Geekvape Aegis Max Review – As Tough and High Performing As the Rest?

I just received the new GeekVape Aegis Max kit for review, and I think this is a great opportunity for me to contribute my opinion of Aegis range.

There is a huge conversation happening lately, debating whether or not GeekVape are “milking” the Aegis range.

Some of people say they are, some say ‘they are but good on them’ and others say they aren’t.

My opinion differs slightly, let’s take a look at GeekVape and the Aegis range and then I’ll tell you my opinion.

Geekvape was founded in 2015, in the famous Shenzhen city, located in south-east china.

I’ve liked Geekvape ever since I found their devices. They’ve made all sorts of products, although they are predominantly sub-ohm devices.

To my knowledge they was one of the first companies to make disposable sub-ohm tanks – The Lumi tanks, and they were pretty impressive.

Geekvape’s slogan is “Geek Knows Better”. They claim to have sold over 13 Million Units (mods and tanks) world wide and they have 10 headquarters spread across the world, in locations that include USA, UK, Germany, France, Spain, Russia and Korea.

More About the Geekvape Aegis Line

What exactly does Aegis mean? Well it has a couple of dictionary definitions:

• the protection, backing, or support of a particular person or organization.
• (in classical art and mythology) an attribute of Zeus and Athene (or their Roman counterparts Jupiter and Minerva) usually represented as a goatskin shield.

Quite an apt name really given the Aegis mods are known to be water proof / shock proof and they are often accompanied by a Zeus tank/RTA.

The Aegis range consists of 11 devices, so is Geekvape “milking” the Aegis range?

I don’t think so, the Aegis range is the main water proof and shock proof vaping range on the market and they’ve set the standard pretty high.

The range covers everything – mods with built in batteries, single 18650 mod, dual 18650 mod, Boost pod system – Aegis pod mod and yes even a Geekvape Aegis squonker!

Many companies “milk” their successful ranges by constantly adding new colours to the pre-exisiting devices or bringing out devices that are very similar (although yes the Aegis range does have some older and newer devices that are similar).

I think there is a fine line between milking a range and making it a broad range. Its my opinion that Geekvape are on that very line but more so towards the latter.

What Can We Expect From the Geekvape Aegis Max Kit?

The Geekvape Aegis Max is a “Salute to [the] Aegis 100w” therefore we should be expecting an upgraded version of the Aegis 100w.

I’ve never actually heard of an “Aegis 100w”, I’m sure it’s what I know, as just the original “Aegis”.

The Aegis Max Kit comprises of the new Aegis Max Mod and the pre-existing Zeus Sub Ohm Tank, which has a great reputation.

It is top fill with an adjustable top-to-bottom airflow and push pull coils.

The Geekvape Aegis Max is powered by a single 21700 battery and comes with an 18650 battery adapter.

As expected it is shockproof, IP-67 Water resistant and dustproof.

The system has temperature control, variable wattage (up to 100w), bypass and variable power control (where you can set a power curve).

Despite what I’ve just said about ‘milking it’, lets face it, it looks like we should simply expect a single 21700 Aegis kit.

Right – on with the review and lets see if the picture ‘painted’ of this vape mod being indestructible is true 😉

Geekvape Aegis Max Kit Contents

• Geekvape Zeus Sub Ohm Tank
• Spare parts pack
• 18650 battery adaptor
• Battery door assist tool
• 0.2ohm G Coil Mesh coil
• Coil tool
• Spare glass
• 0.4ohm G Coil Mesh coil
• USB cable
• User manual (Although I didn’t get one)

Geekvape Aegis Max Kit Specs

• Kit Size: 93 x 46.3 x 34mm (Tank: 26×42.5mm)
• Tank Capacity: 3ml (standard) / 5ml (bubble glass) / 2ml (TPD)
• TC: 100 – 315C / 200-600F
• Battery: Single 21700 (or 18650 with adaptor)
• Temperature range: 100-315°C / 200-600°F
• Resistance range: 0.05-3ohm
• Dustproof, water resistant and shockproof
• Micro USB – 1.5A / 5V charge rate –

Geekvape Aegis Max Kit Features

• Modes: VW, TC, Bypass
• Adjustable Top-to-Bottom Airflow
• Push Pull Coils
• Water, dust and shock proof
• Fast fire – <0.02s
• 30mm 510 Connection plate
• Ergonomic Grip
• Overheat Protection
• Overtime Protection (10s)
• Short Circuit Protection

Design and Build Quality

The Geekvape Aegis Max looks like… a Geekvape Ageis… That’s all that really needs be said about it.

The ‘Aegis look’ is a unique and iconic look, the Aegis Max fits right in.

The Aegis Max comes in a variation of 5 colours.

Geekvape Aegis Max Mod – Battery

I’m going to keep this short because it is hard to say anything more than what I’ve just said – it looks like an Aegis device.

For those of you that don’t know what an Aegis device looks like, the outside is made out of rubber with a metal ‘skeleton’ that surrounds the material patch – which is usually leather.

Although it isn’t obvious from looking at the devices, the skeletons are interchangeable with replacement or other models of it’s sort (not with different Aegis models).

It looks great and the “ergonomic grip” is just that, it feels awesome to hold and fits the hand nicely, especially with the curve of the leather patch.

Lets not forget the iconic durability, the Geekvape Aegis Max is apparently dust proof – water proof and shock proof. It looks and feels it but we’ll give that a good testing later on in the review.

Geekvape Zeus Tank

Connection

The Geekvape Aegis Max has a standard 510 connection, the threads are nicely made, making it smooth it attach and detach the Zeus tank, or any other tank for that matter.

The connection plate isn’t so standard.

With a diameter of 30mm the connection plate is ideal for those of us that like our big tanks and drippers, like the popular 30mm Asgard RDA by Vaperz Cloud.

It is held down with 3 screws and has a lightly embossed radial pattern to help prevent the plate getting scratched and to stop tanks getting pressurized to it with any excess liquids.

Geekvape Aegis Max – Battery and Charger Port

I think this is becoming a lot more popular and it isn’t a bad thing.

The Aegis Max kit takes a 21700 battery, so that’s what I’ve been using for the majority of my time with this device.

However I’m sure a lot of you aren’t ready to change from 18650s, so I’m happy to inform you that it does indeed come with an 18650 adapter.

I always charge vape batteries externally, although, if that’s not your thing and you just want something you can just plug in to the wall the Geekvape Aegis Max takes a micro USB charger.

There is a common annoyance here, for waterproofing, the Micro USB port is set back into the rubber body of the mod and covered by a thick rubber cap / plug. That’s great, but it also mean if you lose your USB Cable you’ll struggle to find a generic replacement to fit the shape.

It has a 1.5A charge rating, which is not great.

If it was a strictly 18650 mod then it wouldn’t make a great deal of difference. However 21700 batteries have a higher battery capacity ranging from 3000 to 5000mAh.

Charging a 5000mAh battery with a 1.5A charger will take over 3 and a half hours, using a 2A charger would take roughly 2.5 hours.

That being said, I do always recommend people use an external batteries.

The Geekvape Aegis Max – Battery Door

Aegis mods usually have 1 of 2 types of battery door: the screw cap or the latch.

I believe this mostly depends on if the mod is or dual battery, either way I’m delighted to see that Aegis Max has the screw cap.

The screw cap is secure, waterproof and has it’s own built in handle. It even has a flat head screw driver space in case it seizes shut. It can be a bit stiff but that’s due to the water proofing.

Although the threads are nice and smooth I always struggle to connect the threads, it takes a few attempts to match them up. That’s not a build quality issue, it’s purely just turning the cap until the threads align.

Geekvape Aegis Max – Screen

The screen on the Geekvape Aegis Max is the same as any other Aegis Screen (with exception to the huge Aegis X screen).

I can’t find the ‘official’ screen size anywhere but it measures at 12×23.5mm.

There is a quick and easy way to change the screens brightness (press the fire button and ‘-’ or ‘+’ simultaneously) and it operates on a scale from 0% to 100%.

0% doesn’t turn the back light off, in fact when you change the brightness it doesn’t seem to make a huge difference right away, but as you use it throughout the day, you can definitely notice a difference.

Geekvape Aegis Max – Summary

If you are a fan of the Aegis, Aegis Mini or Aegis solo design you will be a fan of the Aegis Max design.

Other than small differences, like the shape of features such as the buttons and the skeleton, they’re practically look the same, it looks and feels great.

It looks and feels pretty sturdy, however with an Aegis, looking and feeling sturdy isn’t enough.

Keep reading down to the performance section to see just how well the Geekvape Aegis Max performs as I document my attempts to destroy the mod.

Geekvape Aegis Max Kit – Quick Start

Filling the Geekvape Zeus Tank

• Unscrew the filling cap (half turn and lift)
• Pour liquid into the fill holes (outer edge)
• Reapply filling cap

Change The Geekvape Zeus Tank Coils

• Hold Tank upside down
• Unscrew base from the tank
• Replace coil, ensuring the notches on the coil line up.
• Reapply base
• Fill and leave for 5 minutes to allow the liquid to soak into the coil

If you look into the tank, there is a hole at either side of the chamber to allow the liquid to get to the coil. If the liquid is below those gaps (when help upside down) and you make sure the glass doesn’t lift when you remove the base, there should be no leaking when changing the coil.

Insert A Battery Into Geekvape Aegis Max

• Lift the handle on the battery cap/door
• Unscrew and remove the cap
• Remove 18650 battery adapter if necessary
• Insert 21700 battery into the mod + side first
• Reapply cap securely

If you wish to use an 18650 battery place, place the battery into the adapter + side first.

Then insert the battery and adapter into the mod, adapter first.

Geekvape Aegis Max Button Operations

• Turn on/off = Press fire button 5 times within 2 seconds
• Power up/down = Press ‘+’/’-’ buttons
• Lock/unlock ‘+’/’-’ buttons = Press ‘+’/’-’ simultaneously for 2 seconds – a smell padlock icon will appear below the power setting when locked
• Stealth Mode on/off (turn on/off screen) = Press and hold the fire button, ‘+’ and ‘-’ simultaneously for 1 second – Stealth mode also locks the ‘+’/’-’ buttons
• Screen Brightness Up/Down = Press and hold the fire button and ‘+’ / fire button and ‘-’
• Enter Settings = Press fire button 3 times within 2 seconds
• Exit Settings = Long press fire button or wait for 5 seconds
• Change ‘mode’ = Enter Settings then press ‘+’ or ‘-’ (current mode is stated at top of screen – Power, TC-NI, TC-SS, TC-TI, TC-TCR, VPC, Bypass)
• Clear puff Counter = Enter Settings then press fire button until puff count is high lighted, then press ‘+’/’-’
• Set VPC = Enter Settings then press fire button to move to through the parameter, press ‘+’/‘-’ to change the value of the selected parameter
• Reset Mod = Turn off the device, Press and hold the ‘+’ and ‘-’, when the model information shows, continue to hold ‘+’ and ‘-’ but press the fire button as well. The screen will then show ‘configure reset’

How Does The Geekvape Aegis Max Kit Perform?

The tank isn’t as new as the kit and it’s quite popular, so I’ll try and keep this brief and to the point.

There is also a dedicated review of the Geekvape Zeus Tank on EcigClick.

Mesh Z2 0.2ohm KA1 Coil

This coil has a recommended wattage of 70-80w.

I used it with the Juccier Strawberry Mango Crush, 0mg nicotine and mixed at 70VG/30PG.

I’ll start off by saying, when I first started using this coil I was in love! At 70w the vapour production was huge and super thick while the flavour was second to none…

That lasted about a day.

Maybe I over used it?

I’m not sure, but filling my lungs at 80w after the first day, started to produce a plastic/cotton burning taste (with the airflow fully open), especially on the second puff.

Turning it down to 70W seemed to hold off the burning taste a lot better but the flavour still didn’t seem as good as it did on day 1.

I didn’t turn it above 80W, because that was obviously pushing the coil to the limit as it was.

However even down at 50W the kit kicks out some decent clouds and has a nice prominent, ample flavour.

Mesh Z1 0.4ohm KA1 Coil

This coil has a recommended wattage of 60-70w.

I used it with the Juccier Strawberry Mango Crush, 0mg nicotine and mixed at 70VG/30PG.

Straight off the bat it’s not as overwhelming as the 0.2ohm coil, but the flavour production is incredibly good and the vapour production is plentiful.

Down at 35w the coil it doesn’t feel like it’s doing much but it does produce a nice small thick cloud, with a hollow but prominent flavour.

Up high at 80W there is definitely a burning taste in the background.

Coil Summary

They’re brilliant!

They both provide excellent flavour with a really thick cloud.

The Zeus Tank is very popular and a lot people say they get weeks out of a coil, so how come my 0.2ohm coil didn’t last weeks before starting to struggle?

I looked it up and there are a few people online that basically said the same as my testing has shown.

The tank is awesome and the coils CAN be awesome but it is all down to each individual coil. They all perform great but one coil might last 4 weeks and the next might last just a few days.

Although both of my coils were still usable after a 5 days each I think this is a notable comment and maybe something Geekvape need to look at.

Would I risk it?

Ohhh yeah! The capabilities of these 2 coils are amazing.

Airflow

The airflow on the Zeus is easy to adjust and is capable of being restrictive or fairly loose.

It doesn’t provide to the most loose airflow but it satisfies me and I like a lot of airflow.

Battery

On day 6 of using the kit, I noticed when using a 21700 battery, the battery rattles when you shake the kit, this doesn’t happen when using the 18650 with the adapter.

I’m a big fan of the screw on battery door cap, it seems a lot less likely to break or wear out then the hinged battery doors.

Typical of an Aegis mod, the battery indicator bar is below the wattage setting on the screen, it’s simple and effective.

How Durable is the Geekvape Aegis Max?

The Geekvape Aegis Max mod is Shock Proof, IP67 Water Resistant and IP67 Dustproof.

Now there is a long line of reviews and tests that go to the extremes to test the mods, and although it was tempting to fly it 100m high on a drone and drop it, I decided to give it some practical test.

I started off with the most common problem, dropping it in water (toilets, mod buckets, rivers). So quite boringly I filled a pint glass up with some water and played about…

Next I remember someone spilling some beer on my phone, so I poured a bottle of beer into a pint glass and chucked the mod in.

After these two tests the mod was still completely fine, no liquid inside, no lack of power, nothing, still like new.

Bucket Of Paint Test!

Then I remembered a customer that came into my shop because she had broken her mod by accidentally dropping her kit into a bucket of paint.

Bingo! This would be the perfect test! And it would allow me to easily see where the paint gets to (and more importantly, if it comes back out).

So I submerged it in a bucket of paint, with the tank on (I left the coil out of the tank but left the tank on the mod. You should never use a coil if it has had something else on it, so it would just be a waste of a coil).

I took the kit out, and washed off all the paint in hot water, took the tank to pieces and dried it all out.

Put the coil back in, and…perfect still works.

All the paint came off from everywhere,there was the odd bit left in the creases, but I’m adamant that with a brush or cloth I could easy get it looking brand new if I wanted to, but I was trying to break it so I wasn’t prepared to waste that time.

So what next? I know I can throw it at a wall several times and it will still work. I needed something bigger but still a realistic challenge.

Driving Over the Geekvape Aegis Max

Have you ever left something (like shopping or a drink) on the top of your car, then drove off? I know I have, so that’s what I did.

How about if when you go back to look for it, the front tire of the car runs over it – then the back tire – then the back tire again and then stop on top of it while you look around?

That’s exactly what happened. When I picked the mod up, it was turned off and wouldn’t turn on, I also noticed the battery was rattling a lot.

“Damn I’ve broke it! What a shame, I quite liked that too!”

When I got back in the house, I tried to turn it on several more times…still nothing.

I removed my battery to make sure that was OK – it was fine.

In fact, inside was dry and completely unaffected – so why wasn’t it working?

I put the battery back in, tightened the cap up and still nothing, apart from the battery rattling.

I got the coil tool and tightened the battery cap a little bit more and Fixed! It works as perfectly as it did before!

Yes it’s damaged, the skeleton is scuffed and dented on one side (but that’s replaceable) and there is a spot or two where the rubber looks chewed but seriously, it’s fine.

I have noticed that it turns off if you bang it enough to jolt the battery but that’s a fairly hard bang.

Final Review Verdict

OK, so I broke it by running over it 4-5 times, but come one, lets face it, it still works, any other mod wouldn’t be able to withstand just being dropped from the top of the car.

The Geekvape Aegis Max kit is really good, it’s nice to hold, it produces awesome clouds that are accompanied by awesome flavour.

What more do you want me to say? The only real down side I see about the entire kit is that the coils could do with been made to be a little bit more reliable.

Pros

• Awesome Flavour Production
• Awesome Cloud Production
• Very Durable
• External 21700 / 18650 Batteries
• Decent Adjustable Airflow
• Reliable Battery door/cap
• 30mm Connection Plate

Cons

• Coils Could Be More Reliable
• 1.5Amp charge rating