timwis Posted July 18, 2020 Share Posted July 18, 2020 Hi Vapor Talk members, In this review i take a look at the GEN S 220W TC Kit With NRG-S Tank from Vaporesso. The Gen S Kit was supplied for the purpose of this review by Jessica from Vaporesso. Introduction At the same time as bringing out the Gen's little brother the Gen Nano Vaporesso release the Gen S which unless i'm missing a trick is exactly the same device as the original Gen but now coming in 5 new colours and paired with the latest NRG tank the NRG-S or NRG-S Mini for TPD regulated regions. The Gen has become one of the most popular devices in recent times boasting vaporesso's ground breaking "Pulse" and "Smart TC modes" while many also finding it a very reliable workhorse, so let's give it another look! ___________________________________________________________________ In The Box Contents: 1x GEN Mod 1 x NRG S Tank (8ml) (NRG S Mini (2ml) TPD Version) 1 x GT4 Meshed Coil 1 x GT Meshed Coil 1 x Extra Glass Tube (5m) 4 x O-Rings 1 x Micro USB Cable 1 x User Manual 1 x Warranty Card ___________________________________________________________________ Aesthetics and Ergonomics The Gen S Kit came in the usual style of cardboard packaging that Vaporesso products come in with both the Gen device and NRG S Tank in the top tray and other accessories below. On opening this time i wasn't surprised at how big the device is because the Gen S Mod in this Kit is the same device as previously released so for me i'ts size is still a con but not as much of a con as it is with other devices of this size as it's so light, is curved front and back and has a really nice textured rubberised grippy feel actually making it very ergonomic despite it's size. On this occasion i received the Lime Green version which fuses from a Spring Green bottom into a Lime Green midway up the device. The Gen S Kit comes with matching NRG S (NRG S Mini (TPD version)) and is available in Matte Gray, Rose Gold, Midnight Blue, Cherry Pink and Lime Green. We have a matching Rose Gold fire button and 510 plate which looks aesthetically pleasing but also wish the navigational and mode buttons were also Rose Gold to match instead of being the colour of choice which looks a bit odd being in a different colour. The face of the device has the mentioned round protruding fire button towards the top and towards the bottom a vertical row of 3 smaller protruding buttons which are the two navigational buttons with the mode button between. Right at the bottom of the face is the micro USB port which disappointingly still isn't type C and between the fire and smaller buttons we have the screen. One side of the device has "Vaporesso" printed centrally while central bottom of the other removable side we have the Vaporesso logo, both again are in Rose Gold. Moving to the base we have venting and a notch to help remove the battery side panel, also again in Rose Gold we have branding and Safety stamps. Moving up top we have a central Rose Gold coloured 510 plate which is raised just enough to protect the device's surface while not giving visible gaping, the 510 is Gold plated and spring loaded with a medium throw. The device feels nice, looks nice and is very well made with what seems a very durable finish. ___________________________________________________________________ NRG S Specs and Features: Tank Capacity: 8ml Coil: GT4 Meshed coil (0.15Ω, 50-75W)/GT Meshed coil (0.18Ω, 50-85W) Resistance Range: 0.03~5ohm All GT Series Compatible: 0.2ohm GT1 Coil (50-70W) / 0.4ohm GT2 Coil (40-80W) / 0.15ohm GT4 Coil (30-70W) / 0.2ohm GT6 Coil (40-100W) / 0.18ohm GT MESHED Coil (50-85W) / 0.3ohm GT CCELL2 Coil (35-40W) Easy push-to-fill system Screw into base coil installation Enhanced airflow for cloud vapor Universal compatibility GT core coils Thread: 510 NRG S Mini Height: 56mm Outside Diameter: 22mm Capacity: 2ml Material: stainless steel Colours: Matte Gray, Rose Gold, Midnight Blue, Cherry Pink and Lime Green. ___________________________________________________________________ NRG S Tank Overview The NRG S Tank is the latest rendition of Vaporesso's popular NRG sub-ohm tank which seems to of been around forever along with the now extensive range of GT core coil heads. With the TPD version of the kit you receive the same coil heads but the NRG S Mini which is a smaller 2ml capacity version of the new tank, the full size tank is 8ml in capacity and also comes with a 5ml straight glass. The new version has been designed especially for the Kit with the colours matching the devices perfectly and also having a knurled design top and bottom to mimic the finish of the device. The top-cap rotates open with a really nice tolerance and is stiff enough to avoid opening when in the pocket. Once opened a nice size fill port is revealed and i was able to fill quickly and mess free! The base section screws off (well it's actually the top of the coil head unscrewing from the chimney) to undo the tank and the coil heads get screwed straight into the base. Finally we have large dual cyclops with stoppers which once again moves with a really nice tolerance, a good, solid sub-ohm tank! ___________________________________________________________________ The Coils You receive the 2 Mesh coil heads in the GT range which are the GT Meshed coil head 0.18ohm rated between 50 and 85w and the updated GT4 Meshed coil head 0.15 rated between 50 and 75w. As well as the 2 included coil heads all the GT range is compatible which is quite extensive! ___________________________________________________________________ Gen S Mod Specs and Features: Dimensions: 93.5 x 53 x 27mm Display: 0.91' OLED screen Battery: 2x18650 (Not Included) Power Range: 5-220W Charge current : 2.5A Resistance Range: 0.03~5Ω All-new Axon chipset 2.5A fast charging system powerful 220W Power ECO mode and DIY mode Innovative PULSE mode and SMART TC mode Thread: 510 Colours: Matte Gray, Rose Gold, Midnight Blue, Cherry Pink and Lime Green. ___________________________________________________________________ Fitting The Batteries The Gen accommodates dual 18650 batteries and we have the inclusion of a battery ribbon for easy removal. The side panel can be removed by getting your fingernail into the little notch on the base and once removed we can see it's secured by large magnets top and bottom. Once again battery orientation is marked Black on Black which i just don't like and with this being pointed out so often if you are going to add S to the title of a device giving the impression something is new then at least update it and address things like this, other than that no complaints. The panel fits in place very securely and on the device i received i have absolutely no play of any kind, good job! ___________________________________________________________________ The Display We have a real contradiction with the Gen 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 (wish we had one for each battery) 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 that the time of your vape. 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 Gen S The Gen S 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 0.05ohm 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 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 adjust in 0.1W increments up to 100W and then switches to 1W increments up to 220W, holding the navigational button down will adjust in 1W increments from 5W to 220W and at a speed of knots but it doesn't round robin. ___________________________________________________________________ The New Modes Well not actually new anymore as the Gen has been out a while 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 the Gen though and enjoy the device the less i see this as being any major 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 Gen's default mode! ___________________________________________________________________ Power Eco Mode One thing i have noticed with the Gen is i do have more efficient devices and the battery life although not bad is not the greatest although many reacted to my initial review saying they found battery life very good but i can only give my experience and after trying the new device my opinion hasn't changed. I initially thought it was just pulse mode but then i spent most of my time using Smart TC and again it was not friendly on the batteries so finally tried using the more standard modes and it just appears not to be very efficient. 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 using the device which say's complete gimmick as i noticed no better battery life whatsoever. ___________________________________________________________________ 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 as i have used so many versions of the NRG Tank and GT coil heads i have been using it the vast majority of time while testing the device with a couple of RTA's with SS builds. ___________________________________________________________________ Charging I don't ever personally recommend charging external batteries in a device but with Vaporesso claiming 2.5A charging which will fully charge the batteries in 60 minutes this needed testing especially as i get a much slower charge rate when testing the previous Gen i was sent. The results i found were very disappointing as it barely at any point of charging got much above 1.5A and the batteries in the device took about 2.5 hours to charge. Good feedback is given while charging though telling you the percentage charge and charge time remaining for each battery. Another disappointment which again goes back to the fact the impression is given this is an updated device when their is no change from the original is the fact still no Type C USB, come on Vaporesso this has become your new flagship device and it's 2020! (REALLY????) ___________________________________________________________________ My Experience Using The Gen S Kit To start with i will cover the NRG S tank as in the past i have used the different renditions of this tank and know the GT Core coil heads inside out and as i much prefer RTA's and love the smart TC mode on the Gen i mainly used the device with an SS build in this mode. The NRG-S is a really good solid sub-ohm tank with an extensive range of compatible coils and both included mesh coils give both above average flavour and longevity. The GT4 gave just slightly more restriction but the NRG S has good airflow adjustment so i actually manipulated the same restriction with both coils and vaped them both at 60w, that was with the GT4 two thirds open and the GT Meshed half open for the same flavoursome smooth vape. The tank comes apart with no dramas and both the airflow control ring and rotate open top-cap have really good tolerances, i particularly like the top-cap which is tight enough it's not going to open on it's own accord while sill being easy enough to rotate open when its time to fill. The star of the show is the Gen with many quoting "best mod of the year" last year and it was definitely in the running. 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. The main con for the device is battery life giving below average vape time and having an Eco Mode sounds great in theory but i found it made little if any difference. After saying that i am by no means saying battery life is terrible and possibly being quite harsh due to finding so little to fault and many have not experienced below par battery life so maybe i just like using the device so much i am vaping more without realising it. Another con is the claimed charge rate and charge time, i thought it maybe a fault with my device but this is the second Gen i have used and got the same outcome, as mentioned in the review it charged at around 1.5A and took over 2.5 hours to charge which is miles away from what is claimed. 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 good out and about device despite it's large size which is a con for me. It's central 510 position (most will love this) will allow up to 26mm atty's without overhang. All the buttons including the fire button are nice and clicky and it fires in an instant with great ramp up whichever mode you use. Finally the Gen is fully firmware upgradeable. ___________________________________________________________________ Likes Good build quality Grippy textured rubber finish Finish seems very durable Ergonomic despite size High powered 5 Colour options (New colours) Tank matches both colour and aesthetics of device 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 Battery panel fits very securely Battery Ribbon Up to 26mm atty's without overhang Firmware Upgradeable NRG S and S Mini are very good performing sub-ohm tanks 8ml Capacity (NRG S) Spare glass included (5ml NRG S) (2ml S Mini) Rotate open top-fill method 2 different GT mesh coil heads included Compatible with range of GT coil heads Cons Battery life below average ( what i am experiencing, many disagree) Power Eco Mode does little from what i experience to improve battery life Claimed Charge Rate and Charge time nowhere near what i experienced Large dual 18650 device Black on Black battery orientation (should of been addressed) Still no Type C USB (might actually get claimed charge rate if it had) No upgrades since original Gen leaves me scratching my head why now the Gen S (marketing shenanigans lol) I would once again like to thank Jessica from Vaporesso for supplying the GEN S 220W TC Kit With NRG-S Tank for the purpose of this review, thanks for reading and stay safe! ___________________________________________________________________ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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