Astral
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Vaporesso SWAG PX80.
Disclaimer: This is an independent review of a vape device kindly provided to me by @Vaporesso 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.
Some say it’s fashionable to be early, others that it’s fashionable to be late; some say that it just takes time to get things right. There are many different clichés around, I don’t know which I subscribe to but Vaporesso sure know which they do and it’s led them to be both fashionable and to get things oh-so right.
Not only have they just fulfilled the latest fashions for the pod/mod hybrids, they’ve also fulfilled the fashion for side-by-side kits too, paradoxically making them vaping’s equivalent of Schrodinger's cat by being both simultaneously early and late at the same time...
At least they’re here now though, for a long time they were conspicuous by their absence.
While Voopoo were busy taking over the large pod/mod scene with the Drag, and Uwell were busily taking over the MTL mini-pod scene with the Caliburn, Vaporesso were seemingly busily focused on their traditional box mod strengths - even with the excellent PM80 in their line-up.
That’s not to say they didn’t make other pods either, they did - they’ve made plenty. They just appeared to prioritise box mods, which isn’t entirely unreasonable given their success.
The recently launched PM40 and XROS units have put them right to the top of the small pod scene now too though, and they’re showing they want to go even further by adding a new string to their bow - a large hybrid - to pit themselves against the current market leaders VooPoo, and go straight for the jugular…
So what’s it all about then? Is it any good? Can they compete?
Well, I’m pleased to say it looks like they can.
The new Swag PX80 is a step on from anything else in the market and goes beyond anything even VooPoo currently has to offer.
The external 18650 battery aspect of it isn’t new, but a side-by-side pod/mod certainly is, and with a hefty power output range of 5-80w (incremented in 0.5 watts) and a pod capacity of 4ml (or 2ml for TPD markets) it’s no tiddler either, despite it’s comfortable 99.7 x 27.2 x 50.9mm form factor.
It’s presented nicely too.
The box is a thick, sturdy affair and comes filled with all the usual things like the coils - in this case 0.2 wire and 0.3 ohm MESH GTX V2 ones - a type-C charging cable, and your usual instruction manuals and warranty cards.
Everything has its own little compartment and fits firmly into place. Only the coils rattle around a little loosely.
Vaporesso have taken to style and aesthetics in a big way and like to present themselves and their products well.
The aesthetical delights don’t end there either. The mod itself is a particularly attractive unit, especially in the sense of the IML 0.96in TFT screen, hidden stealthily under its fake carbon fibre coating as part of the shell on its rear. This is genuinely innovative from Vaporesso and is more than a novelty. It helps keep the mod clean and sanitary too.
The front of the device is perhaps slightly more subjective, and features a spongy leatherette front panel, coming in a variety of colours - leather brown, brick black, imperial red, emerald green and gunmetal grey, which may or may not be to your taste.
The only two buttons are both placed neatly on its side above the USB type-C 5v/2amp charging port, and consist of a large, upper round power button and a lower, vertical up/down elongated rocker button.
The display and functionality are all fairly routine if you’re used to any modern regulated kit, and the menu all intuitive and familiar.
Other than that, you’re pretty much good to go.
In use, this is very much a DTL kit, but the fact that Vaporesso supplied my test kit with an additional pack of 1.2 ohm mesh coils suggests it might not stay this way for long… Was this a hint?
As it stands though, the included 0.2 and 0.3 ohm MESH coils are both for the DTL fraternity, and both provide excellent clouds and rich flavour.
Of the two, I preferred the cooler 0.3 32-45w MESH over the 0.2 45-60w standard, but this was only to be expected.
Both were still far too hot and airy for my tastes, but providing you stick to the manufacturers recommendations, all GTX coils have excellent versatility and longevity and can easily be pushed or tamed without doing too much damage along the way.
If Vaporesso do now go the whole hog and offer some MTL options for the Swag in the future, this device should take it well and I expect there will be more than enough consumer demand for it.
As for the negatives, if there is one small thing to disappoint, it’s probably the simplicity of the air-flow adjustment.
This is probably the most disappointingly basic part of the whole kit and consists of no more than a simple rotation of the pod. I feel they could have done more with this or at least offered a secondary option to supplement it.
As for how it feels, it is an extremely small device and feels very cool to the touch. It also feels reasonably weighty but equally very solid and well built.
They certainly haven’t cheaped out on the materials and have provided yet another solid and well engineered unit.
The real piece de resistance with this entire kit though is the pod filling mechanism.
This utilises a unique double chamber system where the coil penetrates up through a lower catch-chamber and recycles anything that leaks down back up into the main reservoir - brilliant.
The coils used here also play a part in the leak-proofing. These are the new double O-ring GTX V2 variety and provide a second O-ring for sealing between the reservoirs.
You can still use the original GTX’s if you like, but you lose some of the extra protection.
The other brilliant part of this new PX80 pod kit is its coil locking mechanism. This actually affixes the coil to the bottom of the drip tip, and uses a rotation of the mouthpiece to lock the coil in place.
The coil is then removed by rotating the drip tip into the unlock position and pressing down on the mouthpiece where the coil will then pop out.
Insertion is the reverse.
The coil is pushed up through the bottom of both reservoirs into the bottom of the drip tip, where the mouthpiece will then protrude out and you simply rotate the said mouthpiece to lock it.
An excellent innovation from Vaporesso and all-in-all an excellent little kit.
It’s not quite perfect yet and I feel there’s still a few little things they can do to improve - particularly in respect of the MTL options and air-flow adjustment - but as a first attempt at their challenge on VooPoo’s dominance this is a good start. They’ve just launched themselves into the Drag race with more verve and aplomb than even the bolshiest RuPaul contestant can muster.
If this is a Swag V Drag battle we’re now entering, Vaporesso have just launched some serious shots.
Even the name is the dictionary definition of self-confidence - and with the PX80 I think Vaporesso are showing plenty.
