I'm the spoil sport to this. IMHO the vamo just isn't that big. It's long but not that big. Oh how the heck do you say this without getting kicked off ECF. Ok I'll do my best and hope the moderators have forgiveness in their hearts. If you really look at the vamo, (and yes I have a v1 and also a v2) The electronic head or top piece is almost the size of a Provari, Silver Bullet, etc. As for what you need to set it at. Well that's only something you can determine. I know a lot of people that only want to be able to say they vape at 10 or 15 watts. I don't see why but it's not my place to say it's wrong. I like around 6-7 watts. I've got a provari, a kicked SB and 2 vamo's plus a lot of other devices. They all run around 6-7 watts. LR heads/carto's. I'm a happy camper. The main thing is that you like it. Good luck.