Innokin EQs Review – The GTI Version Of The EQ?

The Innokin EQs is a new pod mod release from Innokin. This follows on from the excellent EQ pod mod which was one of the first devices to use Mesh coils in their pods. I still have my EQ and still love it so will be able to compare between both versions for this review!

This time you get 3D Plex mesh coils as recently seen in the Plexar Kit and the iSub B Tank. However the coils are not replaceable you discard the pod when the coil is past its best. I did find the coil life on the EQ to be epic though so if the EQs is the same you won’t be needing to change the pods very often!

The 3D mesh basically gives more surface area to atomise the e-liquid which should give better and more economical performance.

Inside the little device is a 800mAh battery and there are 3 power levels to choose from – 11.5W, 13.5W and 15.5W.

There are 6 colours to choose from – Purple, Coral Pink, Grey, White, Sky Blue and Black.

I received the Innokin EQs free of charge for the purpose of this review and I will report back honestly on my findings with the device I have in my possession.

What’s In The Box

• Innokin EQs Device with Pod
• USB Cable
• User manual

I also received a spare Pod with the kit – which you would usually purchase separately.

Features

• Size: 85mm tall
• Battery: 800mAh (Internal)
• Output: 11.5W / 13.5W or 15.5W
• Pod capacity: 2ml refillable
• Coils: PLEX3D
• Battery capacity indicator
• Bottom twist to refill pod

Build Quality & Design

I received the Innokin EQs in the Sky Blue colour and wow it is very pretty!

The box is well laid out but I did find the tiny instruction manual wasn’t very comprehensive. It tells you all the day to day stuff but no mention of protection circuits and what various fault conditions may exist. The warning manual was super thick but the instructions were on a 4 page leaflet.

You do get a battery warning card too – but again simple things like “does the LED light go off when fully charged” – you know the simple stuff – was not covered.

For instance if there is a short circuit or how long before the fire button cuts off – stuff people might encounter – are not covered at all in the instructions or on the website.

Main Device

This has a matte metallic coating – the original EQ had a rubberised coating which I was forever having to wipe e-liquid off so I do prefer this finish.

The main body is light blue with chrome accents on the top of the body and at the base.

The front of the device has the fire / power button. This has a light in the centre and has a flat texture across the centre. It is nice and clicky and super responsive.

Moving down there is the LED indicator light which displays battery capacity and power mode setting.

Below the LED is the EQs logo which is hard to see in some lights. Sitting further down is a chrome trim which wraps around the base of the battery. The device will stand up but can be knocked over very easily.

On the side of the device is the Micro USB port which works perfectly.

The rear of the device is pretty plain apart from the CE and legal logo on the bottom.

The chrome base trim has the Innokin branding stamped in and this really does look classy.

Pod Design

The EQs pod still uses the excellent refill method I love on the EQ.

No fussing about with plugs and bungs. The base of the pod rotates to uncover the fill port. I found I had zero leaks on the EQ version and no tiny things to drop either!

One other cute little feature in the EQs kit are some tiny stickers – sounds simple but you can use these on your pods to help identify them – perhaps for different flavours, vape juices or even help to determine coil life etc. Simple but clever!

Also the original pods from the EQ will work in here too – as I have plenty of those I will try it as well!

The pods are held in firmly but also pull out easily with barely any pod wobble evident.

You also get the top cover cap again – like on the EQ which takes a kind of pushing up thumb action to remove. My thumbs bend backwards due to my EDS so I can never get this top cap off – so it stays in the box I am afraid!

Set-up Guide

This arrives with a pod installed however you will need to fill with e-liquid, charge and set the power level to your preference.

Whatever you do – do not switch the device on until you have filled the pod. This could burn out the coil and you only get the one pod in the kit. You will be proper stuffed until you source a replacement pod!

Basic operation

• Turn On / Off = 3 fast clicks of the power button
• To vape = hold down the power button whilst inhaling
• Battery capacity remaining = the LED on the power button will change colour according to the battery capacity remaining. Green = full, Yellow = Half and Red= low – charge now!
  

To Change power level –

• Turn off the device.
• Hold the power button for 3 seconds.
• The light will change colour according to the power mode. Hold the button down until you have reached the colour light you require – Green = 11.5W, Blue = 13.5W and Purple = 15.5W.
• Power the device back on. It is best to start at the lowest level and you can always work your way up.
  

Protections

Sadly the instructions and Innokin website do not tell you what protections there are and how you will know if they are kicking in. Which might leave a few people scratching their heads if they do get a short circuit or the fire button cuts out when vaping.

I have found if the pod is not properly inserted the light on the button will just flash when you press fire. Either push the pod in correctly or remove the pod and look for liquid or foreign matter sitting on the base of the pod or the battery contacts.

How To Fill The Innokin EQs With E-liquid

• Pull the pod out of the device.
• Turn the pod upside down and twist the green base to reveal the fill ports.
• You can use either fill port.
• Squeeze e-liquid into the port and observe the liquid level through the side of the pod. It can sometimes fill unevenly but just go slowly and both sides will equal up.
• Turn the pod base back into the original position.
• Install the pod back into the device.
• If using a new pod leave to stand for 10-15 mins before vaping to prevent the coil being damaged.

How To Change The Pod

• The pod pulls out from the battery.
• Fill the new pod with e-liquid.
• Push the pod into the battery – there is no wrong way around it will work either way.
• If it’s a new pod leave it to stand with e-liquid inside for 10-15 mins for the coil to fully absorb the e-liquid before vaping.

How To Charge The Battery

• Install the small end of the included USB cable into the base of the device.
• Install the large end of the USB cable into a suitable USB outlet.
• Leave the device to charge. The LED indicator will cycle through the colours and will go out when the battery is fully charged.

How Does the Innokin EQs Perform?

This is a low power pod mod device. So this will mainly be suitable for high nicotine or nic salt vape juice. However I have used higher VG 70/30 in my original EQ so I will test the performance with different types of liquid.

The VG / PG proportions can vary between e-liquids. We tell you all about this in our Guide to PG and VG in E-liquid.

The airflow is very restricted for a Mouth to Lung (MTL) device. Some might find this too restricted. For instance the airflow on my Smok Nord with the 1.4ohm MTL regular coil is a lot more open than the EQs. I would say the airflow is as restricted as the original EQ.

This is not really any good for Direct to Lung (DTL) vaping as the airflow is so restricted.

Unsure what the two styles of vaping are? Read about MTL and DTL vaping styles in our Guide.

Nic Salt Performance

I am using a 50% VG / 50% PG Nicotine Salt e-liquid from the Apollo range with 20mg Nicotine strength.

I tried this liquid on all the power ranges. For me the lowest power setting worked best with this e-liquid anything higher was too harsh and felt close to dry hit territory.

I think with the pod resistance of 0.5ohm (like with the EQ) and strong nicotine strengths, even with nic salt, are quite harsh with these mesh coils. Having also tried nic salt with the 0.6ohm Nord coils and vaping those easily makes me think the EQs coils are performing a bit too well!

I am not sure if the power is just a bit too high or the resistance just a bit too low.

50/50 Standard Nicotine E-liquid Performance

As I reviewed the original EQ with both nic salt and standard Nicotine e-liquid I thought it is only fair I do the same test on this device too.

I have here some 50/50 12mg nicotine freebase e-liquid in a raspberry flavour – wow I had to pull the house apart to find it as I am nic salt mad now!

I went through the power ranges and found the performance to be slightly better but again it feels like the coil is just too efficient. If you have a long vape or multiple vapes in succession the dry hit feeling is starting to creep in.

70VG/30PG E-liquid Performance

For this test I used 70% VG / 30% PG Bubblegum Millions e-liquid from IVG with 6mg nicotine salt strength added via nic shots. I used the spare pod I was sent – which you would not normally get in the kit.

Lowest Power – 11.5W

Starting off on the lowest power level I am already getting a great performance, can taste the cooling in the liquid too. There isn’t plumes of vapour but I wasn’t expecting there to be at low power.

Mid Power – 13.5W

At the middle power setting the flavour is stronger with slightly more vapour – performing far better than with the thinner nic salt liquid I have been using.

Highest Power – 15.5W

Heading up to the highest power setting I didn’t feel much improvement between this and the middle setting to be honest. I know it is an extra 2W of power but it didn’t feel much different to me.

I am also using the same e-liquid in my Smok Trinity Alpha device and the performance is very similar between them both on the middle power settings. For me the airflow is more restricted on the EQs though.

All power settings work great with this e-liquid but I tended to favour the middle setting for battery life economy.

Pod Performance Questions

Now I am not sure what is going on here. As you can see above using the 50/50 e-liquids in nic salt and standard nicotine formats was resulting in dry hits and poor performance.

I used the spare pod I received with some 70%VG e-liquid and this performed fine. In theory the thinner 50/50 liquid should be less prone to dry hits than thicker 70% liquid!

I am therefore not sure if I just have a faulty pod or if the device output is too high?

So to try and get to the bottom of this I bought another new pod and filled that with the Apollo nic salt e-liquid.

Also I have tried the original EQ pod in the new EQs and vice versa – so here are my findings…

Apollo Nic Salt In New Pod

I did the same tests after leaving the pod filled for a few days of moving through the power levels.

As before on the lowest power all was ok, pretty good flavour. I have to say this is performing a lot better so I do think I had a dodgy pod!

At the middle power level it is a bit harsh for me – but remember I am vaping 20mg nic strength on a 0.5ohm coil.

The high power level made me cough up one of my ovaries so I can confirm the throat hit is immense!

This seems to be wicking fine – albeit slightly harsh to vape for my liking.

EQs Pod In the EQ

The original EQ device has two power modes 13.5W regular and 15.5W boost.

The EQs has the addition of the lower 11.5W plus the other two power modes.

Using the EQs pod in the EQ device was the same performance as using the EQs on the middle and high power modes.

EQ Pod In the EQs

As I have lots of the original EQ pods knocking about I thought it would be good to try one of those in the EQs.

The benefit of the EQs is there is an additional lower power level. The original EQ only had the equivalent of the middle and high power levels.

I found the original EQ was a harsh vape with nic salts – however using the EQ pod with the EQs on the lowest power is a lovely vape. In fact I think I actually prefer the old EQ pod in the new EQs body! This is a lovely vape!

Battery Life

This device has different power levels plus your own vaping habits will always make battery life vary.

However to give you a guide I got 5.5 to 6 hours vaping on the middle power level. In order to do this I did have to leave bigger gaps between vapes than I usually would as there were some wicking issues with the first pod.

Pros

• Stunning looking device
• Excellent build quality – feels robust and no wobbles or rattles
• Easiest pod filling ever
• Compatible with earlier EQ pods
• Performs well with a variety of e-liquids
• Simple to use
• Great flavour and throat hit
• Different power levels to increase versatility

Cons

• Very tight MTL airflow – ideal for me – but may be too restricted for some
• Cannot change just the coil – need to replace entire pod – but may be a Pro for those who want no mess or hassle.
• Not the most comprehensive instructions
• Only one pod included in the kit – so if you accidentally fire the device with an empty pod it is game over until you buy another!
• Unable to check the power level unless you turn the device off.
• Faulty pod included in kit

Final Review Verdict

If I hadn’t tried the Smok Nord device – I would have rated the EQs very highly. Sadly the Nord has spoilt all other pod systems for me as it performs so perfectly for MTL and DTL vaping.

With thicker e-liquid the Nord and EQs perform pretty similar except the airflow is much more restricted in the EQs. But for MTL and nic salt I do prefer both the flavour and throat hit from the Nord.

I find strong nic salts to be quite harsh in this device and have to have it on the lowest power setting to make it tolerable.

The pod which came in the kit turned out to be dodgy – luckily I got a spare. But bear in mind you only get one in the kit so might be worth purchasing a few to have around just in case. They are very easy to buy in the UK and not a bad price either.

The first EQ device with its mesh pods was a huge game changer and was better than any other pod system on the market at the time. The EQs is not the best you can buy right now but for me it’s near the very top. There are a few which are better but many which are worse.

Chuck one of the old EQ pods in here on the lowest power and strong nic salts give a wonderful throat hit I find. The original was lacking this lower power setting and gave quite a harsh vape on strong nicotine liquids.

I will update this review regarding pod life at a later point. Sadly I have had a relapse due to a heart breaking bereavement in the middle of this review and back on the ciggies temporarily. But I can and will give up again and I am sure this and the Nord will be part of that journey!

I still rate my Smok Nord as the best pod device there is – but the EQs is very close behind with the EQ in my top 5!

Have you tried the EQs Pod System? Let us know what you thought in the comments below!