Freshcig eVolve Review

Freshcig is an e-cigarette brand that can be found in retail locations such as convenience stores throughout the UK. While many e-cigarettes tend to be of the traditional starter kit variety, some brands like Freshcig are branching out into more refillable kit. Such is the case with the eVolve Advanced kit. Stick around for the review and see if it’s a good move.

[box style=’info’]

What’s in the box

The Freshcig Evolve Advanced Kit comes packed in a nice tin box and includes the following:

1 650 mAh eGo style battery
2 CE4 style clearomizers
1 Compact USB charger
30ml e-liquid
Instruction manual

[/box]

About the Freshcig eVolve Advanced Kit

This kit is a compact setup with each component, save for the 30ml bottle of e-liquid, is packed in the reusable tin which features cutouts for the battery, clearomizers and USB charger. The tin has a cardboard outer sleeve for retail display and is a nice looking setup.

There is only a single battery in this kit, which is unfortunate in a starter kit. After all, what exactly are you supposed to do when you’re waiting for the only battery to charge? A 650 mAh battery will last a light user a few hours, but it will still take at least an hour to charge.

Otherwise, there’s nothing in particular at fault with the battery. It’s a nice-looking white affair that has sort of an antiqued bronze finish on the endcaps and connector portion. It’s a nice departure from the typical chrome on most starter eGo kits.

Interestingly, the battery seems slightly shorter than typical 650mAh eGos I’ve seen. Perhaps I’m so used to variable voltage models which are always longer than the traditional variety.

More troubling is that even though I refer to this as an eGo style battery, there’s one important feature missing. This is not a truley an eGo “threaded” battery. Unlike most devices of that category, the Freshcig model lacks threads on the outer portion of the battery connector. That means this particular battery will only be compatible with tanks that have threading on the battery connector itself, but not ones that thread onto the battery with threads on the skirt of the clearomizer.

The battery is of the manual variety, meaning you have to press the button to activate the e-cigarette, rather than it automatically heating up when you puff on the device. The fire button is located on the collar of the battery just below the battery connector. I noticed the battery does have a 5-click on/off feature, but unlike most batteries I’ve seen the light does not flash when the button is pressed 5 times, it just turns off or on depending on the state. This was a little off putting, but not a huge deal.

Included with the kit are two CE4 style clearomizers. These feature the same sort of patina on the metal parts as the battery for a consistent look. Since the batteries have threading on the 510 connector, so do the cartomizers.

There are no replaceable heads on these clearomizers, and they feature the traditional screw off drip tips that are removed for filling the tanks. Tank filling is a simple affair, just drip liquid between the center post and the inside of the tank. The fine tip on the Freshcig e-liquid bottles make this a very easy maneuver.

Speaking of e-liquid, Freshcig does have a nice selection of e-liquid available. I chose Aniseed flavored e-liquid with my kit. The e-liquid I received was made in China, but was actually pretty tasty.

Using the eVolve Advanced Kit

I couldn’t find information on the actual voltage output of the battery, and I for some reason was too lazy to dig out the multimeter to get a proper reading. However, it seems to me this battery is likely a 4.2v or unregulated battery. Performance was quite good with the included tanks, which metered at 2.2 ohm.

The clearomizers feature four wicks and didn’t seem to have a whole lot of problem keeping the coils properly saturated. The result was a surprising cloud of vapor from what seems like should be a fairly run-of-the-mill set of gear.

From a temperature standpoint, the vapor wasn’t particularly warm but it was plentiful. Flavor reproduction seemed alright since I did get a nice flavor out of a strangely flavored imported e-liquid. I can’t really say I have many complaints in the performance department.

Battery life is another issue. Since this a small battery with a limited capacity, I could plow through this in 90 minutes easy. That’s where a second battery would have come in handy.

You do get the advantage of a compact size for the sacrifice in battery life. While I don’t recommend putting this setup in pants pockets because CE4s have a tenancy to separate from their bases in pockets. Then again, if you like having a bunch of liquid in your pants, I’m not here to judge you.

The Freshcig kit is certainly not a bad kit, especially since the company’s products are pretty widely available in the UK.

Too Long; Didn’t Read

Freshcig is a UK e-cigarette brand that has added larger refillable styles to their lineup. The advanced kit includes a single battery and two clearomizers. Performance is surprisingly good, but an extra battery would have gone a long way to making this kit great. Some consumers may also not like that e-liquid is sourced from overseas. You can get these at many retailers in the UK or on Freshcig’s website.

Pros: