OXVA NeXLIM 2 vs VooPoo Argus G4

How I tested the NeXLIM 2 and Argus G4

Over two weeks I switched between the two, with the same liquids in both. All three are 50/50 nic salts:

• Ohm Brew Balanced Blends Summer Fruits, 12mg. Mandarin citrus with melon and golden delicious apple underneath. Citrus is a proper coil test. It either stays bright or it goes soapy.
• Lost Mary Blueberry Rose Mint, 20mg. Blueberry on the inhale, floral rose through the middle, mint on the exhale. That rose is the delicate bit & makes for a good test of mesh coils.
• Elux Legend Red Berry Ice, 20mg. Mixed red berries with a hard finish. Very sweet, so it gunks coils.

The 20mg liquids stayed on the tight settings on both kits. The 12mg Ohm Brew went everywhere, including wide open.

I bought a 3-pack of 1.2Ω NeXLIM pods to run this test properly, because the kit does not include one.

Pods: three separate, or three in one

As it always has been, the NeXLIM 2 means you buy the pod that matches your draw.

• 0.6Ω, 20 to 40W. Restricted DTL. Higher VG, 3mg or 6mg freebase.
• 0.8Ω, 16 to 30W. The do-anything one. 50/50 liquids, 10 to 20mg salts.
• 1.2Ω, 13 to 22W. Tight MTL. 50/50, 10 to 20mg salts.

All three run the new Unitech 3.0 with a dual mesh coil, and they work in every NeXLIM cartridge OXVA has released. They do not work with Xlim or Xlim SE pods, so if you are stepping up from an Xlim its something to bare in mind.

Device guide & manualOXVA NeXLIM 2→

The Argus G4 uses a new approach, one pod, three resistances. Drop the multi-ohm pod in with the fill port facing left and it reads 1.0Ω. Flip it so the port faces right and it reads 0.7Ω. Double-tap the button and it jumps to 0.4Ω. How on earth this works is beyond me but its very impressive.

The device resets the wattage to suit each time you change the pod orientation.

I was ready for this to be a gimmick. It is not. The switch is instant, the resistance reads correctly every time, and the gap between 1.0Ω and 0.4Ω is real rather than marketing. The G4 also takes the entire back catalogue of Argus pods if you want somehting more normal.

Device guide & manualVooPoo Argus G4→

Draw and airflow

The NeXLIM 2's slider sits on the side, three notches and closed. There is just the one slider, and you can wind it down to a sliver. On the 1.2Ω pod with the airflow nearly shut, the NeXLIM 2 gives you a proper restricted, cigarette-style pull. Not tight-ish. Tight.

The G4 has a stepless slider on the back plus a dedicated small MTL hole, which sounds like it should walk this. It does not. Fully closed on 1.0Ω the G4 is comfortable and tight enough for most people, but it never quite reaches that resistant pull you get from the NeXLIM. It lands closer to a tight restricted lung than a true MTL. If you have come off an SKE Crystal or an Elf Bar and you want that exact draw back, this is the difference that decides it.

The G4's slider is also easy to nudge. Twice in the fortnight I pulled it out of my pocket wide open. The NeXLIM 2's slider is notched, so it does tend to stay where you left it.

Flavour

Both are good but one is better at what I actually vape.

Lost Mary Blueberry Rose Mint, 20mg. On the NeXLIM 2 at 1.2Ω and 16W, this arrives in three distinct stages: blueberry, then the rose sitting clearly in the middle, then mint on the exhale. On the G4 at 1.0Ω on its Smart Wattage setting, you get blueberry and mint, and the rose is in there, but rounded off. Not bad. Just less. That is the dual mesh is seriously impressive.

Elux Legend Red Berry Ice, 20mg. The koolada is the tell. On the NeXLIM's 1.2Ω the ice stays sharp and sits separate from the berry. On the G4's 0.7Ω the vape runs warmer and the ice melts into the fruit, which plenty of people will actively prefer. On the G4's 1.0Ω it is close to level. I'd say this one is down to preference.

Ohm Brew Summer Fruits, 12mg. The mandarin is where both kits cannot perform at the wide end. The NeXLIM's 0.6Ω needs 26W before the flavour turns up at all, and below that it is thin and weak. Get to 26W with a 50/50 liquid and it runs hot and drains the pod. The G4's 0.4Ω at 30W does the same thing, warmer and punchier, and it is a genuinely good restricted lung vape, but 50/50 is the wrong liquid for it.

Battery and charging: no contest

2000mAh against 1650mAh, charging at 3 amps against 2 the NeXLIM dominates on battery life and performance.

• NeXLIM 2, 0.8Ω, Boost: A full day and change. If you swap it into Eco you might be able to stetch even to two.
• NeXLIM 2, 0.6Ω at 26W: Pretty much still a full day, which is impressive for such as small device.
• Argus G4, 1.0Ω on Smart Wattage: Still getting a day, if I was not hammering it.
• Argus G4, 0.4Ω at 30W: You could get a day, but you will be watching the bar by the afternoon.

Charging: The NeXLIM 2 goes from flat to 80% in about 20 minutes on a 3A charger. But the G4 takes around 45 minutes for a full charge.

However, the trade off is size. The NeXLIM 2 is 88.5g and 127.5mm tall. The G4 is 121mm and lighter. Its marginal and certainly worth it in my opinion.

Screens, modes and daily faff

Both have a 0.85in colour screen. Both are clear & do what you need.

NeXLIM 2:

• Five clicks on and off, three clicks for wattage, two for Eco and Boost, four for themes
• Long-press the button and it brings up an on-device instruction guide, which is the most sensible feature on either kit & genuinly should be on every device ever
• Seven of the themes are locked until you have used it enough, which in my opinion is silly.

Argus G4:

• Five clicks for the menu: theme, clear puff counter, lock, exit
• Three clicks for wattage, capped to what the fitted resistance can take
• Smart Wattage sets itself when you flip the pod, and it picks well enough that I stopped overriding it after a few days

Boost mode on the NeXLIM 2 is the one worth knowing about. Two clicks and the coil runs harder, flavour comes forward, battery drains quicker. Eco does the opposite. On a 50/50 salt at 1.2Ω, Eco is plenty and the battery goes on and on.

What it actually costs to run

Pods are £8.99 for three on both. Three quid a pod.

Except a NeXLIM pack is three of one resistance. If you want 0.6Ω, 0.8Ω and 1.2Ω on the shelf, that is three packs and £26.97. Every Argus pack of three covers all three resistances, because every pod does.

Refills are where the real money goes, though, and that gets sharper in October.

On pod life, OXVA rate the Unitech 3.0 cartridges at 20 to 30 refills and quote "up to 120ml". That is a 4ml pod doing 30 fills. VooPoo quote 30 days for the multi-ohm pod. Two weeks in, both of mine are still going strong on sweet bar liquids with no drop-off.

What annoyed me about each

OXVA NeXLIM 2:

• The 1.2Ω is not in the box, and it is the pod most people reading this actually want
• Condensation collects around the pod base and the contacts and looks like a leak. It is not. Wipe the base and contacts with a tissue once a day and it is a non-issue
• 88.5g is noticable in a pocket

VooPoo Argus G4:

• The airflow slider moves in your pocket
• MTL never gets truly tight
• After a refill you will drop the pod back in the wrong way round and wonder why your vape has changed.