The Aspire Paradox is the latest in the company’s brand of “Prestige” products.
This one’s a single battery box mod and Aspire has partnered with the Italian engineering house NoName.
This is not the first time Aspire has teamed up with these designers, I recently reviewed the Aspire 9th Tank and I really enjoyed that one.
Aspire seems to be producing some great vape gear at the moment.
We’ve recently reviewed the VROD Sub Ohm Kit – the Nautilus Prime X AIO and the Aspire Favostix, all of which have been very well received.
What Can We Expect From the Aspire Paradox?
Single battery box mods seem to be undergoing a bit of a resurgence recently, with more and more mouth to lung tanks being release, a single battery mod makes the ideal partner whilst keeping the size and weight down.
The Aspire Paradox mod makes a pretty perfect combo with the 9th Tank that I recently reviewed.
In terms what to expect from the mod, it’s got a very simple feature set. But what sets it apart is the design, and the interesting panel/fire button that hides the screen.
More about that as we get into the review!
If you’re wondering where the look of the Paradox came from, then look no further than the beautiful Saudade by NoName.
This was sent over by NewVaping for review (thank you) as usual, this will not affect my review, and I shall report back honestly with what I find.
Inside The Box
- Paradox Mod
- USB-C Cable
- Instruction Manual
- Stickers
Specs
- Dimensions – 78x42x27mm
- Weight – 164g
- Power Output – 1-75W
- Battery – Single 18650 (not included)
- Screen – 0.91″ OLED
- Modes – VV/VW/Bypass
Design and Build Quality
The Paradox comes in a range of three colours, Dark Knight (which I have), Quick Silver, and Champagne Orion.
As usual for Aspire’s Prestige line it comes in a lovely black cardboard box with foil highlights.
Aspire Paradox Body
The first thing you will notice when you get the mod is that there appears to be no screen!
In fact it’s just hidden.
On the from you have a magnetic panel, this is designed to press the fire button.
Looking right at this panel you’ll be able to see the name of the mod is engraving in the gap that is there to allow you to pull this panel off.
More about what’s underneath this when we get to the screen and controls.
It’s an incredibly smooth feeling mod in the hands, all rounded edges.
The connector on the top of the mod is spring loaded, and will fit up to a 24mm atomiser, and looks spot on with smaller 22 and 24mm tanks.
Aspire Paradox Grip
On the rear of the mod you have a grippy rubber section.
This is done in a contrasting colour to the metal of the mod (black, green or blue) and is very comfortable.
It doesn’t have any squidginess or padding to it, which some people may miss. But I find it very comfortable.
You’ll notice that the the grip section is also set back into the mod a little, this is great as it means that it’s really easy to grip due to the “waist” on it.
Aspire Paradox Sides
One of the sides is free of any branding, just smooth shapes.
On the other side you have the NoName logo at the top, and “Aspire” engraved at the bottom.
Base
The base of the mod has your regulatory marks, a couple of torx screws, and your battery cap.
The battery cap is a screw down type, and as you would expect, the threading is super smooth.
There’s a nice clear red positive indicator on a white background at the far end of the battery tube, so no complaints on orienting your battery connector.
I did find that the design of the battery cap, that looks like an an anchor, means it’s not quite as easy to grip as some others that I’ve used, but that’s a minor niggle.
Aspire Paradox Fire Button Panel
When this is in place, you don’t actually press the fire button directly. Instead you’re pressing the top of this panel, which presses the fire button underneath.
It does this by having two sets of magnets.
There’s one set at the base of this panel, which acts as your hinge, and you have another magnet that matches up to your fire button.
These are super strong and when the panel is in place, you’d be hard pressed to realise this isn’t physically attached to the mod.
I know some people get worried about magnetic connections getting easily pulled off, but that’s definitely not the case here.
To remove the panel, there’s a lip at top that you can get a grip on with a fingernail or the tip of your finger.
Just pull it down and away from the mod and you’ll be able to take the panel off.
Aspire Paradox Screen and Controls
All of the controls are hidden behind the magnetic panel.
If we remove this we can see a nicely sized fire button with radial engraving for grip.
The screen below that is a very bright OLED screen. Nothing here that we haven’t seen from Aspire before, it’s got all your information clearly displayed.
On the left you have the battery indicator, followed by the coil resistance, amps being drawn and volts being drawn.
To the right of that a large Wattage indicator, with a “W” to show your mode.
This will obviously change to a Voltage indicator in VV or Bypass modes.
Below your screen is your + and – button.
These are relatively small and not the easiest to press, because the USB C port beneath them is protruding, and the buttons themselves are almost flush with rest of the panel.
Definitely one of my least favourites parts of this mod.
Aspire Paradox Button Combinations
As usual with a three button mod, there’s a couple of combinations to allow you to adjust your settings.
- Fire Button 5x – Lock/Unlock the mod (will not fire)
- Fire Button 2x in Locked Mode – Power off the mod
- Fire Button 3x – Stealth mode, switch off screen
- Fire and “-” – Lock +/- Buttons
- Fire and “+” – Switch between VW, VV and Bypass
Wattage
The wattage is adjusted in 0.1 increments if you do a single short press, and this is true throughout the whole range.
Usually such small increments annoy me, but a longer press will allow you to adjust in full 1W increments.
Pressing and holding will scroll in 1W increments, and after a short time it will speed up to allow you to change to anywhere within the 75W quickly.
Scrolling to the maximum or minimum (1W) it will pause, and if you press the adjustment button again it will round robin.
Voltage
This follows a similar scrolling style to wattage.
A short single press will adjust in 0.01V, but a long press will adjust in 0.1V and pressing and holding will cause it to scroll in 0.1V.
How Does the Aspire Paradox Perform?
I’ve been using this mod for a few weeks now, so I feel pretty comfortable that I’ve gotten to know it well.
What Tanks Fit the Aspire Paradox?
Using this mod you’re not going to want to use anything larger than a 24mm tank.
Whilst the width of the mod is slightly larger than this, more than a 24mm will overhang the front of the mod.
Comfort
This mod definitely stands out as one of the most comfortable I’ve tested.
Whilst I was initially unsure if the cover on the front would make it feel less responsive, in practice I’ve grown to really like how this works.
It’s full of rounded surfaces with a smooth finish, so there was always a risk it might be a little slippery in the hand.
The patterned rubber section on the back takes care of any slipperiness, and the way the top plate extends over the rear section gives you a comfortable and secure grip.
Aspire Paradox Battery Life
I’m not sure what it is they do, but battery life from single battery Aspire mods always seems to be among the best I’ve tested.
Obviously the amount of life you will get out of any given battery relies on a huge range of factors, resistance of the coil, wattage used, battery capacity, etc.
So I can only give you my impressions.
Vaping at lower wattage (sub 25W) I could usually eke out almost a full day from an 18650.
I did do some testing where I put the mod into stealth mode (screen off) to see if it made much difference, and whilst I’m sure there must be some change, it’s too small for me to notice it in practice.
Pros
- Very Comfortable
- Great fit and finish
- Nicely designed fire button/screen panel
Cons
- Protruding USB C Connector
Final Review Verdict
So that was the Aspire Paradox co-designed by NoName!
It’s certainly a “no frills” type of mod, Wattage, Voltage and Bypass are the only modes.
I actually quite like this, as it’s easy to get side-tracked by whizzy new features and think that this makes for a “better” mod.
At the end of the day, I (and plenty of other people) tend to stick to VW and never bother going into menus.
The panel that covers the screen will be the thing that decides whether you love this mod or not, personally I think it performs pretty much perfectly.
Not only have I had no issues with how it functions, I actually really like how it gives some protection to the screen, charge port and buttons.
So a mod that eschews any added complexity and just tries to do the basics well, with great build quality, that’s comfortable to use, and performs well, makes a nice change.
