VooPoo Argus XT and Uforce L Tank
Supplied by VooPoo for review
https://www.voopoo.com/argus-series/argus-mt-xt.html
Price TBC
A bit of an odd review here as I have covered the XT mod and the Uforce L tank in previous reviews but they were both part of different kits, wisely VooPoo have noticed this new combination works very well and is a better pairing in my opinion.
At the time of writing, I couldn’t find the two in a kit form but they are both available as separate items. I am sure this will change soon and I expect to see an Argus XT/MT with Uforce-L Kit as well as the MAAT kits that are currently available. VooPoo sent me the two separately so I will cover them as is.
The Uforce-L tank first appeared in the DRAG 4 kit, reviewed here:
https://www.planetofthevapes.co.uk/reviews/mods/voopoo-drag-4-kit.html
The Argus XT came with the MAAT tank, reviewed here:
https://www.planetofthevapes.co.uk/reviews/mods/voopoo-argus-xt-kit.html
Here’s the thing; in my opinion both of these kits would have been better with the opposite tanks, the MAAT TPP coils are a bit bigger than the UFORCE PnP coils and the TPP-DM3 0.15ohm Coil goes up to 100 Watts so the dual battery DRAG 4 would handle that with ease, the PnP coils supplied with the UFORCE-L tank have a maximum wattage of 70 watts which suit the single cell Argus XT/MT better. This was far from a deal-breaker as both kits were superb, but this new combo is better. Perhaps we will see a DRAG 4 and UFORCE-L kit too?
Unboxing
Obviously this will be different in kit form so you will have to use your imagination for that, but the two separate boxes were quite different, the Argus XT came in the posh tin and the UFORCE-L came in a bit of a basic box.
The Argus XT mod is a simple kit which includes the mod, a decent quality ribbon style USB-C charging cable, an 18650 battery adaptor (stored inside the battery bay), and the user manual.
It’s a basic bundle but then mod bundles always are, perhaps some sort of sturdy lanyard or belt clip thingy would be useful as the mod features a lanyard mount.
The UFORCE-L Tank comes in a pretty basic two-piece box, the outer sleeve is quite a tight fit and I struggled a little without resorting to tearing it off. The tank and spare bubble glass is held in the top layer, underneath that are the accessories.
In total you get the UFORCE-L tank with the straight glass fitted, a larger capacity bubble glass, two different coils (PnP TW15 0.15ohms 55-70watts, PnP TW20 0.2ohms 40-55watts), a bag of spare tank seals, and the user manual.
I would expect the exact combined items to be in the kit.
I hate to repeat myself and I hate to repeat myself, so I won’t go too in depth with the separate items, have a browse through the two reviews to get an idea of their strengths and features:
https://www.planetofthevapes.co.uk/reviews/mods/voopoo-drag-4-kit.html
https://www.planetofthevapes.co.uk/reviews/mods/voopoo-argus-xt-kit.html
If you are already familiar with the two kits then you can skip to the ‘Performance’ section to see why these two are a more perfect match.
Argus XT Mod
VooPoo sent along the black version which has a carbon fibre style wrap instead of leather, everything else is the same as the previous review but obviously it's not as shiny or such a fingerprint magnetic.
- Size:148*34.5*37mm
- Material: Leather + Zinc Alloy
- Output Power: 5-100W
- Output Voltage: 0-8.5V
- Resistance range: 0.05-3.0Ω
- Charging voltage: Type-C 5V/3A
- Battery:18650 or 21700*1(Not Included)
- Weight: 145g (211g with a 21700 battery)
I know I said I wasn’t going to repeat myself or repeat myself, but I quickly realised that flipping between the reviews is a right pain in the ass, so I will just copy-n-paste the relevant bits:
It’s an absolute beauty, there’s something about VooPoo mods that seem on another level to their competitors and it always feels like they are being innovative and are pushing the boundaries in styling.
The shape is an irregular polygon (six sided with mixed angles) and just feels right in the hand, the edges are fairly hard but oddly it adds to the feel and intuitive ergonomics, the design is so interesting and there’s something going on all over it.
The top 510 connection area looks unique and features a solid metal lanyard ring. I’m 50/50 about this, I use lanyards a lot but the 290g weight can feel too heavy around your neck, also you will require a decent lanyard to support the weight, I used a wide band metal one.
Weight wise; it’s not the lightest single 21700 mod I’ve tried but the weighty construction appeals to me. The mod is 145g, add a 21700 cell and it comes out at 211g, and by the time you add the tank with e-liquid, it comes out at 290g so that is something to bear in mind if you prefer lighter kits.
The main difference between the XP and the MT is the battery option, the MT has an inbuilt LiPo so it’s much lighter. The XP takes either a 21700 or an 18650 using the included adapter.
The battery door feels good quality and requires a bit of effort to open and close it, this means it is fairly secure when stored in your bag or pocket. There’s a tiny detail which was nice; there are two little rubber pads which help protect the mod and surfaces when you put it down.
The USB-C charging port is hidden under a little flap near the bottom, it felt slightly loose but didn’t rattle or accidentally pop open during normal use. The charging screen is nicely animated but only shows the percentage charged, but with the 3 Amp charging rate you won’t be watching it for too long.
There’s a subtle difference with VooPoo’s current branding, gone is the large font ‘POO’ branding, in fact the only mention of the P-word is on the battery door in a tiny font and on the hidden underside of the tank, I’m used to the word by now but it often brings a snigger from friends when I mention the brand. To be fair VooPoo is a good name that rolls of the tongue (ew!), it’s just one of those unfortunate lost in translation things.
By now you may have noticed the little lever between the 510 plate and fire button, this is the physical locking switch which has three functions: Lock all (including fire), Lock adjustments (still fires), and Unlock all which obviously is fully unlocked.
Controls
The screen is bright, and the wattage font is really big and looks good, though the rest of the info is quite small, and my older eyes struggled to read details such as the resistance and battery levels, but the information on screen is spot on and includes battery level and percentage.
For DIY tank users, you can find the regular options such as ‘RBA and ‘TURBO’ where you can set your own wattage without restriction up to the 100 watts (SMART limits to 80 watts). You also get TC (Temperature Control) options including Ni, Ti and SS with the option of saving your pre-sets.
- 5 x Fire = Turns device On/Off
- Press & Hold Up & Down = Enters top menu
- MODE – SMART/RBA/TURBO/TC
- SETTING – Puff Counter / Brightness / Display Time
- ABOUT DEVICE – Version & Serial No
- EXIT – Erm… exits!
TC Modes offer a few more options and it is fairly easy to dial in the desired temperature and wattage (3 x Fire to set wattage once in TC vaping), and you can easily save the settings by pressing Fire and Up buttons.
Overall the chipset offers enough for the majority of users and is reasonably easy to understand. DIY users may benefit from a quick read of the manual which is easy to follow and explains it all quite well.
UFORCE-L Tank
The preinstalled 4ml straight glass is just right and keeps a streamlined look to it, I never felt compelled to put the 5.5ml bubble glass onto it as it would just look so wrong, I can suffer that 1.5ml less for the sake of the looks, but at least VooPoo gave you that option.
As many of you will know, coming up with a new tank style is pretty hard these days so it’s tricky to come up with something that looks different, but VooPoo have managed this with the UFORCE L tank. For a stock-coil tank, I think it looks superb. Better still; it is top airflow which makes it pretty leak-resistant. Then there’s the base design which has grooves to act as a heat-sync.
The machining and detailing manage to suit the mod with a kind of stepped edge look, I just found it really interesting to look at, to me that’s quite important in a tanks design, and this one is already one of my favourites.
Another thing I like is that it strips down easily which makes it simpler to clean and maintain, the glass seals aren’t too tight, so I didn’t have that ‘crocodile wrestling’ frustration removing it. There was only one slight thing I thought could be better: the 810 drip-tip is quite plain. It’s not a bad shape and wouldn’t have bothered me had it not been for VooPoo’s gorgeous drip-tip on the latest Argus kit which had a metal rim at the base, you might notice I swapped it over on some photos.
I was surprised to see that VooPoo went with the PnP coil fitting, they are quite small coils for a tank of this size, but VooPoo have matched it up with their new latest PnP TW series coils which proved to be a smart choice (more on that in ‘Performance’).
- PnP TW15 0.15ohms 55-70watts
- PnP TW20 0.2ohms 40-55watts
They are a contradiction to everything I believed in mesh stock coils; small, thin cotton walled, and restrictive wicking ports. These usually suit single battery pods for lower powered RDL/DL vaping which is why I was surprised to see them in this dual battery kit, I was to be proven wrong when it got to ‘Performance’ as the PnP TW15 gave me the best DL vape I have experienced from PnP coils, so don’t let this put you off.
Filling the tank was a simple affair, the top-cap unscrews a third of a turn counter-clockwise, the knurled edge makes it easy to grip and unscrew. There are two kidney shaped fill ports which accept standard short-fill bottle tips, the second port prevented any airlocks and the seal helps prevent over-filling.
The airflow control proved to be another one of VooPoo’s best yet, top-airflow is ideal to prevent leaking. Usually any excess e-liquid follows the path of least resistance and escapes through airflow inlets, normally at the base, and pisses all over your hands and mod, top-airflow offers a tougher path for juice to escape, and in general use you won’t experience any leaks.
As for the actual airflow control, the vented slits and three sided inlets provided one of the airiest and least noisy draws I have experienced, usually top-airflow gives a more turbulent airflow, but not on this little bugger.
The end result makes the Uforce L not only VooPoo’s best yet, but also one of my favourite stock coil tanks to date, and using the newer TW series coils was a big part to that.
Performance
This is the part that made this separate review worthwhile; there was absolutely no surprise in the flavour or vape quality as I had already experienced it on the DRAG 4 kit, it was more that the single 21700 battery ARGUS XT suited the UFORCE-L much better.
Onto what proved to be my favourite part, perhaps I had lower expectations than normal but I got an immediate wow factor from the vape quality and I had just left it to do its own ‘SMART’ thing, 60 watts using the 0.15ohm PnP TW15 coil. It was almost a perfect vape as is; wonderful flavour, warm but not hot, and that airflow! Damn this thing is super airy when wide open, I had to close it off to almost half-way to suit my preferences (I find I get a warmer vape at lower wattage by closing it off a little).
I’ve started a new paragraph for the vapour production as it took me by surprise. For such a small coil and at relatively low wattage, it belched out some impressive clouds. I was proper loving the vape I was getting from this new combination and in no time my house had zero visibility, so I had to take it outdoors for even more impressive clouds in the colder air. In the seclusion of my garden, I was having childish fun creating a fog layer on the grass.
Moving onto the less power hungry PnP TW20 coil was still very good but inevitably not as good as the TW15. Perhaps I should have started with this one and built up, it still kicked ass compared to other PnP coils I had tried and is a great option for when you need to reduce the vapour production or require an even longer battery life.
Battery life was obviously not as good as the dual battery DRAG 4 but these PnP coils were a better choice. Since I was only using 60 watts, I was getting most of a full day of moderate use, at first I was using it a lot more than usual but I still got into the evening before it needed charging and there was always the option of ECO mode should it fall short.
Here’s another reason why I felt this combination worked so well; it all just felt more natural. The UFORCE-L styling made it look a little slimmer, but it is also taller due to the top-airflow so I found that the straight glass was a must as the bubble glass started to look unbalanced.
Thought the leak resistance on the MAAT tank worked well, I found the top-airflow on the UFORCE-L more trustworthy. I deliberately left it unused for three days; usually e-liquid will start to pool in the base by then and leaks out of the base on bottom airflow tanks, the top-airflow on the UFORCE-L prevented this.
Since I had decided that this tank suited the XT better, I ended up opting for the 0.2ohm coil as the preferable option, mainly for the longer battery life, and the difference in performance wasn’t too bad. I will still be using the 0.15ohm coil when I fancy a treat.
Here they are side to side, personally I prefer the looks of the old kit, I just dislike black vape kits as they look flat in detail compared to lighter colours, I also struggle to photograph black vapes, but I know it is one of the most popular colours and probably outsells any other colour, each to their own. I put my preference aside and I preferred the UFORCE-L combo more in the hand.
It’s not that the MAAT is a bad choice, it still looks the mutts-nuts and the outer shape is more suited to the angles of the mod. It is mainly the top-airflow and lower wattage coils that convinced me that this combo was better for me.
Which one suits you might be different; both give absolutely top-draw vape quality, both look superb, and the MAAT also has some higher ohm coils if battery life is an issue, as I previously mentioned; it was the top airflow and 60 Watts of the 0.15ohm coil that pipped it for me, neither is a bad choice.
Is it worth you upgrading if you already have the Argus XT/MAAT New tank kit? It’s not clear cut, I doubt you will notice much difference in the vape quality, but I think you can buy the tank for around 20 quid if you shop around and it could be worth a punt even if you want to use it on a different mod.
And *if* VooPoo are listening….
Since we are looking at new tanks for current mods, can we have a new MTL tank for the ARGUS Pod kit but with the performance and leak resistance of the latest VooPoo pod kits? Please? Pretty please! I still love this bit of kit but no longer use it due to the out of date tank.
Conclusion
VooPoo obviously saw that the new UFORCE-L tank was a great alternative tank for the Argus XT/MT mod and I’m glad they sent it along for reviewing. This combo made a great kit even better for my preferences, the PnP coils suit a single cell mod, but they punch well above their weight as they still deliver a lot of flavour and vapour.
I’m a big fan of individual choices, both are available separately so you can use either with different tanks or mods, but I felt VooPoo made the choice easier with this particular combination.
Pros
- Modern and classy styling
- UFORCE-L tank and PnP TW series coils
- A great alternative to the MAAT New tank
- 3 mode physical locking switch
- IP68 proofing
- Top-airflow leak resistance
- Bright and clear screen
- Attention to detail
- 21700 battery option (18650 adaptor included)
- High Flavour and vapour production
- It has the ‘it’ factor
Cons
- …….
No Cons, no niggles. Another VooPoo kit with no cons! I’m going to be so disappointed if the next product has any.
Final Thoughts and Score
Having thought long and hard, I am convinced that this Argus XT and UFORCE-L combination is the best single cell DL sub-ohm kit that VooPoo have produced to date, VooPoo just keep getting stronger and stronger as a serious heavy-hitter in the vast vape market.
Score: 9.5/10 – UFORCE? UCHOOSE!
Si Davies
Reviewer at POTVMy 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!
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