timwis

Hi Vapor Talk members, In this review i take a look at the Aegis Hero Pod Mod Kit from Geekvape. The Aegis Hero Pod Mod Kit was supplied for the purpose of this review by Geekvape. Introduction Yes another Aegis and another Pod Mod/AIO device but this one has it's size going for it if you are into stealth devices as it's a tiny little fella. That small size though gives us both a small battery and screen as a trade off. The Aegis Hero maintains the usual IP67 rating while also offering a top to bottom leak resistant adjustable airflow design. The Hero features both Power and Bypass modes with a puff counter that can be reset but is a very simple device which also utilises the same Boost B-Series coil heads as used on the Boost, Boost Plus and Zeus Nano Tank. The device is also extremely light and comes in 6 colour options, let's give it a look! ___________________________________________________________________ In The Box Contents: 1 x Geekvape Aegis Hero Pod Kit 1 x Geekvape Aegis G Coil Boost 0.4ohm Mesh 1 x Geekvape Aegis G Coil Boost 0.6ohm Mesh 1 x Coil removal spanner 1 x Narrower bore drip tip 1 x User Manual 1 x Micro USB Charging Cable ___________________________________________________________________ Aesthetics and Ergonomics The Aegis Hero arrived in Sample packaging so yours will differ and on opening i was surprised despite seeing the dimensions listed just what a small palm sized device the Hero is. The overall look in a mini Aegis Legend (and i mean mini) and at just 88g not so sure if the IP67 waterproof rating is needed as this could possibly float! The colour option refers to the colour of the bracket which on mine is Black, the options are Red, Silver, Rainbow, Black, Blue or Gunmetal. On the face we have a slanted fire button top and switch style vertical navigational rocker bottom, in-between we have a very small screen. The front section of the sides and the base of the device has a thick rubber shell and then we have a Zinc Alloy bracket in the colour of choice, finally we have the familiar padded Black leather spine with two vertical rows of stitching. We have 3 visible screws either side to secure the bracket and also "AEGIS" stamped into the metal both sides. One side in the rubber section we have a rubber plug that seals the USB port and the opposite side either a "S" or "5" stamped into the rubber which makes me think maybe at some point during it's design Hero wasn't it's original name but i am guessing! Up top the pod protrudes and is tinted but is not over dark and we have an adjustable airflow cap with dual slots and 510 fitting drip tip. Moving to the base we have the Geekvape logo within a circular indented section and membrane sealed venting holes. The build quality is what i would expect with an Aegis IP67 device and ergonomically it just gets swallowed up in the hand! ___________________________________________________________________ Aegis Hero Specs and Features: Dimensions: 48.15* 25.4* 82.9mm Materials: Rubber, Zinc Alloy, Leather Weight: 88g Battery Capacity: 1200mAh Battery Type: Integrated Modes: Power, Bypass Puff Counter Coil Resistance: 0.4ohm, 0.6ohm Coil Types: Mesh Pod Kit Type: Re-Fillable Tank Capacity: 4ml (2ml TPD) IP67 Waterproof & Shockproof Capabilities 1200mAh battery with 45W Max Output 0.42 Inch OLED Display Screen Compatible with G Coil Boost Series Adjustable Airflow & Easy Top Fill Multiple protections for safe vaping Colours: Red, Silver, Rainbow, Black, Blue, Gunmetal ___________________________________________________________________ What's Included? As well as the Aegis Hero device with 4ml (2ml TPD) pod and paperwork you receive both the 0.4ohm and 0.6ohm mesh boost coil heads, a coil removal spanner (which i have never needed), spare drip tip with narrower bore and of course a USB cable! ___________________________________________________________________ Waterproof, Dustproof, Shockproof The Aegis Hero is IP67 waterproof which means it can withstand water immersion between 15cm and 1 meter for 30 minutes. It is also dustproof as classified by the first number of the IP67 rating and shockproof so the device is protected from dust ingress and accidental drops. ___________________________________________________________________ The Pod The pod is tinted but not too darkly and also protrudes outside the device so seeing the e-liquid level is no problem at all. Up top we have a cap that turns with dual airflow slots but more about that later then on top of the cap a 510 fitting drip tip, one with a narrower bore is also included. Still on the top surface of the pod towards the front we have a rubber piece which lifts easily to reveal it's a plug for a good sized fill port. The capacity is 4ml on the standard pod and of course 2ml with the TPD version, i found filling quick and mess free! Looking at the base of the pod we have the opening for the coil head to be press fitted into position and two protruding guide rails, we also have a wide rectangular magnet. ___________________________________________________________________ Fitting The Coil Head The Aegis Hero takes the same Boost coils that fit the Boost, Boost Plus and Zeus Nano Tank. You receive both the 0.6ohm and 0.4ohm kanthal mesh coils, the 0.4ohm is rated between 25w and 33w and the 0.6ohm rated between 15w and 25w. As mentioned the coil head just gets press fitted into the pod at the bottom, make sure you line up the flat edges of the coil head with the protruding rails either side of the opening on the pod, this will make sure the airflow inlets of the coil head are positioned correctly! ___________________________________________________________________ Fitting The Pod Looking in the bay we can see the central Gold plated, spring loaded contacts and the wide rectangular magnet which lines up with the magnet on the pod. You need to put the pod in front first and as well as the very strong magnet it clicks into place and has no movement whatsoever! When removing you can get your nail between the pod and device and then give it a good tug! ___________________________________________________________________ The Airflow On top of the pod we have like a top-cap with dual slots and turning the cap closes and opens the airflow giving the Hero full adjustable airflow. It's a top to bottom design and when the coil head is installed it's airflow inlets are sealed within the pod giving it a leak resistant design. The air comes through the adjustable airflow slots and then travels down tubes which feed the coil head inlets! ___________________________________________________________________ The Display The display is very small and also cluttered with a weird font used on a couple of pieces of information such as puff counter, basically i am not over impressed! The display is bright though and the wattage or voltage (depending on mode) is in a nice sized font so better than no display at all. Top left we have the resistance and top right a narrow elongated battery status bar. The central area says "PUFF" to the left and then right your puff counter "0000". Bottom left we have the whole number wattage or voltage when in bypass mode and then in the bottom right area of the display we have either "P" for power or "B" for bypass then underneath the part unit and "W" for watts or "V" for volts. ___________________________________________________________________ Navigating The Aegis Hero The Hero is a simple 45w max device that offers both variable wattage and bypass modes. The device is the usual 5 clicks of the fire button to turn on and off and once on up and down together locks and unlocks the navigational rocker but when locked the device will still fire. The puff counter can be cleared by pressing down and fire together and pressing the fire button 3 times allows you to switch between power (variable wattage) and bypass modes. Any safety alerts are displayed on the screen and while vaping under normal conditions "VAPING" is displayed. The wattage can be adjusted using the navigational rocker in 0.5w increments from 5w to 45w and it round robins! The Hero uses Geekvape's Buck Boost system to give stable performance throughout the battery life! ___________________________________________________________________ Charging The Hero has a micro USB port (not type C unfortunately) which is sealed by a rubber plug which needs pulling free, the plug stays attached to the device when the port is revealed and after charging make sure the plug is put back in position correctly so the watertight seal isn't compromised. I can't find any charge rate but it took between 1hr 5mins and 1hr 10mins each time i charged so i guess a 1.5A max charge rate averaging about 1.2A which for a 1200mAh device is pretty good! While charging a progress bar is shown if you press a button and once fully charged the working screen is displayed, it supports pass-through! ___________________________________________________________________ My Experience Using The Device? And Thoughts! I only really have 3 issues with this device and that's the tiny display, the battery life which is a trade off for it's small size which makes it not suitable for a main device and the marketing claiming it's designed for both MTL and DL. Yes with the airflow closed right down to a slither with the 0.6ohm coil you can get a loose MTL draw but Geekvape need to understand having adjustable airflow and including a narrower bore drip tip does not make a device a dual purpose MTL and DL device unless you also have a compatible dedicated MTL coil head! It must be said though the adjustable airflow works really well and the draw is smooth throughout and i like that 2 different drip tips are included and they are a standard 510 fit so you can use your own. I also love the top-fill and that i can easily see the liquid level without removing the pod and it's great to use a pod mod device with zero leaking, just a few condensation droplets on the bay magnet but apart from that dry as a bone! The 0.6ohm coil has a narrower bore than the 0.4ohm and wide open gives a restricted direct lung vape which can be closed down for even more restriction and even just open a loose MTL is possible although really it's more suited for RDL but it told me enough that if a MTL boost coil became available the Hero could give satisfactory both medium-loose and loose MTL draws with the airflow just slightly open. The 0.4ohm coil which i preferred at 28W and the airflow two thirds open for the restriction i like gives a semi restricted draw fully open. The 0.6ohm coil i both used at 20w with airflow half open for a very restricted direct lung vape but also closed it down to a 6th open and at just 15w for a reasonable loose MTL vape, this also allowed the device to give reasonable battery life. Both coil heads give really good flavour and although the flavour wasn't quite pinging like i found when using them in the Zeus Nano Tank i would still say above average for a Pod Mod/AIO device. The Buck Boost seems to work well as the performance was consistent throughout and i am not putting it as a con but don't really understand the point of having Bypass mode available on this mini low powered device! Although the Hero has a small battery it's perfectly adequate for a stealthy out and about device and can see many being interested in it for that purpose. About an hour to fully charge while supporting pass-through is fine and finally i did have one issue which will be of little importance to most unless you use the puff counter for monitoring your puffs. Although the puff counter displays reset as "0000" so should go up to "9999" mine kept automatically resetting at 250 puffs. The first time although unlikely i just thought somehow i had used the button press combination to reset it by accident but when it got to the 5th time of resetting at 250 puffs there is obviously a software issue! ___________________________________________________________________ Likes Very good build quality Very ergonomic Palm size 6 Colour options IP67 device Adjustable airflow Top to bottom leak resistant airflow design Loose MTL to semi restricted DL draw (coil head and airflow dependant) Buck boost system Wattage and Bypass modes Puff counter (see cons) Performed consistently 2 Drip tips included (510 fit, can use your own) Top-fill (fill quickly and mess free) Can see juice level at all times 4ml Capacity (standard pod) Pod fits very securely, no movement Both 0.6ohm and 0.4ohm coils included Coil cross compatibility Coil removal spanner included Very good flavour from both coils Smooth draw Charges in just over an hour (estimated 1.5A max charge rate) Supports pass-through Cons Battery not the biggest (not suitable as main device) Need a dedicated MTL coil to really class this as both MTL and DL device Small, cluttered display Puff counter keeps resetting at 250 puffs Not Type C USB I would once again like to thank Geekvape for supplying the Aegis Hero Pod Mod Kit for the purpose of this review, thanks for reading and stay safe! ___________________________________________________________________

Hi Vapor Talk members, In this review i take a look at the FORZ TX80 VW Kit With FORZ Tank 25 from Vaporesso. The FORZ TX80 Kit was supplied for the purpose of this review by Vaporesso. Introduction Vaporesso need no introduction and here with the Forz TX80 we see them enter the IP67 club but unlike it's competitors the tank it's paired with hasn't been neglected and while it's impossible to have a IP67 Tank the Forz Tank 25 has a rubber protected casing and comes with a tight fitting drip-tip dust cover! As well as the standard and TPD versions of the kit there is also an RDA kit version which includes the Forz RDA but i won't be covering that in this review. The Forz TX80 has the new updated Axon chip, keeping Vaporesso's new ground breaking "Pulse" and "Smart TC modes" while also introducing the new default F(t) mode. Coming in 5 different colour spine options, let's give Vaporesso's most durable mod and tank combo a good look! ___________________________________________________________________ In The Box Contents: 1 x FORZ TX80 MOD 1 x FORZ TANK 25 1 x GTR 0.15Ω MESH Coil (pre-installed) 1 x GTR 0.4Ω MESH Coil (in box) 1 x Type-C USB Cable 1 x User Manual 1 x Warranty Card 1 x Glass Tube 4 x O-ring 1 x Screwdriver 1 x USB Silicone Plug 1 x FORZ Badge ___________________________________________________________________ Aesthetics and Ergonomics The Forz TX80 Kit came in cardboard box packaging with outer cardboard sleeve. I received the Imperial Red version and with all the options the colour refers to the spine as the main rubber chassis on all devices is Black and we have a Gunmetal Zinc Alloy face plate. The options are Brick Black, Gunmetal Grey, Imperial Red, Leather Brown and Steel Blue, the coloured spines are padded leather and we have "FORZ" heavily embossed in a vertical position centrally with a row of stitching either side. The front has a Zinc Alloy face plate and top a square fire button which looks angled but it's actually the tapering of the face plate allowing the button to protrude more at the bottom alloying it to be very easy to find when firing. We then have a screen followed by a very nice looking and practical large switch style navigational rocker, finally at the very bottom a dedicated mode/select button. The main chassis has a durable rubber coating and one thing that surprised me was the device is quite light and also one of the most ergonomic i have used. We also have a Black bracket fixing the leather in place and to one side a silicone plug to keep the Type C USB port watertight! Moving to the top and we have a circular slightly raised design around the Gold plated, Spring loaded 510 rather than a plate, the design is raised enough to protect the main surface while giving no visible gaping. Finally at the base we have some branding and safety stamps, then the battery plate with fold out central lever. There probably is a clever way that this has been kept IP67 rated while also allowing for venting in the unlikely event the battery goes into thermal runaway but it needs mentioning i can't detect any membrane sealed venting holes anywhere! ___________________________________________________________________ Forz Tank 25 Specs and Features: Dimension: 58.2 x 27.0mm Tank Capacity: 4.5ml (2ml TPD Version) Coils: GTR 0.4Ω MESH Coil (40-60W)/ GTR 0.15Ω MESH Coil (60-80W) Rugged tank for durable use New GTR coils brings excellent flavour Push & Pull coil replacement system Top refill with large airways for DL vape Leakproof structure to ensure mess-free vape High tenacity soft-rubber protective frame Thread: 510 Colour: Black ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ Forz Tank 25 Overview The Forz Tank 25 is 25mm at the base but around it's main body is much wider due to having a thick rubber outer casing to protect the glass. The tank holds 4.5 and of course 2ml with the TPD version and it comes with a drip tip dust cover which some might find is a great idea and to be honest rather than just throwing it in the garbage this one will get put safe in a draw but i just can't see myself constantly moving a cover to vape! It has quite a comfortable drip tip which is an 810 with O-rings although i tried a couple of Goon fitting tips and they actually fitted snuggly so happy days! The top-cap comes off with just a quarter of a turn but not because it's a bayonet fitting just spaced threading and i really have no confidence in it, it never opened on me but then i didn't use the device out and about because i just feel it is a candidate to come open in the pocket. Also despite only being quarter of a turn the threading felt scratchy and the threading on the base section is even worse, it fastens up securely just so crunchy! With the top-cap off we have a flat fill plate with 2 kidney shaped fill ports and when considering the size of the tank they are not the widest and also about 1mm down inside the ports we have a shelf obscuring half of what are quite narrow slots anyway, when you add to that it's a flat plate so any e-liquid which fails to go through the port is going to go everywhere filling could be a messy affair. I always decant into a bottle which has a thin nozzle so taking my time i had no issue but it's not the best design! You receive a tool which helps lift your coil head out of the tank and it also becomes clear why the fill ports are so narrow and that's because the central top section needs to be quite large as it has grooves which you also use the same tool to fit into to unscrew the fill port section so you can remove the glass. After taking all my photos for the review i eventually managed to remove the glass and thought i would never get it back in place, it's just too tight and needs to be much easier. The coil head just gets press fitted into place but doesn't protrude like most press fitted coils as the air enters straight through the centre from underneath but as already mentioned you get the dual purpose tool which lifts the coil free! You receive 2 of the new GTR Mesh coil heads, pre-installed is the 0.15ohm rated between 60w and 80w and also included is the 0.4ohm coil head rated between 40w and 60w. The base section has tri cyclops and the coil heads have identical wide inner bores so even before trying with airflow fully open this will have little in the way of restriction. Finally the 510 positive pin is almost flush so do not use on a hybrid mechanical device! ___________________________________________________________________ Forz TX80 Specs and Features: Dimension: 84.6 x 41.7 x 30.1mm Output Power: 5-80W Battery Capacity: 1 x 18650(not included) Display: 0.69" OLED Screen Charging Current: DC 5V/2A, Type-C Intelligent AXON 2.0 chipset for smart operating Innovative PULSE mode and new F(t) mode MIL-STD-810G military endeavour tests IP67 1m waterproof for 30mins High tenacity soft-rubber protective frame Thread: 510 Colours: Brick Black, Gunmetal Grey, Imperial Red, Leather Brown, Steel Blue ___________________________________________________________________ IP67 Device The Forz TX80 see's Vaporesso enter the IP67 Waterproof, Dustproof and Shockproof club and in some style as this feels as durable as any device i have used while retaining a more aesthetically pleasing look than it's competitors. The Forz TX80 IP67 rating means it can withstand water immersion between 15cm and 1 meter for 30 minutes. It is also dustproof as classified by the first number of the IP67 rating and shockproof so the device is protected from dust ingress and accidental drops. ___________________________________________________________________ Fitting The Battery The Forz TX80 accommodates a single 18650 which gets fitted via the bottom of the device. We have a removable battery plate with lift up lever like we have seen before on many Aegis devices, Sigelei Evaya and Jackaroo to name a few. Unscrewing the plate and screwing back on does take a bit of time which impatient people might not like but i like this method of fitting a battery as it's very secure and no risk of damaging your battery wrap, the plate has a thick fitted O-ring to complete the watertight seal. Battery orientation is clearly marked both inside the battery tube and on the underside of the battery plate so a really good job all round! ___________________________________________________________________ The Display We have a real contradiction with the Forz TX80 being such a feature rich innovative device yet has a very basic Old School style display which still appeals to many and i believe this is quite deliberate as it makes the whole device less overwhelming and quite easy to navigate. The display is bright and sharp and the brightness can be adjusted within the settings. Top left we have the resistance and below the duration of your puff. Central and taking up most of the display we have the wattage, temperature or voltage depending which mode you are in and then top right we have the battery status bar, below the battery status bar bottom right we have the current mode. ___________________________________________________________________ Navigating The Forz TX80 The Forz TX80 is the usual 5 clicks of the fire button to turn on and 5 clicks to turn off and once on 3 clicks of the fire button locks and unlocks the navigational rocker and mode button but when locked the device will still fire. Holding down both the mode and fire buttons together brings up an information screen giving serial number and firmware version. The menu is very old school giving a row of options which when you try to carry on scrolling past the last one displayed if there are any more in that section then the others appear on the screen, the last icon is always exit and also with having a mode button the whole system is easy to navigate even if sounding complicated when i try to explain it. To enter the menu you can either long press the mode button or click it 3 times and it brings up the following options, F(t) mode, Pulse mode, Power Eco, Smart TC, DIY Mode, System Set and Exit. Choosing either F(t) mode, Pulse mode, Power Eco or Smart TC takes you to that working screen and i will go through these features later. Choosing DIY Mode brings up the following options Variable wattage, Variable Temperature, Variable Voltage, Bypass, Super Player Mode and Exit. Variable Voltage and Bypass are all straightforward and Super player mode is a feature that Vaporesso have included for a while now where it allows you to fire down to 0.05ohm and something i really don't care for. Choosing Variable Wattage gives you the choice of Normal, Soft or Hard pre-heats and Variable Temperature first allows you to choose your wire type and then allows you to alter the TCR, set wattage for temp control and lock resistance. The Final option in the main menu is System Settings which allows you to adjust brightness, turn smart wattage on or off, flip the screen, turn automatic eco on or off, set device to default and finally bring up the same information screen that can be accessed with the mode and fire button together from the working screen. The device adjust in 0.5W increments from 5w right up to the full 80W but does switch to 1W increments with the rocker held down, it scrolls at a nice fast speed but doesn't round robin. ___________________________________________________________________ The New Modes Well apart from the brand new default F(t) mode the others are not actually that new anymore as they first appeared on the Gen which has been out a while but still worth another look. I do find the fact the device by default is in one of the new modes so in this case F(t) mode and the first tier of the menu system is the four new modes and to use standard Wattage, Temperature modes etc are further within the menu system a little strange. I do understand why it's been done this way as Vaporesso are showing faith in these new features and trying to push them but i still think it should of been done the other way around. The more i use the Axon chip though and use the new modes the less i see this as being any major issue! ___________________________________________________________________ F(t) Mode F(t) Mode is Vaporesso's new feature and is the default Mode on the Forz TX80. While Pulse gave constant firing while vaping to give more consistent power throughout your vape F(t) mode from what i understand is more of a temperature regulation feature to improve flavour and although it works great with the supplied coils i do wonder if the settings are based on suiting the supplied coil heads. Like with both Pulse Mode and Smart TC when the atomizer is first attached it scans to get the information needed to do it's magic behind the Scenes! ___________________________________________________________________ Pulse Mode The idea of Pulse Mode is to give you more consistent power so instead of your initial fire which once it hits set wattage can dip in Pulse mode it's continuously firing every 0.02 seconds up to 500 times in one vape giving consistent power. ___________________________________________________________________ Power Eco Mode When in Power Eco Mode it optimises your settings despite that you are still setting the settings, if you are in other modes it will also ask if you want the device to use Eco Mode when the battery life gets down to 40%. Why when it sill uses your settings does it become so much more efficient and why not efficient in the first place? I can only go by my experience but i have used this mode on both the Gen and Gen Nano and have noticed little if any improvement in battery life! ___________________________________________________________________ Smart TC When using Smart TC and you first attach your atomizer and it fires the atomizer for a micro second and scans the information. It recognises wire type and ohms extra and automatically gives the best TC settings for that coil. When using Pulse or F(t) modes it also fires and scans the atomiser and if it's a TC coil asks if you want to use Smart TC, likewise if you have the device in Smart TC mode and the atomizer you attach doesn't have a TC compatible coil it will jump the device out of Smart TC and into F(t) Mode. I love this mode and although i haven't used it on the Forz TX80 yet have used it on a number of Vaporesso's new devices! ___________________________________________________________________ Protections: Overtime Protection Overheat Protection Short Circuit Protection USB Input Protection No Load Protection Overcharging Protection Resistance Protection ___________________________________________________________________ Charging "Groundhog Day" again as i say i don't recommend charging the battery in the device but if it's your only option the Forz TX80 has Type-C with a 2A charge rate. On the side of the device we have a rubber plug that gives a good seal and when removing to expose the port it stays attached to the device. While charging a progress bar is displayed as well as the charge being displayed as a percentage, it also gives the charge time left so really good charging feedback! The device is fully firmware upgradeable and supports pass-through! ___________________________________________________________________ My Experience Using The Forz TX80 Kit and Thoughts! I will start with the Forz Tank 25 as i found it a mixed bag. I really like the idea of the thick rubber casing on a tank included with a IP67 device also giving that protection from drops and not just the device and although the dust cover isn't my bag, fair enough it's still a pro to some. I really don't like the quality of the threading either on the base or even on the top-cap and it's quarter turn to open and close gives me no confidence especially as it feels quite loose when turning! Filling can't be done with large nozzles else it will be messy with the narrow ports and flat plate and even with thinner nozzles a bit of care is needed. Also you receive a spare glass but trying to remove the glass is a nightmare and it's no easier to fit back into place. After saying that the flavour from both coils is very good with the 0.15 coil head having the edge which is a pity for me personally because it's above the wattage range i personally vape at. Both coils have an identical wide bore so give absolutely identical draws and with the tri-slots wide open there is next to no restriction but then the airflow can be closed down for the restriction you prefer. I used the 0.4ohm coil at just 40w with half open airflow which was warm but not over warm and gave a nice saturated flavoursome vape. I also tested for those that like more warmth and not only did it keep up fine at 60w but i even had a few vapes in quick succession at 70w and it was fine but not my bag. The 0.15ohm coil head gave even slightly better flavour and when within it's rating is a much warmer vape than the 0.4ohm coil head, i settled at 65w because any higher was just too warm for me although again when testing this keeps up even above it's recommended wattage. Finally Vaporesso are claiming these coil heads are a leakproof structure and although i had no leaking issues still the only barrier between your juice and liquid escaping through the airflow slots is the wicking material so some leaking however minimal is always possible. Now on to the star of the show and what a star! Apart from a slight concern i can't see where any venting can occur i just have no negatives to report. I do like the Jackaroo but out of all the IP67 devices available for me aesthetically the Forz TX80 is the pick and the build quality is exceptional! This is just packed with features and modes yet with the Old School style display, simple menu system and dedicated mode/select button it's so user friendly. The more i use Vaporesso's new features the more i like them and the new F(t) mode i am liking a lot. I don't really understand how the F(t) mode works apart from it's to do with regulating the temperature, but it seems to actually be giving not just a really nice vape but also switching between modes the flavour just seems both better and more consistent as if it's a little like a pre-set Replay mode, i'm just guessing but loving the end result. The Forz feels great in the hand and i love all the buttons, tanks up to 26mm in diameter will fit without overhang which covers just about anything you would want to put on a 80w device, for me they have just got so much right! As usual i don't recommend charging in the device but the Forz TX80 has both Type C and a 2A charge rate, it also gives excellent charging feedback while supporting pass-through. ___________________________________________________________________ Likes Exceptional build quality Quite light 5 Colour options Very ergonomic Aesthetically pleasing (subjective) Really like all the buttons Excellent battery plate with good seal and clearly marked orientation Type C USB, sealed with rubber plug 2A charge rate Excellent charging feedback Old school display and menu system Feature rich Settings menu DIY, Variable Wattage, Variable Voltage, TC, Bypass, Super player mode Pulse mode Smart TC Eco Mode New F(t) mode Performed excellently Particularly like new F(t) mode even if i don't understand what exactly is going on 26mm tanks will fit without overhang Supports pass-through and is fully firmware upgradeable Forz Tank 25 - Thick rubber casing Forz Tank 25 - Drip tip dust cover Fit your own drip tip Smooth draw Plenty of air Both coil heads gave really good flavour, 0.15ohm slightly better flavour than the 0.4ohm 2 Coil heads, spare O-rings and a spare glass included Included Tool for removing coil heads and unscrewing fill plate Had no leaking issues Cons Can't see anywhere venting can occur (sure it will be fine but people like piece of mind) Very scratchy threading on tank Feel it's an open in the pocket candidate (probably won't but it does concern me) Narrow fill ports and flat plate (filling with larger nozzles could get messy) Removing or replacing glass should be much easier For 4.5ml capacity (2ml TPD) due to rubber casing it's very large I would once again like to thank Vaporesso for supplying the FORZ TX80 VW Kit With FORZ Tank 25 for the purpose of this review, thanks for reading and stay safe! ___________________________________________________________________

Hi Vapor Talk members, In this review i take a look at the Zeus Nano Tank from Geekvape. The Zeus Nano Tank was supplied for the purpose of this review by Geekvape. Introduction Geekvape in the last 3 years have become best known for their Zeus atomizers and Aegis devices and here we have them meet in the form of coil cross compatibility. The Zeus Nano Tank borrows it's top to bottom airflow system from it's bigger brother the Zeus Sub-ohm tank just on a smaller scale offering a more restrictive vape for lower wattage RDL or loose MTL dependant on airflow setting and installed coil head. The coils get press fitted into the chamber and the top to bottom airflow offers a leak resistant solution. The Zeus Nano Tank accommodates the G Boost B-series coil heads that are used by the Aegis boost and this cross compatibility of coil heads is something that's both welcomed and we should see more of. Coming in 6 different colour options and with familiar Zeus aesthetics let's give the 22mm in diameter new member of the Zeus family a closer look! ___________________________________________________________________ In The Box Contents: 1 x Zeus Nano Tank (2ml)(Pre-installed: Geekvape B Series Coil 0.4ohm,25~33W) 1 x Geekvape B Series Coil 0.6ohm,15~25W 1 x Drip tip 1 x Coil tool 1 x User manual 1 x Spare parts pack 1 x Spare glass tube (3.5ml) ___________________________________________________________________ Aesthetics The Zeus Nano Tank came in cardboard box sample packaging so the retail packaging will differ. I received the Rainbow colour version, the options are Silver, Gunmetal, Blue, Black, Gold or Rainbow. The build quality and overall look is the same as we have seen with previous Zeus family members with the Nano at 22mm being the most slender of the siblings which also gives it a taller look. Up top we have a Black 510 Delrin drip tip then a top-cap that tapers and has spaced indented grooves for a good grip. The base section has the same indented grooves and is 22mm at the very base and then it tapers outwards then back inwards making the straight glass approximately 23mm wide. Below the top-cap we have the airflow control ring with short dual airflow slots and "ZEUS" carved into the metal. Looking through the glass at the visible chamber we can see cut-out sections either side that line up with the coils wicking ports and the familiar Zeus logo on both the front and back. Moving to the base we have a Gold plated 510 pin, branding and safety marks! ___________________________________________________________________ Zeus Nano Specs and Features: Diameter: 22mm Height: 56.55mm Tank Capacity: 2ml Filling Method: Top filling Airflow: Top to Bottom Airflow Control Drip Tip Type: 510 Drip Tip Resistance: 0.6ohm KA1 Mesh Coil - Rated 15-25W; 0.4ohm KA1 Mesh Coil - Rated 25-33W GV Boost Formula G Coil/B Series Coil Material: Stainless Steel+Pyrex Glass The Most Reliable Leakproof tank Quick-change prebuilt coil system Thread: 510 Colours: Silver, Gunmetal, Blue, Black, Gold, Rainbow ___________________________________________________________________ What You Receive? As well as the Zeus Nano Tank with 2ml straight glass you also receive a 3.5ml bubble glass and full set of spare O-rings. You also get one of the boost coil spanners for help with coil removal although i have never found the need to ever use it whichever kit it has been supplied with. Also included are 2 different G-Boost B-Series coil heads, and finally a spare (identical) 510 drip tip. ___________________________________________________________________ It's Various Parts Up top we have a plain Delrin 510 with a bore suited to a restricted direct lung or loose MTL draw and the spare is identical, at least the spare i received is. We then have the top cap with bayonet fitting that secures to the juice port plate which has attached the double chamber with incorporated airflow system. On the top of the Chamber and juice port plate section we have an airflow control ring that can be easily removed for cleaning purposes and the glass tube whether it be the pre-installed straight glass or included bubble glass secures really well over an O-ring below the airflow slots and above the chamber. The coil head gets press fitted into the chamber and base section with 510 thread screws on to complete the tank! ___________________________________________________________________ Fitting The Coil Head The Zeus Nano Tank takes the same Boost coils that fit both the Boost and Boost Plus and you receive both the 0.6ohm and 0.4ohm kanthal mesh coils, the 0.4ohm is rated between 25w and 33w and the 0.6ohm rated between 15w and 25w. As mentioned the coil head just gets press fitted into the chamber, make sure that the wicking ports line up with the cut-out ports on the chamber so it wicks correctly, then simply screw the tanks base on and you are ready to fill! ___________________________________________________________________ Filling As mentioned the top-cap has the same bayonet fitting as the other Zeus family members which let's face it who doesn't prefer this method rather than more time consuming threading? So just a quarter turn, if that and the top-cap is off revealing 2 quite narrow kidney shaped juice ports. Although the ports are quite narrow they are within a deep channel so the e-liquid will find it's way into the ports if using bigger nozzles just a little more time consuming but standard gorilla nozzles are fine. Once filled again it's just the slightest of turns and the top-cap is secured and you are good to go! ___________________________________________________________________ The Airflow The airflow on the Zeus Nano Tank is the same top to bottom airflow we see on all the Zeus Tanks and the particular design on the Zeus Nano is identical to how it was executed on the Zeus Sub-ohm tank just with smaller airflow inlet slots and narrower cavity. The airflow enters through the top angled airflow slots, the amount of air can be controlled by adjusting the airflow control ring which as usual on a Zeus tank moves with just the right amount of tolerance. The chamber is double walled with a cavity either side for the airflow to travel down before coming out into the base section through a narrow elongated slit either side. Once the air is in the base section it can enter the air inlets at the base of the coils just as it would with bottom airflow. Some seem to think that top to bottom airflow can not give good flavour due to the loss of pressure travelling from top to bottom but on the Zeus however the system has been designed they always seem to get the slot, cavity ratio right and many including me find the Zeus family give cracking flavour, whether it's the single coil original, dual coil versions or Sun-ohm Tank! ___________________________________________________________________ Using with the Boost or Boost Plus As well as utilising the same Boost Coils as the Aegis Boost and Boost Plus Pod Mods when using either device with a 510 adaptor which are available from Geekvape and third party manufacturers the tank makes a good partner for either. Geekvape did send me the 510 adaptor for the Boost Plus with the Zeus Nano and it clicks in place securely and has no movement whatsoever. I like these 510 adaptors for pod mods as they allow them to be used as a compact out and about standard device. The Zeus Nano fits nicely on top of both the Boost and Boost Plus and with the Boost Plus adaptor which was sent we have a mm either side to play with so tanks up to 26mm will fit without overhang! ___________________________________________________________________ How It Vapes? And Thoughts! If you think the Zeus Nano tank is just to maybe use up surplus Boost coils you would be very much mistaken as the Boost coils give very good flavour used with the Boost devices but in the Nano whether it is to do with a superior airflow system or metal chamber or combination of both the flavour is serious pinging from both coils in conjunction with a very smooth draw. The 0.6ohm coil has a narrower bore than the 0.4ohm and wide open gives a restricted direct lung vape which can be closed down for even more restriction and even just open a loose MTL is possible although really it's more suited for RDL but it told me enough that if a MTL boost coil became available the Nano could give satisfactory both medium-loose and loose MTL draws with the airflow just slightly open. The 0.4ohm coil which i preferred at 28W and the airflow two thirds open for the restriction i like gives a semi restricted draw fully open. The 0.6ohm coil i both used at 20w with airflow half open for a very restricted direct lung vape but also closed it down to a 6th open and at just 15w for a reasonable loose MTL vape. When it comes to stock coil tanks there seems a lot of both MTL and high wattage Sub-ohm tanks but this covers the more neglected area which is how a lot of vapers prefer to vape which is a low wattage restricted direct lung vape many of whom when the mood takes also like a loose MTL. My first con will be only 2 coils are still available as far as i am aware and i would like to see a dedicated MTL coil to show the full versatility the Nano could offer. My only other con is those narrow juice ports which are set within a deep channel so if the e-liquid struggles to go through the port from the nozzle it's not messy just you have to wait as it finds it's way through the juice port. With the 2ml straight glass i found myself filling quite often but that was my choice as i could of fitted the bubble glass so not an issue and i love the bayonet fitting all the Zeus range employ. The coils can get fitted and removed in an instant and although it's a nice touch receiving a tool to help it really isn't needed, also as long as the juice level falls below the chamber cut-outs when the tank is turned upside down the coil can be swapped out with the juice in the tank! Also the fact the Zeus Nano uses the Boost coils is a big pro as cross compatibility is something we need to see more of and also the Zeus Nano looks great on top either the Boost or Boost Plus with the use of a 510 adaptor! ___________________________________________________________________ Likes Very good build quality 6 Colour options Bayonet top-cap fitting Comes with 2 different mesh coil heads Utilises Boost Coils (cross compatibility) 3.5ml Bubble glass included Fits good on top either Boost or Boost Plus with 510 adaptor Very good low wattage RDL tank on it's own merits Very loose MTL possible with 0.6ohm coil Spare drip tip (wish it was a different option to pre-installed tip) Very smooth draw Flavour pinging from both coils Included coil removal tool (not really needed) Top to bottom leak resistant adjustable airflow Press fitted coil heads (quick to install and remove) Cons Narrow juice ports Only two available coils Only a very loose MTL possible with 0.6ohm coil No dedicated MTL coil to fully utilise the Nano's potential Both supplied drip tips identical (a different option would be preferable) I would once again like to thank Geekvape for supplying the Zeus Nano Tank for the purpose of this review, thanks for reading and stay safe! ___________________________________________________________________

Hi Vapor Talk members, In this review i take a look at the Pico COMPAQ 60W 18650 Kit from Eleaf. The Eleaf Pico COMPAQ 60W 18650 Kit was supplied for the purpose of this review by Ella from Sourcemore. Introduction Eleaf as one of the Jwei trio is one of the vaping industries oldest manufacturers and have continually brought us good quality budget devices following whatever the current market trend may be. The Pico Compaq AIO device is an AIO device with a design inspired by Eleaf's most successful and loved device the Pico. The Pico has been released in various variants with both 18650 and 21700 versions and with the Pico Squeeze even a BF option. The Compaq of course has the trademark top battery cap but with a square form which has a spring loaded bayonet fitting. The device is a simple wattage only device which comes with a dust cover which can stay attached via a chain. Coming in six colour/design options let's check the latest Pico out! ___________________________________________________________________ In The Box Contents: 1x Eleaf Pico COMPAQ 3.8ml (2ml TPD Edition) 2x GTL 0.4ohm coil 1x Type-C Cable 1x User Manual 1x Warranty Card ___________________________________________________________________ Aesthetics and Ergonomics The Pico Compaq comes in cardboard box packaging with outer cardboard Sleeve. On opening the box i was pleasantly surprised as the device is very well made and both looks much nicer and is far more ergonomic than it looks in any photos i have seen. I received the Dazzling Marble option which has a metallic finish with Gold, Blue and Red in it's design which glistens as it catches the light. The options are Gradient Purple, Gradient Grey, Carbon Silver, Gold Ripple, Carbon Black and Dazzling Marble. The sides are curved which really helps to give a nice ergonomic feel in the hand and the face has an open slot for airflow top followed by a square light switch style fire button. We then have a small elongated screen central followed by a horizontally positioned navigational rocker and finally a Type C USB port at the bottom. Looking down from above with the dust cap not attached we can see the protruding loop to one side then at the front the mouthpiece of the pod that protrudes out of the pod bay. To the rear of the top we have the square battery cap and then looking at the base, branding, safety marks and venting holes! ___________________________________________________________________ Pico Compaq Specs and Features: Size: 31.5mm x 53.5m x 89.0mm Capacity: 2ml/3.8ml Coil: GTL 0.4ohm KA1 Coil (20-30W) Resistance Range: 0.1-3.0ohm Battery: 1 x 18650 battery (Not included) Output: 1-60W Anti-dust cover cap design Compact and portable size Adjustable wattage function Innovative GTL Mesh coil Type-C quick charge Multiple battery protections Side filling design Colours/Designs: Gradient Purple, Gradient Grey, Carbon Silver, Gold Ripple, Carbon Black, Dazzling Marble ___________________________________________________________________ The Dust Cover One of the features of the Pico Compaq is the dust cover that can stay attached to the device when removed via a chain which has a clasp that hooks through a loop on the side of the device. I get the thought process especially in these times when we need to more micro manage hygiene and it's far from the first device that has a dust cover included but including a chain so it can hook on the device is something i haven't seen before and i hate it! As soon as i had took the photos for the review it went straight in the garbage as i just don't want a dust cover annoyingly swinging on a chain when i vape and the all routine of constantly removing it to vape would drive me insane, i admire anyone who can tolerate it more than a few hours. This does leave a generous sized loop protruding annoyingly from the device which i suppose does allow the lanyard wearing vapers to fit a lanyard and wear it around their necks but then other than in influencer photo's has anyone ever actually seen anybody using a device like this with a lanyard? I know i haven't, ever! ___________________________________________________________________ The Pod The pod is one moulding including an incorporated drip tip so you can't fit an alternative, underneath the mouth section of the pod we have a ridge before the main pod body which can be used to get a grip when removing the pod from the device. The pod is clear so it gives perfect visibility of the juice inside but unfortunately we have no viewing window on the device and apart from the mouthpiece section the rest of the pod gets inserted into the device. On the rear of the pod we have a Light Green Silicone flap with fill port plug which stays attached when lifted. The fill port compared to most pods is huge so it can be filled quickly while also letting the air escape, the standard pod holds 3.8ml and of course the TPD pod 2ml. Looking at the base we have a round central opening for the coil head to be press fitted into place and either side elongated magnets. ___________________________________________________________________ The Coil Head You receive 2 of the same coil heads in fact as far as i am aware it's the only coil head available which is a big con. It's the new GTL Mesh Coil Head with a resistance of 0.4ohm, Kanthal and rated between 20w to 30w. The coil head has quite a wide inner bore for a 0.4ohm coil head and also very large wicking holes, as mentioned it just gets press fitted into place. ___________________________________________________________________ Fitting The Pod Looking inside the pod bay we can see the Gold plated, spring loaded contacts central with silicone surround and to each side an elongated magnet to match the ones on the pod, finally we can see the slanted front airflow slot. The magnets are strong but there is a ridge on the pod to get hold of to pull free, also it can be wiggled about slightly but when in normal use there is no movement! ___________________________________________________________________ The Airflow The Pico Compaq doesn't have adjustable airflow which is a big let down, what it does have is a large open slanted slot at the top of the device which directs air (and plenty of it) down to the base of the coil which then will enter through the coil heads inlets and up through the inner bore. The only way of controlling the amount of airflow on a device like this is by the diameter of the inner bore of the coil head which with the coil heads included especially for a 0.4ohm coil is quite wide so before even trying the device it was obvious to me this would give an airy vape! ___________________________________________________________________ Fitting The Battery One thing the Pico is loved for is the way we have a top battery cap which allows the battery to protrude from the main body so the device can be shorter than the length of the battery making it a small compact unit, of course the idea has been copied by other manufacturers which is the norm when it comes to vaping manufacturing. To stay true to the Pico design the Compaq also has a top battery cap but it is square which at first i thought although aesthetically pleasing is quite impractical as it would need much more room to unscrew compared to a round cap. But as it turns out this has a spring loaded bayonet fitting like seen with many RTA top-caps and just a slight turn and it's off. When fitting back in position it needs pushing down against the spring before again just the slightest of turns locks it in position. This is really good in fact probably the best feature of the device and one that no doubt will be copied as the idea can quite easily be adapted to a round cap! The orientation is labelled at the bottom of the battery tube and clearly on the underside of the cap and once in place we have no battery movement whatsoever, cracking job! ___________________________________________________________________ The Display The Pico Compaq has an old school minimalistic display but it's nice and bright and gives all the information needed for a simple 60w power only device. To the left we have an upright battery status bar and then to the right of the bar we have the resistance top and puffs below. The entire right half of the screen displays the wattage in nice large font! ___________________________________________________________________ Navigating The Pico Compaq The Pico Compaq is the usual 5 clicks of the fire button to turn on and off but you can turn on with 10 clicks which displays the internal temperature before the working screen or 20 clicks which displays the firmware version. Once on the Compaq is a simple variable wattage only device which has no menu system whatsoever but does have a few combination button press features. Down and fire together flips the display (but not the buttons) and then repeating the process flips it back again. Up and fire together resets the puff counter and up and down together locks and unlocks those buttons but when locked the device still fires! The wattage adjusts in 0.1w increments between 1w and 20w and then in 0.5w increments between 20w and 60w, it doesn't round robin! ___________________________________________________________________ Protections: Over-charge Protection Over-discharge Protection Over-current Protection Over 10s Protection Short Circuit Protection Reverse Polarity Protection ___________________________________________________________________ Charging As usual i will go into "Groundhog Day" mode to say i never recommend charging in the device but if it's your only option the Pico Compaq both has Type C USB and a 2A charge rate, it also supports pass-through. Because 20 clicks on gives the firmware version then despite it being such a simple adjustable wattage only device that tells me it's also firmware upgradeable. ___________________________________________________________________ My Experience Using The Pico Compaq And Thoughts! The first thing to mention is i found the device very comfortable in the hand and for the price point the build quality is surprisingly good. I love the battery cap and spring loaded bayonet fitting which i can see being implemented on future devices. The pod fits securely, is clear and fills quickly and mess free but it needs removing from the device to both check the level and to fill which is a pain! The incorporated drip tip is very comfortable but still would prefer to be able to fit my own, the device is also very simple to operate and i like the adjustment increments. I also like the light switch style fire button which i know some people don't like but this one can be pressed anywhere and it fires, the navigational rocker i also like but can see it being a little awkward for those with thicker fingers. Not having adjustable airflow really lets the device down as does the fact only one coil head is available even if you do receive two of them. Both the airflow that gets to the coil and inner bore doesn't suit the 0.4ohm coil making it a cool vape but with those huge wicking holes i thought this could be solved by upping the wattage but even at 35w it just couldn't keep up and that was the first coil spent. The flavour is actually very good so if only the airflow could be reduced to give more warmth which in turn would probably even improve the flavour further then this would give a great vape but as is it's a cool one size fits all semi restrictive vape which will suit some people but it needs more versatility to give the better AIO/Pod Mods a serious run for their money! This is far from a bad device though and if it had adjustable airflow, more coil head options and a liquid viewing window then this has enough about it to be a very good device but even as it is i can certainly see those that love their Pico devices and who have considered trying an AIO/Pod Mod being tempted by this! ___________________________________________________________________ Pros Surprisingly good build quality 6 Colour/Design options Very ergonomic Aesthetically pleasing form factor (subjective) Excellently implemented bayonet fitting battery cap Accommodates 18650 battery Clear pod (but still need to remove to check) Pod fits securely Dust cap (personally mine went in garbage but a pro for some) Very simple device to use Large light switch style fire button Old school, bright display Very decent flavour (but on the cool side) Type C USB with 2A charging Supports pass-through Firmware upgradeable Cons Airflow not adjustable Cool Vape Only one coil head option Need to remove from device to check juice level Need to remove from device to fill Can't fit own drip tip I would once again like to thank Ella from Sourcemore for supplying the Eleaf Pico COMPAQ 60W 18650 AIO Kit for the purpose of this review, thanks for reading and stay safe! ___________________________________________________________________

Hi Vapor Talk members, In this review i take a look at the Alieno 70W TC Box MOD from Ultroner. The Ultroner Alieno 70W TC Box MOD was supplied free of charge for the purpose of this review by Sacowin, Ultroner's marketing company. Introduction Ultroner are best known for their long term contract doing stabwood finishes for Asmosdus and since that contract ended have gone from strength to strength as part of the Sacowin Stable manufacturing affordable stabwood devices utilising either DNA or the in-house Sevo chipsets! The Alieno is a single 18650 device which is powered by either the DNA60 or Sevo-70 chipsets. I received the Sevo-70 version which is the cheaper option although all things considered neither for the materials used for it's construction and standard of finish is expensive and the Sevo chipset is one i am very familiar with and have found it to perform excellently every time. The Sevo-70 version of the Alieno brings us Wattage, Mech (Bypass) and full TC Suit as well as a separate menu system which includes the curves feature. This beautiful looking device also comes with dual fire buttons allowing the device to be held and fired in the same position using either hand and has a replaceable battery tube for customisation, let's give it a look! ___________________________________________________________________ In The Box Contents: 1 x ULTRONER Alieno Mod 1 x User manual ___________________________________________________________________ Aesthetics and Ergonomics The Alieno came in cardboard flip open box packaging with the gorgeous stabwood device proudly on show with the lid lifted. I received the Green version but of course as is the nature of the material and stabilising process every device is unique, the options are Purple, Blue, Green, Red or Wood Colour (Natural Grain), it's great that a Natural Wood option is available. The device has a slender form factor with the top bulging slightly to mimic an Aliens head and an oversized Black fire button either side which are Alien eyes! The device has a gorgeous stabwood main body then Stainless Steel battery tube, battery plate and 510 plate. We also have two Stainless Steel, ball bearing shaped navigational buttons on the tapered front of the base and those already mentioned large fire buttons are plastic. On the face central we have an elongated screen then moving to the base in an indented section at the front the already mentioned navigational buttons then on the main base area a battery plate with fold out lever. Moving to the top we have an indented 24mm Stainless Steel 510 plate with Gold plated, spring loaded 510. The device is both small and light and once i got use to the fire buttons positions i found it very comfortable to both hold and fire in either hand! ___________________________________________________________________ Alieno Specs and Features: Size: 88 x 41 x 30mm Material: Stabilised Wood & Stainless Steel Wattage: 1-70W Chipset: SEVO-70 (DNA60 version also available) Max output: 8.4V Working Mode: VW/Mech/TC/Custom Battery Type: Single 18650 battery (not included) Alien shape with extra terrestrial design Innovative SEVO-70 chipset for stable performance Single 18650 cell for 70W output No overhang with tanks of 24mm diameter Double fire button Thread: 510 Colours: Purple, Blue, Green, Red, Wood Colour (Natural Grain) Due to the nature of both the grain of the wood and stabilising process each device will be unique. ___________________________________________________________________ Fitting the Battery The Alieno Sevo-70 device is a 70W device and the DNA60 version a 60W device both of which accommodates a single 18650 battery. On the bottom of the device we have an old school style battery plate which has a central lever that folds out which can then be used for unscrewing the plate. The threading is very smooth and i still prefer this type of design for fitting single batteries as it's very secure and you can't damage your wraps. Some may not like the fact the threading on these caps take quite a few turns to undo or tighten up although the threading isn't as long as usual on the Alieno. On the underside of the plate we have negative clearly labelled and we have no rattle whatsoever with the battery installed! As an added bonus if you get a grip of the battery tube at the spine it unscrews and alternative ones with a different design can be fitted for a bit of customisation! ___________________________________________________________________ The Buttons One of the main features of the device is having 2 fire buttons and also the positioning of not only the fire buttons but also the navigational buttons. To start with i was fine with the fire buttons positions when paying attention but when in auto pilot mode quite often found myself picking up the device feeling the top area of the face of the device to fire. Really it's not that the position of the fire buttons are not in a naturally comfortable position because they are and the Techmod i recently reviewed has a side fire button and i love it, it's more i am just so use to the fire button being in a different position with a device with this form factor. The more i used the device i got use to where the fire buttons are placed and started automatically picking the device up ready to fire. The big talking point is having a fire button both sides but it actually with the design makes sense and works. The buttons are suppose to resemble the eyes of an Alien and if one was a dummy then people would find themselves on occasions pressing the wrong one, having both able to fire the device not only resolves this issue but also means the device can be held and fired identically in either hand. The only issue i do have with the fire buttons are the fact they are plastic, i get it using Black plastic buttons is the easiest way of getting the Black glossy look of the Alien eyes and actually on my device aesthetically they look really good but having plastic fire buttons on a device made of such high quality materials seems a bit of a mis-match The navigational buttons are Stainless Steel and shaped like ball bearings, they are quite small but nicely spaced and are positioned in an indented area at the front of the base where it tapers upwards. I absolutely love the position of these buttons as with most devices with a small elongated screen where you need the device on it's side to read the screen you press the buttons with your finger pointed out straight in front of you which unless you have the device a distance away from your body is quite a cramped unnatural position. When adjusting with these buttons it feels much more comfortable and natural and hope to see the buttons placed in this position on more devices of this type. ___________________________________________________________________ Display The Display is bright and very much Old School just giving the most important information. Top left we have the resistance then underneath the voltage (this is wattage when using TC), finally bottom left we have a battery status bar. The top right area of the screen is where you will find the wattage or temperature depending which mode you are in and underneath to the left is the mode and bottom right your puffs. ___________________________________________________________________ Navigating The Sevo-70 Chipset In The Alieno The device is the usual 5 clicks of the fire button to turn on and 5 clicks to turn off and once on up and down together locks and unlocks the navigational buttons but the device will still fire. To choose the mode is 3 quick clicks of the fire button which allows you to scroll through Mech (Bypass), Watts, Ni, Ti and SS, fire selects. There is also a little menu which is down and fire to enter, this gives the options to reset puffs or set a puff limit, flip the screen, enter the curves feature or turn the screen off, to turn the screen back on you need to press down and fire again to re-enter the menu. When in TC pressing fire quickly twice allows you to use the navigational buttons to set wattage and up and fire together allows you to manually enter a TCR value. It's a really nice user-interface but the wattage adjusts from 1w to 70w in 0.1 increments which can take time, i would prefer 5w to 20w in 0.1 increments and then switching to 1w increments up to 70w. ___________________________________________________________________ Protections: Short Circuit Protection Low Voltage Protection 10s Over-vape Protection High Temperature Protection ___________________________________________________________________ Charging The Alieno has no USB port so can not be updated and any charging of your battery needs to be done externally. Although there will always be exceptions my way of thinking is most who would be interested in a stabwood device would tend to charge externally and like me will possibly be quite grateful they don't receive yet another USB cable to clutter up the place. Both the Sevo and DNA60 are tried and tested chipset so i really don't see any issue with not having a USB port as far as the Sevo-70 version is concerned but it means those getting the DNA60 version will not be able to use it with Escribe! ___________________________________________________________________ My Experience Using The Alieno And Thoughts! I have many stabwood devices but i am having a love affair with the Alieno, just don't tell the wife. At first it was pure lust until getting use to the positioning of the fire buttons and then it became true love. The only real con for me is the fire buttons being plastic although they look fine but just think with the device having such a high build quality Ultroner should of kept to high quality materials throughout. I really like the dual fire buttons and once use to their positions the device can be used identically in either hand and it's so comfortable to both hold and fire. The position of the navigational buttons is a big pro and i also like the ball bearing shape of them. I also like the way the battery gets fitted and quality of the threading, being able to use different battery tubes also adds a bit of customisation which is another pro! The Sevo chipset i have used in many other Ultroner devices and the SXK Supbox and it gives both high performance and efficiency. It fires without any delay hitting set wattage instantly and never misses a beat and those that prefer the DNA60 chipset version will know they are getting a tried and tested chipset of the highest quality . The user interface on the Sevo-70 version which i received is very easy to navigate but is feature rich including Bypass, TC and curves. It does need mentioning that the 510 plate is indented so any tanks over 24mm will not fit but then this is a low powered device so suited much more to MTL or single coil tanks of which most will be 24mm or smaller. Also we have no USB port for charging or updates but as mentioned most people interested in this device would charge externally anyway but it does mean those getting the DNA60 version can't use it with Escribe! I normally don't mention price in reviews but one big pro is just how reasonably priced the Alieno is, the DNA60 version is comfortably less than £200 while the Sevo-70 version is less than £150 which for a Stabwood device of this quality is a steal!!!! ___________________________________________________________________ Likes High build quality Quality materials, Stabwood and Stainless Steel Every device unique Natural Wood Option Small slender portable device Dual fire buttons Battery plate with quality threading Can be held and fired identically in either hand Ideal positioning of navigational buttons Replaceable battery tube Battery tubes with different designs for customisation available Sevo-70, high performing efficient chipset DNA60 version also available Wattage, Bypass, TC and Curve modes Very easy to navigate Very affordable Cons No USB port (need to charge externally and DNA60 version can't be used with Escribe) Plastic fire buttons Takes a bit of time to get use to fire buttons positions Tanks over 24mm will not fit I would once again like to thank Sacowin for supplying the Ultroner Alieno 70W TC Box Mod for the purpose of this review, thanks for reading and stay safe! ___________________________________________________________________

No worries mate!

Hi Vapor Talk members, In this review i take a look at the Scar P5 from Smok. The Smok Scar P5 was supplied for the purpose of this review by Ella from Sourcemore. Introduction The Scar P5 Is one of the new Scar range of devices from Smok which consists of the Scar P3 & P5 which are in-built and 18650 versions of essentially the same device and in direct competition to the Voopoo Drag S & X and the Scar 18 a double battery version in direct competition with the Argus GT. The Scar P5 Is a Waterproof, Dustproof and Shockproof IP67 device and has a neat top-fill solution. Although being one of a new range of devices it both utilises the existing RPM coils while introducing the new RPM2 coil for use in their independent pods. Powered by the IQ-80 Chip the Scar P5 is an 80W power only device, let's give it a look! ___________________________________________________________________ In The Box Contents: 1x Scar-P5 Device 1x Scar-P5 RPM 2 Pod (RPM 2 Mesh 0.16ohm coil pre-installed) 1x Scar-P5 RPM Pod (RPM Mesh 0.4ohm coil pre-installed) Micro USB Cable User Manual ___________________________________________________________________ Aesthetics and Ergonomics The Scar P5 came in cardboard packaging with everything neatly packed within one layer and a picture of the device in the colour of choice on the lid. I received the Red Stabilizing Wood version which relates to the pattern on the padded leather central spine and side accents. The options are Black, Fluid Black White, Red Stabilizing Wood, Fluid Blue, Green Stabilizing Wood, Fluid Red, Fluid 7-Colour and Fluid Gold. The device has a Zinc Alloy main chassis and is given a busy look with the padded leather spine and side sections, the only thing i'm not big on is the branding either side but in all fairness it's not bright but quite dull as if Smok have dumbed it down reluctantly. The front has a protruding Zinc Alloy square fire button towards the top and below the following colour screen protruding rectangular navigational buttons also made from Zinc Alloy. Finally at the bottom of the front of the device we have a silicone bung labelled USB which when removed reveals a micro USB port. Moving to the spine we have the already mentioned curved padded leather central section which makes the device very comfortable in the hand and below a large area with "PUSH" on it which is to release the sealed bottom hatch door which has safety marks and membrane sealed venting holes. Finally the pod is one complete moulding including drip tip so you can't fit your own, we have a silicone bung labelled either "RPM" or "RPM2" depending which pod you are using which seals the fill port. The pod is quite darkly tinted but i didn't have any issues seeing my juice level so not of any great concern. The build quality of the Scar P5 is as good as i have ever known from Smok and that IP67 rating always gives piece of mind! ___________________________________________________________________ Scar P5 Specs and Features: Size: 117.6 x 35.8 x 28mm Weight: 101.5grams Display: 0.96” TFT Screen Pod Capacity: 5ml (2ml TPD) IP67 Waterproof, Dustproof Shockproof properties Battery: Interchangeable 18650 Charger: Micro-USB Charging Current: 1.3A Power Output: 5-80w Resistance range: 0.15- 2.5ohm Material: Leather, Zinc Alloy, PCTG Chipset: IQ-80 chipset Colours: Black, Fluid Black White, Red Stabilizing Wood, Fluid Blue, Green Stabilizing Wood, Fluid Red, Fluid 7-Colour, Fluid Gold ___________________________________________________________________ The Pod You receive 2 pods and although on first glance they look identical one is for RPM coil heads and the other for the new RPM2 Coil head which is just slightly bigger and has larger airflow inlets, both have a 5ml capacity with the standard pods and 2ml with the TPD pods. The pods can be told apart by the fill port as the RPM pod has "RPM" embossed into the silicone seal while "RPM2" is embossed into the seal of the RPM2 pod. The pods are one moulding with incorporated drip tip so you can't fit your own and looking at the base we have a magnet to each corner and round opening for the coil to be press fitted into place (all very standard). The fill port is situated on the front area of the top of the pod and has an already mentioned silicone seal which can be easily lifted up while remaining fixed to the pod to reveal a generous fill port which will allow air to escape while filling. The pod is quite darkly tinted but i had no issues seeing the juice level at all times and i found the fill method to be quick and mess free with the added benefit of not needing to remove the pod to fill! ___________________________________________________________________ The Coil Heads Both pods have a coil head pre-installed which in the RPM2 pod is the RPM2 0.16ohm mesh coil rated between 25w and 50w with a best at 40w. The RPM pod comes pre-installed with the RPM Mesh coil which Smok rate as a MTL coil head and has a resistance of 0.4ohm and rated at 25W. Of course the vast family of RPM coil heads are also compatible. ___________________________________________________________________ Fitting The Pod Looking into the pod bay we can see the central Gold plated, spring loaded contacts with silicone surround seal. We also have a raised magnet to each corner to match the ones on the pod and the side airflow slots are fully visible. The pod snaps into place very securely and has no play whatsoever, in fact it takes quite a strong tug to remove the pod, very good job! ___________________________________________________________________ The Airflow The Scar P5 has a large slot towards the top both sides that allows plenty of air to get to the base of the coil head installed. The airflow in not adjustable so relies on the inner bore of the coil head to give any restriction. These coil heads have quite large air inlets at their base especially the RPM2 which has larger inlets than the RPM coil heads but even the RPM coil heads have fair sized inlets allowing plenty of air through the coil so i could of told you even before testing that the so called MTL coil head gives a very loose MTL at best but really is much more suited to a restricted direct lung vape while the RPM2 coil head is much more open offering very little in the way of restriction. ___________________________________________________________________ Waterproof, Dustproof, Shockproof The Scar-P5 is IP67 waterproof which means it can withstand water immersion between 15cm and 1 meter for 30 minutes. It is also dustproof as classified by the first number of the IP67 rating and shockproof so the device is protected from dust ingress and accidental drops. ___________________________________________________________________ Fitting The Battery The Scar P5 accommodates a single 18650 battery which gets fitted via the bottom hatch door. The hatch door is sealed to meet the IP67 requirements and has a spring with release mechanism which is operated by pressing where it says "PUSH" on the lower part of the spine, it's a spring loaded lever operated release catch system and the door springs open! Orientation is labelled in White on the underside of the door and to secure just push downwards and it clicks securely in place. I like this door and how it is operated, when released it feels very sturdy with a strong spring and the lever section on the lower part of the spine needs to be pressed with quite a bit of pressure for the door to release so i can't see it opening by accident. Whether it holds up over time or loosens i really couldn't say but from using it and judging from the overall build quality of the device i will give it the benefit of any doubt! ___________________________________________________________________ The Display The display is a typical colour Smok display, sharp, bright and with plenty of information given. Top left we have the battery status bar and then top right the battery status given as a percentage, excellent! Next we have the wattage with the unit "w" and when one of the device locks is in operation a closed padlock icon appears above the "w". Below the wattage to the left we have voltage and to the right the resistance. The lower portion of the display is puff information, first we have your vape duration followed by a vape duration progress bar and finally at the bottom the puff count. Yes you heard correct a Smok display without the word "Smok" anywhere to be seen, on this device their does seem to be an effort made to dumb down branding. ___________________________________________________________________ Operating The Scar P5 This is such a simple device to operate so instead of my usual waffle explaining how the device works i can do it in very simple fashion: Power On /Off = Quick Press fire button 5 times (within 2 seconds) Vape / Fire = Press and hold fire button Vape Lock (disable buttons) = Quick Press fire button 3 times Change power setting = Press ‘+’ or ‘-’ Lock Navigational buttons = Press ‘+’ and ‘-’ simultaneously Clear Puff Counter = Press Fire and ‘-’ simultaneously. Then use ‘-’ or ‘+’ to move between yes and no. then hold fire to select yes. Change Theme Colour = Press Fire and ‘+’ simultaneously. ___________________________________________________________________ Protections: Intelligent Atomiser Recognition Puff Monitoring System 8 Second cut off protection Short Circuit Protection Over-Heat Protection Low Battery Warning ___________________________________________________________________ Charging The Scar P5 has a silicone sealed micro USB port although as usual i don't recommend charging in the device unless it's your only option. The P3 version has Type C which unfortunately the Scar P5 doesn't which i sort of get as the port is needed with the in-built version rather than some people will never use the port on the P5 but still feel all devices should have Type C as standard. Bizarrely the charge rate is actually faster on the P5 being 1.3A while only 1.1A on the P3 but as these are maximum charge rates really you are looking at a sluggish 1A so another good reason not to charge in the device! ___________________________________________________________________ How It Vapes? And Thoughts! Unlike the RPM160 which was my last review of a Smok product which just didn't suit me i actually really like this device and it's build quality is every bit as good as any pod mod out there including the Drag S/X but with the added benefit of the "Aegisesk" IP67 rating! The only thing that really lets it down is not having adjustable airflow which limits the device to various direct lung draws that are determined by the inner bore of the coil head. The MTL 0.4ohm RPM coil just isn't without having some form of adjusting the airflow at it's base and although the 0.16ohm coil head is the better of the two for flavour it is just too open for my personal vaping style. I actually like the 0.4ohm coil head as it gives the sort of restriction i like for a DL vape and i like it at just 20w below it's 25w rating but if you like a much warmer vape just dial it up. Flavour is good but not quite on par with the Voopoo PnP coils although as mentioned the RPM2 coil head gives cracking flavour it's just the airflow isn't my bag, i tested this for a short period finding the flavour and warmth sweet spot at 37w! I have come to the conclusion that any leaking with this type of device is more down to the individuals vaping habits with particular coil heads as so many times i have had leaking with certain coil heads many say they have no issues but when i don't get leaking issues there will be some that do, for the record though although i only tested the RPM 0.4ohm coil head for a reasonable amount of time i had no issues regarding leaking at all even when leaving a full pod overnight! I really like not having to remove the pod to fill and found filling both quick and mess free and will put the pod being dark as a con because i am struggling in that regard but i had no issues seeing the juice inside! I also really like the battery door which springs open when pressing down on the lower section of the spine and seems durable although only time will tell. The device is very simple to operate and performs great firing without delay and hitting set wattage instantly. I am disappointed the USB isn't Type C and it has a sluggish charge rate for those that charge in the device but as most won't use the port it's not a deal breaker. Finally when a 510 adaptor (if it hasn't already) becomes available the Scar P5 will make a good IP67 standard single 18650 device for out and about! ___________________________________________________________________ Likes Build quality as good as with any pod mod IP67 rated Excellent battery hatch door 8 Colour/Design options Very easy to navigate Performed great firing without delay and with instant ramp up Can lock just navigational buttons or whole device Accommodates 18650 battery Excellent top fill method (can fill without removing pod) Comfortable integrated drip tip Pod fits very securely During testing experienced no leaking even when leaving full pod overnight (that was the RPM pod) RPM2 0.16ohm coil head gave very good flavour (only tested for short time too much airflow for me but seems very good coil head) RPM 0.4ohm coil head good flavour, nice smooth RDL draw Compatible with vast range of RPM coil heads Sharp, bright, well laid out display Battery status given as both a bar and percentage Cons Non adjustable airflow Can't fit alternative drip tip Pod darkly tinted (although i had no issues seeing juice level) MTL 0.4ohm coil head does not give satisfactory MTL vape (but is a nice restricted DL draw) Not Type C USB Slow charge rate (only issue if you charge in the device) I would once again like to thank Ella from Sourcemore for supplying the Smok Scar P5 for the purpose of this review, thanks for reading and stay safe! ___________________________________________________________________

Hi Vapor Talk members, In this review i take a look at the Techmod 80W TC Side by Side Box Mod from Kizoku. The Techmod was supplied for the purpose of this review by Tina from Kizoku. Introduction Kizoku are one of the newest vaping manufacturers who introduced themselves initially with colourful high end 510 stands and fancy drip tips before introducing the Kirin, a mosfet semi mechanical 18350/18650 tube device that i liked that much i bought one in each colour. The Kit also introduced an idea already copied by my good friends at Voopoo in the form of pods that fit into a 510 adaptor which has adjustable airflow, only the airflow control works much better on the Kirin pod tank and also allows for a standard 510 to be used. We then had the Limit RTA which is paired with the Techmod in the Kit version and i did receive it separately but will be giving that a much deserved separate review. That brings us to the release of the sleek, clean looking Techmod and the innovative Unlimit RTA which is a bit 007 and a product i hope to get to review in the future. Kizoku products are manufactured in China but are designed in Japan and do offer a little something different in design. The Techmod is a Side by Side which offers a clean looking, high quality option to the latest trend in the market offering Variable Wattage, Variable Voltage, Bypass and full TC suite, let's give this little gem a good look! ___________________________________________________________________ In The Box Contents: 1x TECHMOD 1x Type-C Charging Cable 1x User Manual 1x Warranty Card ___________________________________________________________________ Aesthetics and Ergonomics The Techmod came in cardboard box packaging with a sample sticker on the front so the retail packaging may differ but i doubt it. I received the Black version, the options are Black, White, Black Gun Metal or Gun Metal. The Techmod is a very compact side by side device with the lower front having a 5 degree outwards slant which is made much of in the marketing and i must say this is such a comfortable device to hold leaving the thumb in the perfect position to fire the Stainless Steel side fire button. That 5 degree slant gives the Techmod a really nice aesthetic form factor and the device is also very sleek and clean looking. Made of a Zinc Alloy main chassis and with Stainless Steel front panel, battery tube and screw plate, buttons and 510 plate the all metal affair does have some weight to it but it's so compact it's not going to weigh your pocket down it's just a solid well made device. The 22mm stainless Steel 510 plate is raised but the gap with 24mm tanks doesn't seem to look so out of place than is the case on standard devices. You are limited as with most of these side by side mods to 24mm tanks but the Techmod does have a fraction to spare so those "large" 24mm tanks that are actually a fraction bigger will fit no problem. We have a Gold plated, spring loaded 510 with a looser than average throw and for more aesthetic details see the included photos! ___________________________________________________________________ Techmod Specs and Features: Size: 78 x 49 x 24mm Wattage Range: 0-80W Output Voltage: 1.0v-8.0v Input Voltage/Current: 5V/2A Battery Type: 1 x 18650 (not included) Screen: 0.91 inch Charging: Type-C Connection: 510 Materials: Stainless Steel, Zinc Alloy 4 classic & attractive colour options Wide compatibility with most atomizers Unique ergonomic design of 5 degree bevel 24mm ultra-thin body Highly reliable materials - SS304 & zinc alloy Multiple battery protections for safe vaping Colours: Black, White, Black Gun Metal, Gun Metal ___________________________________________________________________ Fitting The Battery Of course being a side by side device one side is the battery tube with a threaded plate that screws down into the threading for a tight fit. We have the positive orientation clearly marked at the bottom or the tube and negative on the underside of the plate. It can be a bit fiddly to get the threading to catch when screwing the battery plate in position to secure the battery which can take a few seconds or even longer sometimes (but only a few swear words passed my lips). Once it catches though the threading is nice and smooth and if just a little patience is needed when installing a battery is about the only issue then overall i am a happy camper! ___________________________________________________________________ The Display The Techmod has a basic old school display which is at a 5 degree slant to match the front slant of the device. It is very bright and well laid out, in the central section we have accented areas top and bottom, top is where the mode is displayed and bottom is the resistance. I have never known something so important as the resistance being so clearly displayed using a decent sized font before, a little detail but i like it a lot. To the left of the display we have the wattage when in Power mode which instead is voltage when in Variable Voltage, voltage and amps when in Bypass and temperature when in TC. In the right area of the display we have a battery status bar top (wish it was also given as a percentage) and below your puff duration, but no puff counter! ___________________________________________________________________ Navigating The Techmod The device is the usual 5 clicks of the fire button to turn on and five clicks to turn off and once on holding both navigational buttons down together locks and unlocks those buttons but the device will still fire. It has a very simple menu system so no bells and whistles such as curves but all the modes you would expect. Three clicks of the fire button highlights the mode and then using the navigational buttons you can scroll through the mode options which are Power, Voltage, Bypass, Temp Ni, Temp Ti and Temp SS, pressing the fire button selects the mode and takes you to the selected mode working screen. In Voltage mode it will adjust from 1.0V to 8.0V in 0.01 increments but holding the button down switches to 0.1 increments and it does round robin. Wattage adjusts from 5W to 80W in 0.1W increments which switches to 1W increments when holding the button down and again it round robins. Finally temperature goes from 100 degree Celsius to 300 degree Celsius then moves to Fahrenheit where it can be adjusted from 200 degrees to 572 degree before it round robins back to 100 degree Celsius. With only using easy TC modes such as Replay and Smart TC i am not sure how much of an issue it will be to TC users but there is no way of setting wattage for temp control at least non that i can find! ___________________________________________________________________ Protections Include: Over-heat Protection Overcurrent Protection Low Voltage Protection ___________________________________________________________________ Charging So as ever i don't recommend charging the battery in the device unless it's your only option (Groundhog Day), but if you do or there is an update you wish to upload then i am pleased to see the Techmod has Type C USB which all new devices should now have as standard! The charge rate is 2A so a nice quick charge although only a battery status bar is shown during charging, no percentage or estimated charge time given! ___________________________________________________________________ My Experience Using The Techmod! What a cracking little side by side device the Techmod is, i absolutely love it. The build quality is as good as with any device i own and it just feels so darn good in the hand, the fire button position is perfect for thumb firing and delivers a satisfying click. Not too sure how much of an issue not being able to set wattage for temp control will be for TC users but i have heard that although on the conservative side the TC works fine. As for Power mode every wattage i vaped at seemed accurate and 80W seemed 80W to me. The device fires without delay and hits set wattage instantly, it performs like a real trooper! I love the simplicity of the menu system and old school display, even the slant of the screen which i thought may be an issue is just not noticed during use and aesthetically it just looks right matching the 5 degree slant of the front end of the device. So how about any cons? Well i am struggling so need to be petty, the only one of note was how fiddly it could be to get the threading of the battery plate to catch but once it did the threading is silky smooth! Although the gaping didn't bother me the raised 510 plate does give a visible gap which will be a con for some and again not too sure how not being able to set wattage for TC will be a draw back for TC users, finally like most of these side by sides it does limit you to a 24mm diameter tank but it's a generous 24mm so those that are just slightly over will also fit! Although i personally don't recommend charging the battery in the device it does have Type C USB for Data transfer and charging with a charge rate of 2A but not much in the way of charging feedback is given, it supports pass-through! ___________________________________________________________________ Likes Excellent build quality Clean sleek looking Compact 4 Classy colour options Very comfortable to hold and fire Full TC Suite (heard it works fine but if TC user recommend more research) Performed excellently in power mode Fires without delay with instant ramp up Also Variable Voltage and Bypass Modes Old school bright display User friendly simple menu system Type C USB 2A charge rate Supports pass-through Firmware Upgradeable Cons Can be fiddly to get battery plate threading to catch Gap with 23 and 24mm tanks (didn't bother me so subjective to the individual) Can't set wattage for TC can only fit tanks up to 24mm in diameter (common for side by side devices) Feel better charging feedback could be given if charging in the device No Puff Counter (obviously only a con for those that count their puffs) I would once again like to thank Tina from Kizoku for supplying the Techmod Side By Side TC 80W Mod for the purpose of this review, thanks for reading and stay safe! ___________________________________________________________________

Hi Vapor Talk members, In this review i take a look at the Potento Pod System Kit from Advken. The Advken Potento Pod System Kit was supplied for the purpose of this review by the Healthcabin. Introduction Advken isn't a manufacturer i have used more than a couple of products from so not that familiar with them but just by what i have read and heard they have produced a couple of very good products but also some which received a mixed reception. The Potento Pod system brings us new meets old in the way of variable voltage via a potentiometer dial (who doesn't like a potentiometer dial from time to time). The dial gives variable voltage from 3.2 to 4.2v to get the power and warmth you prefer in conjunction with the 1.2ohm Pod. The lightweight Pod device utilises either 2.5ml or TPD compliant 2.0ml pods both of which house a 1.2ohm coil for a MTL vape. The device is draw activated but does have a on/off button which can also be used to check battery status. Coming in 4 colour options let's give the Potento Pod System a look! ___________________________________________________________________ In The Box Contents: 1pc Potento Device 1pc Type-C Cable 2pc Potento Pods Paperwork ___________________________________________________________________ Aesthetics and Ergonomics The Potento comes in cardboard packaging with a picture of the device in the colour of choice on the front. I received the Silver Blue version which starts Dark Blue at it's base and gradually fuses into a Silver that dominates the top of the device. The colour options are Obsidian Black, Silver Blue, Ruby Red or Slate Grey, on both the front and back of the device on the upper area we have an indented dimpled effect which is the main aesthetic feature. Towards the top on both sides we have a small hole for airflow and towards the bottom one side we have printed safety stamps and a Type C USB port, on the opposite side we have a on/off button and LED. Moving to the base and central we have a potentiometer dial with a protruding leg either side to allow the device to stand up. Most of the dark tinted pod protrudes from the device allowing visibility of your e-liquid level in good light but too dark to be fully practical. The form factor isn't a million miles different to the Caliburn just larger but the Potento actually feels lighter and is nice and comfortable in the hand! ___________________________________________________________________ Potento Specs and Features: Size: 121.2* 22.8* 12mm Battery: 560mah built-in battery Coil Material: Mesh Coil Charging port: Type-C Coil Resistance: 1.2ohm Output voltage: 3.2V-4.2V Cartridge Material: PCTG Device Material: ALUMINIUM ALLOY/PCTG Capacity: 2.5ml/2ml (TPD) Voltage adjustment by rotating the bottom potentiometer control knob Side filling design Colours: Obsidian Black, Silver Blue, Ruby Red, Slate Grey ___________________________________________________________________ The Pod The Pod is both one complete moulding and a sealed unit so the whole pod needs replacing rather than just the coil. The Pod has a capacity of 2.5ml with the standard pods but also TPD compliant 2ml pods i have had no trouble finding online. You receive two pods both of which houses a 1.2ohm coil and as far as i can find no other options are available. The Pod is very darkly tinted so not as practical as it should be but in decent light i could see the juice level without much difficulty. It smoothly tapers both front and back to form a very comfortable mouthpiece which has a bore suited much more to a MTL vape rather than any form of DL. On the rear of the pod we have a silicone flap with bung which will need pulling outwards to fill. Moving to the base of the pod we have the two Gold plated contacts and central opening which will lead to the membrane switch when fitted to the device. ___________________________________________________________________ Filling The Pod As mentioned on the rear of the pod we have a silicone flap which is easy to get hold of to pull the bung out of the fill port. The bung sits quite deep for a good seal and the silicone piece is soft and pliable allowing for easy access. The fill port is a good size allowing air to escape while filling and despite the pod being darkly tinted i had no issues seeing the level as i filled, i had no issues at all! ___________________________________________________________________ Fitting The Pod Looking inside the pod bay we can see the sturdy Gold plated, spring loaded contacts and opening to the membrane switch. The pod just gets press fitted into place but a click can clearly be heard as it secures. When checking for it their is slight movement but it takes a bit of effort so during vaping no movement whatsoever is detected! ___________________________________________________________________ Operating The Potento The Potento is a draw activated Pod System but does have an On/Off button that can also be used to check the limited battery status indication. To turn the device On/Off is five quick presses of the button, off is confirmed by 3 white flashes of the LED while switching the device on is confirmed by one flash. On the base we have a potentiometer dial which is numbered 1 to 4 in Roman Numerals but also you can have it set between Numerals. It adjust from 3.2v up to 4.2v although you go by feel as there is no way of knowing exactly what voltage you have set unless at it's lowest or highest points! So just keep turning the dial and take a draw until you get the warmth and power you are after then happy vaping! When taking a vape the LED lights up to show the battery status, this can also be checked by pressing the On/Off button although it is very limited lighting White from 30% to 100% and Red below 30%, when the battery needs charging the draw activation stops working and the LED flashes Red 5 times. The LED is also used for protection alerts flashing various amounts of times when a safety protection kicks in! ___________________________________________________________________ Protections: Short Circuit Protection Over-charge Protection Over-heat Protection Over-Time (10s) Protection Low Voltage Protection ___________________________________________________________________ Charging Really happy the Potento has Type C USB and supports a 1A charge rate which meant the 580mAh battery was charged in just under 45 minutes while supporting pass-through. While charging the LED slow pulses White and then stays lit once fully charged. ___________________________________________________________________ How It Vapes? And Thoughts! First off the Potento is marketed as being both MTL and DL and i think what they are getting at is the airflow is in that loose MTL grey area which also allows for a RDL vape if you prefer but my experience was this gives just a slightly tighter draw than the Caliburn and is more a medium loose MTL as it didn't give me a satisfactory RDL draw. I actually like the draw it gives and the flavour from the 1.2ohm pods while not being quite on par with the Caliburn for example is still very decent and i got six fills before noticing a slight drop off in flavour which again is about par for these type of pods. The draw activation is as good as on any device that i have tried and it didn't once fail to activate giving a reliable vape every time. Also the potentiometer dial works great, as you turn it and take vapes you can detect the increase in power and vaper as well as the warmth of the vape increase. At the lowest point (3.2v) it still gives a decent vape but is on the cool side so just turn the dial until you hit your sweet spot. For me having to change the whole pod when the coil is spent rather than just the coil is a con but at least this type of sealed pod is much more leak resistant and i experienced no leaking whatsoever. I could see the juice inside the pod but not always just at a glance and although i don't mind lightly tinted pods the Potento pods are just too dark! I also don't like the need to remove the pod from the device to fill although i had no issues while filling. The two tier battery status is better than nothing but really i would expect 3 tiers minimum although i do like how easy it is to check the status and the fact despite being draw activated only it has an On/Off button so the device can be switched off. For it's size and having a potentiometer a 580mAh battery is as big as is possible which isn't great but in conjunction with the 1.2ohm pod doesn't give bad life but it does vary depending on how high you set the dial. Having Type C USB is great and 45 minutes to charge while supporting pass-through i am also very happy with as i am that the device can be stood up even while charging. To sum up the Potento with it's potentiometer dial and very responsive draw activation has a bit more about it than most simple pod systems but could be improved on in way of better battery status indication and a clearer Pod! ___________________________________________________________________ Likes Nice looking well made device 4 Colour options Lightweight On/Off button Potentiometer variable voltage dial Type C USB Responsive Switch Performed flawlessly Nice medium loose MTL draw Good flavour Longevity about par Battery status indication (limited see cons) No leaking experienced Can stand up even when charging (side port) Charges within 45 minutes Supports pass-through Cons Only 2 tier battery status indication Dark Pod Need to remove pod to fill Whole pod needs replacing rather than just coil 1.2ohm pod only option No fire via button option (draw activation only) I would once again like to thank the Healthcabin for supplying the Advken Potento Pod System Kit for the purpose of this review, thanks for reading and stay safe! ___________________________________________________________________

No not a promotor or influencer but a reviewer and usually have more cons but i found the Wasp Nano S particularly good!

Hi Vapor Talk, In this review i take a look at the Wasp Nano S RDA from Oumier. The Wasp Nano S RDA was supplied for the purpose of this review by Oumier. Introduction The original Wasp Nano created a buzz at it's launch three years ago at the UK Expo, a tiny flavour banger from then an unknown manufacturer that cost a fraction of other RTA's at the time. Since then we have seen the Wasp Nano re-launched in different colour and Resin finishes and also we have had the Wasp Nano MTL RTA, Wasp Nano RDTA and the Wasp Nano RTA. Oumier not just with their flagship creation but also releasing other well received products have now grown in three years from being a new kid on the block to becoming a mainstay of vaping product manufacturing! The Wasp Nano S RDA is a dual coil version of the original Nano RDA which is 25mm in diameter and comes with both standard and BF Pins. It offers a deep juice well, unique build deck and airflow from each side dedicated to each individual coil. Coming in 4 colour options and Goon fitting drip tip there is once again a buzz in the air, let's check it out! ___________________________________________________________________ In The Box Contents: 1 x Oumier Wasp Nano S RDA 2 x O-Rings 2 x Coils 2 x Slotted Set Screws(M2.5*3.5) 1 x Philips Screw 1 x Organic Cotton 1 x Flathead Screwdriver 1 x Coil Jig 1 x BF 510 Squonk Pin ___________________________________________________________________ Aesthetics The Wasp Nano S RDA comes in small square cardboard box packaging which is identical to the original single coil version but just slightly bigger. I do like the honeycomb design on the box and for those that don't know Oumier are not getting confused with Bees as Wasps make honeycomb paper nests. I received the Gold version which has a gold coated Stainless Steel base with deck section and much more of a bright Yellow PEI cap and drip-tip rather than Gold. The colour options are Black, Gold, Stainless Steel and Blue, all options have a base with deck section in the colour of choice and also a transparent cap and drip-tip in the chosen colour option apart from the Stainless Steel option which has a clear cap and drip-tip. At first look it appears to be the same all in one moulding for the cap and mouthpiece as was the case on the single coil version but the mouthpiece pulls out to reveal it's a goon fitting 810. The base is constructed from Stainless Steel and has etched branding and safety stamps, it also has a negative post screw to keep it secured and gold plated brass 510 pin (a BF pin is included). Going back to the sleeve/cap it has dual airflow that consists of two short but wide slots each side, it fits to the base over 2 prominent Black o-rings which are clearly visible through the transparent cap and part of the aesthetic look. Although 25mm in diameter the Wasp Nano S RDA is only 30mm from the bottom of the 510 pin to the top of the drip-tip so maintains that very small appearance and while Oumier products are not expensive they can't be faulted on build quality! ___________________________________________________________________ Wasp Nano S RDA Specs and Features: Size: 25x30mm Material: Stainless Steel PEI top-cap Solid and bottom feed 510 pins included Dual post expansive deck 5mm deep juice well 810 drip tip Dual coil configuration Peek insulator Dual side adjustable airflow Thread: 510 Colours: Black, Gold, Stainless Steel, Blue ___________________________________________________________________ What You Receive? As well as the Wasp Nano S RDA you receive some Cotton and a bag of spares, tools and a pair of coils. There are no specs given for the coils but they are fused claptons with a 3.0ID. You receive spare base 0-rings, 2 spare post screws and a philips negative screw. As well as the pre-installed standard pin you also receive a BF pin for squonking, finally you get a coiling rod and famous Blue screwdriver. Strange you only get 2 spare post screws rather than a full set of four but i suppose it's quite rare to lose one in fact i have never lost a post screw to date so no big deal. ___________________________________________________________________ It's Various Parts! The Wasp Nano S RDA consists of a PEI 810 Goon fit drip tip so you can fit your own but the supplied one blends with the PEI cap/sleeve so well it appears to be one complete moulding. We have a silicone ring around the opening to secure the drip-tip but it seems to be fixed in position rather than a removable o-ring and indeed no spare is included. The PEI cap/sleeve fits over dual o-rings on the base section both securing it and giving it a seal but it still turns with a nice tolerance. Then we have the Gold finish Stainless Steel base section with Gold coloured deck. Pre-installed we have a Gold plated Brass standard Pin which i swapped for the included Gold plated BF pin. ___________________________________________________________________ The Airflow In theory this dual coil version keeps the exact same airflow design as the original. So a short but wide slot which fully open lines up with the same size opening on the post wall. The air then gets directed through the post wall at a slight downwards gradient so you will get both side and bottom airflow. The airflow adjusts which again in theory means that the outside slot opening is no longer centred with the coil but there is plenty of distance through the post wall airflow opening which remains fully centred to the coil for full coverage so it works really well. The problem with keeping this same design with a dual coil configuration is the design requires thick post walls for that slight downwards gradient so even expanding the Nano S to 25mm in diameter would leave limited space to fit dual coils. This has been resolved by the coils being installed off-set to each other and having an airflow extension wall (like an annex) added to the side of both main posts. Next the airflow slots have been doubled up so one each side lines up with the main post airflow which lines up with one coil while the second slot each side lines up with the airflow opening on the annex which lines up with the other coil. So dual airflow slots each side, one for each coil and any adjustment made gives the same adjustment for each side and each individual coil, solving this problem as also given the added benefit of each individual coil getting direct airflow from both sides rather than just the side facing the exterior of the RDA which is the case with most dual coil configurations. ___________________________________________________________________ The Deck And Build I have part described the deck in the airflow section, we have 2 posts either side both of which has an added wall to it's side for a second airflow inlet. Each post has a side terminal with large lip and then a small terminal between the post and extended airflow wall section both sides. You need your coil leads going in opposite directions and one slots through the terminal between the post and added wall one side while your opposite lead slides in the side terminal. The screw for the terminal between post and airflow wall screws down to clamp your coil in place while the screw for the side terminal more traps your coil with the lip stopping it popping out as it's secured. You need to install the coils one at a time and hold the coil in place while fixing your leads, holding the coil the best you can where you want it is more important than usual because the deck design and how the coils are off-set means you can only get the coiling rod through the coil one way not both so how much the coil can be moved once fixed is limited. Once your coils are secured and in position recheck the screws are tight, snip your leads and give them a quick pulse. Apart from the screws being tiny flatheads which does make loosening and tightening them quite fiddly actually getting the coils installed in a good position is a lot easier than it sounds, i would say not an easy build but nothing someone use to building will have any difficulties with. Wicking is not difficult just a little different as you need to install the cotton in place through one coil before you can put the cotton through the second coil. It's easy enough though and this has a large juice well so you can leave your cotton ends a reasonable length. So feed the cotton through one coil and then tuck one end into the well as usual while your other end gets tucked down the side and underneath the other coil being careful not to obscure the airflow outlet opening. Once done just repeat the process for the other coil and that's it, juice up and you are good to go! ___________________________________________________________________ How She Vapes? And Thoughts! Some of my recent reviews have been quite mixed with a good list of cons but the Wasp Nano S is a real winner delivering a giant bite rather than a sting, it's a little beast. When i first started to vape with it i braced myself for the expected odd vicious spit which just didn't materialize instead i just got a smooth draw with flavour which is up there with the very best! Fully open this gives a full on DL vape with little if any restriction, the supplied fused claptons came out at 0.15ohm so 0.30hm per coil and i had the Nano S at 75w on the Aether which is almost at it's limit but it could easily of took another 10 to 15w but at 75w it gave awesome flavour and plenty enough cloud for me. Preferring more restriction i settled for half open airflow which gave a semi restrictive draw which allowed me to dial down to 65w for a fantastic flavour banging vape. This is a small RDA but the airflow is so versatile and can be dialled right down to a very restricted DL if you prefer, just reduce that wattage further to maybe 50 to 55w (build dependant). Of course the Wasp Nano S would work great as a standard dripper but is ideal as a BF option and i also had no issues with leaking or dry hits even when chain vaping. Some standard 810 drip tips will look a bit funky on this but then if it was one solid moulding not being able to fit your own would of been a con so it is what it is. Doing a build on the Nano S isn't difficult just a little different with my only real issue being the tiny flathead screws that are fiddly. Really cons for this are hard to think of, i suppose although many love the look of the Wasp Nano series some might find the PEI cap and drip tip cheap looking but that would be entirely subjective to the individual rather than a nailed on con. I do suppose the transparent nature of the Wasp Nano S doesn't make it ideal to match up with devices if you are a matchy matchy type but again a little clutching at straws. I could waffle on more telling you how awesome this dual coil flavour banger is but i think you probably get the message, it's a winner! ___________________________________________________________________ Likes Good build quality 4 Colour options Good value Awesome flavour Smooth draw Full DL spectrum from VRDL right up to full on DL fully open Innovative deck and airflow design Cap turns with nice tolerance Goon fit 810 drip tip (can fit your own even if they might look funky) Build not difficult (just a little different) Included coils and cotton Deep juice well Included BF pin Worked excellently with BF pin Cons Tiny flathead post screws Maybe not for a first time builder Not ideal to match up with device if you are a matchy matchy type No specs given for coils (they are 3.0ID fused claptons 0.15ohm per pair) I would once again like to thank Oumier for supplying the Wasp Nano S RDA for the purpose of this review, thanks for reading and stay safe! ___________________________________________________________________

Hi Vapor Talk members, In this review i take a look at the SWAG II 80W Mod Kit with NRG PE Tank from Vaporesso. The Vaporesso SWAG II 80W Mod Kit with NRG PE Tank was supplied for the purpose of this review by the Healthcabin. Introduction The Swag II has been out a while now and was the long awaited upgrade to the original Swag, my review coincides with the release of some new colour/design options although the one i received is an original colour. The original Swag many believed was the smallest and lightest single 18650 device at the time and had a side positioned navigational rocker and both a fire and mode button along with the screen on it's face. The Swag II keeps these features along with the same light weight, small form factor and Pico style top battery cap but has the same anti skid finish and operating system as the Gen so many who might not be familiar with the original Swag will see this as a baby Gen! My standard kit came paired with the NRG PE while the TPD version comes with the SE variant of the NRG tank and has mentioned the device includes all the bells and whistles features of the Gen including Pulse, Smart TC and Eco Modes, let's give it a look! ___________________________________________________________________ In The Box Contents 1pc SWAG II Mod 1pc NRG PE Tank (3.5ml) NRG SE Tank (2ml, TPD Edition) 1pc GT4 Meshed Coil 1pc GT CCELL Coil 4pc O-ring 1pc USB Cable 1pc User Manual 1pc Warranty Card ___________________________________________________________________ Aesthetics and Ergonomics The Swag II arrived in the usual style of cardboard box packaging that Vaporesso products come in and i received the Rose version and although i personally have no issues with Pink (the new black) this actually starts Black at the bottom and fuses into a deep Rose colour which is almost Red! The original colour options are Rose, Green, Purple, Silver, Black, Blue and Red, while the new colour/designs are Flame Red, Phantom, Lava, Zebra Yellow, Camo Grey and Carbon Fiber. The device keeps the same light and small ergonomic form factor as the original Swag, with Pico style protruding battery cap up top. The device has the same anti-skid finish as the Gen giving it as much a baby Gen look but still stays true to the original Swag with side navigational rocker and both fire and mode buttons on it's face. The main form factor difference is on one side to the front of the device we have a bulging curve which in my opinion adds to the form factor aesthetically, as for describing the device in anymore detail i will leave that to the photos! ___________________________________________________________________ The Differences Between The Swag And Swag II? As well as obviously having the latest chipset and features which is a big difference between the 2 devices as the gap between the two releases must of been about three years the other obvious difference is the Gen like anti-skid finish. The other main differences is the buttons protrude more, this is most noticeable with the side rocker as on the Swag this was indented into the side and even though i have quite small fingers i found it awkward so it must of been a real issue for someone with chubby fingers, now not an issue at all. Finally we have that front curved bulge which is the difference between on the Swag II being able to fit up to 25mm tanks rather than being limited to 22mm which was the case with the original Swag! ___________________________________________________________________ NRG PE Tank Specs and Features: (TPD version comes with NRG SE 2ml tank) Dimensions: 25*50mm Capacity: 3.5ml Coil: 0.15ohm GT4 Meshed Coil (50-75W), 0.5ohm GT CCELL Coil (25-35W) Top-fill Bottom adjustable airflow Thread: 510 Colours: Blue, Red, Black, Silver ___________________________________________________________________ NRG PE Tank Overview The NRG PE Tank is yet another rendition of the NRG tank which seem to of been around as long as Vaporesso, it takes the GT coils which have grown into a vast range of coil heads. It's diameter is 25mm and has a capacity of 3.5ml and for this reason the TPD Kit comes with the SE version of the tank which has a smaller diameter and 2ml capacity (a 4.5ml bubble glass is available). We have a Delrin 510 drip tip up top so you can fit your own but there is a raised ridge so some you try might look a little funky. We have a swivel open fill method and a guide arrow but also the top can be unscrewed for cleaning purposes or to replace the fill gasket, the fill port is a good size so no issues filling! We have large dual cyclops airflow on the base which also has nice machined knurling and this base section screws off, well actually it's the top of the coil head that unscrews from the chimney. Once the base is unscrewed the coil head can just be screwed in or out the base section! You do receive spare 0-rings and fill gasket as well as two different coil heads but unfortunately no spare glass! ___________________________________________________________________ The Coils As mentioned like other versions of the NRG tanks both the PE and SE take the GT family of coils of which two are included which are the 0.15 dual mesh recommended from 50 to 75W and the 0.5ohm CCELL which has SS wire so can be used in TC which is recommended between 25 and 35w. There are plenty of other coil options available: ___________________________________________________________________ Swag II Specs and Features: Dimensions: 50*25*75mm Resistance: 0.03-5.0ohm Output Power: 5-80W Charging Current: DC 5V/2A, Micro USB Display: 0.91 inch OLED Screen Chipset: AXON Chip Battery: 1*18650 (not included) Tank Compatibility: Max 25mm New modes: Pulse, Smart TC and Eco DIY Mode: VW, VV, VT, Curves, Bypass and Super Player Modes Thread: 510 Original Colours: Rose, Green, Purple, Silver, Black, Blue, Red New colour/Designs: Flame Red, Phantom, Lava, Zebra Yellow, Camo Grey, Carbon Fiber ___________________________________________________________________ Fitting The Battery The Swag II accommodates a single 18650 battery which gets fitted by unscrewing the battery cap situated on the top opposite the 510 plate. This is a real space saving way of fitting a battery as part of the battery can protrude higher than the main body allowing for a smaller device. Orientation is both labelled at the bottom of the battery tube and underside of the cap and although quite often i find the threading a bit crunchy with this style of battery cap on the Swag II i received it screws on and off very smoothly, nice job! ___________________________________________________________________ The Display We have a real contradiction with the Swag II being such a feature rich innovative device yet as a very basic Old School style screen which still appeals to many and i believe this is quite deliberate as it makes the whole device less overwhelming and quite easy to navigate. The screen is bright and sharp and the brightness can be adjusted. Top left we have a single battery bar and also within the battery status bar we have the remaining charge given as a percentage. Underneath the battery bar we have the resistance and then below the resistance the puff counter which shows the duration of your vape when firing. Central and taking up most of the display we have the wattage, temperature or voltage depending which mode you are in and then top right we have the mode. ___________________________________________________________________ Navigating The Swag II The Swag II is the usual 5 clicks of the fire button to turn on and 5 clicks to turn off and once on 3 clicks of the fire button locks and unlocks the navigational and mode buttons but when locked the device will still fire. Holding down both the mode and fire buttons together brings up an information screen giving serial number and firmware version. The menu is very old school giving a row of icons which when you try to carry on scrolling past the last one displayed if there are any more in that section then the others appear on the screen, the last icon is always exit and also having a mode button the whole system is easy to navigate even if sounding complicated when i try to explain it. To enter the menu you can either long press the mode button or click it 3 times and it brings up the following options, Pulse mode, Power Eco, Smart TC, DIY Mode, System Set and Exit. Choosing either Pulse mode, Power Eco or Smart TC takes you to that working screen and i will go through these features later. Choosing DIY Mode brings up the following options Variable wattage, Variable Temperature, Variable Voltage, Custom Wattage Curve, Bypass, Super Player Mode and Exit. Curves, Variable Voltage and Bypass are all straightforward and Super player mode is a feature that Vaporesso have included for a while now where it allows you to fire down to 0.03ohm and something i really don't care for. Choosing Variable Wattage gives you the choice of Normal, Soft or Hard pre-heats and Variable Temperature first allows you to choose your wire type and then allows you to alter the TCR, set wattage for temp control and lock resistance. The Final option in the main menu is System Settings which allows you to reset your puff counter, set vape time allowed, adjust brightness, turn smart wattage on or off, flip the screen, turn automatic eco on or off, set device to default and finally bring up the same information screen that can be accessed with the mode and fire button together from the working screen. The device adjusts in 0.1W increments from 5W right up to 80W but if you hold the button it switches to 1w increments and moves at a speed of knots but it doesn't round robin. ___________________________________________________________________ The New Modes Well not actually new anymore as they first appeared on the Gen but still worth another look. I do find the fact the device by default is in Pulse mode and the first tier of the menu system is the three new modes and to use the standard Wattage, Temperature modes etc are further within the menu system a little strange. I do understand why it's been done this way as Vaporesso are showing faith in these new features and trying to push them but i still think it should of been done the other way around. The more i use devices with the Axon chipset though the more i enjoy these new features and see it less of an issue! ___________________________________________________________________ Pulse Mode The idea of Pulse Mode is to give you more consistent power so instead of your initial fire which once it hits set wattage can dip in Pulse mode it's continuously firing every 0.02 seconds up to 500 times in one vape giving consistent power. Pulse Mode is the Swag II's default mode! ___________________________________________________________________ Power Eco Mode When in Power Eco Mode it optimises your settings despite that you are still setting the settings, if you are in other modes it will also ask if you want the device to use Eco Mode when the battery life gets down to 40%. Why when it sill uses your settings does it become so much more efficient and why not efficient in the first place? I can only go by my experience but i have used this mode on both the Gen and Gen Nano and have noticed little if any improvement in battery life! ___________________________________________________________________ Smart TC When using Smart TC and you first attach your atomizer it fires the atomizer for a micro second and scans the information. It recognises wire type and ohms extra and automatically gives the best TC settings for that coil. When using Pulse mode it also fires and scans the atomiser and if it's a TC coil asks if you want to use Smart TC, likewise if you have the device in Smart TC mode and the atomizer you attach doesn't have a TC compatible coil it will jump the device out of Smart TC and into Pulse Mode. I absolutely love this mode and have used it with the Gen often and tried it out with the included CCELL with this kit and it works great! ___________________________________________________________________ Protections: Overtime Protection Overheat Protection Short Circuit Protection USB Input Protection No Load Protection Overcharging Protection Resistance Protection ___________________________________________________________________ Charging As always i never recommend charging the battery in the device unless it's your only option although if you do the Swag II supports 2A charging so will charge very quickly, sadly not a Type C port though! ___________________________________________________________________ My Experience Using The Swag II Kit And Thoughts! What a great little kit this is, so small and compact with such a nice ergonomic feel yet can accommodate up to 25mm tanks. The NRG Tanks have been used as kit tanks for years by Vaporesso and there must be half a dozen different variants but they all take the GT coils which are amongst the best stock coils available and the GT family range has grown to be vast. The NRG PE tank was slightly loud but the airflow was smooth across the board, i have used both coils previously and the 0.15ohm dual mesh coil head i find suited to a semi restricted draw which is airflow three quarters open at 60w which gives a warm flavoursome vape. On this occasion i used the 0.5ohm CCELL as it's one of my favourite stock coils available period and this i always vape at 28W with airflow half open for a tight restricted direct lung vape, flavour is excellent! The star of the show is the Swag II which isn't surprising as it functions like a smaller Gen which many quoted as "best mod of the year" in 2019. I like the Pulse Mode idea and indeed it does give a very consistent vape with no drop in power but then the Omni chipset i always found did that in normal power mode so i did also compare to the normal variable wattage mode on the device and although this is not a con for the Pulse mode but more of a plus for the Axon chip in general i could tell absolutely no difference between pulse mode and normal wattage. All the usual modes worked great including curves and having variable voltage is another plus, i didn't use the normal TC but absolutely love the Smart TC mode which worked great for me and allows vapers to vape in TC without having to set anything. I also love the looks and feel of the device and it's lightweight allows it to be a great option for out and about especially for MTL vapers using a MTL RTA. All the buttons including the fire button have a nice quiet cushioned feel that oozes quality and it fires in an instant with great ramp up whichever mode you use. I also like how the form factor has been slightly altered from the original to allow up to 25mm tanks to fit and the more protruding buttons means navigating the device is so much easier compared to the original Swag with it's indented side navigational rocker. It's a bit disappointing this doesn't have Type C USB but it does support both 2A charging and pass-through, the device is also firmware upgradeable. ___________________________________________________________________ Likes Good build quality Grippy textured rubber finish Finish seems very durable Ergonomic portable device 7 Original colours 6 New Colour/Design options Lightweight Old school, sharp bright display Easy to navigate Battery status shown both as a bar and as a percentage Mode Button Feature rich Variable Wattage, Voltage, TC, Bypass, SP Mode and Wattage Curve. Pulse Mode Power Eco Mode (not convinced) Smart TC (Loved using this mode) Performed excellently Space saving top battery cap Accommodates up to 25mm tanks Firmware Upgradeable NRG PE and SE are very good performing sub-ohm tanks Rotate open top-fill method 2 different GT coil heads included Compatible with complete range of GT coil heads 2A charging Supports pass-through Firmware upgradeable Cons If fitting own 510 due to raised rim some will look funky Tank a little loud No spare glass included Not type C USB Not convinced by Eco Mode I would once again like to thank the Healthcabin for supplying the Vaporesso SWAG II 80W Mod Kit with NRG PE Tank for the purpose of this review, thanks for reading and stay safe! ___________________________________________________________________

Hi Vapor Talk members, In this review i take a look at the DRAG S Mod Pod Kit from Voopoo. The VOOPOO DRAG S Mod Pod Kit was supplied for the purpose of this review by Selina from Fasttech. Introduction The Pod Mod revolution is entering the end game as they become Mod Pod's, i think the switching of the words is based on the fact a 510 adaptor will become available so normal atty's can be used (but then i have adaptors for half my Pod Mods so nothing new). I don't have the best relationship with Voopoo but that has nothing to do with how i found the device or what i put in this review which will be solely based on my experience using the Kit. When it comes to Pod Mods Voopoo saved the use of their premium brand name until coming out with a product they feel worthy of it so we got two simultaneous releases the Drag X and Drag S which is the 2500mAh in-built battery version i review here rather than the 18650 Drag X version. The Drag S has a luxury build quality and under the hood is the GENE.TT Chip giving incredible fire speed and instant ramp up. The device like many of the Pod Mods is quite a simple Wattage only device which has Smart mode and RBA mode which can also be used just to override the restrictions imposed by Smart Mode plus the Blue screen is just so much nicer. The other main feature and marketing direction is around the "Original Score Ranking Mode", which was going to give me the opportunity for a rant but although mentioned during the review as many of the devices with this "childish" feature will still be in the market place it does appear Voopoo realised what an own goal it was so now it comes with a different display by default and you need to register online to show age verification to download the point scoring feature. Personally registering for the point scoring system i see as proving you are a child and maybe need to grow up. The Drag S is slightly smaller than the X version and has a lower 60W top wattage as well as giving the choice of both button fire or draw activation. Primarily this review is to coincide with the release of 4 new colour/design versions of the Drag S/X, so let's give the Drag S a look! ___________________________________________________________________ In The Box Contents: 1* DRAG S Device 1* DRAG S Replacement Pod (4.5ml) 1* PnP-VM1，0.3ohm 1* PnP-VM5，0.2ohm 1* Type-C Cable 1* User Manual 1* Warranty Card 1* Chip Card ___________________________________________________________________ Aesthetics and Ergonomics The Drag S comes in cardboard packaging and even has a ribbon which works like a battery ribbon to lift the device with attached pod out of it's compartment. The device is quite heavy and has a Zinc Alloy construction and padded Leather Spine with "DRAG" embossed into it. All versions of the original colours come with a Gunmetal frame which borrows it's looks from the full sized drag with the Colour of the Spine's Leather being different depending on which option you choose. The original options are Carbon Fiber, Classic, Retro, Mashup, Chestnut, Marsala or Galaxy Blue. I received one of the four new colour/designs which are the Knight range which all have different frame colours and spines. I received the Silver Knight which has a Union Jack spine design and Silver frame, the new colour design options are Silver Knight, Bronze Knight, Dark Knight or Iron Knight. The pod including mouthpiece is one single moulding which protrudes almost entirely out the top of the device and is as good as clear for the purpose of seeing your e-liquid. On the face we have a Round concave fire button top then central a colour screen, below the screen lined up vertically we have smaller round navigational buttons followed by a Type C USB port. The rounded form factor, padded spine and concave fire button makes this ergonomically sound, feeling comfortable in the hand and a real treat to use! ___________________________________________________________________ Drag S Specs and Features: Size: 87*33*28mm Battery Capacity: 2500mAh Built-in Battery Material: Alloy+Leather(Mod) Output Power: 5-60W Output Voltage: 3.2~4.2V Resistance: 0.1~3.0Ω Capacity: 4.5ml Material: PCTG(Pod) Coils: 0.2ohm PnP-VM5 Coil(DL, 40~60W); 0.3ohm PnP-VM1 Coil(DL, 32~40W) Compatible with all PnP coils including RBA Fill: Bottom Fill Charging: 5V/2A Charging Port: Type-C Colours: Carbon Fiber, Classic, Retro, Mashup, Chestnut, Marsala, Galaxy Blue New Colours: Silver Knight, Bronze Knight, Dark Knight, Iron Knight ___________________________________________________________________ The Pod The Pod for the Drag S is rounded and one complete, as good as clear moulding including mouthpiece. Most of the pod protrudes out of the device for good visibility of your juice so no issues there. Looking at it's circular base we have 3 evenly placed strong magnets and a silicone flap kept attached with a metal stud. The flap is easy to lift to pull the bung out revealing a very generous fill port plenty big enough for a quick, mess free fill. The coil head just gets press fitted into the pod as is the case with most of these pod mod pods! ___________________________________________________________________ Fitting The Pod The Pod Bay looks quite different to other bays i have seen (obviously not including the Drag X). The bottom of the bay only has the round central section visible with the rest of the floor which leads to the airflow slots being obscured by the perimeter having an upper metallic shelve for the pod magnets to attract too. Looking at the bottom of the bay we have a raised central positive and outer raised negative spring loaded contacts which look to have a silicone seal. The pod snaps into place and fits very securely, the dual negatives and metallic surround shelf design means the pod can be fitted without it needing to be lined up a certain way, good design! ___________________________________________________________________ The Coils Included is 2 different coil heads none of which are pre-installed and both part of the Voopoo PnP range. The 2 included coil heads are the PnP VM1 0.3ohm mesh coil head rated between 32 - 40w and the other included coil head is the PnP VM5 0.2ohm mesh coil head rated between 40 - 60w. The Drag S is compatible with the entire Voopoo PnP range which is quite extensive! ___________________________________________________________________ The Airflow The air enters the coil head via it's base and of course the bore of the coil head it'self has some bearing on the draw but the Drag S does have quite a neat system to control how much air gets to the base of the coil head. On each side of the device we have airflow slots with metallic plates underneath that can slide to close down the openings. The plates are controlled by also having a slot above the spine with adjustment lever. The lever to the far left of the slot is the airflow fully closed and as it is moved to the right the plates slide open until the lever to the far right is fully open. I love the idea and execution apart from the lever although not as crude is like a nail head sticking out which both catches on clothing and can come quite sharp, really wish the idea was kept but a lower profile broader lever was installed. ___________________________________________________________________ The Display This is where my device will differ to earlier reviews as it now as a new display. The Display is Vibrant and has either Red accents if in Smart mode or Blue if in RBA mode. Top left we have "SMART" or "RBA" depending which mode you are in and top right we have the battery status bar. Then we have the set wattage with either an open or shut Green padlock icon to it's upper right and the unit "W" to it's lower right. Underneath the wattage to the left we have resistance and to the right voltage. The bottom half of the screen within rectangular accented sections we have vape duration and puff count information. In the upper section we have a vape duration progress bar graph much like a graphic equaliser in appearance and below the vape duration of your last puff given as a digital figure. The lower section gives both your current day puff count and overall puff total. ___________________________________________________________________ "Original Score Ranking Mode" Thankfully this now needs downloading and doesn't come as default as in my opinion it's a childish and pointless feature, it gives rankings dependant on puffs which are called achievements. What were "Voopoo" thinking, they just can't seem to control their urge to market towards the young which does the vaping industry no favours! Mine still has both a daily and overall puff counter plus a 14 day puff monitoring system for those that do find monitoring their puffs useful, they don't need to be Bronze level or ranked as Iron or Platinum, thanks. ___________________________________________________________________ Operating The Device The Drag S is quite a simple device to use with just two modes which includes a smart wattage option, however unlike the X it has two versions of each mode. The device is the usual 5 clicks of the fire button to turn on and 5 clicks to turn off and it does boot up rather slowly compared to other pod mods i have tested. Once on, fire and up together locks and unlocks the whole device so while locked the device will not fire, personally i prefer an option to just lock the navigational buttons but the Drag S lacks that option. Other combination button press features are fire and down together resets your puff counter, both navigational buttons and fire together allows the time to be set and both navigational buttons pressed together displays the 14 day puff monitoring graph. Three quick presses of the fire button changes between "Smart mode fire button option", "Smart mode with either fire button or auto draw", "RBA mode fire button option" and "RBA with either fire button or auto draw". When in "Smart" mode the device detects the resistance of the coil and limits the wattage to that coil heads upper recommendation, there is no lower limit. "RBA" mode really is just standard variable wattage allowing to adjust right up to the maximum 60w whatever the resistance is. I was at the lower recommendations of the coil heads wattage range so what mode i was in really made no difference but the accents are Red in "Smart" mode and despite being a Forest fan much preferring Blue i had the device in "RBA" mode at all times! The only other thing that needs mentioning is the wattage adjusts in 1w increments which i like because this really isn't suited to MTL style vaping despite there being a couple of MTL coil heads and an RBA available. As you would expect the Drag S has multiple safety protections, a message is displayed on the screen if one kicks in! ___________________________________________________________________ Protections: Overtime Protection Short Circuit Protection Overcharge Protection Max Power Protection Over-current Protection Temperature Protection Over-Discharge Protection ___________________________________________________________________ Charging The Drag S has an in-built 2500mAh battery which gets charged via the Type C USB port. The charge rate is 2A so charges very quickly and while charging both a progress bar is displayed and the charge is given as a percentage, the device doesn't support pass-through. ___________________________________________________________________ My Experience Using The Drag S Kit And Thoughts! I will get all the negatives out the way first which to start with is the airflow lever which is like a nail head sticking out, i get it caught on my pocket which also causes it to adjust and it is quite sharp, not lethal granted but feel they could of done a better job. Also most will want to know how this behaves in regards to any leaking and i tested especially for this. The bottom of the airflow slots and even the lever slot are lined up with the floor of the bay and you don't get any pooling of liquid in the bay, if any leaking occurs it comes out all three slots. I found if the device is used moderately no leaking occurred, so if you are not a chain vaper you shouldn't have any issue but with the e-liquid getting hot through chain vaping then liquid did start escaping through the slots and with this happening if i carried on vaping, what a mess, e-liquid everywhere! P.S also leave a full pod in the device overnight at your own risk as it can look like the photo below and e-juice then comes through the slots when lifting the device up! My main issue with the S is the Auto Draw which just doesn't work unless the airflow is closed then it worked great but even if just opening by a slither it just didn't work at all. In this situation the fire button worked fine still with plenty of air which actually shows although it's a neat adjustable airflow design it isn't that effective if this still gives a DL vape fully closed. Needing to remove the pod to fill is another con but far from a deal breaker and overall i like how quick and mess free it fills, the great visibility of the juice inside and how securely it fits in the bay. Despite my misgivings about the airflow control lever i actually like the design in general and it adjusts to give a good range of DL & SRDL draws but from half open to closed really does nothing! The overall look, build quality and ergonomics of the device i love and in my opinion it goes to the top of the Pod Mod charts in that regard. I found the supplied coil heads gave above average flavour but not really close to the Freemax Autopod50 coils, but still very good and quite an extensive range are available. I also found the two coil heads included gave plenty of warmth in fact i found i preferred the 0.3ohm coil at just 25w and the 0.2ohm coil head at 38w both under their recommendations. The biggest pro for the device other than it's build quality and looks is it's performance giving a fantastic reliable vape. I'm sure the fire button has an eye and can see my finger approaching it fires that quickly. What is strange though is this is supposed to have the exact same chip as the Drag X but with the Drag X i noticed a spike in power for the first 0.5seconds of the vape like a set boost which doesn't happen on the Drag S, the Drag S also gives that buzzing in the background when firing which a few pod mods do but i don't detect that on the Drag X so i would be interested if anyone else with both devices have noticed these differences? After all that for an in-built battery option i really like this device and am quite prepared to overlook any of the issues, that has been helped by as well as testing with the supplied pod and coils i have also been enjoying it with the VXV RDTA pod which gives a more restricted draw and overrides the devices airflow, also when it comes to the auto draw issue, i wouldn't personally use it anyway. Finally having both Type C USB and a 2A charge rate is a big pro and good charging feedback is given although it doesn't support pass-through! ___________________________________________________________________ Likes Compared with other pod mods best build quality to date Really nice Leather spine colour options 4 New colour/designs best yet Portable, ergonomic Quite heavy but in a reassuring quality made way Excellent visibility of e-liquid inside the pod Quick and mess free filling Pod fits very securely No leaking if vaping moderately Excellent airflow control system (see cons about lever and limitations) Daily and overall puff counters 14 day puff monitoring system Smart and RBA wattage modes Fire Button or auto draw Adjusts in 1w increments Sharp, bright, colour display Fires insanely quickly Instant ramp up Excellent performance and reliability during testing Above average flavour (comparable to other pod mods) Smooth airflow across DL & SRDL Compatible with entire extensive Voopoo PnP range of coil heads Type C USB Good charging feedback given Firmware upgradeable Cons Airflow adjustment lever sticks out like a nail head Airflow only makes a difference from halfway, still plenty of air fully closed Will leak if chain vaping Had leaking leaving full pod installed overnight Auto Draw only worked if airflow fully closed Need to remove pod to fill Slow to boot up Can't lock just navigational buttons Doesn't support pass-through I would once again like to thank Selina from Fasttech for supplying the VOOPOO DRAG S Mod Pod Kit for the purpose of this review, thanks for reading and stay safe! ___________________________________________________________________

Hi Vapor Talk members, In this review i take a look at the RPM160 Dual-18650 Pod Kit from Smok. The SMOK RPM160 Dual-18650 Pod Kit was supplied for the purpose of this review by Ella from Sourcemore. Introduction After a period where Smok went quiet for their usual prolific standards they have in more recent times been back bombarding the market with new products. The dual battery Pod Mod was always a case of when not if and in short succession their has been a trio of them including this the RPM160 from Smok! The RPM160 keeps the successful RPM name yet two versions are available one that takes a new V9 0.15ohm coil which has adjustable airflow and is compatible with the V8 family of coils and the version i received which has just one 0.15 RPM160 coil available for it so neither device actually support the standard RPM coil family. Powered by the !Q-160 Chipset the RPM160 is a simple power only device with a maximum 160 watt output. Coming in 4 different Carbon Fiber finishes and including 2 huge RPM160 mesh coil heads let's give the RPM160 a good look! ___________________________________________________________________ In The Box Contents: 1 x RPM160 Device 1 x RPM160 Pod (7.5ml) TPD (2ml) 2 x RPM160 Mesh 0.15ohm Coil 1 x USB Cable 1 x User Manual ___________________________________________________________________ Aesthetics and Ergonomics The Smok RPM160 comes in the usual cardboard box packaging with outer sleeve that Smok products tend to be packaged in. I received the Red Carbon Fiber version, its available in Black Carbon Fiber, Red Carbon Fiber, Silver Carbon Fiber or 7-Colour Carbon Fiber. On first impressions the combination of very shiny Chrome effect chassis and the lightweight due to the plastic front and back panels in my opinion gives the device a bit of a cheap look and it has a tinny hollow feel but once some weight was added in the form of installing a pair of 18650 batteries it felt much better and fits in the hand nicely. The front and back panels are Carbon Fiber effect in the colour of choice with the rest of the device being a Chrome looking Zinc Alloy. Both top rectangular fire button and smaller lower navigational buttons also match the Chrome Chassis finish, the micro USB port is positioned directly underneath the navigational buttons. We also have a very large screen on the face and on the rear some branding, the sides step to the face to give it a narrower form factor. Both front and back we have a huge airflow slot and above the large transparent pod protrudes with wide bore mouthpiece being part of the same moulding. Finally moving to the base we have the interlocking battery hatch door with grooves for good grip! ___________________________________________________________________ RPM160 Specs and Features: Size: 125×45×28.2mm Battery: 2 x 18650 batteries (not included) E-liquid Capacity: 7.5ml (2ml TPD version) Standby Current: <200uA Input Voltage: 6.4V-8.4V Output Voltage: 0.5V-8.2V Output Wattage: 5W-160W Charging Voltage: 5V+0.2V Charging Current: 1.8A (Max) Charger Output: 5V±0.2V/2A Resistance Range: 0.1ohm-2.5ohm RPM160 Pod coil: RPM160 Mesh 0.15ohm RPM V9 Pod available (compatible with V9 0.15 coil and V8 coils) RDTA Pod available Maximum 160W output with dual 18650 cells Constant power for stable performance IQ-160 chipset with fast firing speed Top filling design with transparent pod for visible e-juice Colours: Black Carbon Fiber, Red Carbon Fiber, Silver Carbon Fiber, 7-Colour Carbon Fiber ___________________________________________________________________ The Pod The Pod is a large rectangular shape that tapers to a protruding front and an all in one moulding so the fixed drip tip can't be removed. The pod has only slight tinting so is perfectly transparent and mostly protrudes outside the device so absolutely no issues with seeing your juice level at all times. Towards the top on the rear of the pod we have a large silicone flap which can be pulled to remove a plug revealing a very generous sized fill port, this section also sits outside the device so filling can be done without removing the pod which is a big pro! Moving to the base of the pod we can see the large round opening for the large coil head and either side a very large rectangular magnet. On all versions apart from the 2ml TPD version the pod holds a whopping 7.5ml of e-liquid! ___________________________________________________________________ The Coil Despite this bearing the name RPM it doesn't actually utilise the vast range of RPM coils instead a new coil has been developed especially for the device which has the same form factor as the RPM coils but just much, much bigger! It's the RPM160 Meshed coil head 0.15ohm which is rated between 40 - 90w with a best at between 70 and 80w. As mentioned in the introduction there is a V9 version of this kit which comes with a pod that accommodates both the new V9 coil and is compatible with the V8 family of coils. This pod also comes with an AFC base which screws onto the bottom of the coils to also give adjustable airflow, personally even if getting this kit i would consider sourcing the V9 pod! ___________________________________________________________________ The Airflow Towards the top both front and back we have a very large airflow slot and also very large airflow intakes on the base of the coil. When looking through the front slot you can actually see straight through the coil intakes and out the rear airflow slot, this is for full on DL vaping, bags of air! As mentioned there is the V9 version and the pod for that can be bought separately to fit this which then gives an adjustable airflow option. ___________________________________________________________________ Available RDTA Pod There is also a dual coil RDTA pod available which i don't have to test but from the picture i have it looks decent! ___________________________________________________________________ Fitting The Pod Looking inside the pods bay it looks very neat and tidy and both front and back airflow slots are clearly visible. We can see the central spring loaded contacts and a large rectangular magnet to either side which will line up with the corresponding magnets on the pod. These magnets are about as strong as i have come across so absolutely no issues with movement in fact it takes quite an energetic tug to remove it but not complaining! ___________________________________________________________________ Fitting The Battery The RPM160 accommodates dual 18650 batteries which get fitted via the bottom hatch door. The hatch door is an interlocking design so you need to push outward before lifting up, there are grooves for good grip and once the battery is installed push down and then press inwards to lock securely in place. Orientation is marked in Bright White on the underside of the hatch door and labelled A & B. After locking securely in place there is no movement from the door and no battery rattle whatsoever, cracking job! ___________________________________________________________________ The Display Mixed bag really, it's bright and sharp with good use of colour without going OTT and can't fault the information given including each individual battery as a percentage but this has a large screen and some font is small with no reason has it leaves quite a bit of wasted real estate! At the top we have 2 battery status bars labelled A & B and within these bars the charge is also given as a percentage. The upper central area of the display below the status bars is where we have both a padlock which will be in either a locked or open position and the wattage. Further down to the left we have the voltage and to the right the resistance and then finally at the bottom of the display we first have puffs then underneath the duration of your vape! ___________________________________________________________________ Navigating The RPM160 The RPM160 is a very simple set your wattage and vape device so not really much to go through. The device is the usual 5 clicks of the fire button to turn on and five clicks to turn off and once on you can either lock just the up and down buttons or the whole device. 3 quick clicks of the fire button locks the whole device so it will not fire or alternatively holding down both up and down buttons simultaneously locks just those buttons. The only other feature is the puff counter which can be reset by pressing down and fire together but it only goes up to 999 anyway before automatically resetting. The wattage adjusts from 5 to 160w in 1w increments at a nice fast speed and round robins, and that's it! No TC, curves, settings or the new features like smart wattage, just literally dial in the wattage you want and fire, that's all some people want! ___________________________________________________________________ Protection And Monitoring: Short Circuit Protection Low Battery Warning Atomiser Recognition Over-charge Protection Puff Counter Monitoring 8-Seconds Cut-off ___________________________________________________________________ Charging and Updates Unfortunately the RPM160 doesn't come with Type C USB but does support firmware upgrades and balanced charging at 1.8A max so i suppose averaging at 1.5A. While charging a battery status progress bar is shown for each battery which are labelled A & B and the charge is also shown as a percentage so good feedback, the RPM160 also supports pass through although charging halts while taking a vape before automatically restarting! ___________________________________________________________________ My Experience Using The RPM160 And Thoughts! The look and feel of the device grew on me although i still feel it has a bit of a cheap look to it but it's subjective just finding a lot of a Chrome look can give a tacky appearance while others might like it. The device itself has many things going for it firstly how simple it is to use but while the lack features will be many vapers cup of tea it will be a big con to others. The fire button is really nice and perfectly positioned giving a satisfying click as it fires without delay hitting the set wattage instantly. I was also impressed by despite the fact i was at 70w the battery life seemed as good as i get with other dual 18650 devices vaping at lower wattage's. This kit though out the box is just not for me, with huge 0.15ohm coils. massive airflow slots and no adjustment available it was just full on DL when i prefer at least some restriction. Only having the one coil available (you receive 2 of them) for the supplied pod which although rated between 40 and 90w with the wide open airflow needed 70w minimum and actually gave optimum flavour at 80w which is just not the way i vape. Flavour though was as good as with many of the better sub-ohm tanks although i am now on the second coil so longevity slightly below par. The device does have a puff counter but it only goes up to 999 so already clocked it a couple of times and the capacity of 7.5ml is great! Being both able to see your e-liquid level at all times and also being able to fill without moving the pod are big pros but as explained in the next paragraph you might want to remove the pod anyway to fill so you can check the pod bay! You do get some leaking as is the case with a lot of Pod Mods with press fitted coils so i have included a photo. This is after vaping a full pod of e-liquid although halfway through the pod was also left overnight! This has potential though even for me as the available V9 pod offers compatibility with V8 coils and adjustable airflow that sounds much more versatile, also a decent looking RDTA pod is also available. Of course those that like higher wattage full on DL vaping then this gives a Pod Mod option so some people will love this. ___________________________________________________________________ Likes Comes in 4 colour options A V9 version also available Dual 18650 device Very nice, well positioned fire button Fires without delay with instant ramp up Very simple to use Status bars for each individual battery Battery status also given as a percentage Sharp, bright display Full on DL (if that's your preference) Flavour very good Very secure battery door Orientation labelled in Bright White Available V9 pod (compatible with V9 coil and V8 coil family) includes AFC base Available RDTA pod Can see e-liquid level at all times Nice large filling port Can fill without removing the pod 7.5ml Capacity (not TPD version) Efficient, good battery life 1.8A max balanced charging Good charging feedback given Firmware upgradeable Cons Only one coil option with supplied pod Chrome effect looks a bit cheap (subjective) Some font on display very small No adjustable airflow Unless buying other available items only suitable for full on DL high wattage vapers Some leaking from coil Coil head longevity slightly under par (others experience could differ) No other features other than adjustable power (con for some, pro for others) Mouthpiece fixed, can't use alternative drip tip Not Type C USB I would once again like to thank Ella from Sourcemore for supplying the SMOK RPM160 Dual-18650 Pod Kit for the purpose of this review, thanks for reading and stay safe! ___________________________________________________________________

Hi Vapor Talk members, In this review i take a look at the Pandemic RDA from Unicorn Vapes. The Pandemic RDA was supplied for the purpose of this review by Trevor, owner of Unicorn Vapes Inc. Introduction Unicorn Vapes Inc is a high end vape manufacturer based in British Columbia, Canada. Known for the Unicorn RDA in it's various versions, Vert and MDX series of mechanical mods and their collaboration with Mass Mods for the Axial RDA they produce high end products without "fleecing you" with a ridiculous price tag! The Pandemic RDA (no prizes given for what influenced it's name) is a 26mm RDA with postless style deck and multiple airflow options. Coming with both a standard 510 and included BF pin the Pandemic was designed by Unicorn Vapes Inc (Trevor), PSDBD and BeardyMcvapeface. Let's give it a look! ___________________________________________________________________ In The Pouch Contents: Pandemic RDA Spare Grub Screws Spare O-rings BF Pin Allen Tool ___________________________________________________________________ Aesthetics The Pandemic RDA comes in a rather nice Blue Suede Pouch with logo and "Pandemic" in White with the Stainless Steel version and a Gunmetal with the Black. I was lucky enough to receive both colours and the Stainless Steel version is highly polished and absolutely gorgeous while the Black is more of a Matte with a slight sheen. The main aesthetic features of the RDA is the shattering skull logo carved into the metal and the dual sided honeycomb airflow which comprises of 2 rows of 3, 2mm holes each side. The inner sleeve has heavy knurling and up top we have a low profile, goon fitting 810 drip tip. Moving to the base we have the serial number and branding etched into the metal then the Silver plated Standard 510 protrudes perfectly to be hybrid safe! Overall first impressions is the machining, tolerances and overall build quality is first class!!! ___________________________________________________________________ Pandemic RDA Specs and Features: 26mm postless style deck Material: Stainless Steel Multiple air options Silver plated 510 pin Squonk pin included (Silver plated) Knurled top cap for better grip Skull design on sleeve 810 drip tip Comes in pouch with pandemic logo Colours: Stainless Steel, Matte Black ___________________________________________________________________ What You Receive? Not a lot actually which does let it down ever so slightly. The Pandemic comes with a low profile 810 which isn't to many vapers liking but no alternative is supplied although being a Goon fitting you can use one of your own. I was lucky enough to receive some coils but no coils or cotton actually come with the Pandemic and i have to be consistent with my belief that all rebuildables should come with everything you need to do at least one build. As well as the Pandemic RDA in a really nice Suede pouch what you do receive is one spare set of o-rings, one spare set of hex grub screws, Silver plated BF pin and an Allen tool! ___________________________________________________________________ It's various Parts! The Pandemic starting up top comprises of a low profile Delrin 810 drip tip which is a goon fitting so you can fit your own if you prefer. We then have the common inner sleeve/ top-cap and outer sleeve/barrel combination which work in tandem for airflow control. The Pandemic has a 26mm deck section with pre-installed Silver plated standard 510 pin, a Silver plated BF pin is also included. ___________________________________________________________________ The Airflow The Pandemic offers multiple airflow options and the design is very well thought out and implemented. The outer sleeve has honeycomb airflow inlets which comprises of 2 rows of three holes each side but when i say honeycomb the holes are a fair size at 2mm in diameter so obviously what is being aimed at is a good balance between having a decent amount of airflow while giving a smooth vape! The Inner sleeve has heavy top knurling which gives really good grip and it moves smoothly, quite often i find airflow adjustment on RDA's very stiff but this is a joy, also when looking inside the inner sleeve it's very smoothly domed, none of this stepped nonsense! The inner sleeve has corresponding 2mm holes that get lined up with the holes on the outer sleeve. We have 2 rows of 3 holes followed by just one row of 3 holes that line up with the bottom row on the outer sleeve and then after a gap which takes up the space of a row we have another row of 3 holes this time lining up with the top row on the outer sleeve. Even the gap between the bottom row on the inner sleeve and top row is well thought out, it's to avoid having pointless configurations like for example 2 holes open at the bottom and then the third hole being the top row, ideally there would have been a gap between the 2 rows and then bottom row as it does give funky options like having 2 rows open for 2 columns and then just the bottom hole open on the third column but having the design both sides there just isn't enough room to allow for this extra gap! So the options are having both rows fully open, just bottom row fully open or just top row fully open. You can also have just 1 column of 2 rows open or 2 columns of 2 holes and that gap between bottom and top rows on the inner sleeve also allows for either just 2 or 1 hole open on either the bottom or top rows. This is where the design is really well thought out, usually the outer sleeve would lock onto the deck section with the airflow lined up with where the coils will be positioned which is great for if the airflow is fully open however many rows that is. The problem is just like with the Pandemic most allow for part rows to be open to give more restriction but with a fixed outer sleeve this means the airflow is no longer centred to your coils but out of line. On the inside of the Pandemic's sleeve we have a tab either side but instead of a notch either side on the outside of the deck section to lock the sleeve in place we have an indented section either side that spans the entire area where your coil will face allowing the tabs to move along these indented sections like being on a rail or track. This means if you go for only 2 or one column of airflow whether that be both, top or bottom rows the outer sleeve can be turned to realign the airflow with the centre of your coils, very well implemented! ___________________________________________________________________ A Massive Thank You The Pandemic RDA's were passed on to me from Unicorn Vapes Via Adie Jones, coil builder and owner of Kernow Coils who supplies Trevor (Unicorn Vapes) with his personal coils. Adie was good enough to also include in the package 2 pairs of his Aliens 26/36 N80 1.1ohm per pair and 2 pairs of his Fraliens 8X.3SS / 2X28 / 36N80 0.09 - 0.11ohm per pair, all coils have a 3.0ID. High quality, very well crafted handmade coils and i used a pair of the Aliens in the pictured build and a pair of the Fraliens in the Stainless Steel Pandemic with BF pin installed. You can look up "Kernow.coils" on Instagram! ___________________________________________________________________ The Deck And Build I built both supplied Pandemics but decided on the Matte Black to take photos of the build to show off the rather nice Blue Anodised Posts. The build was using a pair of Kernow Aliens and with the Stainless Steel Pandemic i installed the BF pin and used a pair of the Kernow Fraliens for the build! The deck essentially works like a postless design with block posts and terminals running vertically through the blocks so your leads get fed in from above and fixed in position from the sides. The block posts are quite substantial and the positive blocks are joined in like a "zig zag" so they are at diagonals to each other so the negative posts also face each other diagonally! The terminals are large and elongated so you can fit beefy coils if you wish, the hex (my favourite) grub screws are also nice and broad to fill the terminal void, there really is nothing to dislike about this deck. If there was a build speed comp and you could pick whichever deck you wanted then you really can bung a build in the Pandemic in next to no time, very simple! Looking at both how raised the blocks are and airflow height i would be looking at about 4.5 - 5mm for my lead lengths but the airflow has no angle so i wanted to push the coils out from the centre and quite close to the airflow inlets so went for 6mm, it worked great so kept this length for my second build. So open up the terminals and with pre-cut leads lower your coils into position and tighten up the hex screws, both terminals and screws are so beefy it's a breeze and not fiddly at all. Now using a coiling rod or fit for purpose tool pull the coils out from the centre to position quite close to where the airflow outlets will be lined up. Now just double check the screws are still nice and tight then just pulse the coils, i went for quick 35w pulses but didn't need to rake as there wasn't an hotspot in Town (with either build)! Wicking is equally a breeze, the coils i received had a 3.0ID and shoelace style cotton is the ideal thickness. You want your cotton ends to line up with the lower o-ring on the outside of the deck, so just cut the access and fluff up your ends but absolutely no need to thin out to any great degree! Then simply tease your ends into the wells and juice up! When putting the sleeve into position it's a good starting point to line the tabs up with the centre of the rails which will line the complete airflow up centred to the coils. Checking the ohms after doing the build before putting on a mech and it came out at 0.11ohm, exactly what Adie predicted! ___________________________________________________________________ How It Vapes? And Thoughts! It's been a while with pod mods dominating the market since i have reviewed an RDA but it was well worth the wait as the Pandemic is a cracking, well thought out atty which shows some effort rather than being a basic design, you can follow the thought process when using this and appreciate the pride that has been put into it's design. Doing a build on the Pandemic is a doddle and wicking equally straightforward, love the large terminals and chunky hex grub screws. The coils i was sent are excellent and have an inner diameter of 3.0ID but much bigger coils can be used as the terminals are large and there is so much space for your build! The airflow design is standout for me not just for the options which are plenty or the clever way the outer sleeve can be adjusted to keep the airflow centred when using part rows. Not even because tight airflow adjustment on RDA's is a bug bare of mine and while not being loose the airflow can be adjusted with ease, but because i never quite seem to get quite as smooth airflow on an RDA as i do my favourite RTA's unless they are very restricted but the airflow on this is as smooth as a baby's bottom across the board and i'm talking baby without "nappy-rash"! You will get RDA's that give more air than this but due to the honeycomb holes being quite large fully open this gives much more air than expected. It's not quite full on DL with no restriction but a very loose semi-restrictive draw which can then be adjusted to what airflow you want for more restriction, it's a balancing act between airflow draw, flavour and warmth but with the airflow options i felt fully in control of being able to dial in the exact flavourful vape i was after. That brings me to flavour and this can deliver in spades and because the airflow is straight rather than angled the coils can be brought close to the airflow outlets which increased flavour rather than being a flavour killer which is the case doing this with angled airflow, cloud production is none too shabby either! The Stainless Steel Pandemic i built after swapping out for the BF pin using a pair of Adie's Fraliens. The wells are not the deepest but with a double o-ring seal and airflow set quite high it worked great as a bottom feeder, just don't get over zealous with the squonking. Finally the machining and tolerances are all spot on so did i have any complaints? Well actually only a few petty ones first being although i made sure the supplied drip tip was in all the photos i have a confession, i have been using both Pandemics with my own drip tips as i just don't like low profile drip tips and i know i'm far from being on my own in that regard. The other main con for me is a trade off as many of the pros boil down to the fact it's a 26mm RDA but that does mean that i get overhang on most tube mechs i have which are designed for 24mm. Finally although it does come in a rather nice Suede pouch not much is included so no alternative drip tip, coils or cotton! I have to be consistent finding it a con when no coils are included but i do kind of get you wouldn't just want to throw in a couple of cheap mass produced coils with this so it would of increased the price, as it is in my opinion for the build quality and performance this is not expensive leaving you with a bit left over to buy decent coils! ___________________________________________________________________ Likes Excellent build quality (impressive machining) Spot on tolerances (including airflow adjustment) Aesthetically pleasing (subjective) Well thought out airflow design Multiple airflow options Nice inner doming Outer Sleeve on track for realignment Spacious build area Large Hex grub screws Large terminals (can fit large coils) Very easy build Nice blue Anodised post blocks (Black version) Very smooth airflow Good cloud production Experienced very good flavour Worked well as a BF RDA Cons Don't like the low profile drip tip (subjective) 26mm so will have overhang with 24mm tube mechs Comes with the bare essentials and that's it! I would once again like to thank Trevor (Unicorn Vapes Inc) for supplying both Pandemic RDA's for the purpose of this review and another shout out to Adie Jones, owner of Kernow Coils, thanks for reading and stay safe! ___________________________________________________________________