Vaporesso Swag PX80 Reviewed

Welcome back for another review. Today I’ll be looking at Vaporesso’s latest Swag iteration, the Swag PX80!
This device is the third in the Swag series, which has been pretty popular in the past with those looking for a single battery device, with small form factor. While the previous versions have been very good systems, I think this time Vaporesso have knocked it out of the park!

There are a few things Vaporesso have implemented in the PX80 that are not only innovative, but are really classy additions that aid in the use of the whole setup, and will wow you visually!

Let’s take a look at the Vaporesso Swag PX80!!

Big thanks goes to Vaporesso for sending this directly through to me for review!

Photos

General Info

The Swag is one of those systems that gets regularly updated with new versions getting released as new technology is released, or as user demand for features reaches a certain point. So it’s only natural that the latest version, not only has all of the bells and whistles that other kits have, but also introduces some pretty new innovation from Vaporesso.

The Swag PX80 to the untrained eye, is a pretty straight forward Mod + Tank combo, taking a single 18650 battery for power, no visible screen, USB Type-C Charging, with a 4ml Pod tank up top to give you that wonderful flavour. But it is much more than that. Vaporesso have pushed the limit with some pretty ingenious solutions to some common problems here, even if some are more visual than functional.

The Swag PX80 is in fact a very well designed mod + Pod tank powered by a single 18650 battery, 4ml Pod Tank with adjustable airflow, leak proof coil changing, coil locking feature, hidden colour display, USB-Type-C charging, adjustable wattage as well as other operating modes, and many more subtle design improvements that make this quite a solid little bit of kit.

The Body

The frame of the PX80 is your standard Zinc alloy, and pretty lightweight, with a faux carbon fibre plastic cover on one side, and a leather insert on the other. There are a few other little styling accents like the corner pieces on the leather side that are a really nice touch to the overall design.

The body of the Swag is tiny, 75mm x 46mm and 25mm in depth, making this a really nice size and comfortable in the hand. The finishes all have a very nice feel to them, specially the padded leather on the one side, which is really stylish and gives a more expensive feel to the whole thing.

Up top, you have your battery cap directly opposite the recess for the Pod Tank. Inside this recess you’ll find 2 gold plated connection points, and 4 strong magnets to hold the POD in place. Even with a flick you’ll find they hold quite well and that POD will not come out in a hurry.
On each side of the POD recess is a cyclops style air slot, which lines up perfectly with the POD when it’s inserted to create an airflow adjustment. Just spin the POD to adjust your air, very simple, effective, and really such a intuitive way of doing it.

You’ll find everything else along one of the edge sides, decent sized fire button, with up and down buttons directly below it, and a USB Type-C charge port below that.

Swinging back to the Carbon fibre plastic panel on the one side, you’d be forgiven for thinking that is all it is, because it’s a fairly innocent looking panel, but hit your fire button with a battery in, and you’ll find the display of the device hidden behind this carbon fibre panel.
Sure it’s a bit of a gimmick but aesthetically, it’s a wonderful addition, and something that streamlines the device really nicely. Taking the display away from the general look of the entire device and hiding it behind the carbon fibre, gave Vaporesso a little more room to focus on a more ergonomic shape for the main body.

The PODs & Coils

Previous iterations of the Swag have always followed the Mod + Tank mantra with a tank bundled into the kit to suit the compact design of the actual device. But not this time.

Vaporesso have followed the wave of Pod Mods, and introduced a Pod Tank for use with the latest Swag PX80, but not just any old Pod Tank, this has some pretty unique features we’ve never seen before!

The POD is a completely clear POD so you can see your eliquid levels really easily, with a black cap and silver band running around the bottom of the non-removable drip tip. You read that right, I’m guessing that Vaporesso made this non-removable due to the coil removal anti-leak functionality they’ve included in the POD, but to be honest, I’m a little confused as to why they didn’t try and get this to work with a removable 510 drip tip. Variety is the spice of life, and I can see users wanting to use their own drip tips here.

Most POD devices will see the push coil installed in the bottom of the POD, you push it in until it won’t go any further, and they protrude a little, so that airflow can get underneath the POD and up through the coil. Not so here.
Vaporesso have introduced a very clever air chamber below the eliquid section in the POD to limit leaking. In turn you’ll notice that the coil sits flush with the bottom of the POD.

Two cyclops style airflow holes on the bottom of the POD line up with similar slots in the body of the device when installed, so that you can adjust your airflow simply by spinning the POD in the direction you choose. The air flows in through these slots, into the chamber below the eliquid in the tank, and then up through the centre of the coil. The three orings on the coil separate the outside of the POD, from the air chamber, and the air chamber from the eliquid chamber, kind of like different sections.

Ok so thats great and all, but if the coil sits flush with the bottom of the POD, how do we remove it? Vaporesso have a genius way of doing this also. The drip tip operates as a push button for the coil. Simply spin the drip tip to the unlocked position, push it down and the coil will also push out from the bottom of the POD. Do the reverse, and the coil will push the drip tip up all in the same motion. You then lock the drip tip again by rotating it, to make sure your coil does not come out accidentally.
In addition to this feature, Vaporesso have made this a no mess operation. While removing the coil, a metal sleeve comes down to cover the eliquid inlets, allowing you to remove your coil without all the mess you might normally have. Fantastic!

You’ll receive 2 different GTX coils in the pack. Both DTL style coils with a fairly low resistance rating. I’ve always found GTX coils to have a really great clean flavour to them, and upon first using them are fantastic coils. They do push out a fairly thin vape at times however, specially as they age.

• GTX 0.2ohm Mesh Coil – 45-60w
  This is your more powerful coil, and is recommended to use it up to around the 60 Watt mark. I personally didn’t spend a lot of time with this one, as it runs pretty hot, and the drip tip gets quite warm. While it does produce some nice flavour, I found it just wasn’t quite as dense as I would have liked compared to other devices at 60 Watts.
  
• GTX 0.3ohm Mesh Coil – 32-45w
  I’ve spent most of my review time with this coil. It’s a nice little mid range coil, that puts out some excellent flavour. Again, just like the 0.2ohm coil, it doesn’t get to that rich dense feel through the PX80 that I would have liked but closing the airflow down a little helps.

I Also received a pack of GTX 0.6ohm (20-30W) Mesh Coils and a pack of GTX 0.8ohm (12-20W) Mesh Coils.
These both work well for varying degrees of Mouth to Lung vaping. Of course you’ll want to close your airflow down for a true MTL vape, but both coils also restrict your airflow a little too, to help mimic that cigarette like air resistance. Again, both great flavourful coils.

Airflow

As mentioned earlier, Vaporesso have gone with a pretty straight forward adjustable airflow on the PX80. Two cyclops holes in the body line up with 2 cyclops holes in the POD, so all you need to do is spin your POD around to adjust your airflow. The POD fitment is excellent in the recess, able to restrict the airflow quite a lot when you want to, so you can get an almost true tight Mouth to Lung vape with the higher resistance GTX coils.

Battery

The Swag PX80’s power is derived from an external 18650 battery, inserted from the mod similar to the original Eleaf Iconn, and Eleaf Istick Pico devices. The screw cap up top is really well machined, and the threads are super smooth, making sure you can screw it down gently without too much effort. The battery compartment is also slightly oversized, in case you have some batteries that have a little extra diameter to them, or are double wrapped. You should still get those batteries into this housing.

The PX80 also comes with USB Type-c connection for up to 2amp charging. Not that you’ll use it a lot, only really for emergencies, since you charge externally anyway right?

Filling

To fill the PX80’s pod, you’ll do so using the fill port on the bottom, hidden behind the silicone plug. Unfortunately, the plug doesn’t indicate very well which side you need to pull up on, (its the left side) so be careful, or risk pulling the entire silicone plug out.

Any Leaks?

Unfortunately I have had some leaking, well not really leaking, but more seepage. I’ve been struggling to nail down exactly where it is coming from, as it seems to just run around the outside of the POD near the airflow holes. I’ve not seen any evidence of it coming from the airflow holes, so it’s either from there and I cannot see it, or from the seal from between the clear plastic and the chrome base. This has just been from one of the PODs that I have however, and the other has stayed dry as a bone.
So, likely this may be an isolated incident, or it only effects some PODs, not all.

Having said that, it’s a non issue because e-liquid doesn’t drip everywhere, it’s just a small amount present when removing the POD. There is no e-liquid pooled in the POD recess or anything, so it DOES NOT get inside the device.

Usage

This new Swag has quite an attractive hidden colour display, everything is laid out quite intuitively, and the menu system is very easy to use.

• To turn the PX80 on and off – 5 presses of the fire button
• To enter the menu system, press the + and – buttons at the same time
• Inside the menu you will find VW, VV, Smart VW, Puff, Theme, Default, and Exit
• To lock the + and – buttons press the fire button 3 times
• Under themes in the menu system, there are three color choices which are green, blue and pink.
  
  

Pros:

• Innovative and stylish
• Small form factor
• Comfortable to hold and use
• Clever no leak coil changing
• Good power output
• Classy hidden screen
• Easy to use
• Intuitive controls
• USB Type-C charging

Cons:

• The flavour and quality of vape wasn’t up to Vaporesso’s usual standard in my opinion.
• A little seepage around outside of the base of the POD.
• Non-changeable drip tip
• Narrow base means its easy to knock over
  

Where to Buy:

The Vaporesso online store doesn’t list the Swag PX80 yet, but I suspect it will be going up any day now. The previous Swag is priced at around the $60 USD mark, so I imagine this one to have a similar price tag. You can pre-order it on their site though, through the button below.

Conclusion

I’m quite impressed with this little device. Vaporesso have taken a big gamble including POD rather than a traditional tank, but I think it’s going to pay off. The innovative coil removal, airflow adjustment and separate air chamber, are all new things, and Vaporesso have incorporated them really well into the design of the Swag.

My favourite part, and I know it’s a little on the gimmicky side, is the hidden display. I’ve never seen this before and often wondered why other manufacturers haven’t done this already. It works really well, and helps to not clutter the overall aesthetic with a visible screen.

All in all, I’ve found the Swag PX80 a pleasure to use, and this will stay as part of my everyday lineup of devices for a long while!

Great work Vaporesso!

Shane Presser

Shane Presser has been vaping since 2013, and has extensive experience with advanced equipment, coil builds and DIY mixing. He is the man behind VapersGarage, and also more recently Aussie Vape Stores, a resource to help vapers find their nearest Vape Shops, and eLiquid Vendors.