The Excellent Rincoe TIX 20W Pod Mod System – Review

I have never been happy with any pod mod system. Tiny little low-wattage boxes with tiny little coils that product very little flavor and even less vapor. Thanks, but no thanks. Despite this, a tiny little pod mod system called the Rincoe TIX 20W, landed on my desk with a note attached that simply said, “trust me on this”. And here we are.

As per usual, my boss was right. There is more, much more, to the TIX than just being another pod mod. The Rincoe TIX has heft, made from Zinc-Alloy instead of cheap plastic, and out-performs every pod mod this reviewer has used. Granted, I shy away from most of them, but I’ve used a couple of dozen at least.

Impressions of the Rincoe TIX 20W Pod Mod

If you hold an interest in vaping, an interest that causes you to you browse sites like Spinfuel VAPE or scout the “New” category on online vendor sites, then you’ve surely heard of Rincoe. At the moment Rincoe is not as big or popular as SMOK, Innokin, Eleaf or Joyetech, but they have been gaining ground for a while. Think Rincoe Manto X and Manto S, the Metis Mesh Sub-Ohm, or the popular MECHMAN mod.

The new Rincoe TIX 20 Pod Mod will only serve to make this company even more popular as well as more successful.

Interestingly, the above sentence is one I never believed would be written by me.

USB-C and the TIX

While the world of electronic gadgets begins to adopt the USB-C standard, (there is even a rumor that next week (September 10th 2019) Apple will dump the Lightening Port for USB-C like they have with the new iPads). USB-C offers faster throughput, faster charging, and more than the inferior MicroUSB… speaking of…

…the vape industry seems stuck with the Micro-USB. Only a handful of vape mods have adopted the new standard. While we wait for the vape industry to catch, few have done so (YiHi mainly)

Surprisingly, but thankfully, the Rincoe TIX launched with USB-C, a major improvement over every pod mod system I can think of. But, with the TIX, USB-C is only the start.

Specifics

The Rincoe TIX 20W Pod System is about as advanced as pod systems get. Despite its diminutive size, the TIX use an integrated 1000mAh Rechargeable Battery. Additionally it offers a unique adjustable “coil-based” airflow control ring, that allows the user to set the TIX for Direct Lung Vaping, producing outstanding vapor clouds (I was shocked by the amount of vapor) and MTL vaping.

Happily, the new Rincoe TIX MESH Coil can create a vaping experience focused on flavor and customization. However, although the clouds of vapor begin at the outset, it takes an hour or so of vaping before the flavor reaches a decent level.

Keep in mind I’m comparing the experience to other pod mods. The Rincoe TIX is a marvelous pod mod, but it certainly doesn’t compare to a 200W mod and 0.25-ohm MESH Sub-Ohm when it comes to huge clouds and intense flavor.

So, before we go any further, what is the “official” company line on the TIX

“The Rincoe TIX 20W Pod System is an advanced vaping pod system, integrating a 1000mAh rechargeable Battery, adjustable coil-based airflow control ring, and can utilize the new Rincoe TIX Mesh Coil to create an incredible vaping set up focused on flavor and customizability.

 1000mAh

 Featuring a significant 1000mAh rechargeable battery, the TIX Pod System can carry a charge through multiple days and sessions depending on the frequency of use.

 Direct-Voltage Output

 Operating on a direct voltage-based output, the Rincoe TIX Pod System benefits from having such a large battery capacity and comes with an adjustable power selection, equipped with three levels of output to find a suitable option for each individual vaper.

MESH Coils

 In addition, the Rincoe TIX Pod System can utilize coils from the Rincoe TIX coil series, offering a 0.8ohm Mesh Coil and 1.0ohm Regular Coil to create tasty flavored clouds of vapor for the user’s enjoyment.”

What’s Wrong with the Official Company Line?

Basically, the only point on contention I have with the above propaganda is what is said about battery life. “TIX Pod System can carry a charge through multiple days and sessions depending on the frequency of use.” –This is very misleading.

I do like that Rincoe worded it so that it’s not an outright lie. “depending on the frequency of use” … On this we can agree. If I picked up a fully charged TIX pod mod and took a hit from it every 4 hours, then yes, I would agree that the charge might last a few days. But no one vapes that infrequently.

3 Hours or So

In real life, this 1000mAh battery will last about 3 hours, if that. Thankfully, the mouthpiece doesn’t allow for the kind of draw you can get from an 810-sized drip tip.

Everything else is pretty much spot on.

Replacement Coils:

Rincoe TIX Replacement Coils
Rincoe TIX Replacement Pods

Rincoe TIX Replacement Coils Features:

• Rincoe TIX Coil Series
• 0.8ohm TIX Mesh Coil
• 1.0ohm TIX Regular Coil
• Threaded Coil Installation
• Comes in a pack of five (5).

My Test Unit (Retail Version)

I picked up the American Flag Rincoe TIX. It’s a faded flag look and I love it. Rincoe offers a UK Flag design as well, in addition to Carbon Black, Blazing Skull (my brother’s favorite), Vast Sky, Galaxy, and Flame.

On the reverse side of the Flag design sits a full-sized magnetic door. Remove the door and you’ll have access to the good-size pod. Remove the pod, pull out the rubber stopper and fill. The capacity of the pod is a full 2mL. Not bad considering the tiny size of the pod mod.

The airflow sits under the removeable coil. In fact, when it’s time to replace the coil the user unscrews the airflow cap, replaces the coil with a new one, and screws the airflow cap back on. A simple process really.

Nicotine Salt or Not Nicotine Salt

If a pod mod can work with freebase, high VG e-juice, it wins points in my evaluation. One of the reasons I dislike pod mods so much is the requirement of using these extremely high nicotine e-juice called nic-salts. Some people love them, I don’t.

So, I used my personal favorite; Kilo Birthday Cake. A high VG e-liquid that I use 99.99% of the time. I filled the pod and waited several minutes before trying.

My Performance

The Rincoe TIX is not a draw-activated pod mod. Instead, the user has a shield-shaped fire button above the flag design. Push the fire button and inhale. With a fully opened airflow and the most powerful setting, the performance was top-notch for a pod mod.

The TIX Pod Mod has 3 power (voltage) levels, 3.3V, 3.65V, and Full Battery Output. I went through all three settings and got decent performance from each one (with my high VG e-juice!) but settled on “full battery output”.

Although my vapor production was surprising as hell, at first I did not taste the familiar flavor of Kilo Birthday Cake. That said, after a dozen or so draws the flavor began to come through.

NOTE*As I mentioned, most pod mods use nicotine-salt e-juice. To see it this made a difference (the thickness of the e-juice), I set up an extra pod, using a 0.8-ohm replacement coil, and The Plume Room’s 50:50 Angel Sauce. I have to admit that the intense flavor of Angel Sauce came through stupendously.

Spinfuel Recommendation and Score

I’m sure most owners of the Rincoe TIX will push 50:50 or Nicotine-Salt e-juice through the pods and coils. That’s fine, if that’s what they want. However, understand that freebase e-juice, no matter the PG/VG ratio, as well as nicotine-salts, will work fine. But for the more intense flavors, use 50:50 e-juice like several flavors from The Plume Room, or nic-salts.

Being Real

The best things about the Rincoe TIX include a very decent battery capacity, easy to use pods, replaceable coils of different resistances, a ring airflow cap that really works, and the sense of high-quality manufacturing. Oh, and the USB-C charging port.  The TIX is an excellent vape mod.

Although I will contain to use my high-wattage mods and sub-ohm tanks, such as the SMOK TF and TFV16, or even the incredible sub-ohm that comes with the Aegis Legend Starter Kit (currently under review), I will absolutely continue to use my TIX pod mod when I’m driving, running errands, attending meeting, or anywhere else where throwing huge clouds might seem inappropriate.