The Vape Forward Cync is a unique pod-style e-cigarette that separates itself from the competition by including high-quality e-juice from well-known mixers in its pods as standard. The device attracts a lot of attention for its combination of simple functionality and high-quality e-juice, but is it really as good as it looks? We’ve put it to the test to find out.
Is it worth picking up?
The Cync is a great device for a new vaper that wants something simple and easy-to-use. The low price of the device itself is a really big benefit, and although the pod purchases will get expensive at $9.95 for two, if you want something simple to use out of the house or to help you make the transition, it’s a solid option.
The running costs and limited battery life do make it a difficult device to recommend for long-term vaping, but it’s fantastic as a starter device or something to use on-the-go.
Full review
Pod systems are one of the newest trends to hit the vaping industry, starting with the excellent Juul and quickly being followed by a whole host of similar devices. The benefits are easy to see: the off-putting complexity of refilling, changing coils and buying components is reduced to a simple, push-in-and-vape design, making the approach perfect for beginners. The Stealth Cync from Vape Forward is one such device, and it features a kind of “mini box mod” design and most notably, e-juice from legendary mixers including Five Pawns, Beard Vape Co., Cosmic Fog, Space Jam and many more.
So is the pod system from Vape Forward worth the investment? Can it compete with the Juul and the other pod devices on the market? We’ve put it to the test for our Vape Forward Cync review to find out!
What You Get
The Cync kit is fairly straightforward, coming in a small box with a cardboard insert containing the device and a small USB cable to recharge it. You have to pick the pods up separately, which is a bit of a downside, but the kit is pretty cheap (just $15.95) and the pods cost $9.95 for two. It would have been nice to have a pod included with the main kit but it’s still a good offering for the price.
Vape Forward Cync Review: The Design
Appearance
The stealth version of the Cync is very compact, with a rectangular, box mod like shape that literally fits in the palm of your hand. There is a slot cut out of the left hand side when you look at the device face-on, which leaves space for the pod, and beneath this an LED light illuminates when you take a puff. The device comes in a choice of black, graphite, silver, blue or pink, and this color occupies the majority of the body. The silver color of mine is only broken by the Cync logo on the front and the Vape Forward (VF) one on the back.
Overall the Cync looks really cool; compact, understated and still having the distinctive look of a vaping device.
The Pod Slot
The slot for inserting the pods takes up about half of the body of the device, which is cut-out down to about half way down it’s body and has an extra little trench cut out to help you line up the pods. Looking inside, you can see a contact point and an airflow hole, which match up with the contact point and airhole on the pod. The design makes it really easy to get to grips with what you have to do here, but you do have to check the underside of the pod and the inside of the Cync’s slot when you insert the pod, because the orientation isn’t clear from the outside of the pod.
Pod Design
The pods are really the most important part of the Cync, because they contain the e-liquid, the atomizer and the mouthpiece you inhale through. The bottom section of the pods stores the e-liquid, and they can hold 2.5 ml (although 1.5 ml pods are also available), and the upper portion is covered in black plastic. Around the mouthpiece there are two softer sections to make it comfortable to inhale from, with a grey coloration and a slight amount of give when you push down on them. The mouthpiece section also curves inwards to give it a comfortable shape for your lips.
Overall the pod design is fantastic, fitting snugly into the main body of the device and being really comfortable to use. The only downside is that the fit with the device is possibly a little bit too tight, and the aforementioned lack of a marker so you can see which side is the front without looking at the bottom of the pod.
USB Charging Port
There is a USB charging port on the underside of the Cync, which is easily accessible but the location on the bottom of the device stops it from interfering with the overall appearance of the device.
Mixing Options
The pods for the Cync come in a wide range of nicotine levels, from 6 mg/ml up to 45 mg/ml, although it can be hard to find anything above 18 mg/ml in stock. They are widely available in 12 mg/ml too, though, and there are 24 mg/ml options and a nicotine salt option in 25 mg/ml or 40 mg/ml too. This offers plenty of choice for most vapers’ purposes, but it’s worth noting that you’ll probably need a higher nicotine level than usual because it’s a lower-powered device.
Vape Forward Cync Review: Flavors and Vapor
Vapor Production
One of the main potential downsides of a compact vaping device like the Cync is the performance, particularly when it comes to vapor production. The good news is that it performs way better than you would expect for something so small. The vapor production is easily right up there with even the best vape pens on the market, and although it isn’t going to compete with a chunky dual-battery box mod, you won’t have any complaints unless you’re very serious about cloud-chasing.
The best thing about this is that it works in the same way as a cigalike, automatically activating when you take a drag. But unlike most cigalikes, it can be comfortably held in your mouth as you vape, and you don’t really need “priming” puffs to start it off producing vapor to get good performance. It really offers a fantastic balance between ease of use and performance, and the pods perform just as well until they’re very close to empty. At this point the vapor production is still good but the flavor does diminish a little.
Five Pawns Cync Pods Review
I picked up some of Five Pawns’ pods for the Cync along with the device, featuring the classic Five Pawns flavors Gambit, Grandmaster, Symmetry Six, Castle Long and Black Flag Risen, along with tobacco and menthol options made specifically for the Cync pods.
Broadly speaking, all of the pods with the classic Five Pawns flavors taste just like the real deal. Gambit has the realistic pie crust element backing up the apple like the original e-juice, Castle Long has the strong notes of almond and vanilla, Symmetry Six has the prominent sharp rhubarb elements, Black Flag Risen has the dark, coffee and cocoa elements coming through strongly, and Grandmaster hits you right away with the banana and caramel in particular. Really all of these pods taste just as good as the juices from Five Pawns, and the pod layout doesn’t detract from it at all. If you want more detail about the flavors you can check out our Five Pawns review, because the flavors when vaping them on the Cync are just as good.
The Tobacco flavored option mixed by Five Pawns but made specifically for the Cync is pretty good. The flavor does have a bit of a generic tobacco e-liquid element to it – the sort of slightly sweet but musty taste that’s enjoyable and vaguely accurate – but nothing smoky or really anything to make it a particularly fantastic option. There is nothing really to complain about, but there are better tobacco e-juices out there.
The Menthol Tobacco option is fantastic though. The tobacco backing it up is the same as the other pod, but the cooling, light but still punchy menthol riding on top really takes it to the next level. It might not be quite strong enough on the menthol for an ex-menthol smoker, but it does still have enough of a punch for me as a vaper (as well as a menthol smoker several years ago). Aside from the amazing juices from the Five Pawns line-up, this is my top recommendation.
On the whole, the flavor from the Cync is absolutely fantastic, and the decision to use juices from well-established mixers has really guaranteed that pretty much anybody will be happy with what they get from the Cync.
Battery
For any compact pod-like system, the battery life is a key issue. To keep the device small and portable, battery life is something of a necessary sacrifice. The Cync Stealth has a 380 mAh battery, which is small in comparison to many vape pens and other devices, but actually pretty good in comparison to other pod systems. The Juul, for example, is 280 mAh.
The battery is still limited, though. Despite the slightly larger size, if you have a lower nicotine strength pod and you have to vape frequently, you will get through the battery in a reasonably short period of time, around four hours. However, if you use stronger nicotine pods you’ll be able to get more use out of the battery between charges. The LED switches from green to orange and finally to red to indicate the remaining battery life so you’ll always have a rough idea of how long you’ll be able to vape for.
The good news is that the Cync charges really quickly, from flat to completely full in around half an hour. This is actually brilliant, and really makes up for the expected downside of the limited battery life. You can go without vaping for 30 minutes even if you don’t have another device to use, so it is about as good as you can expect.
Overall the Cync does impressively well in terms of battery, considering its size.
In Use
The Cync’s small size makes it a great device in use. It’s so portable that it can easily slip into your pocket without issue, even if you don’t usually have space for a mod. If you’re going to be vaping out of the house regularly, it’s a fantastic option for the portability, and unless you’ll be out for a long time the limited battery life isn’t such a huge issue.
The automatic operation in combination means you can actually vape the Cync hands-free. Biting down slightly on the soft section of the mouthpiece means you can hold the device in your mouth without needing to use your hands, and puff on it at will. The result is a device that it’s really comfortable to use. Even holding it, the light weight and the compact size makes vaping with it a very pleasant experience.
Occasionally, there is a small amount of leaking from the tip, but this is mainly due to your puffing patterns, and can be reduced or eliminated by puffing more softly.
Overall, the Cync Stealth is absolutely fantastic in use. The battery life would be a downside but the fast charging really helps with this.
Build Quality
The build quality of the Cync is solid, overall. The pods do have a slightly tight fit in the slot and there is no click or other feedback to show they’re connected up right. However, the device is very sturdy despite the light weight, and the pods are really well put together. There aren’t many elements where this could go wrong, but there are no major complaints for the manufacturing quality of the Cync.