The OneVape Golden Ratio Kit crept up on me a bit – I didn’t notice this kit until about 2 days before it arrived!
I saw a post on the OneVape Facebook page showing the kit and thought at the time “that is very pretty!”
We have had a few kits from the brand “OneVape” in the past including the Lambo Pod Kit and the sequel the Lambo 2 Kit! Both performed pretty well so I am hoping the Golden Ratio will be the winning formula!
Their products are designed from the OneVape headquarters in Los Angeles California. Then they are produced at the company’s other headquarters located in Shenzhen China.
What Can We Expect From The OneVape Golden Ratio Kit?
The Name “Golden Ratio” must refer to the mathematician’s favourite number 1.618.
Basically this ratio appears many times in nature, art, geometry and architecture and is apparently the most pleasing to the eye!
So that thinking brings me back to the OneVape Golden Ratio device I have in my hand! I am trying to work out if this has been designed to Golden Ratio principles but it doesn’t appear to be – so all my ramblings above are pretty irrelevant now!
Basically this is a pod mod vape which has a low power output and therefore can have a small form factor with a smaller battery requirement.
The battery part of the device has a 1100mAh capacity which is pretty good for the size and weight of this. The power output will vary according to the coil you have installed but you cannot adjust this.
The pod is where your e-liquid lives and will hold 2ml and is refillable via a port on the pod base.
Inside the pod is also where your coil (or heating element) lives and you can replace the coil on its own without having to discard the whole pod.
The kit includes two different coil types:
- 1.2ohm coil – for Nic Salt and high nicotine e-liquids. More for MTL vapers
- 0.6ohm mesh coil – would be better with lower nicotine higher VG e-liquid.
We tell you more in the Guide to MTL and DTL vaping styles…
There are 6 versions to choose from – Silver, Black, Blue, Gold, Rose Gold and Rainbow.
I received this device free of charge for review purposes. I will report back honestly on my findings on the device in my possession!
What’s In The Box
- OneVape Golden Ratio device
- Pod
- USB cable
- 1×1.2ohm coil
- 1×0.6ohm mesh coil
- User manual
OneVape Golden Ratio Features
- Size: 94×38.5x14mm
- Battery: 1100mAh internal
- E-liquid capacity: 2ml refillable
- Coils: Replaceable
- DTL and MTL compatible
- Display: LED battery indicator light
- Output: 10-25W (not adjustable)
- Adjustable airflow dial
- Pod lock mechanism
Build Quality & Design
I received the OneVape Golden Ratio Kit in guess what – the Gold colour – yay!
The packaging was great with an excellent instruction booklet too – well done OneVape!
One thing to note is that the coils are not installed so you will need to install them before use. And that is easier said than done…
Device
This is a very neat looking but quite “sharp” device in the hand due to the shape.
The appearance is quite clinical and precise and the build quality at first glance is excellent.
The front of the device has the “One” logo and the fire button. It is a slightly odd placement and I do keep forgetting where it is! But it doesn’t rattle and is very responsive.
On the rear of the device is the “Golden Ratio” logo which is quite large and some might not like this – but it is on the back.
The base of the device has lots of ventilation holes and the required legal logos.
Also the corner has almost invisible cut outs to allow you to attach a lanyard.
Only problem is the lanyard attachment is at the bottom of the device meaning it will hang upside down? I prefer things to hang upright or at least sideways…
This is not just an “Aesthetic” issue as dangling about gives dry hits when you take your first vape after it has been upside down.
Well, you get some dry hits anyway (I will tell you more about that further on) but it is worse after dangling upside down!
On the one side of the device is just the USB port – there are some visible screw heads – which again might annoy some people. I don’t mind them.
The opposite side has a slightly ugly resin panel. It is real resin and finished well but it just seems a strange addition when the rest of the device has such a clinical and streamlined appearance?
Above the resin panel the body is cut out in the shape of the One logo and through that cut out is where your indicator LED shines through – this does look ace I have to say. Really clear light and a nice touch.
At the top of that side is the button to release the pod you slide this button and the pod pops off. It holds the pod firmly until you install the coil (I will go into more detail later) but I have had the pod pop off a few times now for no reason!
There is nothing rattly or flimsy at all so it seems really well made until you get to the pod…
Pod
I don’t know why but I am a bit disappointed in the pod design.
The main reason being how the coil is held in.
The coil simply pushes into the base of the pod. But it protrudes massively. Also it has cut outs on the edge to align with the oval shaped cut out in the top of the device.
However the instructions are a bit vague to the point where you are not sure if the coil is properly inserted. I kept pushing on it thinking it should go in further plus I wasn’t sure how to align it. 
Anyway I managed it but it was then hard to get the pod to click back into the body of the device. Almost like the coil wasn’t installed properly.
The pod also popped off the device a few times which wasn’t cool.
I took the coil out a few times to try and get it to fit better but it will only go in that way.
When the pod is back on the battery it kind of sits weird slightly higher one side than the other spoiling the whole design of the neat little kit.
Also the pod seems to sit higher than the side of the device only about 1mm but it looks strange and I keep pushing the pod down.
The base of the pod also has a nice little fill port with a rubber bung and this works fine and the bung is thankfully attached to the pod. I didn’t get any leaks from this kit.
Airflow
There is a cute little airflow dial on the side of the pod – which looks great but is a bit hard to grip I found.
You can completely close off the incoming air so plenty of adjustment available to suit the coil and liquid you are using.
The mouthpiece is a nice shape and thankfully not as sharp as the rest of the device!
Quick Set-up Guide
As mentioned above the OneVape Golden Ratio kit comes without the coil installed. You will need to install a coil, fill the pod and charge up before use.
I will guide you through the set-up below!
Basic operation
- Turn On/Off = 5 quick presses of the fire button
- To vape = hold down the fire button
- Adjust airflow = turn the dial on the side of the pod.
Battery Capacity Remaining
The battery capacity remaining is shown by the colour of the LED indicator light during use and charging:
- Blue light = 3.5V or higher
- Red light = below 3.5V
- Red light flashing = charge now as device will cut out!
Protections
- Short circuit = LED will flash Red 5 times.
- 8 second maximum fire time = fire operation will cut out.
- Low voltage protection = LED will flash Red 10 times and cut out!
How To Change The Pod
- The pod is held into the device by a catch. Slide the catch down to release the pod.
- If installing a new pod make sure to fill and install the coil.
- Push the pod into the device the airflow side first then push down the other side until the catch clicks. The LED will flash to confirm it is installed.
How To Fill The Onetop Golden Ratio Pod
- Remove the pod from the device as stated above.
- On the base of the pod is the filling port.
- Turn the pod upside down and prise open the port cover.
- Add e-liquid through the fill port and observe the level on the side of the pod.
- Replace the port bung cover. If any spillages just wipe the pod base before installation.
- Install the pod as described above.
How To Change The Onetop Golden Ratio Coil
I did find I could change the coil even when the pod was full of e-liquid as they are in separate chambers.
- Remove the pod from the device.
- The coils just push in and pull out of the pod – the O-rings can be a bit tight so it might require a bit of effort to pull the old coil out.
- Install a new coil with the flat edges aligned to the flats on the side of the pod as shown.
- Push the coil in as far as you can. This bit is hard as you feel like the coil should go in further.
- Add e-liquid and leave to stand for 10 minutes for the new coil to absorb the liquid.
- Replace the pod onto the battery as described above. I did find with the coil installed the pod didn’t seem to fit as nicely on the battery?
How To Charge The Battery
- Using the included USB cable attach the small end to the charging port on the battery.
- Install the large end of the USB cable to a suitable USB outlet.
- Leave to charge and the light will change colour starting at Red.
- Apparently when the light turns to Blue it is fully charged. The light does stay on so it is a bit confusing as to whether it is fully charged.
I found it took 51mins to charge on my mains wall charger which has a 550mA output. On higher output charging ports this may be even quicker as you can use up to 1A chargers with this kit.
How Does the OneVape Golden Ratio Kit Perform?
As there are two different coils included in this kit I selected different e-liquids for each coil.
For the 0.6ohm mesh coil I used a 70% VG / 30% PG IVG Bubblegum E-liquid with nicotine salts added to 7mg strength.
For the 1.2ohm coil I used a nicotine salt liquid in 50%VG / 50% PG which had a strength of 20mg nicotine.
Further reading:
1.2ohm Coil
So I tried this with the Apollo Nic Salt Tobacco e-liquid which I use daily in my Smok Nord.
You have no power adjustment settings but you can adjust the airflow. Fully open with this coil was still a bit restricted – similar to my Smok Nord but with a bit of a whistle. You can then close the airflow to zero!
I am a kind of in the middle sort of gal so stuck the airflow there!
This is quite a cool vape – and there is a lot of vapour which I wasn’t expecting!
There is a nice crackle as you vape and the flavour can be quite good. But I have been spoilt by the flavour from my Smok Nord and always feel other MTL devices are a bit poor in comparison.
I would say this has less flavour than the Nord, Lost Vape Orion Q or Geekvape Frenzy.
Sadly as I kept using this I was getting more and more dry hits. The main reason appears to be when I have had the kit around my neck on a lanyard and the device is hanging upside down. So the first vape after it has been like that is awful.
I learned my lesson and tried to keep the kit upright – which was slightly better, as was tilting the device when vaping with the liquid tipped further towards the coil.
But this still wasn’t enough to stop my vape being very dry and cottony.
I have had about 4 tank-fulls through this coil now and it is 50/50 e-liquid so should be thin enough. My Smok Nord and Geekvape Frenzy all cope with exactly the same e-liquid daily and the Frenzy has the tiniest coils you have ever seen!
1.2ohm Coil Conclusion
It isn’t a great experience vaping on this coil sadly. Hopefully I have just had a rogue faulty coil. As there was only one of each coil type in the kit I am unable to try another to see.
The dry hit situation albeit worse after being upside down is still not pleasant. In fact even running this coil long enough for the battery life test was becoming a chore due to the horrible flavour. I kept really wanting to pick up my Nord!
I spread this battery life test over a few days as I could only manage a few hours at a time vaping with this coil. The tank was never anywhere near empty, the first fill of the pod was left overnight so no priming issues and this e-liquid works fine in similar devices.
So I can only conclude the coil isn’t very good.
0.6ohm Mesh Coil
With the airflow set to the fully open position I found this to be still quite restrictive – especially if the 0.6ohm coil is targeting DTL vapers? Fully open this is only slightly less restriction than my Smok Nord kit?
As with the 1.2ohm coil when closed fully there is no airflow at all.
So I mainly used this coil on the fully open airflow setting.
After filling the tank and leaving overnight to fully prime the first vape the next day I have to say is pretty good!
I am using exactly the same e-liquid as I did in my Smoant Pasito review with the 0.6ohm mesh coil installed. I do slightly prefer the flavour from the Smoant but there is only a slight difference.
There is a good amount of vapour ploughing out of this little kit with this coil installed.
Flavour wise this is pretty good I am getting the flavour I am used to from this e-liquid plus this is a nice warmish vape too.
Considering the 1.2ohm coil was struggling to wick with 50% PG/VG E-liquid which is a lot thinner – the 0.6ohm coil is doing amazingly well with much thicker 70%VG. I have had no wicking issues or dry hits at all!
0.6ohm Coil Conclusion
I am very surprised with this coil – this coil almost redeems the whole kit!
Battery Life
Your own vaping habits (the frequency and duration of your vaping), coil installed and nicotine content will affect the battery life.
To give you an idea with the 1.2ohm coil and 20mg nicotine salt e-liquid I got 8 hours of vaping.
The last hour of vaping however the power had dropped off a lot and I was having to vape for 6-7 seconds to get a hit and the liquid was getting a bit gurgly as the coil was not atomising the liquid fully.
Also the battery indicator light – turns red when it is about to conk out on you – I got another 9 vapes after it turned red. This really needs a better indication system as that is very little warning really.
Pros
- Sleek looking kit
- Airflow adjustment
- LED is very cute
- Can replace the coil – do not have to discard the whole pod
- No leaks
- Good battery life
- Quick to charge
- 0.6ohm Mesh Coil performance with higher VG E-liquid is very good!
Cons
- Edges can be a bit sharp in the hand
- Lanyard connector is on the bottom so it hangs upside down
- Coil installation is odd and they are hard to remove when installed.
- Pod doesn’t sit properly on the device when coil is installed
- Pod pops off when it feels like it
- Airflow adjustment dial bit fiddly
- Weird resin panel looks out of place
- I keep accidentally pressing the side of the device rather than the front to fire!
- Terrible 1.2ohm coil performance – may be a faulty coil?
- Battery indicator only changes colour when you have a few vapes left- doesn’t give you much warning.
Final Review Verdict
Well this kit was very poor when used with the 1.2ohm coil. I hope I just had a faulty coil. I tried this coil first and it really gave me a very bad impression of the whole kit.
It looked the business and even caught my eye before I received the kit but when it comes to practical day to day use and vaping experience it has felt like a bit of a let down.
The main issues are the pod design, it doesn’t fit properly with the coil installed, pops off when it feels like it, the MTL coil didn’t perform well at all and dry hits all over the place.
Add to that just how sharp this feels in the hand and it actually became a chore to keep using this kit and I kept craving the friendly smooth tasty vape of my Smok Nord kit!
I will say however the 0.6ohm mesh coil improved my opinion on this kit. It performed very well.
So my conclusion is – buy this for the 0.6ohm mesh coil – low nicotine and higher VG e-liquid use.
If you want a Mouth to Lung (MTL) kit for Nic Salts I would possibly give this kit a miss in case it performs as badly as mine did in the MTL configuration.
Did you buy the Onevape Golden Ratio Pod System? Did you have any of the issues I highlighted above? Leave a comment below!
