Today I’m taking a look at a brand new release from Vaporesso. It’s the XROS 3 pod kit.
Since its release a few years back the Vaporesso XROS has become one of the best selling pod kits on the market. It comes as no real surprise to me. In fact, the entire range is renowned for its ease of use, simple filling system, durability and no nonsense design.
As a spokesman for Vaporesso puts it:
‘A great product should not only be good looking but also functionally easy to use.’
Words of wisdom and something we’ve discovered here at Ecigclick with our reviews of the original XROS, XROS Mini, XROS 2 and XROS NANO (the only pod kit to break traditional form factor with its box shaped design).
If further proof were needed the XROS 2 received a Red Dot award for aesthetic and practical design, this year!
The XROS 3 is released alongside its baby sibling the XROS 3 Mini. Both devices are pretty much the same on specs but the XROS 3 Mini comes in around 15mm shorter.
Once again Vaporesso are pushing boundaries of flavour, vaping experience and overall design.
So what’s different between this and previous versions of the ever popular range of pod kits?
What Can We Expect From the Vaporesso XROS 3 Pod Kit?
A few tweaks have been made over its predecessor, the XROS 2. The four step LED has been ditched in favour of a glowing neon indicator.
The ‘tear drop’ airflow system has been replaced with a sliding adjuster for precise MTL (mouth to lung) or RDL (restrictive direct lung) vaping.
Two brand new pods (0.6ohm and 1ohm) are included to accommodate either style of vaping. It’s stated that they’re compatible with salt nicotine (MTL pod) or freebase e-liquid (RDL pod).
It is also compatible with all of the previous XROS pods too!
The mouthpiece design has also had an overhaul.
One major change comes with the implementation of the COREX heating tech. The technology has been recently used on other Vaporesso kits and has shown to provide a more accurate, consistent flavour while increasing the lifespan of the coil.
The PULSE mode of the AXON chip is also included to facilitate the stronger output requirements of the 0.6ohm pod.
There are 8 colours to choose from: Rose Pink, Icy Silver, Black, Royal Gold, Navy Blue, Space Grey, Sky Blue and Mint Green.
The Vaporesso XROS 3 is fully TPD compliant and available to vapers universally.
What’s In the Box?
- XROS 3 battery
- XROS 3 0.6ohm mesh pod (installed)
- XROS 3 1.0ohm mesh pod
- Type C USB charging cable
- Reminder card
- User manual
- Warranty card (not received with the review sample)
Vaporesso XROS 3 Pod Kit – Specifications
- Dimensions: 115.1 x 23.6 x 13.7
- Pod capacity: 2ml
- Resistance: 0.6ohm / 1.0ohm
- Battery capacity: 1000mAh
- Charging: Type C USB / 1A
- Display: Neon LED
- Activation: Fire button / auto draw
- AXON Chipset with PULSE mode
- New 0.6ohm Corex pod
- Top filling
- Airflow adjustment
Vaporesso XROS 3 Pod Kit – Design and Build Quality
It looks like the main body is comprised of Zinc Alloy since its very light in weight. The version I have is Sky Blue with gentle colour transitions from top to bottom.
The corners of the battery are nicely contoured and it feels very comfortable in the hand. Incidentally, the XROS MINI retains the same dimensions other than height. It’s about half an inch shorter.
Battery Section
The new airflow slider mechanism has been set up specifically with the new pods in mind.
Expose one pinhole slot for a MTL (Mouth To Lung) style vape and two for a RDL (Restricted Direct to Lung) tug. That’s about it. We tell you what these terms mean in our Guide To Vape Styles.
The slightly raised fire button sits in a position on the front that’s just right for thumb firing.
A Type C USB charging port is provided on the bottom of the battery section. As always, I would recommend removing the filled pod and standing in a vertical position. This will prevent one side of the cotton potentially drying.
Dry coils lead to ‘dry hits’ – a nasty burnt cotton taste. No one likes those!
Pod Section
As already stated, two brand new pods are included with the XROS 3.
Although the mouthpieces have been redesigned they’re identical. I’m a bit surprised one isn’t more restrictive than the other given their individual roles.
I guess we’ll leave that to the rehashed airflow system..
The viewable area of the pod window is clear but the rest (hidden inside the battery section) is frosted. Since these are disposable pods the coil resistances have been stamped on the base.
The pods attach either way round inside the battery section via two strong magnets. You’ll be pleased to know they pass the drop test.
Quick Start Guide
- Press the fire button five times to turn the device on or off.
- Press and hold the fire button to vape. Alternatively use auto draw to vape.
While vaping the LED will neon cycle through Red, Blue and Green.
The LED will respond differently depending on current battery strength.
- 70% – 100% Green
- 30% – 70% Blue
- 0% – 30% Red
Should there be a safety issue with the device, the LED responds accordingly.
- Low resistance / short circuit – Red LED flashes 5 times and functionality ceases
- No load / high resistance – Current battery strength LED flashes 5 times and functionality ceases
- Low voltage / over discharge – Red LED flashes 3 times and functionality ceases
- Over charge protection – Green LED remains lit and charging ceases
- Over time (over vaping) – LED flashes green – blue – red and functionality ceases
How To Fill the Pod
- Remove the pod from the battery section
- Push the top cap to release it from the pod
- Locate the red fill port on the top of the pod. Do NOT use the centre hole!
- Gently pour e-liquid through the fill port and into the chamber of the pod
Snap the mouthpiece back onto the pod- Drop the pod back into the battery section
Snap the mouthpiece back onto the podLet the e-juice soak into the cotton for five minutes before vaping on a new pod.
How Does the Vaporesso XROS 3 Pod Kit Perform?
0.6ohm XROS 3 Pod
I started by using the 0.6ohm mesh pod.
Digbys Nutty Caramel Tobacco was used for testing. It’s a 65VG/35PG e-liquid ratio with 3mg freebase nicotine applied. When using this pod I would suggest ratios of no thicker than 70VG/30PG.
The adjustable airflow slider was positioned wide open for this RDL pod.
Starting with auto draw and it took four or five pulls to draw the e-liquid up. Please keep this in mind when vaping for the very first time. It’s not a fault, it’s just capillary action.
I was quite surprised by the vapour production. I got more than I was anticipating. The inhale was also smooth, quiet and turbulence free.
This was certainly a restrictive lung vape and thankfully no ‘hot lips’ were experienced under such mouthpiece restrictions.
The flavour was fantastic! A concentrated mix of Caramel, smoky Tobacco with a few bitter nutty sub notes thrown in.
You will get extra clout when using the fire button. That’s always the case (especially for old lungs like mine! lol). It’s a slightly warmer vape too that brings the main ingredients closer together.
If I had to choose, I favour auto draw while using this pod.
1.0ohm XROS 3 Pod
I used Black Rose Elixirs Black Bess to test the MTL pod. With a 50VG/50PG juice ratio and 10mg salt nicotine, it’s perfectly suited to this lower powered coil.
It made sense to start by using a single hole’s worth of airflow on the adjustable slider.
The MTL vape was not quite as restricted as I’d like because it pulled on the cheeks a little. I was also losing some vapour pre vape. That’s always the sign I look for.
There is enough restriction to ensure a flawless auto draw, though so no complaints there.
Despite losing some of the vapour (as opposed to vaping it) the flavour was absolutely bang on. The Lychee proved as strong and concentrated as the tasty Blackcurrant and the Menthol soothed the throat in a very complimentary way.
The sweetness of the vape was perfectly replicated and just held everything together.
To achieve the ultimate MTL vape I needed to close the adjustable slider completely off. I was then reliant on the tiny pin hole slots either side of the battery section.
The flavour was just as tasty and vapour production was suitably stealthy. The mouthpiece did heat up with longer inhales so just be aware of that.
The pod is as quiet as the proverbial mouse and the only turbulence created is by an inconsistent inhale during auto draw. That’s going to happen.
I didn’t experienced the same 3 second cut out while thumb firing the XROS 3. I tested this across all airflow configurations and it was perfectly fine.
Although not its purpose I was able to RDL vape this pod with airflow set completely open. Happy days! I get the best of both worlds..
Battery Life and USB Charging
I got around 6 hours use from the RDL (0.6ohm) pod. I filled the pod twice during this time and vaped approximately 5 ml of e-liquid. The MTL (1ohm) pod fared better at 8.5 hours with a few refills along the way as well.
Fast type C charging lives up to its reputation. The LED pulses through the various colours during charge and remains a solid green when fully charged. It takes an hour to complete and pass through vaping is also possible.
Pros
- Light-weight and pocket friendly
- Impressive flavour and cloud production from the 0.6ohm RDL pod
- Even better flavour and cloud production from the 1.0ohm MTL pod
- Precise airflow adjustment
- No leaking from the sealed pods
- Reliable auto draw
- Ability to vape while charging the device
- Top filling system is quick and easy to use
Cons
- Unable to vape longer than 3 seconds when using the RDL pod (subjective to sample)
- Inability to charge in a vertical position
- Mouthpiece can heat up under certain airflow restrictions
Final Review Verdict
It’s weird that I kept getting a no load / high resistance error when thumb firing the 0.6ohm mesh pod for longer than 3 seconds. No such issue exists when auto drawing the pod. Maybe it’s an early sample issue that’s being worked on.
With a little tweaking of the airflow each pod will deliver its pledge. The RDL (0.6ohm) pod will indeed provide a restrictive lung hit without sacrifice to flavour. The MTL (1ohm) pod just edged it for me for flavour, working a dream when relying on the two pinholes on the side of the battery.
The Vaporesso XROS 3 is another very stylish yet simple pod kit. It’s portable and extremely easy to use. This means it’s accessible not only to a new vaper but also those seasoned to the ways of the vape!
The flavour and cloud production assures me of that.
‘Functionally easy to use’. That pretty much sums up the Vaporesso XROS 3 pod kit.
Have you tried this kit? If so let us know what you think in the comments below!
Thanks a lot for your amazing review. i’ve seen ur xlim v2 review.Then i’m now confused between xlim v2 and xros 3. May i know your thoughts? Which one do u prefer more
Sadly I have not tried the XROS devices. I reviewed the Xlim’s and Neil C did the XROS kits!
So I can only comment on the Xlim range – I totally recommend the Xlim V2 or Xlim SE with the V2 pods – they are just my perfect MTL vape and I have 4 I use daily! Also I enjoy the Xlim Pro but I use it with the V2 pods as I found the top fill V3 pods did leak for me.
Plus the pod life with the 0.8ohm V2 pods is over 4000 puffs – hence why they are my daily kit and I have tried a LOT of pod kits!
But saying that a lot of people are enjoying the XROS kits – so I don’t think you will be disappointed if you purchase either of them.
The fire button is funky. It won’t fire for more than 3 seconds on its own and if I try to prefire it then draw for a better flavor hit, it freaks out and just cuts all heat. That’s not a big deal. I do find that for MTL(my preferred method) I have to suck extremely hard for a good hit and for DTL/R it’s too much air and not enough vapor. Just by small margins though. This is probably my overall favorite of my current pod systems. Using the .7ohm, that I believe went to some of the older models, I am able to set the vent in the middle and get a real nice hit. Plus it’s a 3ml tank.