Vaporesso Zero S
Si takes a long look at the new Vaporesso ZERO-S Pod Kit, and I think he likes what he sees!
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by Si Davies
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Supplied by Vaporesso for review
https://www.vaporesso.com/vape-kits/zero-s
RRP $24.90
Spoiler alert, the ZERO S is the best pod kit from Vaporesso since the ZERO 2, and for me it is the best pod kit Vaporesso have produced to date, yet on paper it sounds basic and a bit pants. Read on to find out why I love this little bugger so much….
- 650mAh battery
- USB-C 5V/1A charging
- 1.2ohm mesh pod
- Flip-top filling
- Auto-draw
- 63 grams
As I was typing the features, I’m thinking ‘meh, meh, meh….’ as there’s not one thing that stands out and it all looks all pretty average at that, in fact the lack of features would normally raise my hackles:
- Only one pod included
- Fixed airflow
- Small capacity battery
- 1 Amp charging
- No power adjustments
- Single colour status LED
But trust me, these just fade away, the simplicity becomes one of its main strengths and the vape quality makes it outstanding.
Unboxing
The Zero S kit is pretty basic and is clearly aimed at being an affordable starter kit. The box looks good but it’s a simple fold pack with a blown plastic tray insert holding the kit.
One of my pet hates is kits only including one pod or coil, and Vaporesso opted to not to include a spare pod so things weren’t off to a flying start.
Part of me is naggy about this, but the other part of me is trying to put myself into a new users frame of mind not wanting to splash out more dosh on a possible gamble they might not like, it is also worth considering the ZERO S kit as a potential disposables killer (and trust me, it really is just that).
I would highly recommend you order additional pods at the time of purchase, they are worth the additional outlay and make this kit more appealing, but I really wish Vaporesso had included a second one in the kit.
First Impressions and Overview
If I’m honest, I was far from impressed with the packaging, the lack of a spare pod and to make it worse the colour was just not my bag, but once I got my hands on this little fella, things started to look up.
It’s no exaggeration that I instantly loved how good it looked and felt in my hand, the size is perfect and can be easily hidden in your grip (making it perfect for sly/stealth vaping). I couldn’t help but being reminded of one of my all-time favourite pod designs, the Aspire Cobble, which was one of the earliest pods to come out, these days it’s a total piece of crap as the flavour was pants and the pods leaked which eventually caused the auto-draw to fail, but for all its faults, I just loved the size and feel of it in the hand, and the ZERO S brought back that same feeling which kick-started my love affair with this device.
Like a knob, I forgot to photograph something to scale it against, it isn’t the smallest pod ever but I can only think of one Vaporesso pod that was smaller, the OSMALL, but to compare the two wouldn’t be fair as the construction of the ZERO S is so much better with its metal body (the OSMALL was cheap plastic and looked disposable).
The finish appealed to me a lot, it has a high quality metallic paint finish similar to custom cars, and I would kill for a similar paint finish on one of my Vespas. By now I was ignoring my colour preferences, and couldn’t help but admire the paint job.
The two-tone fade makes it more appealing, we tend not to see too many painted vapes these days as they are prone to chipping and eventually flaking off, time will tell if this will happen, but I tend to wear smaller pods on a lanyard and I rarely scuff or scratch my stuff. The lacquer top coat ‘should’ prolong the lifespan of the finish, but I for one am happy Vaporesso chose this paint finish.
The shape is a quite basic rounded oblong with very few visual features but it has been well sculpted and there are no hard edges, it’s hard to describe the tactile feel to it but it feels so nice to hold either in your palm grip or finger pinch, this feeling didn’t fade away and it soon became one of my all-time favourites to use.
The pod is a magnetic fit, it fits really well with ‘zero’ wobble, and there’s two shaped grip pieces on either edge to help pull the pod out which is an improvement on the original ZERO’s so it’s much easier to remove and replace.
ZERO Gravity
Another big improvement on the pod is that it is now top-fill via flipping the mouthpiece off with your thumb, Vaporesso have used this method on a few of their previous pods and have refined it to become easier. It flips off quite easily but stays in place well and I’ve had no issues with it popping off in my pocket or bag.
The filling port is pretty good and is not as tight as earlier versions of Vaporesso top-fill pods, there’s also a second breather hole to prevent airlocks during filling. Visibility was perfect and there is a good balance of smoked plastic but it is transparent enough to always be easy to view your e-liquid level, basically it’s easy to fill and mess free.
ZERO to Hero
The charging port is at the very bottom and is USB type C, the included cable is quite short but is perfect for power banks. The three LED status light pulse animates to show the current charge (1 = Low to 3 = Full), the only downside so far is that the LEDs are just one colour (White) which is harder to see the battery level during charging and vaping, a three colour would have been preferred.
While I’m on it, the little Silver status panel is a nice touch and gives the ZERO S a little more style, and the subtle branding is always welcome. It’s one of those little touches that manages to give such a basic shape a surprising amount of style.
The duck-bill mouthpiece is really well sculpted to be comfortable on your lips with no evident side air leaking, I would say that it’s one of the most comfortable pod mouthpieces I’ve experienced (even though I usually prefer smaller).
ZERO 2 vs ZERO S
One of the reasons I leapt at the opportunity of reviewing the ZERO S was due to how much I loved the ZERO 2, but I wasn’t expecting to prefer the more basic shape of the ‘S’. The flatter profile makes it feel more natural to hold, it’s lighter and more lanyard friendly.
I still love the ZERO 2, but the ZERO S does feel better and looks good all round, the ZERO 2 definitely had a ‘best side’ and the back-side looked like a backside. The pod is also better in design and looks.
Despite the pod being a new design, they are backwards compatible, either pod worked in either device but the new version was a clear winner in looks, convenience, and performance.
The hump-back design of the ZERO 2 has gone and I thought I would miss it, but the skinnier ZERO S just feels more natural and is 10g lighter, but that comes at the price of a smaller battery (ZERO 2 = 800mAh – ZERO S = 650mAh).
At the time of photographing I wasn’t to know which one performed better, but that was about to seal the fate of the doomed ZERO 2….
Performance – ZERO Emissions?
Despite a few reservations along the way, it was going to come down to the all-important performance as to whether I would prefer the ZERO S, and almost immediately I knew I was onto a winner.
The new 1.2ohm pod immediately felt like an upgrade. The flavour was more instant and strong, the draw was just right for MTL. Had it been adjustable airflow, I might have tightened it a touch, but I never felt it was too loose (which often dooms pods to the sin-bin).
I tried to be cocky and attempted some of the on-trend over-sweetened ‘ice’ e-liquids and it did handle them okay but soon started to darken the e-liquid so I wouldn’t recommend using those. Fortunately I had a second device so I robbed the pod from that and went back to regular nic salts (50/50 20mg) which I would say the ZERO S is happiest with.
Using regular nic salts, the pod life was exceptional. I am just over 20ml and it’s still going strong which makes it one of the better pods for lifespan.
S SSS-nesss
One of the few flaws that the ZERO 2 had was the eventual leaking of the pod towards the end of its lifespan, laziness meant that I often left the pod in longer than I should, and I would often find that it wet the bed around the base of the pod. So far so good with the new 1.2ohm mesh pod, and I’ve experienced no leaking so far. ‘If’ I continue to use the ZERO 2, I will be buying the newer pods for it.
There’s not a whole lot to add to the performance, the battery life was reasonable and lasted a full pod on average. I got into the habit of refill = recharge so I rarely found myself running out. The charging time was quite quick and around 45 mins on average.
Soap on a rope
One of the improvements over the ZERO 2 was that the ZERO S was more lanyard friendly; the weight helped but the shape made the difference as the ZERO 2 always wanted to slip the lead and do a runner. The flatter ZERO S just stayed in place and felt less clumsy.
The ideal ZERO S kit would include a second pod and a lanyard, perhaps an S version of the S? Second thoughts, that would make it the ZERO SS – a bit ‘too soon’ for those initials methinks!
Conclusion
Simply put, I just love everything about the ZERO S, the custom paint looks, vape quality, MTL draw, ergonomics, wearability, comfort, and lifespan.
What more could you want? Well that’s a little subjective. My earlier reservations of only one pod included, Fixed airflow, small capacity battery, 1 Amp charging, no power adjustments, and single colour status LED just melted away when balanced with the overall experience of this little beaut!
I know we always preach on about disposables, but THIS kit is a true disposable killer as long as you put the right e-liquid into it, it performs better, looks better, is sustainable, cheaper, simple to use, rechargeable, etc. I really couldn’t find a reason for a disposables user not to like this kit?
Pros
- Flavour
- Gorgeous paintjob
- Compact, light and very comfortable
- Lanyard friendly
- Leak resistance
- Improved ZERO top-fill pod
- The ‘it’ factor
Cons
- How many pods? Only one!
It’s a shame about only having one pod as the ZERO S would have been con free other than that. A niggle would be the single colour LED but that doesn’t matter once you get used to the 2ml = recharge habit.
Final Thoughts
What was potentially a ‘filler’ review soon became one of 2022’s highlights, personally I thought Vaporesso were losing the war to VooPoo for MTL pods but the ZERO S puts them back into the game and possibly taking the lead. My precious DRAG Nano 2 has officially retired due to the ZERO S even though the colour is far from my tastes.
Score: ZERO/ZERO – Sorry I couldn’t resist, make that a solid 9/10 even without a spare pod.
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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