Vaporesso SWAG II Kit with NRG PE Tank Review

In this review i take a look at the SWAG II 80W Mod Kit with NRG PE Tank from Vaporesso. The Vaporesso SWAG II 80W Mod Kit with NRG PE Tank was supplied for the purpose of this review by the Healthcabin.

Introduction

The Swag II has been out a while now and was the long awaited upgrade to the original Swag, my review coincides with the release of some new colour/design options although the one i received is an original colour.

The original Swag many believed was the smallest and lightest single 18650 device at the time and had a side positioned navigational rocker and both a fire and mode button along with the screen on it’s face.

The Swag II keeps these features along with the same light weight, small form factor and Pico style top battery cap but has the same anti skid finish and operating system as the Gen so many who might not be familiar with the original Swag will see this as a baby Gen!

My standard kit came paired with the NRG PE while the TPD version comes with the SE variant of the NRG tank and has mentioned the device includes all the bells and whistles features of the Gen including Pulse, Smart TC and Eco Modes, let’s give it a look!

Aesthetics and Ergonomics

The Swag II arrived in the usual style of cardboard box packaging that Vaporesso products come in and i received the Rose version and although i personally have no issues with Pink (the new black) this actually starts Black at the bottom and fuses into a deep Rose colour which is almost Red! The original colour options are Rose, Green, Purple, Silver, Black, Blue and Red, while the new colour/designs are Flame Red, Phantom, Lava, Zebra Yellow, Camo Grey and Carbon Fiber.

The device keeps the same light and small ergonomic form factor as the original Swag, with Pico style protruding battery cap up top. The device has the same anti-skid finish as the Gen giving it as much a baby Gen look but still stays true to the original Swag with side navigational rocker and both fire and mode buttons on it’s face.

The main form factor difference is on one side to the front of the device we have a bulging curve which in my opinion adds to the form factor aesthetically, as for describing the device in anymore detail i will leave that to the photos!

The Differences Between The Swag And Swag II?

As well as obviously having the latest chipset and features which is a big difference between the 2 devices as the gap between the two releases must of been about three years the other obvious difference is the Gen like anti-skid finish.

The other main differences is the buttons protrude more, this is most noticeable with the side rocker as on the Swag this was indented into the side and even though i have quite small fingers i found it awkward so it must of been a real issue for someone with chubby fingers, now not an issue at all. Finally we have that front curved bulge which is the difference between on the Swag II being able to fit up to 25mm tanks rather than being limited to 22mm which was the case with the original Swag!

NRG PE Tank Overview

*TPD version comes with NRG SE 2ml tank

The NRG PE Tank is yet another rendition of the NRG tank which seem to of been around as long as Vaporesso, it takes the GT coils which have grown into a vast range of coil heads. It’s diameter is 25mm and has a capacity of 3.5ml and for this reason the TPD Kit comes with the SE version of the tank which has a smaller diameter and 2ml capacity (a 4.5ml bubble glass is available).

We have large dual cyclops airflow on the base which also has nice machined knurling and this base section screws off, well actually it’s the top of the coil head that unscrews from the chimney. Once the base is unscrewed the coil head can just be screwed in or out the base section! You do receive spare 0-rings and fill gasket as well as two different coil heads but unfortunately no spare glass!

Specifications and Features

The Coils

As mentioned like other versions of the NRG tanks both the PE and SE take the GT family of coils of which two are included which are the 0.15 dual mesh recommended from 50 to 75W and the 0.5ohm CCELL which has SS wire so can be used in TC which is recommended between 25 and 35w.

There are plenty of other coil options available:

Fitting The Battery

The Swag II accommodates a single 18650 battery which gets fitted by unscrewing the battery cap situated on the top opposite the 510 plate. This is a real space saving way of fitting a battery as part of the battery can protrude higher than the main body allowing for a smaller device. Orientation is both labelled at the bottom of the battery tube and underside of the cap and although quite often i find the threading a bit crunchy with this style of battery cap on the Swag II i received it screws on and off very smoothly, nice job!

The Display

We have a real contradiction with the Swag II being such a feature rich innovative device yet as a very basic Old School style screen which still appeals to many and i believe this is quite deliberate as it makes the whole device less overwhelming and quite easy to navigate.

The screen is bright and sharp and the brightness can be adjusted. Top left we have a single battery bar and also within the battery status bar we have the remaining charge given as a percentage. Underneath the battery bar we have the resistance and then below the resistance the puff counter which shows the duration of your vape when firing. Central and taking up most of the display we have the wattage, temperature or voltage depending which mode you are in and then top right we have the mode.

Navigating The Swag II

The Swag II is the usual 5 clicks of the fire button to turn on and 5 clicks to turn off and once on 3 clicks of the fire button locks and unlocks the navigational and mode buttons but when locked the device will still fire. Holding down both the mode and fire buttons together brings up an information screen giving serial number and firmware version.

The menu is very old school giving a row of icons which when you try to carry on scrolling past the last one displayed if there are any more in that section then the others appear on the screen, the last icon is always exit and also having a mode button the whole system is easy to navigate even if sounding complicated when i try to explain it.

To enter the menu you can either long press the mode button or click it 3 times and it brings up the following options, Pulse mode, Power Eco, Smart TC, DIY Mode, System Set and Exit.

Choosing either Pulse mode, Power Eco or Smart TC takes you to that working screen and i will go through these features later. Choosing DIY Mode brings up the following options Variable wattage, Variable Temperature, Variable Voltage, Custom Wattage Curve, Bypass, Super Player Mode and Exit.

Curves, Variable Voltage and Bypass are all straightforward and Super player mode is a feature that Vaporesso have included for a while now where it allows you to fire down to 0.03ohm and something i really don’t care for. Choosing Variable Wattage gives you the choice of Normal, Soft or Hard pre-heats and Variable Temperature first allows you to choose your wire type and then allows you to alter the TCR, set wattage for temp control and lock resistance.

The Final option in the main menu is System Settings which allows you to reset your puff counter, set vape time allowed, adjust brightness, turn smart wattage on or off, flip the screen, turn automatic eco on or off, set device to default and finally bring up the same information screen that can be accessed with the mode and fire button together from the working screen.

The device adjusts in 0.1W increments from 5W right up to 80W but if you hold the button it switches to 1w increments and moves at a speed of knots but it doesn’t round robin.

The New Modes

Well not actually new anymore as they first appeared on the Gen but still worth another look. I do find the fact the device by default is in Pulse mode and the first tier of the menu system is the three new modes and to use the standard Wattage, Temperature modes etc are further within the menu system a little strange. I do understand why it’s been done this way as Vaporesso are showing faith in these new features and trying to push them but i still think it should of been done the other way around. The more i use devices with the Axon chipset though the more i enjoy these new features and see it less of an issue!

Pulse Mode

The idea of Pulse Mode is to give you more consistent power so instead of your initial fire which once it hits set wattage can dip in Pulse mode it’s continuously firing every 0.02 seconds up to 500 times in one vape giving consistent power.

Pulse Mode is the Swag II’s default mode!

Power Eco Mode

When in Power Eco Mode it optimises your settings despite that you are still setting the settings, if you are in other modes it will also ask if you want the device to use Eco Mode when the battery life gets down to 40%.

Why when it sill uses your settings does it become so much more efficient and why not efficient in the first place? I can only go by my experience but i have used this mode on both the Gen and Gen Nano and have noticed little if any improvement in battery life!

Smart TC

When using Smart TC and you first attach your atomizer it fires the atomizer for a micro second and scans the information. It recognises wire type and ohms extra and automatically gives the best TC settings for that coil. When using Pulse mode it also fires and scans the atomiser and if it’s a TC coil asks if you want to use Smart TC, likewise if you have the device in Smart TC mode and the atomizer you attach doesn’t have a TC compatible coil it will jump the device out of Smart TC and into Pulse Mode. I absolutely love this mode and have used it with the Gen often and tried it out with the included CCELL with this kit and it works great!

Protections

• Overtime Protection
• Overheat Protection
• Short Circuit Protection
• USB Input Protection
• No Load Protection
• Overcharging Protection
• Resistance Protection

Charging

As always i never recommend charging the battery in the device unless it’s your only option although if you do the Swag II supports 2A charging so will charge very quickly, sadly not a Type C port though!

My Experience Using The Swag II Kit And Thoughts!

What a great little kit this is, so small and compact with such a nice ergonomic feel yet can accommodate up to 25mm tanks. The NRG Tanks have been used as kit tanks for years by Vaporesso and there must be half a dozen different variants but they all take the GT coils which are amongst the best stock coils available and the GT family range has grown to be vast.

The NRG PE tank was slightly loud but the airflow was smooth across the board, i have used both coils previously and the 0.15ohm dual mesh coil head i find suited to a semi restricted draw which is airflow three quarters open at 60w which gives a warm flavoursome vape. On this occasion i used the 0.5ohm CCELL as it’s one of my favourite stock coils available period and this i always vape at 28W with airflow half open for a tight restricted direct lung vape, flavour is excellent!

The star of the show is the Swag II which isn’t surprising as it functions like a smaller Gen which many quoted as “best mod of the year” in 2019. I like the Pulse Mode idea and indeed it does give a very consistent vape with no drop in power but then the Omni chipset i always found did that in normal power mode so i did also compare to the normal variable wattage mode on the device and although this is not a con for the Pulse mode but more of a plus for the Axon chip in general i could tell absolutely no difference between pulse mode and normal wattage.

All the usual modes worked great including curves and having variable voltage is another plus, i didn’t use the normal TC but absolutely love the Smart TC mode which worked great for me and allows vapers to vape in TC without having to set anything.

I also love the looks and feel of the device and it’s lightweight allows it to be a great option for out and about especially for MTL vapers using a MTL RTA. All the buttons including the fire button have a nice quiet cushioned feel that oozes quality and it fires in an instant with great ramp up whichever mode you use.

I also like how the form factor has been slightly altered from the original to allow up to 25mm tanks to fit and the more protruding buttons means navigating the device is so much easier compared to the original Swag with it’s indented side navigational rocker.

It’s a bit disappointing this doesn’t have Type C USB but it does support both 2A charging and pass-through, the device is also firmware upgradeable.

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Likes

• Good build quality
• Grippy textured rubber finish
• Finish seems very durable
• Ergonomic portable device
• 7 Original colours
• 6 New Colour/Design options
• Lightweight
• Old school, sharp bright display
• Easy to navigate
• Battery status shown both as a bar and as a percentage
• Mode Button
• Feature rich
• Variable Wattage, Voltage, TC, Bypass, SP Mode and Wattage Curve.
• Pulse Mode
• Power Eco Mode (not convinced)
• Smart TC (Loved using this mode)
• Performed excellently
• Space saving top battery cap
• Accommodates up to 25mm tanks
• Firmware Upgradeable
• NRG PE and SE are very good performing sub-ohm tanks
• Rotate open top-fill method
• 2 different GT coil heads included
• Compatible with complete range of GT coil heads
• 2A charging
• Supports pass-through
• Firmware upgradeable

Cons

• If fitting own 510 due to raised rim some will look funky
• Tank a little loud
• No spare glass included
• Not type C USB
• Not convinced by Eco Mode

I would once again like to thank the Healthcabin for supplying the Vaporesso SWAG II 80W Mod Kit with NRG PE Tank for the purpose of this review, thanks for reading and stay safe!

This review was written by Tim from ECF, Vapingunderground, Vapingcommunity, vapinginsider & Reddit, click to view original review there with more pictures.