Lost vape Grus (improved)
Lost Vape have upgraded the already superb Gru. Whilst it may not look that different on the outside, they have really shaken things up under the hood.
-
by Si Davies
Share on:
Supplied by Lost Vape Quest for review
https://lostvape.com/product-item/grus-100w-kit/
https://lostvapetech.com/products/grus-100w-kit
RRP $62.99 – Offer price $56.99
Having only reviewed the GRUS a few months ago, I was more than surprised when Lost Vape asked us to review what they called ‘an updated version’ which was a little mysterious as we only had limited information, the design is identical but they have updated the chipset:
UPGRADED QUEST 2.0 CHIP
- -Five Vape Modes
- -Three Boost Levels
- -3 User Records
Being totally honest I was thinking ‘big deal!’ and it didn’t sound like much had changed, but the first time I turned it on, I was like ‘whoah!’ this screen and menu looks awesome. The deeper I delved into it, the more impressed I had become.
THIS update is totally worth it and Lost Vape Quest are going in a very interesting direction, the future looks very bright.
Since the actual looks and body haven’t changed at all (apart from the screen), I will mostly be reviewing the upgraded Quest 2UB Pro tank and controls. Here’s the link to the GRUS (V1) review:
https://www.planetofthevapes.co.uk/reviews/mods/lost-vape-grus.html
I really liked the original but found the functionality limited, Lost Vape have not only improved that but they went above and beyond to make it one of the very best chipsets out there.
So the specs are pretty much the same:
- Dimension: 142.1*40.5*30.5mm
- Weight: 215G
- Liquid Capacity: 5ml (2ml for all TPD versions)
- Battery: Single 21700/20700/ 18650 Battery（Not Included）
- Battery Voltage: 3.3V-4.2V
- Output Voltage: 0.8V-7V
- Power Range: 5-100W
- Current Range: 0.3A-30A
- Temperature Range: 200°F-600°F/100℃-300℃
- Coil Resistance Supported Range:0.1Ω-5.0Ω
- Screen Pixel: 0.96‘’color TFT display screen
- Body Material: Zinc Alloy
Unboxing
The GRUS 100W and UB Pro Tank Kit comes in a rather fancy gift box and states four coils are included – very nice! It has an outer sleeve and a high quality white two piece box
Once opened, the kit is proudly displayed with everything in one layer. The extras are included in a separate little black box, although the two extra coils are loose which feels like an afterthought, but a very welcome one.
There are no surprises in the contents other than the two extra coils. Upon closer inspection, two of the coils were SS904 stainless steel so you can use them in TC mode. By now, my interest was really peaking.
- 1× Grus 100W Mod
- 1x UB Pro Pod Tank (5ml, 810 Drip Tip)
- 1x 0.15Ω UB Pro P1 Coil
- 1x 0.3Ω UB Pro P3 Coil
- 1× Type-C USB Cable
- 1 x 18650 Battery Adaptor
- 4 x O-Rings
- 1× Warranty Card
- 1× User Manual
By now all I wanted to do is to get the photography out of the way so I could have a proper play with the kit. I will let the photos do most of the talking with the looks.
I still love the look and styling of the GRUS mod, better still I received a silver version which is my preference, and the ‘Jungle’ theme matches my other Grus and my Gemini.
The UB Pro tank looks just right on this kit too but there’s still room for a larger tank if you prefer.
The only hard edges are on the base, but they don’t dig into your hand due to the overall size and shape of the mod.
I don’t know if the actual screen has changed but it looks a bit more punchy and clear, and the brightness can also be adjusted.
I consider the GRUS as a 21700 battery mod, especially if you intend to reach the higher wattage range. They do include an 18650 adaptor though.
Some might find the battery screw cap fiddly but it’s one of the features I like, it’s well machined and is one of the most secure battery fittings, there’s no chance of this being accidentally undone.
UB Pro Tank
This was all new to me. The size of the coils was the first thing that caught my attention, they are pretty wide bore but not too tall so they should deliver plenty of airflow and flavour. The strange thing was the assembly, though it looks like one of those on trend magnetic pods, it actually screws together onto the 510 base. The coils are plug-n-play though and just press fit into the tank section.
The drip tip is an 810 fitting so you can use another if you prefer, though the included one is comfortable and ideal for the cloud chucker that this tank is. Forget MTL on this jobbie, this one’s made for belching out clouds aplenty.
Thankfully the filling bung is on the outside of the pod, so you only need to unscrew it when you change coils. The airflow is located at the bottom and is pretty effective, a nice fit and easy to adjust. It has three inlets which gives a lot of airflow, I can’t see anybody wanting anything more airy than this.
There is a separate RBA coil available, they sent me one along to test. It’s a plain wire single coiler but I’m very keen to pop a stainless steel (SS316) clapton in it to try in TC Mode and see how it performs.
The good thing about this setup is you can also use it on other mods if you prefer, but the 26mm base will limit it somewhat. This is a pretty big tank all in all, it bulges out to 28mm and just shy of 48mm tall but it does suit the GRUS nicely. In fact they could have gone even bigger as it will take up to 30mm tanks!
Upgraded QUEST 2.0 Chip
This is going to be a little tricky to describe and do it justice. The difference between this version and the original GRUS is chalk and cheese, there’s no little tweaks here and there as it looks like an entirely new chipset and interface.
I usually try to list the controls but there’s too much to cover. That’s not to say it’s complex, far from it as this user interface is a delight to use and navigate, they have really thought this through with a great deal of common sense.
It reminds me of the Evolv DNA Colour board, it has the same amount of buttons and very similar navigation, but I actually think the GRUS is far easier and more user friendly. I could whiz around and change or tweak settings so quickly, and the amount of options were plentiful.
The main modes are:
- POWER – Basic adjustable wattage mode
- BYPASS – Behave like a mech as in it applies the right voltage to the coil’s resistance.
- VOLTAGE – Variable Voltage 0.8 to 7.0 Volts
- VPC – Variable Power Curve, this is piss easy to setup and refine.
- NI (TC) – Temperature Control for Nickel wire
- TI (TC) – Temperature Control for Titanium wire
- SS316 (TC) – Temperature Control for Stainless Steel SS316 wire
- SS904 (TC) – Temperature Control for Stainless Steel SS904 wire (same as the included mesh coil)
You can apply pre-heats to Wattage Mode on the main screen and reset the puff counter (puff counter rest can be done in all modes).
All the TC modes are simplified, select which material, select the temperature (start around 220c and work your way up to your preferred warmth), select the wattage (I tend to go high wattage and let the temperature do its thing for a warmer vape without the risk of a dry hit.
There are three user settings also, these are very easy to setup and access from the ‘Settings’ option and are very useful if you want to swap tanks or pods and quickly go to your preferred settings. It is hard to describe but most things can be done in a few seconds without pressing too many buttons or entering sub-menus.
Though I likened it to a DNAc, it’s not quite as advanced or customisable but it is a far more user friendly experience with just enough features for the majority of users and there’s no need to seek tutorials on how to use it either.
I would go as far as to say that this is my second favourite chipset that I have ever tried. The DNA comes tops but it beats the Vaporesso Gen and the Dovpo Topside in my opinion.
At the time of writing; the manual isn’t live on Lost Vape’s website yet but hopefully it should appear soon: https://lostvape.com/download/#user_manual (the original version is there but not the new).
Here’s a few pages from the PDF to give you some idea:
Performance
Well there’s no surprises when it comes to performance, even in basic POWER mode. The pre-heat BOOST function was nice to play around with, tweaking the power, airflow and pre-heat helped me find my preferred vape. BYPASS was a bit on the cool side for my tastes though.
I started off with the SS904 Mesh coil and went to Temperature Control (SS904) mode, I set my temp to 230c and my wattage to 85 Watts. TC kicked in pretty quickly but it was a cool vape. I ended up at 280c and that was my sweet spot. Now I proper hammered this by chain vaping as if it was my last ever vape, not the slightest hint of a dry hit and you could tell the TC was kicking in occasionally to make double sure I wouldn’t get a dry hit – for a stock mesh coil, this was a treat.
As I was swapping and changing between modes and tweaking things, That was when I really appreciated how good this chipset is. It’s just so intuitive and common sense. The screen is bright and high resolution so it’s easy to see, much brighter than the original once you turn up the brightness in SETTINGS. The information displayed is well laid out and includes battery percentage.
Coil wise:
- 1x 0.15Ω UB Pro P1 Coil – This is an Ni80 mesh coil rated between 70-90 Watts.
- 1x 0.3Ω UB Pro P3 Coil – This is an SS904 Stainless Steel coils suitable for TC mode and rated between 60-70 Watts / 260-290c.
Both coils are on the high wattage range but within the GRUS’s 100 Watt capability, though a 21700 30a battery is pretty much a must. Even then the battery life won’t last you a day out so a spare battery is advised.
I get the feeling that the GRUS is going to get a big brother dual cell at some point with this new chipset which will make this UB Pro tank and coils even better.
That aside, surprisingly I couldn’t find a favourite between the two coils. I really thought I was going to prefer the P3 coil as I could use it in TC mode, but the P1 coil equalled it for flavour and clouds. The thing is with the fine tuning options you can really get the best out of each coil. Usually I never pre-heat mesh coils as they are instant, but it made a difference to the P1 coil purely as a more intense first hit.
VPC (Variable Power Curve) worked a charm for the P1 coil also, easy to set and tune. I ended up with a stronger start and ramping down which suited my tastes.
Lost Vape was determined to keep me busy with this kit as they also sent me the original UB Tank and a bunch of coils including the RBA kit.
I simply didn’t have time to go through all the options as I also had the UB Pro RBA to test so I tried the UB M4 Mesh coil rated between 40-60 Watts. The coils for this tank are noticeably smaller and the wattage range suits a single battery mod better in my opinion. This coil still packed a punch, Lost Vape have really nailed their coils recently and rival any other I can think of. I even tried the 1.0 Ohm coil to see if I could get an MTL draw from this tank, it has a smaller drip tip but a 510 fitting so I popped on one of my narrow bore tips onto it. Though I had to close off the airflow fully, I did manage to get a half decent MTL from it! Admittedly it all looked a bit overkill for MTL but I still enjoyed it.
The main difference between the two tanks in my view are the UB Pro is more a proper airy sub ohm tank, there’s nothing ‘pod’ like about this tanks coils and performance, definitely one for high ohm cloud fans, whereas the regular UB tank is a bit tamer with a bit less airflow. Don’t get me wrong as there’s still plenty of air flowing through, but it feels a lot more versatile and similar to pods in coil size and flavour. For me it suits the GRUS more due to lower wattage and battery life, the UB Pro suits a dual battery mod in my opinion.
I half wish Lost Vape had only sent the UB Pro as I had a dilemma as to which tank I would use on the GRUS. In the end the UB Pro won as it was just a proper old school airy cloud and flavour chucking DL sub-ohm tank. I already have plenty of DL pod kits similar to the regular UB tank so the Pro was a nice change.
Coil life of the P1 and P3 were off the chart. I have been hammering them for a couple of weeks now and they still look almost new, I think the huge bore is helping in that area.
I will be doing a review of the RBA separately which will likely go onto the forum but I’m looking forward to trying them, though both are regular wire and not mesh so I can’t see them beating the P1 or P3.
Conclusion
As you can probably tell by now, I am really impressed with this GRUS update along with the UB Pro tank. The whole thing feels so different to the original, it has really gone up into another league and it’s the first time I have seen Lost Vape Quest develop a proper high end chipset which is very welcome and the future looks bright.
This kit will mostly appeal to DL users that enjoy higher powered airy draw with clouds aplenty. The Quest range seems to have gone from basic to high end within the past year. Even if you’re not a fan of the plastic tank, the GRUS mod is still an awesome bit of kit to pop your favourite tank onto.
Pros
- One of the very best chipsets I’ve used
- Lost Vape turned an already great mod into a fantastic one
- UB Pro tank gives a proper airy sub ohm vape
- P3 SS904 coil is suitable for TC vaping
- Easy access to functions and fine tuning
- Better screen
- Takes up to 30mm tanks
- UB Pro tank has a 510 connection
Cons
- UB Pro high wattage coils are more suited to a dual battery mod
- Plastic tank isn’t to everyone’s tastes
- Confusion from old to new when buying (should have had a V2 name)
Final Thoughts
I really liked the original GRUS but I LOVE the new version, Lost Vape Quest have really stepped up a gear with the chipset and I’m looking forward to seeing how much further they progress. The UB Pro tank and new coils were the cherry on the icing and I really enjoyed using it, the vape is nothing like a DL pod which is a refreshing change.
As this was a kit, my scores are reflective of this, but if you don’t like the tank then you should seriously consider the mod.
- Flavour: 8.5/10
- Vapour production: 9/10
- Value for money: 9/10
- Build quality: 9/10
- Ergonomics: 8.5/10
- Coil Life 9.5/10
Overall score: 9/10
The best product I have tested from Lost Vape Quest – the future is bright.
Si Davies
Reviewer at POTVMy background is Engineering and Professional Photography. Mostly from POTV users knowledge I learned so much about pretty much all styles of vaping and equipment, Cloud Chasing, Squonking, Mouth To Lung, Direct To Lung, Pods, Mechs, Rebuild-able tanks and atomisers etc, and have experience with many many devices and atomisers, it's become a hobby and enjoy trying out the latest gear. I like to think my reviews are plain speaking and informative without getting too technical, if I have to resort to reading the manual then I don't consider it user friendly!
Join the discussion
Kumiho Thoth S pod
Antony takes a look at the Kumiho Thoth S pod kit after being impressed with their last offering
-
by Antony Lord
NIXER X Jack Rabbit Longfills
We reach the end of the line with the NIXER X Jack Rabbit range, and what a way to go out.....for now!
Lost Vape E Plus RBA
Antony follow up on his Lost Vape Thelema Elite 40 kit review with his thoughts on the E Plus RBA kit
-
by Antony Lord
GeekVape Aegis Legend III 3
GeekVape keep the legend alive with the introduction of the latest Aegis Legend III 3
