Freemax Maxus 50W Kit Review: A Solid Kit for DL Vaping

Freemax entered into the box mod market mid last year with the release of the Maxus 200W and Maxus 100W vape mods. Both of these mods were “traditional” box mods that used external batteries for power; the Maxus 100W takes a single 21700, 20700, or 18650 battery and the Maxus 200W takes dual 18650 batteries. We reviewed both kits when they came out and their overall performance was impressive.

The Maxus 50W is the latest addition to the Maxus line of box mods. It’s a little different than its predecessors because it features a built-in 2000mAh battery, but it otherwise keeps the same design and features. The Maxus 50W, as the name suggests, will fire at up to 50W and it comes with the Fireluke 22 Tank which was first released with the Twister 30W Kit.

This kit was sent to me by Freemax for the purpose of this review.

Box Contents

• 1 x Freemax Maxus 50W Mod
• 1 x Fireluke 22 Tank Resin Edition
• 1 x DTL 0.25ohm Mesh Coil
• 1 x DTL 0.5ohm Mesh Coil
• 1 x Extra Bubble Glass
• 1 x Pack of Extra O-Rings
• 1 x Type-C Cable
• 1 x Warning Card
• 1 x Warranty Card
• 1 x User Manual

Specifications

Freemax Maxus 50W

• H: 79mm x  W: 38.6mm x D: 26.5mm
• 2000mAh Battery
• 50W Maximum Wattage Output
• Adjustable Wattage
• Power, VPC, TC, and TCR Modes

Fireluke 22 Tank

• 22mm Base Diameter
• 3.5ml Capacity
• 510 Drip Tip
• Adjustable Airflow (MTL or DTL)

Design & Build Quality: Maxus 50W

The Maxus 50W looks just like the Maxus 200W and Maxus 100W mods only it’s smaller. It’s quite a compact mod at just 79mm tall, 38.6mm wide, and 26.5mm deep and it is quite light as well. You can feel that it has some weight when you hold it in your hand but it’s not too heavy at all. If you’ve ever used the Maxus 100W, the Maxus 50W is its shorter, slightly wider twin.

The boxy rectangular shape and angled edges are the same as its predecessors. The sides dig into my hands a bit so it’s not the most comfortable mod to hold and use but I don’t think that it’s a deal breaker. However, rounded sides and edges would make this mod much more comfortable to hold.

The front side of the Maxus 50W has two diagonally split resin patches in contrasting colors. I’m not a fan of how this looks, especially in the color combination I received, but I have to give credit to Freemax for at least trying something new. The uppermost resin patch matches the resin on the included Fireluke 22 Tank, while the bottom patch is a completely independent, clashing color. There are six color options available; in my opinion, the Black Blue looks the most appealing.

Freemax have done away with the raised 510 plate from previous Maxus mods and have made it pretty well flush here. You can fit atomizers up to 28mm in diameter without there being any side-to-side overhang, but anything larger than 26mm will hang ever so slightly over the sloping back edge. The 510 pin is spring loaded and firm with a decent amount of throw.

The screen hasn’t been updated from other Maxus mods and is still in black and white. It looks outdated but it’s crisp, clear, and easy to read. It’s bright enough to use even in direct sunlight. Above the screen is a square fire button, while below it are two square adjustment buttons. The buttons are firm and responsive with no battery rattle at all. Below the adjustment buttons is a Type-C port for charging.

The overall quality of the Maxus 50W is good but with one big fault; the paint. I’ve been very gentle with this mod and yet the black paint is still wearing out in multiple spots. The edges are most susceptible to this issue as most of the edges of my Maxus 50W show some degree of paint wear. For an otherwise solid mod, the paint quality is disappointing.

Fireluke 22 Tank

The Fireluke 22 Tank was first released with the Freemax Twister 30W kit and Freemax have included it again here with this kit. However, the Fireluke 22 that comes with this kit is the resin edition and therefore looks a little different than the metal edition from the Twister 30W Kit.

Comparing the Fireluke 22 Tank with the Fireluke 3 and M Pro 2 Tanks that came with the Maxus 200W & Maxus 100W kits, it looks very similar. It’s much smaller though, sitting at just a 22mm base diameter.

The Fireluke 22 Tank is made primarily out of resin but there are metal rings that surround the top cap and airflow ring. These metal rings add protection to the otherwise fragile resin which makes it less likely to crack if you drop it. 

I’m glad to see that Freemax includes two bubble glasses with this kit. I never liked or used the straight glasses much, so it’s always good to have a backup bubble glass. This tank will hold up to 3.5ml of eliquid. This kit comes with a DTL drip tip installed and two DTL coils, however you can also purchase a MTL drip tip and MTL coils separately.

 The fill port is located underneath the top cap. The top cap is super secure but still convenient to use. It’s a push-to-fill system, but you have to lift the top cap before you push it back. If you don’t lift the top cap it won’t open. This essentially makes it impossible for the top cap to open up in your pocket, but it’s still just as convenient to fill. The fill port is a single, wide kidney shaped port.

The airflow control ring has one small slot and three small holes. The airflow can be set to allow air through the slot and holes all at once for DL vaping, or it can be cut down to just the holes for MTL vaping. The holes decrease in size so if you desire, you can use just one hole at a time for slightly different MTL draws.

This kit comes with two coils:

• 1 x DTL 0.25ohm Mesh Coil 
• 1 x DTL 0.50ohm Mesh Coil 

These coils are built with Freemax’s COILTECH 4.0 formulation, made with SS904L mesh and tea fiber cotton. They push into the bottom of the tank and don’t need to be screwed in. These coils are the same formulation as the coils used for the Freemax M Pro 2 and Fireluke 3 tank but they are not the same coils. The Fireluke 22 Tank coils are smaller and not threaded so as a result, they are not cross-compatible.

The most innovative and interesting feature of the Fireluke 22 Tank is its “Leak-proof mechanism”. The holes that feed eliquid to the coil will shut themselves automatically when the coil is pulled out. This means that you can switch coils even with a full tank and no eliquid will leak out.

The 0.25ohm coil is for DTL vaping and rated for 30-50W. Freemax states that this coil is best at 40W and for use with freebase nicotine eliquids from 3-6mg.

The 0.5ohm coil is for DTL vaping and rated for 15-30W. Freemax states that this coil is best at 25W and for use with freebase nicotine eliquids from 3-6mg.

In addition to the two included coils I was also sent a MTL drip tip and the two available MTL coils:

• 1 x MTL 1.0ohm Mesh Coil
• 1 x MTL 1.5ohm Mesh Coil

These coils can be used for MTL vaping with either freebase of nicotine salt eliquids and I’ll be going over how they perform a little later on in the performance section of this review.

Features & Functions: Maxus 50W Mod

The Maxus 50W will fire at up to 50W. It supports Power mode, Temperature Control, TCR, Bypass, and Variable Power Curve modes. 

The menu system is straightforward and easy to use. Pressing the fire button three times brings up the menu with MODE, SET, INFO, & EXIT. 

MODE lets you, well, select your mode. The settings option lets you change the screen timeout, clear the puff counter, and check & clear the puff time.

Overall, I’m happy with the features and functioning of the Maxus 50W. It’s a simple but well-featured mod with an easy to navigate menu. I think even beginners will find this mod easy to use and vape with.

Battery & Charging

The Maxus 50W has a built in 2000mAh battery. The screen displays a battery life indicator but there is no percentage indicator. Battery life will greatly depend on the coil that you’re using and the wattage that you’re vaping at but as an example, you can expect to vape around two to three full tanks with the 0.25ohm coil depending on if you’re vaping closer to 30W or to 50W. Using the 0.5ohm coil at lower wattages will extend this battery life, while using the MTL coils will greatly extend your battery life.

The Maxus 50W features a Type-C charging port but it’s still not super fast to charge. It takes 70-80 minutes for a full charge which is lengthy for Type-C charging and a 2000mAh battery. 

Performance

I’ll go over the performance for each of the four available coils for this kit. Keep in mind that the MTL coils (1.0ohm & 1.5ohm) are sold separately, as is the MTL drip tip. I used the DTL drip tip for the 0.25ohm and 0.5ohm coils, and the MTL drip tip for the 1.0ohm and 1.5ohm coils.

The 0.25ohm DL mesh coil comes pre-installed in the Fireluke 22. This coil delivers an airy draw with the airflow open and this is the best way to vape this coil. It’s rated for 30-50W and I settled on vaping it at 40-45W. Flavor is good but the coil takes a refill to break in before it really comes through. I vaped an 80VG ejuice with this coil and it handled it without a problem.

The 0.5ohm mesh coil is also for DL vaping. This coil offers a similarly airy draw as the 0.25ohm coil. The recommended wattage is 15-30W but at the upper end of this wattage range, 25-30W, I got near-dry hits when using 80VG ejuices. This coil performed much better at 20W with high VG eliquids, but with 60VG and under it performed nicely at 30W. Flavor from this coil is really good but again, it took a full refill before the flavor reached its maximum potential. Keep this in mind if you use this coil.

I switched to the MTL drip tip when I used the MTL 1.5ohm coil. Freemax says that this coil can be used with either regular nicotine ejuices or nicotine salt eliquids so I tried both. Unlike the 0.5ohm coil, this coil vapes high VG ejuices without an issue. 80VG is no problem for this coil at 12.5W. This coil offers a slightly restricted DL draw with the airflow fully open, but as you close the airflow down it transforms into an increasingly tight MTL vape.With just the three airflow holes open I get a very loose MTL draw. With just the smallest airflow hole, I get a tight MTL vape. The flavor from this coil is not as good as the DL coils which is sad because the draw is nice. 

Regular nicotine ejuices vape good in the 1.5ohm coil, but 6mg is not quite satisfying enough due to the low wattage. If using regular nicotine ejuices then 9mg-18mg will be much better. Nicotine salts vape just like a pod system with this coil. The throat hit with a 35mg salt is pleasant and satisfying, however the flavor is still lacking.

Finally, the 1.0ohm coil. The draw isn’t as tight as the 1.5ohm coil but it’s still a nice MTL draw. This coil wicks similarly to the 1.5ohm coil and doesn’t have any issues with high VG or with 50/50 ejuices. The draw gets more and more restricted as you close down the airflow but I liked vaping it with 2 or 3 airflow holes open. The flavor from this coil is better than the 1.5ohm coil and that’s the saving grace for MTL’ing with this kit. Again, 6mg ejuices aren’t satisfying enough due to the low wattages, but higher nicotine regular ejuices and nicotine salts are very, very good. The experience with this coil is similar to a pod vape, just in a box mod and tank form.

Verdict

As it comes in the box, the Freemax Maxus 50W is a solid kit for direct lung vaping. It’s small and portable, but still delivers good flavor and decent battery life. If you’re after versatility from a tank, you can pick up the 1.0ohm coils and MTL drip tip and now you’ve got yourself a kit that can be used to DL vape regular nicotine ejuices as well as MTL vape nicotine salts.

The downsides to this kit are the odd resin design, poor paint quality, and long charging times, so it will be up to you to decide if you can live with these pitfalls.

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