Hello everyone and welcome back to another review of a device from Vandy Vape that is the dual 18650 version of the original Gaur-21 which was a dual 21700 battery device. The Gaur-18 is smaller, lighter as well as being shorter also. The Gaur-18 has 6 power modes including 3 temperature control modes and a few features that all devices should have in my opinion that I'll explain later in my review. This was sent to me from Sourcemore and if you use code GAURM you can purchase it from Sourcemore at a nice discounted price, today's review is being posted during the July 4th holiday weekend so if you purchase it before July 6th you will get a even better price. So lets get started with some information about the Gaur-18.
FEATURES
* Wattage: 5W - 200W
* Battery: 2 * 18650s (not included)
* Charging Current: 1800mAh
* Operating Voltage: 6.4-8.4V
* Charging Input Voltage: 5 +- 0.25V
* Working Mode: VW / BP / VV / TC
* Charging: USB Type-C
* Working Current: <50A
* Waterproof PCBA
* Lightweight
* Upgraded Vandy Chip
COLOR CHOICES
IN THE BOX
* 1pc Mod
* 1pc USB Type-C Cable
* 1pc Instruction Manual
PARAMETERS AND SPECIFICATIONS
MORE COMPACT THAN THE GAUR-21
C-FRAME DESIGN
LIGHTWEIGHT - (115g WITHOUT BATTERIES)
PCBA BOARD IS WATERPROOF (REMOVE BATTERIES FIRST)
SIX SAFETY PROTECTIONS ON THE 200 WATT VANDY CHIP
6 POWER MODES INCLUDING 3 TEMPERATURE CONTROL MODES
GAUR-18 DEVICE BREAKDOWN
WILL FIT UP TO A 28mm ATOMIZER WITHOUT OVERHANG
REAL SCREENSHOTS OF EACH COLOR
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
The Gaur-18 comes in a standard box resting in pre cut foam with the charge cable below it in it's own box and the user manual laying on top of both. Having not owned or reviewed the original Guar-21 I didn't really know what to expect but when I picked the mod up it sort of changed colors depending on what angle the light hit the panels, I was sent the Black Gold color.
On some angles it looked all Black but on other angles a nice Gold color came through with another angle showing a Silver color to the panels as the opening picture shows, pretty neat chameleon color effect with this Black Gold color.
This is a very lightweight device that's made of fiberglass reinforced plastic, even though it's very light I don't get a cheap feel from the material but rather a solid strong feeling. Vandy Vape put protective stickers on both panels and I left them on for all pictures I took for this review, I always keep protective stickers on a device as long as I can.
Starting at the top plate it appears to be screwed into the device using 3 Torx screws, there is a outline of a design that encompasses the 510 pin, the 510 pin is Gold plated and spring loaded. Travel distance of the 510 pin is good and the spring must be a beefy one because it is really stiff insuring a solid connection with the atomizer of your choice. At the farthest spot GAUR-18 is very lightly ghost printed, this is the only spot on the device it's name is seen leaving a very clean look without any advertising.
Flipping to the bottom you can see the logo of Matt Culley's Suck My Mod YouTube channel with the words SUCK MY MOD below it, at the very bottom Manufactured by Vandy Vape is shown. Both the Gaur-21 and this Gaur-18 are a collaboration between Matt Culley and Vandy Vape.
As you can see in the picture above there is no bottom battery door, having a bottom battery door opens the possibility of a accidental opening if the device is placed on a solid surface hard, most bottom doors are fine and can withstand the constant placement of the device on a solid surface but over time they can weaken. The Guar-18 is a C-Frame design that solves the problem, I personally prefer the C-Frame design overall.
There are many features on this device and one of them is after removing the batteries you can actually rinse the device off under running water because of the PCBA being waterproof. Having a waterproof printed circuit board assembly is a great bonus but remember you have to ( REMOVE THE BATTERIES ) first.
Very rarely do you see proper battery polarity labeled in white as most battery housings are Black in color, Vandy Vape has done a great job by placing a white sticker with black labeling of polarity symbols scoring a A+, this is how it should be done.
The bottom battery contacts are spring loaded and you need to insert batteries bottom end first, these springs are also pretty beefy and should stand the test of time. The C-Frame battery door cover connects very securely and I have no play oy wiggle at all. There are 2 nubs and a slot top and bottom on the backside of the batteries that lock into 2 holes and raised tabs inside the cover when placed on.
Turning the attention to the display screen which isn't the largest but has all the important information that's needed on a screen, font size is large enough to read without squinting but I would have liked the information in the center of the screen to be shrunk just a bit and have a battery % reading included on the display. The layout is as most Mod's are.
* Dual Battery Bars
* Power Mode
* Applied Wattage, Voltage Or Temperature
* Ohm Reading
* Volts, Watts
* Puff Counter
* Time Of Last Vape In Seconds
It is nice especially in todays day and age to see a manufacturer go above and beyond as Vandy Vape has done with the Gaur-18, the battery polarity symbols are nice but making a menu system with so many options that can be ACTIVATED or DEACTIVATED is a great feature by itself.
Yes you can turn features on/off in the settings menu and that's a feature that I appreciate, I usually only vape in wattage but every so often I will vape in Bypass mode so not needing to even see any other modes on the screen when scrolling through the different power modes makes the option to turn them off and not be seen great. There are other features that can be turned on/off in the settings menu as well (Full Customization For The User)
I will explain a couple of the features on the Gaur-18's SETTINGS MENU that some of you might not have seen before or even know what their function is. When the selection is highlighted that feature is engaged. ( Green Is On/ Grey Is Off )
* TC- Temperature Control Mode
* Volts - Voltage Mode
* BP - Bypass Mode
* FIR - Controls If You Want The Fire Button To Lock When Adjustment Buttons Are Locked
* ARR - Asks New Coil Or Not When An Atomizer Is Attached
SCREEN SHOT WITH FIR AND ARR HIGHLIGHTED IN GREEN
26mm ARBITER 2 SITS ON TOP FOR A NICE FIT
MENU
Getting into the menu is done by pressing and holding both adjustment buttons simultaneously, the menu selections are listed below.
MENU SELECTIONS
* Settings
* Hibernate
* Brightness Control
* Reset Puff Counter
* Replace UI Color Screen - Red, Blue, Green, Light Blue, Purple, Orange
* Identify Chipset Version
* Factory Reset
GENERAL FUNCTIONS
* ON/Off - 5 Quick Presses Of The Fire Button
* Selecting Power Modes - 3 Quick Presses Of The Fire Button Then Use Adjustment Buttons
* Wattage lock - Press The Fire And Up Button Simultaneously
* Flip The Screen Upside Down
* Stealth Mode - Press And Hold All 3 Buttons Simultaneously
FINAL IMPRESSIONS
I saw no need for a pros and cons list as I've told you all the pros of the device and the 1 con of not having a battery % indicator, other than that the mod is a winner. I really love the Black Gold diamond pattern and the way the color on the panels can change in different light and with different angles of light.
Performance is tops all the way around and is feature packed with options to disengage some features and have them not even appear is a awesome feature in itself.
i think if your in the market for a dual 18650 device that is both strong while being lightweight you can't go wrong with this Gaur-18 Mod from Vandy Vape. I can't speak for how well the Temperature Control Modes work but wattage, voltage and bypass work great.
I would like to thank Joyi and Sourcemore for providing the Gaur-18 for the purpose of my review.
THANK YOU
BIGBOB2322
FEATURES
* Wattage: 5W - 200W
* Battery: 2 * 18650s (not included)
* Charging Current: 1800mAh
* Operating Voltage: 6.4-8.4V
* Charging Input Voltage: 5 +- 0.25V
* Working Mode: VW / BP / VV / TC
* Charging: USB Type-C
* Working Current: <50A
* Waterproof PCBA
* Lightweight
* Upgraded Vandy Chip
COLOR CHOICES
IN THE BOX
* 1pc Mod
* 1pc USB Type-C Cable
* 1pc Instruction Manual
PARAMETERS AND SPECIFICATIONS
MORE COMPACT THAN THE GAUR-21
C-FRAME DESIGN
LIGHTWEIGHT - (115g WITHOUT BATTERIES)
PCBA BOARD IS WATERPROOF (REMOVE BATTERIES FIRST)
SIX SAFETY PROTECTIONS ON THE 200 WATT VANDY CHIP
6 POWER MODES INCLUDING 3 TEMPERATURE CONTROL MODES
GAUR-18 DEVICE BREAKDOWN
WILL FIT UP TO A 28mm ATOMIZER WITHOUT OVERHANG
REAL SCREENSHOTS OF EACH COLOR
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
The Gaur-18 comes in a standard box resting in pre cut foam with the charge cable below it in it's own box and the user manual laying on top of both. Having not owned or reviewed the original Guar-21 I didn't really know what to expect but when I picked the mod up it sort of changed colors depending on what angle the light hit the panels, I was sent the Black Gold color.
On some angles it looked all Black but on other angles a nice Gold color came through with another angle showing a Silver color to the panels as the opening picture shows, pretty neat chameleon color effect with this Black Gold color.
This is a very lightweight device that's made of fiberglass reinforced plastic, even though it's very light I don't get a cheap feel from the material but rather a solid strong feeling. Vandy Vape put protective stickers on both panels and I left them on for all pictures I took for this review, I always keep protective stickers on a device as long as I can.
Starting at the top plate it appears to be screwed into the device using 3 Torx screws, there is a outline of a design that encompasses the 510 pin, the 510 pin is Gold plated and spring loaded. Travel distance of the 510 pin is good and the spring must be a beefy one because it is really stiff insuring a solid connection with the atomizer of your choice. At the farthest spot GAUR-18 is very lightly ghost printed, this is the only spot on the device it's name is seen leaving a very clean look without any advertising.
Flipping to the bottom you can see the logo of Matt Culley's Suck My Mod YouTube channel with the words SUCK MY MOD below it, at the very bottom Manufactured by Vandy Vape is shown. Both the Gaur-21 and this Gaur-18 are a collaboration between Matt Culley and Vandy Vape.
As you can see in the picture above there is no bottom battery door, having a bottom battery door opens the possibility of a accidental opening if the device is placed on a solid surface hard, most bottom doors are fine and can withstand the constant placement of the device on a solid surface but over time they can weaken. The Guar-18 is a C-Frame design that solves the problem, I personally prefer the C-Frame design overall.
There are many features on this device and one of them is after removing the batteries you can actually rinse the device off under running water because of the PCBA being waterproof. Having a waterproof printed circuit board assembly is a great bonus but remember you have to ( REMOVE THE BATTERIES ) first.
Very rarely do you see proper battery polarity labeled in white as most battery housings are Black in color, Vandy Vape has done a great job by placing a white sticker with black labeling of polarity symbols scoring a A+, this is how it should be done.
The bottom battery contacts are spring loaded and you need to insert batteries bottom end first, these springs are also pretty beefy and should stand the test of time. The C-Frame battery door cover connects very securely and I have no play oy wiggle at all. There are 2 nubs and a slot top and bottom on the backside of the batteries that lock into 2 holes and raised tabs inside the cover when placed on.
Turning the attention to the display screen which isn't the largest but has all the important information that's needed on a screen, font size is large enough to read without squinting but I would have liked the information in the center of the screen to be shrunk just a bit and have a battery % reading included on the display. The layout is as most Mod's are.
* Dual Battery Bars
* Power Mode
* Applied Wattage, Voltage Or Temperature
* Ohm Reading
* Volts, Watts
* Puff Counter
* Time Of Last Vape In Seconds
It is nice especially in todays day and age to see a manufacturer go above and beyond as Vandy Vape has done with the Gaur-18, the battery polarity symbols are nice but making a menu system with so many options that can be ACTIVATED or DEACTIVATED is a great feature by itself.
Yes you can turn features on/off in the settings menu and that's a feature that I appreciate, I usually only vape in wattage but every so often I will vape in Bypass mode so not needing to even see any other modes on the screen when scrolling through the different power modes makes the option to turn them off and not be seen great. There are other features that can be turned on/off in the settings menu as well (Full Customization For The User)
I will explain a couple of the features on the Gaur-18's SETTINGS MENU that some of you might not have seen before or even know what their function is. When the selection is highlighted that feature is engaged. ( Green Is On/ Grey Is Off )
* TC- Temperature Control Mode
* Volts - Voltage Mode
* BP - Bypass Mode
* FIR - Controls If You Want The Fire Button To Lock When Adjustment Buttons Are Locked
* ARR - Asks New Coil Or Not When An Atomizer Is Attached
SCREEN SHOT WITH FIR AND ARR HIGHLIGHTED IN GREEN
26mm ARBITER 2 SITS ON TOP FOR A NICE FIT
MENU
Getting into the menu is done by pressing and holding both adjustment buttons simultaneously, the menu selections are listed below.
MENU SELECTIONS
* Settings
* Hibernate
* Brightness Control
* Reset Puff Counter
* Replace UI Color Screen - Red, Blue, Green, Light Blue, Purple, Orange
* Identify Chipset Version
* Factory Reset
GENERAL FUNCTIONS
* ON/Off - 5 Quick Presses Of The Fire Button
* Selecting Power Modes - 3 Quick Presses Of The Fire Button Then Use Adjustment Buttons
* Wattage lock - Press The Fire And Up Button Simultaneously
* Flip The Screen Upside Down
* Stealth Mode - Press And Hold All 3 Buttons Simultaneously
FINAL IMPRESSIONS
I saw no need for a pros and cons list as I've told you all the pros of the device and the 1 con of not having a battery % indicator, other than that the mod is a winner. I really love the Black Gold diamond pattern and the way the color on the panels can change in different light and with different angles of light.
Performance is tops all the way around and is feature packed with options to disengage some features and have them not even appear is a awesome feature in itself.
i think if your in the market for a dual 18650 device that is both strong while being lightweight you can't go wrong with this Gaur-18 Mod from Vandy Vape. I can't speak for how well the Temperature Control Modes work but wattage, voltage and bypass work great.
I would like to thank Joyi and Sourcemore for providing the Gaur-18 for the purpose of my review.
THANK YOU
BIGBOB2322
Last edited:
