Astral
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- Aug 4, 2020
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Vaporesso Luxe ‘S’ 80w Kit.
Disclaimer: This is an independent review of a vape device kindly provided to me by @Sourcemore and is not associated with Planet Of The Vapes or any other organisation. The opinions here are purely my own and I am not receiving any payment or inducement for them.
Home is where the heart is, that’s what they say. There’s no place like it.
It’s our safespace. Somewhere we all feel at our most comfortable and familiar - often because of the people, often because of the possessions.
Contradictorily they also say that familiarity breeds contempt.
But that’s not what I find. I’ve never felt out of place amongst my favoured possessions and I’m never happier than when surrounded by the things I love and find the most familiar.
And that’s why I’m so happy to be doing this review.
When I began vaping a little over eighteen months ago my first real device was a @Vaporesso, in my case it was the newly released Gen Nano, a little 80w box mod with the GTX22 tank that I still use and love to this day. It’s served me well.
But now all this time on I’ve tried a plethora of other kits and found many new loves, many of which have taken a place in my heart - and made me feel like such a hussy!
So it’s with this that I’m excited to be trying this new Luxe ‘S’ 80w kit sourcemore have sent me.
It’s not part of the Gen series like the Nano - it’s a Luxe - so it's naturally going to be different, but I doubted there’d be too many differences and I’d soon acclimatise to it.
It’s also not like the Nano in the fact that this is a pod/mod and not a box mod, seeming to make it a bit like a soap-opera character that’s returned with a new head.
It’s both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. We all get used to it after a while but that doesn’t stop us hankering after the past.
It’s not such an issue for me though as I was never truly in love with the Nano kit as a whole.
You see, while I loved the mod, I was never too fond of the GTX22.
Unlike a lot of people, I found it to be whistly and leaky and much preferred using other things on it instead, so for me change isn't necessarily bad.
So when I received this Luxe ‘S’ I was intrigued to find out what Vaporesso had to offer us now.
Would the Luxe 80S be like anything like my old faithful - familiar and homely? Or would I have to wait for a true Nano 2 release for a proper upgrade?
Equally, was the GTX26 pod going to be similar to my GTX22 - whistley and leaky? Or would its new noggin make it something completely different?
I couldn’t wait to find out.
And now, after a bit of experimentation, I’m pleased to tell you I have - and what I discovered is generally positive.
I’ve found it to be an advance in almost every way.
Like with the GTX22 I’ve found the 5ml [2ml TPD] GTX26 pod to be a little open for my tastes - but that doesn’t mean it won’t be to yours and there's nothing wrong with it - there’s much right - it just doesn’t suit my style.
It’s not whistley or leaky like the GTX22 - it’s a good performer, and seemingly well designed, it just doesn’t offer the true MTL experience I enjoy and I feel that’s a bit of an oversight for a small kit.
I’d have much preferred if they’d made it as an MTL kit that open up rather than a DTL kit that closes, and that they’d used a proper airflow control ring rather than the rotational pod they’ve used.
As it stands, you just can’t get it tight enough for a true MTL feel.
On the other hand though, if you’re an RDL or DTLer you’ll likely love it.
The airflow is abundant and the coils and draw are outstanding for cloud chucking.
Conveniently, the MTL coils and RBA fit too if you want to try them, which makes it even more frustrating the airflow doesn’t match.
They all have great flavour and the longevity you expect from the GTX's though, and their quality make them some of the best and longest lasting coils I’ve used. They really are very good.
Something that isn’t so good though is the fact that infuriatingly you can’t change the tank if you don’t like it. There’s no 510 so you’re stuck with the GTX26 like it or not - for the time being at least.
This is no true box-mod - yet.
I suspect they’ll change it eventually though, just as they did with the Swag PX80, when they launched a dedicated 510 adapter for it later, but for now you’re stymied and you can’t just decapitate the new soap-opera actor even if you’d like to. You’ll just have to be patient for now or go elsewhere if you want something different.
On the plus side, at least it’s a top-filler and the lock-ring at the base works wonders in preventing leaking with it’s SSS technology, so there are some saving graces, but discriminating against such a large proportion of your user base can’t be good for business surely?
Anyway, aside from my personal gripes about the range, we come to the mod, and that really is the piece de resistance here.
The Luxe ‘S’ itself is pretty special. Really special. It’s a single 18650 mod with an excellent chipset - in this case their Axon one - and beauty and tactility to behold.
Here it really does begin to remind me of my beloved little Nano.
Everything about it feels familiar. From it’s 5 - 80w range, to its large round fire button and it's nicely interfaced 0.96 TFT screen. Its 5v/2amp USB port below the two under-screen selection buttons are pleasing too.
Unlike the Nano though, the interface is horizontal in nature as opposed to vertical and features some nice green accentuations.
You can change this in the menu though if you don't like it and you get a choice of any of pink, green and blue options plus the standard white.
You get the full gamut of information for your perusal too such as your wattage [current and recommended], your resistance, your battery life, puff counter, puff timer, and your lock status.
The menu options are slightly less populous but still rangey.
In there you get your variable voltage, variable wattage and smart mode options, plus your themes and default option, all operated by a simple five clicks on, five clicks off approach with a joint press of the selection buttons to lock it.
And if the screen is nice, the rest of it is arguably even nicer.
It comes in a range of five gorgeous/subjective [take your pick!] colour schemes that consist of: wood grain, carbon fibre, gorilla, steel blue and steel red - all with padded reverses and a tasteful chassis colour to match the embossed fronts.
There’s certainly something for everyone here and the style of it is more akin to the PX80 than the Gen range, but that’s no bad thing. The Swag PX80 is gorgeous too.
In the hand it feels as nice as either of those two and is something I thoroughly enjoy holding.
The textures are incredibly tactile and feel nicely lightweight and at only 128 x 42.4 x 26.5 it’s almost as compact too and is just as natural. Vaporesso certainly do a nice line in small mods these days and this is no exception.
Unfortunately, due to the lightness of the pod it also feels a little unbalanced, particularly with the battery installed.
Something that’s equally nice though is the presentation - they’ve clearly put a lot of thought into it.
For me they’re amongst the best at presenting their products and unboxing a Vaporesso item is something of an event.
Everything here is nicely set out and your mod, pod, USB-C cable and your 0.2 and 0.3 ohm coils, are all placed in a nice deep box with your reading literature in a nice sleeve set on top.
The final plus point of the Luxe 80 range is that there are two models to choose from and you don’t have to have the ‘S’ model with the external battery if you don’t want to. There is a standard model with an inbuilt 2500mah battery too, so you get the choice based on your needs.
For the purposes of this test I was sent the ‘S’ model but I suspect the standard model is equally as good.
All in all, I’ve had a good experience with this kit.
While the GTX26 is not naturally suited to me the kit performs its remit with perfection.
The only problem I have is with that remit and as an MTLer Vapoesso has left me feeling slightly neglected.
On that basis, it’s not a true replacement for my Gen Nano - so I guess I’ll have to wait for a Nano 2 for that - but it is an excellent pod system in its own right and as long as you judge it for what it is rather than what it isn’t, then you’ll have a very enjoyable and capable little unit, and one I suspect you’ll keep around for as long as I’ve kept my Nano!
If you want one you can get one from @Sourcemore here for the special price of $30.59 using the code: LUXE80S.
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