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REVIEWS
VAPORESSO XTRA
By Benedict Jones
Vaporesso produces devices for practically every market
segment in vaping and the XTRA is its latest entry level kit.
With an RRP under £20, is this worth recommending to new
users?
Construction, fit and finish of the XTRA are solid. Vaporesso
does not state the main chassis material but from its
weight, I would have to assume zinc alloy. Despite its slim,
pocketable footprint, this is a robust little kit that will stand
up to everyday abuse without issue. Tolerances are nice,
with a very sturdy magnetic connection, which keeps pods
firmly in place.
In terms of user experience, the XTRA is a very basic device.
There’s just one button on the bottom of the chassis, which
can be clicked five times to turn the device on/off. One click
of the button when the device is powered up will give you
an estimate of the remaining battery life, via red, blue or
green flashes of the LED. When powered up, the XTRA is
draw to fire, with no power adjustment, so this really is quite
foolproof, if basic.
A large fill port is located on the side of each pod, covered
by a rubber seal. I’ve had zero issues re-filling with standard
bottles, though particularly large nozzles may not fit.
Despite the 2ml capacity, I’ve found that the pods can be
filled rapidly without running into overflow problems.
What about vape quality, then? The XTRA is supplied with
two disposable pods. The first is a 1.2Ohm round wire build.
This pod has a moderate-loose MTL draw and provides a
surprisingly warm vape considering the resistance, with
good flavour. Vaporesso recommend replacing each pod
after five refills, though I was able to get closer to 10 fills
before mine needed to be replaced, while using moderately
sweet e-liquid.
The second pod is a 0.8Ohm mesh build. This pod has
the same draw as the 1.2Ohm, albeit with a substantially
warmer vape and slight bump to flavour intensity. As with
the 1.2Ohm pod, I was able to get through 10 refills before
it needed to be replaced. For a “true” pod system like this,
which is intended for high strength e-liquids, I think that’s
specifications
Dimensions: 73.9mm*38.2mm*16.7mm
Battery capacity: 900mAh internal cell
E-liquid capacity: 2ml
Charging: 1A Micro-USB
a respectable longevity, that should translate to roughly a
week of use per pod for most people.
Battery life will largely depend on your choice of pod. Using
the 1.2Ohm variety, the 900mAh cell was consistently able
to give me just shy of a full day’s vaping time on a single
charge. This is cut to just over half a day’s use with the
0.8Ohm pod. The XTRA charges from flat to full in under
one hour, so I think this run time is well within acceptable
bounds.
In summary, the XTRA is an incredibly simple starter
kit but for high nicotine vapers, it just works. In my view,
this is the natural progression of devices like the Mi-Pod,
which has been incredibly popular for a while now. Would
I prefer replacement coils instead of pods? Yes, but there
is certainly a place for designs like this, particularly for new
users. The XTRA is a great choice for someone who needs
a very small device that still delivers great flavour and
practical battery life.
PROS
- Great flavour
- Good build quality
- Very simple for new users
CONS
- Replacement pods,
not coils
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