Vaporesso Target 200W Kit Review – Big Brother Is Watching!

This company could never be accused of letting the grass grow under their feet, it’s been literally weeks since the launch of the Target 80 Pod Kit, and here’s the Vaporesso Target 100 and 200 kits!

And both use external batteries to suit a new range of coils.

Armed with a little more information it’s clear Vaporesso were happy with the response of the Target 80 Pod kit, enough for a redesign alongside a brand new sub ohm tank.

It looks like the Target 100W kit was created to assure maximum performance from the two new GTi mesh coils.

To be more review specific it’s also likely the Vaporesso Target 220W kit will make better use of the upcoming 0.15ohm GTi mesh coil.

What Can We Expect From The Vaporesso Target 200 Kit?

To begin with I think we can expect the Vaporesso Target 200 kit to be handling not only the upcoming 0.15ohm mesh GTi coil but future proof against all others that may be in the works. Plus despite the name, it is capable of upto 220W output.

A built in e-liquid self circulating system has been included to recycle any condensate inside the deck of the tank. In other words, expect a leak free performance from the new PnP coils.

Three fully adjustable airflow slots will maximise vapour production so expect a few disgruntled looks from your non vaping partner!

These are Vaporesso DTL coils and it’s no secret that I’m a fan! Designed for an even heating, smoother airflow we can expect them to be compatible with all future Vaporesso direct lung products.

The vaping question is, can we expect to find different performances based on the modes the Axon chip is boasting?

Watch Neil C’s Hands On Video

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Vaporesso Target 200 Kit – Inside the Box

My sample version arrived in a plain white box with a few pieces missing.

Par for the course I’m afraid but what you’ll get with the standard retail release is as follows.

• Vaporesso Target 200 Mod
• Vaporesso iTank (8ml glass installed)
• Spare glass
• GTi 0.2ohm mesh coil
• GTi 0.4ohm mesh coil
• 3 x O rings
• Type C USB cable
• User manual
• Warranty card

Vaporesso Target 220W Kit – Specifications

The official Vaporesso website is dubbing this as the Target 200. Rest assured it does actually reach the dizzy heights of 220W.

• Dimensions 142.1 (H) x 42.8 (W) x 33.7mm (D)
• iTank capacity 2ml/5ml/8ml
• GTi 0.2ohm mesh coil (60-75W)
• GTi 0.4ohm mesh coil (50-60W)
• Battery capacity 2 x 18650 (not included)
• Output power 5-220W
• Charging current DC 5V/2A Type C
• Display 0.96″ TFT

Vaporesso Target 200 Kit – Features

Vaporesso are claiming it’s a dual battery kit you can carry outside.

..Couldn’t that be said of all vapes, whatever shape and size? What does benefit the Target 200 kit is its compact nature.

The cage like structure isn’t exactly a new concept but it does enough to pack the dual 18650’s snuggly together.

This certainly makes the device more hand friendly when out and about, even for extended periods of use.

There’s no doubt that it loses the chunkiness of other dual battery devices. Vaporesso claim the Target 200 kit to be 16% smaller and lighter.

Vaporesso Target 200 Kit – Design and Build Quality

We’ve already touched base when it comes to the new Vaporesso iTank.

Check out the review of the Vaporesso Target 100 Kit for my thoughts and opinions.

I’ll be focusing more on the various modes of the Axon chip but first let’s take a look around the mod.

Vaporesso Target 200 Mod

The waterproof braiding has been carried across from the Target 100 Kit but this time the material is woven much tighter, this gives it the edge in terms of grip.

Despite the obvious increase in weight the Target 200 Mod feels solid and comfortable when held, as mentioned, it’s been done before but it still works as effectively.

The cage or frame also removes any sharp edges. This increasing the likelihood of using out and about on a regular basis, that can’t be said of every two battery mod.

510 Connector

Although the 510 plate is raised the connector is not placed centrally.

You’ll therefore struggle to attach tank sizes of anything above 26mm diameter without a degree of overhang.

The gold plated 510 connector is spring loaded and the iTank screws down flush.

Because the plate is slightly raised it’s much easier to get fingers in when making adjustments to the AFC of the iTank or indeed any other.

Vaporesso Target 100 Battery Door

I had a few issues with the fragile nature of the Vaporesso Target 100 Kit battery door.

The same issues apply here, in fact the door wobbles and flaps about due to the absence of springs.

The battery door is reliant on a small retaining clip on the base of the Mod. Remember to pay particularly close care and attention to this aspect of design and build quality.

Having said that, once inserted there’s no battery rattle and the clip seems to do an adequate job. It’s one of those “time will tell” situations.

Battery polarity is indicated on the underside of the battery door but not inside sled itself. No real biggie and the markings are definitely clear enough.

Something of note: If the device is not powered off when replacing batteries it will spring instantly into life.

The Vaporesso Target 220W Mod is another one of those that provides a system status even when switched off.

Vaporesso Target 100 Screen Display and Button Positioning

The screen display is identical to that of the Target 100W Kit.

No real surprises given they both make use of the same V2.1 Axon chipset.

I did find the display of the Target 100W kit to be slightly brighter and crisper for some reason. Talking of the display the only difference can be found with the dual battery icon strength indicators on the Target 200

The positions of the fire, menu and mode buttons have been lowered slightly and the type C charging port is closer to the bottom of the Mod.

The fire button sounds hollow and cheap, a far cry from the satisfying click of its single battery sibling. The menu and mode buttons sound identical.

How To Operate the Vaporesso Target 200 Kit

From top to bottom, left to right the screen provides us with the following information.

Remaining strength of each battery, wattage, currently selected mode, coil resistance, voltage (only while vaping), number of puffs accumulated and vape duration in seconds.

• Five clicks of the power button will switch the device on or off
• Press the fire button three times to lock/unlock the device
• Hold the mode button to adjust current mode
• Use the + or – buttons to activate F(t), Pulse or Variable Wattage modes
• Press the mode button three times to access the above modes, DIY mode, system settings and to exit the current screen
• Selecting DIY mode will allow variable voltage, variable wattage and bypass modes to be used
• Holding the fire and mode buttons will display the current version of the Axon chip

Every setting and the way to access them is identical to that of the Vaporesso Target 100 Kit.

How Does The Vaporesso Target 200 Kit Perform?

Let’s take a look at the V2.1 Axon chip and the various modes on offer.

This being an early sample release, I only had access to the GTi 0.2ohm mesh coil. Again, my thoughts and opinions can be read in the Vaporesso Target 100 Kit review.

70W was an ideal testing point for the mesh coil and I’ve repeated the trend here.

F(t) mode has been designed to deliver a very concentrated and balanced flavour. This is made possible by a series of differing voltages applied in quick succession during each vape.

What were my thoughts?

Fighting F(it) – F(t) Mode

Impressive. A sharp, intense and rich flavour was created when using Medusa Juice Lemon Meringue Pie.

Quite a hard hitting vape, the iTank responded by providing a smooth, warm and very consistent flavour during exhale.

The best results were gained using a semi restrictive lung vape where the citrus elements of the e liquid were able to freely escape.

The pie crust ran in the background preventing any sour lemon from becoming an overwhelming factor.

The 0.2ohm GTi mesh coil has no problems dealing with thicker 80VG/20PG ratio in this mode.

The chip read the coil resistance bang on 0.2ohms and held a steady 4.1V for the majority of the batteries lifespan.

Although the batteries inevitable failed, the performance of the iTank in F(t) mode continued to please for many hours only abating with the associated drop in voltage.

Using this mode I squeezed 10 hours use from the dual 18650 batteries.

Vaporesso Target 200 Pulse Mode

The Axon chip delivers a pulse of power in 0.2 second intervals, hence the name.

Can it be felt?

Not really if I’m totally honest.

The initial surge of power reduces to 3.7V over a five second interval and is actually quite noticeable. It causes turbulence within the tank and airflow is affected during the inhale.

When comparing to F(t) mode there seems to be a reduction in power which affects the warmth and smoothness of the inhale. Consequently flavour quality falters but not by a significant degree.

Again, this mode worked better for me as a semi restrictive lung hit. Vapour production remained excellent even if the flavour wasn’t as good as found with F(t) mode.

..I’m just left a bit confused. I can only assume F(t) mode works to spike the voltage while Pulse mode attempts to do the same with wattage.

Either way the difference can be felt but not to the point of spoiling the flavour experience, in my opinion.

Vaporesso Target 200 Variable Wattage Mode

There’s actually three settings within one mode.

There’s a soft, medium or hard option.

Here’s a quick explanation on how to select them.

• Hold the mode select button and scroll to VWN (this is the factory default)
• Press the mode select button three times and scroll to DIY mode
• Select VW to open up the option of soft, medium or hard setting

The initial spike in power alters with each setting. Soft begins with 3.4V, medium supplies 3.8V and hard momentarily pushes out 4.1V.

In each case the power eventually settles at 3.7V regardless of choice.

I wasn’t too impressed with the soft setting as it caused a few of the flavour tones to act in a weird way. They were kind of dry on the exhale and lacked the vibrancy found in F(t) mode.

I think VWN is where most new users of this mode will feel at home.

The output is pretty much constant and I didn’t notice any airflow turbulence. That characteristic smoothness to the vape had returned and flavour from the GTi 0.2ohm mesh coil was good.

There wasn’t anything exciting going on with the hard setting in all honesty. The performance was on par with VWN. I was hard pushed to notice any difference between the two.

So this mode works but in a very subtle way. For this reason you’re not likely to tinker once you’ve found your sweetest of settings.

Variable Voltage Mode

Variable voltage certainly has its uses to me.

It’s a quick and easy way of finding a sweet spot without having to fine tune wattage.

With the Axon chip, voltage can be adjusted in 0.1 increments. In the case of the GTi 0.2ohm mesh coil I would suggest between 3.6V – 4V because it mirrors recommended wattage parameters.

The display gets flipped as wattage takes the place of voltage and is only shown during use.

So what were my thoughts?

3.6V is a good starting place if you prefer a cooler vape and will appeal to lovers of fruity, beverage and menthol flavours.

Pushing the voltage to 3.8V will introduce a warmer vape that’s more noticeable with an extended inhale. It must be said the output is very consistent and flavour notes become more lively, punchy and vibrant with the increase.

When using variable voltage I used Wick Liquor Banshee and the cooling experience was present regardless of any particular power setting.

Ramping the voltage up created a distinct increase in citrus notes that blended perfectly with the cooling of the tongue.

3.8V was my preferred setting and was the only mode that came close to emulating the fab experiences of F(t) mode.

Variable voltage modes holds a consistent level of power right up to the point of replacing the spent 18650 batteries. I found that to be impressive, the puff counter read 220 hits.

Vaporesso Target 200 Bypass Mode

Bypass mode draws power directly from the batteries to the coil and subsequently decreases as the charge depletes.

For this reason I was expecting an initial reading of 4.2V or more from two freshly charged batteries.

An initial reading of 4V swiftly dropped to 3.8V and held constantly when checked over five second vape intervals.

Yet to begin with it very much felt like a stronger hit to the point of affecting coil performance.

The exhale became very metallic tasting after the first few pulls and actually started causing a rough, stinging sensation to the rear of the throat.

The GTi mesh coil was easily dealing with thicker juice ratios up until using this mode.

The overall flavour experience was ruined and did leaving me feeling that additional power was being passed through the coil.

The head scratching part was that it wasn’t reflected by the voltage reading on display.

It remained at a steady 3.8V throughout the lifespan of the batteries.

It’s highly possible that the forthcoming GTi 0.15ohm mesh coil will respond much better in Bypass mode than the one tested.

Pros

• Compact and ergonomic design
• Easy to navigate menu system
• Instantaneous firing capabilities
• Generally excellent flavour from the GTi 0.2ohm mesh coil
• Decent airflow options with the iTank
• F(t) mode consistently impressed

Cons

• Battery door feels a little weak and flimsy
• A bad experience when using the GTi 0.2ohm mesh coil in Bypass mode
• Not the most pocket friendly of devices (subjective)
• Plastic front panel is a fingerprint magnet (subjective)

Final Review Verdict

As mentioned, I’ve already written my thoughts about the Vaporesso iTank with the Vaporesso Target 100 kit review.

So what about this upgraded Mod?

It’s good. I Like it.

Apart from my concerns about battery door longevity there’s little to grumble about.

OK, it’s not offering anything over the Vaporesso Target 100 kit other than doubling power capabilities.

Lest we forget that there are plenty of 18650 battery owners out there that don’t go in for single use or 21700’s.

In which case they may be pleasantly surprised by the compact design, ease of use and handling.

I’m In The Mode For Vaping

It felt like Pulse mode was a prototype version of F(t) mode in all honesty while Voltage mode definitely takes the sting out of finding a sweet spot.

It’s almost like a short cut mode in its own right.

Variable wattage mode was hit and miss. I don’t honestly go in for an initial soft hit.

The Variable wattage hard setting is the only area this mode really makes a difference. Even then it’s over before it can be fully appreciated.

Power Curve Mode on other devices is much more effective. I can understand that Vaporesso have tried to make the experience accessible and easier to work with.

As for Bypass mode? Very uncertain because of the initial voltage reading from two fully charged 18650’s.

I’m still convinced there was more power running through the mesh coil than suggested, causing a few close shaves with dry hits.

A Target Of Your Affections?

After having reviewed the Target 100 kit I have to be honest.

I haven’t been able to test the GTi 0.4ohm mesh coil but would suggest that’s the one to use with a single 18650 battery.

Use a 21700 battery with the GTi 0.2ohm coil because the smaller capacity battery isn’t up to task in my opinion. So this may well limit the appeal of the Vaporesso Target 100 Kit.

Do you really want to have to swap and change batteries?

No such battery capacity issues exist with the Vaporesso Target 200 kit and although you’ll never be running to maximum output (or do you? lol), the lifespan can be expected to be much longer. That includes for when the 0.15ohm GTi coil is released.

I prefer the 200 version.

The new iTank is brilliant and if the improvement to flavour quality from the tested GTi coil is anything to go by, Vaporesso are continuing to do a damn fine job.

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