OXVA SlimStick X Review: A Simple Refillable Vape With a Cig-Like Feel

Design & Build Quality

The design of the SlimStick X is fairly unique among the plethora of currently available pod vapes. At 90mm tall, the height is comparable to many modern pod vapes, but not much else about this little device fits with the norm.

From the front, the device has a wide 32mm profile. From the side, it’s just 14mm, a similar thickness to a modern cell phone. If you have used the previous SlimStick device, this shape won’t feel unusual, but it is noticeably different from almost anything else on the market.

I have not hidden my admiration for OXVA devices in the past, being regularly impressed with both the design and the quality of the build. Thankfully, despite being what is by any measure a low-cost beginner device, the SlimStick X does nothing to dilute that impression.

The body is made from brushed aluminum alloy, with almost every edge curved and smooth for comfort. It feels solid and well-built, and despite the decent-sized battery inside, it also feels very light to hold and is almost undetectable when in your jeans pocket.

The pod sits in a large socket at the top and displays another fairly unusual design feature: a cylindrical rather than a wide and flat mouthpiece (more on that in a moment). There are cutouts near the top of the device on both sides, some subtle OXVA branding, a small LED light on one of the edges… and that’s about it. Nothing else interrupts the sleekness of the overall look.

There are just six different color versions to choose from, in a pretty standard range. All look great, but if you are expecting funky designs and leather-look finishes, you might be slightly disappointed. The funkiest colors are the Purple or the Gold, with all others being quite understated. Colors available are:

• Black
• Pink
• Blue
• Gold
• Purple
• Gray

Pods

Unlike the previous model, and despite the name, the SlimStick X features a true refillable pod and not cigarette-style disposable sticks. This is, in my opinion, a good move. While it means the device loses one of its most unique features, refillable pods feel less wasteful, are more economical, and are likely what even very new vapers expect from an MTL vape.

The pods feature a slim, cylindrical mouthpiece, which means that the experience of drawing on the vape still feels something like putting a cigarette to your lips.

Speaking from my own long-ago experience as a vaping beginner, this mouthpiece shape is comforting and likely makes the process of switching from the ‘smokes’ less jarring. If the mouthpiece is too slim for your tastes, an optional silicone drip-tip sleeve is available to buy. This sits snugly over the standard drip-tip to give it a little more bulk and comfort.

To fit the slim device style, the pods themselves are narrow and long. They fill the entire top of the device, sitting fully enclosed within the socket.

To overcome the fact that this position blocks the user from seeing how much juice remains inside the e-liquid reservoir, OXVA has thoughtfully provided cutout windows in the body that act as viewports. Thankfully, there are cutouts on both sides, which make it much easier to see what you have left before a refill will be needed.

The final thing to mention about the pods is that they are top-fill (and true top-fill, not the sort of slightly-near-the-top-but-really-on-the-side “top-fill” often seen). The fill port is large, with a silicone bung that is easy to grasp and seals tightly.

So while this SlimStick has lost the ease-of-use provided by disposable sticks, it has at least made refilling as simple and beginner-friendly as possible.

Features

This is clearly a low-priced, designed-for-beginners device, and as such, it wasn’t likely to be packed with features. But even compared to other beginner devices, the SlimStick X is very light on the sort of things that have become very common to see in pod devices. No firing button, no digital display, no mode selection, not even an adjustable airflow slider.

The main “feature” is the haptic feedback (or, in terms that normal people use, the vibration), which is used to alert to almost every significant change or event. Everything from overvaping to a low battery will result in the device buzzing in your hand. This is often accompanied by the LED flashing in a variety of different patterns/colors.

The device even buzzes when the pod is inserted correctly. The pod can be inserted with the mouthpiece on either the left or right as you look at the front of the vape, but because of the position of the internal contacts (and presumably, the cutouts) only works if it is on the left. Because of this design quirk, the soft buzz you feel when inserting the pod the correct way is genuinely useful.

While some could see this lack of features as basic, what it does do is make the device about as simple to use as anything you are ever likely to find. Considering that it’s being promoted as a beginner MTL vape and is clearly aimed at those who are only just making the switch from smoking, the simplistic nature of the SlimStick X could be its most appealing feature.

Battery Life & Charging

For such a slim beginner device, the 1400mAh battery in the SlimStick X is a pleasant departure from what is often seen. It’s actually slightly smaller than the 1500mAh cell provided in the original SlimStick, but still a better size than batteries in some devices that cost more than twice as much.

OXVA suggests that a full charge will give five days of use, and on this rare occasion, I don’t think that upper estimate is too wildly optimistic. During my two weeks of testing, the most I achieved was just over three days of use from a full charge. Bearing in mind that this was with the 1.0Ω pod (and pretty heavy use), I am sure that could stretch to close to five days with a more restricted setup or lighter use.

The USB Type-C port located on the base of the vape is only rated for 1A charging, which is a bit of a shame. A 1400mAh battery probably deserves 2A fast charging, but I guess we can’t have everything for fifteen bucks.

On average, a full charge from empty took around an hour during my testing, sometimes slightly more. That isn’t terrible, but it’s something you might want to plan for. It does allow for pass-through charging, so it can still be used when plugged in, but that’s not something I would recommend doing regularly.

There’s no digital display on the SlimStick X, so no convenient battery level readout. Instead, the small LED on the side of the device will tell you when the battery needs a boost. Unusually, there’s no mid-level blue or amber light, just green and red:

• Green light: 100% to 20% remaining
• Red light: 20% to 0%

Performance

The SlimStick X is undoubtedly and unashamedly an MTL vape. There is very little airflow, no pod with resistance lower than 1.0Ω, and the wattage is low. OXVA does not specify the wattage range on the spec sheet for this device, but I doubt the top end is much above 20W.

The draw is tight, but not so restricted that you can’t get a decent mouthful of vapor. For a device that is essentially designed to be “smoked” like a cigarette, it works well. If you are looking for an RDL or a DL vaping experience, or even one that can transition from MTL to RDL in the future, you’re definitely going to want to look for something different (the OXVA XLIM Pro 2 would be a fine choice).

It is possible to use either freebase or nic salt liquid with the SlimStick X pods. I tested it with both types of vape juices, in a couple of different strengths, and I definitely preferred the experience provided by higher-strength nic salts.

The relatively low vapor production of this device meant that I struggled to feel satisfied if I wasn’t getting the added nicotine oomph provided by at least 20mg/ml nic salts.

Flavor production isn’t the best I have ever experienced, but it isn’t bad. You are never going to get the flavor intensity provided by high-wattage devices in something that is probably putting out around 15W.

It worked well with my standard vape juice, which has some quite subtle flavors like aniseed and red berries, but I found it better to use a juice with a more obvious and intense taste, such as menthol, blackberry, or something more exotic like mango.

Verdict

Let’s make no bones about it, the SlimStick X is an MTL device for beginners, or more specifically, for those wanting to switch from smoking to a device that is as close to smoking as possible. And in this regard, it could be the perfect choice for many people.

It’s well-designed and well-built, has a great battery life, provides a good MTL draw, and is incredibly simple to use and maintain. The pods seem to last well, work flawlessly, and are easy to fill and leak-free. Thoughtful features like the juice level cutouts and the haptic feedback elevate this device above many of the similarly-priced beginner vapes.

A slightly expanded color system for the LED would have been useful to help new vapers better understand how much life is left in the battery at any specific time, as would 2A fast charging for the 1400mAh battery, but these are really rather minor issues.

Compared to the original SlimStick, this kinda loses its main USP by doing away with the “sticks” part, but that is more understandable if you look at the X as just a different version rather than a replacement.

Thinking back to when I first transitioned from smoking to vaping and struggled with how different vaping felt, had the SlimStick X been around in those days, I am pretty sure I would have been all over it like a rash.