Tasteflex UltraLock Review: A Disposable with a Motor?

Design & Build Quality

Despite the cool new tech inside, the Tasteflex UltraLock doesn’t look very different from what you’d expect a disposable vape to look like. The design and proportions actually remind me a bit of the OXBAR ASTRO MAZE disposables that we reviewed a few months back.

A third of the device is black plastic that wraps around the sides, with the other two-thirds being a colored plastic case. It’s also coincidentally similar in dimensions to the ASTRO MAZE, with the same 101.5mm height, although it’s slightly smaller and thinner at 50.5mm and 24.4mm, respectively.

The thin body is compact and comfortable to hold, but the flat front and sides are not as comfortable as other disposables with rounded faces. Still, it’s a nice size, and I didn’t find it to be too weighty or large in my pockets.

Speaking of pockets, the mouthpiece opening is large and wide, so it tends to collect little fluffs and lint. Maybe I need to clean my pockets out more thoroughly, but you can bet that I was giving the mouthpiece a good inspection before puffing on it. Thankfully, the mouthpiece is clear, so it’s easy to see if anything has found its way in there. It’s also large enough that twisting up a paper towel and cleaning it out is very easy.

The e-juice tank on the Tasteflex UltraLock is very lightly tinted in the same color as the plastic body, but it doesn’t hinder seeing into the tank, at least not in normal viewing conditions. You get a full view of just how much e-juice you have left every time you look at the device, so it’s easy to keep track of where you’re at.

The clear tank also allows you to see the motor-controlled auto-wicking at work, which is pretty cool. I tried shining a flashlight into the tank to see better, but this actually makes it harder to see because the paint/tint reflects the light, making it mostly opaque. Even without a flashlight, you can see a little silicone nub actuating up and down, which is the motor drawing e-juice from the tank to the coil.

One side of the UltraLock has a Tasteflex logo and the flavor, as well as what appears to be a button with a double-sided arrow, but it’s not. The only button is on the front of the device, where the screen is. This button lets you change between the two modes, smooth and boost, and that’s it. The display shows your remaining battery life, as well as a small image of blue and pink vapor. Or maybe it’s some sort of liquid. I’m not sure what it is, but it’s there.

As is often my issue with black plastic on devices, the plastic gets worn and scratched very quickly, even with careful and gentle use. This isn’t the end of the world on a disposable device that you won’t be using for long, but it definitely detracts from the otherwise good-looking and durable body.

Features

I’ve mentioned the motor-controlled auto-wicking a few times already, so let me explain how it works, if it works, and why you would want this feature in the first place.

For how it works, first let me explain how a typical disposable is set up. With a typical disposable, there’s usually a large piece of cotton that holds all of the ejuice. This cotton surrounds and remains in constant contact with the coil. Each time you draw, the e-juice in the cotton nearest to the coil gets vaporized, and more e-juice is drawn closer to be vaporized on your next draw.

Some other disposables have an e-juice tank just like the one here, but with a piece of cotton that feeds the e-juice from the tank to the coil. As you vape, e-juice is constantly drawn to the coil through this little cotton highway.

In the Tasteflex UltraLock, the e-juice is kept in a tank at the top of the device, completely separated from the coil. After a dozen or so draws, the auto-wicking activates, and a motor actuates the silicone nub in the tank to draw e-juice down and to the coil. The result is that the coil always has e-juice, and you don’t get a dry hit.

Now, why would you want or need this feature? Surely, the way that other disposables wick is good enough, right? 

While the way that other disposables feed e-juice to the coil definitely works (I prefer the second “cotton highway” method myself), Tasteflex says that the UltraLock’s auto-wicking has its advantages.

The first is freshness. By keeping the e-juice completely sealed and separated from the coil until it’s needed, this keeps the e-juice fresher because there’s less time that it’s in contact with air. Another advantage that’s mentioned is leak resistance. Keeping the e-liquid separate and feeding only enough e-juice to saturate the coil means that there’s no e-juice to leak out. Lastly, there’s dry-hit prevention. By constantly feeding e-juice directly to the coil it prevents dry hits.

So, does it work? On the topic of freshness, it’s hard to say if the e-juice tastes any fresher than other disposables that I’ve tried. Part of the reason is that these are samples that were sent to me soon after production, so there hasn’t been enough time elapsed for me to discern any positive effects.

In principle, it makes sense. If these are sitting in a warehouse or on a store shelf for a while, keeping the e-juice isolated from the air should keep them noticeably fresher tasting than other disposables.

As for being “leak-locked”, that I can confirm; none of my review units have leaked even a single drop during the last two weeks that I’ve been using them. To be fair, it’s rare to have leaking issues with a disposable, at least in my experience, but a little extra protection can’t hurt.

Another benefit that I can say works with certainty is the dry hit prevention. The motor seems to feed the coil frequently, and it definitely keeps the coil saturated, even with long, frequent draws. 

Now that I’ve blabbered on about the auto-wicking, let me go over the other features. There are two modes, smooth and boost, with the latter delivering a stronger, more powerful draw. If used only in smooth mode, the UltraLock can deliver up to 50,000 puffs. But expect up to 25K puffs if using boost exclusively, or between 25-50K puffs with a mix of both modes.

The airflow control slider on this device doesn’t have a lot of range, so small adjustments are difficult, but the overall change from open to almost closed is drastic. I get a loose mouth to lung draw with the slider open. Closing the slider as far as it will go, which still leaves a bit of the hole open, gets the draw down to a mouth-to-lung draw that is approaching a tight mouth-to-lung draw, but not quite.

The small adjustment range is, without a doubt, my biggest issue with the UltraLock so far.

Flavors

The UltraLock launched with twelve flavors available. This is fewer flavors than I like to see from a disposable, with my ideal number of flavors being at least fifteen. But even so, there’s a decent selection of flavor categories: a bunch of fruit flavors, a mint flavor, a tobacco flavor, a clear flavor, a few ice/fruit flavors, and even a coffee flavor.

If you’re unsure which flavor is for you, their website has a helpful little chart describing the sweetness level of each flavor:

As always, I’m going to describe how five of these flavors taste to me and what I think of them. However, keep in mind that just because I like a flavor does not mean that you will like it. Similarly, if I don’t like a flavor, it doesn’t mean you won’t like it. This is solely my subjective opinion.

Tropical Gush

I always love tropical flavors, and this one is particularly good. I get a lot of mango notes, but also some pineapple and a few other tropical flavors I can’t put my tongue on. There’s a mild sweetness, along with more cooling than I expected for a non-ice flavor, but it’s not extreme. Overall, a good fruity pick.

Miami Mint

There’s a minty sweetness to this flavor that is very nice, and a healthy dose of cooling, too. It tastes very fresh and it’s very refreshing, especially on a cold morning. If you like your mint flavors with just a touch of sweetness, kind of like a sweet mint gum, this flavor does it.

Watermelon Lime

This flavor is a weird one for me, maybe because it’s so novel. It takes some getting used to, and I’d say that it’s an acquired taste, too. It tastes light and airy, with watermelon and lime notes mixing together with every draw. It’s about as sweet as Miami Mint, which isn’t very much. Vapers who don’t like their flavors too sweet and who also appreciate some cooling might wanna give this flavor a try, but again, it’s an acquired taste.

Blue Razz ice

It’s hard to go wrong with a blue razz flavor, and Tasteflex did right with theirs. It’s sweet, wet, and sugary. There’s not as much ice as I expected for an “ice” flavor, but it’s good nonetheless. This isn’t much different from other blue razz disposables, so if that’s your go-to flavor, you’ll like this one too.

Triple Berry Ice

Triple Berry Ice is sweet, and I would place it at a four out of five for sweetness level. Not exactly a sugary blast, but still up there. There are raspberry, blueberry, and strawberry flavors, so it’s similar to a blue razz flavor, but with a twist.

How long do they last?

The UltraLock has a 900mAh battery, so it can last for a couple of days of vaping, but don’t expect week-long use from a single charge. In my experience, using smooth and boost modes averaged out to about two days of battery life per charge. This is with moderate to heavy use, so most vapers should be able to get similar, if not slightly better, battery life.

The remaining battery life is shown on the display, so it’s not a mystery to track how much charge is left throughout the day. It’s been accurate too, which gives ample time to find a charger when the battery is running low.

Charging speed isn’t listed anywhere, but based on the hour-and-fifteen-minute charge time, it looks like the UltraLock only supports 1A charging, which is confusing. You’re telling me that Tasteflex included a cool feature like auto-wicking but skimped on charging speed? Strange indeed.

How do they vape?

The Tasteflex UltraLock vapes very well, and I’ve been enjoying using it over the past few weeks. However, the airflow feels like a point that could be improved.

Wide open, the draw is pretty airy and loose, which dulls the flavors quite a bit. Closing down the airflow fixes this issue, but there’s not much adjustment range. There are basically two options: wide open and airy, or closed and tighter, although not quite a tight MTL draw.

There are just a few millimetres of adjustment, which doesn’t give much room to fine-tune or dial in the draw. That’s fine if you like the mouth-to-lung draw that it delivers (I personally think it’s fine), but a wider range of adjustment would be welcomed.

Aside from the airflow, the UltraLock is great. Smooth mode is just that, a smooth vape with good flavor and medium amounts of vapor. Boost mode really takes things up a notch, with a more powerful draw and a warmer, denser vape.

The flavors come through best with boost mode, but I liked using smooth mode for most of the day and only switching to boost when I wanted a bit of extra power in my draw. Boost feels too powerful for all-day use, probably due to the 50mg/ml nicotine strength, which is also the only nicotine strength that these are available in.

The auto-wicking feature works extremely well for keeping the coil saturated. Taking multiple draws one after another doesn’t affect the flavor at all, and each draw tastes just the same as the last. I haven’t had even the semblance of a dry hit at all, so consistency is definitely a strong point for the UltraLock.

Verdict

Tasteflex clearly wanted to stand out with the UltraLock, and the motor-powered auto-wicking feature definitely accomplishes that. While the improved long-term freshness claim is hard to confirm, the leak-prevention aspect works flawlessly.

The dry-hit prevention also works as intended, with the auto-wicking feeding the coil consistently to keep it saturated, even with frequent, long draws. It’s a bold feature from a brand this new, but surprisingly, it feels well-executed instead of gimmicky.

The limited airflow adjustment is the biggest drawback of the UltraLock, as you’re essentially choosing between fairly airy and moderately tight, with little in between. Slow 1A charging also holds it back slightly, but neither issue is a deal-breaker. Mouth-to-lung vapers who aren’t too picky about the airflow on their vapes are the ideal users for the UltraLock.

All said, the UltraLock delivers good flavors, solid battery life, and a genuinely interesting feature that sets it apart. Clearly, there are still new ideas worth trying, and I have to give credit to Tasteflex for taking the risk with something so different.

For MTL vapers looking to try a new high-puff count disposable, the UltraLock is definitely worth a go. Just don’t expect too tight a draw or a large range of airflow adjustment.