Voopoo Argus Air POD Review

Voopoo really have been on a roll lately, pumping out a heap of fantastic and genuinely unique devices, ranging from the new Drag 2 Refresh to their Drag S and Drag X POD Mods, able to use their universal PODs.

It’s not only their POD systems that have seen rave reviews, but their coils. Providing excellent flavour and coming in a range of resistances and styles to suit any vaper, their PnP coils are not only impressive, but have become the preferred coils for many.

So what would Voopoo do next you ask? How about an even smaller POD device that is easy to throw in the pocket for those times when you’re out and about? How about making it compatible with the already popular PnP coils? And that’s exactly what they’ve done!

Introducing the Voopoo Argus Air! Big thanks go out to Voopoo for sending this through, and their continuous support <3

Photos

First Impressions

First impressions are always important, and this device didn’t disappoint! As soon as I took it out of the box, it had a quality feel to it, a little heft and the external design is quite attractive. It feels really nice in the hand too, with the leather inserts providing a bit of cushioning, the size is just perfect.

As you can see, I received the ‘Camo’ version, with the leather inserts being of a camouflage design.

This device is your typical POD device, with pop in Pod at the top, simple airflow options, a single button to operate, a small screen and a USB Type-C charge port on the bottom. It’s a no-nonsense POD device, that is designed around simplicity whilst still giving you a few airflow options so that you can find the perfect vape for you.

The Main Body

The main frame is, just like many others, built using a zinc-alloy, and carrying on with Voopoo’s latest styling, a leather wrap that surrounds the main section where the user will hold it. It’s quite a sturdy little device, solidly built, once you hold it, you’ll be confident that you really can throw this around without any issues.

From the top there is the POD recess, where you’d push your POD in, that should snap in place nicely with the strong magnets that have been used.
Further down, your airflow (I’ll come back to this a little further down as it has a neat airflow adjustment), the chamferred single button to operate it, a small screen which shows quite a lot of information for it’s size, and a USB Type-C charge port on the bottom.

The PODs

The PODs are of a nice design, they are made from tinted PCTG so they will be quite durable. The tint is not too dark, and you can see your e-liquid level really easily.

There are 4 magnets in the bottom to make sure the POD holds strongly in the chassis of the device, strong enough not to have the POD fall off, but also easy to remove the POD if you need to.

The mouth piece is all built into the POD, and is of a modified ‘duck bill’ design, not entirely flat at the tip, but conforms to the mouth well, and is really comfortable to use.

This kit comes with 2 different PODs. One (black fill port) is for using Voopoo’s awesome PnP coils (comes with a 0.6ohm PnP TM1 coil), and the other (blue fill port) is a disposable all in one POD, housing a 0.8ohm coil designed for MTL vaping.

Why Voopoo went with a disposable POD I’ll never know, producing a MTL coil would have made a little more sense. I could even go so far as to say a custom MTL POD would be ok, but to go against the whole removeable coil mantra doesn’t really make sense to me considering PnP coils are regarded as excellent coils all over the world.

The 0.6ohm TM1 coil is designed for restricted DTL vaping, and you’ll likely be using this up to 25 Watts, as I have been. When inserted Voopoo’s Gene.AI chip automatically sets your wattage at 22 Watts.

The disposable POD with the 0.8ohm coil is designed for MTL vaping. This POD has a restricted airflow, and when inserted, Voopoo’s Gene.AI chip automatically sets the wattage to 13 Watts.

Airflow

2 Airflow Settings

To the airflow! Now, if you remember back to Voopoo’s Vinci range, you could change between 2 different airflow settings by simply spinning the POD around 180 degrees. One side would give you a nice open airflow and the other a more restricted one.

This format has been integrated with the Argus Air PODs. A channel runs down one side of both PODs allowing more airflow depending on which way you have the POD inserted.

This works really well, and since Voopoo give you 2 different PODs with slightly different airflow channels, between the 2, you’re likely to find a pretty good airflow level for your vaping style.

The disposable MTL POD will give you both a really tight restricted MTL airflow, and also a slightly looser MTL airflow.

The PnP coil POD will give you a very restricted DTL airflow, and also a much looser option should you need it.

Auto Draw

The Argus Air not only comes with button activated firing, but it also incorporates Auto Draw. In some configurations, all you’ll need to do is inhale, and the device will auto fire for you.

I haven’t had the best luck with this, as it seems spotty and intermittent at best. It worked for a while for me on the disposable POD when spun around to the really tight airflow, and I haven’t been able to get it to work with any consistency since, so I’ve just been using the fire button.
The copy I received is a preliminary testing version, so this might change on the final build, but I do have to mention it.

It’s a little strange having both available at the same time too. The chip is intelligent enough to notice that you’re pushing the button or inhaling directly, but I can’t help feeling it might be a good idea for Voopoo to provide a setting in the Gene.AI chip to switch between modes. Or even between button, auto-draw, and button & auto draw like they did on the Vinci series.

How’s it vape?

I’m a little torn on this point because it does vape really well, and provides some nice vapour, however it is a little bit of a cool vape, and seems to not provide a really dense or warm vape for me until I use some freebase nicotine for a bit of throat hit.

With salts, the vape is a little limp, cool, and not overly dense, but with freebase, the throat hit is back and I can get a satisfying pull from it.

I upped my freebase nicotine level from 3mg to 6mg and it has made a huge improvement on the quality of the vape.

Battery

A 900mah battery might not sound like a lot in this day and age, but the Argus Air does a pretty good job of making that battery last. Considering that this device pushes out a maximum 25 Watts, also helps extend the battery life a little. So far I’ve been managing to get almost a full day out of a charge, using it at maximum.

When you are flat, charging is fast, with the included USB Type-C port, providing fast charging, going from zero to 100% in about an hour.

One disappointing find was that you cannot vape whilst charging. I think this is a really important thing to provide for on board batteries, considering that it may be the user’s only device.

Filling

As with all of Voopoo’s products, filling is super simple. Remove the POD, peel back the silicone plug and fill. There is a sizeable fill port that will fit most bottle nozzles to avoid spillage. Pop the plug back on and you’re good to go.

Any Leaks?

None. Ive experienced no leaks what-so-ever with the Argus Air. I have notice a little seepage and condensation, from the bottom of the coil, from time to time, but that is negligible, and completely expected from a bottom inserted coil.

Usage

Basic usage is pretty simple here. The Argus Air features a 5 click on of the fire button. And the fire button is quite large and easy to feel for when vaping.

Because of the ‘one’ button, the menu system can take a little getting used to, and you will have extra steps to not only turn the device off but also to clear puffs, and adjust wattage.

When the device is on x5 clicks will bring you to a menu system where you’ll have 4 choices. Lock, Power Off, Puff Clear, Exit.
Use the fire button to cycle through these choices and then hold the fire button down to activate your choice.

To adjust wattage, x3 clicks of the fire button is required, to put it into wattage change mode, and has a blinking ‘W’ on the display.
Push the fire button to increase the wattage by 1 Watt increments, until you get to your desired wattage.
The wattage round robins back to 5 Watts, once you reach 18 Watts on the disposable pod, and 25 Watts on the PnP coil.

Usage is a little cumbersome, and would have been largely improved by providing at least some small up and down buttons to assist with menu navigation.

Pros:

• Great feel and quality build
• No leaks at all
• Great battery life
• Great flavour from coils
• Fast Type-C charging

Cons:

• Cool vape with less density
• Auto-draw not consistent
• Menu navigation is a little cumbersome
• Disposable POD? (really?)
  
  

Where to Buy:

You can purchase the Voopoo Argus Air POD right now directly through the Voopoo online store on pre-sale for $36.99 USD. This is a lot of device for that price mark.

Conclusion

My time with the Argus Air has been a little hit or miss. On the one hand, the vape was fantastic once I dialed in the perfect nicotine level, POD, coil, and wattage, but on the other hand there are a few things that I feel Voopoo could fix. The auto-draw not working correctly is one of them, also the cumbersome navigation can be a little frustrating.

Other noteworthy things: the build quality which is truly fantastic, the long battery life, fast charging, and the fact that Voopoo have listened to MTL vapers, and provided a purely MTL POD and coil.
Another big win for me, is zero leaks. Not a drop has leaked from the POD to the actual device. Seeing device manufacturers pay attention to this is a really positive thing, and I hope others pick up on what Voopoo are doing here.

All in all, the Argus Air, will likely be an excellent option for vapers currently using PnP coils in their Drag S,X or Pod Tanks. It’s smaller than other Mods and therefore a great pick to take with you if you’re heading out of the house and want something discreet.

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.