Written by 
A few weeks ago I decided to buy up an Apollo E Cigarette. Apollo seem to be another company, similar to South Beach Smoke, who kind of hover around the edge of being really popular and regarded as one of the best electronic cigarettes. You will find quite a lot of talk about them on forums and other websites, much of this talk is pretty positive, this is the reason why I decide to go ahead and buy one to try out.
There are 3 different kits that you can pick from when shopping on the Apollo web site. I decided to go for the top kit that they sell, their “Standard Starter Kit”. This kit is aimed at people who smoke quite heavily, 2 packs a day or more. In the kit you will find the following:
1x Portable Charging Case
2x Lithium Batteries
1x USB and Wall Chargers
5x Refill Cartridges
All of this comes in at a very reasonable price – $69.95. So it puts it firmly in the sights of Blu Cigs and V2 Cigs. Also, much like Blu Cigs, the Apollo E Cig did not start out as the 2 piece E cigarette that it is today, up until March 2011 they used a separate atomizer and cartridge design.
Batteries
As mentioned above you get 2 batteries with the Standard starter kit, as well as with the Ultimate kit. You have the choice of either white or black batteries, I went for the black battery. I has got a nice sleek look to it and feels nice to hold. Its not like the other E cigarettes where they look as feel like a cigarette paper, these are plain looking and feel metallic, though there is quite a prominent “Apollo” logo on there. When I read that back it makes it sound a little horrible to touch, but it feels just fine and they look great.
Duration and Charging
From my experience so far the batteries will have enough life to last for a pack of 20 cigarettes. This is quite a bit longer than a refill cartridge will last. So if you are a pack a day smoker one battery should just about see you through the day, but you will need a spare cartridge with you.
When you need to charge your batteries it will take about an hour and a half to charge the battery via the portable charging case, and it should be a little quicker via USB charger or wall charger.
Refill Cartridges
I have heard a few mixed opinions regarding Apollos refills, mainly with the taste off of them. For me the tobacco flavor is actually very good. I don’t think its the best, but it is certainly very good. I think V2, Green Smoke and Safe Cigs all have a slightly better tobacco flavor. The other flavor that I tried was their menthol cartridge. Initially this does taste very minty and refreshing, but after I exhaled and soaked it in a little more I noticed that were was some sort of aftertaste that wasn’t all that nice, it guess it is a kind of burnt plastic taste. So as you would imagine I’ve been avoiding these menthol carts whenever I’ve been in the mood for one.
The really good thing you get with the Apollo is the throat hit, it’s one of the strongest hits of any E cigarette you can buy these days, its quite impressive. Though the one thing it needs to be is a little bit smoother, sometimes it can be a little harsh, but generally it is very good and satisfying.
Duration
Over the time I’ve been using my Apollo E cigarette I’ve found that a single cartridge will last just less than 20 cigarettes worth of use. This is pretty close to what is claimed on the Apollo site.
Vapor
Vapor production on the Apollo is average to be honest. It’s a not as good as the Safe Cigs production and no where close to either the V2 or Green Smoke, which is a bit of a let down. Considering the big hits I got from the carts I would have thought that vapor production would have been better.
Costs
When you need to get more refills for your Apollo E Cig you will find that they are pretty reasonably priced. The regular price for a pack of 5 refills is $15, but when looking at the site right now I’ve noticed they are for sale for $12.50, I don’t know if this is a permanent deal or temporary, if its going to be like that all the time then that’s a really good deal. I think if they charged the full $15 for 5 refills that might be a little too much considering they give you less than a pack of tobacco cigarettes worth of smoking time and because they don’t give off much vapor.
Portable Charging Pack
With my Standard Starter Kit I got a portable charging case. This is a really great looking piece of kit. It’s got a nice finish to it and it seems to be very well made. On the front of the pack there is an LCD screen to show you how much charge is left in the case and there are LED lights to keep you up to date with how much your batteries are charged. Inside the case there is space to charge one battery and store an other, plus space to keep 5 cartridges. It is a really good case, though there are two things that I don’t really like about it, first it is that is is very bulky, if you want to carry it around in the pocket of your pants then you may find that it is uncomfortable. Also it is quite heavy, I don’t think its much heavier than other cases, but I think the added bulk makes it feel even heavier. It’s a pretty good case overall, but not quite as good as the lower profile V2 Cigs case.
Improvements
So what could be improved? As you will have noticed there are a few things with the Apollo that need a little attention. The biggest thing is the cartridges, the menthol flavor needs a fair amount of work to get rid of the funny after taste, the tobacco flavor could do with some perfecting as well. The vapor production needs to be bumped up by quite a bit, I don’t know if this is down to the cartridges themselves or if it is the battery that doesn’t create enough power for create the vapor.
If Apollo make a few improvements to their E cigarette then it could be a really good buy, it doesn’t cost a lot for a starter kit and their refills a well priced, but for me it just isn’t quite up there with the likes of Green Smoke, Safe Cigs and V2 Cigs which will take some serious beating.
If you are interested in buying an Apollo E Cig, or want to find out more about them, then please Click Here.
Apollo E Cig At A Glance
Prices – $45.95 – $69.95
Weight –
Battery + Cartridge – 16g
PCC (full) – 147g
Dimensions – 105mm
Battery Colors – White or Black
Flavors – Tobacco, Menthol, Coffee, Vanilla, Cherry
Vapor – B-
Puffs Per Cartridge – 200
Puffs Per Battery – 250
Warranty/Guarantee – 1 year/30 days
Recommended Kit To Buy – Standard Kit
Other products you may be interested in –
V2 Cigs Review
Green Smoke Review
Safe Cigs Review
