VAPORESSO LUXE 80 Starter Kit – Full Review!

The VAPORESSO LUXE 80 Starter Kit in this review was provided by our friends over at VAPORESSO (thank you!). Feel free to refer to their site if you would like additional info on this device or any of their other products.

Foreword

I decided to take on this kit for review for a couple of reasons. I have not used a Sub-Ohm Tank in over four years, so was very intrigued by the progression of the Sub-Ohm world and to use a small mod kit designed for newer vapers.

I’m also a big advocate for helping smokers convert from combustible tobacco products to less harmful alternatives. With this device, I felt it was designed to fill that need for a small, easy-to-use system to help with that transition.

Specifications

• Dimensions: 111.1 x 287 x39.4mm
• Colorways: Carbon Fiber, Wood Grain, Gorilla, Steel Red, and Steel Blue
• Built-in Battery Capacity: 2500mAh
• Output Wattage Range: 5 – 80W
• Charging Current: DC 5V/2A
• USB Type-C Port
• Display: 0.96” TFT Color Screen
• Max E-liquid Capacity: 5mL

What’s in the Box

• VAPORESSO LUXE 80 Mod
• GTX Pod 26 Tank
• 2x Mesh Coils: GTX 0.2Ω and GTX 0.3Ω
• USB Type-C Charging Cable
• User Manual
• Warranty Card

Now that all the boring stuff is out of the way, we can open up this box and take a deep dive into what this device is all about.

Design and Look

My views will only be based on the black one that was sent to me. Straight out of the box, I am loving the crocodile skin panel on the front. This alongside the dark grey metal frame gives it a very masculine look.

I’m not really into big font branding on devices, but I do like the branding on this one. This may be due to the fact it’s very small and works well.

Sadly, turning it over there is a big graphic of a Gorilla on the back panel. This makes no sense at all. It instantly turned my initial positive into a major negative. It makes the device look cheap. I hate to say it, but I feel that it might be more appealing to a teenager or minor, which honestly enrages me.

The other strange thing is that both sides of the device are completely different. It’s almost as if the design team couldn’t decide on the design of the panels and picked the top two choices they came up with. The choice that VAPORESSO made on this design is a major negative to me, but that is just my honest opinion. If they had just put the same crocodile skin on both sides, it would have been a killer-looking device.

[Other Design Features]

The fire button and the positive/negative buttons are very clicky, which I love. I have spent a good couple of hours just clicking all the buttons to see how they stand up to excessive use. No issues with the fire button at all, but the negative button (after a bit of time) lost its click and responsiveness. I now have to press it a few times to reduce the wattage. This is something to keep in mind as the wattage doesn’t round-robin to zero. If your button breaks, you will not be able to turn down your wattage.

I realize that you won’t be pressing all the buttons continuously during everyday use, but the click test helps expose the life span of the mechanism. Unfortunately, these buttons don’t seem to be as good as most other VAPORESSO products. This could just be an issue on my device, but it may very well be on all of them. Just something to keep in mind when thinking about purchasing.

I am also disappointed that VAPORESSO attached the base of the pod onto the mod. This means you cannot put any other atomizer on the mod. I feel this was a big mistake. The mod itself goes up to 80W and would have looked nice with a small MTL RTA like a Kayfun sitting on top. It also would have been a great starter kit that a new vaper could grow with, potentially using the same mod when upgrading to another atomizer.

VAPORESSO LUXE 80 Mod Functions

Here is a breakdown of the functions that are available on the VAPORESSO LUXE 80 Kit.

The mod uses the standard 5 clicks to turn the device on and off.

Three clicks locks the wattage so you don’t accidentally turn it up or down.

Press and hold the positive and negative button to enter the menu which contains the following:

• Variable Wattage (the standard mode)
• Variable Voltage
• SMART VW: the mod will automatically choose the best wattage for the coil heads that you have installed.
• Puff Counter: shows your puffs over a 7-day period. It’s interesting to see your vaping habits if you are into that sort of thing.
• Theme: changes the screen color (green, blue, and pink). This is great for a little bit of customization.
• Default: takes the device back to the factory settings.

The functions are extremely simple and easy to use, which is something I love about VAPORESSO products. The Axon chip works flawlessly with no issues whatsoever.

GTX Pod 26 Tank

Firstly, I do not know why they called it a pod. I would class it as a hybrid sub-ohm simply because it has most of the characteristics of a Sub-Ohm Tank. In this case, however, it uses a magnetic connection rather than a 510 connection.

Let’s get into the performance of the pod as well as the coil heads provided. What can I say, it’s a great little pod that holds 5mL of your favorite liquid which is impressive for such a small-looking tank.

The airflow is located on the bottom/side of the pod and there are two airflow slots on the base that it attaches to. To adjust, all you need to do is turn the pod in either direction. It’s a simple and yet very well-designed system that works remarkably well.

To fill, twist the top cap a quarter-turn and remove. There is a membrane covering the fill port (to prevent leakage) which you’ll need to push the bottle through. The major issue is that not all bottles have small enough nibs to penetrate the membrane. I feel that VAPORESSO should have made the fill port A LOT bigger to accommodate more bottle types.

VAPORESSO GTX Coils

As far as the coil heads go, I was blown away by the simplicity of the installation. As an old sub-ohm vaper, I always ‘primed’ my coil heads by putting a drop or two of e-liquid down the middle before installing. With the GTX coils, I completely forgot to prime it before installation. Back in the day, you might have to wait 20 minutes before you could vape it, but by the time I filled the tank, it was ready to go. This is a big plus in my book.

I also love the fact that it’s a plug-and-play coil style with no threading at all. During my old sub-ohm days, I would often struggle to not cross-thread the coil, and sometimes they were difficult to remove. With this plug-and-play system, getting the coil heads in and out is a breeze.

I was planning on breaking down the individual coil heads into their own sections, as I assumed there would be major differences between the two. But, ultimately, I found no difference with the performance at all.

The GTX 0.2Ω coil had great flavor and cloud production when using it at 55W. It was a really pleasant, saturated vape. I have no complaints. It’s nothing special or out of this world; there are probably a bunch of better coil heads out there. But, if you are looking for a flavorsome vape, you will find no faults at all with this one.

With the GTX 0.3Ω coil at 40W, it’s also a flavorful vape only with slightly less cloud production. No issues with this one either.

An Issue I Could Not Leave Unsaid

I kept coming across one issue which I feel you should know about. They state that this pod is leak-proof, but only from the top cap. The airflow slots and the base of the pod are a wet mess 99% of the time. Every time I take the pod out, the airflow slots are covered in a thick layer of liquid. When you turn the pod within the base, you can also see the liquid pooling around the airflow slots.

This seemed to be the case with every coil and liquid I used. I tried everything. I bought 10 more coils, I used various VG/PG ratios, I even tested multiple flavor profiles to see if it had something to do with the composition of the liquid. Unfortunately, it still continued to pool liquid around the base.

It’s not major enough that it leaks all over you, but it is a manufacturing flaw that needs to be addressed one way or another. It just makes the whole process of changing coil heads an unnecessarily messy experience.

VAPORESSO LUXE 80 – Final Thoughts

I am going to keep this short and sweet for you guys. Although I’m not a fan of the gorilla design, this is a solid device that could make the transition between combustible tobacco products to vaping much easier, simpler, and enjoyable. It could also be a great little backup device in case you break your everyday vape and need something to tie you over.

Although I complained about the wet bottom of the pod, this does not impede the performance of the device, so don’t allow that to affect your purchasing decision too much.

I’ve been leaving the VAPORESSO LUXE 80 Kit on my desk; when I can’t be bothered to use my mech, that’s what I reach for. It makes me happy as a kid in a sweet shop.

I do feel that VAPORESSO needs to reconsider some of their design choices, remembering that it’s not about getting as much graphic as possible onto a device, it’s about how it vapes whilst keeping it visually satisfying.

My Last Word: I Love It.

Adam Sloane

Vaping was the only way I managed to quit those stinky, deadly combustible cigarettes. I can’t thank the community enough for being such great people, helping me through the plethora of different devices, liquids, and vape science. I love getting my hands on new and old devices and breaking them down to see how they work. As I build my own coils, I like nerding out on airflow positioning and coil position for the greatest experience possible. Come join me on my adventures taking deep dives into the latest devices on the vaping scene.

Come say hi to me on Instagram @thecloudcarteluk