Uwell Caliburn Koko Review

The Uwell Caliburn was one of last year’s most popular vaping devices, and probably the best selling pod system – not counting the JUUL – but of you didn’t like its classic stick design, Uwell now offers it in a rectangular shape under the name Caliburn Koko. It’s essentially the same as the original Caliburn pod, minus the redesigned battery casing.

Uwell Caliburn Koko Packaging

The redesigned Caliburn pod system comes in a rectangular cardboard box colored in Uwell’s now classic scheme – black and gold – and featuring a sketch of the device inside on the front. ON the back of the box we have a list of contents, manufacturer contact information and the legally-required nicotine and age restriction warnings.

Inside the box we have the small Caliburn Koko vape pod sitting in a Styrofoam holder and a small box containing all the included accessories – a spare refillable pod, a micro-USB charging cable, user manual and a metal chain that you can use as a lanyard for the device. If you’ve ever used a VooPoo Drag Nano pod system, you know the kind of chain I’m talking about.

Uwell Caliburn Koko Design and Build Quality

The new Caliburn Koko vape pod is made of an aluminum alloy and plastic,weighs a measly 33g and measures only 67mm x 43mm x 12 mm, which makes it one of the smallest, lightest vaping devices ever.

The only notable difference between the original Uwell Caliburn and the Koko variant is the design. While the former had a classic stick design, the latter is rectangular. It’s like they cut the Caliburn in half and set the pieces side by side to make the Koko model. Why they decided to do that is not very clear to me, as a simple design change doesn’t really explain the need for another model of a very successful device.

The Koko features an aluminum casing with plastic top and bottom and a refillable pod. The Koko brand is plastered on both sides of the device, as if anyone could mistake it for the first generation Caliburn, but apart from this branding, all other elements are minimalist. There is a tiny LED battery indicator on the narrow side of the device, a small hole that acts as the air intake, a micro-USB port and some venting on the bottom, and a hollow corner where you attach the lanyard.

If you’ve ever used the Uwell Caliburn, you’ll recognize that the Koko uses the exact same type, only with a red-colored bottom instead of blue. That’s because they come with 1.2Ω coils compared to the 1.4Ω of the original. So they’re technically not exactly the same, but they are perfectly interchangeable which is what I was getting at. So if you have some old Caliburn pods lying around and want to pick up the Koko as well, you can use them with it. Same with original Caliburn users who just want to try the new 1.2Ω pods.

Like the pods of last year’s Caliburn, the Koko’s feature a very rudimentary yet effective top filling system consisting of two holes on either side of the center air shaft. You have to first remove the black mouthpiece to access the fill ports, which you can do by yanking it off with a bit of force. Just make sure to use both holes when filling, as using thicker juice may cause one side to flood while the others remains bone dry. That’s because the pods are on the thin side, and the center coil-head can prevent the juice from traveling from one side of the pod to the other.

The Caliburn Koko pods hold up to 2ml of e-liquid and is attaches to the Koko battery by applying pressure on the mouthpiece until clicks into place. Although the reservoir goes into the battery itself, you do have a thin window on one of the sides where you can kind of see the juice level. It can be kind of tough to see the juice sometimes, though, so I recommend just popping the pod out and checking if it has any juice in it.

Uwell Caliburn Koko Battery Life

Despite its seemingly bulkier frame, the Caliburn Koko has the exact same battery capacity as the original Uwell Caliburn pod system – 520 mAh. Compared to modern pod mods like the VooPoo Vinci or Vaporesso Target PM80, or even advanced pod systems like the Lost Vape Orion or Smoant Pasito, but for a rudimentary vape pod, it’s not bad at all.

Still it would have been nice to see a slightly improved battery capacity, i’m not going to lie. The LED indicator will flash green when the battery is over 60 percent full, blue when it’s over 30 percent full and red when you are really running low. When the LED flashes 10 times rapidly and the battery won’t activate anymore, it’s time to recharge.

The Caliburn Koko has a charge rate of 1A, which isn’t stellar, but it’s decent for an entry-level vaping device. I also features vape-while charging technology, which means you will be able to use it as a passthrough.

How Does the Uwell Caliburn Koko Vape?

The Caliburn Koko is essentially a differently-shaped Caliburn that uses the same style pods, so there isn’t that much of a difference in vaping performance between the two devices. Sure, the older Caliburn was manually-activated, while the Koko has a draw-activated switch, an the newer vape pod comes with lower-resistance coils, but these differences don’t make that much of a difference.

The Uwell Caliburn Koko delivers the same excellent performance as its older brother; the flavor is outstanding, vapor production is above average for this type of vaping device, and battery life is not too shabby. But to me, the most important feature is the MTL capability. It’s not as restrictive as the Vladdin RE, for example, but if you prefer a slightly looser mouth-to-lung, I think the Caliburn Koko is on par with the brilliant Renova Zero.

Conclusion

The Koko is a worthy addition to the Uwell Caliburn family of pod systems, but in my humble opinion it is only worth considering if you don’t already own the original Caliburn. The different form factor and draw-activated switch don’t really justify a second purchase, in my opinion, as you can simply buy the 1.2Ω separately and use them with the older device. Don’t get me wrong, the Caliburn Koko is just as good as its older brother, but it’s just too similar, and therefore not that impressive anymore.

The Uwell Caliburn Koko was sent to me by Vapesourcing, for the purpose of this review. They currently have it in stock for just $27.99

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