Mod Reviews

Vaporesso LUXE II Kit

Vaporesso certainly haven’t slowed down this year despite the pandemic, bringing us new toys as well as reinventing classics like this one, the Vaporesso Luxe II

by Si Davies
Oct 7, 2020

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Supplied by Vaporesso for review purposes
https://www.vaporesso.com/vape-kits/luxe-2

Vaporesso certainly haven’t slowed down this year despite the pandemic, in fact they have ramped up, if anything, with a huge amount of new goodies for vapers worldwide. Along with some superb new products, they have also revamped some of their older but successful models and this time around the Luxe gets a makeover.

Intelligent Axon chip for smart operation
2.0-inch colour TFT screen
Touch panel & vibration-enabled button
Upgraded NRG-S tank with 8ml/2ml juice capacity
Widely compatible with GT coils
Max 220W output for powerful vaping
Easy top screw-up refill design
2.5A fast charging system
Innovative PULSE mode and SMART TC mode

Vaporesso LUXE II & NRG S Tank side by side

I didn’t own the original so I cannot compare directly, but having checked out the specs of it, there doesn’t appear to be a whole lot different, mainly a facelift and a different tank.

Battery Type - Dual 18650
Coil Resistance - 0.15Ω, 0.18Ω
Coil Types - Mesh
Tank Features - Adjustable Airflow, Top Fill
Weight: 231g
Height: 13cm (5.2")
Width: 4.7cm (1.9")
Depth: 3.0cm (1.2")

Unboxing

The Luxe II Kit comes in the traditional, sturdy Vaporesso packaging, with an outer sleeve displaying the colour of the kit and a solid black main box. The kit feels a nice weight and once you remove the box lid, you’re greeted with everything but the docs on the top layer with no wasted space, underneath that layer are the documents.

Vaporesso LUXE II & NRG S Tank box fresh

The first thing I did was to pick up the mod and admire it, perhaps the ‘Luxe’ name had gotten into my head but it did have a luxurious feel to it. Even the paint finish felt silky and the back panel looks superb, in the hand it felt very comfortable.

Vaporesso LUXE II & NRG S Tank buttons and controls

NRG-S Tank and GT Coils

I was already familiar with the NRG-S Tank as it’s the same one that comes with the GEN S kit, and the colour is perfectly matched. Thankfully it takes the large range of Vaporesso GT coils including my favourite GT4 Meshed, the non TPD version comes with an 8ml bubble glass and a straight glass option, along with spare seals and an additional coil.

GT Meshed Coil (0.18Ω, 50-85W),

GT4 Meshed Coil (0.15Ω, 50-75W)

Vaporesso LUXE II & NRG S Tank coils

In the box

1x LUXE II Mod
1x NRG-S Tank (XL)
1x GT Meshed Coil (Pre-installed)
1x GT4 Meshed Coil (In the Box)
1x Glass Tube (L)
4x O-ring
1x User Manual
1x Warranty Card

Vaporesso LUXE II & NRG S Tank contents

First impressions

After popping in a couple of 18650 batteries, I had a play around with the mod. The first thing that struck me was the vibration feature, I was not expecting that and it was actually a nice surprise (that’s what she said). It actually feels subtle and surprisingly useful with the tactile feedback, similar to a phone or tablet’s keystroke rather than the silent vibrate if that makes sense?

The weight with the batteries feels great and dare I say it, luxurious (yeah Luxe has definitely gotten into my head!). It’s a lot heavier than the lightweight GEN, but the style of this mod is completely different and likely to appeal for different reasons. With its large 2 Inch full colour screen, it reminded me of the Smok X Priv but this felt nicer in the hand.

The screen is bright but not too bright, and holds the usual information (see pic) along with some graphics. There are no animations other than the ‘setting value’ when you adjust your wattage. The timeout screen has a large clock and date which I thought was a bit gimmicky yet I found myself using it far more than expected.

Vaporesso LUXE II & NRG S Tank screen

Looks and Ergonomics

The styling is quite contemporary with a mixture of straight edges and curves. It reminds me of the early iPhones only it ate all the pies. The screen side looks a bit bland when the screen is off but looks great when it comes alive, nice and bright with the touch control buttons that also light up when the mod is active. The micro usb port is on the screen side. The rear battery panel looks superb with the oil resin pattern following the curve, there’s a real 3D look to it and it looks really nice as you rotate it in the light.

For such a basic shape, the Luxe II feels so damn good in the hand, every edge has been contoured and smoothed out. The large fire button is good for thumb or index finger firing though it depends on which hand you use, Right Hand = Thumb, Left Hand = Index Finger, that’s if you wanted the screen showing. You can of course vape it the opposite way but that covers the screen up.

Vaporesso LUXE II & NRG S Tank all angles

The battery compartment is accessed by removing the back panel with a small notch at the bottom. It is held on magnetically and is very firm with zero play. The batteries are easy to fit but a little tricky to remove as there is no battery ribbon. The battery orientation is marked in the housing.

Vaporesso LUXE II & NRG S Tank newton's cradle

Battery vents are at the base of the mod along with what appears to be a unique serial number, I could be wrong though?

Vaporesso LUXE II & NRG S Tank montage

All in all I really like the Luxe II’s styling and how it feels in the hand, the quality is top notch and feels substantial and I really like the touch navigation method and clear screen.

Operation and navigation

Rather than translating the instructions it’s far easier for you to read through the VERY short manual on Vaporesso’s website:
https://www.vaporesso.com/hubfs/imgs/downloads/manual/Luxe-2-manual.pdf

Yes, the manual is very brief but that reflects how simple the Luxe II is to navigate and operate. From what I can tell, it has the same navigation to the original but as mentioned, this is all new to me and I really enjoyed how simple it is to use. I tend only to look at the manual only to confirm when reviewing. You even get on-screen prompts to aid you along.

The traditional + and - keys are small backlit dots at the base of the screen with a V (Vaporesso logo) to confirm, these are touch sensitive and a tactile vibration feedback as you touch them, you can adjust the strength of the vibration or turn the feature off if you prefer, the wealth of settings is quite large but clearly labelled within the ‘Settings’ sub-menu.

The touch buttons automatically lock once you start vaping so you cannot accidentally change your wattage. To unlock, you need to press the fire button three times, but again there is an onscreen prompt.

The options this mod offers are pretty impressive, it has everything a novice vaper could wish for and plenty of DIY features for experienced users, I had a quick play with Temperature Control (TC) and found it very easy to setup and worked as it should, one of my other favourite modes is Bypass (BP) which seems to be going out of fashion but am glad to see it within the DIY options.

NRG S Tank

Stripping the tank down is simple as the main sections unscrew, and the glass is secured with silicone seals, the coil fitting isn’t the on trend ‘plug-n-play’ style push fit, instead it is the more traditional screw in type, though you need to have an empty tank before you swap coils.

The HUGE capacity is 8ml with the bubble glass or 5ml with the straight glass (unless you are unlucky enough to suffer the TPD 2ml). 5ml in a straight glass is very welcome, especially for those of us that don’t like bubble glass. For me, I don’t mind either as the style looks good with both.

Airflow is very good and airy when wide open. The dual air slots are opposite each other, and the draw is smooth. Adjustment will take it down to a restrictive DTL (direct lung) draw. It is possible to get a MTL (Mouth to Lung) draw, but this tank and coil selection is clearly aimed at DTL or big cloud users.

Filling is achieved with a sliding top-cap. When open, it exposes the kidney shaped fill port. I had no issues filling with traditional shortfill bottles but wider nib DIY bottles were a bit trickier.

The drip tip is a 510 fit opening out to a wide bore. I was unsure about this at first as I would have opted for a wider 810, but in use it works really well. The fitting is well done as it slips over a lip on the metal top cap making it sit flush, though I do not like the cheapened look of it. A nice hybrid or stainless steel one would look much nicer. That said, we all have different tastes and the standard black shouldn’t upset anyone.

I wish Vaporesso would invest in some better drip tips though, the plastic tips aren’t as good as their competitors and cheapens the otherwise quality looks.

Vaporesso NRG S Tank

Performance

The mod performs well with such a fast firing time, the Pulse mode gives you a consistent vape and the SMART wattage is rarely wrong and finds the best middle ground which helps the coil lifespan a lot. The navigation locking system works a charm so no nasty surprises of pocket high wattage accidents.

The NRG-S tank performs really well, for me I preferred the GT4 Meshed coil as it gives such a rich flavour and dense vapour if you like your clouds, the GT Meshed 0.18Ω coil wasn’t much different to the GT4 Meshed 0.15Ω but the GT4 was better for battery life as it required less power.

The battery life was pretty good for a large screen mod, even with the GT4 coil it lasted me a long day out and I always had a reserve of ECO mode if I got caught short.

Stuff I like

There’s a lot to like with the Luxe II, especially if you haven’t previously owned the original. The looks and styling have a really classy appeal and the navigation is one of the best I’ve used, everything is clear and concise with pretty much everything a new or experienced user could want, the touch sensitive navigation buttons work really well and the vibration is a nice touch (no pun intended), the fire button is a nice size. The NRG-S tank suits this kit well and the newer coils breathe more life into it and there’s a LOT of coils already available.

A gimmick I actually found useful was the clock/calendar that was on the standby screen, since I vape more than I use my phone I just found it handier.

Stuff I like less

Considering the Luxe II is a 2020 release, there’s a few things I would have expected to be more current tech, still Micro USB instead of USB-C (though it does offer 2.5A charging), the chassis and fingerprint magnet screen appears to be the same as the original, no biggie for me personally as it’s all new to me but owners of the original may not find it worth upgrading, also the tank is very old tech and the drip tip is bland.

Another little niggle, depending on how you hold the mod, my little finger would accidentally rest on the touch sensitive button and trigger an onscreen prompt to unlock, this didn’t change any settings and I can carry on vaping but became a minor annoyance.

Conclusion

Is the Luxe II much of an upgrade to the Luxe? From what I can gather, I don’t think so, it is more of a revision than anything. It does offer the NRG-S tank though, and some of the latest GT coils are superb. For anyone like myself that didn’t own the original, then it’s a different story, there’s a lot to love in the Luxe II. If you like a large screen mod and easy navigation, then the Luxe II has pretty much nailed it. The features this mod offers are fantastic without being bloated or complex, I’ve taken the PULSE mode for granted these days but you really notice how good it is when comparing to other brands.

Innovation wise, perhaps this sounds harsh but I cannot see a single innovative thing in this kit, well nothing that Vaporesso haven’t already done themselves in other older kits (including the original Luxe), some might even say it’s the opposite with the older tech tank.

That said; the Luxe II still gets a big thumbs up from me and ranks highly in my collection. I didn’t own the original Luxe but I’m glad I own a Luxe II.

Pros

A wealth of useful features.
High quality build.
2” screen.
Weighty and ergonomic.
Silky paint finish.
Touch sensitive control.
GT Meshed coils are excellent.

Cons

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.
Bland drip tip.
No battery strap.

Final thoughts and score

If you already own the original Luxe, then I doubt there’s enough new to make you ‘need’ the Luxe II, but if the Luxe is all new to you then there’s a lot to like about this kit, great for new and experienced users.

Score: 8/10
Another nice refinement which still stands out from the crowd.

Vaporesso LUXE II & NRG S Tank dragon

Si Davies

Reviewer at POTV

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My 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!