GEEK VAPE LUCID 80W & LUMI MESH KIT REVIEW

When you first look at the GeekVape Lucid mod, you’ll think it’s a beginner device. Maybe it was the orange and grey two-tone design, or the diminutive size and feel. But no matter how it looks, GeekVape packed this compact 80-watt mod with a ton of power and features, running on just a single 18650 battery. Let’s dive into a quick overview.

The Lucid features the well-known (and proven) AS chipset, which gives users multiple output options in a small body size. More importantly, the chipset gives the Lucid near-instant firing speed (allegedly reaching 0.001s – not measured by us) without ever becoming overly hot or misfiring. The Lucid also provides an extensive temperature control suite, with support for nickel, titanium and stainless steel  options. All of this comes from a solitary 18650 battery, yet the device can hit up to 80 watts.

Despite the two-tone, contrasting color scheme and small frame size, the Lucid’s chassis is made of a durable, but lightweight zinc alloy material. This gives it a confident, hefty feeling in the palm, but still light enough to comfortably fit in a pocket without any concern.

The exterior finish is pretty high-quality stuff, more than capable of handling day to day use without much concern. However, I did notice paint wearing off the bright orange surface of my test model after a few days of carrying it in my pocket, and one unfortunate drop from 3-4 feet. Nothing tragic, but those looking for tougher exteriors might want to give the Lucid a test drive before making the purchase.

The top-loading battery chamber is a throwback to earlier days of vaping, but the threading is smooth, and the 18650 cell sits inside the compartment without any noticeable rattle.

My only real concern is the ridiculously narrow OLED display, which makes it difficult to see anything of value, especially in daylight. I realize that the aesthetic here was clean and unadorned, but no design concept should ever interfere with functionality, and I didn’t enjoy struggling to see my power output or settings.

Standout Features

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the GeekVape Lucid kit is the tank/atomizer setup included in the box – a disposable, mid-wattage sub-ohm offering that bears the Lumi name.  The Lucid is actually the second device I’ve received this month that has a disposable-style sub-ohm tank included. Aaaaaaaaaand……. I’m not sure it’s the direction this industry needs to go.

On paper, the Lumi tank (which has a clear exterior, hence the kit name) seems like it hits all the right notes – easy and convenient top-fill format, 4mL capacity, three-hole airflow and a mesh coil pre-installed.

The problem? If your coil is bad, the entire rig needs to be disposed, since there’s no obvious way to take things apart for cleaning or repair. Maybe the materials are cheap and even biodegradable, but none of this seems very user-friendly or cost-effective in the long-term.

In practice, the Lumi tank works well enough, with initially rich flavor and thick vapor. But this performance is fleeting, only giving me a few days of really strong output before starting to wave the white flag. I received a second tank, which was used under more moderate testing conditions, and the tank still began to wane within a work week. Not really that impressive – and because it’s disposable, it doesn’t really help the “cheap” feeling that pervades the entire kit.

Vaping the GeekVape Lucid Kit

Overall, I was alternately surprised and disappointed by the Lucid. On one hand, the AS chipset is definitely a potent board, capable of bringing the coil to temp in record time, even on one 18650 cell. No matter which tank is attached, I enjoyed near-immediate draws, with quick rushes of flavor and vapor every time. And this was done on mid-wattage settings.

However, the Lucid began to show its inexperience when trying to push it a little. While it technically hits 80 watts on a single cell, it does so with RAPIDLY depleting battery performance, once tapping out after less than an hour of moderate vaping at its max wattage. At 40-50 watts, performance becomes much more reasonable, giving a solid half day of vaping on a single charge. But why even have the 80-watt max if it’s going to deplete the performance this dramatically?

Also, while the AS chipset also features temperature control, bypass and TCR modes, I had a tough time locking things for a consistent vape in any mode but straight wattage. I imagine most users won’t venture out of wattage mode anyway, but again – why feature these things if it’s going to be so inconsistent? Truthfully, I was surprised, considering GeekVape’s lineage and reputation.

When staying in its lane, the Lucid offers a solid, altogether decent vape that does some things very well. But like Icarus flying too close to the sun, it just tries to be too many things, when it should have kept it simple.

Spinfuel VAPE Recommendation and Score

I wanted to like this little 80-watt kit. And I was even willing to forgive the fact that it’s really more of a 50-watt kit with some overhead. But what I can’t forgive is middling battery life, jittery performance in most of its modes, and a pretty cheap, disposable tank that doesn’t do much to justify the new format. It just doesn’t seem economical or ecologically friendly, nor does it vape extremely well.

Our suggestion? Check one out with MULTIPLE atomizers to see if the Lucid is a device you want to bring into your collection. But I just can’t recommend it with this many red flags, no matter how forward-thinking the company thinks it is.