So I finally did a proper SWIX vape review. Not a "I took three puffs at the counter and formed an opinion" review — I actually went through two full SWIX Mate 9000 devices over the past six weeks or so, one Strawberry Watermelon and one Miami Mint, and took notes the whole way through because that's apparently what I do now.
Short version: it's a genuinely good device with one design choice that will annoy a specific type of person. Long version below.
Quick verdict, for the skimmers
What I liked:
The flavour stays consistent right to the bottom of the tank — no sad, burnt final week.
The LED window showing remaining battery AND e-liquid is the most underrated feature in disposables right now.
The 2% nicotine is smooth enough to actually vape all day without coughing.
What I didn't:
It's sealed and non-rechargeable. No USB-C port, no top-ups, nothing. If you kill batteries faster than liquid, this isn't your device.
Colour roulette — you can't pick silver or black at checkout. Silly, but it bugged me more than I expected.
SWIX Mate 9000 specs at a glance
Spec | Detail |
|---|---|
Puff count | Up to 9,000 |
E-liquid | 22ml |
Battery | 2550mAh, sealed, non-rechargeable |
Coil | Mesh |
Display | LED window — battery + e-liquid level |
Nicotine | 20mg (2%) |
Activation | Draw-activated, no buttons |
Size | 103.5 × 40 × 26 mm |
Source: the specs listed on the SWIX Mate 9000 product page. I'm not going to re-derive numbers from forum rumours when the official table is right there.
Design: a block that knows what it's doing
The Mate 9000 is a squared-off block, about the length of my thumb and index finger stretched apart. It's plastic, but the dense kind of plastic — no creaking, no flex when I squeeze it, and it survived two drops onto garage floor tiles without a scratch I could find. The block shape means it doesn't roll off tables, which sounds trivial until you've owned round vapes.
The side LED window is the feature I didn't know I wanted. It shows remaining battery and remaining e-liquid, so instead of the usual ritual of taking a desperate test puff and hoping, you just glance at the window. Mine hit empty e-liquid with a sliver of battery still showing, which is exactly how a sealed device should die — liquid first, not battery.
And yes, the Colour Roulette thing: every unit is randomly silver or black and you can't choose. I got one silver, one black. The black one looked better. That's my entire contribution to the debate.
Flavour: the low-sweet lane, and it stays there
SWIX clearly tunes their range toward the "clean and mildly sweet" end rather than candy-sweet, and that's where my palate lives, so take that bias into account. The Strawberry Watermelon was the safest all-dayer — strawberry on the inhale, watermelon on the way out, and not once did it turn into that syrupy throat-coat feeling cheaper devices get by week three.
The Miami Mint was my evening device. Crisp, clean finish, no lingering sweetness — good for resetting your palate between the fruit stuff.
The full range runs 13 flavours, from fruit-led ones like Mango Peach Watermelon and Blueberry Blast through candy (Chupa Chups Grape) to the mint lane. Blueberry Mint is apparently the one that sells out first every time, so if you see it in stock, don't overthink it. The full selector is on the SWIX collection page.
The important part: mesh coil or not, flavour usually fades as the tank empties. This one genuinely didn't. Puff 8,000-odd tasted about the same as puff 200, which I can't say for most high-capacity devices I've finished.
How long did it actually last?
My first Mate 9000 went five and a half weeks. The second one, heavier fortnight, closer to four. That lines up almost exactly with the maths I did in my how long does a 9000 puff vape last piece — around 200 to 300 puffs a day lands you in the three-to-six-week window, and I clearly live in it.
One honest caveat: the 9,000 figure assumes short one-second draws. Take long slow ones and you'll finish the tank sooner. The LED window makes this self-policing — you can watch your own consumption instead of arguing with the label.
The non-rechargeable question
Here's the one design decision you need to think about before buying. Most 9000-class competitors are rechargeable with a small battery. SWIX went the opposite way: a huge 2550mAh sealed battery, sized to outlast the 22ml of liquid, and no charging port at all.
For me this is a feature. No cable in the glovebox, no remembering to charge anything, no device dying at 40% liquid because the battery was undersized. Both of mine died liquid-first.
But if you're a heavy vaper who's used to plugging in every night, this format takes adjustment. The battery outlasting the liquid is engineering, not magic — if you chain-vape hot long draws all day, you're spending battery faster than the designers assumed. It held up fine for me, but I vape like a normal human, not a fog machine.
Who should buy one (and who shouldn't)
Get it if: you want a set-and-forget all-day device, you prefer 2% nicotine over the harsher 5% stuff, and clean flavours matter more to you than cloud size. It's also the easiest recommendation I can make for someone stepping up from a 6,000-puff device.
Skip it if: you need the harder throat hit of a full-strength device — the Alibarbar Ingot 9000 is the 5% alternative worth a look — or you genuinely like recharging your vape nightly. No judgement, some people find it satisfying.
Price-wise, all 13 flavours cost the same per device and the per-stick price drops when you order by the box. I'm not going to quote numbers here because they move — live pricing is on the product page, and the SWIX price guide explains why the pricing in Australia looks the way it does.
SWIX vape review: the FAQ bit
Are SWIX vapes actually good?
For the low-sweet, mid-strength lane — yes, genuinely. The reviews on the product page average 4.9 out of 5, and my six weeks matched the hype. If your taste runs to max-sweetness candy flavours or 5% nicotine, look at other brands instead.
How long does a SWIX Mate 9000 last?
Three to six weeks for most people, depending on how hard you hit it. Mine: five and a half weeks, then four on a heavier stretch.
Is the SWIX Mate 9000 rechargeable?
No — sealed 2550mAh battery, no port, no cable in the box. It's built so the battery outlasts the 22ml of liquid, and both of my units did exactly that.
What nicotine is the SWIX Mate 9000?
20mg (2%). That's the standard Australian strength — noticeably smoother than the 5% (50mg) devices in the same size class.
Final verdict
8.5 out of 10, easy. Consistent flavour start to finish, a display that removes all the guesswork, and a sealed design that either frees you from cables or boxes you in, depending on who you are. The Colour Roulette thing remains daft but harmless.
I've already ordered the next box — Blueberry Mint, if it's in stock, because it's apparently always about to not be. If you've finished a Mate 9000 yourself, tell me how many weeks yours lasted. I'm collecting data points and my mates are useless at reporting back.
18+ only. Contains nicotine, which is addictive. Check your state's rules before ordering.