The Pod Salt Nexus E-liquid Range has come in for review!
As a nicotine salt e-liquid vaper myself I know how important this stuff is to help people quit cigarettes and stay off the tobacco. In fact it is due to Bubblegum nic salts that I finally quit a 30 odd year smoking habit 4 years ago!
So it is always great to see a new range designed to help ease those nicotine cravings!
The box has the slogan “By Pod Salt Hit The Spot” – so let’s see if this range does live up to the promise!
What Can We Expect From The Pod Salt Nexus E-liquid Range?
Pod Salt are a UK brand and their e-liquid is British made too!
As the name suggests these are Nicotine Salt based e-liquids and designed to recreate the sensation of a Disposable Vape in a reusable kit.
Reusable kits are not only more eco-friendly but they are more wallet friendly too. You do not discard the whole device when it is empty. Instead you refill and just replace the coil / pod component when the coil performance has become poor.
In addition to the above benefits, reusable kits also give you more freedom to choose your favourite flavours and nicotine strengths.
“Nexus” means a central focal point or a point of connection – which when you see the different combinations in each flavour – makes perfect sense.
The original range consisted of 10 flavours and now another 10 new ones have been added.
Specifications
These come in TPD Compliant 10ml bottles with either 5mg, 10mg or 20mg Nicotine Salt strengths.
The e-liquid mix ratio is 50%PG / 50%VG which is more suitable for low power kits. This mix is too thin for higher power kits and may cause leaks and spitting.
If you prefer a higher VG e-liquid for sub ohm vaping you will be pleased to hear that some of the flavours come in 50ml Short Fill bottles too.
There are 20 flavours altogether and the lovely people on the Pod Salt stand at Vaper Expo gave me all of the flavours in 10mg nic salt strength to try! Thank you!
The flavours you can choose from are:
- White Gummy Bear (New)
- Berry Lemon Ice (New)
- Lemon Lime Sorbet (New)
- Grape Berry Burst (New)
- Fresh Raspberry Mojito (New)
- Blue Razz Cherry Blast (New)
- Pear Apple Raspberry (New)
- Orange Mango Lime (New)
- Strawberry Banana Rhubarb (New)
- Sweet Strawberry Lemonade (New)
- Lime Raspberry Grapefruit
- Sweet Tangerine Coconut
- Fuji Apple Peach
- White Grape Cucumber Apple
- Sour Blue Raspberry
- Blueberry Blackberry Lemonade
- Strawberry Watermelon Kiwi
- Pineapple Passion
- Mango Strawberry Peach
- Rainbow
Unfortunately due to time constraints (queue of reviews) I will only be testing a selection of these. I will try to sample as many flavours as I can!
Each e-liquid comes in a cardboard box which lists all ingredients and applicable warning labels. Inside you will find a great instruction leaflet and tamper proof bottle.
The cap of the bottle has the expiry date clearly printed on.
I will be using a Geekvape Ammit MTL RDA attached to my Freemax Maxus 50W mod.
For each flavour I did a dry burn to clean the coil and installed new Cotton Bacon Prime Wicking.
As always e-liquid reviewing will be subjective – variations on your own personal preferences and devices used will occur. I will however report back on my findings and how close the flavour is to the description.
Blue Razz Cherry Blast
Pod Salt Says:
“Blast the tastebuds with a Nexus of sweet, sour and tart flavours that create a rich adventure with every puff. Blending sweet Blue Raspberry with a hint of Cherry sourness, blasted with ice to finish.”
I Say…
The smell of this is epic, a lovely concentrated Berry fragrance – yum – I hope it tastes as good!
Just the name of this flavour made it the first to catch my eye and therefore the first one to review!
I have to say the first vape took me by surprise. This is a darker style of vape, not sweet or fizzy but more sour and complex.
There are a lot of flavour notes and they do fuse together well – in fact too well as I am struggling to pick out a dominant flavour.
This has a Red Wine tang with a splash of Ribena (Blackcurrant Cordial) floating around.
It is a bit too sour for me and I am not a Red Wine fan either so am slightly disappointed. But if you like a mature well rounded blend of flavours this will need to be in your collection.
If you have a sweet tooth and want “Candy Style” Berries – then I would swerve this one.
I have dropped the score slightly as the description stated that there were “Sweet, Sour and Tart” profiles – but the “Sweet” category has legged it.
Sweet Strawberry Lemonade
Pod Salt Says:
“Bubbly, fruity flavours combine to create a Nexus of sweet and refreshing tastes. We’ve combined sweet and juicy Strawberries with zingy Lemonade for a cool vape. Light, sweet and zesty.”
I Say…
I chose this one next after the sour burst from the previous e-liquid as I fancied some sweetness!
The fragrance from the bottle is very mild but I can just about detect some Strawberry and some Lemon – which is a good start!
I usually love Pink Lemonade style flavours, as you get the Fizz of the Lemonade and a sweet Strawberry on top. Here there is no “Fizz” and the Strawberry seems sour, synthetic and powdery.
This is just not sweet or fizzy enough to match the description, it is passable but not enjoyable.
Rainbow
Pod Salt Says:
“Step into the rainbow and taste the full spectrum of sweet tastes inspired by popular candy. A tantalising Nexus of sweet and tangy with fruity notes.”
I Say…
The flavour description hints to this flavour being inspired by the sweets “Skittles” who have the slogan “Taste The Rainbow”…
The smell of the e-liquid is very Citrusy and 100% reminds me of opening a bag of the sweeties!
In a bag of Skittles the flavours are apparently Strawberry, Green Apple, Grape, Lemon and Orange.
This is definitely a Citrus medley when vaping, I can pick out Lime, Orange and Lemon instantly. There is a back-note on exhale which must be the Grape?
Also there is some cooling to this which is not mentioned in the description. Despite that this is a really refreshing enjoyable vape!
Fuji Apple Peach
Pod Salt Says:
“Our Fuji Apple Peach fusion is guaranteed to delight the senses and take you to far off mountains, nestled amongst the clouds. Featuring a Nexus of sweet and delicate Peaches from the Japanese highlands, with crisp and juicy Apples.”
I Say…
The aroma when opening the bottle is exactly what I was expecting, sweet Apples and loads of Peach!
Please let this one taste as good as it smells!
I admit I did have to ask my buddy Google what a Fuji Apple was! It is apparently a cross between a Red Delicious and Virginia Ralls Janet? So there we are? Still none the wiser as what to expect.
Yay this is the closest variant to the description so far!
This is so well blended that you can taste both the beautiful Apple and the gorgeous Peach but neither flavour dominates. Instead they drift backwards and forwards to prevent either becoming too overpowering.
Well done Pod Salt this is a beauty!
Fresh Raspberry Mojito
Pod Salt Says:
“Utterly classic with a delicately sweet twists, this Nexus of minty goodness is heightened by fruit. Sweet Raspberries swirl together in a mint and citrus nirvana that’s refreshingly cool.”
I Say…
Weirdly I cannot pick up much of a fragrance from just sniffing at the bottle nozzle.
The flavour on the inhale is like a chewy Mint sweet – the Spearmint chew kind – like in the image below.
Then on the exhale there is what tastes like a synthetic Lime?
It is all very weird.
Then as an aftertaste you get some fruit which tastes like Detergent mixed with Alcohol.
This one has me really conflicted. My first few vapes I found it revolting. Then it kind of grew on me slightly, but I still have the odd yukky vape.
But I suppose it does sort of fit the description as a Mojito is an alcoholic Cocktail with Lime and Mint? It does give an “Alcoholy” vibe for sure.
It just really isn’t great friends with what I assume is the Raspberry. The inhale and exhale do the job required but the aftertaste does spoil things a bit.
Blueberry Blackberry Lemonade
Pod Salt Says:
“This berry-delightful Nexus of flavours combines the juiciest notes of the best hand-picked berries. Tangy Blackcurrant flavours are highlighted with delicate Blueberries and zingy Lemonade for a refreshing finish.”
I Say…
The smell of this does lean heavily towards the dark berry aroma and less of the Lemonade.
But when vaping the order of dominance totally reverses!
Immediately the Lemon hits your palate on the inhale and then on the exhale you get more berry vibes.
I am not getting a fizzy bursting Lemonade flavour which I have experienced with other brands. Instead it has a more flat Lemon Juice edge. Fortunately it is not too tart to make you screw your face up.
On the exhale the berries sort of kick in but not in a recognisable fashion. It is more a berry blur mixed in with the Lemon.
I think the addition of some cooling and a fizzy edge to the Lemonade would wake this flavour up a lot.
It is OK and kind of delivers on the profiles in the description but it just needs something to add some zing and vibrancy. Oh and overall it is another Sour offering. I want some sweetness!
Strawberry Banana Rhubarb
Pod Salt Says:
“A nostalgic taste reinvigorated by a classic fruit for a truly British treat. Combining creamy Banana with tart Rhubarb, blended with juicy Strawberries for a Nexus of sweet, sour and creamy delights.”
I Say…
Wow the Banana really jumps out when you smell this e-liquid flavour!
So the description tells me to get set for a medley of Banana, Rhubarb and Strawberry. Do these flavours lend themselves to a harmony? Let’s see!
Well there are two ways to look at this…
Are all the flavours present – oh yes – I can pick them all out individually.
Do they harmonise well together? Not entirely.
The Banana takes priority and then the other flavours lurk around weirdly trying to creep up on it.
If you like Banana flavoured sweets you might enjoy this one as it has a very synthetic Banana finish which is really tasty. Like the foam sweets pictured below.
Pear Apple Raspberry
Pod Salt Says:
“Taste the Nexus of classic British straight from the garden. Packed with classic fruit tastes from mellow Pears to crisp Apples and juicy sweet Raspberries. Fresh and fruity with a hint of tartness.”
I Say…
Getting a good whiff of this when opening the bottle confirms the presence of the Apples and Pears. I do not detect any Raspberry at this stage!
I am quite excited for this one as the previous Peach and Apple combo was delicious!
Again Pod Salt seem to be experts in this style of blending.
When inhaling, the Peach and Apple come through and are beautifully refreshing. Then things sweeten up on the exhale with the background of Raspberries.
In fact despite the mention of “Tartness” in the description, this is one of the sweeter flavours in the range.
Therefore it is right up my street.
I will have to deduct a mark for the fact this is nowhere near as tart as the rest of the range. Oh and there is some nice cooling which is not in the description.
If they deleted the “Tartness” and added “cooling” or “ice” to the description this would be a 10/10!
Sour Blue Raspberry
Pod Salt Says:
“This candy inspired Nexus of tastes delivers all things sweet and sour. A ripe blend of sweet and sour Raspberries for a zingy delight with each puff.”
I Say…
I am dreading this one to be honest as previous flavours which were described as “sweet” were pretty sour. Now this has “Sour” in the name – will it be even more Bum clenching?
Fragrance wise this is a total Raspberry fest and smells like undiluted Raspberry cordial.
Vaping wise – yep this is in the sour category.
It is not excruciatingly so – but above my tolerance as I have a very sweet tooth.
With this only containing one fruit I praise the clarity and strength of flavour. It is a clear Raspberry all day long.
But if you like some sweetness and sparkle in your vape – this is one you should not partake in. But if you like a concentrated tarty vape this has got your name on it.
I will be marking it down slightly as there is little in the way of sweetness but to be fair the level of sour has been reigned in to make it palatable.
Berry Lemon Ice
Pod Salt Says:
“Nature’s finest come together in this citrus, berry Nexus that tantalises with sweet, zingy, and refreshing waves. We’ve combined fresh Lemons with fragrant sweet Raspberries, dashed with an icy breeze.”
I Say…
Last up I chose Berry Lemon Ice. Again a bit scary as previous versions with Lemon in have been a bit too sour.
Unusually there is very little aroma coming from the bottle.
Thankfully the blending of the Raspberries does take the edge off the Lemon.
Not entirely though as on the exhale the zing of that Lemon does get you.
This is not as icy as some of the other flavours despite having “Ice” in the name.
I would not personally pick this flavour, but I had to admit it does the job.
With a little bit more cooling added this would be a 10/10, but it is just not cold enough to fit the name.
Pod Salt Nexus E-liquid Final Review Verdict
Sadly these flavours drifted in the Sour direction far too much for me.
I prefer sweet flavours, but if the sour is done properly and is refreshing it can work.
The Pod Salt Nexus range promised some sweet treats but many of them did not live up to their promise.
The flavours were often sour and sometimes heavy and dark. Imagine opening a nice cold can of your favourite Cola and then finding out it was filled with Bitter (Beer). You may enjoy Bitter but it wasn’t what you wanted or what you were expecting when you picked up the can.
However that is not to say this was the case for all of them. The Fuji Apple Peach for instance, was a magnificent blend of two very harmonious fruits and a delight to vape!
There is no doubt that the Pod Salt Nexus E-liquid kicks out the flavour. Ideal if you love the concentration of flavour found in a disposable vape. Instead I am getting that sensation on a simple single coil RDA at 18W!
