Geekvape Aegis Max: Test Results Are In
July 18, 2020Product intro and specs
The Aegis Max is the latest single-battery box mod from the popular manufacturer Geekvape. By now, most vapers know who they are as they’ve made some great products over the years. They’re a very solid and reliable company overall.
The Aegis Max is the latest in a long line of Aegis products. It all started with the original, which pioneered the way for the IP67 shock-resistant and water-resistant vape mods on the market. Since then, they have had many products in that line like the Aegis Legend, the Aegis X and the line of Aegis AIOs and pod systems.
The Aegis Max is very similar to the original, which was a single-26650 battery mod, with the main differences being that the Max is smaller and made for a single 21700. This also means that you can also use a single 20700, or a single 18650 with the included adapter. It comes in a kit with the Zeus sub ohm tank however I was only sent the mod, so that’s all I’ll be reviewing today.
Price: Mod - $59.99 (Here ) | Kit - $63.99 (Here )
Colors: Black space, grey pearl, black tungsten, red phoenix, white storm
Specifications
- Output power: 5-100 watts
- Input voltage: 3.2-4.2 volts
- Output voltage: 0.1-8 volts
- Minimum voltage: 3.3 ± 0.1 volts
- Longest output/vaping time: 10s
- Charger voltage: 5V-1.5A
- Battery: 21700/18650 (single battery
- not included)
- Temperature control: 100-315°C / 200-600°F
Kit contents
- 1 x Aegis Max Mod
- 1 x USB Cable
- 1 x User manual
- 1 x Spare parts pack
- 1 x 18650 battery adapter
- 1 x Battery door assist tool
First impressions
Off the bat, I’ve reviewed pretty much every mod in the Aegis line. The Aegis, Aegis X, Aegis Solo, Aegis Mini, Aegis Legend… You name it, I’ve reviewed it. They are great mods. When I got this review sample it was pretty bare bones. Just the mod and a USB cable—no tank or even an instruction manual.
But I sure didn’t need an instruction manual for this mod. It’s the same as the rest of them, just a different size and battery configuration really. Some may say that’s a bad thing, but I see it as a good thing. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
Like the rest of the Aegis line, the Max feels hefty, looks classy and tactical, feels great, is easy to use, and just works. I got exactly what I expected when I heard I’d be receiving another Aegis. It makes me happy that they didn’t try to reinvent the wheel and ruin it.
Build quality and design
Anyone who has used an Aegis should know the design and build quality by now. They’ve been around for years. The Aegis max does a great job of being like its predecessors. It’s nicely built, feels solid and not cheap or flimsy, and there’s some heft to it for sure.
The fire button is a hexagon on the front of the mod with the slight angle on the bottom like most of the other Aegis mods. Below the screen is the up and down buttons and on the left side is the USB port under a rubber plug so dust and water can’t get in. It features a large black and white screen that’s bright and easy to see and looks great. I do kind of miss the color screens of some of the mods of the line though, but that’s no big deal.
It’s not a small mod, but it’s smaller than the original. It’s certainly smaller than a dual battery mod, but bigger than most single 2×700 battery mods. This is understandable because it needs to be IP67, which adds size. The battery configuration is a single 21700 battery, not included of course. This also means you can use a 20700 battery or an 18650 with the included adapter. The 510 pin is great and gave me no issues with any atomizer. Plenty of room to fit a 30 mm atomizer without overhang as well.
The Max is available in the five options listed above. I have the grey pearl edition, which looked like a very light grey matte frame in the pics, but it’s a shiny bare metal frame from up close. It looks great in contrast to the brown leather and black frame coating. The leather looks and feels great too, which is on par with the rest of the line.
Branding was kept very nice and simple. On the metal frame, one side has “Geekvape” engraved into it, with “Aegis” engraved on the other side. The battery door features the threaded latch system on the bottom, just like the original Aegis. It worked great with no issues and I had no problem getting batteries in and out. Overall, it’s a great looking and well-built mod.
As far as being IP67, it should come as no surprise, but it passed easily as usual. No issues leaving it under water for 30 mins and no issues dropping it. But like the others, the screen itself and the buttons can be a weak point of cracking or breaking, but the mod will still be usable. I’m very happy with its durability, like all the other Aegis mods.
Features and functions
The Aegis Max mod has all the features we’ve seen on the Aegis mods over the past years. Nothing new, but everything you will need. You have power mode (watts), temp control mode for Ni200, Ti, SS and TCR, bypass mode, and VPC (power curve mode). Nothing fancy or overbearing, which is kind of nice, but all the needed features we expect to have in a regulated mod are here.
Using the Aegis Max
As far as the menu goes, it’s the same as the original. Here is a quick rundown of how to use it.
- Five clicks of the fire button to turn on and off.
- Three clicks to enter menu mode.
- Use up and down in menu mode to cycle through modes and fire to accept.
- After selecting a mode, you can use up and down to adjust within the mode and fire to accept.
- Hold fire to exit menu mode.
Overall, very simple and easy to use with a good menu. I personally love the ease of use of their menu system.
Power mode performance
Testing on this mod was done with Samsung 30T Batteries. It might be because it’s so new, but I didn’t get a manual and there’s very little info on specs listed on their site. They only list the max wattage, which is 100 watts. I wish they would list all three which are watts, volts, and amps, but again it seems like it’s such an early sample that they haven’t gotten to it yet.
During my testing, the max achieved wattage was 113 watts—so the 100 watt rating is excellent, if not slightly underrated. The amp limit I got was 32+ amps with a 0.1-ohm coil, which was limited by the wattage. The volt limit I got was 8.31+, so there is a boost circuit in this mod like all single cell mods should have, and, again, it was limited by the wattage. I was able to get the full 100 watts with everything from a 0.1-ohm build to a 0.61-ohm build, so the volt and amp limit will never be an issue. Really great performance.
The mod adjusts in 0.1-watt increments which I’m not a fan of. If you hold it down though, it’ll do full watt—and pretty fast, so not bad. It does round robin as well. It’s a mostly accurate mod across the board, however, at higher resistances like my 0.6-ohm coil, it does hit a little high. So start a little lower if you’re using a higher resistance coil. Overall, a great performer as expected. You can see the full test results above.
I have not seen a charge rate listed for this mod at all. It has the older but more common micro USB port and not a Type-C, and it does support internal charging. Like all external battery mods, I recommend not charging internally if it can be avoided. With that said, I did test it and got a max charge rate of 1.44 amps. So, it’s likely that they will list it as 1.5-amp charging, which would be accurate and fast enough by today’s standards.
Temperature control performance
Using SS316L Wire in TCR mode (using 092) and SS mode (using the default non-adjustable setting of 105), I tested four builds. No fancy dual coil builds as with a single battery mod, it’s not really an ideal usage situation.
- One simple round single coil
- One simple round dual coil
- Two fancy wire single coil builds
The power is fully adjustable in TC mode with the full 100-watt limit. As far as the performance goes though, the Aegis line originally wasn’t very good at TC, but it was better on the ones that came out after the Legend. Then, if I recall correctly, there was another one that was good but had a weird low-wattage limit. That said, the Geekvape Nova was really good for TC and the performance I got with the Aegis Max is similar to it.
It’s better in SS mode, even though technically it’s not the correct TCR for SS316. It works great and is pretty accurate. A little on the weak side by like 20-40F, so around 470ish gives you a nice warm vape. It’s smooth and consistent and works really well. Overall, it’s a good mod for temp control usage.
Pros and cons
- (+) Great build quality
- (+) Nice silicon coating and leather backing
- (+) Accurately rated for watts
- (+) Good power mode performance
- (+) Nice 510 pin
- (+) Handles 30 mm atomizers without overhang
- (+) Nice large and clear screen
- (+) Affordably priced
- (+) Watt curve mode
- (+) Easy to use menu
- (+) Fast charge rate (1.44 amps)
- (+) IP67 rugged water-resistant mod
- (+) Great amp and volt limit
- (+) Good TC performance
- (-) No listed amp or voltage limit
Gallery
Verdict
Overall, Like the rest of the Aegis mods, I just can’t really find anything bad about them. They are great, and if you haven’t had one before, now would be the time. The Aegis Max isn’t anything new, but it’s still an excellent mod that anyone would be happy with. If you are in the market for a new mod, give this one a look for sure.
Let me know how you feel in the comments below!
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Article Author: Anthony Victor