OBS Land Pod System Review – Basic.. But a Good Vape?

The OBS Land pod system is the latest from a brand that have been around since 2014, and have produced a variety of different devices and atomisers.

They got some real recognition with their unique looking Cube mods, and they have also done quite a variety of rebuildables RTA’s, RDA’s and even an RDTA. Their Engine range of RTA’s were especially well thought of.

What Can We Expect From The Land Pod Kit by OBS?

The year is 2019, and that means Pod Kits! The latest from OBS that I have in for review is the “Land Pod Kit”. I reviewed their KFB2 earlier this year, and was impressed with the flavour, so I’m curious to see if they have managed to squeeze a little flavour banger into the rather unassuming box.

Of course pod kits are starting to get pretty “same-y”, so OBS have done something a bit different by having a push up button on the side that extends and retracts your pod when you want to vape.

This is an open pod system, so you can refill it with your own e-liquid. However it does not have replaceable coils, so when your coils reach the end of their lives, you throw the whole pod in the bin.

As usual, this product was sent over free of charge for the purposes of this review (thank you to Vaporl) I shall report back honestly on what I find, and I am not swayed by freebies!

Let’s see if this does enough to sit with some of the best pod systems available.

In The Box

• Land Battery
• 2x 1.5ml Pod
• 3x Spare Stoppers
• Manual

Specs

• Dimensions – 73mm x 32mm x 24mm
• Weight – 77g
• Output – 7W – 10W
• Capacity – 1.5ml
• Pod Resistance – 1.4Ω
• Battery – 750mAh

Design and Build Quality

The OBS Land kit is a dinky little box.

I received mine in the plain black colour (called original on their website) though “basic” might be more appropriate, a term I am going to keep coming back to throughout this review!

If you want something a little more interesting it does come in a variety of designs for the side panels, the frame is always black, they are white (which looks like resin), Earth, Ripple, and Black with a white honeycomb pattern.

Body

For such a small device it feels solidly made. On the large sides you have the “L” logo and “LAND”, and on the other “Designed by OBS” and the regulatory marks all in silver.

On the thinner sides you have the fire button placed near the top, and on the reverse you have the lever to extend your pod up and down.

On the top panel is your USB port for charging (and apparently firmware upgrades according to their website), your LED and the gap that your pod sits in.

On the base, nothing, no venting, no marking, zip!

The Pod

Ok, I’ve seen some small pods, but I think this one takes the biscuit 34mm x 9mm x 17mm are the measurements, and it holds a whopping 1.5ml of e-liquid.

Because of how it’s designed, almost half of the pod is the mouthpiece that sticks out the top of the mod when you have it extended.

How To Fill The OBS Land Pod

• Extend the pod out of the mod
• Pull the pod out
• Lift up the seal on the side
• Fill with vape juice
• Replace the seal and leave for 5-10 minutes

One thing to note is that unlike a lot of similar pods, I found that I didn’t get an air bubble stuck on one side of the coil. It evens itself out as you fill very quickly. So a plus point there!

LED/Controls

One button control with 5 clicks on/5 clicks off. Then push to vape.

You do have a little LED which thankfully is at the top of the mod (no having to quickly spin it round to see it here!) This only tells you a few things though.

• Firing – Lights up White
• Low Voltage – <3.3V Lights up Red
• No Pod Detected – Flashes White 5x
• Overdraw Protection – Flashes Red 8x and stops firing after 10 seconds
• Charging – <4V Red Light, 4V < 4.15V White Light, 4.15V Light Off Charging Complete

I wish there were a little more warning when your battery was about to run out though!

How Does the OBS Land Pod Mod perform?

First let’s tackle the elephant in the room, that slightly bizarre push system to extend your pod.

I’m at a loss as to why they decided this was a good idea. They mention that it’s to keep it clean, but having had this in my pocket for a week, I can confirm that you still get plenty of dust and pocket gremlins getting caught up on the mouthpiece.

I suppose it makes it a nice little box when it’s retracted, but it doesn’t really solve anything and it brings with it it’s own problems.

Firstly you can’t check your e-liquid level when it is inside the mod. You have to first extend it, and then remove your pod to see how much e-liquid you have left in your tank.

For a pod system with a built in coil, not being able to easily check you level is pretty unforgivable, as if you dry fire too much you’ll be replacing the pods far more frequently.

Secondly there’s nothing smart about it. If it switched on when you extended it, and switched off when it was pulled back, it would make some kind of sense. But you can still fire the device when it’s retracted.

About the best thing I can say about it, is that it has a satisfying “click” into place, and I found myself playing with it like you would a zippo. *Click* – slide out *click* – slide back.

I also wanted to see whether this is a possible point of failure on the system and so I was extending it and retracting it far more than you would in normal use. Happy to say that so far it seems just as reliable as when I first opened it.

Again, I’m left puzzling as to “why”, they could probably have made the whole thing a lot smaller by not including that mechanism and just having your pod slightly recessed.

For these tests I loaded it up with Berry Ice from Vape Simple.

Airflow

There is no airflow control on this, but it does replicate the draw from a cigarette pretty well, if not a little more restrictive. Very tight, and definitely going to be mouth to lung (MTL) only. I really enjoy a restrictive airflow, but this was a bit tight even for me!

One problem I did find was that the mouthpiece tends to pick up condensate from the pods really easily. This means that every few draws you’re having to dry it off. With a bit more air going through it I don’t think this would have been a problem.

• What is Mouth to Lung (MTL) Vaping?

Flavour

You definitely need to break in the pods in for this kit, I didn’t start to get much flavour until my second or third fill of the pod.

Once you’re through that initial disappointment it manages to produce “ok” flavour, nothing amazing, but enough of a flavour that the e-liquids I tested it with were distinct and recognisable.

Fruit flavours are especially good, but if you want a vape that has a cooling element in it, you’re going to need one with a lot of coolada to get that feeling.

• Check out some of our best vape juice choices

Battery/Power

I’ve found it quite hard to test the battery life on this, because it’s not something I’ve been happy using as a primary device.

With it’s really tight draw I found that it was best suited to being a backup device with some high strength nic. Using it sparingly, I managed to get about about 4 days out of a charge, but obviously your mileage will vary depending on how much you vape.

Pros

• Decent Flavour
• Tiny device

Cons

• Not being able to check your e-liquid level without removing the pod
• Really tight draw
• E-liquid condenses around the mouthpiece

Final Review Verdict

Despite the fact this has read like a rather critical review, I’ve actually enjoyed using the little OBS Land kit.

I don’t think it’s something I’d recommend to someone looking at giving up cigarettes, as I feel there are a few too many compromises and there are better solutions out there for them.

However as a pocket friendly backup device for the seasoned vaper, loaded up with high strength nic salts, this is a neat little device. I wish that it had just a little bit more airflow, partly because I think that would help with the liquid condensing around the mouth piece.

The slide up pod is an interesting one. It’s not a standout feature for me, but equally it seems reliable and works ok. Just a little superfluous!

Have you bought the OBS Land Pod? Or have any questions? Let us know in the comments below!