Smoant S8 Pod Mod Review – Classy, Contemporary But How Does It Vape?

Smoant are known for bringing out some excellent vape devices and kits and the Smoant S8 is the company’s first venture into the thriving pod mod market.

Their biggest hit to date has to be the Cylon – the jury’s out on the Ranker whilst Laura-ann absolutely loved the Battlestar Mini.

Their previous ‘starter kit’ was the Knight V1 – followed by the V2 – however they suggested paring that one up with a sub ohm tank so not really one for beginners to vaping in kit form.

Marketed As The ‘Super Car Of Vaping’ Does The Smoant S8 Belong In The High Performance Fast Lane?

The S8 features a more ‘newbie friendly’ Mouth To Lung [MTL] coil/pod giving between 7 and 12watts from a 1.30ohm coil.

It’s simple to fill and use given its breath operated and a decent sized battery means you can get a good 8 hours out of it between charges – though it can be vaped whilst charging.

However given the cable you get in the box is short to say the least you’ll need to be a gymnast to vape whilst charging if like me your PC is under your desk 😉

For those not in the know a pod system is about as easy as vaping gets.

You use either pre-filled or refillable pods which snap into a battery and are typically small – stealthy and clean’ to use – see our full guide to pod mods.

OK this was sent to me for the purpose of this review from Smoant – thank you – and as always my thoughts and opinions are my own.

Inside the Box

A plain and functional box with nothing to get excited about but it does its job and inside you’ll find:

• 1 x Smoant S8 Pod
• 1 x Cartridge
• 1 x E-juice Bottle
• 1 x USB Cable
• 1 x User Manual

Smoant S8 Pod Specs

• Size: 86.6 x 48 x 12.8mm
• Battery: Built-in 370mAh battery
• Juice Capacity: 2.0ml
• Coil Resistance: 1.3ohm
• Output Voltage: 3.3-3.4V
• Charging: 5V/0.5A

Smoant S8 Pod Quick Start Guide

• Remove the sticker before filling
• Open rubber bung and fill
• Leave for 10minutes to soak
• Push pod firmly into battery
• No button to press just vape!

Smoant S8 LED Lights – What Do They Mean?

Whilst vaping:

• Battery over 30% = solid blue light
• Lower than 30% = solid red light
• X5 flashes means short circuit
• Pod not secure red and blue light flashes x 5 times

Charging:

• Lower than 70% = flashing red light
• Over 70% = flashing blue light
• Fully charged = solid blue light

Key Features

Once again simplicity is key here and I guess the design which I’ll cover later.

This is a pod system and is refillable with a max of 2mls wherever you are in the world.

Smoant highly recommend using Nic Salts with this device and certainly e-liquid at least 60-40 VG and PG with 70-30 the optimum.

They do not recommend using 50-50 or lower as they say this may cause leaking – for the purpose of this review I tried one fill of a 50-50 mix and can say I had a tiny amount of residue with some condensation too.

However given the board is waterproofed I wouldn’t worry too much – unless of course you have a disastrous leak!

There’s no menu or buttons to press as this is an automatic device which simply means it is inhale activated, so ideal for those brand new to vaping or as a backup for regular Mouth to Lung [MTL] vapers.

The pod coils are 1.30ohm and the battery is an internal 370mAh giving between 7w and 12watts when fully charged.

You can also vape on this one whilst charging – always useful!

Design and Build Quality

Given I gave the SMOK Rolo design a bit of a mauling you might expect the same for the Smoant S8.

Nope.

I’m nothing if not a fickle fellow and whilst there are similarities the design of the S8 is different enough for me to absolutely love it.

The ‘piano paint’ finish is a fingerprint magnet – particularly in black, the only colour available at the moment – and can get a little slippery from the oils from your skin – but it is a joy to hold and vape on.

The shape fits nicely in the hand and being made from zinc alloy gives this a solid feel.

Where the Rolo pod was almost pointed at the mouthpiece the S8 has a more rounded shape fitting extremely comfortably in the mouth.

The pod and battery slide together nicely and two strong magnets hold it firmly in place with no movement whatsoever.

The fill system is easy enough though the bung is almost flush meaning you’ll need longish nails or tweezers to pop it open.

Smoant has gone with a smoked plastic finish to keep the overall black profile which means that even holding up to light you can struggle to see how much juice is left.

The designers say the shape was inspired by Ferrari and Lamborghini sports cars and on their website have a nifty image showing what they mean.

Not sure about that but it certainly is an elegant little pod system to look at – so let’s see how it vapes.

How Does the Smoant S8 Pod System Perform?

50PG/50VG E-Liquid

OK I began with a 50-50 PG and VG tobacco flavour – Amber Blend Shake ‘n Vape from Decadent Vapours – one that I use every day and have done for quite some time so I know the flavour.

I hadn’t read Smoant’s tip of NOT using a 50-50 lol and as I said earlier had no issues with leaking for two fills – it was only on the third I could see a residue build up which I’m sure included condensation.

Whilst the flavour was not as deep and filled with back notes as I get from my Vandy Vape Berserker V1.5 RTA – I was pleasantly surprised by the taste and indeed the vapour – not bad at all.

60VG/40PG

Using a fruit based 60-40 e-liquid once again I was getting a pretty good flavour with an increase in vapour production.

70VG/30PG

Smoant are spot on when they say a 70-30 VG/PG mix is the optimum level – the flavour on the Chicken Shop Deep Fired Jam Donut juice pinged off my taste buds with very respectable clouds for a MTL device.

Pod Longevity

I was fortunate to be sent x2 extra pods in order to test the different ratios and Smoant say each one lasts around 5 fills before needing to be replaced.

I’ve found the pod I filled with tobacco e-liquid is still going strong after 6 re-fills whilst and as you might expect the richer sweeter flavours started to taste a little burnt after 4.

I’ve had no dry hits and zero leakage and the S8 has been absolutely everywhere with me and kept in my pocket.

Battery life is excellent with a little over an hour to charge giving me a full days vaping.

Pros

• Good flavour
• Good vapour
• Great battery life
• No leakage
• Pass through vaping
• Pods last well
• Good throat hit
• Waterproofed board
• Good price

Cons

• Finger print magnet
• Can get slippery
• Dark tank difficult to see juice levels
• VERY short USB cable

Final Review Verdict

Whilst the Smoant S8 pod mod has similarities in looks and design to the SMOK Rolo when it comes to vaping quality this one is head and shoulders above.

I don’t expect to get a fantastic vape from a pod system but have found this one is one of the best I’ve tried – and I’ve tried many – with the flavour in particular on a par with my favoured My Von Erl – though beats it in my book as this is refillable.

Yes it does look similar to the Suorin Drop – a device I’ve tried but not reviewed – but the battery is larger on this and the mouthpiece looks more comfortable.

What I will say is the S8 looks much classier and above all the throat hit is excellent – something newcomers to vaping in particular will enjoy.

Once again I’m out of Nic Salts but reckon pairing this up with NS e-liquids will satisfy new vapers and regular ones alike.

I expect this one to be my go to device for the summer as its discreet – extremely pocket friendly – great battery life and dare I say matchy matchy with my known sartorial elegant ‘summer look’ of Crocs and shorts…

Ewww… 😉

OK take that thought out of your mind if you can lol and let me add the contemporary classy design makes this ideal for those of you who are more ‘suited and booted’ in your dress style than me 😉

As to whether this is indeed the ‘super car of vaping’ I can’t really say it is – more a sporty chassis over a dependable family saloon engine which is no bad thing.