HorizonTech Durandal 85W Pod Mod Kit

At the heart of the Durandal is an 85W board with a full variable wattage range starting at 5W. That ceiling is generous for a pod mod and comfortably drives the supplied mesh coils with headroom to spare. In practice you will not sit at 85W for long; the 0.16 ohm coil is happiest around 55W to 65W and the 0.25 ohm around 35W to 45W. The point of the higher ceiling is flexibility, letting you push warmer clouds when you want them without the coil straining.

The 3000mAh internal battery is a real asset. Many pod kits make do with 1000mAh to 1500mAh, which at sub-ohm wattage drains fast. Three thousand milliamp-hours gives the Durandal genuine all-day stamina for most vapers, even running the 0.16 ohm coil at higher power. When it does run down, charging is over USB-C, so any modern phone or laptop cable refills it without hunting for an old micro-USB lead.

The 0.96in colour screen is the control centre. It shows your set wattage, the coil resistance the device has detected, the live voltage and the remaining battery, all at a glance. A colour panel at this size is a step up from the single-line monochrome displays on cheaper pod kits, and it makes dialling in a new coil straightforward: fit the coil, read the resistance, set a sensible wattage, vape. Adjustment is handled with the buttons below the screen.

Safety is covered by an 8-point protection suite: no-load, overtime, short-circuit, low-resistance, load-voltage, high-temperature, overcharge and a charging prompt. None of that is glamorous, but on a device with a 3000mAh cell and a sub-ohm coil it is exactly the reassurance you want. The zinc-alloy chassis feels dense and solid in the hand, with an upswing grip that the body shape is built around rather than tacked on.

The Durandal does not use prefilled pods. Instead it has a removable pod tank that you fill with your own e-liquid, which is the defining feature of an open, refillable system. In the UK the tank holds 2ml to meet TPD rules; the same pod holds 4ml in regions without that cap. The pod clips into the top of the mod magnetically and lifts straight out for refilling or coil changes.

Filling is done from the top. Lift the drip tip and airflow collar to reveal a fill port set into the sealing gasket, drip your e-liquid in, and seat the cap back down. HorizonTech calls the sealing arrangement an auger-type valve, and the practical upshot is a tank that resists the leaking and weeping that plagues badly sealed pods. The pod body is moulded from PCTG, a tougher, more juice-resistant plastic than the cheap acrylic used on budget tanks.

Airflow is adjusted with a control ring on the pod. Open it up for a fuller direct-to-lung draw and dense clouds; close it down for a tighter, restricted DTL inhale that concentrates the flavour. This adjustability is what lets one device suit different preferences and different coils, since the 0.16 ohm and 0.25 ohm coils want slightly different amounts of air to taste their best. There is enough range here to find a draw you are happy with rather than being stuck with a fixed airflow.

Because the pod lifts out as a unit, you can carry a second filled pod for a different e-liquid and switch in seconds, much as you would with a closed pod system, while still enjoying the flavour of a proper refillable mesh coil. Replacement pods and the matching Durandal coils are stocked separately so you can keep the kit running indefinitely rather than replacing the whole device.

The kit ships with two coils, and they are meaningfully different rather than near-duplicates. The 0.16 ohm dual mesh coil is the cloud-chaser of the pair. Run it in the 55W to 65W band and it produces warm, dense vapour with the kind of full sub-ohm flavour the Falcon tank made its name on. This is the coil to fit if you want a big, satisfying direct-lung hit and you are vaping a high-VG shortfill.

The 0.25 ohm mesh coil is the more restrained option. At around 35W to 45W it runs cooler and tighter, giving a more measured draw that uses less e-liquid and less battery while still being firmly in sub-ohm territory. It suits a restricted direct-lung style and pairs well with airflow closed down a little. Many vapers settle on this coil for everyday use and keep the 0.16 ohm for when they want more.

A 0.4 ohm coil is also compatible for anyone who wants an even tighter, lower-power draw closer to the MTL end, though it is not included in the box. Across all of them the dual and single mesh builds heat the e-liquid quickly and evenly, which is what gives mesh its reputation for clean flavour and fast ramp-up compared with old-style wound coils. Coils are wear items: expect to change one every one to two weeks depending on how hard you vape and how sweet your e-liquid is.

Sweet, dark or heavily sweetened e-liquids gunk a coil faster, so if you notice the flavour dulling or a slightly burnt edge creeping in, that is the coil telling you it is near the end. Priming a new coil properly, by dripping a few drops directly onto the cotton and leaving it five minutes after filling, is the single best habit for getting a long, clean life out of each one.