It needs to be said that this 220W box mod, the Eleaf Saurobox is made from a lightweight plastic with a semi-resin pattern engulfing 100% of the body. Its 0.96 vertically oriented color TFT display is on the lo-res as side of today’s displays. And while its operation is fairly straightforward, 5 clicks on/off 3 clicks to the menu,  it’s the quality of vape experience that dictates the day. Or does it?  Eleaf includes the ELLO DURO High-Performance Sub-Ohm Tank with this Starter Kit, and together the results are very good, but that was hardly the mod’s doing. And unlike the last Eleaf review, the Lexicon, even the 510-connector is off-center. Let’s take a longer look at this starter kit.

The Saurobox is one of the ugliest box mods I’ve reviewed in a long time. It’s looks are incredibly ‘basic’, a true definition of “BOX MOD”, and the attempt at creating some super-hot “resin” mod is a big fail.

It’s also about $10 too much (perhaps due to the USA’s ill-conceived Chinese Tariff?), even with the excellent ELLO DURO Tank. The tank is a plain silver color (stainless-steel) with a resin wide bore drip tip on all color versions of the Saurobox (Sour Box??) except the so-called “Black” color, which Eleaf has decided to include a Black ELLO DURO Tank.

Back in August we reviewed the Eleaf Lexicon Starter Kit (reviewed here) which also included the ELLO DURO Tank, but as a part of the Lexicon starter kit, each tank was available in a matching color of the mod, red ELLO DURO with the red Lexicon, and so on.

With a maximum wattage output of 235W on two 18650 batteries, it earned a B+ score from the reviewer, which was fair. But here, the Saurobox starter kit is a full $20 more than the Lexicon, with 15 watts less, a plain version of the ELLO DURO, and an all plastic body versus the Lexicon’s zinc-alloy body, and 7 modes of vaping against the Saurobox’s 3 modes, VW, TC, and TCR. I’m not loving the Lexicon’s chassis design any more than I am the Saurobox, but the Lexicon is a far better choice. Thankfully, both Kits are available at Element Vape.

The Eleaf Saurobox Starter Kit is a box mod and sub-ohm tank featuring a temperature control suite, TCR, and a maximum wattage output of 220W. Eleaf once again chose to include the ELLO DURO Sub-Ohm Tank, in a basic silver or black finish and a clear bubble glass with a maximum eJuice capacity of 6.5mL.

The Saurobox Mod uses a pattern that can only be described as ‘rocky’ or ‘scale’ themed to create a unique standout appearance. As I said above, to me these patterns on lightweight plastic parts are on the ugly side.

The Eleaf ELLO DURO Sub-Ohm Tank

The Eleaf ELLO DURO Tank features a default bubble glass section that allows for a full 6.5mL maximum eJuice capacity and has a nicely done retractable top-fill design. There is a small flush notch design that indicates where the user pushes the top cap to reveal a large fill slot. Once filled, the user pushes the top cap back into place and it’s ready to go. The removable resin 810 Wide Bore Drip Tip is an attractive plus to an otherwise ordinary version of the ELLO DURO.

There are three (3) bottom airflow slots, that provide more than enough air for deep, long hits and a higher wattage setting without warming up the vapor too much. In fact, with the 3 airflow slots wide open, the draw might be a bit too airy, at least it was for me. Closed about half way gives this reviewer a slightly tighter draw and a more intense flavor from the thick, abundant clouds of vapor.

The ELLO DURO uses the HW-N Series Coils, which so far (10 days) has held up well. Eleaf introduces two new coils with the ELLO DURO, a 0.2ohm HW-N Net Kanthal Coil with a wattage range of 40 to 90W, and a 0.15ohm HW-M Multi-hole Kanthal Coil with a range of 50 to 100W (the default coil). With the default coil my optimal wattage was 86W, with the spare coil, it was 66W. Since both are Kanthal coils, there wasn’t a need to use the dying-on-the-vine temperature control suite, nor the TCR function.

Vaping the Eleaf Saurobox Mod and ELLO DURO Sub-Ohm provided an excellent vape, due mostly to the ELLO DURO. The Saurobox Mod weighs just 4.8 ounces, so holding the mod with the tank it felt slightly top heavy. My go-to mod and tank are the YiHi SXmini G Class (reviewed here)and the SMOK Prince Cobra Sub-Ohm (reviewed here), and I admit that this may have affected the annoyingly light weight when using the Eleaf Saurobox Mod.

The real winner here is Eleaf’s excellent ELLO DURO. But even here, we’re not given much choice as to the finish or color of tank, unless we all opt for the Black Saurobox.

Don’t mistake my dislike of the weight, colors, and boxy design of the Saurobox mod for indications of the final score I will give this starter kit. From 10 days of usage I found the Saurobox mod to perform well, not a single misfire, and the ramp up time was fast enough.

However, making a box mod today is a rather simple thing. All that is required is a decent chipset to run the modes and the safety protections. The body of the mod makes little difference, except for the importance of venting the batteries, and the Saurobox seems to have no discernible venting. Still, no matter how much time I spent vaping the mod it never got warm, so I felt safe enough. (though there should have been some real vents).

The question becomes how to score a starter kit that provides a very decent vape, but the reason has more to do with the fine sub-ohm tank more than the mod itself? I’ve been vaping for years and this is not a starter kit I would spend money on. As I said at the beginning, the Eleaf Saurobox is about as basic as it gets, and I expect more.

With all the products available for the same price, and less, there are better choices out there. Browse through our Vape Gear category for reviews on all the latest starter kits and you’ll see what I mean.

SCORE:

Eleaf Saurobox Mod – D

Eleaf ELLO DURO Tank – A

Starter Kit – C