It’s been a while since I got my hands on a full on stock coil sub-ohm vape kit, so what do I make of the new Aspire VROD..?
First impressions are this is a refreshing yet old school style vape set-up and certainly makes a change from the plethora of pod kits and pod mods out there.
Aspire has blown me away – and a lot of others – with its recent releases, and especially teaming up with high end vape company NoName.
The Aspire 9th Tank was a big hit with Will, and he’s currently reviewing the smart looking Aspire Paradox mod – expect that write up to land very soon.
I recently reviewed the flavour machine that is the Aspire Favostix pod kit and of course the Aspire Nautilus Prime X AIO which has really impressed me. If you like the Billet Box styling but your wallet doesn’t, the Prime X certainly looks the part and is now my go to device…
Of course, and as I always say with Aspire, you can’t not mention the game-changers that were the Cleito sub ohm tank nor indeed the original Nautilus – both now firmly in the vaping hall of fame…if there is one lol.
What Can We Expect From the Aspire VROD Sub Ohm Kit?
Aspire says we can expect ‘small body and big energy‘ – sounds like a woman I knew in the 70’s – but I digress…
The Aspire VROD sub ohm kit takes dual 18650 batteries and comes topped with the new GUROO tank that features a unique coil swap system.
Rather than push ‘n pull or screw in, this one pops in and out and we’ll take a look at that a little later.
The kit comes with x2 coils: the 0.15Ω Mesh (60-70W) and the 0.3Ω Mesh Coil (40-50W) and given the vast majority of Aspire coils bang out the flavour, I’m hoping for good to bloody lovely flavour…one can hope!
OK on with the review, and for the record this was sent to me free of charge for the purpose of this review direct from Aspire UK – thank you 🙂
And as always, it goes without saying that freebies in no way affect my thoughts and opinions.
Inside the Box
I received the TPD version – which unfortunately means an acrylic 2ml max capacity tank…the rest of the world will get a glass one up to 5mls.
BTW: all UK vapers really should complete the UK Government’s consultation into post TPD vape legislation – you will be helping shape the new laws…don’t like 10ml bottles or the 2ml tank? Take part here!
Politics over – normal service resumed…
- 1 Vrod 200 Mod (Battery Not Included)
- 1 Guroo Tank (2 ml)
- 1 Guroo Coil 0.15Ω (Preinstalled)
- 1 Guroo Coil 0.3Ω
- 1 Spare Acrylic Tube (2 ml)
- 1 Type-C Cable
- 1 User Manual
- 1 O-rings Pack
Aspire VROD Sub Ohm Kit – Specs and Features
- Size: 140*46*30 mm
- Weight: 222.9g
Tank Parameters
- Diameter: 27 mm
- Capacity: 4.0 ml / 2 ml (TPD) / 5 ml (Extended Glass)
- Material: stainless steel, pyrex glass, acrylic (TPD Version) and POM drip tip
- Filling: top filling
- 0.3Ω mesh coil 40-50W
- 0.15Ω mesh coil 60-70W
Mod Parameters
- Replaceable dual 18650 batteries
- Output modes: VW/ VV/ Bypass/ TC/ TCR/ CPS
- Output wattage range: 1-200W
- Output voltage range: 0.5-9.0V
- Supported resistance: 0.1-3.5Ω
- 0.96” TFT color screen
- Type-C 2A quick charging
Aspire VROD Sub Ohm Kit Key Features
I’ve touched on much of what the Aspire VROD Sub Ohm Kit offers earlier.
However, the ASP chipset offers a number of safety features as well as: Output mode: VW/ VV/ Bypass/ TC/ TCR/ CPS – Wattage range: 1-200W – 5 screen color options – Brightness adjustability and Puff counter – good stuff inside!
The screen does feel and look to my tired old eyes anyway, a little cluttered and small, but no biggie for you younger ones.
As for the GUROO tank, I’m hoping for big flavour and of course, to see if this new ‘Attach-Pull-Release‘ coil system brings anything new to the vaping party.
Design and Build Quality
Imagine crossing a tank with the heaviest brick you could find and you’ll get close to the weight and indeed feel of the Aspire VROD sub ohm kit.
And nope, I’m not exaggerating here, or blaming my weak wrists…this is as a solid a piece of vape gear you could ever find.
It might be smallish in size, but it makes up for it in weight…once again reminding me of a woman I met on a night out whilst in the Army… *shudders*
A bit like her, this is one tough bugger and the mod will definitely take some hits and probably break your foot [and dent the floor] if you drop it.
It’s honed from tough Zinc Alloy with leather or maybe pleather accents, whilst the tank is stainless steel and glass, or acrylic depending where in the world you are.
Yeah it’s definitely more of a desktop set-up than popping into my rucksack let’s put it that way.
Build wise and as you can see it’s very well put together with clicky responsive buttons and the battery door does feel very solid indeed with no rattle whatsoever.
The half twist top cap is a little stiff and crunchy, but it’s slowly loosening up, however it will not pop open that’s for sure.
The airflow control ring is much looser and there’s probably a reason for that as you’ll see very soon. However, once set it hasn’t budged, though saying that, the Aspire VROD kit hasn’t been out and about, nor in my pocket or bag…as I keep saying, it’s too bloody heavy and I’m using it as a table top kit.!
Aspire VROD Sub Ohm Kit Design
Design wise and it’s very old school, and at first glance has more than a passing resemblance to the much lauded SX Mini G-Class…just a bit.
Those leather or pleather accents add a nice look and grippy touch, whilst the embossed Aspire logos are not at all in your face and only add to the look and indeed the grip.
The attractively designed GUROO tank looms over the mod and isn’t far off being the same size.
It can feel/look a little top heavy, but the weight of the mod means this is going nowhere, apart from drilling down to China if it was left standing for a couple of million years – due to the weight and that little thing called gravity that is…
I do like this new Aspire screen and I’ve actually changed the colour – not something I usually bother with, but the blue clashed terribly with my Retro Brown version…guess Aspire knew my age sending me the retro one…
Other colour combos are: Granite Grey, Blue Denim, Charcoal Black and Reddish Brown, so plenty of options and all look very smart indeed.
How Does the Aspire VROD Sub Ohm Kit Perform?
First up the mod and to be honest it’s standard fayre and acts like pretty much most mods out there.
Here’s a quick start guide for the Aspire VROD Sub Ohm Kit:
- x5 clicks of the fire button is on and off
- x3 clicks of the fire button locks in the settings
- Fire button and – resets the puff counter
- Fire button and + opens the menu – scroll options and select with fire
- Half turn of the top cap to fill
- See below for info on the coil swap
As I said, all very straightforward which is a good thing given some mods out there do like to over complicate things.
The GUROO Sub Ohm Tank
It does look very smart, if a little on the large side.
There’s a dual Cyclops style airflow control and wide open with 10 being extremely airy this is a 9 and a bit…it’s all the technical details I bring to the reviews you like…admit it…
It can be a tad noisy and the more you open the airflow, there’s more than a bit of a whistle, which can get annoying.
So…on to that innovative ‘Attach-Pull-Release‘ coil system.
In a nutshell to remove a coil you take the top cap off – pull down the airflow control ring and out pops the coil – push the coil back down and it clicks back in place -clever hey!
Yes it works very well indeed, and with vape juice still in the tank too, however…
The first time I tried it, the coil launched itself across the room like a ballistic missile spewing a trail of droplets in its wake.
NORAD might have got a blink on radar such was the velocity – so apologies if you thought a North Korean attack was kicking off from my room…
So please make sure you point the tank away from your face [I almost took an eye out second time] or pets, small children or breakables.
Right, World War 3 averted, back to vaping, so how do the the two coils in the box perform?
Aspire VROD Sub Ohm Kit – 0.3Ω mesh coil 40-50W
As you can see this one’s best between 40/50w and I found my sweet spot at slightly over the recommended wattage at 57w with the airflow half open.
I’m getting quite a cool vape but the flavour is good – not amazing – but good enough…
I did feel the coil felt a little under-powered at the stated wattage and bumped it up as high as 65w with no real issues…
10 days in and coil is as fresh as the day it arrived and that’s with a couple of hours per evening of vaping.
Aspire VROD Sub Ohm Kit – 0.15Ω mesh coil 60-70W
Again a surprisingly cool vape and once again it felt like it could do with a bit more power.
I bumped it up to 77w and things warmed up a touch delivering good flavour and decent clouds – up to you if you take either of them higher…
With either coil the clouds were on a par with other sub ohm tanks out there if that’s your thing.
Pros
- Excellent build quality
- Old school smart design
- Easy to operate
- Clear screen
- Decent menu options
- Included coils give good flavour and clouds
- Top fill
- Innovative coil swap
- Great battery life
- Very good coil longevity
Cons
- TPD version means filling the GUROO tank often [not Aspire’s fault]
- Coil swap can be a little ‘frisky‘ so point away from your face!
- Tank a little whistly at times
Final Review Verdict
Despite it’s brick like weight and the fact the GUROO tank towers above the mod, I quite like the Aspire VROD sub ohm kit.
That’s both design wise and performance.
There’s nothing spectacularly new or innovative about the mod – it does its job quietly [unlike the tank] and very well indeed.
The coil swap system works well, once you know when to duck and cover, and the flavour and clouds are on the higher side of good.
And it’s certainly good to see vape company’s diverting from the endless release of pod mods and kits…though saying that, a new unreleased Aspire pod kit recently landed on my desk lol.
If you’re a fan of sub ohm stock coil tanks, you’ll know the Aspire coils in general tend to offer all you need as far as flavour and clouds go, and the GUROO is no different, it’s big but looks smart.
As sub ohm vape kits go, I’ll certainly be using this one on my desktop now and then, and may invest in some more coils, if only to take a break from rebuildables.
If you are planning to take this one out and about make sure you have a strong bag and wear at least two belts if it’s in your pocket…it’s a heavy bugger.
So yeah, I like it…it’s what I’d class as a no frills smart design house vape kit and if that’s your thing you won’t go wrong with the Aspire VROD sub ohm kit.
A solid set-up in more ways than one…
I’m using sad boy liquid and find the coils don’t last very long can you advise what male of juice is best for the mod? Thank