Vape kits with a disposable tank seem to be a thing these days and the Augvape VX200 kit has gone down that route with the kit shipped out with not one but three throwaway Jewel sub ohm tanks.
Yeah I know it’s not exactly the ‘greenest’ idea however many vapers like the ease of disposable tanks and the Teslacigs ONE and the VZone Preco One Kit have all been well received. I’ll get into my thoughts on chuck-away tanks later.
OK, Augvape are known for producing some excellent vape devices and if I’m honest are IMHO one of the better manufacturers out there. I’ve had the pleasure of reviewing many of their products with all receiving pretty positive reviews from yours truly.
Standouts have been the BTFC RDA which I can’t put down – the Skynet Pro sub ohm stock coiler [that myself and our Michelle had input] – the stunning Honda B VTEC inspired V200 mod and of course the gorgeous and very classy Druga Foxy mod.
Is The VX200 Kit by Augvape The Jewel In the Vape Company’s Crown?
So we’re looking at pretty high standard to shoot at with this set-up so the million dollar question is obviously how does this one perform?
The VX200 kit was sent to me for the purpose of review direct from Augvape – thank you – and as always my thoughts and opinions are not swayed by freebies. Is it one of the best vape mods I’ve tried? Let’s find out.
Incidentally if you don’t like the idea of a disposable tank option you can buy the mod as a stand alone.
Inside the Box
This is the kit version and features separate boxes for the mod and tanks covered by a cardboard sleeve and inside you’ll find:
- 1x Augvape VX200 Box Mod
- 3x disposable Jewel sub ohm Tanks
- 1x USB Cable
- 1x User Manual
Augvape VX200 Kit Specs
- Material: ABS+PC plastic
- Size: 87.5*45*29.2mm
- Standby current: < 100 μA
- Power range: 5-200 W
- Voltage range: 0.2-7.2 V
- Resistance range: 0.05-3.0Ω
- Output current : 40 A
Jewel Disposable Tank Specs
- 26mm
- 3ml capacity
- 0.15ohm mesh coil
- Disposable
Quick Start Guide
- Insert X2 18650 batteries
- Remove silicone bung to fill Jewel tank
- X5 clicks on and off
- X3 clicks to enter menu
- Up –down to scroll and fire bar to select option
- Fire bar to vape
- Throw away tank and replace when flavour dips
Key Features
OK let’s tackle the elephant in the room first – the disposable tank. Not a big fan of this whole idea if I’m honest and not just with this Augvape set-up. I’m no eco warrior by any means however as you can see from my article on 10ml vape bottles ‘choking the planet’ I like many others do worry about this throwaway culture we live in.
As to how the Jewel tanks vape we’ll get to later.
The mod is light as the proverbial feather and I mean light – weighing in at just 65 grams or slightly over 2 ounces in real money. Now trust me that’s light even with the 2x 18650 batteries and a fully filled tank on top.
It’s a 1.3 inch colour screen that can be customized and the menu is easily navigated with plenty of options including the four power modes: variable wattage – variable voltage – bypass and temperature control.
The mod can hit up to 200 watts and rather than a fire button the Augvape VX200 features an Alienesque style fire bar.
Augvape says they’ve cut out the amount of wires inside the mod saying this speeds up fire time and the firmware will be upgradeable.
Design and Build Quality
The kits weight comes from it being built entirely out of plastic – tank and mod. In photos the mod looks quite sturdy – however in the hand and when in use sadly it feels dare I say flimsy.
Press that fire bar too hard and you genuinely feel like you’re going to squash it! Look I’m no strongman however the first few times I gripped the mod it honestly felt like a touch more pressure may have cracked it – so be gentle!
There’s no rattle from the battery door – however once again when firing you do feel a slight movement that instinctively makes you lessen your grip. It’s the same with the screen – pressure from the natural shape of your palm pushes the front in again making you extremely cautious.
Whilst I haven’t dropped this yet I do fear it will crack quite easily – like I said sturdy this isn’t.
Design wise I absolutely love this mod. It’s very clean elegant lines and I love the Augvape logo punched into the side – very classy indeed.
Trust me you can’t fault the VX200 in the looks department and had this been made out of some kind of alloy or sturdier plastic – it would be one of the first I reach for.
Jewel Tank
The plastic feels a little tougher and given its diamond style design it may take a few knocks.
The silicon bung will be tricky to open for those of you without nails however I had no such issues. Augvape has tried to make the bung the same colour as the tank – however it’s not a perfect match and therefore stands out a little – just enough to trigger my slight OCD let’s put it that way!
Design wise I really don’t like the look of this one at all – especially on top of the mod. Where the mod is clean and sleek the tank as you can see is angular. This once again triggers my slight OCD and whilst the choice of colours is a good thing – apart from the black [which I don’t have] none seem to match the mod IMHO.
How Does the Augvape VX200 Kit Perform?
Underneath that plastic shell lies a bit of a beast of a mod. I’m assuming the chip is straight out of the original Augvape V200 mod [with temperature control added]. I can’t compare the two as the one I reviewed is now with our Michelle.
The menu is an absolute delight – however I did find the screen a little dimmer than I might have liked and the writing for these tired old eyes at least is rather small.
There are just enough options to keep the vapers who like to tinker happy however you need to be quick with your selections as it jumps back to the main screen as fast as it fires!
It has taken all the RDAs and RTAs I’ve popped on top with the chip not missing a beat on fire time and whilst I can’t accurately measure if it hits 200w – experience tells me it may fall a little short…as do many dual battery 200w mods.
One thing I am impressed with is the battery life. Vaping at a steady 67w – mid range of the recommended level for the coil – I’m getting at least a day and a half sometimes more.
As to the longevity of the coils? The one’s I received have averaged between 7 and 9 days before needing to be swapped out…I can’t say that’s a positive especially as they’re mesh and are pretty mid-range power at 60 to 70w.
The fire bar fires from about halfway up and whilst kind of clicky it does creak alarmingly if once again you grip or press too hard. As to how long it may last is anyone’s guess.
I have tried this is bypass/voltage and temp control and found no issues…it is a very good chip.
Performance and Flavour From the Disposable Jewel Tank
It’s a sealed unit with a top fill underneath that silicone bung. The fill port is a reasonable size though a couple of 50ml short-fills I used saw the nozzle not quite fitting.
Airflow is fully controllable with a nice restriction to it – set your desired setting and it won’t budge in your pocket.
However, it’s one of the noisiest tanks I’ve ever used! Not quite an airplane taking off but close and that’s fully open or closed off. Speaking of airflow wide open you do get a lovely airy vape and whilst nowhere near a proper mouth to lung [MTL] restriction it does give a tight lung hit – however I didn’t notice any improvement in flavour.
Read more about MTL and DTL vaping styles.
The 0.15ohm mesh coil wicks very well indeed and very quickly. However I do recommend letting it sit for at least 10 minutes as being a sealed unit you can’t wick the exposed cotton.
OK the million dollar question…how’s the flavour?
It’s actually pretty impressive for what it is. Look it’s not anywhere near as good as some of the more established stock coil mesh tanks but certainly the Jewel tank delivers a clean crisp flavour.
I’ve used it with my current go to juice – Riot Squad’s Punk Grenade – and found whilst certain depth of flavour was missing it tasted pretty good with plenty of vapour even between 65/70w.
Pros
- Good chip
- Fast fire
- Good menu options
- Light [see cons!]
- Nice design – kind of!
- Great battery life
- Option of mod or kit
- Decent flavour and clouds
Cons
- Not the sturdiest though very light!
- Disposable tank?
- Very noisy tank
- Coil longevity not so good
- Fingerprint magnet
- Jewel tank not very matchy matchy to the mod
- Better option than a silicone bung?
- Fire bar not the strongest
- Battery door moves when firing – only slightly!
Final Review Verdict
Grudgingly – given I enjoy working with Augvape – I’m a little disappointed by this one. However that may be too strong a word…maybe fazed would be better.
Fazed as in why they chose the disposable tank route AND why the mod is made from such flimsy materials? It really goes against the solid builds from other Augvape devices to say the least…so I’m both fazed and confused…could be my age lol.
In all seriousness for me it’s all down to the chosen build materials. Yes the mod is ultra-light but I can’t help thinking it’s too flimsy to be practical – certainly if you’re heavy handed or clumsy.
Design wise I absolutely love it and as Augvape say it’s designed around the look of a mobile phone. It’s definitely sleek and contemporary and as I’ve said had this been made from alloy it would most definitely be my go to mod.
I can’t fault the mod’s performance – it’s handled anything I’ve chucked on top with super-fast firing. However that fire bar creaks with too much pressure and the feeling of the mod almost squeezing together is worrying…over time it surely won’t stand up?
The Jewel tank doesn’t do it for me design wise however the flavour is the right side of good with clouds to match. However being disposable is again perplexing. Why Augvape who have a pretty good track record of tanks decided on that route is anyone’s guess. I did ask but haven’t received a reply.
I could be snippy and call this a next gen ‘posh pod’ but that’s doing it an injustice.
If you’re gentle with it and don’t mind adding to the world’s plastic pollution then go for it, because apart from the build materials it looks great and vapes well. However I can’t stress enough, the Augvape VX200 is NOT a kit for heavy handling…
