Every once in a while we see a truly unique and innovative product hit the vape market. More often then not it introduces new and exciting technologies, techniques or tastes to the vape world. Some are eagerly adopted and some get dropped creating an ever growing ever-evolving market where just about anything goes. Some things however should probably never be adopted and one of my recent grabs from CVE Edmonton would be a pretty good example of that. It’s a fully disposable pod device produced by VGOD and by disposable I don’t just mean the coils or pods I mean the whole thing, the coil, the tank and the battery all get chucked in the bin once you’re done using it. Considering our environment is still a top priority to most people a disposable vape just seems irresponsible at the very least and considering my overall experience with them I think the entire concept should just be disposed of. Here are my honest thoughts on The Stig from VGOD.

Package contents:

3 x VGOD STIG Disposable Pod Device

Specs and features:

Dimension: 11mm x 19.5mm x 75mm

Liquid Capacity: 1.2ml

Nicotine by volume: 6%

Quantity: 3pcs/pack

Draw-activated disposable pod

Best for MTL vape

1.2ml pre-filled VGOD SaltNic e-liquid

Four flavors for your selection

I picked up two of these little disposable pods from a Canadian distributor while I was at the Edmonton show. They weren’t quite released yet so I didn’t get a full pack but they set me up with two of the available flavours, one a Tropical Mango and the other a Cuban cigar called Cubano. The device is small, compact and about the size of a small lighter. There’s really almost nothing to it, on one end it’s shaped like a mouth piece which is the end you put in your mouth, the other end is pretty much bare with a tiny hole for an LED light that lights up when it fires which I believe also acts as the air hole. On one side is the name of the flavour and the other the name Stig which makes me think of Top Gear for some reason. It’s draw to fire, as in you put the mouthpiece end in your mouth and take a pull and it fires. I believe it sports a 260mAH li-ion battery which they suggest should last 270 puffs or the equivalent of a pack of cigarettes and comes loaded with some 60mg salt based liquid. The biggest problem is the battery dies well before the pod is even half way empty, I know because I cracked one open when it quit on me only about half way through the day. While I wasn’t exactly counting puffs it probably only produced about a hundred before it gave up the ghost and that’s when I cracked it open to find the pod was still nearly full. Definitely not the equivalent of a pack of cigarettes from my experience.

The device itself is surprisingly simple in it’s construction which you’d think would keep costs relatively low but a pack of three sells for about $30 CAD or $20 US. That’s roughly $10 per Stig or the equivalent of a $10 pack of cigarettes(if it actually lasted) so not much of a savings there. Flavour-wise I really can’t knock VGOD as both pods when working produced some really decent flavour with the tropical mango offering a nice bright almost tart mango flavour while the Cubano offers a nice robust Cuban cigar that’s really quite decent. The draw on the device is pretty tight and gives a good mouth to lung experience so most new vapers will feel pretty comfortable with it, add the draw to fire and it’s not far off from a traditional cigarette which I’m sure new converts will also be attracted to. The 60mg salt based nic is smooth and satisfying and in general The Stig works pretty well when it’s working but considering the extremely short battery life, the per unit cost and the fact it will end up in the land-fill after just a few hours it’s not something I would be comfortable recommending.

Likes:

Small and compact

Decent flavour

Dislikes:

Environmentally irresponsible

Battery life nowhere near advertised

Puff count nowhere near advertised

Price

Overall The Stig :

Funny story, I actually met the owner of VGOD once and when he found out I was a reviewer he made all kinds of promises to send me juice and gear and then,,,, he ghosted me. In a way these disposable pods are a good analogy for my meeting with VGOD. It makes some pretty interesting promises and then just disappears. In all seriousness though I don’t personally have any issues with VGOD, they make some good products but as much as I can appreciate the ease of use and convenience of this product I couldn’t with any good conscience recommend it to anyone. I’ve already seen the same disposable pods pop up on a Chinese vendors site under a different name so unfortunate as it is we’ll likely be seeing even more of them hit the market before long.