Vaporesso SWAG II 80W Mod Kit with NRG PE Tank

Timwis

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Hi Ecigssa members, In this review i take a look at the SWAG II 80W Mod Kit with NRG PE Tank from Vaporesso. The Vaporesso SWAG II 80W Mod Kit with NRG PE Tank was supplied for the purpose of this review by the Healthcabin.

https://www.healthcabin.net/vaporesso-sw...22815.html



Introduction

The Swag II has been out a while now and was the long awaited upgrade to the original Swag, my review coincides with the release of some new colour/design options although the one i received is an original colour.

The original Swag many believed was the smallest and lightest single 18650 device at the time and had a side positioned navigational rocker and both a fire and mode button along with the screen on it's face.

The Swag II keeps these features along with the same light weight, small form factor and Pico style top battery cap but has the same anti skid finish and operating system as the Gen so many who might not be familiar with the original Swag will see this as a baby Gen!

My standard kit came paired with the NRG PE while the TPD version comes with the SE variant of the NRG tank and has mentioned the device includes all the bells and whistles features of the Gen including Pulse, Smart TC and Eco Modes, let's give it a look!

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In The Box



Contents

1pc SWAG II Mod
1pc NRG PE Tank (3.5ml) NRG SE Tank (2ml, TPD Edition)
1pc GT4 Meshed Coil
1pc GT CCELL Coil
4pc O-ring
1pc USB Cable
1pc User Manual
1pc Warranty Card



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Aesthetics and Ergonomics

The Swag II arrived in the usual style of cardboard box packaging that Vaporesso products come in and i received the Rose version and although i personally have no issues with Pink (the new black) this actually starts Black at the bottom and fuses into a deep Rose colour which is almost Red! The original colour options are Rose, Green, Purple, Silver, Black, Blue and Red, while the new colour/designs are Flame Red, Phantom, Lava, Zebra Yellow, Camo Grey and Carbon Fiber.

The device keeps the same light and small ergonomic form factor as the original Swag, with Pico style protruding battery cap up top. The device has the same anti-skid finish as the Gen giving it as much a baby Gen look but still stays true to the original Swag with side navigational rocker and both fire and mode buttons on it's face.

The main form factor difference is on one side to the front of the device we have a bulging curve which in my opinion adds to the form factor aesthetically, as for describing the device in anymore detail i will leave that to the photos!



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The Differences Between The Swag And Swag II?

As well as obviously having the latest chipset and features which is a big difference between the 2 devices as the gap between the two releases must of been about three years the other obvious difference is the Gen like anti-skid finish.

The other main differences is the buttons protrude more, this is most noticeable with the side rocker as on the Swag this was indented into the side and even though i have quite small fingers i found it awkward so it must of been a real issue for someone with chubby fingers, now not an issue at all. Finally we have that front curved bulge which is the difference between on the Swag II being able to fit up to 25mm tanks rather than being limited to 22mm which was the case with the original Swag!



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NRG PE Tank Specs and Features:

(TPD version comes with NRG SE 2ml tank)

Dimensions: 25*50mm
Capacity: 3.5ml
Coil: 0.15ohm GT4 Meshed Coil (50-75W), 0.5ohm GT CCELL Coil (25-35W)
Top-fill
Bottom adjustable airflow
Thread: 510
Colours: Blue, Red, Black, Silver



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NRG PE Tank Overview

The NRG PE Tank is yet another rendition of the NRG tank which seem to of been around as long as Vaporesso, it takes the GT coils which have grown into a vast range of coil heads. It's diameter is 25mm and has a capacity of 3.5ml and for this reason the TPD Kit comes with the SE version of the tank which has a smaller diameter and 2ml capacity (a 4.5ml bubble glass is available).

We have a Delrin 510 drip tip up top so you can fit your own but there is a raised ridge so some you try might look a little funky. We have a swivel open fill method and a guide arrow but also the top can be unscrewed for cleaning purposes or to replace the fill gasket, the fill port is a good size so no issues filling!

We have large dual cyclops airflow on the base which also has nice machined knurling and this base section screws off, well actually it's the top of the coil head that unscrews from the chimney. Once the base is unscrewed the coil head can just be screwed in or out the base section! You do receive spare 0-rings and fill gasket as well as two different coil heads but unfortunately no spare glass!



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The Coils

As mentioned like other versions of the NRG tanks both the PE and SE take the GT family of coils of which two are included which are the 0.15 dual mesh recommended from 50 to 75W and the 0.5ohm CCELL which has SS wire so can be used in TC which is recommended between 25 and 35w.




There are plenty of other coil options available:



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Swag II Specs and Features:

Dimensions: 50*25*75mm
Resistance: 0.03-5.0ohm
Output Power: 5-80W
Charging Current: DC 5V/2A, Micro USB
Display: 0.91 inch OLED Screen
Chipset: AXON Chip
Battery: 1*18650 (not included)
Tank Compatibility: Max 25mm
New modes: Pulse, Smart TC and Eco
DIY Mode: VW, VV, VT, Curves, Bypass and Super Player Modes
Thread: 510
Original Colours: Rose, Green, Purple, Silver, Black, Blue, Red
New colour/Designs: Flame Red, Phantom, Lava, Zebra Yellow, Camo Grey, Carbon Fiber



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Fitting The Battery

The Swag II accommodates a single 18650 battery which gets fitted by unscrewing the battery cap situated on the top opposite the 510 plate. This is a real space saving way of fitting a battery as part of the battery can protrude higher than the main body allowing for a smaller device. Orientation is both labelled at the bottom of the battery tube and underside of the cap and although quite often i find the threading a bit crunchy with this style of battery cap on the Swag II i received it screws on and off very smoothly, nice job!



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The Display

We have a real contradiction with the Swag II being such a feature rich innovative device yet as a very basic Old School style screen which still appeals to many and i believe this is quite deliberate as it makes the whole device less overwhelming and quite easy to navigate.

The screen is bright and sharp and the brightness can be adjusted. Top left we have a single battery bar and also within the battery status bar we have the remaining charge given as a percentage. Underneath the battery bar we have the resistance and then below the resistance the puff counter which shows the duration of your vape when firing. Central and taking up most of the display we have the wattage, temperature or voltage depending which mode you are in and then top right we have the mode.



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Navigating The Swag II

The Swag II is the usual 5 clicks of the fire button to turn on and 5 clicks to turn off and once on 3 clicks of the fire button locks and unlocks the navigational and mode buttons but when locked the device will still fire. Holding down both the mode and fire buttons together brings up an information screen giving serial number and firmware version.

The menu is very old school giving a row of icons which when you try to carry on scrolling past the last one displayed if there are any more in that section then the others appear on the screen, the last icon is always exit and also having a mode button the whole system is easy to navigate even if sounding complicated when i try to explain it.

To enter the menu you can either long press the mode button or click it 3 times and it brings up the following options, Pulse mode, Power Eco, Smart TC, DIY Mode, System Set and Exit.

Choosing either Pulse mode, Power Eco or Smart TC takes you to that working screen and i will go through these features later. Choosing DIY Mode brings up the following options Variable wattage, Variable Temperature, Variable Voltage, Custom Wattage Curve, Bypass, Super Player Mode and Exit.

Curves, Variable Voltage and Bypass are all straightforward and Super player mode is a feature that Vaporesso have included for a while now where it allows you to fire down to 0.03ohm and something i really don't care for. Choosing Variable Wattage gives you the choice of Normal, Soft or Hard pre-heats and Variable Temperature first allows you to choose your wire type and then allows you to alter the TCR, set wattage for temp control and lock resistance.

The Final option in the main menu is System Settings which allows you to reset your puff counter, set vape time allowed, adjust brightness, turn smart wattage on or off, flip the screen, turn automatic eco on or off, set device to default and finally bring up the same information screen that can be accessed with the mode and fire button together from the working screen.

The device adjusts in 0.1W increments from 5W right up to 80W but if you hold the button it switches to 1w increments and moves at a speed of knots but it doesn't round robin.



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The New Modes

Well not actually new anymore as they first appeared on the Gen but still worth another look. I do find the fact the device by default is in Pulse mode and the first tier of the menu system is the three new modes and to use the standard Wattage, Temperature modes etc are further within the menu system a little strange. I do understand why it's been done this way as Vaporesso are showing faith in these new features and trying to push them but i still think it should of been done the other way around. The more i use devices with the Axon chipset though the more i enjoy these new features and see it less of an issue!

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Pulse Mode

The idea of Pulse Mode is to give you more consistent power so instead of your initial fire which once it hits set wattage can dip in Pulse mode it's continuously firing every 0.02 seconds up to 500 times in one vape giving consistent power.






Pulse Mode is the Swag II's default mode!

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Power Eco Mode

When in Power Eco Mode it optimises your settings despite that you are still setting the settings, if you are in other modes it will also ask if you want the device to use Eco Mode when the battery life gets down to 40%.

Why when it sill uses your settings does it become so much more efficient and why not efficient in the first place? I can only go by my experience but i have used this mode on both the Gen and Gen Nano and have noticed little if any improvement in battery life!



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Smart TC

When using Smart TC and you first attach your atomizer it fires the atomizer for a micro second and scans the information. It recognises wire type and ohms extra and automatically gives the best TC settings for that coil. When using Pulse mode it also fires and scans the atomiser and if it's a TC coil asks if you want to use Smart TC, likewise if you have the device in Smart TC mode and the atomizer you attach doesn't have a TC compatible coil it will jump the device out of Smart TC and into Pulse Mode. I absolutely love this mode and have used it with the Gen often and tried it out with the included CCELL with this kit and it works great!



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Protections:

Overtime Protection
Overheat Protection
Short Circuit Protection
USB Input Protection
No Load Protection
Overcharging Protection
Resistance Protection



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Charging

As always i never recommend charging the battery in the device unless it's your only option although if you do the Swag II supports 2A charging so will charge very quickly, sadly not a Type C port though!

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My Experience Using The Swag II Kit And Thoughts!

What a great little kit this is, so small and compact with such a nice ergonomic feel yet can accommodate up to 25mm tanks. The NRG Tanks have been used as kit tanks for years by Vaporesso and there must be half a dozen different variants but they all take the GT coils which are amongst the best stock coils available and the GT family range has grown to be vast.

The NRG PE tank was slightly loud but the airflow was smooth across the board, i have used both coils previously and the 0.15ohm dual mesh coil head i find suited to a semi restricted draw which is airflow three quarters open at 60w which gives a warm flavoursome vape. On this occasion i used the 0.5ohm CCELL as it's one of my favourite stock coils available period and this i always vape at 28W with airflow half open for a tight restricted direct lung vape, flavour is excellent!

The star of the show is the Swag II which isn't surprising as it functions like a smaller Gen which many quoted as "best mod of the year" in 2019. I like the Pulse Mode idea and indeed it does give a very consistent vape with no drop in power but then the Omni chipset i always found did that in normal power mode so i did also compare to the normal variable wattage mode on the device and although this is not a con for the Pulse mode but more of a plus for the Axon chip in general i could tell absolutely no difference between pulse mode and normal wattage.

All the usual modes worked great including curves and having variable voltage is another plus, i didn't use the normal TC but absolutely love the Smart TC mode which worked great for me and allows vapers to vape in TC without having to set anything.

I also love the looks and feel of the device and it's lightweight allows it to be a great option for out and about especially for MTL vapers using a MTL RTA. All the buttons including the fire button have a nice quiet cushioned feel that oozes quality and it fires in an instant with great ramp up whichever mode you use.

I also like how the form factor has been slightly altered from the original to allow up to 25mm tanks to fit and the more protruding buttons means navigating the device is so much easier compared to the original Swag with it's indented side navigational rocker.

It's a bit disappointing this doesn't have Type C USB but it does support both 2A charging and pass-through, the device is also firmware upgradeable.



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Likes

Good build quality
Grippy textured rubber finish
Finish seems very durable
Ergonomic portable device
7 Original colours
6 New Colour/Design options
Lightweight
Old school, sharp bright display
Easy to navigate
Battery status shown both as a bar and as a percentage
Mode Button
Feature rich
Variable Wattage, Voltage, TC, Bypass, SP Mode and Wattage Curve.
Pulse Mode
Power Eco Mode (not convinced)
Smart TC (Loved using this mode)
Performed excellently
Space saving top battery cap
Accommodates up to 25mm tanks
Firmware Upgradeable
NRG PE and SE are very good performing sub-ohm tanks
Rotate open top-fill method
2 different GT coil heads included
Compatible with complete range of GT coil heads
2A charging
Supports pass-through
Firmware upgradeable


Cons

If fitting own 510 due to raised rim some will look funky
Tank a little loud
No spare glass included
Not type C USB
Not convinced by Eco Mode

I would once again like to thank the Healthcabin for supplying the Vaporesso SWAG II 80W Mod Kit with NRG PE Tank for the purpose of this review, thanks for reading and stay safe!

https://www.healthcabin.net/vaporesso-sw...22815.html

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I do like the twist of the top of the tank to refill. Don't know if it will leak in time but it's very convenient.
 
I do like the twist of the top of the tank to refill. Don't know if it will leak in time but it's very convenient.
This doesn't have a locking mechanism like some tanks with the swivel open design but you would be very unlucky for it to open and leak of it's own accord but the potential is there!
 
Thank you for the detailed and informative review @Timwis. I’ve had this kit supine it was released and do like the size and feel factors of it. I don’t care much about the different options as I only Vape in power mode but my main 2 cons with it are the battery cap threading and the coating which seems to be made of several layers of some sort of rubbery substance. The most superficial layer started peeling off leaving a funny yellowish discolouration behind it. And the battery cap is so grippy, you can’t replace the battery without removing the tank every time. Finally that “scanning” feature that takes a bit too long to read the coil resistance where other mods read it instantly without any drama.
It’s still a very good mod though.
 
Thank you for the detailed and informative review @Timwis. I’ve had this kit supine it was released and do like the size and feel factors of it. I don’t care much about the different options as I only Vape in power mode but my main 2 cons with it are the battery cap threading and the coating which seems to be made of several layers of some sort of rubbery substance. The most superficial layer started peeling off leaving a funny yellowish discolouration behind it. And the battery cap is so grippy, you can’t replace the battery without removing the tank every time. Finally that “scanning” feature that takes a bit too long to read the coil resistance where other mods read it instantly without any drama.
It’s still a very good mod though.
Must be hit and miss with the battery caps as what you describe is an issue i often have with this style of battery cap yet on the device i received the threading is smooth. You are right the coating is made up of different layers and the same as what's on the Gen which has been out even longer yet this is the first i have heard anyone having an issue with the finish! I have three Gens one of which was sent prior to it's release and granted due to i'm always testing products most of the time it hasn't been overused but the finish is still pristine, would be interesting if anyone else are having the finish on the Gen and Swag II fail!
 
Thank you for the detailed and informative review @Timwis. I’ve had this kit supine it was released and do like the size and feel factors of it. I don’t care much about the different options as I only Vape in power mode but my main 2 cons with it are the battery cap threading and the coating which seems to be made of several layers of some sort of rubbery substance. The most superficial layer started peeling off leaving a funny yellowish discolouration behind it. And the battery cap is so grippy, you can’t replace the battery without removing the tank every time. Finally that “scanning” feature that takes a bit too long to read the coil resistance where other mods read it instantly without any drama.
It’s still a very good mod though.
It reads resistance instantly like any other device and the scanning is checking for wire type and if temp wire best settings etc! If you don't like the scanning you can just set the device to use standard variable wattage then no scanning takes place when you fix new atties!
 
I do like the twist of the top of the tank to refill. Don't know if it will leak in time but it's very convenient.

I've never had a leak with any Vaporesso tank. They're actually extremely good, although I'd like to see them put out a couple of new MTL tanks to complete their range. You can shut the airflow down a long way, but they never really get tight enough for a true MTL vape. That's a pity, because the Swag II would be a better MTL than DL device.
 
... I really like some of those new colours... zebra yellow, camo grey and carbon fiber. Nice.
 
... I really like some of those new colours... zebra yellow, camo grey and carbon fiber. Nice.
Just shows people like different things, i was only just saying to someone on ECF i still prefer the original colours and find some of the new colour/design options OTT!
 
Just shows people like different things, i was only just saying to someone on ECF i still prefer the original colours and find some of the new colour/design options OTT!

I own an Acrohm Fush, so it follows I really like OTT on occasion :aplastao:
 
I own an Acrohm Fush, so it follows I really like OTT on occasion :aplastao:
Yeah me too, maybe i would like the finishes on another device i just find the more plain and 2 toned fused colours suits the finish on this particular device more!
 
Yeah me too, maybe i would like the finishes on another device i just find the more plain and 2 toned fused colours suits the finish on this particular device more!
I've got the red/black original Swag 2, so maybe it's just that these are just a bit different looking.
 
I've got the red/black original Swag 2, so maybe it's just that these are just a bit different looking.
Yeah when it was released Vaporesso sent it but it just vanished in the postal system so bought the Blue/Black one but as i bought it never got around to reviewing it so when i received this i just needed to familiarize myself with it rather than fully testing it that's why @Grand Guru's issue with the finish is a new one on me as all my devices with this type of finish are proving to stand the test of time!
 
Yeah when it was released Vaporesso sent it but it just vanished in the postal system so bought the Blue/Black one but as i bought it never got around to reviewing it so when i received this i just needed to familiarize myself with it rather than fully testing it that's why @Grand Guru's issue with the finish is a new one on me as all my devices with this type of finish are proving to stand the test of time!
I remember a few forumites did complain about the Blue Gens turning sort of Orange after sometime and I suspect there maybe a similar issue with the Swag 2. I’m sure it has to do with the material or maybe the pigments used interacting with Oxygen or maybe the UVs...
 
I remember a few forumites did complain about the Blue Gens turning sort of Orange after sometime and I suspect there maybe a similar issue with the Swag 2. I’m sure it has to do with the material or maybe the pigments used interacting with Oxygen or maybe the UVs...
I honestly don't know i just haven't heard of it being a general issue, i'm not doubting you have had an issue with your finish!
 
... I really like some of those new colours... zebra yellow, camo grey and carbon fiber. Nice.
I agree the carbon fibre was just wow that's nice gotta have. Not having bought many mods for 3 years, ipico and ipico x user, liked the carbon fibre look and about time I experiment different. I wasn't disappointed the carbon fibre swag 2 looks really good. Tough little critter. Bought black swag 2 for backup as well. Then bought aegis max for new bigger rdta tanks. Now I'm like the proverbial chameleon on a smartie box on what to use.
 
I agree the carbon fibre was just wow that's nice gotta have. Not having bought many mods for 3 years, ipico and ipico x user, liked the carbon fibre look and about time I experiment different. I wasn't disappointed the carbon fibre swag 2 looks really good. Tough little critter. Bought black swag 2 for backup as well. Then bought aegis max for new bigger rdta tanks. Now I'm like the proverbial chameleon on a smartie box on what to use.
So i take it you hate devices with top battery caps lol!:aaaaa:

Some nice palm sized, reliable, durable mods you have to pick from!
 
So i take it you hate devices with top battery caps lol!:aaaaa:

Some nice palm sized, reliable, durable mods you have to pick from!
With the swag 2 you can at least use bigger tanks than the ipico. Win win. Simple view. If it doesn't fit in my top shirt pocket being outside all day it's useless to me.
 
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Having used the swag 2 for a while now my only problem with this mod is the very tiny text size battery percentage shown and not the battery percentage shown as bars like the istick pico. Very tricky to read the very tiny text battery percentage shown. More than once the mod just ran out of power being unable to keep an eye on the battery percentage used easily. Who agrees with this?
 
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Having used the swag 2 for a while now my only problem with this mod is the very tiny text size battery percentage shown and not the battery percentage shown as bars like the istick pico. Very tricky to read the very tiny text battery percentage shown. More than once the mod just ran out of power being unable to keep an eye on the battery percentage used easily. Who agrees with this?
Even the Gen is a bit small. I have to have my reading glasses on for both to see them clearly and can't just glance at them for a reading.
 
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