For those of you who want or need more than 20 watts, don't waste your time reading this P3 review. It was not designed for mega-watt vapers.
My thoughts on the P3...
The Provari had fallen behind the times in the past year plus. No variable wattage, a beveled top that requires a cheesy beauty ring, an outdated display appearance (looks like a 70s Ti calculator), a stationary positive post, and limited battery options on the standard kit (had to buy additional caps and extensions). The P3 has updated all of these antiquated features...VW, squared top, pretty display, floating positive post, and standard extensions to allow all three battery sizes in the 18 hundred series.
Ground Breakers or Close To It
Top Cap: There are some excellent improvements here. The 510 connection is replaceable. It's simply a threaded insert that can be easily removed and replaced. Perfect for those who damage their mod connections. Additionally, there is a squared top with a beauty ring that threads around the 510 connection. No more cheesy beauty rings that spin around and interfere with connections. Lastly, the 510 connection can be removed and it exposes a hybrid thread that at least three manufacturers agreed to design attys around (Kanger, Aspire, and Svoemesto). I personally have never liked the 510 connection. It was fine for smaller attys but in this day of heavy, 23mm attys, a larger thread is needed. Here it is. Let's see if it changes the standard in the e-cig world so we can ditch that 510 connection.
Recall: Allows up to five setting schemes to be saved and recalled. This is a handy feature when you are switching attys. Simply call up the appropriate setting scheme and off you go.
Input Quality (IQ): This feature has grown on me. It measures the resistance in your battery and battery connections and gives you a number to gauge the quality of your connections. When the number sinks, it's time to clean things up or get a new battery. If it is too low, it will limit your watts to 15. A safety feature perhaps (more on safety later).
Menu: Still operates using a single button that also serves as the fire button which I personally favor over multi-button. There is no confusing where the fire button is with single button operation. You do not have to wonder if you're pressing the correct button unlike with multi-button mods. I much prefer this...especially when I'm not paying attention. The menu display is a very crisp LED that uses intuitive letters and symbols and is well-organized. It looks modern much like the DNA's. It incorporates an auto-scroll to save from having to push the button over and over. Busardo does not like the auto-scroll. Who cares! He has become crotchety in his old age and he's in the severe minority when it comes to the auto-scroll. It works wonderfully. You can adjust the speed of the auto-scroll to your liking.
Accuracy: Busardo ran the P3 on his scope to check for voltage accuracy (versus setting) across a range of resistances, voltage settings, and wattage settings. It was deadly accurate! What you set is what you get. This is not true with most mods. It also adjusted with fluctuations in resistance due to coil temp fluctuations. If you want to know why the Provari and Evolv's are expensive, this in part explains it. Both make dead nuts accurate chipsets.
Hot Shot Boost: This is the best new feature of the P3. There are a few mods nowadays that use a similar feature including Evolv's new DNA40. I suspect this will be a standard feature across all/most mods in the months to follow. Boost changes the vaping experience. Period! When turned on (there are five levels to choose from based on time), the P3 delivers a power shot above your setting upon pressing the fire button that will heat up your coil much quicker. No more time lags waiting for your coil to heat up. No more primer puffs. It's instant vapor as soon as you press the fire button. It's awesome and I love it. Prepare to throw all your old mods in the bone box after experiencing this feature. Now you can use thicker wires to increase your coil area for more flavor without the aggravation of waiting for the coil to heat up. It should be noted this feature is for the low/mid power vapers. If you're a mega watt vaper then boost has little effect because you're already throwing a ton of power at the coil. But for the 5 - 15 watt vaper this feature is primo!
Conclusion
The P3 gets a solid five stars from me. I gauge that on the fact that they went well beyond simply updating to current mod standards. They also added several new, cutting edge features and technologies that maintains Provari's image as a high end mod. The quality, dependability, and durability are felt in the P3 the same as it was in earlier versions. Is it expensive? Yes. $250 for the standard silver satin model. I can't decide if it is worth it for anybody. That's up to each individual. When I see what was put into this version, it is very much worth $250 to me. And the nice thing about it is the P3 can be updated with features going forward.
Last word, there will be some who whine and cry that ProVape limited the P3 to only 20 watts (some already have). Truthfully, I'm a little baffled by it too and left to speculate why. In my opinion (and it is opinion only), ProVape is .... about safety. And my guess is they do not want lawsuits from some kid who mounts a 0.5 ohm device on a 100 watt device and blows his head off.
