Let’s start by addressing the elephant in the room, yes the SMOK Mico does share a remarkable resemblance to the SV Mi Pod.

It has the same stubby square form factor and even comes with a small loop on the top corner to attach the included lanyard.

However, on closer inspection, there are quite a few difference between the two devices.

The SMOK Mico is slightly wider and has curved corners to make feel comfortable concealed in the palm of your hand. It also has a more shiny and glossy look to it.

The body of the device is made from zinc alloy, and either side has resin style panels, which also have a glossy finish. There’s a small window on each side so you can easily see your juice level.

It’s also incredibly easy to remove the pods (unlike on the Mi Pod). They are held in place with strong magnets, and the black mouthpiece which protrudes from the top of the device has two small lips on either side which are easy to grasp with your fingers.

The pods have a very similar shape and form to those of the Nord or Novo by SMOK. They have a side fill port, transparent housing, a proper internal coil, and a metal base which clearly labels each coil type. There are two variants that come with the device a regular and mesh coil (which we’ll discuss in detail later).

The Mico device also has a designated on/off slider switch on the front side, along with an LED that flashes white to indicate it’s been switched on, and also acts as a battery gauge for the device.

The micro-USB port for charging the in-built 700mAh battery is found on the base of the device, which helps maintain a sleek look, but does mean you can’t charge it while standing vertically on the desk.

At launch, the Mico Kit came in 7 different resin style colors. The typical color schemes you’d expect from SMOK, and all a little garish for my liking.

However, I’m pleased to report they’ve just released some more elegant and straightforward Carbon Fiber options in White, Blue Black, Silver, and 7-color.

The build quality on both the device and the pods are very good.

It all together feels solid, comfortable to hold with no creaks, and has a nice weight to it.

The magnets for connecting the pod are very good, and the power switch is easy to slide and clicks into place nicely.

The only thing that lets the device down, in my opinion, is the sensitivity of the draw-activated switch, in that it’s not sensitive enough. You really have to draw hard to activate it.

Pod systems don’t come much more portable than the SMOK Mico kit. It measures in at 56.3 × 46.5 × 14.8mm and weighs 65g.

Granted 65g is more substantial than a lot of other pod systems on the market, but the Mico has solid construction and a 700mAh and you still barely feel it in your pocket.

The SMOK Mico kit is the same as most pod systems on the market, a simple plug and play device not requiring many features.

It has an impressive 700mAh battery, with low voltage and short circuit protection.

There’s also an 8-second cut-off, and pod detection. Which basically is just the LED light glowing white, so you know the pod is connected correctly.

As mentioned above the LED light acts as a battery level indicator also.

• Green = >70%
• Orange = 30-70%
• Red = <30%

The last feature, (if you can call it that) is the ability to attach the included lanyard so you can wear the Mico dangling from your neck. It’s not really my thing, so I never attached it, but I’m sure it’s fine and just like the Mi Pod even though it is a heavier device.

The Mico Kit comes with two 1.7ml pods which feature different coils.

There’s a 1.0ohm regular coil and a 0.8-ohm mesh coil. The pods have the wording for each coil engraved into the metal base, so it’s easy to distinguish between the two.

They also have the side fill port, which is the typical rubber grommet that you peel away to reveal the fill hole. The fill hole is ample size for a small pod, and I had no issues filling either of them.

As always make sure with first-time use, that you leave the coils for 5-10 minutes after filling to saturate fully.

There is also another coil available for the device with a 1.4-ohm Ceramic coil, but it didn’t come included with the kit.

There are things I really like and some I dislike about the performance with the Mico Kit.

So I’ll start with the negative and end on a positive note.

Firstly the draw-activation just isn’t sensitive enough in my opinion. Having used and reviewed vast amounts of pod systems, I found this is one really has me having to suck hard to activate it.

This isn’t such an issue if you are typically used to taking wide open DTL style draws from pods.

Which leads on to my second negative, the pods don’t really offer a tight MTL experience. In fact, they are extremely loose, verging on DTL, much like the original Mi pods.

I suspect this is why it takes a good hard pull to create the suction to activate the battery; there’s just too much air.

It’s a real shame there’s no airflow control with the device or pods as I feel the 1.0-ohm coil could offer a really good MTL experience if the draw were a little tighter.

Ok so now onto the positives.

Both coils deliver good flavor and surprisingly dense vapor production. More so with the Mesh coil, which is a warmer and dense experience. It also has a slight edge on flavor.

However, don’t use high-nicotine levels in the mesh coil, because you will find it too harsh. I actually ended up using a 3mg which just right for me.

The coil lifespan seems to be as good as with the other SMOK pod systems. I’ve been using both on and off for well over a week with no signs of flavor decreasing.

The battery life has also been pretty decent, lasting me around 4-5 hours from fully charged. This is obviously going to vary based on how intense you use it, and if it’s your primary device. However, it’s more than suitable for an out and about pod system.

While there’s nothing exceptional about the SMOK Mico Kit that jumps out from the crowded market (or even from other SMOK pod systems), it is still a good device.

That’s if you are the type of MTL vaper that likes a really wide open draw. If you prefer a tight MTL, there are far better pod systems on the market for that type of vaper.

It has good build quality, decent battery life all in a very compact form factor. The coils also deliver good flavor and vapor production.

However, as an overall package, I feel the SMOK Nord is probably a better pod system. I also think SMOK need to consider those that prefer a tighter MTL experience.

Although that being said it looks like their latest release the Trinity Alpha has adjustable airflow, so they may have already addressed that.