Vandy Vape Swell Kit Review | Feeling Swell or Vaping Hell?

The Vandy Vape Swell is another innovative device from a brand that really impressed me back in March when I tested the Vandy Vape Jackaroo Kit.

A similar device, however the Jackaroo housed only a single 21700 battery. It was also completely resistant to damage with its IP67 rating and even the Jackaroo Tank was impressive for a ‘Kit Tank’ .

So I’ve got high hopes for the Swell Kit.

What Can We Expect From The Swell Kit by Vandy Vape?

It may not have the same resistances to damage that the Jackaroo has, but it packs punches in other areas.

I could almost copy and paste details on the tank, it looks as if the tank has become the standard tank to be added to all future kits from Vandy Vape. Similar to what Geekvape have done with the Cerberus.

But the Swell Tank is styled slightly different to the Jackaroo Tank, and comes with slightly different coils (Which are all compatible thankfully)

So it’s fair to say its down to the Mod to impress me. And just by looking at its features, I think I’m in for a good time! Hopefully…

Oh and did I mention that Tony B has his name on this kit too? As much as we all like to say ‘Oh here’s ANOTHER Tony B Project’ we can’t deny that devices with his name on them have generally been pretty good.

If you’ve not seen any of his devices in the past, have a look at the Pulse Dual kit, and even the Artery Pal 2. Both of which my fellow ecigclick reviewers rated extremely highly.

So let’s Crack on and see what the Swell Kit is all about…

See The Swell Kit In Action With My Video Review

What’s In The Box

• 1 x Swell Mod
• 1 x Swell Tank
• 2 x Spare Parts Bag
• 2 x M-Coils (0.15Ω Single / 0.15Ω Triple)
• 1 x User Guide
• 1 x Bubble Glass (4.5ml) 3ml Standard Glass
• 1 x USB Cable
• 1 x Warranty Card

Features

There’s a couple of interesting features that come to the forefront when looking at the specification of this Kit.

Firstly the fact you can control/adjust the settings of the mod from your phone! Oh boy im getting excited!

Along with that you’ve no chance of losing the mod, thanks to its ‘Anti-Loss’ features, and it also takes away the stress of firmware updates as the Vandy Vape App takes care of that also!

Along with all that exciting stuff its also a dual 18650 device and inside the mod is a completely waterproof, updated Vandy Chip that I had the pleasure of playing with at VapeExpo in May.

Waterproof

Sunk into a large bowl of water, Vandy Vape claim, once the batteries are removed, you can wash the complete device in water and they’ll be no damage to the PCB or any other components.

But that doesn’t mean to say the Vandy Vape Swell is a ‘Waterproof’ mod – Just when its stripped down.

So if you’re unfortunate enough to drop this mod into a lake – be sure to assume your batteries, and the tank for that matter may have taken their last plunge. But the mod should live to vape another day.

Mod

• Fires up to 188w
• Lightweight
• Removable magnetic resin/G10 panels
• Takes 2 x 18650 batteries
• Colour Display
• Charges Via USB port (Recommend external charging however)
• Over-current/Short-Circuit/Open-Circuit & Over-Heating Protection
• App Compatible via Bluetooth connectivity
• Waterproof Printed Circuit Board w/ Vandy Chip (188w)
• Washable Mod
• Height: 82mm
• Width: 26mm
• Depth: 55mm

Tank

• 510 drip tip compatible
• Tank capacity: 3ml and 4.5ml bubble glass
• Full Airflow adjustment
• Twist and lift Top-Fill
• 0.15Ω M80 Single Mesh Coil
• 0.15Ω Triple Mesh Coil
• Height: 36.0mm
• Diameter: 24.0mm

Colours

There is a VAST amount of colour options available, the removable panels themselves are either made from Resin, or from G10 material which is extremely hard wearing, and Vandy Vape made use of G10 on the Jackaroo Kit. It’s also used in Gun handles!

Design and Build Quality

I received the Wave Blue version of the Swell Kit in what looks like sample packaging. But I really hope they stick with this packaging because it was an absolute joy to unbox.

The mod itself is made from some kind of formed plastic, but it’s extremely lightweight, even with the tank on top and 2 batteries. And the resin panels (although resin panels have been completely over-done now) are gorgeous and are excellently matched to the drip-tip.

The panels on each side clip into place beautifully thanks to the magnets at the top and show no sign of falling out when put in correctly.

The fire button, and up/down adjustment buttons are lovely and clicky and pertrude from the mod just perfectly for me.

In The Hand

Much like many dual battery vape mods, it’s a big rectangle. Fortunately they’ve curved the corners just right, and because this device is so lightweight, its really really comfortable to hold.

Might sound bizarre but it’s almost a little too light for me personally. I’m a fan of a chunky mod. So if you’re like me then you may find this feels a little cheap.

But it’s certainly comfortable and has a smooth finish, the G10 panels however will give you added grip as they appear to be textured and much like the panels I had on the Jackaroo Kit.

Swell Tank

I hate that I keep referring to the Jackaroo Kit but this tank is almost a straight copy of that.

The only additional feature I’ve noticed is the Glass O-ring now situated at the top, as well as the bottom of the tank. So be sure to keep those in place if you decide to use the large bubble glass and enjoy an extra 1.5ml of capacity over the standard 3ml glass.

Starting at the top is a lovely 510 drip tip to match the panels, and fortunately other 510’s are compatible thanks to the internal O-Ring.

How To Fill The Vandy Vape Swell Tank

A 90 degree Anti-Clockwise turn and the top section lifts off allowing you to fill the tank.

Here’s how it’s done.

• Twist the top-cap 90 degrees anticlockwise
• Fill tank with desired vape liquid (Check out some of our best vape juice brands)
• Place top-cap back on ensuring it first clicks down flush
• Twist top-cap 90 degrees Clockwise until it clicks into place and cant go any further

The top-cap can be a little fiddly to put back on at times and a little impracticable, I would much prefer a push to slide system or similar.

The tolerances on this tank are excellent, during my testing i’ve had no real problems with taking the tank apart, and putting it back together (Apart from the odd mishap with the Top-Cap).

At the bottom of the tank is 2 large airflow slots on either side which are of course fully adjustable and slide super smoothly. It’s not an important feature in essence, but I can’t stress enough how smooth the adjustment is.

The Coils

The Vandy Vape Swell kit comes with two 0.15Ω Coils – The M80 which seems to be Vandy Vapes standard Single Mesh Coil, and also a Triple Mesh coil.

So with a 50-90w recommended wattage I can only say Vandy Vape have been a bit lazy, a 40 watt margin is a bit vague so I’ll have to play around with this coil and see what’s actually the best wattage to vape at.

You also get the new M-Triple Mesh Coil, but is it triple the flavour?

Again featuring an extremely vague recommended wattage of 50-100 watts I guess I’ll have to play around with this one and try and give you folks a bit more of an idea of what to expect from this coil as well.

How Does the Vandy Vape Swell Kit perform?

As previously mentioned, there are 2 ways to control the various menu options on this device.

Of course you can make any adjustments to the settings, Power and UI through the device itself.

But if you’re into your tech – you may be interested in downloading the Vandy Vape App, which currently is only available on Android, but apparently will be out for Apple soon.

I should mention at this point, I’m currently using a Beta version of the App – which to be fair has worked only flawlessly, apart from the odd hiccup – and the inability to search for where to pick up Vandy Vape products. But I guess that will be updated once the Swell kit has hit your favourite vape shop.

Basic operation

The Swell mod has a lovely bright, clear colour display which details all the usual info on the ‘Home’ Screen.

• Battery levels
• Power setting
• Coil resistance
• Puff count and puff time.

• 5 clicks of the fire button will turn the device on and off.
• 3 clicks of the fire button to quickly adjust your power choice (W/V/TC)
• Press and hold Fire + Up button for 2 seconds locks display, but not fire button.
• Press and hold Top & down button for 2 seconds opens the menu

In the menu, using the up/down buttons you can scroll through:

Main Settings

This is where you can remove certain power options to be displayed on the main screen.

Options include Wattage, Voltage, Bypass, TC SS, TC NI, TC TI and Turbo – Which basically seems like full power!

Hibernate

Set how long your mod stays on, before it goes into sleep mode

Brightness

Using the top and bottom buttons you can adjust the brightness of the screen. I’ve had no issues with the brightness of the screen, even set at around 20% it’s nice clear and bright. Even in sunlight.

Puff Count

No explanation required.

UI

Gives you the option to change the colours used on the screen.

There has also been a special edition July 4th USA version that I was stuck on for a short while, until they updated the firmware… Phew!

Vandy Logo (Version)

Shows firmware version and mod name.

RST

Resets your device back to factory settings.

Generally the display, settings and options are really well displayed and it’s very simple and straightforward to make any adjustments.

How To Use The Vandy Vape App

Yes an App! Here’s how to use it.

Ok first off, get yourself onto the Play Store on an Android phone and download the ‘Vandy Vape’ app.

Here is a direct link to the Vandy Vape App – https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=zz.md.gcl.electronic_cigarette&hl=en

Once downloaded, open it up and you’ll be asked to ‘Log-In’ or ‘Sign Up’

Of course once you’re signed up (using email and password) You’ll want to register your device.

Pair Your Device/Phone

The third tab from the left ‘My Device’ is where you can add your device, it’s very simple to pair the device with your phone, and within less than a minute I was ready to go.

Once fully paired, you’ll notice a little green tab at the top right, that shows that your phone is linked to the mod, and you’ll notice a small phone logo at the top right of your mod! Impressive.

It’s in the ‘My Device’ section that you can access all the lovely features of the App.

Find Device

This is clever stuff, and I can honestly say that it works, and it’s actually saved me.

The Anti-Loss Function basically alerts you via phone notification if you have lost connectivity with the mod, and gone out of range, reminding you with an alert stating ‘Don’t forget your mod’.

Along with that, a dream of mine has been to press that big red button. And with this app you can!

Click the big red button and your mod will flash and beep – So if you’ve lost it down the sofa or behind the car seat, hopefully you’ll be able to hear it and save your precious mod.

Update Firmware

Back to the ‘My Device’ screen, and onto ‘Update’. Tap that and you can find out if there is a new firmware version available, along with any UI updated – which it seems Vandy Vape will release whenever there us a national celebration going on.

Control

This is where you can make any adjustments, and fine tune your mod to fire exactly how you like it.

Of course you have all the same options as you have via the mod itself (Wattage, Voltage etc) so maybe it’s a little bit of a gimmick.

But for the geek in me, this is a fun thing to show your friends and play around with some clever settings.

Lets keep it simple, in Wattage mode.

If I adjust the wattage on the phone, the speed at which it alters the wattage on the device is almost instant. Super quick. And that’s the same for all changes you make. Very impressive.

I’m really impressed with the app as a whole – it’s very simple to use and navigate and everything is displayed nice and simply and cleanly.

Maybe a little pointless, but the Anti-Loss function in particular has come in handy on the odd occasion. Especially if you’re prone to leaving your device around the house, or at a friends!

If like me, you also like to make use of other Tanks, RTA’s – you’ll be pleased to know the app has no problem altering the settings when you use those either.

In fact I had great fun creating my own curve on my Samsung phone to give me a perfect power balance whilst vaping on my favourite RDA.

Flavour & Clouds

This particular kit comes with 2 different coils, both reading 0.15Ω and having very similar recommended wattages – however each coil did give me a different vaping experience.

I should also mention that the 0.30Ω mesh coil I used in the Jackaroo kit is also compatible, so if you’re after better battery life, vaping at around 50w I found the 0.3Ω (MESH 50) coil was excellent.

During my testing, I was using a 80/20 DIY Bottle-Shot called Code-Red by Darkstar. It’s a fruity concoction that I can’t explain. Sorry!

The 0.15Ω Single Mesh Coil (M80)

Recommended at 50-90w I generally vaped at 80w, with the airflow all the way open.

The flavour is very good, you get a lovely, slightly warm vape and excellent vapour production. A mini cloud machine.

Knocking the airflow down half way, and the wattage down to 55w – you get a slightly more restrictive vape, but still getting good flavour. So an excellent option if you’re running low on battery life!

The  0.15Ω Triple Mesh Coil (Triple M)

Recommended at 50-100w – Which I find a little vague.

I generally vaped on this coil at 80w, with the airflow wide open.

As much as it produces an excellent cloud, the flavour wasn’t as good as I hoped. Yes it’s OK, but there was also a slightly weird powdery feel to it. Can’t really explain it, it wasn’t unpleasant but I just preferred the single mesh coil.

Also the break in time on this coil took almost a day, and it’s one of those coils that vapes great if you leave it for an hour, but after a few puffs, it fades away.

Both coils wick excellently, even with the drop off in flavour on the Triple Mesh, it’s still wicking. And also the durability of the coils is excellent – I’ve used each coil for over a week and they’re both still going strong.

With these coils being compatible with newer Vandy Vape tanks, I’m pleased to see they last really well – even for a sample kit its ace. Let’s hope they keep this high standard moving forward.

Airflow

Regardless of where you like your airflow, this tank is a little noisy, and halfway open, a little whistly. But it’s really not too bad as long as you’re vaping on a busy high street.

However if you’re planning on watching a movie with your beloved, expect to see the volume go up on the telly and that look of disgust from your partner.

Battery Life

For those of you familiar with a dual-18650 setup, you’ll generally know how well your batteries last day to day, and at what wattage.

From experience, I’ve found a pair of Samsung 30Q’s will last pretty much all day on a normal day vaping at around 75w. And that’s vaping quite frequently.

The Vandy Vape Swell impressed me, I’m not sure if its the Chip, or the tank, or what.

But vaping at 80w all day every day, I still found I had approx 25% battery life left at the end of the day.

Battery technology for vaping products may not be improving fast enough, but that’s not to say the technology within the mods can’t – and I think that’s exactly what we’re seeing here. A chip which can efficiently make the most of your batteries. Or at least that’s what I think.

One thing that does bug me regarding batteries is the fact you have to remove both panels in order to push the batteries out. Unless you’ve got long, strong finger nails. Its a minor observation but if you’re on the go, holding onto 2 panels, 4 batteries and a mod can be a bit of a juggling act.

Pros

Mod

• Extremely lightweight (May be a con)
• Nicely styles and comfortable
• Waterproof Chip
• App Controlled
• Nice clear colour screen
• Solidly made Resin/G10 panels
• Excellent battery efficiency
• Hits quite hard
• Anti Loss function is Ace

Tank

• Solid build quality
• Good flavour especially on single mesh coil
• Good vapour production
• Very durable reliable coils

Cons

Mod

• Feels a little cheap in fat hands
• Have to remove both panels to swap batteries

Tank

• Top-Filling cap can be tricky at times
• Weird powdery taste from Triple Mesh coil
• Airflow is a little noisy

Final Review Verdict

Firstly, the tank is nothing to shout about, however it does perform well. But that’s something we’ve come to expect from Vandy Vape, or in fact most kit tanks by most brands.

Where this kit really shows its true performance is with the mod itself. The Vandy Vape Swell mod is smart looking, lightweight, and packed with geeky features.

The app, although still in Beta form, works really well and it honestly felt very simple to navigate through the different options. I really like the Anti-Loss and ‘Find my mod’ features. If you’re forgetful or clumsy like me, you’ll find these features genuinely do come in handy on occasions.

So the 3 big questions I ask when testing a product are:

Would this device be long lasting and still work 3, 6 or even 12 months from now?

I have no doubt that this device will work extremely well even a year from now, the waterproof chip, high quality display and general build quality of the mod is very good.

Top that with the Swell tank, durable coils and excellent flavour and its definitely an ideal kit if you’re looking for something new which also has some techy features.

Does this device deliver the flavour, vapour and general experience I require, in order to be enjoyed?

If you’re into your Sub-Ohm Tanks, but also quite like to have a device which can last all day – The Swell kit offers the cloud and flavour you’re hoping for, whilst being extremely efficient with its battery capacity.

Is the Vandy Vape Swell Kit be versatile enough to suit a new vaper, and an experienced one alike?

I wouldn’t recommend this kit to a new vaper, it’s just not going to deliver what a newly claimed ‘Ex-Smoker’ requires. But this could maybe be an ideal next step.

If you’ve been vaping a while and looking for a new every day mod and tank – Then you should really consider the Swell.

Did you buy the Vandy Vape Swell kit? Or have you tried it? Let us know what you thought in the comments below.