Vaporesso Armour S Kit

Si has already reviewed the Vaporesso Armour Max kit, and now he is back to look at the Vaporesso Armour S Kit

by Si Davies
Nov 13, 2023

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Supplied by Vaporesso for review
https://www.vaporesso.com/vape-kits/armour-max
Current sale price £54 (Usually £67)

Vaporesso Armour S Kit first look

I recently reviewed the Vaporesso Armour MAX, and this time around I will be taking a look at its ickle bro, the Armour S, which is basically the same but a single battery version, the full Armour MAX review is here:
https://www.planetofthevapes.co.uk/reviews/mods/vaporesso-armour-max-kit.html

I will often be referring to the MAX as the vast majority is the same, including the performance, there are a couple of cosmetic differences to make it smaller for the single battery size, I will go into that later.

At a Glance

Dimensions: 154.8 x 41.9 x 36mm
TANK Capacity: 5ml (2ml TPD)
Coil Resistance:
GTi 0.2Ω MESH Coil (60-75W)
GTi 0.4Ω MESH Coil (50-60W)
1 x 21700 or 18650 Battery (Not Included)
Output Power: 5-100W
Charging Current: DC 5V/2A, Type-C
Display: 0.96” TFT Screen
TPU ‘Armour’ Protection
Physical Locking Switch
iTank 2 with Protective Sleeve

Unboxing

This is the standard retail package so it won’t have all the goodies stuffed into the Armour MAX’s bundle but there is still plenty there, it comes in that traditional Vaporesso Black/Green sleeve box.

Vaporesso Armour S Kit unboxing

With the sleeve removed and the document wallet, you are greeted with the full contents held securely in a blown plastic tray.

Vaporesso Armour S Kit contents

You get the Armour S mod, the iTank 2 with a protective sleeve preinstalled, a high quality charging cable, a bubble glass with spare seals, and a second coil. The manual/docs are held in the black wallet.

First Impressions and Overview

I am going to pretend I hadn’t seen the Armour MAX first because if I hadn’t, I would have been very excited with this kit. Vaporesso have really gone to town with this superbly designed kit. I was sent the Army Green version but the colour variety gives each a totally different look.

Vaporesso Armour S Kit colours

But I couldn’t ignore the main difference between the MAX, and that is the Armour S is so much more ergonomic due to its smaller size.

Vaporesso Armour S Kit compact

The styling is very military inspired with a rugged TPU and metal construction, it almost looks army issued. As an ex-soldier, I do doubt it is squaddie proof but we used to manage to wreck pretty much everything issued. Anyway I would have frickin' loved it back then and it would double up as a smoke screen.

Vaporesso Armour S Kit montage

I will let the photos do the talking, the only thing to point out is the black is TPU plastic and the green is metal. The battery door/base is rubberised.

Vaporesso Armour S Kit details

The back side is quite plain compared to the front but there’s a semi-hidden button towards the bottom which is the battery door release catch. It requires quite a firm press to spring open the battery door, that’s a good thing as it prevents accidental opening.

Vaporesso Armour S Kit battery door

Primarily it is a 21700 mod but it comes with an 18650 adaptor for those that haven’t got a 21700 yet, I say yet because you ideally need one to make the most from this kit. I recommend a Molicell 21700 from Fogstar.

Controls

The Armour S is packed full of functions and features all of Vaporesso’s innovations such as PULSE, F(t) and Smart, and pleasingly they have included TC (Temperature Control) too. I’m going to Copy/Paste the controls as they are identical even though the screen is orientated upright on the S.

I will cover the basics rather than make this already long-winded review even windier.

5 x FIRE = Turns device On/Off
Slide FIRE Up/Down = Lock/Unlock Fire Button (adjustment buttons still work)
3 x FIRE = Enters Top Menu (Up or Down buttons to navigate, FIRE to confirm)
Press & Hold Up/Down = Locks All (Wont fire or adjust)
Press FIRE & Down together = Selects SMART On/Off
Press ALL Buttons = Displays hardware information
Press Up & Down & Up & Down = The Venga Bus Is Coming

There are various submenus and settings to explore, but the little instruction manual is VERY easy to follow with no confusing babble (unlike my reviews).

But for me, I only use F(t) and SMART with Vaporesso’s stock coils. Vaporesso are pretty smart when it comes down to the optimal vape settings, and a combination of these two will give you a superb flavour and performance without needing to adjust anything. But you can adjust a ruck of settings if you choose to, TC alone has a lot of options (but avoid TC for stock coils).

Vaporesso have always had one of the best chipsets in their mods and cater for inexperienced and very experienced alike, most of it is common sense but a flick through the manual will quickly educate you.

Vaporesso Armour S Kit vs max

Side by side you can see the screens are the same size, but on the Armour S it is orientated portrait and there’s obviously only one battery bar, it makes the menus a little easier as more fits on screen.

There are a few other cosmetic differences such as the small Fire/Lock button, the smaller Up/Down buttons, and the charging port is a little lower.

Vaporesso Armour S Kit game on
(If you know who Moxxi is then kudos to you, one of my fav game characters I resin printed and painted)

But it is when you see them together, that the size difference is more obvious. Also you will notice that the Armour S has a straight glass on the tank.

Vaporesso Armour S Kit tank

I absolutely love this tank on the Armour Max so I’m pleased it is the same on the Armour S kit, apart from you don’t get the bubble glass protection sleeve, just the straight glass, but it does suit the look more I think.

Vaporesso Armour S Kit tank parts

Everything strips down easy enough, twist and turn removes most. Once stripped, it is easy to clean and change seals if you need to (spares included).

Vaporesso Armour S Kit tank clean up

Unlike the Armour Max review premium bundle, you don’t get as many options but you do get the bubble glass, and the 810 drip-tip can be swapped with your own if preferred.

Vaporesso Armour S Kit coil change and filling the tank

Changing coils is pretty easy, the bottom cap unscrews and the coil is a push fit. Removing the old coil is a bit fiddly as there’s not much to grab onto, a coin/key/teaspoon or anything like that to hand helps.

A huge improvement over the iTank (1) is the top-fill. The old one was a slide top and was a bit restrictive to slip your tip in (fnarr fnarr), but the iTank 2 has a spring loaded swivel top which swings open a full 180 degrees, and boy does it spring! You press the little button marked in red and it swings open with a strong force, it feels superb and is very good quality, and it puts those Smok ones to shame. I was able to fill it up a lot easier than the original.

It takes the same GTi coils as the iTank 1 :

GTi 0.15ohm mesh coil: 75 - 90W (Best: 85W)
GTi 0.2ohm mesh coil: 60 - 75W (Best: 65W) - INCLUDED
GTi 0.4ohm mesh coil: 50 - 60W (Best: 55W) - INCLUDED
GTi 0.5ohm mesh coil: 30 - 40W (Best: 35W)

Vaporesso Armour S Kit coils

Performance

I wanted to directly compare the Armour S to the Armour Max. Although the MAX goes up to 220W and the S only goes to 100W, they should perform exactly the same in theory as the coil range only goes up to 90 watts, the only difference will be battery life.

Vaporesso Armour S Kit ready to go

I even used the same peaked Kiwi Passion Ice so I could directly compare them side by side. As expected, I found absolutely no difference, the Armour S delivered the same perfect vape quality with both coils to the point I’m now going to refer and copy/paste the performance from the MaX review:

I’ve already experienced the GTi coils in the old iTank so I already knew I was going to get a damn good vape, but somehow this felt better. I can’t put my finger on it but the main difference was the airflow, wide open you get a very airy draw. I prefer to close it off a little to get a warmer and more flavourful draw.

It has been a while since I last tried them though, so Vaporesso might have upgraded the coils along the way, but either way, I was well chuffed with it, great mod, great tank, and a great vape made it a great package and I bloody loved using this Armour Max kit.

For the sake of the review, I played around with various settings and pushed the coils up to their top levels, but I simply found that Smart and F(t) together just hit the spot and gave me the best coil lifespan. All I needed to do was dial in my preferred airflow and vape away.

This makes it an ideal kit for beginners, and all the functionality makes it ideal for experienced vapers too. I didn’t test out the TC mode, but Vaporesso usually get that right and I trust them.

Coil wise, the 0.2ohm was easily the best option for this kit; it gave plenty of flavour and quite high vapour production at 70 watts. The 0.4ohm coil was also superb for flavour but gave lower vapour production, and it felt a bit odd using a dual 21700 mod at 55 watts.

*Slight revision
With the Armour S being a single 21700 mod, I will probably be using the 0.4ohm coil to ensure a longer battery life for very little flavour trade-off.

The other difference was how much more ergonomic and handy the armour S was, I could easily wrap my hand around the mod and also found I could fire it in more ways when rotated. It also didn’t feel as much like I was smuggling a brick in my pocket.

Vaporesso Armour S Kit the bomb

Conclusion

Yet again the conclusion is pretty much the same other than the ergonomics being better, Vaporesso must have loved developing the Armour Max kit. It is so unusual for them and is a welcome variation from their usual compact/lightweight kits. With Vaporesso’s superb AXON chipset, the improved iTank, and that outstanding futuristic design, they should be very proud of this product.

Personally the Armour S has been a breath of fresh vapour, I’m all podded out these days. Don’t get me wrong, the recent pods have been superb but they are never as enjoyable as a full blown cloud lobbing proper DL kit. I loved the Armour S from start to finish and it goes down as one of my all-time favourites. I have nothing like this in my vast collection. (except for the Armour MAX)

Once again I have been spoiled with a proper mod and tank kit…….

Pros

21700 (or 18650)
Vaporesso’s GTi coils are all superb
Flavour
Coil lifespan
Stunning futuristic styling
Rugged ‘armour’
Functionality for new and advanced vapers
Improved iTank is worthy of a separate purchase
Glass protection sleeve is superb
Dual lock
More ergonomic than the Max
Excellent battery life for a single cell mod
The same vape quality in a smaller kit

Cons

No protective sleeve for the bubble glass (available separately?)

Final Thoughts and Score

As with the Armour MAX, Vaporesso have dared to be different with the Armour S. Prior to reviewing the S, I had fully expected the MAX to be my favourite out of the two, but the more ergonomic and convenient S made more sense for out and about vaping and you still get the same vape quality. Credit to Vaporesso for giving you the choice.

Score: 9/10 – Amore More Armour Adore

Vaporesso Armour S Kit mod and tank

Si Davies

Reviewer at POTV

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My background is Engineering and Professional Photography. Mostly from POTV users knowledge I learned so much about pretty much all styles of vaping and equipment, Cloud Chasing, Squonking, Mouth To Lung, Direct To Lung, Pods, Mechs, Rebuild-able tanks and atomisers etc, and have experience with many many devices and atomisers, it's become a hobby and enjoy trying out the latest gear. I like to think my reviews are plain speaking and informative without getting too technical, if I have to resort to reading the manual then I don't consider it user friendly!