I need to ask – what is the vape industry’s fascination with the term “Baby?” Is “Mini” not descriptive enough? Because when I think of babies, I’m not thinking about compact, powerful, fast-ramping vape mods like the Vaporesso Tarot Baby 85W mod. But that’s exactly what happened here.

There have been a ton of ultra-compact, miniature mods lately, but the Tarot Baby might be my favorite of the bunch, with fantastic build quality, no-nonsense looks, and some of the fastest firing I’ve seen on any vape mod, much less one that you can hide in the palm of your hand. More importantly, it is a wonderful continuation of the Tarot brand – no small compliment, since the original Vaporesso Tarot (reviewed here) remains one of the most-beloved vape devices in my collection.

At first glance, the Baby isn’t immediately recognizable as a Tarot device, since it lacks the “coffin-style” shape and hard corners. Instead, Vaporesso went for a more palm-friendly, streamlined look that may not stand out like its predecessors, but still looks sharp.

One thing you’ll notice right after clicking five times to activate the internal 2,500mAh is that the display is located underneath the transparent fire bar. At first, I was thrown, and immediately wondered if all that click action would have a negative effect on the screen over time. But nearly two weeks in, I haven’t seen a drop or hiccup at any point along the way.

Visually, the clear fire bar is unique, but not at the expense of performance. It might look fragile, but the crystal clear plastic is rock solid, with an extremely satisfying click and throw. Plus, whether intentional or not, the transparent format creates a slight visual effect that allows users to read the display information from side angles. Probably just a coincidence, but a cool one nonetheless.

For such a tiny vape mod, the Tarot Baby has a bomb-proof 510 connection. It might be press-fit, but it’s not going anywhere, since there hasn’t been an ounce of wiggle or play in any of my testing. Plus, Vaporesso added a nice pattern of channels that allow tanks to dissipate heat quickly, even at the Baby’s 85-watt max power output. Again, not sure if that was the intention, but it certainly did the job.

The bottom-positioned control buttons were a little closer together than I usually like, and the layout made for the occasional wrong entry. But they’re well constructed and responsive, considering the cramped real estate on which they reside. On the plus side – there’s an “enter” button, which isn’t too common on mods this diminutive.

Truth be told, there was only really one complaint about the Tarot Baby look and feel, and that comes from the overdone, slightly cheap carbon fiber stickers on the front and back of the device. While carbon fiber gives off a higher-end appearance, these decals were clearly not real carbon, which cheapened the overall appearance.

Purely aesthetic? Sure – but there’s nothing else on the Tarot Baby that seems “low end” so this was slightly disappointing.

On a compact vape mod, it’s always surprising to hear much about the visual display, but the Tarot Baby is the exception. Even with the standard 0.96-inch screen size, Vaporesso used some unimaginable witchcraft to get THIS much vital info onto the display, AND made it perfectly attractive, legible and easy to navigate.

Conveying power, mode, temperature control type, coil resistance and more, at no point did the Tarot Baby’s vivid TFT screen ever become confusing or difficult to read.

On that note, the amount of modes and features on the Tarot Baby is also very impressive, thanks to the modified OMNI Board 4.0 under the hood. Not only does this advanced chipset pump out a smooth, consistent 85 watts off a 2,500mAh battery, but it also brings a fully fleshed temp control suite, bypass mode, custom wattage curve adjustment and even the curious “Super Player” mode which extends the resistance range to unusually low levels.

In short, this is one of the most armed and dangerous feature sets to ever appear on such a compact vape device, which should definitely help it stand out against the myriad pretenders and contenders occupying store shelves these days.

Finally, the Tarot Baby kit also features the latest iteration of Vaporesso’s fantastic NRG sub-ohm tank series – the NRG SE (Special Edition). Using the same tried and true GT coil system that we’ve grown to love these past two years, the kit also introduces a wonderful new mesh coil head, the 0.18-ohm GT Meshed. While it’s not going to make you toss aside your higher-end SMOK and Uwell atomizers, this combination makes for a damn good, long-lasting, flavorful setup that far surpasses most “baby” tank offerings.

“POWER!” This is what you’ll be screaming just seconds after firing the Tarot Baby with the NRG SE tank. Because this little wunderkind absolutely screams with power right back at you. Do NOT be fooled by the small footprint – the Tarot Baby is a high-performing vape mod for users of all skill levels.

Not only do all the various modes and settings work flawlessly, but the ramp-up speed might be on par with some of the best overall mods we’ve tested – it’s that strong.

For temp control vapers, rest assured that not only does the Tarot Baby’s selection of modes work as intended, but they maintain resistance without an ounce of jumpiness or other strange behaviors. Name ONE mod we’ve tested that can boast this … no seriously, do it… because I can’t remember ever having a spotless TC experience since joining the Spinfuel team.

Bypass mode works well, but I did notice a slight increase in battery consumption here. While the 2,500mAh internal cell does its job pretty well for the size, bypass taxes it a little harder, and should be avoided if you’re out and about for extended periods.

The best battery performance comes from regular ol’ wattage mode… and for that matter, it’s also the best performing mode overall. The Tarot Baby worked well with a wide range of tanks and smaller RDAs, from 8-watt MTL setups to some of my lowest-resistance sub-ohm tanks, and seemingly everywhere in between. Never once did I experience any stuttering or pulsing – a rare occurrence with an internal battery, to be sure.

My only slight concern is the lack of venting. There is precious little real estate inside the compact Tarot body, and when the battery starts pumping 60+-watt outputs, things get a little warmer than I’d like. While the 510 connection dissipates heat well, the bottom of the mod can get toasty with heavy use, so be aware of this before pushing it too hard.

If you’ve read this far, you know the answer – I frickin’ love the Vaporesso Tarot Baby kit. From the unbelievably high performance, to the A1 display, to the excellent NRG SE tank and coil offering, there’s nothing in this box that doesn’t drip with quality. Even the things I didn’t like – the control button layout and lack of venting – are nitpicky when compared to the amount of things this kit gets right.

If you’re looking for a small, pocket-friendly vape kit that doesn’t sacrifice one ounce of performance or features, stop reading this and click the link below to get one for yourself. You’ll be very happy you did.

Score: A