Kanger VGO 650: kr808d-1 little fat battery from Analog Alternatives
short version: A compact, long lasting manual battery with complete compatibility with the standard kr808d-1 (Vapor King, Easy, Vapor4Life, Nebula, Cig2Go, Vaperello, DPVP9, Fusion, Zeus, etc, etc). Battery life is almost twice as long as an XL stick type battery. The included Kanger VGO XL horizontal coil cartomizers (2.7-2.8ohm) hold about double the amount of juice as a regular carto while producing huge vapor with the VGO, regular kr808 or 5 volt pass through. A win-win buy for kr808 fans looking for more battery life in a small package.
Starter Kit Includes: 2 650mah batteries, 5 empty refillable cartos (or you can get prefilled VGO XL carts or kr808d-1 carts), USB charger, AC/USB adapter, manual, gift box and carrying pouch. $49.95 with free shipping, ECF members PM free_roller for an additional discount.
the long version
Background:
I started vaping about 5 months ago. After researching the alternatives I chose the Vapor4Life kr808d-1. Not long getting my starter kit I had set myself up with a half dozen batteries, a pass through and had figured out a good juice for a tobacco substitute. About that time the Bloog Max Fusion variation of the kr808 came along and shortly thereafter, it's clones (Volt, Nhaler and Halo). They feature a voltage regulated battery (3.7) and a horizontal coil carto with hotter than standard ohmage to match the lowered output of the battery. Initially there were some problems using these cartos on standard 5 volt passthroughs, but now most of the dealers of the new models have a regulated passthrough to match. So, like many folks, I was faced with question of whether or not to stay with my original style kr808 or make the transition to the new stuff.
I decided to stick with what I have. I really like V4L Cool Carts, Boge 3.0 and CE2 3.0 ohm carts on my pass through and on a fresh kr808 battery. I had invested a fair amount of cash into finding what worked for me and really didn't want to change. Except for one thing. I wanted longer battery life and so I started investigating the fat batteries. Some are simply 510 EGO batteries and put out 3.2 volts and some are regulated at 3.7 and don't really get my Cool Carts going the way I like it.
VGO with standard cart compared to other pocket items
Kanger Vgo 650
Then I found the Kanger VGO. Analog Alternatives was discounting some kits and I decided to take a chance. I'm glad I did. Since this is a Kanger product, it is built to the original Kanger specs and works with all my cartos, my CE2 tank, IGO tank carts as well a couple of different 901 attys I use for dripping. Most importantly, it comes off the charger at 4.25 volts and does NOT immediately drop to 3.7 (or lower) under load. Instead, it works just like my old stick batteries, powers that first carto at over 4v (under load) and slowly drops down as you use it. So I get the same great taste from 3.0-3.4 ohm cartos as I do out of my pass through and my other batteries.
VGO fresh off the charger and under load with a CE2 3.0 ohm carto
Battery life is about 80% greater than my XL size stick batteries and the 650mah VGO is actually shorter than the standard (medium) size kr808d-1. It fits easily into a shirt or jeans pocket. With a couple of cartos (a CE2 and a WOW cart for when the battery finally starts running down) it gets me through 6-8 hours.
short version: A compact, long lasting manual battery with complete compatibility with the standard kr808d-1 (Vapor King, Easy, Vapor4Life, Nebula, Cig2Go, Vaperello, DPVP9, Fusion, Zeus, etc, etc). Battery life is almost twice as long as an XL stick type battery. The included Kanger VGO XL horizontal coil cartomizers (2.7-2.8ohm) hold about double the amount of juice as a regular carto while producing huge vapor with the VGO, regular kr808 or 5 volt pass through. A win-win buy for kr808 fans looking for more battery life in a small package.
Starter Kit Includes: 2 650mah batteries, 5 empty refillable cartos (or you can get prefilled VGO XL carts or kr808d-1 carts), USB charger, AC/USB adapter, manual, gift box and carrying pouch. $49.95 with free shipping, ECF members PM free_roller for an additional discount.
the long version
Background:
I started vaping about 5 months ago. After researching the alternatives I chose the Vapor4Life kr808d-1. Not long getting my starter kit I had set myself up with a half dozen batteries, a pass through and had figured out a good juice for a tobacco substitute. About that time the Bloog Max Fusion variation of the kr808 came along and shortly thereafter, it's clones (Volt, Nhaler and Halo). They feature a voltage regulated battery (3.7) and a horizontal coil carto with hotter than standard ohmage to match the lowered output of the battery. Initially there were some problems using these cartos on standard 5 volt passthroughs, but now most of the dealers of the new models have a regulated passthrough to match. So, like many folks, I was faced with question of whether or not to stay with my original style kr808 or make the transition to the new stuff.
I decided to stick with what I have. I really like V4L Cool Carts, Boge 3.0 and CE2 3.0 ohm carts on my pass through and on a fresh kr808 battery. I had invested a fair amount of cash into finding what worked for me and really didn't want to change. Except for one thing. I wanted longer battery life and so I started investigating the fat batteries. Some are simply 510 EGO batteries and put out 3.2 volts and some are regulated at 3.7 and don't really get my Cool Carts going the way I like it.
VGO with standard cart compared to other pocket items
Kanger Vgo 650
Then I found the Kanger VGO. Analog Alternatives was discounting some kits and I decided to take a chance. I'm glad I did. Since this is a Kanger product, it is built to the original Kanger specs and works with all my cartos, my CE2 tank, IGO tank carts as well a couple of different 901 attys I use for dripping. Most importantly, it comes off the charger at 4.25 volts and does NOT immediately drop to 3.7 (or lower) under load. Instead, it works just like my old stick batteries, powers that first carto at over 4v (under load) and slowly drops down as you use it. So I get the same great taste from 3.0-3.4 ohm cartos as I do out of my pass through and my other batteries.
VGO fresh off the charger and under load with a CE2 3.0 ohm carto
Battery life is about 80% greater than my XL size stick batteries and the 650mah VGO is actually shorter than the standard (medium) size kr808d-1. It fits easily into a shirt or jeans pocket. With a couple of cartos (a CE2 and a WOW cart for when the battery finally starts running down) it gets me through 6-8 hours.
VGO with standard carto and VGO with XL cart and cone compared to short, standard and XL stick batteries
Fit and finish are good and so far (about a month) no problems at all. This is my all day, everyday PV except when I use my passthrough (2-3 hours a day). The switch is easy to press, but has a definite click to it. The black and gold finish has held up to heavy use and the blue led in the tip is muted by indirectly lighting the faceted cover so you don't get a flashlight effect.
The Kanger XL horizontal coil cartos that come with the kit meter ~2.7-2.8 ohms (empty) and are a good compromise between Cool Carts(3.2oms) and WOW carts(2.4ohms). They produce a lot of vapor throughout the life of a battery and only start to seem a bit weak ~10-15 draws before the light starts blinking. They are, however, about 30% longer than standard and I prefer the standard cartos when carrying in a pants pocket. They do work fine in a shirt pocket, particularly if you add a clip.
Kanger XL vs standard carto
Cons: Only one that I can find.The cone (carto cover) is sized for the XL length carts and is about a 1/4" too long to use comfortably with standard size cartos. Easy to fix if you want to use the cone: add a short drip tip or a 901-808 adapter or simply shorten the cone with a belt sander or dremel. I prefer just to leave the cone off, it adds bulk and one more thing to fool with when swapping carts.
standard carto with cone and same with drip tip
Note that this review is simply my opinion and the results reported come from over a month of my use of the VGO. Every one vapes differently so YMMV!
Fit and finish are good and so far (about a month) no problems at all. This is my all day, everyday PV except when I use my passthrough (2-3 hours a day). The switch is easy to press, but has a definite click to it. The black and gold finish has held up to heavy use and the blue led in the tip is muted by indirectly lighting the faceted cover so you don't get a flashlight effect.
The Kanger XL horizontal coil cartos that come with the kit meter ~2.7-2.8 ohms (empty) and are a good compromise between Cool Carts(3.2oms) and WOW carts(2.4ohms). They produce a lot of vapor throughout the life of a battery and only start to seem a bit weak ~10-15 draws before the light starts blinking. They are, however, about 30% longer than standard and I prefer the standard cartos when carrying in a pants pocket. They do work fine in a shirt pocket, particularly if you add a clip.
Kanger XL vs standard carto
Cons: Only one that I can find.The cone (carto cover) is sized for the XL length carts and is about a 1/4" too long to use comfortably with standard size cartos. Easy to fix if you want to use the cone: add a short drip tip or a 901-808 adapter or simply shorten the cone with a belt sander or dremel. I prefer just to leave the cone off, it adds bulk and one more thing to fool with when swapping carts.
standard carto with cone and same with drip tip
Note that this review is simply my opinion and the results reported come from over a month of my use of the VGO. Every one vapes differently so YMMV!
my VGO and will buy more. I have used KR808, GoGo and Ego and the VGO is my favorite by far.
