SKE’s Crystal Bar was one of the casualties of the recent UK disposable vape ban, but fear not as the disposable alternative for it has arrived in the form of the SKE Bar!
SKE are one of the largest brand names in the industry, with their products stocked widely across the globe. Most high street vape stores that you walk into will have SKE products, and even supermarkets too!
This isn’t the first range of pre-filled pods from SKE though, we’ve looked at the SKE Crystal CL6000 range in the past, as well as the Crystal Plus and SKE Sikary S6000. SKE have also released e-liquids too, such as the SKE Crystal Original range.
What Can We Expect From The SKE Bar?
Alongside Lost Mary, SKE’s Crystal Bar truly dominated the disposable vape market.
Though now that the disposable vape ban has taken effect in the UK, SKE are turning their hand to the pre-filled pod system market and looking to dominate that.
So, SKE have tweaked the Crystal Bar to make it compliant with the new laws, making the battery rechargeable and removable and giving users the ability to remove and replace the 2ml prefilled pod. Giving us the SKE Bar!
As the old saying goes, ‘if it ain’t broke don’t fix it’…Well, slightly adjust it to make it compliant anyway…
If you ever used a Crystal Bar then you will be right at home here. Form factor and appearance is virtually identical, but this time around everything is housed in a reusable device.
There’s a 2ml pod prefilled with 20mg nicotine salt e-liquid, that also houses a 1.2ohm mesh coil, delivering a cigarette-like mouth to lung vape.
A 500mAh battery is designed to last throughout the day and once the battery life is depleted, you can simply pop it on charge. And when it’s time to dispose of the battery, you can remove it to be recycled.
All the favourite Crystal Bar flavours have been ported over to the SKE Bar range, plus there’s some new tasty blends found here too.
Many thanks to SKE for sending a selection of the SKE Bars in for review, let’s check out what they have to offer!
As always, all views are my own…
Kit Contents
The SKE Bars come in very familiar looking packaging, which is virtually identical to the original Crystal Bars!
In fact, it is quite hard to distinguish between the two, other than the Crystal Bar has ‘disposable’ on the front of the box and the SKE bar has ‘original’.
When you open one of these up there’s little difference inside too, the SKE Bar is shrink wrapped and comes already assembled, ready to vape.
There’s also a leaflet with a QR code that takes you to the SKE website and and user manual that shows you how to remove the battery and replace the prefilled pod.
Specifications
- 135mm x 25mm x 25mm dimensions
- 33g Weight
- Up to 600 puffs
- Draw activated vape
- Mouth to lung vaping
- Prefilled pod kit with replaceable 2ml prefilled pod
- 1.2ohm dual mesh coil
- 35 flavours available
- 20mg nicotine salt strength
- 500mAh removable battery
- USB Type-C charging
Design & Build Quality
Upon taking an SKE Bar out of the box I was struck by an immediate sense of familiarity, as these look and feel just like a Crystal Bar did!
In order to accommodate the removable battery and prefilled pod, these are about 30mm taller and 8mm wider than the Crystal Bar, but they look and feel virtually identical, still sporting that unique crystal-styled transparent housing.
As mentioned, with the SKE Bar you can remove the battery and the prefilled pod, and replace the prefilled pod once it has run out of e-liquid.
The battery features a 500mAh capacity and can be recharged via the USB-C charging port on the base, which has a white LED light that illuminates during vaping or charging.
Quick Start Guide
These are set up and ready to go out of the box as the prefilled pod and battery are already installed.
All you need to do is take your SKE Bar out of the wrapper, pull the rubber bung out of the mouthpiece and draw on it to take a puff!
The battery can be removed by holding down the buttons at the base simultaneously, and pulling the battery compartment out.
If the battery has reached the end of it’s lifecycle or you are disposing of your SKE Bar, ensure the battery is placed into a suitable battery recycling bin.
To remove the pod, first remove the battery and then remove the pod from the device housing. A new pod can then be inserted before re-inserting the battery.
Charging
To charge an SKE Bar, insert a USB-C charging cable into the charging port at the base of the device.
An LED light will illuminate to indicate that the device is charging, and will turn off when it has finished.
Flavours
One of the biggest selling points of the Crystal Bar range was the vast range of different flavours available, and I’m pleased to see that the favourites have been ported over to the SKE Bar range along with some fresh new blends.
That gives you a whopping 35 flavours to choose from, and these are:
Blueberry Peach, Mango Ice, Sour Apple Ice, Strawberry Raspberry, Fruit Medley, Pineapple Peach, VMT Ice, Blueberry Cherry Cranberry, Peach Ice, Blue Fusion, Blueberry Raspberries, Strawberry Burst, Blueberry Sour Raspberry, Watermelon Ice, Lemon Peach Passionfruit, Apple Peach, Green Grape, Tobacco, Bull Ice, Strawberry Blast, Strawberry Kiwi, Banana Ice, Menthol, Fizzy Cherry, Berry Ice, Kiwi Passionfruit Guava, Sour Pineapple Ice, Watermelon Strawberry, Cola Ice, Pink Lemonade, Blue Razz Lemonade, Fresh Menthol Mojito, Cherry Ice, Lemon and Lime and Gami Rare.
SKE sent through a selection of sixteen flavours to try out, and here are my thoughts on them-
Cola Ice
What sets SKE’s Cola Ice blend apart from the others is its remarkably authentic cola taste, leaning distinctly towards a classic cola sweet rather than a carbonated beverage.
It strikes a beautiful balance with its sweetness, avoiding any cloying sensation, and finishes with a perfectly calibrated, refreshing chill.
This is the kind of flavour I can happily return to throughout the day without a hint of vaper’s tongue.
Berry Ice
This blend is undeniably bursting with flavour, almost to a fault – the sheer density of the flavourings makes it challenging to truly differentiate the individual forest fruits.
While its sweetness doesn’t reach the extreme levels of some other disposables, there’s still plenty of it present here. And yes, with ‘ice’ in the name, that invigorating chill on the inhale is a given.
Raspberry clearly leads the charge, and I detect hints of blackberry, but the resulting mix ultimately disappoints.
My main grievance with this blend lies in an aggressive, persistent sourness that dominates the entire exhale, unfortunately derailing what could have been a more accurate flavour replication.
Watermelon Ice
Right from the inhale, this flavour delivers a relentless, almost aggressive, surge of artificial watermelon.
For someone who isn’t already a fan of watermelon profiles, this blend quickly devolves into an overwhelmingly sweet and synthetic tasting experience.
It calls to mind a watery watermelon candy, doused in an extra helping of sugar, with a menthol note so faint and delayed it offers negligible respite.
This isn’t just uninspired; it’s a textbook example of the generic, mass-produced “watermelon ice” that’s currently saturating the market, utterly devoid of any distinguishing character beyond its cloying sweetness and predictable chill.
Strawberry Raspberry
This is a straightforward blend of two flavours that have been mixed very well together, but don’t offer anything out of the ordinary.
There’s a strawberry chewit sweet styled strawberry flavouring that tastes very sweet, which then gives way to quite a tart and sour candied raspberry flavour.
Blueberry Raspberries
The initial inhale is absolutely dazzling, featuring a potent, unbridled torrent of juicy blueberry and bright raspberry- a truly authentic mixed berry explosion!
This is seamlessly complemented by an exquisite, almost artisanal jam-like body – a thick, sweet nectar that adheres to the tongue with delightful persistence.
While undeniably sweet, it features harmonious sweetness, avoiding any cloying sensation.
Cherry Ice
Unsurprisingly, this blend shared a pleasant resemblance to its Fizzy Cherry cousin, a definite plus in my book! It carries the same delicious candied, syrupy cherry, but trades the fizz for a subtle, well-integrated icy undertone.
The cherry truly leads the charge here; the coolness is merely a gentle companion, precisely calibrated to enhance, not overshadow, the star flavour.
Sour Pineapple Ice
Imagine biting into a candied pineapple, perfectly sweet and vibrant, that’s the initial rush of flavour that I get on the inhale.
Then, a sophisticated sour kick sweeps in with a nippy chill, elevating the entire profile. The blending of these different notes is simply brilliant!
SKE have always produced an excellent pineapple flavoured liquid and this stood head and shoulders above the rest for me, offering a welcome escape from the predictable pineapple ice trends.
Consider it highly recommended and already on my repurchase list.
Strawberry Burst
This strawberry instantly recalls the joy of my favourite strawberry milkshakes and ice creams.
It’s an artificial strawberry note, but one that is flawlessly executed – clean, smooth, and utterly free of any sharp-tasting chemical edge. I would say that it is a bit like a strawberry chewit sweet!
The sweetness is perfectly calibrated, offering a pure, delightful strawberry without being overwhelming. Its delivery is remarkably smooth, almost pillowy on the palate.
Watermelon Strawberry
I felt that the watermelon here was pretty flat and uninspired but the blend is somewhat redeemed thanks to the strawberry flavouring.
I did find that the strawberry overtook the watermelon flavour, and the strawberry chewit sweet note pushed the watermelon into the background somewhat.
Which is good for me, not being a fan of watermelon and all!
Menthol
For those who appreciate a straightforward menthol, this blend delivers precisely what it promises: a crystal-clear, crisp experience.
It strikes an admirable balance between its minty essence and an invigorating icy blast, managing to cool without becoming overpoweringly intense.
If you’re new to the world of menthol e-liquids and curious to dip your toes in, this is an excellent, un-intimidating starting point. As an occasional menthol enthusiast myself, I genuinely couldn’t find a single flaw.
Fizzy Cherry
This blend unveils a remarkably vibrant candied cherry flavouring, striking a beautiful tightrope walk between sweetness and a delightful tartness, rather than succumbing to an overpowering sugary assault.
What truly elevates it is the playful, effervescent tickle right on the tip of my tongue– a note that perfectly emulates the fizz of a sparkling drink.
The cherry itself is a masterpiece of execution, evoking those perfect candied gems, underpinned by a luscious, subtly sweet syrup.
Blueberry Sour Raspberry
This blend isn’t just good, it’s dangerously good – I found myself vaping through it at a very quick rate!
The true revelation here is the sour element; it doesn’t just make an appearance, it dominates in the most delightful way, offering a potency rarely found in similar blueberry sour raspberry concoctions.
The journey is meticulously crafted: a burst of juicy blueberry leads, giving way to a thrillingly sharp, tart middle, before concluding with the sweet embrace of ripe raspberry.
It’s a deceptively simple profile, yet flawlessly executed to embody the quintessential blueberry sour raspberry experience.
Lemon & Lime
This blend kicks off with an unapologetic, direct hit of lemon and lime, vividly reminiscent of biting into a frozen citrus ice lolly. The lemon bursts forth immediately, bright and unyielding.
However, its intensity is amplified by a sweetness that verges on syrupy, lending the lemon an artificial, almost sherbet-like edge.
While it certainly offers a refreshing chill, the lime struggles to assert itself, largely obscured by the dominant lemon.
I found myself actively searching for the lime notes, which were consistently lost in the lemon’s shadow.
Fruit Medley
Despite my typical aversion to sweet e-liquids, this particular blend managed to win me over. I suspect the recent wave of summery warmth made it an exceptionally fitting choice for hot weather!
Pinpointing individual flavour components proved quite challenging, as the profile is remarkably cohesive and impactful, hitting the senses all at once.
However, it distinctly evokes a vibrant tropical fruit cocktail, with a refreshing whisper of citrus cutting through the richness.
Blueberry Cherry Cranberry
Weirdly I couldn’t help but notice just how dry and tart this blend was, must have been the overpowering note of cranberry in the blend!
Cranberry really seems to dominate both the cherry and blueberry flavours, to the point where it seemed like the others weren’t even present on some puffs.
There’s a bit of a cooling sensation present too but not much else to say regarding this one, for me this is predominantly a sour cranberry vape!
Blue Razz Lemonade
What’s immediately evident is the unwavering balance between the blueberry and lemonade, which is a consistent flavour partnership throughout. Though the raspberry is quite hard to pick up on.
The sweetness here is abundant, lingering pleasantly on the tongue, and not ever feeling like it is getting too much either!
This sweetness, in turn, empowers the lemonade, resulting in a thoroughly refreshing, summer-perfect vape that does an impressive job of quenching thirst.
A delightful cooling blast on the inhale keeps the summery essence alive and vibrant.
How Does The SKE Bar Perform?
Chances are, if you have ever used a Crystal Bar (or any similar disposable for that matter), then you will be right at home here.
SKE had a winning formula with the Crystal Bar and they have stuck to that with the SKE Bar. It has fixed airflow and a fixed power output.
So, here you will get a smooth cigarette-styled mouth-to-lung vape from the 1.2ohm dual mesh coil system that is found inside the 2ml prefilled pod.
A discreet amount of vapour is produced as well, so no antisocial clouds!
Battery Life
For the majority of users, the 500mAh battery will power through a full day before it needs a charge, which is exactly what it is designed to do.
It does charge a little slowly however so do bear that in mind.
A bonus is that now the battery can now be removed to safely recycle it once it has reached the end of its lifespan, which should theoretically be around a years worth of use.
Whether people actually will safely recycle the batteries is another matter, I would like to hope they would!
The battery SHOULD NOT be disposed of in your local household waste. This is dangerous as it could ignite during the waste disposal process.
You’ll find that many responsible vape shops, household recycling centres and even supermarkets now have recycling disposal bins for vaping products so it is worth having a quick Google to see where the nearest one is to you.
What I do is store up my spent batteries safely inside a box and take them down to my local household recycling centre that has an area for recycling vaping batteries.
Just a tip!
How Many Puffs Do You Get From An SKE BAR?
Much like the original SKE Crystal disposables, these are marketed as offering up to 600 puffs from the 2ml prefilled pod.
Though, what you get out of them will depend on how long you take a draw for.
I took quite long 2-4 second draws on the Cola Ice flavoured one and I tallied 413 puffs, which lasted me approximately a day and a half. For those that cape a true mouth to lung draw, your drags will likely be a little less so you could definitely hit the 6t00 puff mark.
Pros
- Direct replacement for the SKE Crystal Bars
- Can vape right out of the box
- Prefilled pod is replaceable
- Massive range of different flavours including SKE Crystal favourites
- One of the cheapest replaceable prefilled pod systems on the market
- Can dismantle for recycling
Cons
- Unable to see how much e-liquid is left in the pod
- Basic LED light indicator
- Can see these being used in a similar throwaway fashion to disposable vapes
Final Verdict
Crystal Bar fans who feared the UK disposable vape ban need fear not- the SKE Bar is here!
These will offer instant familiarity for those that used the original SKE Crystal Bars as these are virtually identical, with the ability to vape them right out of the box without needing to assemble them first.
The design is more eco-friendly than the original Crystal Bars as you can remove the battery to recycle it once it has reached the end of its lifespan, and the prefilled pod can be replaced- though I’m yet to see these for sale yet.
One of the biggest strengths of the Crystal Bar was the huge range of different flavours available, and I’m pleased to see that these have been ported over to the SKE Bar range.
Devices like this will help people to quit smoking as they are affordable and accessible, with lots of different tasty and appealing flavours to pick from. Plus, the draw is quite similar to one found on a cigarette too.
Price wise, these are pretty much in line with what the disposables used to cost, making this one of the cheapest prefilled pod systems on the market!
Have you used the SKE Bar? What’s your favourite flavour? Let us know in the comments below.
