Eleaf Elven Vape Pod System Review
January 31, 2019
Vaping – Who Does it Really Hurt?
February 18, 2019
By: Nicholas King.
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Last Updated: February 13th, 2019.
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In-depth SMOK NORD AIO 19 and AIO 22 Kit Review
SMOK has been quite in our reviews for some time now, but recently they have just released 2 all in one (AIO) vape pen kits known as the NORD AIO 19 and AIO 22. The aim here is to take the popularity of their NORD pod kit and build a vape pen based on the same coils. The question is though, is the NORD coil better in the pod or in their new vape pens? Let’s find out!
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Design
Vape pens are all very similar in design across all manufacturers and brands, and there are no real outstanding differences with the two Nord vape pens from Smok. The names 19 and 22 obviously come from the diameter of the vape pens, i.e. the AIO 19 has a 19mm diameter and the AIO 22 has a 22mm diameter, this is the only real difference in the two.
Initially, SMOK is releasing a number of different color options which include black, red, blue, rainbow, silver, and gold. One thing we noticed in our kits was the slight color variation in the tank compared to the battery. Not really noticeable from a distance, but when you’re initially setting it up, you definitely notice the slight variation in shade.
On to the size, and there are slight differences. The AIO 19 measures in at 122mm tall, 19mm diameter and has a 2ml tank capacity. The AIO 22 is 125.5mm tall, 22mm diameter and has a 3.5ml tank capacity. This difference in size allows SMOK to push a bit more power in the larger devices, coming in at 1300mAh for the AIO 19 and 2000mAh for the AIO 22.
They have included a proprietary Delrin drip tip to these vape pen kits, but weirdly the AIO 22 has a larger diameter tip than the AIO 19. Weird because the airflow control and coils are the same on both devices and they only include a spare of the same size. Why not offer the customer one of each; some may prefer the feel of the larger/smaller drip tip!
Features
The tank is nicely designed with a locking mechanism on the top to lock it into place, simply click the button and slide to one side to reveal the refill hole.
Airflow we are very disappointed with, no you cannot control it! This is a huge deal as far as experienced vapers and our regular readers at SmokeTastic are concerned. When you use different coils, the airflow changes, and it’s nice to be able to control this to improve the custom vape many users like.
The coils are super simple to load into the tank, simply unscrew the tank and place the coil into the base, it slides in with no real effort, you can then screw it back onto the battery.
The kit comes with 2 coils, one for direct lung inhales which is 0.6ohm and a type of mesh/notched coil, and the other is what they call the regular coil which is 1.4-ohm single wire coil with cotton wicking meant for mouth to lung inhales. They are the same coils that are found on the Smok Nord Pod and you can also buy additional coils if you wish, like the 1.4-ohm ceramic coil. This is supposed to support the different types of vaping available, but falls a little short as you'll read later.
The operation is super simple as you would expect from an AIO device, with a single, easy to find protruding fire button to the side. It uses the classic 5 clicks on and off and is really easy to locate. It does feel good to click with no travel and very responsive.
Additional options are the ability to check the battery status by clicking the fire button twice. The LED will then flash a color representing the charge remaining:
- Green – More than 70% battery life remaining
- Amber – 30-70% battery life remaining
- Red – less than 30% battery life remaining
To charge the device you simply connect the supplied USB cable and your good, it takes about 3 hours to fully charge from flat! You can still vape the devices when they are on charge.
Performance
There's not really too much difference between the two devices, and one thing we did notice was the slight under power of both devices specifically on the lower resistance 0.6 mesh coil. This is mainly due to the amount of airflow in comparison to the power needed to run this coil.
With the 1.4-ohm Regular coil we found the flavor to be pretty muted and although this is really meant for a mouth to lung vape, you can in fact direct inhale with this coil. It does produce a warmer vape than the mesh coil, but it just has an underpower feel about it.
The 0.6-ohm coil produces a really cool vape and really airy as we already mentioned! The original Nord pod, for example, using the same coils produce a better overall vape.
The flavor can be improved by using a 50/50 PG/VG juice, but this produces another problem, it being thinner can produce leaks if you leave the vape pen for some time unattended.
TL;DR
The new Smoke Nord AIO 19 and AIO 22 vape pen kits are based around SMOKs new Nord coils, and although this device is easy to use, the uncontrolled airflow really let this device down and thus are a long way off from being one of the best e-cigarettes in this class.
With the 0.6-ohm mesh/notched coil the AIO 19 and 22 both produce an airy and cool vape with a muted flavor. The 1.4-ohm Regular coil produces a warmer vape, but, again due to the airflow problems can actually be used as a mouth to lung coil.
Overall we think the performance of both vape pens would have been drastically improved if they provided a better airflow control, the coils just seem underpowered and muted in flavor, when we know they can perform well as seen on the original SMOK Nord pod.
They both use direct output bypass, which means as the battery slowly discharges overuse, then the performance also decreases with it, this means you find yourself charging the device even when the battery is not completely flat, reducing the lifecycle of the vape pen.
Nicholas King
Hi! I’m Nicholas King, the founder, and Chief Editor at SmokeTastic. As an ex-smoker and now vaping enthusiast for over 13 years myself, I understand the transition between smoking and vaping. My aim is to share useful information about all the different vape and e-cig products on the market, self-help tips, and detailed reviews.
I hope you find something on SmokeTastic that helps you with your decision process.
