OXVA XLIM PRO 3 Review – Honest and In-Depth

OXVA are back at it again, introducing their newest flagship pod kit: the OXVA Xlim Pro 3.

They launched this device in tandem with OXVA’s second touchscreen kit (the Xlim 3 Ultra) as part of their 6th anniversary range. The Xlim 3 follows on from its predecessors, the Oxva Xlim Pro (1 and 2) which were both huge successes for OXVA, putting their kits into many hands across the UK.

Perhaps you’re already familiar with these previous devices and are curious if the Xlim Pro 3 is worth upgrading to. So let’s dive into its features, functions and my honest opinion on the device.

I’m not being sponsored by OXVA to write this review, so I won’t waste your time by over-praising the product while ignoring its flaws.

Unboxing and first impressions of the Xlim Pro 3

Opening up the box you will see the device itself sitting snugly in its foam padding, along with a little box filled with extra goodies to get you started. Inside said box you’ll find a nice braided USB Type-C cable, a spare 0.8Ω pod and a user manual.

For the purposes of this review I have the ‘Sky Blue’ variant which in my opinion is quite appealing, although I’m curious how long it will be before the white bits get scuffed up. I must say, the feel of the Xlim Pro 3 is amazing. It’s got a good bit of heft to it, weighing in at around 80 grams which makes it reassuringly heavy in the hand, while remaining light enough that you won’t notice it in your pocket. The finish on this particular variant is going for a leather sort of vibe, reminiscent of some of the Xlim Pro 2 finishes.

How to set up the OXVA Xlim Pro 3

Setting up this device is no different to most other pod kits available. Start by removing the packaging, making sure you have removed the sticker at the base of the pod. Once you have done this, lift the rubber bung found on the side of the Xlim Pod and insert your e-liquid nozzle into the hole.

Begin filling the pod and once it’s full, set it aside for around 5 minutes to soak. In the meantime turn on the device by pressing the fire button 5 times. The OXVA Xlim Pro 3 should come at least partly charged out of the box, but if yours isn’t simply plug it in for a while. Charging the battery from flat to full will take just under an hour with a 2A output. Lastly put the pod back into the device and begin vaping by either inhaling or holding down the power button.

The standout feature of the Xlim Pro 3 is its upgraded 1.05 inch HD screen, almost double the size from the 0.56 inch display on the Xlim Pro 2. The picture is quite clear despite its small size which makes reading the settings easy. You can view your remaining battery life, wattage, puff count (up to 100k puffs), pod resistance and puff time right from the main display.

Pressing the fire button 3 times will make the wattage number flash, and from there you can hold down the button to cycle through the numbers to set your preferred power level. If you want to open up the device settings you’ll have to press the button twice which lets you customise the lighting, themes and reset the puff counter, which can be done by holding down the button while the menu entry is selected. If you want to lock the device, you just have to press that same button 4 times.

I won’t lie, this is all a bit of a faff. I hate that this sort of ‘one-button navigation’ has remained popular with vapes for eons now. Don’t get me wrong, it was fine in 2016 when vape kits were a lot more simple and there was only a couple of settings to adjust, but a decade later in the world of ‘custom themes’, ‘HD Displays’ and ‘RGB lights’ navigating all of that with one button feels very clunky to me. A couple of side buttons for “up” and “down” would be lovely. Just saying.

Perhaps this is why we’re seeing ‘touchscreen’ vape kits crop up more and more. Kits like the Caliburn G4 PRO or the aforementioned OXVA Xlim 3 Ultra use touchscreens for navigation, but with a smaller size screen this can still be tricky. Anyway, I digress so let’s actually start vaping on this thing…

Using the OXVA Xlim Pro 3

Let’s finally get to the most important part of this review and see how the OXVA Xlim Pro 3 vapes. For a pod kit like this one we recommend using 50/50 VG/PG e-liquids for the best results, so for this review I’m using our Ultimate Nerd Salts Cherry Cola 20mg.

I started off at 18W with the included 0.6Ω pod, and unsurprisingly it works well. The flavour that comes out of these XLIM pods is always great; I got the full sweetness of the cola and the sharpness of the cherry carried through richly dense vapour.

This is the sort of quality I expected from OXVA, and for the price (£22.99) I would accept nothing less. Comparing this to something like the SMOK Zrex which is a fraction of the price (£4.99) you can tell the difference immediately, the Xlim pods are better quality so the flavour is better and the kit is actually powerful enough to produce that mouth-filling vapour.

Much like previous Xlim Pro kits this kit served me well throughout the week, only needing to be recharged right at the end of each day. To put that into context, I tend to inhale more vapour than fresh air so it’s safe to say the battery was getting drained (but as always, your mileage may vary!)

I ended up vaping the Xlim Pro 3 at max power (30W) most of my time with it, and I’m happy to report this kit can pack a punch when it wants to, absolutely filling my room with vapour while maintaining that clean flavour.