Hi ECF members, In this review i take a look at the Orion DNA GO Starter Kit 2ml 950mAh from Lost Vape. The Lost Vape Orion DNA GO Starter Kit was supplied for the purpose of this review by Cortana from the Healthcabin.
Introduction
Lost Vape are known for their quality regulated devices hosting the DNA chipset and have gained a great reputation as well as manufacturing quality affordable devices through their sister brand Modefined. The Orion DNA GO saw their entry into the AIO Pod market and must be the most feature packed device of it’s kind straight out the box. The Orion DNA Go when used in conjunction with the Escribe Go software becomes an enthusiasts playground. The question is, just how good is the Orion and does it live up to the hype!
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In The Box
Contents:
1pc Lost Vape Orion DNA GO
1pc Orion User Manual
2pc 0.25ohm SS316L pods
1pc 0.5ohm SS316L pod
1pc Orion Gift Box
1pc Orion Lanyard
It’s worth pointing out that the manual explains how to use the device very well without being over complicated.
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Aesthetics and Ergonomics
I am not going to go into great detail as the device will be explained as the review goes on and plenty of pictures are included. The Orion Go is a small portable device which fits in the hand nicely or can be worn around the neck using the supplied lanyard. The Chassis is metal and comes in different frame colours and the panels come in various materials. I received The Blue frame with textured Carbon Fiber panels but there are a lot of options available. The Orion is made very solidly and really can’t fault it’s build quality.
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Orion Go Specs and Features:
Internal 950mAh Rechargeable Battery | ~450 Puffs Per Charge
Advanced Evolv DNA Go Board
Maximum Wattage Output: 40W
Replay Functionality – Green Light
Three Power Outputs: Low (White), Medium (Blue), High (Red)
Intuitive LED Lights – Proper Mode Assessment
Highly Responsive Firing & Adjustment Button
3mL Refillable Pod Cartridge Design
Each Pod Lasts About 400 Puffs Per Pod
Proprietary Pod Cartridge Installation
0.25ohm SS316L Orion Pod – Vapor-Focused
0.5ohm SS316L Coil Pod – Flavor-Focused
MTL Delrin Drip Tip
Dual Adjustable Airflow – Located Below Drip Tip
Micro USB Port – Charge & Firmware Upgrade via Escribe
Short-Circuit Protection
Weak Battery Protection
Temperature Protection
Low/High Resistance Protection
Colors: Silver Ocean Scallop, Black Ocean Scallop, Gold Gold Abalone, Blue New Zealand Abalone, Silver Textured Carbon Fiber, Black Textured Carbon Fiber, Gold Textured Carbon Fiber, Blue Textured Carbon Fiber
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The Pods
There are two different pods available for the Orion which are a Flavour pod which has a 0.5ohm SS316L coil and a Vapor pod which has a 0.25ohm SS316L coil. Of late only receiving one pod with pod devices is becoming the unfortunate trend so a big pro for the fact you receive 3 with the Orion, 1 0.5ohm and 2 0.25ohm pods. The pods fix into place via a catch that has a release switch on the side of the device towards the top, the switch and locking mechanism seems very durable and the pod snaps into place very securely. The whole of the pod is visible so viewing your liquid level should be easy but here we see a big con as the pod is darkly tinted and not very easy at all to see the liquid inside. The pod has a proprietary delrin drip tip which is very comfortable between the lips, we also have adjustable airflow which is found at the base of the drip tip. The airflow control is dual mini cyclops and there is some texturing for grip, it moves quite freely without being loose enough to move by accident but has no stopper. Also on the top of the pod we have a cap with texturing for grip, this is for filling the pod so another big pro, top-fill so the pod doesn’t need removing to fill. The threading on the cap is good and an o-ring completes the seal, the fill hole is very generous so even glass droppers will be fine with it. The pods hold 2ml of e-liquid and when filling you can see the juice level but not as easy as you should be able to (damn tinted pods).
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Using The Orion
The Orion is an advanced pod system with plenty of options and a real enthusiasts playground when used in conjunction with Escribe. It is a simple device to use and has been set-up to be able to use including with the Replay feature without using the Escribe software so you can enjoy the device even if you are not the sought that wants to mess around with software. As mentioned with the Escribe software loads can be messed with but for the purpose of this review i will keep it simple and just cover the device as it is straight out the box. On one side of the device you have a round fire button towards the top and a horizontal pill shaped mode button towards the bottom, above this is an LED indicator light. The device can be locked and unlocked with 5 clicks of the fire button and with the device unlocked 2 quick clicks of the fire button shows the battery status. The battery status indication is really spot on in my opinion and is the following:
Light Blue = 95% – 100%
Green = 70% – 95%
Yellow = 30% – 70%
Red = 15% – 30%
Red Blinking = 0% – 15%
The Orion auto detects the resistance of the coil in the pod and adjusts the output accordingly giving the option of three power settings. When it detects the flavour pod is inserted (0.5ohm pod) it gives 3 power settings options for MTL mode and when it detects the Vapor pod is inserted (0.25ohm pod) it gives 3 power settings options for DL mode. Of course as mentioned in this review i am not going to go into detail but all these power settings can be altered along with the before mentioned battery status indication and a host of other things using Escribe and the device is actually rated right up to 40w but i will stick to out the box settings. You can change your power setting by simply pressing the mode button, each press takes you to the next setting and the setting you are on is indicated by the colour of the LED. In MTL mode White is 8 watts, Blue is 10 watts and Red is 11 watts, when in DL mode White is 11 watts, Blue is 13 watts and finally Red is 15 watts. The device also comes with the Replay feature setup out the box which means the Orion is constantly recording every hit you take, when you take a vape (it doesn’t matter what power setting you are using) which hits the spot just long press the mode button until the LED goes Green, you are now in Replay mode and the recorded vape is duplicated over and over again, another long press of the mode button takes you out of Replay and back to normal operation.
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Replay Mode
Replay is still quite a new feature which was introduced by Evolv when they released the DNA 75C chipset and has been met with great enthusiasm. Some say it’s temp control, others say it’s something quite different and to be honest all i know is temperature plays a big part in it’s calculations and it includes anti dry hit technology. Replay is a flavour based feature which you choose to save a recorded puff when the vape and flavour is just how you like it, once a recorded puff is “Replayed” it gives the same recorded puff over and over so if certain recorded calculations can’t be met will compensate in other areas of the calculation so the flavour and vape quality should remain the same. Once setup (which is simple) Replay is a pain free user friendly feature unlike full temp control while still giving the same anti dry hit technology. On the Orion it doesn’t even need setting up, that’s already been done so it can be used straight out the box. The replay feature i love and rarely use my Lost Vape Mirage unless i have it in Replay mode.
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My Experience Using The Orion Go
I like the Orion Go a lot and the types of draws you can achieve suit my preferred style of vaping but it does need pointing out despite it being marketed as both MTL and DL the only MTL you can achieve is a very loose draw even with the airflow closed right down. The adjustable airflow does work well but the cyclops nature of it really just gives varying restricted lung draws and the very loose MTL draw you can get works equally as well with both pods on all out the box settings. Using the Escribe software the device can be tailored to suit your preference and personally i enjoy using the software and altering settings. The flavour is very good but there are pod devices that give better flavour i also found the pods took about a pods worth of liquid to break in properly. I believe the break in time is due to their being quite a lot of cotton and i also found using any liquid higher than 50/50 in VG and vaping continuously did give wicking issues. So if your preference is low wattage DL vaping and you like being able to mess with settings and experimenting then the Orion Go could be right up your street, mind it’s far from cheap especially for a pod device. The 950mAh battery gave really good life which for some reason seemed to be even better when using Replay, the claimed charge in 45 mins is well off the mark though as i found it took nearly double that but still 950mAh charged within an hour and a half while supporting pass-through is acceptable in my opinion.
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Likes
Very good build quality
Pocket friendly, comfortable in hand
Comfortable drip tip
Adjustable airflow
Plenty of color options
3 pods included
Aesthetically pleasing
Aesthetically unique looking (at the time of release)
Large Battery (compared to average pod device)
Battery charges in about 1.5 hours (fair)
Supports Pass-through
Very good battery status indication
Pods fit with durable catch (release switch on side of device)
Pods fit very securely
Top fill with generous fill port
Auto detects resistance and alters power setting accordingly
3 power settings
Device can be locked
Can be used with Escribe software (becomes an enthusiasts playground)
Replay feature
Cons
Poor wicking with high VG liquids
Tinted Pods (juice level difficult to see)
Not really MTL, Very loose MTL at best
More expensive than other pod devices (including pod price)
I would once again like to thank Cortana from the Healthcabin for supplying the Lost Vape Orion DNA GO Starter Kit for the purpose of this review.
