These days, it seems pretty everyone is all-in on the entry-level pod mod trend. Even the venerable elder statesman of advanced vaping, KangerTech, has finally thrown their hat into the ring (check out our review of their new Surf pod: Coming Soon). That's all well and good, but where does that leave advanced vapers who demand more power, better draws, and stronger cloud production from their device?

Fear not, power users. Not only are advanced box mods still popping up with a frequency that makes discerning between models sometimes an exercise in futility, massive inroads are being made when it comes to a new breed of full-featured, high-performance pod mods.

This trend began with Lost Vape's Orion Pod System last year. The Orion was the first to incorporate a user-programmable DNA chipset into a subcompact device, though early shortcomings have spawned a slew of competitors in the space.

Enter GeekVape's Frenzy, the latest and possibly greatest in the emerging genre of high performing pod mods. Today, let's take a look at this corner of the vape game's newest contender.

Design

First off, from a distance the Frenzy looks like a near clone of the Orion or the Trinity Alpha by Smok. Up close, however, some differences begin to emerge.

The Frenzy takes the same rectangular body approach to others like the Orion, featuring a metal battery body with an integrated 950 mAh battery and a square-ish plastic pod that snaps in up top. There's also the familiar 510-ish looking drip tip, though it's actually a proprietary non-removable design.

At 86.1 mm high, 37 mm wide, and 15.7 mm deep, the Frenzy is a hair shorter and a bit thicker than the competitors from which it takes inspiration. Instead of being locked in by a hook with a spring release on one side, the Frenzy's pod is flanked on both sides by the battery body and held in with an unfortunately rather weak set of magnet connections.

Further differences emerge when examining the airflow and filling options. Instead of the screw-top cap to access the tank, the Frenzy has a pull-away rubber plug accessed by removing the pod and flipping it upside down. This is familiar to more entry-level pods, but a dual fill-hole design makes refills convenient by offering an outlet for air to escape when a needle-tipped bottle is inserted into one side.

The airflow control ring, meanwhile, is mounted underneath the tank rather than at the base of the mouthpiece, allowing for the air mix to occur inside the chamber, rather than just adding extra air to thin a condensed vape during the draw. Unscrew the airflow ring entirely and you'll find another surprise: replaceable coils. So far there are two choices, both familiar to users of GeekVape's Flint all-in-one system: a 1.2Ω stainless steel coil or a 0.7Ω kanthal mesh coil.

Performance

The Frenzy has both a voltage mode for use with the mesh coil and a temperature control mode designed for the stainless option - the device is programmed to recognize which coil is installed and adjust accordingly.

There's the typical five-click on/off feature, two quick clicks of the fire button enables the battery life indicator. Three clicks will switch between voltages of 2.5, 2.7, or 2.9 or corresponding temperature limits of 420°F, 440°F, and 460°F with green representing the highest setting, blue medium, and white low.

While the mesh Kanthal offers a slightly less restrictive vape than the stainless coil, the bottom airflow control is quite effective, offering a range of vapes from a tight mouth-to-lung draw to a moderately loose restricted-lung inhale with either head.

Flavor is above-average throughout the range, with cloud production nearing top-of-class for pod devices with the airflow wide open. Adding air to the vaporization chamber, rather than after vapor is created, allows both for better vapor production and less dilution of flavor.

Drawbacks

We mentioned this earlier, but the magnets connecting pod to battery are disappointingly weak - there's a chance the device will come apart if you grab it by the mouthpiece when pulling it from your pocket or purse.

The Frenzy also suffers from something that also plagues many of its pod brethren: a nearly-opaque tank makes it hard to keep an eye on liquid levels.

Finally, there's the drip tip. We understand most pods have their own proprietary built-in tip, but the Frenzy is large enough to support a standard 510-style tip, which would offer room for customization that would likely be welcomed by the kind of advanced users it hopes to attract..

Takeaway

There are a lot of ways Geek Vape ups the pod game with the new Frenzy. Replaceable coils are likely to be both more cost-effective and environmentally-friendly in the long run compared with disposable pods that have to be swapped out every few fills. The bottom airflow control is a big step toward creating an ultra-compact device that can compete with full-sized mods. The blend of features strikes a nice balance between advanced vaping and entry-level devices.

That said, there's still some work to do. On an updated version we'd like to see a stronger connection between tank and battery, a tank that's at least slightly more translucent, and a removable drip tip option. All in all, however, the Frenzy is going to give the established players in the premium sector of the pod market a run for their money. If this is a segment you're interested in exploring, you won't go wrong with the GeekVape Frenzy as your first device.