SKE have been expanding their product line-up recently with a lot of ‘big puff’ devices and one of the most recent additions is the SKE Crystal CL6000. Famed for their Crystal Bar disposables, will the SKE Crystal CL6000 meet expectations?
SKE released the Sikary 6000 big puff devices earlier in 2024, which we reviewed to high praise, but still felt that they fell a little short in a couple of areas. Does the SKE Crystal CL6000 fix these shortcomings? Read on to find out…
What Can We Expect From The SKE Crystal CL6000?
Each SKE Crystal CL6000 device is pre-filled with 10ml of SKE’s award winning Crystal e-liquids. They promise to deliver up to a massive 6000 puffs, so this is definitely shaping up to be a ‘big puff’ kit!
A 2ml pod and 10ml refill container is included in the kit and these are actually replaceable. So once you have vaped through your e-liquid you can simply purchase a new pod and refill container rather than having to buy a whole new device.
The replaceable pods are coupled with a rechargeable 800mAh battery. There is an intuitive battery life indicator allowing you to check on battery life in real time. With these features, you’ve got yourself a reusable, budget-friendly pre-filled pod kit that is built to last!
SKE made a name for themselves by producing kits that offered great tasting flavours. The Crystal CL6000 looks to take this up a notch. You get a dual mesh coil system with a large surface area that heats e-liquid up quickly and delivers a consistent and flavoursome vaping experience.
Plus, the voltage output is fixed to ensure that each puff tastes the same regardless of how much battery charge is left.
Many thanks to SKE for sending the Crystal CL6000 range in for review! Let’s see how these perform.
And as always, all views are my own!
Specs/Features
- Up to 6000 puffs
- Replaceable 2ml pod and 10ml refill container
- Draw activated device
- Mouth to lung vape
- 20mg nicotine salt strength
- Rechargeable 800mAh battery
- Dual mesh coil system
- Intuitive battery indicator
- Ten different flavours
- User friendly set up
- Pocket friendly design
Kit Contents
Inside the packaging you get a SKE Crystal CL6000 device, a 2ml pod and a 10ml refill container. There’s also a user manual and instruction leaflet.
Design & Build Quality
Size wise, these measure 87mm x 50mm x 26mm and weigh 83g. They sit in the palm of my hand nicely and they don’t feel too weighty in my pocket either. The edges are nice and rounded, making the SKE Crystal CL6000 a comfortable device to hold.
In terms of styling, these are pretty smart looking devices.
Each one has a transparent design to it allowing you to see the built in 800mAh battery. Also you can comfortably see how much e-liquid is in the pod and refill container, which is great for keeping track on your e-liquid. There’s a stylish metallic finish at the base too.
Plus, you can just purchase a new pod and refill container rather than a whole new device once you have vaped through your e-liquid. Big plus points for sustainability there!
Another key feature is the intuitive battery life display, with a small screen on the side of the device showing you how much battery life you’ve got left. Meaning you don’t have to guess or wait until the vape becomes weak before popping your device on charge.
To remain TPD-compliant, some self-assembly is required here. The pod, refill container and device are all packaged within the box separately. I’ll take you through how to set up and vape a SKE Crystal CL6000…
Quick Start Guide
I love the fact that these are dead simple to set up and everything clicks together satisfyingly well.
One thing that did irk me though was the amount of waste produced during set up. From packaging to bits of silicone, there is even a dummy mouthpiece present on the device which is really pointless in my opinion.
It’s even marked with a ‘useless’ sticker on it!!
Anyway, to get one of these set up:
- Remove the dummy mouthpiece
- Connect the pod to the refill container.
- Slide the assembled pod and container into the groove on the side of the device.
- Let the pod fill
- Leave it to stand for a couple of minutes so the cotton absorbs the liquid, then you are ready to go.
There are no buttons present on the device. It has an auto-draw system, so just take a puff on the device to vape. You do get a battery life indicator, which lights up when you take a puff, allowing you to see how much battery life is left at a glance.
On the base of the device is a USB-C charging port and simply connect a suitable USB-C charging cable to this in order to charge up your device.
Flavours
The SKE Crystal CL6000 range is made up of ten different flavours, comprising Lemon & Lime, Sour Pineapple, Blueberry Raspberries, Watermelon Ice, Fizzy Cherry, Strawberry Burst, Pink Lemonade, Blueberry Sour Raspberry, Cherry Ice and Blue Razz Lemonade flavours.
I was sent ten of these to review, though I did get two Blueberry Sour Raspberry versions and didn’t receive the Blue Razz Lemonade. So I can only imagine there has been a picking error there! Oh well, here are my thoughts on the nine different flavours that I got to try out…
Lemon & Lime
This blend delivers a straightforward punch of lemon and lime. It’s undeniably zesty, almost like biting into a frozen lemon & lime Ice Lolly.
The lemon flavouring is quite vibrant and intertwined from the first puff. However, the sweetness is quite pronounced, bordering on syrupy. Which gives the lemon a slightly artificial, sherbet-like quality.
While it’s certainly refreshing – the lime flavouring was lacking a bit here and the lemon really overshadowed it. To the point where I actually struggled a little to pick up on lime flavour notes amongst the lemon.
Sour Pineapple
They may be a dime a dozen but I’m a sucker for a good pineapple flavour, so I was dead keen to set this one up and get vaping on it.
There’s a lush, pineapple cube sweet styled flavour on the inhale with a good level of sweetener to compliment it. Then a really well done sour note comes in at the end. I’ve got to say that the flavour blend is superb here!
This was my pick of the range and one flavour I would happily buy again. It made a really nice change from the usual Pineapple Ice flavour I’ve come to expect from ranges like this one!
Blueberry Raspberries
Oooh yes, this is a really enjoyable blueberry and raspberry combination!
Right from the get go, the juicy blueberry and raspberry flavours explode onto my palate. Delivering a full frontal mixed berry burst, with an authentic tasting blueberry and raspberry present in the blend.
There’s a delicious thick, syrupy texture which mimics homemade jam! Clinging to the tongue with a satisfying sweetness and although this is a sweet one, I didn’t find it overpoweringly so.
It’s a delightful concoction, a fruity indulgence that’s both comforting and refreshing and it really does have a lot of vibrancy to it.
Watermelon Ice
This flavour is an overwhelming assault of artificial watermelon. I’m not particularly fond of watermelon flavour to begin with and this blend is excessively sweet and synthetic.
It tastes like a diluted watermelon candy, drenched in sugar, with a late-arriving menthol kick that offers little relief and is too weak.
This blend is disappointingly generic, falling squarely into the category of countless other mass-produced watermelon ice disposables currently flooding the market. There’s nothing unique or interesting here, just an overbearing sweetness and a predictable menthol finish.
Fizzy Cherry
I felt that this boasts a vibrant candied cherry flavour that’s not overly sweet, but rather a balanced blend of tart and sweet notes. And a nice fizzy note is here too!
The cherry flavour is incredibly well-executed. Reminiscent of sweet, candied cherries with a subtle fizzy undertone that perfectly mimics a sparkling beverage. Accompanied by a delicious syrupy sweet background note.
I have become a bit of a fan of cherry flavours in recent times and this was up there with some of my more recent favourites.
Strawberry Burst
I’ve got to say, that the strawberry flavour here reminded me of some of my favourite strawberry milkshake/ice-cream blends that I have tried in the past.
Yes, it’s an artificial strawberry flavour but it is done well, with no chemical edge to it. The sweetness is well-balanced and it isn’t an overwhelmingly sweet strawberry flavour. Just one that offers smooth and tasty strawberry.
There’s quite an enjoyable smoothness to this as well, almost like the strawberry flavouring is delivered to my palate on a cloud!
Pink Lemonade
This vape is dominated by a potent lemonade flavour, which really seems to be more pronounced than the other flavour notes.
A subtle Red berry undercurrent peeks through, but it plays a supporting role to the assertive lemonade. The sweetness level is high, making this a prime choice for those who crave a sugary Pink lemonade experience. But this is perhaps a little too sweet for my palate.
A unique aspect of this blend is its pronounced fizziness. It’s almost as if you’re vaping a carbonated beverage. I was even surprised to feel a tingling sensation on my cheeks, a testament to the intensity of the fizz!
Blueberry Sour Raspberry
This blend is a real winner – I vaped through it in no time!
The star of the show is the sour note. It’s exceptionally well-executed, far more prominent than I’m accustomed to and it is far more pronounced than a lot of other blueberry sour raspberry blends that I have tried.
The flavour profile unfolds in a delightful sequence: juicy blueberries lead the charge, followed by a sharp, tart bite and finally, a sweet finish of ripe raspberries. It’s a simple yet masterful combination, perfectly capturing the essence of a blueberry sour raspberry treat.
Cherry Ice
This wasn’t all too dissimilar to the Fizzy Cherry version if I am honest. Which isn’t a bad thing at all as I really enjoyed that!
There’s the same candied, syrupy sweet cherry flavouring present that really just replaces the fizzy notes for a subtle icy undertone instead.
It’s most definitely heavy on the cherry. The icy note is much more of a subtle compliment, which actually works quite well as it doesn’t overpower the cherry notes at all.
How Does The SKE Crystal CL6000 Perform?
These offer a fixed mouth to lung (MTL) vape, with a constant voltage output for power delivery and a dual mesh coil system with a rich and smooth taste.
I found that the mouth to lung draw was fairly tight, causing me to suck my cheeks in a little bit when taking a puff. The flavour delivery was really smooth and the vapour production was actually slightly denser than I expected it to be!
Now, where this device fell a little short for me was the battery life. These do come with a 800mAh battery built in, which should in theory last a full day…
But during my time with these I nearly always needed to pop one back on charge before the day was out. Worth bearing in mind if you spend long periods of time away from a power source to recharge your vape!
Can You Really Get 6000 Puffs From One Of These?
These kits are marketed as offering up to 6000 puffs. Whether you actually end up getting around that figure will depend on variables such as how long you take a draw on the device for and how frequently you puff on it.
I tend to take quite long 3-4 second puffs on devices like this, which will impact on how many puffs I will get. I tallied up how many puffs I got from the Sour Pineapple one and I reached a total of 3,743.
That translated to almost a full week’s worth of vaping, which really is not bad at all for £12. Obviously, your own mileage will vary depending on your own vaping habits.
Don’t forget that you can also replace the refill containers and pods with these, saving you from having to buy a whole new device each time you empty the pod!
Pros
- Great tasting flavours
- Super simple to use
- Reusable pre-filled pod system
- Competitively priced
- Solid build quality
Cons
- No variable output or airflow
- Lots of waste produced by the packaging and device
- Battery life isn’t the best
- Fruit flavours only
Final Verdict
When reviewing the SKE Sikary 6000 kits earlier in 2024, I felt that these almost hit the mark. They performed fantastically and offered some excellent flavours. However they were let down somewhat by not having a battery life indicator and no ability to replace the pods and refill containers.
The Crystal CL6000 remedies this by offering firstly the battery life indicator that I longed for with the Sikary range. So you now have the ability to keep track of battery life in real time. Also so you can replace the refill container and pod, extending the life of the CL6000 device, making it a reusable pod system rather than a big puff disposable vape.
I felt the flavours on offer absolutely hit the mark here, which is what I’ve come to expect over time from SKE products. Plus the price is extremely competitive too, with these retailing around the £12 mark in the UK.
I can highly recommend checking these out if you are looking for a new pre-filled, reusable, rechargeable pod system! Or if you are looking for a disposable vape alternative for when the UK Disposable Vape Ban kicks in later in 2025.
Many thanks to SKE for sending the Crystal CL6000 range over for review, these are available in the UK now!
Have you tried the SKE Crystal CL6000 pod kits? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
