Seattle based vaping brand, Vaptio is a fair newcomer on the market, having only opened doors in 2014…I guess you could say they’re still making a name for themselves. In spite of them being youngsters in the game, they actually have quite a large array of gear in their line and with today’s product for review, the Capt’n Kit, that line gets a little longer.
I’ve had the pleasure of reviewing their N1 Pro Mod and Frogman Tank a while back, but they’ve released reams of gear since then, including the C Flat, the Spiderman themed Wall Crawler and the Super Bat, which was Batman themed.
With the Vaptio Capt’n 220 Kit, we celebrate none other than Marvel’s Captain America…obviously also a nod to the brand’s All American heritage (and maybe an indication of a slight lack of originality, lol). Let’s get in there and take a closer look at this SHINY, TINY and incredibly BLUE kit from Vaptio…at least, mine’s BLUE, anyway.
What’s In The Box
- 1 x Capt’n Tank
- 1 x Capt’n Mod
- 1 x Frogman W8 Coilhead, preinstalled
- 1 x Frogman W2 Coilhead
- Spare o-rings and glass
- User manual
Features Mod
- Output range 10-220W
- 1.3” Colour TFT display, 240x240ppi
- Dimensions: 126x33x42 with tank
- Dual 18650 run
- Modes: VW, TC (Ti, Ni, SS), Smart, CCW, CCVT, Bypass
- Resistance Range 0.1-5 Ohm
- Firmware upgradable
- Anti Leak 510
- Weight: 99g
- Firespeed: 0.005 seconds
- Zinc alloy frame
- IML panel body
- Available in golden, rainbow, blue, pink, camo green, red and black with various decorative prints
Features Tank
- Top Fill
- Large bottom adjustable airflow
- 4ml Capacity
Build Quality & Design
Capt’n 220W Mod
On opening the neat, white Vaptio box packaging, I was struck by the truth to claims that IML tech results in vibrant, shiny colour. I can almost hear the shine and my blue version is an absolutely gorgeous colour.
To be honest though, the IML process, which utilizes a thin, glossy plastic layer over the print to ensure that colour and print stay vibrant, has resulted in a look that is utterly tacky.
It LOOKS like plastic and…sadly, on lifting out the kit, I discover that it feels like plastic too. This, combined with the excessive branding, in visible parts of the mod…right down to the ‘designed in…malarkey’, I feel like I’m handling a cheap and gaudy toy.
The mod is extremely small for a dual 18650 device and ergonomics are top notch, though the far too light weight and plastic feel all round give it a terribly cheap finish.
I’m a HUGE Marvel fan but I feel like this is verging on being too attractive to children, which doesn’t seem at all right.
The mod has a slightly flattened, 6 sided shield shape when viewed from the top. It fits superbly in hand, I’ll give it that.
The back of the mod has a big, silver Capt’n brand at the top and the blue one has a large, detailed, concentric star shaped engraving below that, with an unsightly mess of print below that…regarding the mods assembly in China (all American, my bones). This mess is usually printed under mods, so I don’t know what the deal is here but I don’t like it one bit.
The mod has seams all over it which make it look like the back panel is removable, but it isn’t. Another seam also wraps around the mods front 3 faces. In between the 2 seemed sections, at the bottom left (when viewed from the front) There is white, Vaptio branding.
On the front panel, top and centre, you’ll find Capt’n Am’s silver and blue star shield, fully textured and serving as a super clicky but very plastic feeling button. Every time I offer this vape to a friend to try, they search for the fire button so I guess this star shield is actually a HIDDEN fire button, lol!
The top part of this front face has that same concentric star design, only bigger, as decoration and…below the fire button is a massive, clear, colourful and bright 1.33” TFT display.
If you ask me, the screen and the fire button are this mod’s redeeming features, both look awesome.
Below the screen are two of the weirdest adjustment buttons I’ve seen. They are slightly raised sections with cut out’s around them and all I can think of is the fact that if juice or grime gets into those cutouts (which WILL happen), it’s going to be unsightly, possibly hazardous and impossible to get out.
Below the buttons is a micro USB port.
Underneath the mod is a hinged battery door with a good solid lock and a slight side to side rattle when opened. The battery chamber is insulated and extremely tight. My re-wrapped batteries get stuck inside every time and I have to give it a good shake to get them out.
On top is a deep, springy 510 connection, with a nice big SS seating with star-shaped grooves cut out of it. It’s centralized in one direction but not the other, meaning…it sits closer to the side with the screen but it’s in the centre when viewed from the front.
Capt’n Tank
The Vaptio Capt’n tank is an ever so slightly different colour to the mod, given the lack of that plastic finish on top.
The 4ml tank has a very thick base and top cap but is slightly heavier on the base.
Heavy knurling makes the bottom adjustable airflow easy to change and…when your tank is not screwed in, the slightest pull will actually remove that airflow ring, which is a bit of a bother, as this could fall off when swapping tanks out.
Two 11x2mm cyclopean slots reveal the fact that this is a BIG airflow tank.
Above the base and below the topcap, there is a thin chrome band, which will match the silver of that Capt’n Am shield fire button. The top cap has a single groove running around it, as knurling, with Vaptio branding on one side and a star logo on the other, in small print.
The drip tip is proprietary, which is pretty unfortunate, given it’s a very drab black delrin.
The top cap twists off easily to reveal two very ample juice fill slots.
Break down of the tank is very smooth.
Accessories
Okay, everything you’d expect is included, spare glass and o-rings, as well as an extra, lighter coil head. If I can just mention…the user manuals (for mod and tank) are NOT manuals, they are both useless in that regard and I honestly don’t know why they bother.
If I wanted pictures of the various screens, with no explanation of functions, I would take them myself.
How Does The Vaptio Capt’n Kit Perform?
This mod is feature packed, let’s face it. There are no less than 6 modes, all of which work a charm. I particularly enjoy playing with wattage curves on the Capt’n as the screen offers a nice colour display and adjusting 10 increments in pictorial form is loads of fun for me.
I also like the fact that there are two colour themes, although I don’t fancy the red…it’s a little bit much, I’d have liked to have seen a third option like yellow.
The menu system is intuitive and a pleasure to use…it took me no time to run through all the functions, even though the manual is useless.
I found that Temp Control was accurate and effective for SS and Ni.
Anywhere above 80W and this mod gets disturbingly hot. The tank got so hot when chainvaping at 75W that it almost blistered my fingers.
So…as you can imagine, I’m not wholly keen on testing the device’s upper limits. The things I do for you…
I can’t help feeling like the plastic coating is going to melt off this device, when vaping above 120W, although this is a range only a select few vapers would likely vape at regularly.
Both tank and mod get extremely hot. This kit simply isn’t made for my style of vaping (high wattage). This kit fails the stress test, badly.
I’m not saying it doesn’t fire, it fires, it fires fast and hard…it just doesn’t feel heat resistant with higher wattages. My e-liquid ends up scalding hot and thinned…not cool, not cool at all.
The tank’s airflow is superb but very hollow sounding and noisy, whether open or restricted.
I get above average flavour on the tank and really good cloud as well, unfortunately, the overheating takes effect on the juice after a while, resulting in a dampening of flavour and just a general unpleasantness, such a pity.
Now, under 70W…when this kit isn’t getting hot, it vapes surprisingly well. Awesome flavour and cloud and a really solid feeling 60W. The thing is, this is supposed to be a 220W kit but I’m afraid to use it higher than 70.
The chip on this mod is top quality, a solid performer in all modes and really responsive, with zero fails on resistance readings and atty checks.
The Finish
As far as the finish goes. I’ve been getting compliments on the flashy look…however 2 of those compliments were from children.
The finish is an all round fingerprint magnet that scratches extremely quickly, with scratches on the IML plastic being really unsightly. I now have a scratched, plastic feeling mod that overheats…it’s not something I’m happy to recommend.
I must say, this is the opposite of what I expected from Vaptio, since my other mod from the brand is as solid as solid comes.
How To Fill
- Twist off the top cap
- Fill through one of the slots
How To Change the Coil
- Unscrew the glass from the base
- Unscrew the coil from its seating
- Replace the coil
- Prime
- Replace the glass
- Fill and enjoy
Stock Coil Performance
The coils that come with this tank are very akin to Smoktech’s baby beast coils, when it comes to design, flavour and cloud. Initially, for the first tank, there is a strange flavour undertone which I experienced on both coils.
After that, flavour is really decent on both coils.
The Frogman W8 is an octuple 0.15 Ohm coil with a range of 50-100W. It provides well above average flavour and cloud, sitting pretty around 75W. This coil is a massive juice guzzler.
The W2 is a dual 0.4 Ohm coil with a range of 30-80W…she fires best around 55W. Flavour is actually excellent here, with cloud somewhat diminished. Watch out for raising the throttle on this one, as she burns really easily above 80W.
How To Operate the Menu System
- 5 Clicks on or off
- 3 Clicks to enter menu
- Fire to select
- Hold up and down to lock/unlock
How To Replace The batteries
- Open the hinged battery door
- Insert batteries according to the markers
- Shut the door
Battery Life
Battery life is certainly not bad, especially given the bright colourful screen. The screen doesn’t seem to draw much power at all and I get a good 9 hours on dual Samsung 2500s, vaping at a consistent 75W.
Pros
- Ergonomic feel, small and highly portable
- Clicky, cute fire button
- Fast ramp
- Nifty screen with fun power curve settings
- Above average flavour
Cons
- Tacky look and feel
- Fingerprint and scratch magnet
- Mod feels hot above 70W when chainvaping
- Tank overheats above 70W when chainvaping
- Strange aftertaste on both coils with first use
Final Review Verdict
Vapers, I do NOT enjoy giving a product a bad review…let’s just get that straight. The fact is, however, that for me this mod’s finish leaves much to be desired, in my opinion and I certainly don’t fancy anyone who chainvapes, like me, getting burned on this tank or having another, even more dangerous upset with an overheating mod.
I like a mod to operate cool within its specified range and sadly, this mod and kit simply does not do that. That’s why, while the Vaptio Capt’n Kit operates a charm on other levels, I can’t in good conscience recommend it.
And..
Would I buy this if I lost/broke the device? I don’t think so.
