Review
The vaporesso luxe and a Hellvape Dead Rabbit rta sound like a strange match, but in reality they are a marriage made in heaven.
Vaporesso LUXE - Old Greybeard rating: 9/10
Pros:
• Large clear colour TFT display
• Next generation OMNI board 4.0
• Well finished device with no rough edges or poor finish
• Wide range of operating modes including Variable wattage, Temperature control, Variable voltage, Custom curve of wattage and Super player
• Vibration feedback
• Rapid charge
• Uses 2 x 18650 batteries
• Built in date / time display
Cons:
• Polished screen and back may scratch over time
• Menu navigation can be a bit erratic
• Vent holes in base could become contaminated
Due to good fortune, I managed to acquire the above mod as a discounted, stand alone, ex-demo model, so I am not sure if this will be released as a separate mod rather than a kit with the SKKR tank. Vaporesso would be foolish not to do so, as this mod really is a lovely piece of kit, and there will be plenty of vapers out there that will appreciate the innovation and quality that strike you straight out of the box.
On the subject of boxes, mine arrived with a single sheet instruction booklet, a braided-effect USB cable and that was it. This was a good excuse to buy another tank, so I jumped in the deep end, plucked up enough courage to go for something just a bit different, the Hellvape Dead Rabbit RTA. At 25mm, it is the perfect fit on the Luxe, sitting in the middle of the metal frame without any overhang. The addition of a bubble tank adds curve appeal, along with practicality – this Rabbit doesn’t nibble on meals, it is a greedy little mammal. The question is, would this setup be bliss, or would the digital bling of the Luxe overwhelm the rigged functionality of the Rabbit?
First impressions of the Luxe is it is shiny. Very shiny. Fingerprint magnet shiny. Some would be critical of this, but if you take a look at the screen of your mobile phone in reflected light, even if you don’t go near it with ejuice, there will be a patina of finger grease on it. A quick polish with a soft cloth is all it takes to restore the finish, and the same applies to the Luxe. Just be careful, if you have a major ejuice slick, it is easy for a juiced slathered mod to slip out your grasp. At over 320 grams, this is only slightly lighter than a twin 21700 Reuleaux, and you wouldn’t want to drop that either. Mechanically, while the Vaporesso is very solid and robust, it is not in the same league as the Geekvape Aegis mods which are practically indestructible, to all intents and purposes. It will take some punishment for sure, but you just need to be unlucky and the plastic front could crack. Keep it away from puddles or any liquids on your desk, the battery vent holes are on the bottom and if the mod is placed directly on fluid, there is the possibility that this could penetrate the device. In theory it shouldn’t, but fluid has a nasty habit of getting into obscure places.
The battery door is a solid combination of alloy and plastic, and again a lot of thought has gone into this. It doesn’t flex, and an insulated warning label is attached warning you of the dangers of lax battery care. This doubles as another level of protection should your battery insulation fail, but it is still no excuse for carelessness. The twin 18650’s will take this mod up to 220W, more than enough energy to toast your tonsils to a crisp. Access is easy via a flip off cover, although you will need long fingernails to detach it from the strong magnets which hold it in place. There is no battery removal ribbon, which personally I think is a bonus, the one in my sqounker acts as a backup wick for ejuice, competing with Muji cotton for absorbency. In reality though, the battery contacts are just the right pressure for inserting and removing batteries whilst holding them in place securely. You won’t need a crowbar to insert the batteries like some chargers or indeed mods. You definitely need reasonable light to see the battery polarity markings, they are embossed on the black plastic. Changing out the batteries at night for instance in a car, will require the courtesy light.
Power up is via 5 presses on the fire button, at which point you will be greeted with a gentle vibration from the mod and the welcome logo. This tactile feedback is adjustable, but I found the default setting not too intrusive, so I left it as it was. Like the screen and the button brightness, these can be adjusted to your personal preference or to conserve battery life, or both. The long fire button is nicely bevelled, although you have to press it at the top rather than along its whole length, but this is indicated with a dot. The switch is the standard fare, not quite clicky enough to be loud, and just soft enough so you can’t feel exactly the point at which it will activate.
Once the welcome logo has cleared and the mod has booted up, you will be greeted with a full colour display with 3 touch sensitive, illuminated buttons at the bottom, two either side for menu navigation and a “V” in the menu to select. The display includes battery level, time, mode, wattage, coil resistance, lock mode, applied voltage, puff counter and puff duration. A moving bar around the circumference of the circle displays how long you have kept the fire button depressed for.
Most of the menus are self explanatory, easily navigated and are standard for most mods, so I won’t bore you with needless detail, other than to say all the usual suspects are here, temperature control, variable power, variable voltage, pass-through, custom curve wattage and settings. In power mode you have 3 options, soft, normal and hard and there is a proprietary Superplayer mode, which extends the acceptable coil resistance to between 0.03 and 8.0 Ohms. The Luxe uses the same Omni board 4.0 that is present in the Vaporesso Polar, for a more detailed breakdown of all the functions see: INTRODUCTION OF OMNI BOARD 4.0.
If you leave the mod unattended, it will switch to the date and time screensaver, which if you want to be accurate, needs to be manually set when the device is first powered up. After a short while, the display turns off altogether. Vaporesso, again, have put a lot of thought into this, and the mod will keep a record of the time and date across battery changes. I don’t know how long exactly this backup lasts for, but I left it without batteries for an hour and it sprung back to life with the correct time. My expensive Panasonic microwave doesn’t even do that.
Navigating the menus is straightforward, but there are one or two gotchas. While the navigation is standard in most sub-menus, the temperature control menu is the odd man out where the “V” has to be pressed to exit. All other menus you have to navigate to exit field itself then press “V”. The lock function as well, is rather strange and counter-intuitive. While I understand the need to prevent accidentally messing up the settings and having to press fire 3 and/or mode 3 times, it would make more sense to have a time-out on the fire button as well, to prevent accidental firing, or indeed fires and or explosion. The only way to disable firing your coils is to press the fire button 5 times, which is a bit disappointing really.
I tested this mod over 12 hours both in TC and Power modes with a variety of coils, and it performed flawlessly. Battery life is as to be expected from sub-ohm usage, and provided you are not chain vaping every 5 minutes, you should get a working days life out a fully charged set of batteries. If you have access to 2.5A worth of USB power, a recharge can be accomplished in 90 minutes according to Vaporesso.
All in all, apart from a few forgivable design flaws, I really couldn’t fault the Luxe. Build quality is superb, but what is so striking about it is that it manages to scratch that itch few bits of technology managed to achieve. Not only is it functional, but it draws you in and invites you into its world. Once you have it in your hand for 10 minutes you’ll find it hard to put down. How it will hold up over time really depends on how it is used. As a desk-bound mod it will have an easy life, chucked into a handbag, coat pocket or rucksack daily, I can see the front and rear panel quickly loosing some lustre. Paradoxically, its greatest weakness is its strength – the appeal of the large colour screen only holds true if it is not scratched or damaged.
That said, Vaporesso have done an excellent job of designing a tactile, ergonomic mod that pushes the boundaries. I can’t speak for the SKKR tank, but if it as half as good as the mod itself, the kit will be well worth purchasing. Personally, I’d do it just to get my hands on the Luxe.
As to the testing, this was performed using a recent addition to the Dead Rabbit morgue, the RTA.
Hellvape Dead Rabbit RTA - Old Greybeard rating: 9/10
Pros:
• Easy to build and coil on
• Great flavour and airflow
• Well finished robust tank with no rough edges or poor finish
Cons:
• Need to re-assemble “off mod”
• Very large coils could be troublesome due to narrow tolerances between posts and chimney
• No supplied 510 drip tip
• Get it wrong and you will be in dry-hit purgatory
[Text coming soon]
The vaporesso luxe and a Hellvape Dead Rabbit rta sound like a strange match, but in reality they are a marriage made in heaven.
Vaporesso LUXE - Old Greybeard rating: 9/10
Pros:
• Large clear colour TFT display
• Next generation OMNI board 4.0
• Well finished device with no rough edges or poor finish
• Wide range of operating modes including Variable wattage, Temperature control, Variable voltage, Custom curve of wattage and Super player
• Vibration feedback
• Rapid charge
• Uses 2 x 18650 batteries
• Built in date / time display
Cons:
• Polished screen and back may scratch over time
• Menu navigation can be a bit erratic
• Vent holes in base could become contaminated
Due to good fortune, I managed to acquire the above mod as a discounted, stand alone, ex-demo model, so I am not sure if this will be released as a separate mod rather than a kit with the SKKR tank. Vaporesso would be foolish not to do so, as this mod really is a lovely piece of kit, and there will be plenty of vapers out there that will appreciate the innovation and quality that strike you straight out of the box.
On the subject of boxes, mine arrived with a single sheet instruction booklet, a braided-effect USB cable and that was it. This was a good excuse to buy another tank, so I jumped in the deep end, plucked up enough courage to go for something just a bit different, the Hellvape Dead Rabbit RTA. At 25mm, it is the perfect fit on the Luxe, sitting in the middle of the metal frame without any overhang. The addition of a bubble tank adds curve appeal, along with practicality – this Rabbit doesn’t nibble on meals, it is a greedy little mammal. The question is, would this setup be bliss, or would the digital bling of the Luxe overwhelm the rigged functionality of the Rabbit?
First impressions of the Luxe is it is shiny. Very shiny. Fingerprint magnet shiny. Some would be critical of this, but if you take a look at the screen of your mobile phone in reflected light, even if you don’t go near it with ejuice, there will be a patina of finger grease on it. A quick polish with a soft cloth is all it takes to restore the finish, and the same applies to the Luxe. Just be careful, if you have a major ejuice slick, it is easy for a juiced slathered mod to slip out your grasp. At over 320 grams, this is only slightly lighter than a twin 21700 Reuleaux, and you wouldn’t want to drop that either. Mechanically, while the Vaporesso is very solid and robust, it is not in the same league as the Geekvape Aegis mods which are practically indestructible, to all intents and purposes. It will take some punishment for sure, but you just need to be unlucky and the plastic front could crack. Keep it away from puddles or any liquids on your desk, the battery vent holes are on the bottom and if the mod is placed directly on fluid, there is the possibility that this could penetrate the device. In theory it shouldn’t, but fluid has a nasty habit of getting into obscure places.
The battery door is a solid combination of alloy and plastic, and again a lot of thought has gone into this. It doesn’t flex, and an insulated warning label is attached warning you of the dangers of lax battery care. This doubles as another level of protection should your battery insulation fail, but it is still no excuse for carelessness. The twin 18650’s will take this mod up to 220W, more than enough energy to toast your tonsils to a crisp. Access is easy via a flip off cover, although you will need long fingernails to detach it from the strong magnets which hold it in place. There is no battery removal ribbon, which personally I think is a bonus, the one in my sqounker acts as a backup wick for ejuice, competing with Muji cotton for absorbency. In reality though, the battery contacts are just the right pressure for inserting and removing batteries whilst holding them in place securely. You won’t need a crowbar to insert the batteries like some chargers or indeed mods. You definitely need reasonable light to see the battery polarity markings, they are embossed on the black plastic. Changing out the batteries at night for instance in a car, will require the courtesy light.
Power up is via 5 presses on the fire button, at which point you will be greeted with a gentle vibration from the mod and the welcome logo. This tactile feedback is adjustable, but I found the default setting not too intrusive, so I left it as it was. Like the screen and the button brightness, these can be adjusted to your personal preference or to conserve battery life, or both. The long fire button is nicely bevelled, although you have to press it at the top rather than along its whole length, but this is indicated with a dot. The switch is the standard fare, not quite clicky enough to be loud, and just soft enough so you can’t feel exactly the point at which it will activate.
Once the welcome logo has cleared and the mod has booted up, you will be greeted with a full colour display with 3 touch sensitive, illuminated buttons at the bottom, two either side for menu navigation and a “V” in the menu to select. The display includes battery level, time, mode, wattage, coil resistance, lock mode, applied voltage, puff counter and puff duration. A moving bar around the circumference of the circle displays how long you have kept the fire button depressed for.
Most of the menus are self explanatory, easily navigated and are standard for most mods, so I won’t bore you with needless detail, other than to say all the usual suspects are here, temperature control, variable power, variable voltage, pass-through, custom curve wattage and settings. In power mode you have 3 options, soft, normal and hard and there is a proprietary Superplayer mode, which extends the acceptable coil resistance to between 0.03 and 8.0 Ohms. The Luxe uses the same Omni board 4.0 that is present in the Vaporesso Polar, for a more detailed breakdown of all the functions see: INTRODUCTION OF OMNI BOARD 4.0.
If you leave the mod unattended, it will switch to the date and time screensaver, which if you want to be accurate, needs to be manually set when the device is first powered up. After a short while, the display turns off altogether. Vaporesso, again, have put a lot of thought into this, and the mod will keep a record of the time and date across battery changes. I don’t know how long exactly this backup lasts for, but I left it without batteries for an hour and it sprung back to life with the correct time. My expensive Panasonic microwave doesn’t even do that.
Navigating the menus is straightforward, but there are one or two gotchas. While the navigation is standard in most sub-menus, the temperature control menu is the odd man out where the “V” has to be pressed to exit. All other menus you have to navigate to exit field itself then press “V”. The lock function as well, is rather strange and counter-intuitive. While I understand the need to prevent accidentally messing up the settings and having to press fire 3 and/or mode 3 times, it would make more sense to have a time-out on the fire button as well, to prevent accidental firing, or indeed fires and or explosion. The only way to disable firing your coils is to press the fire button 5 times, which is a bit disappointing really.
I tested this mod over 12 hours both in TC and Power modes with a variety of coils, and it performed flawlessly. Battery life is as to be expected from sub-ohm usage, and provided you are not chain vaping every 5 minutes, you should get a working days life out a fully charged set of batteries. If you have access to 2.5A worth of USB power, a recharge can be accomplished in 90 minutes according to Vaporesso.
All in all, apart from a few forgivable design flaws, I really couldn’t fault the Luxe. Build quality is superb, but what is so striking about it is that it manages to scratch that itch few bits of technology managed to achieve. Not only is it functional, but it draws you in and invites you into its world. Once you have it in your hand for 10 minutes you’ll find it hard to put down. How it will hold up over time really depends on how it is used. As a desk-bound mod it will have an easy life, chucked into a handbag, coat pocket or rucksack daily, I can see the front and rear panel quickly loosing some lustre. Paradoxically, its greatest weakness is its strength – the appeal of the large colour screen only holds true if it is not scratched or damaged.
That said, Vaporesso have done an excellent job of designing a tactile, ergonomic mod that pushes the boundaries. I can’t speak for the SKKR tank, but if it as half as good as the mod itself, the kit will be well worth purchasing. Personally, I’d do it just to get my hands on the Luxe.
As to the testing, this was performed using a recent addition to the Dead Rabbit morgue, the RTA.
Hellvape Dead Rabbit RTA - Old Greybeard rating: 9/10
Pros:
• Easy to build and coil on
• Great flavour and airflow
• Well finished robust tank with no rough edges or poor finish
Cons:
• Need to re-assemble “off mod”
• Very large coils could be troublesome due to narrow tolerances between posts and chimney
• No supplied 510 drip tip
• Get it wrong and you will be in dry-hit purgatory
[Text coming soon]
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