Voopoo Argus GT Kit
Introduction
The Voopoo Argus GT is a dual 18650 battery mod capable of a maximum power output of 160W and is topped with the PnP Pod Tank, first seen on Voopoo’s Drag S and Drag X pod devices. The PnP Pod Tank is compatible with all of Voopoo’s PnP coils, including the RBA coil, so there are lots of coil options available.
Box Contents
- 1 x Argus GT Device
- 1 x PnP Pod Tank 4.5ml (2ml TPD)
- 1 x PnP - VM5 (0.2ohm)
- 1 x PnP - VM6 (0.15ohm)
- 1 x Type-C USB Cable
- 1 x User Manual
Specifications
Argus GT Mod
- Leather or Material cushion and Zinc Alloy Body
- Size: 85mm x 51mm x 26mm
- Dual 18650 Batteries
- Power Output: 5 - 160W
- Gene TT Chipset
- Supports USB-C Fast Charging
PnP Tank
- 26mm Diameter, 24mm diameter at base
- 4.5ml Capacity (2ml TPD)
- Bottom Fill
- Bottom Airflow Control Ring
- Press Fit Coils
Photo Album
Disclaimer: The Voopoo Argus GT kit was sent to me by Sourcemore for review.
Design & Build Quality: Argus GT Mod
The Argus GT is a dual 18650 battery mod. It comes in a hard plastic case.
Taking it out of the box, my first thought was how small a device it is. It’s very sleek. Measuring 51mm x 26mm x 85mm (without the tank) it fits very nicely in the hand. My second thought was how light the mod is. On my scales it weighs 104.5g without batteries and 193g with batteries.
It has an overall rectangular shape, but the body narrows in where the front panel is.
The top of the Argus GT has a 510 plate which is offset to one side. This means that the curve of your tank matches up with the curve of the mod perfectly. You can fit tanks up to 24mm in diameter without any overhang.
On the front on the mod you have a square shaped fire button which is nice and responsive.
Below the fire button is the colour OLED screen. I have found the screen to be nice and bright, even in direct sunlight, and it has a good resolution too; all the information is sharp and crisp.
Below the screen are the up and down adjustment buttons. Again these are nice and responsive when using.
On the sides of the Argus you have a plastic frame which is painted to look like metal. It’s silver at the top and fades into black near the bottom. There is then a leather or material cushion that stretches around from one side, over the back and to the other side. The Argus GT I have has a leather cushion and it makes the device very nice to hold, it’s very comfortable in the hand. It doesn’t feel as thick as the leather on an Aegis mod, but still very nice.
On the side to the right of the adjustment buttons is a USB-C port, which sits beneath a hard plastic cover. I like that the port is covered up; it stops dust / dirt getting into the port, and I never use them anyway.
The back of the mod, as mentioned, has the leather / material stretching around. It also has the Argus name as branding running down the spine.
The bottom of the Argus has the battery door. You slide the door to release the catch and it then opens to allow you to insert batteries. The door itself feels quite loose when open, wiggling to the sides, but once closed it is solid and doesn’t move about at all.
The battery compartment is snug, having no battery rattle once the door is closed
Overall, design wise I really like the Argus GT. I think it looks very sleek and smart. It fits beautifully in your hand and is a very compact and lightweight dual 18650 mod.
Build quality seems very high, the only thing that concerns me is the wiggle of the battery door when it is open. I’m not sure if it is intentional to give the door wiggle room when open to prevent damage. I just hope it holds up in the long run.
Features & Functions
The Argus GT is quite a simple mod to use. You basically have three modes to choose from: Smart, Rebuildable and Temperature Control.
Smart mode is the default mode, which reads the resistance of the installed coil and sets a recommended wattage. You can adjust the wattage, but it will give you a maximum limit.
Rebuildable mode will let you change your wattage freely; ideal for when using RDA’s or RTA’s with your own coils, as you will more often than not want to push your wattage more than what Smart mode deems as a high limit.
Temperature control lets you choose your resistance wire type from Ni, Ti or SS, then adjust your desired temperature, wattage, TCR value and resistance.
The screen displays your selected wattage or temperature, depending on which mode you have selected, along with two battery level indicators, the installed coil resistance, the voltage being drawn from your batteries (when pressing the fire button) and a puff counter and the time of your last draw in seconds.
Argus GT Button Combinations
- Five clicks of the fire button to turn on / off
- Three clicks of the fire button changes firing mode:
- Smart mode (limits wattage based on coil resistance)
- Rebuildable mode (no limits on wattage)
- TC - Ni, Ti, SS (long press fire button to select highlighted resistance wire)
- When in TC mode, pressing up and down together will allow you to adjust your TCR value, wattage and resistance.
- Fire button and down button - clear puff counter
- Fire button and up button - lock all device buttons
- Fire button, up button and down button simultaneously - display chip ID
PnP Tank
If you have used the Voopoo Drag S or X you will be familiar with the PnP Pod Tank. Voopoo have been re-releasing some of their previous mods in kits with this Pod Tank included too.
The Pod Tank itself is made from a tinted PCTG, which is a plastic. Although tinted, it is very easy to see the level of your liquid in the tank. It is all one piece with an in built drip tip. It has very strong magnets on the bottom which connect it to the 510 base. The 510 base has an adjustable airflow ring, which spins freely but has a nice resistance to it to prevent accidental adjustments.
On the bottom of the 510 base is a gold plated 510 connection pin, which is fixed. It also has the usual regulation / safety marks and the Voopoo name.
Pulling the Pod Tank out of the 510 connection base allows you to fill the tank via the fill port on the bottom. It has a rubber stopper which you pop open and add your liquid. The fill port is big enough for standard eliquid bottle nozzles, but it’s not big enough for really chunky nozzles. I have had spillages from trying to pour liquid in from a chunky nozzle, which has caused an airlock and a bit of a mess. In the end I started using a syringe to squirt liquid into the tank.
You also change coils from the bottom of the tank. Just grip the bottom of the coil and pull it out, then push in a new coil. The tank does need to be empty or thereabouts to do this.
The Argus GT kit comes with two coils:
- PnP - VM5 (0.2ohm) rated for use between 40-60W
- PnP - VM6 (0.15ohm) rated for use between 60-80W
You can also use any of the coils from the PnP range, including the RBA PnP coil.
Since the tank is essentially a pod, I really want to dislike it. But I can’t. The built in drip tip is comfortable to use. The magnets are really strong. It looks really nice, being all one piece, and it’s really lightweight. Also, with Voopoo sticking to the PnP coil range, you don’t have to go out and buy a new range of coils just for this tank.
If you have multiple Pod Tanks (maybe from a Drag S or X) you can have multiple flavours on the go and switching tanks is as quick as can be; pull off one drop in a new one.
The Pod Tank is really strong too. I dropped it by accident onto my tile floor in my kitchen. A glass tank would have shattered. The pod just came out of the 510 base and bounced a few times. No chips, cracks or anything.
Performance
I first tried the 0.15ohm coil and at 70W with the airflow fully open it gives a wide open airy draw with nice flavour.
I next tried the 0.2ohm coil and at 60W with the airflow fully open it gives slightly more restrictive draw than the 0.15ohm coil, but still a wide open airy vape with nice flavour.
With the PnP Pod Tank you have to take into account that it is essentially a pod, the same as the ones found on the Drag S and Drag X. For what it is, it delivers good flavour, but it isn’t going to match a decent sub ohm tank.
In use I didn’t experience any leaking from the bottom of the PnP Pod Tank. What i do like is that even if a little bit of leaking does occur the 510 connection for the PnP Pod Tank can just be rinsed under a tap to clean it out.
Verdict
Firstly the Argus GT mod is a cracker in wattage mode (Smart or Rebuildable mode). It does what it’s supposed to do and does it very well indeed. It’s very easy to use, having the smart mode which limits the output power based on the coil resistance is handy for new vapers. Switching to the rebuildable mode to allow you to increase the wattage further is done with a simple three clicks of the fire button.
I don’t use temperature control modes so it’s not something that I have tested or can comment on.
The only little niggle I have with the Argus GT is that when the mod has stood without being used for a few minutes, it goes into a standby state and you have to first wake up the device by pressing the fire button then again to fire it. I’ve lost count of the amount of times I’ve picked it up, pressed the fire button and sucked in nothing but air, before realising I need to press the fire button again! I suppose this does offer some levels of safety and it’s just a case of getting used to it.
The PnP Pod Tank, as much as I want to hate it (for being basically a pod), performs really well. It is very sturdy, surviving a bounce on my kitchen tiles, has a nice flavour and you can swap out Pod Tanks really quickly if you have more than one, allowing you to have multiple flavours on the go.
Then there’s the fact that you can use any coil from the PnP range, so if you have some lying around from previous devices they won’t go to waste.
My only gripe is that filling the Pod Tank can be a pain if you use chunky nozzles, due to the size of the fill port. Also, it is bottom fill which is something to bear in mind.
It seems like Voopoo are happy to throw the PnP Pod Tank on top of all their mods at the moment. I can see the thinking behind it too. They’ve got a Pod Tank that must be a lot cheaper to manufacture than a tank and performs well, so why bother designing and manufacturing a new stock tank which many will swap out for their favourite tank anyway. That’s what it seems like to me anyway.
Pros
- Argus GT is small and lightweight
- Argus GT is very comfortable to hold
- Nice looks and design
- Nice bright screen and resolution
- PnP Pod Tank compatible with all PnP coils
Cons
- PnP Pod Tank not as good as a decent sub ohm tank
- Filling port can’t handle bigger liquid nozzles
- Bottom fill so have remove pod to fill
Thank you for reading and thank you to Sourcemore for sending this kit to me for review. They have kindly provided the promo code “ARGT” to pick up the kit for £24.40 ($30.99) here:
VOOPOO Argus GT Kit 4.5ml 160W TC box mod kit dual 18650
