Vandy Vape Rhino Pod Review: A Good Backup DL Device

The Rhino Pod is a new pod vape from Vandy Vape and it has a few interesting features that set it apart from other pod kits on the market. In addition to looking like a miniaturized Pulse mod, the Rhino pod shares more in common with box mod setups than pod vapes. It fires up to 50W, comes with a DL coil and DL drip tip, and houses a hidden 4ml capacity pod tank. All of this in a tiny, light, and boxy package. Interested yet?

Vandy Vape is one of the most well known vaping companies out there right now. They make RTA’s like the Kylin M Pro, RDA’s like the Rath, mech mods like the Requiem, and regulated mods like their Jackaroo Mini and Gaur-21. If you can think of a type of tank or device, chances are that Vandy Vape manufactures it.

The Rhino pod is interesting for sure but how does it perform? Read on for a full review of Vandy Vape’s latest pod device, the Rhino Pod.

This device was sent to me by Vandy Vape for this purpose of this review.

Box Contents

• 1 x Rhino Pod Device
• 1 x 0.3Ω (30-45W) VVC Coil
• 1 x 0.9Ω (9-16W) VVC Coil
• 1 x DL Drip Tip
• 1 x Coil Tool
• 1 x Type-C Cable
• 1 x Instruction Manual

Specifications

• H: 75.4mm x L: 47.6mm x W: 25mm
• 5-50W Adjustable Output
• Adjustable Airflow
• 4ml Pod Capacity
• Takes VVC Coils
• 1200mAh Internal Battery
• Button Activated Firing

Design & Build Quality

The Rhino Pod does not look like other pod vapes. It has a distinct appearance that reminds me very much of Vandy Vapes Pulse mods. Something about the plastic body, buttons, and general design just make me think “Yep, this is a Vandy Vape device”. But while I love the look and design of the Pulse V2, the Rhino Pod doesn’t have the same beauty and really doesn’t ‘wow’ me. It’s not ugly but it’s very plain, especially the all-black device that I received for this review.

The body is made of plastic, likely ABS, but this isn’t listed anywhere on Vandy Vape’s website. On each side of the mod is a leather-like grip that I’m almost sure is not real leather. It’s very shiny and looks and feels nothing like the real thing, but at least the two vertical lines of stitching that run through the grip appear to be well done.

One thing I like is the size and weight. The Rhino Pod is 75.mm tall, 47.6mm long, and 25mm wide. It’s not the smallest pod device around (more like a mini box mod), but it feels good in the hand. As you’ll read a little later on, the Rhino Pod is not a device I would purchase if you’re after MTL performance. For that, there are smaller and lighter devices. However, the Rhino Pod is a good alternative to your box mod and tank setup if you’re into DL. It’s a more portable option that you can DL vape with and it goes up to 50W. I’ll speak more to this in the performance section of this review.

At the top of the mod is a replaceable drip tip. The MTL drip tip comes pre-installed but Vandy Vape also includes a DL drip tip in the box.

At the back of the device is a magnetic door. This door has more design elements to it than the whole rest of the device with diagonal lines, curves, and indents. The door is held very snugly by two magnets and will not come off accidentally. It’s also symmetric and can go on flipped either way, whether upright or upside down. Once you flip it around a few times you lose track which way was upright to begin with.

Hidden by the door is the pod tank. This tank can hold up to 4ml of ejuice and is side filled by removing the large rubber plug. The tank slides in and out of the device horizontally and only goes in one way. There is a rectangle cut out that the pod slides and fits into and this prevents it from moving or rotating once inserted.

There are 3 contact pins that sit underneath the pod; a positive pin in the middle and a ground pin on either side of it. When you slide in the pod it’s basically grinding the pins until it finally slides over and pushes them down.  I worry about the longevity of these pins because there’s no wiggle room to push the pod up or down to help it more easily clear the pins. Each time you remove the pod you’re grinding the pins more and more. Who knows if this will actually be an issue with months of use but it certainly seems likely.

The bottom of the pod has an airflow adjustment ring that can be rotated to alter the airflow. It’s hard to rotate when the pod is fully pushed into the device though. A trick I learned is to pull the pod out ever so slightly to make the airflow easier to turn and adjust.

On the business side of the Rhino Pod is a circular fire button, a small black and white display, and two adjustment buttons. All of the buttons feel really good and clicky. The screen displays wattage, resistance, a puff counter, and a battery life indicator icon.

Vandy Vape Rhino Pod Button Combinations

• Turn the device on or off: Press the fire button 5 times quickly.
• Adjust the wattage: Use the up and down adjustment buttons.
• Lock or unlock the adjustment buttons: Hold the fire button and up adjustment button.
• Reset the puff counter: Hold the up and down adjustment buttons together.
• Turn off the screen (stealth mode): Hold the fire button and down adjustment button.

Coils

The Rhino Pod uses replaceable coils. It comes with two of these coils in the packaging: a 0.3Ω coil and a 0.9Ω coil. These are Vandy Vape’s “VVC” coils and there are two other coil options that you can purchase separately, a 0.6Ω coil and a 1.2Ω coil.

These coils push fit into the bottom of the pod and go in or out without too much effort. If you’re struggling to remove the coils though, you can use the coil tool that Vandy Vape includes in the box.

Vandy Vape advertises the Rhino Pod as capable of MTL or DL vaping (if you’re confused about what this means, check out our guide on the difference between mouth to lung and direct lung vaping). 

The 0.9Ω coil is meant for MTL and it has a recommended wattage range of 9-16W. The 0.3Ω coil is for DL vaping and it has a recommended wattage range of 30-45W. These wattage ranges are more than just suggestions though — the Rhino Pod restricts you to the maximum wattage for each coil and does not let you go any higher.

Battery

The Rhino Pod has a built-in 1200mAh battery which is not bad, but considering the size I thought that the battery would be bigger. At least, that was before I saw that the pod tank takes up half of the device. Still, the Rhino Pod gets decent battery life, especially when using the “MTL” coil. When using the 0.9Ω coil I could vape for 2 days before having to recharge the battery. On the other hand, when using the 0.3Ω coil the battery usually only lasted me for the day, if that. 

The Rhino Pod has a Type-C charging port located on the bottom of the device (which isn’t my favorite spot for it because you can’t stand it up while it charges). While charging the screen displays a charge percentage and that’s a nice feature. I timed a full charge at an hour and 5 minutes. 

Performance

Let’s get this out of the way from the start — the Rhino Pod does not do MTL very well. At least not with the included 0.9Ω coil. Even with the airflow closed all of the way, the draw is very airy and not at all what I’m looking for when I want a tight MTL draw. The flavor is not bad but it’s not a MTL vape. This coil will fire at up to 16W and even at this wattage I still felt that the draw was weak and lacking. Not a great experience with this coil.

The 0.3Ω coil is much better but this one is actually meant for DL vaping. It’s an airy draw but you can add a little bit of restriction to it by closing the airflow down and using the MTL drip tip. This coil can fire up to 45W and I found it very nice at 40W, but anywhere from 35-35W delivers warm vapor and good flavor. While the flavor is not quite up to the level of a good tank, it’s good enough to be used as a backup device, or as a setup that you take to work with you for your lunch breaks. The clouds are no joke with this coil either.

With both coils I experienced a little bit of leaking from the airflow control which seeped under the pod. Not a lot of ejuice but enough to make a small mess. Otherwise I did not have any issues with the Rhino Pod.

Verdict

The Rhino Pod sits in a weird spot on the pod vape market. It’s not a good device for MTL vaping, at least not with the included 0.9Ω coil, and the battery isn’t going to last all day with the DL coil. This makes it suited to a very particular type of vaper, mainly the one that is going to use this as a backup to their DL setup.

This is a smaller device than a mod and tank and the flavor and clouds are good enough that you might take this out of the house with you for your lunch break at work, or even for a quick trip out of the house. However, the 1200mAh battery isn’t going to last you all day if you’re a heavy vaper, especially if you vape closer to the 45W maximum of the 0.3Ω coil.

The short and sweet of it is this; if you’re a MTL vaper, the Rhino Pod is not for you. If you’re a DL vaper that could use a smaller setup to take for short trips out of the house or to work, I would consider the Rhino Pod. 

Have you used the Rhino Pod? What are your thoughts on this device? Leave a comment down below!

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