Pod System Reviews

Smok Nord 5 Kit

Evolution not revolution, Antony takes a look at the latest Smok Nord 5 kit

by Antony Lord
Oct 3, 2022

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Vapesourcing UK has been kind enough to send over the latest entry in the SMOK NORD series of pods with the new NORD 5 kit. This is available in a whopping twelve colours including three rather natty looking “leather edition” variants.

Smok Nord 5 Kit contents

My NORD 5 kit arrived in pre-release sample packaging but contained everything in the final retail release including a 5ml PCTG pod and two of the new RPM 3 coils that are new to this latest addition to the NORD series.

Whilst the NORD series has retained the same basic style over its lifetime, it has grown larger and gained weight in each successive release and the NORD 5 is actually fairly chunky measuring 105 x 32.5 x 22.5 mm and weighing in at 110 grams. It’s certainly not subtle but it does still remain relatively pocketable.

Smok Nord 5 Kit all round

The form factor is instantly familiar with a power button on one face, air inlets on each side with an adjustable airflow controller on the back. Unlike the original NORD, there’s even a small screen on one side along with up and down buttons allowing full control of the 80 watts of power on offer here. One word of warning about the power button though, it has a hair trigger response and I’ve found it getting activated in my pockets more than once! You can turn it off with the usual five clicks or even lock it with three clicks, but this is so sensitive that I’ve even had it unlock itself a couple of times so I’d definitely recommend turning it off when putting it in pockets or bags.

Smok Nord 5 Kit charging port

The NORD 5 boasts a rather impressive 2000mAh internal battery, given its size, which is charged via the USB-C port on the base. In my test this charged at around 1.15 amps and took two hours to charge from flat with a final recorded capacity of 1880mAh so it’s not the fastest but at least vape whilst charging is supported to offset this somewhat.

Smok Nord 5 Kit pod fitting and filling

The 5ml pod clips in place securely at the top of the NORD 5 and features the “child proof” lock bar holding the press fit coils securely in place. There’s a decently sized fill port on one side and it has the usual duckbill mouthpiece found on earlier kits. This is comfortable to use but I have experienced a fair bit of condensation build up under the pod in use so I’d recommend having a tissue handy and giving the contacts etc. a good wipe down when you fill up.

Smok Nord 5 Kit coils

The NORD 5 uses the brand new RPM 3 coils, these have also grown larger with each successive release of the NORD series and are now verging on the size found in some subohm tanks! Both coils are most definitely aimed at the direct lung vaper although they are slightly restricted, particularly the lower power 0.23ohm coil, and feature a modern mesh coil. As is common with SMOK, I can find no mention of the coil material used but after using the coils, I dismantled them and found that they were both magnetic so they’re kanthal.

Both coils performed best at the lower end of the stated wattage ranges and gave good flavour. For me the 0.15ohm coil gave the best flavour and lasted the longest (the 0.23ohm coil showed definite signs of burnt cotton after just a few days use when I pulled it apart) but you’ll have to balance this against the reduced run time that comes with the higher wattage requirements, and I was struggling to get through a full day in work with this coil.

Conclusion

As an evolution of the SMOK NORD series, the NORD 5 kit lives up to its heritage. It’s a bit frustrating to see yet another new coil series being introduced with this latest edition, and I was particularly disappointed with performance and longevity of the 0.23ohm coil, the 0.15ohm coil was much better and longer lived so would definitely be my choice here.

Smok Nord 5 Kit last look

Antony Lord

Reviewer at POTV

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I was a twenty a day smoker for 25 years and like most smokers I was always going to quit "next week". Having hit my mid forties and having the usual smokers cough and difficulty with anything more than moderate exercise it was obviously time to give up the cancer sticks. I bought my first e-cigarette in 2013 when they were expensive, difficult to find and quite frankly... crap. I used it for about a week then went back to the roll ups, mark up another failed quit attempt. The fact that I had just changed jobs and was under quite a lot of stress probably didn't help. Move on to 2016 and whilst I was browsing eBay I noticed that one of the suggested items that would occasionally pop up was for a cheap e-cigarette. It looked similar to the one I'd bought 3 years earlier but it was only £5 (about 8 times cheaper than before) so I decided to give it another go on a whim. Once the kit arrived I managed to gradually replace the cigarettes with my new kit over a two month period and got into watching YouTube reviews for newer kit. My cheap and cheerful kit was replaced by a more upmarket affair, and being a noob I made a mistake once it arrived... I put in the supplied direct lung coil, this was of course a complete revelation and I haven't touched a cigarette since. Oh and I no longer spend the first five minutes of every day having a coughing fit either.