Vaporesso Gen S Kit Review

Almost a year after the launch of the popular Vaporesso Gen 220W box mod, the Chinese manufacturer brings us the Gen S, a rather unusual successor to the original Gen in that it looks, feels and works exactly the same. The only thing that seems to have changed is the color it comes in and the tank it’s paired with. But let’s first take a look at what’s in the box:

Vaporess Gen S Kit Contents

The new Gen S comes in a large, rectangular cardboard box that matches the color of the device inside and features a picture of the mod and tank on the front. On the back of the box we have a list of contents, some technical specifications as well as a scratch-and-check authenticity sticker.

Inside the packaging, we have the Gen S mod and the accompanying NRG-S sub-ohm tank sitting snug in a plastic tray, as well as a smaller box of accessories. The Gen S comes with a micro-USB charging cable, a spare GT coil-head, a spare glass tube for the tank, spare o-rings, and a user manual. It’s pretty much your average starter kit.

Vaporesso Gen S vs Original Gen Mod

This is basically the point of this whole review. I received the Gen S kit directly from Vaporesso, along with the Gen Nano, and i was definitely not expecting a clone of the Gen. I can understand why they’d want to make a smaller version of the original, that was actually one of my few gripes with the otherwise stellar mod, but why re-launch it under a different name?

I started analyzing the differences between the Gen S and the first Gen, but even after setting them side by side, I still can’t figure out anything different between them under than the color. My review sample came in a cool turquoise to lime green gradient which I find very attractive, and I understand that there are other cool color combinations to choose from, but that really justify a re-launch?

The Gen S is the exact same size as the original Gen, it has that same lovely rubberized exterior and texture, the button layout and display are the same as well, the 510 connection is identical, and they didn’t even bother upgrading the micro-USB charging port to a USB Type-C.

The ‘GEN’ branding on the bottom has now been changed to ‘GEN S’, but other than that, the two mods are literally identical.

My next thought was that Vaporesso must have tweaked the menu somehow, but after going through all the features, I found no significant difference. Yes, the Axon chip powering it has a more recent firmware version, but original Gen user could basically simply upgrade their devices to the same version without too much effort, so that doesn’t really count as a difference.

Other than the updated chip, all the smart modes we had on the original Gen are present on the Gen S as well, which is great, but that only med me more curious about the existence of the Gen S. If everything is the same, down to the tiniest details (with the exception of the color), why launch this as a new product?

On their official website, Vaporesso describe this new kit as an “optional version” of the Gen 220W kit, which, again, doesn’t explain its marketing as a new product. They could just introduce the new color configurations as options for the original Gen kit…

Anyway, long story short, I still don’t know why the Gen S kit exists. All I can say is that if you already have the original Gen 220W, the Vaporesso Swag, or any other Vaporesso device powered by the Axon chip, there is really no point in getting this, unless you’re in it for the included sub-ohm tank, which is indeed a new addition.

Vaporesso Nrg-S Sub-Ohm Tank

While the mod would definitely be the highlight of this kit in normal circumstances, having already tested and reviewed the exact same device last year, I focused more on the tank this time around. And I can’t say I regret any second spent using the Nrg-S, because it really is one of Vaporesso best atomizers ever.

The Nrg-S is a 30mm – around the bubble glass – sub-ohm tank capable of holding up to 8 ml of e-liquid. It comes with an 0.18Ω GT Mesh coil-head and an 0.15Ω GT4 Mesh coil-head, both of which are very impressive in  both the vapor production and the flavor departments. I particularly enjoyed the GT Mesh myself, but the true beauty of this tank is the plethora of compatible GT coil-heads available.

With eight different GT coil-head varieties currently available, from Vaporesso’s proprietary cCELL technology, to the aptly named GT8 with its multiple coils, you’re bound to find something you like. For this review, I also received a pack of GT6 coil-heads which performed beautifully at around 80W, but there are so many GT coil-heads to experiment with that you just have to find what works for you.

The Nrg-S tank has a simple top-filling system, you just push the top cap where you see the arrow symbol and a swivel move the top cap away to reveal a decent-size fill port. The only weird thing about this tank is that the 810-style drip tip appears to be non-removable, which I personally haven’t seen on an advanced sub-ohm tank before. So if you were planning to personalize the look of your setup, you’re going to be disappointed.

All in all, the new Vaporesso Nrg-S sub-ohm tank is one of the company’s best atomizers yet, offering unprecedented juice capacity, as well as a whole line of advanced coil-heads to fit every vaper’s needs.

Conclusion

This was definitely not what I expected the successor of the Vaporesso Gen to be like, but hopefully we will get a Gen 2 at some point in the future. The Gen S feels like a re-launch of the same product, with absolutely no notable difference to speak of. The Nrg-S sub-ohm tank is the saving grace of this kit, offering extreme performance and a whole line of GT coil-heads, but even with it included, it’s hard for me to recommend this kit to vapers who already own the original Gen mod. You’re basically getting the same device, just with a newer sub-ohm tank.

The Vaporesso Gen S kit was sent to me by Vaporesso, for the purpose of this review.

Tags : Gen S kit,mod reviews,NRG-S tank,Vaporesso,Vaporesso Gen S,Vaporesso NRG-S