I had a few beers with a ProVarian last night and we had the opportunity to swap devices, toppers and liquids (he's into DIY, too).
Both came away impressed with the other guy's device.
The ProVari is unquestionably the better made device. It just feels like it's more rugged and it's obvious that the thing is built to last. Advantage: ProVari
The ProVari's 510 threads are super smooth. It's clear that these things will only be stripped through serious, repeated abuse. Compare that to the Vamo's super soft, roughly machined 510 threads. No-brainer here. The ProVari doesn't have native Ego threading, however. That means using an adapter to mount small capacity Ego tanks like the Evod (which I had a bunch of, filled with my DIY liquids). Of course, the Vamo V3 has both 510 and Ego threads so interchangeability is not an issue. Advantage: Push
The ProVari is not designed for stacking of 18350 batteries, while the Vamo is. This was at first a great concern for the ProVarian, who launched into the standard ECF warnings about stacking batteries. I concurred that under most conditions, stacking was not considered safe battery usage but that a properly operating and well maintained Vamo had the ability to do this safely, but only if the user followed a nearly OCD procedure (explained here) and used the proper battery chemistry. Advantage: Vamo (but only by an eyelash)
The Vamo V3 has a better, easier to use interface. The OLED screen is easier to read and looks more modern. Even the ProVarian agreed that it's easier to check and change settings with the Vamo than it is with the ProVari. The best analogy came from Mrs. ProVarian, who said "this is like comparing an 8-track to a CD player!" Advantage: Vamo
The ProVari's power management capability seems more reliable than that of the Vamo. When really pushing the limits of the atomizers we were using, the ProVari seemed to put out more power, more consistently, especially at higherwattage voltage levels. Advantage: ProVari
Both devices have a timed automatic cutoff. The ProVari allows for 18 seconds of holding the button down. The Vamo allows for 8 seconds. This allows the ProVari user to really fire up the coil and get a good vapor cloud going, but means the Vamo user has to mash the button twice in order to get a similar experience. Advantage: ProVari
The Vamo has an current max of 5.0a. Any current greater than this causes the unit to shut down. The ProVari 2.0 has a max of 3.5a. This allows users of lower resistance coils to get greater power on the Vamo, providing that Vamo users follow safe battery practices (and don't stack cells for the purpose of racking up the power). Advantage: Vamo
Both units have thermal, short circuit, reverse polarity, low voltage and low resistance protection. While the ProVari allows for 1.0 ohms and the Vamo allows for 1.2 ohms, we considered this a push because actual coil resistance can vary from nominal coil resistance by +/- 0.2 ohms. All other safety features were not tested because, well... there was a football game on and beer was involved. Advantage: Push
Both units are available in kits that include batteries, a charger and atomizer(s). However, the ProVari kit ships with AW IMR high drain batteries. The Vamo ships with unprotected ICR cells. The ProVari ships with a Tenergy charger that is superior to the no-name charger that comes with the Vamo. Finally, the ProVari ships with a ProTank II and the Vamo ships with cheap clearos. Advantage: ProVari
The ProVari comes with a one-year warranty. The Vamo comes with whatever warranties offered by the vendor. Advantage: ProVari
The Vamo kit can be had for under $100 via US suppliers. The ProVari kit costs $200. While quality of kit components is an issue that should be considered, cost vs. benefit must be considered in any purchasing decision, so... Advantage: Vamo
The ProVari led in five of our comparison categories. The Vamo led in four and there were two pushes.
We had a lot of fun. Mrs. ProVarian is an Ego Twist user and has been thinking about an upgrade. She's thinking about the Vamo now. This doesn't bother ProVarian at all, because it means another powerful mod in the house that he's already tried and liked. Mrs. IBCR just wonders when we're all gonna stop spending so much money.
Both came away impressed with the other guy's device.
The ProVari is unquestionably the better made device. It just feels like it's more rugged and it's obvious that the thing is built to last. Advantage: ProVari
The ProVari's 510 threads are super smooth. It's clear that these things will only be stripped through serious, repeated abuse. Compare that to the Vamo's super soft, roughly machined 510 threads. No-brainer here. The ProVari doesn't have native Ego threading, however. That means using an adapter to mount small capacity Ego tanks like the Evod (which I had a bunch of, filled with my DIY liquids). Of course, the Vamo V3 has both 510 and Ego threads so interchangeability is not an issue. Advantage: Push
The ProVari is not designed for stacking of 18350 batteries, while the Vamo is. This was at first a great concern for the ProVarian, who launched into the standard ECF warnings about stacking batteries. I concurred that under most conditions, stacking was not considered safe battery usage but that a properly operating and well maintained Vamo had the ability to do this safely, but only if the user followed a nearly OCD procedure (explained here) and used the proper battery chemistry. Advantage: Vamo (but only by an eyelash)
The Vamo V3 has a better, easier to use interface. The OLED screen is easier to read and looks more modern. Even the ProVarian agreed that it's easier to check and change settings with the Vamo than it is with the ProVari. The best analogy came from Mrs. ProVarian, who said "this is like comparing an 8-track to a CD player!" Advantage: Vamo
The ProVari's power management capability seems more reliable than that of the Vamo. When really pushing the limits of the atomizers we were using, the ProVari seemed to put out more power, more consistently, especially at higher
Both devices have a timed automatic cutoff. The ProVari allows for 18 seconds of holding the button down. The Vamo allows for 8 seconds. This allows the ProVari user to really fire up the coil and get a good vapor cloud going, but means the Vamo user has to mash the button twice in order to get a similar experience. Advantage: ProVari
The Vamo has an current max of 5.0a. Any current greater than this causes the unit to shut down. The ProVari 2.0 has a max of 3.5a. This allows users of lower resistance coils to get greater power on the Vamo, providing that Vamo users follow safe battery practices (and don't stack cells for the purpose of racking up the power). Advantage: Vamo
Both units have thermal, short circuit, reverse polarity, low voltage and low resistance protection. While the ProVari allows for 1.0 ohms and the Vamo allows for 1.2 ohms, we considered this a push because actual coil resistance can vary from nominal coil resistance by +/- 0.2 ohms. All other safety features were not tested because, well... there was a football game on and beer was involved. Advantage: Push
Both units are available in kits that include batteries, a charger and atomizer(s). However, the ProVari kit ships with AW IMR high drain batteries. The Vamo ships with unprotected ICR cells. The ProVari ships with a Tenergy charger that is superior to the no-name charger that comes with the Vamo. Finally, the ProVari ships with a ProTank II and the Vamo ships with cheap clearos. Advantage: ProVari
The ProVari comes with a one-year warranty. The Vamo comes with whatever warranties offered by the vendor. Advantage: ProVari
The Vamo kit can be had for under $100 via US suppliers. The ProVari kit costs $200. While quality of kit components is an issue that should be considered, cost vs. benefit must be considered in any purchasing decision, so... Advantage: Vamo
The ProVari led in five of our comparison categories. The Vamo led in four and there were two pushes.
We had a lot of fun. Mrs. ProVarian is an Ego Twist user and has been thinking about an upgrade. She's thinking about the Vamo now. This doesn't bother ProVarian at all, because it means another powerful mod in the house that he's already tried and liked. Mrs. IBCR just wonders when we're all gonna stop spending so much money.
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