VAPORESSO REVENGER 220W TC STARTER KIT REVIEW

Why so angry, Vaporesso? You’d think the venerable vape mod company would be happy, considering it just released its first entry into the growing 200+ watt marketplace – and a decent one, to boot, the new Vaporesso Revenger! Instead, we get a “tough” sounding name for a polished, streamlined kit, that mostly does what its target audience needs.

But is “mostly” enough when so many competitors are sharing the same shelf space? That all depends on what you’re looking for. Let’s see why.

Just by glancing at the well-crafted, eye-catching box, it’s pretty clear that Vaporesso’s target of revenge is SMOK, and its ever-growing line of Alien mods and offshoots. It’s with good reason – SMOK’s flagship mods may not be perfect, but they have outlasted countless other imitators, and are only gaining shelf space nearly 18 months after hitting the market. If you’re gonna fire, aim high, I say.

Opening the box, the Revenger might actually be more attractive than the dramatic photography lets on, with a weighty, but polished frame that expertly blends glossy and matte sections. The beveled corners stay true to the design concept of Vaporesso’s line, but are less angular here, broadening their appeal who find coffin-shaped mods to be off-putting.

At 45mm wide by 89mm tall and 28mm deep, the Revenger is capable of holding the lion’s share of today’s tanks and RDAs without overhang, while the center-mounted, spring-loaded 510 connector ensures they sit nice and snug. The end result is a mod that will stand out in your collection, while still feeling good in the hands, and in your pockets.

I tried a wide range of tanks and RDAs on the Revenger, and only one – a veritable relic of an RTA by modern standards – failed to sit flush. But even this­ gap was negligible, and didn’t affect performance a bit.

The rest of the overall design is fairly standard, with a front-mounted screen, control buttons, and USB charge port, alongside a strong, tight magnetic battery door that houses two 18650s in series. The screen itself seems a little boring, given the look of the device, but it clearly and accurately displays the information you need. Maybe my expectations were too high at this price point, but the screen’s lack of “pizzazz” stands out in all the wrong ways.

If you own white gloves, be prepared to use them. The high-sheen makeup of the Revenger all but guarantees fingerprints will be an omnipresent problem. But despite the excess of glossy sections, the mod never feels slippery, even when held by nervous hands.

It should be noted that the Revenger does have a center “option” button, which serves as a nice alternative to the standard “long-press the fire button” action/entry scheme. It’s an intuitive decision that makes a lot of sense once users begin navigating the menus (which, unfortunately, do not).

All the aesthetics in the world don’t matter if the Revenger doesn’t perform up to expectations, and I’m happy to report that, for the most part, Vaporesso has designed a solid workhorse. Using the all-new Omni 2.0 chipset, users will enjoy a fully fleshed suite of wattage, TC, and TCR modes, alongside bypass and CCR settings for those with more specific vaping preferences.

The most notable improvement with this chipset comes in the form on onboard 2.5 amp charging, with a “boost” feature that reduces charge time by up to 50%. I didn’t notice THAT much of an improvement, but my batteries did replenish in fairly short order, without any issues. That said, I don’t recommend making this a common practice, as the Revenger became uncomfortably warm when plugged in, and consistent 2.5 amp charging will only shorten the life of your cells.

Regardless of how they’re charged, the Revenger offers excellent battery life when compared to the Aliens and Predators of the world. Even after a solid four hours of steady vaping, menu adjustments and just trying new features, there was more than enough power left to take the Revenger on the town. When planning a night out, this should be on your short list of mods.

The temperature control on the original Omni board was excellent, and nothing has changed here. All common wire types are detected accurately, and the temperature remained on point no matter which coils I used.

User-controlled TCR modes are customizable by using the free Vaporesso software. However, it’s Windows-only, so Mac users and Linux nomads (like myself) will need to borrow a computer if they want to dabble in more precise customization.

Wattage mode is where I live, and I was very happy with how the Revenger performed at my preferred 70-90 watt range. The now-standard draw-strength settings are here, as well, and each offers distinctly different puff experiences, justifying their inclusion.

Though I skipped using bypass mode – if I wanted to vape a mechanical mod, I wouldn’t be using the Revenger – it is nice that Vaporesso is accommodating every possible type of vaper possible.

Vaporesso’s included NRG sub-ohm tank (does the name mean “Energy?” or “Enrage?”) is another area worth some bandwidth. Borrowing more than a few design cues from SMOK’s Beast tanks, the NRG is a juice-guzzling, cloud-heavy monster that looks right at home on the Revenger, alongside most any other mod in this category.

Sporting a fairly utilitarian top-fill/bottom airflow control format, the NRG offers little that vapers haven’t seen before. Its chunky grooved construction makes it easy to twist and open for swapping coils, and the airflow control ring does its job without slipping. Again, nothing new – just proven design.

This stocky 5mL tank has a few performance quirks of note. For starters, even with wide open airflow, there’s an audible whistle, and an unusual amount of drag. This is likely due to the built-in drip tip spitback filter, which does a decent job of protecting your lips against unwanted spatter, but also limits the potential of the tank.

The included GT4 (quad-core) and GT8 (octo-core) coils both share more than a few similarities with the Beast offerings. Yet, while these have relatively low resistances,  taking either of them north of 80 watts produces more heat than the airflow can handle, leading to dry, slightly burnt hits at higher temps.

Closing off the airflow a bit, and lowering the wattage helps to control the dryness, making the NRG a decent restricted-lung device, even if that wasn’t Vaporesso’s intention. Likewise, swapping drip-tips using the included adapter helped improve flavor a touch, while reducing drag, but I still never felt like the NRG ever got up to full speed.

As part of the kit, the NRG is a nice throw-in, especially with two coils, spare glass and the usual bag of goodies. It looks perfect atop the Revenger, and wouldn’t appear out of place on any other similarly sized mod. I tried it on several other devices and noticed the same steady performance throughout. That said, it felt best on the Revenger, which is where it will likely stay.

When all is said and done, the NRG is a solid, if un-spectacular performer that did its job without ever once leaking – a minor miracle in itself. I’ll probably keep the tank paired with the mod for aesthetics, but if you’re shopping around for a top sub-ohm tank in this range, your money would be better spent elsewhere.

Life with the Revenger wasn’t always solid, unfortunately. Like so many mods in this category, there are some glaring flaws that will help determine if Vaporesso’s latest stays in my rotation, or ends up in the growing dual-battery graveyard atop my desk.

I tested the mod most heavily with three atomizers – specifically, the Aspire Nautilus 2 for MTL, a Goon 25mm RDA for high wattages, and the afore-mentioned NRG sub-ohm tank. I am happy to report that performance was appropriate for each style of vaping, within reasonable wattages.

But there’s that word again – reasonable. Unfortunately, the Revenger joins an all-too-lengthy list of mods that overstate their actual power output. Though the mod didn’t present any warning signs or excessive heat, once I took the device past 170 watts using a 0.10 build on the Goon, I discovered a noticeable “pulse” in each button press, as if the board was straining to pump out the requested wattage.  The result was an inconsistent series of moderate puffs, and a weak series of extended puffs, with varying spikes of heat and vapor production.

Once again, marketing was given more focus than responsibility, and an otherwise strong mod earns a serious black mark. No, the Revenger never failed or even threw out a heat warning, but there are diminishing returns at high wattages.

Also, the menu system is obscenely clunky and unintuitive. Even though the center option button is a nice addition, the odd menu structure makes even the most basic tasks a chore. Actions as rudimentary as altering coil types in TC mode become a series of long and short button presses with no apparent rhyme or reason behind them.

In turn, if you accidentally pass a desired option, the system doesn’t allow a quick “back button” to return, instead requiring you to exit the sub-menu and re-enter the settings. Like any new technology, it becomes more accessible over time, but in a mod sporting an advanced chipset and forward-thinking looks, I shouldn’t be reminded of “the Provari days” when accessing system settings.

Finally, the Revenger’s graphical clock screen saver is a pretty distinguished addition to the overall look, except that the clock resets itself after every battery swap. By my third change, I didn’t bother to go through the menus to adjust it again, making it nothing more than an inaccurate waste of screen space. Onboard charging solves this concern, but again, regular use of this function isn’t ideal for your batteries.

Even with the flaws highlighted above, I can cautiously recommend the Vaporesso Revenger Kit. It’s a slick-looking, solid mod that only starts to falter at the top end of its listed capabilities. No, I’m not thrilled that yet ANOTHER device arrived at my desk performing below its advertised specs, but at the same time, when used under more standard everyday conditions, the Revenger offers an enjoyable vape.

Plus, as a kit, it’s a pretty good value, as the NRG tank – while lackluster – is still a decent performer, and more than good enough to sit on your rack. Newcomers to advanced vaping will find little to criticize here, even if more seasoned veterans know better.

I think my biggest complaint about the Revenger kit is that it’s just “good.” When opening the box, the futuristic design made me believe this was going to be something special for this segment of the market. Instead, the Revenger is a case of style over substance, and likely not different enough to compete with industry leaders.

Revenger Mod – C+

NRG Tank – C-

Overall Kit – C

• NRG Tank with preinstalled GT4 Core2 coil

• 1 x extra GT8 Core2 coil

• 1 x extra Pyrex glass tube

• USB charging cable

• Quick start guide

• Available colors: Red | Blue | Black

• Dimensions: 89 x 45 x 28 mm
• 2 x External 18650 Batteries (not included)
• Wattage Range: 5W to 220 W
• Voltage Range: 0-9 V
• Max Output Current: 50 A
• Minimum resistance: 0.05 – 5.0 ohm
• Mode: VT (Ni200 / SS / Ti) TCR (M1 / M2) / RCT / CCW / CCT / BYPASS
• Display: OLED 0.96 inch
• Thread: 510 thread
• Temperature Control Range: 100° C – 315° C / 200° F – 600° F

• Size: 26.5 mm x 56 mm / 23 mm x 47 mm (Mini)
• Capacity: 5 mL / 2 mL (Mini)
• Weight: 66 g / 48 g (Mini)
• 5 different coil types
• GT8 – 0.15 ohm (50 – 110 W)
• GT6 – 0.2 ohm (40 – 130 W)
• GT4 – 0.15 ohm (30 – 60 W)
• GT2 – 0.4 ohm (40 – 80 W)
• GT CCELL – 0.3 ohm (25 – 40 W)

Available Now

At Vapor Authority for $69.99