Oukitel Bison 30W Pod System Review

The Oukitel Bison – Lately, we’ve been reviewing a bunch of quality pod mod vape setups that had us questioning our stance against these devices. (to remind our regulars, we’re basically against using pod mods and nicotine-salt e-juice)  Some of them have offered pretty good experiences, with broader appeal than just “new vapers,” or “ex-smokers.” So, we were pretty amped to take this fresh new perspective into this review of the Oukitel Bison 30W pod system…

…and then we were rudely reminded of why we’re so down on the format. Maybe the Bison isn’t the WORST pod mod we’ve reviewed on these pages. But it’s nowhere near what Lost Vape and Horizon are doing with the format. In short, the Bison might look like similar “box pods” but the resemblance ends as soon as you fire it up.

So, what’s the Propaganda on the Oukitel BISON

The Oukitel BISON 30W Pod System is an intimate piece of compact but effective vaping technology, adopting the small box mod silhouette. Incorporating a 2mL pod cartridge with changeable coils, and a sizable integrated 1000mAh rechargeable battery.

All this ensures the Oukitel BISON Pod System lasts throughout the entire day. Combining a zinc-alloy chassis with strong durable Kevlar, the Bison Pod System is geared for those that require strength and functionality from a vaping system.

Now let’s discuss some actual, factual, truth…

Impressions/Aesthetics for the Oukitel BISON

Like we mentioned above, the Bison is one of many new “box pod” systems we’ve seen lately, attempting to bridge the gap between pod mod simplicity and advanced vape performance. And it certainly looks the part, with nicely implemented resin (or carbon fiber) side panels, beveled edges for comfortable grip and a quality mouthpiece.

Impressions Cont…

Hell, the Bison also features a small OLED display, indicating atomizer type, and even an e-liquid detector, so you don’t accidentally puff nic salt juices in the standard power mode — saving you and your lungs some uncomfortable moments.

On the surface, the Bison is plenty attractive for this sector of the market. But beauty only gets you so far, and once you activate the Bison, you’ll wish Oukitel spent more time mastering the workings of a functional vape mod, and not just emulating industry leaders.

Vaping the Oukitel Bison Pod System

I’m not going to bother breaking down the “standout” features, because none of them stand out for the right reasons. As is the norm these days, the Bison comes with a pair of replaceable coils — a 0.6-ohm “direct lung” head, alongside the expected 1.2-ohm coil for MTL vaping and nic salt liquids

If only either of them worked worth a damn.

As a traditional mid-high wattage vaper, I naturally started with the “sub-ohm” head in hopes of getting some portable clouds with my traditional e-liquids. Instead, I was greeted with a mouth full of heat, and zero flavor. Now, before you call for my head and call me a rookie, know that I followed the coil installation, priming and vaping instructions to the letter. I made sure it was securely connected and that nothing was in the way of it doing its job.

DOA Mesh Coils

Nothing helped. The 0.6-ohm mesh coil was DOA, and this review was off to a magnificent start. So, I broke out my salt juices and primed the 1.2-ohm ceramic coil, hoping and praying it would save the day. But no such luck.

Oh, it worked… and for a few hours, it worked well — almost to the point that I was planning to gush over the system’s MTL performance. There was some distinct flavor and surprising vapor for an MTL rig. It wasn’t up to the standards of the Lost Vape Orion, but Oukitel surprised me for a while. Then the fourth hour hit.

The Sub-Ohm Coil

Much like the “sub-ohm” head, the (supposedly long-lasting) ceramic coil gave up the ghost, eliminating all flavor in exchange for sour, foul-tasting heat. And while the coil was turning my uvula into a literal punching bag, I also noticed the 30-watt max device was cranking heat that my three-battery monsters couldn’t provide.

And to boot, the OLED screen began to freak out under the (supposed) weight of my demands, suddenly telling me I was using different juices and modes, when I never adjusted a thing. So the net total of my experience with the Bison: Two coils. Four total hours of vaping. One excessively hot pod mod. One major disappointment.

Disappointment

What bugs me the most is that there COULD have been a good device here. The Bison’s pod capacity and coil installation was solid, the build quality was top-notch. In short, it felt like a quality device, but like my mom always told me, it’s what’s on the inside that counts. And the Bison has the insides of a much lesser animal.

Pros:

• Great look, feel and build quality
• Nicely implemented coil setup
• Good pod capacity

Cons:

• Coils both failed in hours
• Ridiculous heat under moderate use
• Display failed almost immediately

Spinfuel VAPE Recommendation and Score

I’m inviting Oukitel to send us another test model to see if this was just a fluke, and a bad model got through their quality control. Because — for as many vape mods as I’ve reviewed over the years — I’ve rarely had one go so wrong, so quickly.

And in the spirit of fair play, I’m going to hold off giving this a grade, because something tells me my test model was DOA before I opened the plastic. We will definitely give it a thorough, fair review if and when another test model comes in. But until that happens, hold off buying it, in case our experience was the rule, not the exception.

Score: INCOMPLETE