Uwell Caliburn X Review: World’s #1 Best-Selling Pod Strikes Again

The Uwell Caliburn X is the latest in the world-famous Caliburn series: the best-selling pod systems in the world. Let’s take a closer look at the device and its newly enhanced features. 

Uwell Caliburn X Overview

The Caliburn X was created by Uwell for the series as an evolved version of the world’s most popular pod vape, the original Caliburn. This sleek little pod mod features more customisation than the previous iterations in the series, and it has the largest battery in a Caliburn vape yet (though not as large as it could be—more on this later). 

The Caliburn X, weighing just under 48g fully assembled, takes your standard no-fuss pod system and adds several features to help users tailor their vape to better suit their needs. 

The device features single-button operation with dual activation modes (button firing and auto-draw), plus adjustable airflow and a small screen which displays all relevant information to the user, like battery life (at 20% intervals), puff count, voltage, and your current coil’s resistance.

Design & Appearance

The fire button has a diagonal striped texture to it, which gives it a nice tactile feel that separates it from the rest of the device. It doesn’t stick out very far, so I haven’t had any issues with accidental firing.

The screen itself is tiny, with wide margins on either side (the margins cover a larger area than the screen does). On the screen, you’ll find the current battery level presented at the top, broken down into fifths (20% intervals), with the current wattage just below that. At the bottom of the screen, you’ll find three values: the voltage, current coil resistance, and puff count. The voltage reading is a bit extraneous, in my opinion, but overall, this is great for such a small and unobtrusive vape.

Below the screen, the Caliburn logo is printed in a muted grey lettering, and on the bottom of the device sits the USB-C port. The back of the device is plain, save for the Uwell logo at the bottom.

You’ll find the airflow adjustment switch along the side of the device. The switch itself is textured, like the fire button, though it’s incredibly loose and moves quite easily. In my opinion, the adjustable airflow serves little purpose, as there’s only one small hole for the switch to cover. This requires precise, very minute adjustments to the switch to actually tailor the draw—adjustments which will inevitably be changed the moment you accidentally graze the side of the device and move the switch. 

In addition, when the airflow is fully open, the draw is already rather tight, which surprises me given the size of the mouthpiece. With most vapes, I tend to set my airflow at halfway, but with the Caliburn X, I leave it fully open—unless I’ve accidentally knocked the switch out of place, which happens a lot.

Overall, aside from my qualms with the airflow adjustment mechanism, I don’t really have any major issues with the design or appearance of the Caliburn X. The device isn’t as much of a fingerprint magnet as some of the others that I’ve used, mainly because of the matte finish of the metal, though the panel on the front is very prone to fingerprints. 

Interface & Features

Another handy feature is that the puff counter, located at the bottom of the screen, can be cleared by pressing the button four times, which causes the counter to flash. From here, you can press the button once to clear the value, and if you want to undo this step, just press the button once again.  

I know that not many people really care about puff counters, but I like to keep an eye on how much I’m vaping, especially given that I do it all day. One of my previous vapes had a puff counter you couldn’t reset—which I found completely useless. This, in comparison, can be reset every morning, so I can tell exactly how many puffs I’ve had by the end of the day.

Another bonus for the puff counter is that I can tell exactly how many puffs the device lasts before the battery runs out.

Plus, the battery indicator on the screen is really handy. It breaks the battery down into fifths, or 20% increments, so you can always tell where your battery level is at any given time. I much prefer this system to that of other pod vapes, where there’s usually only a single light (or a series of lights) to let you know when the battery is low.

Aside from a few “Atomizer Short” error messages, which can be rectified by simply pulling out the pod and popping it back in, my use of the device has been seamless. Overall, I really love the interface on the Caliburn X, and I wouldn’t change a thing about it!

Battery Life & Performance

Onto the important stuff. How long does the battery last? Does the flavour wane when the battery is low? How long does it take to charge?

First and foremost, it’s important to note that the 850mAh battery comes fully charged out of the box.

The initial charge lasted me 11 hours of frequent (read: constant) use. This is pretty great for an 850mAh battery. My everyday vape (the Aspire Riil X) has a 700mAh battery and only lasts me a few hours before it needs a recharge, and I end up charging it around 3 times a day.

The Caliburn X will likely only need a daily recharge if you’re a regular or standard vaper. If you vape less often, you may only need to charge it every other day or so.

Thanks to the puff counter, I was able to determine exactly how many puffs you can get out of a single charge: for me, it was 403 puffs from start to finish, with 4 refills overall. This works out to each puff taking roughly 0.2% of the battery capacity (taking into account standby power drainage). 

Of course, this number will vary from user to user based on the length of your puffs, so consider my number a general guide.

I timed how long the vape took to charge from completely empty to 100%—it took just under an hour, which is somewhat slow for USB Type-C charging. It’s important to note that when I first plugged in the device, I didn’t actually insert the charger fully, which led to me waiting around for nothing. When you charge your Caliburn X, make sure you push the charger in all the way until it clicks into place inside the port.

I’m also very pleased to report that the flavour in the Caliburn X stayed consistent even when the battery was low. 

Lastly, on the topic of the battery, it’s important to note that all of the Caliburn X’s predecessors had much smaller batteries. Most of the devices in the series had a 520mAh battery, which is miniscule compared to other similar vapes on the market. 

Uwell took this on board and implemented a 850mAh battery in the Caliburn X, but still: there are devices on the market for under £10 that have a 1000mAh battery. For a £35 pod vape, could Uwell really not implement a larger battery size?

Uwell Caliburn X Pod & Coils

The Caliburn X has a single sturdy 2ml pod, which has a snap-off mouthpiece for easy top-filling. To fill the pod, simply snap off the mouthpiece, push the nib of your E-Liquid bottle into the red port, and fill. Uwell makes it incredibly easy to refill the Caliburn X, since you don’t even have to remove the pod to fill it.

Now, I usually despise snap-off mouthpieces—which is one of the reasons I never bought myself a Caliburn vape. I watched my best friend struggle with filling her original Caliburn one too many times. Still, the mouthpiece on the pod is incredibly easy to open for me (especially compared to the original Caliburn), though I’d say it may still be difficult for those who have impaired mobility or grip in their hands.

Essentially, this would usually be a con for me, but this time around, I think it works just fine.

One brief note about the pod is that there is a minimum fill line, which is nice, though it’s very faint (and difficult to photograph). The minimum fill line is quite high up—over halfway up the pod—presumably to ensure that the wicking holes in the coil are always submerged. Still, the fact that your pod can never drop below halfway full leads to constant refills. It’s not a huge issue for me, but I know it may bother some others.

The Caliburn X pods take Caliburn G & G2 coils, which are incredibly popular among MTL vapers for their longevity and incredible flavour production. The flavour in these coils can be attributed to their mesh build, which has a greater surface area for denser cloud production. 

The press-fit coils are available in three resistances: 0.8Ω (ohm), 1.0Ω (ohm), and 1.2Ω (ohm). You’ll receive two coils with the kit, including the 0.8Ω coil and the 1.2Ω coil. The 0.8Ω coil comes pre-installed with a sticker on the bottom to prevent accidental firing in transit.

My experience with these coils has been absolutely lovely. The flavour is perfect: strong, consistent, and delicious. My favourite coil so far is the 0.8Ω, though I’m partial to lower ohm coils when vaping MTL because of the flavour production. 

In reality, any of these coils will be great, but it depends what you’re going for. If you want strong flavour and bigger clouds, go for a lower resistance. If you want a sharper throat hit and a more discreet cloud, go higher.

As always with these MTL pod devices, you should only be using high-PG E-Liquids with a PG content of 50% or more due to the resistance of the coils used. This includes nic salts and 50/50 E-Liquids. You shouldn’t be using any high-VG E-Liquids in your Caliburn X.

Vaping the Caliburn X

Vaping the Caliburn X is a breeze. Simply press the button to fire or inhale on the mouthpiece, and you’re golden.

Vaping the Caliburn X requires an MTL inhale, and you’ll find that even with the airflow all the way open, the draw is still rather tight. This creates a warm, restricted airflow that makes for some really delicious MTL flavour production.

One thing I noticed immediately when I first started using the vape is that when the battery is full, the device makes a low buzzing sound on the inhale. Interestingly, this goes away for me once the battery capacity drops below 80% (so it’s only present a fraction of the time). Yet even when the buzzing goes away, there is still an ever-present whirring sound while vaping. This isn’t a deal-breaker for me, but I know some vapers really care about how noisy their vape is. 

One other small thing I noticed is that on other dual activation vapes, when you press the button to fire and let go of the button mid-inhale, the auto-draw usually takes over. This isn’t the case with the Caliburn X. If you’re pressing the button to fire and let go, the vape simply stops firing. Again, this is an incredibly small thing—not even a flaw, really.

Overall, I really love using the Caliburn X. 

Who should get the Caliburn X?

The Caliburn X is the perfect choice for anyone upgrading from disposables or from a simpler pod device. It provides all the same functionality as a standard MTL pod vape, with added customisation options for the advancing vaper. 

Because it’s so easy to use, the Caliburn X is suited to almost any MTL vaper, even with the screen and menu system. 

The only people I would say might have trouble with the Caliburn X are those who may have issues opening the top to refill the pod due to issues with dexterity. If you’re looking for a vape for your nan who smokes, for example, or if you have a disability affecting your hands or grip, you may want to consider something with a fill port that’s easier to access.

Uwell Caliburn X FAQs

Conclusion

I’m really pleased with the Caliburn X, and I’m sure I’ll be using it for a long while. Compared to the previous iterations in the series, the Caliburn X feels like a wholly different device—polished and refined for the discerning vaper.