Had I not received a few SMOK Resa Prince Sub-Ohm Tanks at the same time I received the SMOK H-PRIV 2 Kits, I would feel a whole lot better about the H-PRIV 2 Kit coming with a TFV12 Big Baby Prince. Now, I think this Starter Kit may have been a mistake.

Seeing the Resa Prince in person, using it for days, reviewing it, and vaping with it on the body of the H-PRIV 2, it would have been a much better idea to coordinate things on SMOKTech’s part and ship the H-PRIV 2 Kit with the Resa Prince as part of the Starter Kit and not the Big Baby Prince.

Unfortunately that did not happen, and as such it has to be acknowledged that the SMOKTech Playbook did not serve the consumer’s best interest in this situation, and that ultimately changes my score from an A for the Starter Kit, to a B+.

For those of you that don’t follow every new release from SMOK, the Big Baby Prince, not to be confused with the Baby Prince or the full-size TFV12 Prince, is (for now) a special version of the Prince that follows the same rollout of the TFV8 Sub-Ohm Tank Series from SMOK. Like the TFV8 Series, the first tank was the Cloud Beast, then the Baby Beast, then the Big Baby Beast.

With regards to the TFV12 Prince Series, the rollout began with the TFV12 Prince, then the Baby Prince, followed by the Big Baby Prince. Sadly, it was inevitable that the next H-PRIV from SMOK would stick with the Playbook, which calls for the Big Baby Prince, despite the H-PRIV 2 taking the same cobra pattern design que’s from Resa Prince.

Let’s look at the Specs for Both the Resa Prince and the Big Baby Prince… Note that the H-PRIV 2 is 84mm by 52mm by 27mm – the 27mm is the maximum width for the atomizer before it suffers some overhang with a tank larger than 27mm. The Resa Prince fits…

TFV12 Resa Prince

• Total Size – 30mm by 58mm

• 26mm Diameter Base – fits the H-PRIV 2 with 1mm to spare
  • 30mm Diameter with Bubble Glass Tank Section
• Threaded Top Fill System
  • Two Large Fill Ports
• 7.5ml Max Standard Capacity
  • With Bulb Glass Tank Section
• SMOK V12 Prince Coil Family

TFV12 Big Baby Prince

• 24.5mm Diameter Base
  • 28mm at Widest Point
• Hinge and Lock Top Fill System
  • Swivels Open and Shut
  • Fill Port
• 6ml Max Convex Glass Capacity
• SMOK V8 Baby Coil Family

The most important aspect between the Resa and the Big Baby is the fact that the Resa uses the full-size TFV12 Prince Replacement Coils, whereas the Big Baby Prince uses the V8-Baby Replacement Coils. From a performance standpoint, that’s huge. No matter what you may think of the smaller Prince Sub-Ohms, the full-size Prince outperforms them both every time. The main reason for that is the full-size Coils.

Since the SMOK H-PRIV 2 has a wattage range of 1W to 225Wand a coil resistance range of 0.1-ohm to 2.5-ohm, both the V8-Baby and the V12-Prince Coils would work perfectly well. The Big Baby supports 6mL of e-juice, the Resa supports 7.5mL.

The biggest reason the SMOK H-PRIV 2 Starter Kit should have included the TFV12 Resa Prince is that both the Resa and the H-PRIV have an elaborate cobra pattern design throughout. To put it simply; they look like they were made for each other. See the photos included in this review to see how well they match.

So far, the SMOK H-PRIV 2 is the only SMOKTech Vape Mod that carries forward the cobra pattern design on the full exterior of the Mod. Yes, the SMOK X-PRIV and even the special edition Majesty Cobra has a cobra pattern design on the backside battery compartment panel, and yes, the Resa Prince looks great on the X-PRIV and Majesty Cobra as well, but the H-PRIV 2 is all cobra.

The bottom line is that the SMOK Resa Prince would have been a better choice for the H-PRIV 2 Starter Kit. And now that I’ve beaten that factor to death, it’s time to look at the H-PRIV 2 as a Vape Mod.

As you can see below, the H-PRIV 2 is smaller, overall, than its earlier model. 3mm thinner, 7.5mm shorter, and 2mm wider doesn’t sound like much, but if you own the earlier H-PRIV you’ll notice the smaller footprint of the v2 instantly. The new H-PRIV feels better when gripping it, more ergonomic, actually softer with less sharp edges, and the firing panel isn’t as elaborate, but still tactile and functional. Read our Review for original H-PRIV.

• 55m x 25mm x 91mm – H-PRIV 220W Mod V1 
• 52mm x 27mm x 84.5mm – H-PRIV 2 225W Mod V2

The SMOK H-PRIV 2 uses the latest SMOK Chipset that not only expands and increases the wattage output, it has a three-setting output mode (hard, normal, soft), plus upgradeable firmware. Like the original H-PRIV, the H-PRIV 2 is also a top mounted display, an HD OLED screen that displays essential information to the user. The OLED HD display looks smaller than the original OLED display on the first H-PRIV, but on closer inspection I believe it looks that way because there is less room on the top of the Mod, so it’s all sort of scrunched together. A little color might have been nice, but the new H-PRIV 2 is strictly a monochrome display.

The SMOK H-PRIV 2 includes a newer, more accurate and comprehensive temperature control suite that features adjustable TCR and preheat capability, making the H-PRIV 2a more capable and versatile device over the original.

The user has full control over adjustments by way of implementing the two adjustment buttons that sit at the top of the side panel (opposite the firing panel) very close to the top-mounted screen. Using the firing panel to get into the menu system (3-clicks), the user navigates through the adjustment buttons.

The H-PRIV 2 is a dual high-amp 18650 cell Mod (sold separately). The cells (batteries) arehoused under the bottom latch access door. (unlike the original, the battery latch is not removable). Pulling the latch door forward to release, the batteries pop in and out quickly, and the latch door fastens again securely, without fumbling as we all did with the original H-PRIV.

The new SMOK TFV12 Big Baby Prince Sub-Ohm Tank completes the H-PRIV 2 Starter Kit. The body design of the TFV12 Big Baby Prince measuring 24.5mm at the base and 26mm at the widest point. It uses the new press to openTop Fill Swing Hinge System, with a single fill port and a maximum tank capacity of 6mL with the convex glass and 5mL with the standard spare glass tube.

The Big Baby Prince in this Kit comes with the following coils, the V8 Big Baby-Q4 0.4 ohm, rated at 30 to 65W and recommended at 50 to 60W, the new V8 Big Baby T8 0.15 ohm, rated at 50 to 110W and recommended at 60 to 80W.

Airflow for the TFV12 Big Baby Prince comes up from around the base of the tank, allowing for ample airflow, allowing for a higher wattage setting. The battery life of the H-PRIV 2 when using the TFV12 Big Baby Prince is very good. It would not surprise me to learn that SMOK’s latest chipset has improved battery management as well as several other factors.

All the standard safety features are here in the H-PRIV 2, see below for a list of all the specs and features of the H-PRIV 2 and the Big Baby Prince.

The H-PRIV 2 is a fine looking Vape Mod. The Cobra pattern is gorgeous, and the color selections are deep, saturated, and glossy. I picked up the Blue, Green, and Red models, and each demonstrate the forward momentum of SMOKTech as it moves through 2018 releases better and better devices. Well, except for the Starter Kit, which I’ve already explained should have been packaged with the Resa Prince for an even more formidable Vape Experience.

There’s no two ways about it; the Resa Prince is a better Sub-Ohm Tank than the Big Baby Prince, and with the option of using a full-size V12-Prince-Q4 or X6, this is the tank that can pull all the performance from the H-PRIV 2 that’s possible to pull.

However, the Kit version is about $70, and includes a Prince tank that is otherwise not available to buy (yet), while the Mod alone is about $50-$55.  The Resa Prince is a $34 Sub-Ohm Tank, so if you’re looking for a new Mod and Tank you’ll save money on purchasing the H-PRIV 2 Kit. If you don’t mind spending a little more, perhaps buying the H-PRIV 2 Mod and then purchasing a matching (color) Resa Prince will provide an even better vape experience.

SCORE

The SMOK H-PRIV 2 Mod – A

The SMOK Big Baby Prince – B

Final Starter Kit Score – B+

The optional SMOK Resa Prince – A+

(Had SMOK shipped the H-PRIV 2 Kit with a matching Resa Prince the Kit score would have been an A+)