One of the biggest brands in the industry – Elf Bar – are back with their new Elf Bar 4 in 1 Pre-filled Pod Kits. Thanks to Vape Club we’ve got three of these to look at!
Elf Bar are a company that almost need no introduction really! They have absolutely dominated the vaping game recently, mainly due to the success of the Elf Bar 600 disposable vape – which even won the ‘Best Disposable Vape’ award in the 2022 Ecigclick awards!
The company have had a string of successes recently with devices like the ELFX Pod Kit, ELFLIQ E-liquid range and the ELFA Pro Pod Kit as they look to diversify away from throwaway disposable vapes.
What Can We Expect From The Elf Bar 4 in 1 Pre-filled Pod Kits?
Fancy carrying around four of your favourite Elf Bars flavours, but don’t fancy carrying around four disposable vapes at once?
Then the Elf Bar 4 in 1 Prefilled Pod Kit takes away that hassle as you can have four of your favourites on the go in one device!
You’ve got a massive range of all the popular Elf Bar flavours available.
Sixteen different kits (or ‘editions’ as Elf Bar have termed them) can be purchased, each with four different flavours. Switching between your four different pods is easy thanks to the twist and go mechanism.
And when your pods have run out, you can simply purchase replacement ones, making this a reusable pod system as you can also recharge the battery!
This is a much more environmentally friendly option when you compare this to a disposable vape.
Out of the box the Elf Bar 4 in 1 promises up to a stated 3200 puffs in total, thanks to the four 2ml pre-filled pods, which contain a 20mg nicotine salt blend. These each have a 1.2ohm QUAQ mesh coil built in for smooth flavour delivery.
A massive 1500mAh battery is built in to power you through long vaping sessions and this is recharged via USB-C. You’ve also got the option of both Normal and Eco modes. Eco mode is designed to lower the power output to save battery.
Many thanks to Vape Club for sending three of the Elf Bar 4 in 1 Pre-filled Pod Kits in for review, let’s see how they go! As always, all views are my own…
Editions
Each different kit is called an ‘edition’ and there are sixteen different editions to pick from, each coming with four different flavours.
These are:
- Berry Edition: Blueberry, Blueberry Sour Raspberry, Strawberry Ice, Strawberry Raspberry Cherry Ice
- Blue Edition: Mad Blue, Blueberry, Blue Razz Lemonade, Menthol
- Blueberry Edition: Blueberry Sour Raspberry, Blueberry, Blue Razz Lemonade, Mad Blue
- Drinks Edition: Meta Moon, Cola, Elfturbo Ice and Pink Lemonade
- EB Edition: Watermelon Ice, Blueberry Sour Raspberry, Kiwi Passion Fruit Guava, Strawberry Raspberry Cherry Ice
- Fruits Edition: Strawberry Ice, Triple Mango, Watermelon Ice, Cherry Ice
- Ice Drinks Edition: Lemon Lime, Elfturbo Ice, Menthol, Cherry Cola
- Lemon Edition: Lemon Lime, Pink Lemonade, Blue Razz Lemonade, Lemon Ice
- Mixed Fruits Edition: Kiwi Passion Fruit Guava, Apple Watermelon, Strawberry Kiwi, Pineapple Lime
- Pineapple Edition: Pineapple Ice, Pineapple Mojito, Pineapple Coconut, Pineapple Lemon
- Pink Edition: Pink Lemonade, Strawberry Kiwi, Mad Peach, Cherry Cola
- Purple Edition: Grape, Blueberry Sour Raspberry, Blueberry, Strawberry Kiwi
- Red Edition: Strawberry Ice, Watermelon Ice, Mad Peach, Strawberry Raspberry Cherry Ice
- Special Edition: Cherry Ice, Blueberry, Apple Pear, Strawberry Ice
- Summer Edition: Spearmint, Lemon Lime, Pineapple Ice, Blue Razz Lemonade
- Yellow Edition: Apple Pear, Triple Mango, Pineapple Ice, Pineapple Mojito
You can also purchase replacement pods in packs of two, which are two pods with the same flavour. Ideal if you have found a flavour you love or want a change.
We were sent three of the editions to review and these are my thoughts on them.
Kit Contents
- Elf Bar 4 in 1 device
- 4x Elf Bar 4 in 1 Prefilled Pods
- User Manual
Specifications
- 117.5mm x 36.8mm x 34.1mm dimensions
- Draw activated mouth to lung vape
- Delivers up to 3200 puffs
- Huge 1500mAh battery capacity
- Rechargeable via USB-C
- Four 2ml pods in one device
- Twist and Go flavour switching
- Range of popular Elf Bar flavours
- 20mg nicotine salt strength
- Eco and Normal output modes
- 1.2ohm QUAQ mesh coil
- Leak proof design
- Replacement pods sold separately
Design & Build Quality
You’ve got that instantly recognisable cylindrical design that is almost ubiquitous amongst 4 in 1 devices. Measurement wise this is pretty much in line with other devices out there – measuring in at 117.5mm x 36.8mm x 34.1mm.
The cylindrical design just works, it makes it easy to accommodate a revolving system of switching between the pods and it is comfortable to hold too. The rounded shape just sits in the palm of my hand nicely.
I’ve got to give a shout out to Elf Bars ‘revolver’ system of switching between the four flavours, as this is actually one of the best that I have encountered. I have tried a lot of different 4 in 1 devices in my time!
Whereas a lot of other competing devices require you to lift up and twist the mouthpiece or have some other convoluted system, this one is dead easy. You don’t even touch the mouthpiece here!
You’ll see a window on the side of the device that allows you to see the selected flavour, and you simply slide this with your thumb or finger to change the flavour.
It is that easy and it is so smooth in practice too, it just works really well and sets the standard for other similar devices to follow. When the pod is correctly aligned it also lights up Blue to let you know and if it isn’t aligned properly then it just won’t vape.
But in practice I have had absolutely zero issues with aligning a pod correctly.
The device itself is pretty basic, but that is all you need for a 4 in 1 system like this.
The mouthpiece is removable to allow access to the pod chamber and it snaps satisfyingly into place thanks to the magnetic connection. There’s no wrestling with it to get it off, simply lift it up to remove it and drop it back in!
On the front you’ll find the screen, which lights up with the Elf Bar logo and also displays how much battery you have left.
There’s a button there too which allows you to switch between normal and Eco mode and on the base of the device is the USB-C charging port.
Build quality overall is pretty decent for a device like this as well and I haven’t really got any complaints about it. Everything slots together and works as it should and there aren’t any sharp edges on the device!
Quick Start Guide
Firstly, you need to remove the mouthpiece and insert the pods into the device, making sure the contacts are facing downwards. And that’s it, you are all set to vape!
I’ve described the twist and go system above and you simply rotate this to select your flavour making sure that the pod lines up with the arrow.
There’s no power button present here, this has an auto draw system so simply take a puff on the device to fire it.
There is however a mode button present that allows you to switch between normal mode and Eco mode.
Eco mode means the power output will become lower in order to prolong battery life and ‘Eco’ will helpfully be displayed above the power button to indicate this mode is active.
You can’t actually see how much e-liquid remains in the pod. However when the vapour production starts to die off or the taste is becoming muted then it’s usually time to dispose of the pod and replace it with a new one.
Battery life is displayed by the power indicator at the top of the screen. When the last section of the ring is showing and it begins to flash then you will want to recharge the device. The vape does get quite weak by this point too.
Charging
No USB-C charging cable is included in the kit so you will need to source one yourself.
The USB-C charging port is located on the base of the device, so you’ll need to rest it on its side to charge it. Simply plug the connector in and the charging cable to a suitable power source and it will begin to charge automatically.
How Do The Elf Bar 4 in 1 Pre-filled Pod Kits Perform?
Berry Edition
Blueberry, Blueberry Sour Raspberry, Strawberry Ice and Strawberry Raspberry Cherry Ice
So first up, I went with the Blueberry Sour Raspberry as this is one I have vaped on numerous occasions in the Elf Bar 600 disposable vape.
This is a virtually identical experience to the disposable, although I would say that the flavour seemed to be a touch more stronger. The blueberry and raspberry tasted more pronounced and there was a stronger sour edge to it.
Blueberry is just a straightforward candied blueberry flavour, with a lot of sweetener present to it. Nothing too special about it.
Strawberry Ice was my favourite out of these four, featuring strong, thick strawberry notes to the flavour and a nice cooling touch at the end that isn’t too overwhelming. It’s just a nice, steady flavour to puff away on!
Finally, Strawberry Raspberry Cherry Ice gave me quite pronounced strawberry and raspberry flavours. Just like having a mouthful of strawberry and raspberry flavoured sweets and a nice chill at the end. I’m not sure where the cherry is though as I couldn’t pick up on that.
Pink Edition
Pink Lemonade, Mad Peach, Strawberry Kiwi and Cherry Cola
I started off here with the Cherry Cola flavour and I was actually quite surprised by the strength of the flavour here!
There are strong cola notes to this with the cherry actually being more of a background note and a little touch of vanilla at the end.
Strawberry Kiwi presents these two flavours pretty much as I’ve experienced them in many other pre-filled pods and disposables. In that the strawberry flavour is quite far and away the most dominant one with the kiwi running through it as an undertone.
Pink Lemonade is a pretty standard pink lemonade flavour and the weakest of the four in my opinion.
It’s quite heavy on the lemonade flavouring but has a nice little fizz to it at the end.
Finally, onto the Mad Peach! Not so sure what is mad about it, but it’s certainly one of the more flavoursome peach flavours that I have tried in a pre-filled pod. This captures the notes of a peach fruit very well indeed, bursting with sweet and juicy flavour.
Out of the four flavours here, the Mad Peach was my favourite one of the bunch. I managed to vape through the entire pod in less than a day!
Summer Edition
Spearmint, Blue Razz Lemonade, Pineapple Ice and Lemon Lime
Pineapple Ice is actually one of my favourite Elf Bar flavours and the pod version replicates it perfectly. There’s a delicious pineapple flavour along with a hit of sweetener and a subtle chill to finish it off.
Blue Razz Lemonade is quite heavy on the blueberry, with the raspberry and lemonade notes being more of an undertone. There’s a detectable fizz at the end of this one though which is a nice little touch!
Lemon Lime is more of a subtle lemon and lime combo, it doesn’t quite have the tang or the punch that others do.
The lemon and lime flavours are definitely there but just not as punchy as some others that I have tried.
Spearmint is a very tasty one, this tastes very much like a Polo Mint. The minty sweet, not the Volkswagen.
Having a good pull on this really gives me a nice refreshing blast and it works really well as a good palate cleanser. The mint flavouring is really crisp which is what I like in a spearmint flavour!
Device Performance
If you have already tried out the Lost Mary 4 in 1 kits, which we recently reviewed then these perform in an almost identical way!
I couldn’t really tell much of a difference when using them side by side if I’m honest.
What that means is that you’ll get a mouth to lung vape from the 1.2ohm QUAQ mesh coil that is not too dissimilar to the incredibly successful Elf Bar 600 disposable vapes. And we all know how successful those have been! So it’s definitely a case of ‘if it ain’t broke don’t fix it!’.
And I’m totally fine with that approach because the Elf Bar 600 disposables have been a popular choice for many!
However, if you prefer a bit more of a powerful vape or are a restricted lung vaper, then you might want to consider another device. This isn’t the most powerful vape on the market and it is restricted to mouth to lung vaping, there’s no way of adjusting the airflow.
You do have some control over the power output, however this is very limited. Essentially you have your ‘normal’ mode, and the ‘Eco’ mode which allows you to lower the power output to conserve battery.
Handy if you are out and are unable to recharge the battery, but that is all I would recommend it for really as I found the vape to be very weak in ‘Eco’ mode.
The battery life is a big selling point, so you are unlikely to get caught short here! Built into the device is a massive 1500mAh battery, which is one of the largest yet that I have encountered on a device like this. This lasts absolutely ages, well over a day for me, so I was never worried about taking one of these kits out and having the battery run out on me.
The only downside is that with such a large battery it does take quite a long time to recharge!
Perhaps in a V2 model (if there is one), Elf Bar might consider fast charging??
Puff Count
These are advertised as offering up to 2400 puffs from each kit in normal mode and up to 3200 puffs in eco mode and this is plastered across the box!
Of course, how many puffs you will actually get is dependent on how frequently you use the device and how long you inhale on it for. For example, longer inhales will actually reduce the puff count as more e-liquid is drawn into the coil.
I tested this claim out myself, firstly by tallying the amount of puffs I got from one pod in normal mode and multiplying it by four and doing the same with another pod in Eco mode. Though I did find it tough with the Eco mode as the vape was a bit too weak for me!
So, in normal mode, I got 272 puffs from a single pod (times that by 4 and I get 1,088 puffs), and in Eco mode I got 308 (1,232 puffs). That’s roughly in line with other pods I have tested out from other manufacturers.
In real term usage, as I would imagine 99.9% of you reading this review don’t actually measure how many puffs you get from your pods, that meant one of these kits lasted me five days. Five days of vaping for under £12 is a pretty good deal in my eyes!
Pros
- Reusable device, has a rechargeable battery and can purchase replacement pods
- Option of switching between four different flavours on the go
- Easy to use, beginner friendly
- Massive 1500mAh battery built in
- Lots of different flavour options to choose from
- Revolver system to switch between flavours is one of the best that I have used
Cons
- Still have waste from the disposable pods
- Not the most powerful vape out there
- No adjustable wattage or airflow
- Unable to see how much e-liquid remains in the pod
- Slow recharging
Final Verdict
Now, this is an Elf Bar product so I would expect it to be wildly successful just based off the brand name alone!
I do think that it is really good to see the largest disposable vape producer moving into more sustainable vaping options. This is something that I would like to see highlighted in the press rather than all the negativity around vaping, though I think that would be highly unlikely!
Of course, from a business perspective, moving to more sustainable devices is a necessary change with the impending ban on throwaway disposable vapes in the UK.
Elf Bar have become experts at providing vaping devices that are easy to use right out of the box and this one is no different. This appeals to anyone from the beginner vaper right through to the seasoned one who might grab one of these as an emergency purchase when out and about or to take away with them for a weekend break!
And this does tick the boxes.
It provides a vape that will be satisfying for many. You can switch between up to four different flavours on the move (or just stick to the one flavour if you have found one you love!), re-use the device and you’ve got plenty of battery to keep you going. All of that for less than £12!
So, what are your thoughts on Elf Bar’s latest reusable pod system? Let us know in the comments below!
