https://www.vaporesso.com/vape-kits/gtx-go
RRP = $27.99 but expect to find it cheaper, I have seen it listed as low as £14.99!
It's pod time AGAIN! This time the wonderful Simon Davies and I have collaborated again, and we were lucky enough to both be sent this kit for review and decided we would cover this one together, we all know how good he is at photographing and how not so good I am in comparison. After all, it’s always good to get two perspectives in one review, right? Well we think so!
SD: I will second that – who doesn’t like a twofer?
(talking of two-for-one, where’s the second coil Vaporesso?)
Key Features
- 1500mAh internal battery
- GTX Pod 22
- Compatible with GTX coils
- SSS Leak-Resistant Tech
- Type C Charging
- Adjustable Airflow
- 3 Power Settings
In the box
Nicely packaged as usual from Vaporesso, but I have to mention it as it’s a MASSIVE negative for me that they only included one coil in the kit! Not sure what is going on as I see this happening more and more, but for me it’s a big CON, if anything goes wrong with that coil you would have to go buy a whole new pack just to try this out. In my opinion they should have included the 0.6ohm and maybe a 0.8ohm or 1.2ohm coil so that you can really test the MTL. As they released a GO 80 and a GO 40, you would assume this is more a MTL kit and therefore a higher resistance coil should be included. Now I don’t even have to ask Si as I can feel him turning into the Hulk right now just thinking about "one coil gate"!
SD: The lack of a spare coil is a really strange choice from Vaporesso, this is the same with the GO 80. Considering the cost of these at source, I think it’s pretty tight-arse. I, for one, would have happily paid an extra $2 for a second coil option. I agree with Diane that a 0.8ohm or 1.2ohm would have been a nice touch.
The Device
When you look at the Vaporesso site, they advertise it as Formulated Simplicity - Built in Complexity. Encased in simplicity and honestly, I must agree, it’s very simple and easy. With so many people moving from smoking to vaping, we need to make it simple sometimes, but simple doesn’t mean less quality and Vaporesso have built a nice quality kit here with the GTX GO range. Including the pod, it measures at 22mmx110.3mm. It’s a nice size and feels comfortable in the hand. To me it looks more like a tube pod mod as the pod just sits on top of the device as opposed to sitting inside and is little old skool looking.
It has a nice grippy square textured power button which is surrounded by the LED. The button is used to switch the device on and off with five clicks, to vape, and to check battery level.
You can check the battery level by pushing the button once, it will either show Green 70-100%, Blue 30-70% or Red 0-30%.
On the other side you have the USB-C charge port.
There is very light branding on the kit which I like, not in your face and looks nicely understated.
SD:
Diane has pretty much summed up my thoughts. As simple as it is, I really like how it looks and feels in the hand. A slight bulge at the top adds to the ergonomics, and a pro for me on the GO 40 is the three adjustable power levels which the Go 80 lacked.
The design is clearly aimed at new vapers, and Vaporesso have nailed it on that front. There are very few kits as easy as this one to pick up and ‘GO’ with next to zero learning required. The only thing that requires a little learning is the adjustable power:
3 x Fire cycles through the power settings
- Red = Low
- Blue = Medium
- Green = High
As Diane has pointed out, this feature was not included in the instruction manual which is really odd, I’m a natural dabbler so I discovered this for myself but new vapers could easily miss this little feature.
The Pods and Coil
The pod is made from PCTG, it is lightly tinted and utilises the external GTX coil range. It has a 3.5/2ml tpd juice capacity. I really appreciate that they went with a top fill design, to fill you just quarter turn the top cap and voila, the fill hole is there ready and waiting! When you then replace the top cap, you can feel it lock back into place, very easy to use. There are four strong magnets that connect the pod to the main body, and I did not really notice any movement. On the base of the Pod you have two air-inlet ports on either side.
This pod is compatible with the 0.3ohm, 0.6ohm, 0.8ohm and 1.2ohm coils – mainly due to the power being Max 40W
SD:
The pod design is quite clever and sticks to Vaporesso’s ‘Simplicity’ theme nicely. It could have been simpler with a filling bung, but I’m glad they didn’t as the screw top method is much more faff free, possibly my favourite way to fill a pod.
The only thing I didn’t like was the size of the mouthpiece for MTL as it’s a little too wide for my taste, I’m with Diane that I expected the GO 40 to be more MTL and the GO 80 to be the DL/RDL version.
I do like the overall style of the pod though, the glossy finish and the silver ring gives it a bit of style, and the smoked effect is spot on as it’s not too dark so you can always see every drop of your e-liquid and the wicking ports of the coil.
The pod also incorporates Vaporesso’s ‘SSS Leak-Resistant Technology’ but I have no clue what SSS stands for. My best guess is Slurpy Sleep Sheep, but I could be wrong? Anyway, basically there’s a little inbuilt reservoir that catches excess e-liquid and sucks it back up into the coil during use, this isn’t fully leak-proof but it does help to limit pods wetting the bed. The GTX coils also have an extra O-ring to enable this.
In use
Well of course I started with the 0.6ohm mesh coil as that the only one they included (sorry, mini Hulk came out then)! The coils are simple pnp coils and sit flush with the base of the pod. I primed the coil like a good girl, and filled it with 50/50 10mg nic salts.
Now before I go any further, there is some confusion with the power output. Nowhere does it say that the wattage can be adjusted, but if you click the power three times, the colour changes from Red to Blue to Green. I tried to work out if there is a difference between the settings and I think there is, but it's not huge.
Ok, back to the vaping. With the 0.6ohm coil, even with the airflow closed it was still a loose mtl, like an 8-9 on the DD-Drawometer. The flavour was nice, and vapor production was thicker than my usual pod kits but it lacked in density for me. So I thought I would try a 0.8ohm Mesh coil, again using nic salts. I started with having the airflow set to halfway and then just a quarter open, and still it was a loose MTL. You can get a lovely RDL from this coil so if that’s what you are into, then this is a good choice.
It takes around 1hr25mins to fully charge this kit
SD:
Spoilt for choice of which coil to try first; I went for the GTX 0.6ohm meshed coil. Vaporesso’s single included coil choice was ominous as 0.6ohm is smack bang in the middle of DL to MTL which generally means RDL. As it happens, the GO 40 is absolutely perfect for RDL. The flavour was simply superb which was to be expected with the GTX coils. Like Diane, I also tried it for MTL and had to close off the airflow fully to get somewhere close to a tighter draw. For some reason it appears I got a tighter draw on the draw-ometer to Diane, for MTL I would say it was a 4 to 5/10 but it felt looser due to the wide bore mouthpiece, and for RDL 4 to 8/10. I have had worse MTL draws so I found this quite usable, and the damn good flavour made it worth using.
I would class the GO 40 as an RDL kit and it excels at it, the airflow adjustment range is just superb as you can go from a looser draw down to a very restrictive draw, and the way Vaporesso divided the airflow is pretty clever as you can exactly close off the dual airflow to half open which works really well.
Battery life was pretty decent, I got through most of the day on medium power with moderate to high use. Charging, however, was pretty slow as the GO 40 only uses 1 Amp charging so it takes over an hour from the first red light warning to fully charged.
In Vapresso’s starter kit range, I would say the GO 40 sits nicely between the GO 80, which is damn good for DL, and the LUXE Q for a tight MTL. Sadly the LUXE Q doesn’t take GTX coils though, perhaps a Go 20 is on the way?
Top 5 pros for DeeDee
- Flavour
- Ease of use
- Coil range
- Battery
Niggles
- Too loose for MTL
- Mouthpiece is too big – need a more suitable mtl tip
- Only one coil included!
- Power options, what are they?
Si's Pros
- Damn good flavour
- Widely cross compatible GTX coil range
- Perfect RDL airflow adjustment
- Ideal starter kit
- Top filling is convenient
- Simplicity – nailed it!
Si's Cons
- One coil? Really Vaporesso, really??
- Slow battery charge rate (1 Amp)
- Wide bore mouthpiece isn’t suitable for MTL
DeeDee’s scoring: 8 /10
- Ease of use: 8.5/10
- Build Quality: 8.5/10
- Flavour: 8/10
DeeDee's Final Thoughts
So, my final thoughts on this. It’s a nice kit, good flavour and decent battery life, but this is not really a MTL kit. It's perfect for RDL or a very loose MTL or even DTL depending on your coil choice, so being a MTL user I was disappointed but not because of the quality of the kit, just my personal preferences.
I don’t really understand why they released a GO 80 and GO 40 as both can be used for DTL and RDL. I really wish they had made the GO 40 more dedicated to a MTL user.
Simon’s Overall Score: 8/10 (copycat)
- Flavour: 9/10
- Ergonomics: 8/10
- Vapour Production (RDL): 7/10
- Value: 8.5/10
Simon’s Final Thoughts
I was also expecting the GO 40 to be MTL. Though it did achieve a looser draw MTL, it excelled at RDL and I think it’s a perfect starter kit for those that prefer flavour over clouds. The exclusion of a second coil is pretty stingy but I can half forgive this going by the UK’s current £15 price tag. The downside is that you don’t get to choose which coil suits you, but the 0.6ohm is a great start and lasts for weeks.
Despite my MTL niggles, I really do like this kit for its ‘Simplicity’, and I’ve been enjoying RDL vaping more with this kit. 5mg nic salts with this kit has been a good combo, 6mg freebase is also a good choice.
If you’re looking for a pure MTL option then the GTX ONE kit still hasn’t been beaten, it’s not a pod but still easy enough to use for starters. Hopefully we might see a GO 20 MTL in the future?
Diane Wagerfield
Reviewer at POTVIn August 2019 I joined POTV & in Sept I bought a Caliburn and some nic salts & have not touched a cigarette since! I was smoking around 20 cigarettes a day for 26 years!! Mental! I honestly appreciate all the help and guidance from the POTV members, they made the switch so much easier!I am very much into MTL PODs & AIOs. Enjoy mingling with the members, helping others and having a good laugh!
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