thumb tabs at the bottom of both side panels, for easy removal, with the help of 12, strong, round magnets on either side, that’s 4 on each cover, 4 on one side and screw heads doing the job on the other.
There is stylish, red, block letter Artery branding on the same side as the fire button, only this time it’s at the bottom right, printed bottom to top so you’d have to turn your head sideways to read it…
I remove the other side panel to see where the tank is on this tiny little AIO.
What I find, surprised me, a recessed tank reservoir is accessible via a sliding, rectangular glass cover, a unique fill method indeed…if you’ve never seen a Billot Box, that is.
Within the tank, the coil head is visible, with openings in its casing positioned so low down in the tank that you should be able to vape this right down to the very last juice drop without a dry hit.
Staring up at me is an opening which accesses the airflow holes in the base of the coil head…I wonder at this and then realise that the air flows up the side of the device, under the side panel to enter these holes and…oddly, it gets in at the thumb tab that I used to remove the panel….interesting, much like the Billet Box design.
There is also a recess cut out of the inside of the side panel to accommodate that weird airflow setup. We will have to see how well this works.
A black o-ring (actually, it’s not o-shaped but rectangular) is visible around the edges of this glass panel…I check the mechanism, sceptical about its ability to slide and seal with ease but it seems to really do the trick and looks as neat as James Bond’s sock drawer.
This is a simple AIO device with no settings to worry about, 5 clicks on or off and fire, that’s all!
I fill her up, to see how she vapes.
Accessories
All necessary spares are there, including a spare glass slider in case something goes horribly wrong, though I doubt you’ll ever need it. Besides the fitted 0.7 ohm coil head, there is a 1.8 ohm one that’s just great for MTL and nic-salt vaping!
How Does The Artery PAL AIO Perform?
I’m not going to lie to you, this is not my chosen style of vaping, at least not the 15-25W range that you’ll get of this device’s 0.7 ohm coilhead. When I’m vaping that wattage range I desire a full flavour, which I’m just not getting here. It suits me as a spare but not as a number one vape, that’s just me.
However, the device does chuck clouds, given its proportions and output capacity…so I can’t fault it there…especially when it’s vaping restricted DL with the 0.7 ohm head. The trouble is, the flavour is too muted for it to be my go-to for restricted direct lung inhales.
This device is simple to operate, with no controls to speak of, it’s conveniently sized and shaped and holds a fair amount of e-liquid for the high-ish resistance…so I’m not constantly filling it.
I like the size of the tank and the resistance on both coils for use with nicotine salts but I feel that it could certainly have benefitted from a more restricted airflow as it seems to favour light direct to lung (DTL) above mouth to lung (MTL) vaping, which I certainly don’t want on a nic-salt vape as then I end up consuming too much nicotine. So sadly, for me, this wouldn’t be a go-to MTL device either.
The MTL quality is very open…which is something that turns me off, I’m afraid…I would prefer a device that offers a decent, restricted MTL hit to a device that isn’t sure whether its offering DL or MTL, anyday.
This would have been the ultimate little nic-salt pocket vape, had that MTL hit felt a good 50% more restricted.
I like everything about the fill method, aesthetic and convenience, but the airflow is a problem…with the coil change possibly stepping into the realm of tricky for new and inexperienced users.
How To Fill
- Pull off the magnetic side panel on the side opposite the fire button
- Slide the glass tank cover down, holding the device on its side so that this motion is horizontal
- Put your dropper in the opening and squeeze until the reservoir is full to the brim…flush
- with the glasses bottom face
- Slide the glass shut
How To Change the Coil
- Remove the device’s drip tip
- Use the coin tool to unscrew the drip tip seating
- Remove the white plastic box which houses the tank and coilhead
- Remove the glass panel by sliding it right out
- Wiggle the base of the coilhead, while holding the upper part of the coil shaft, so that the shaft and coil head separate
- The shaft will come out the top and the coil head will come out through the side
- Replace the coil head making sure to replace the shaft and DripTip seating properly
- The coilhead and shaft don’t screw together but they fit together by means of an o-ring
- Place the plastic box-tank back in the mod before filling, to avoid any spillage as the coil head will pop out with the slightest movement
Stock Coil Performance
I found the flavour on both coil heads to be rather muted, but vapour production was full for the given ranges, namely 15-25W on the 0.7 ohm coil-head and 5-9 W on the 1.8 ohm head.
Flavour on the 0.7 Ohm coil head is definitely superior, out of the two options.
Operating Instructions
- 5 Clicks on and Off
- The LED light will flash 5 times to show that the device is switching on or off
Battery Life
Above the charge port is a small LED, this shines blue on fire when the battery level is 50-100%, purple from 15-50% and red from 5-15%.
I found the battery life to be good, at 5-6 hours on the 1.8 ohm coil and 4-5 on the 0.7 ohm coil, and the charge time minimal, at about an hour.
Pros
- Decent battery life
- Compact, convenient size, fits just about anywhere
- Beautiful finishes and aesthetic
Cons
- Airflow a little too open for an enjoyable MTL, or a decent nic-salt experience
- Muted flavour on both coils
- Fiddly coil change, especially for beginners
Final Review Verdict
I can’t deny the convenience and aesthetic appeal of this device however, I found the flavour slightly lacking and the airflow a little too open for me to enjoy it for nic-salt MTL use.
I appreciated the fact that the Artery PAL does a decent, restricted DL hit with some fairly good vapour production but still, flavour was lacking.
Convenient, yes…a good vape? Sadly, not for me…somewhere in that grey area that confines it to the ‘spare vape’ shelf or bag pocket, I’m afraid…to be used in emergencies only!
And..
Would I buy the Artery PAL AIO if I lost/broke the device?
Not necessarily.
