What’s up with the recent resurgence in the simplified stick mod movement? Hot on the heels of devices like the SMOK Stick and Cascade One comes the Voopoo Caliber – a non-adjustable stick with integrated battery, a nice finish and not much else.

Well, the kit does include the Voopoo Uforce Tank, which we’ve covered extensively on these pages. Like here. And here. And also here.  So, we won’t be spending too much time covering it again – just know that it’s still a top-quality sub-ohm tank, well worth your attention if you’re in the market.

The Caliber mod? Well, that’s a different story…

In terms of design, simplicity is the name of the game. Because it’s a direct wattage mod, the streamlined finish isn’t cluttered with any displays or adjustment buttons. Just a standard fire key, and a handful of click sequences to make things happen.

One major omission – at least in this reviewer’s eyes – is the lack of clearly defined battery warnings. The LED does a decent job of conveying warnings and when the mod is charging, but I couldn’t decipher any clear way to gauge remaining battery power – which is huge for a direct output mod of any kind.

While I applaud simplicity whenever possible, I’m a strong proponent of educating users about what their devices are DOING. And not having clear, distinct notifications about the power level doesn’t do a thing for anyone using the Caliber mod. Simple is fine – unclear is something else entirely. Especially when there’s 110 watts under the hood.

Far and away the most impressive feature on the Caliber is the 3,000mAh integrated battery. Even when battery life SEEMED to be dwindling, the Caliber did a nice job ensuring that each draw was potent and fast. Voopoo advertised ramp-up time as a selling point for the Caliber, and have delivered on that front.

Part of this should probably be attributed to the modified GENE chip that powers the Caliber. We’ve seen Voopoo use several variants of this vaunted chipset in different types of devices, mostly to good effect, and I have to give this one some credit, too. It definitely ramps quickly, without any misfires or concerns.

But then again, without a display or readout, it’s hard to tell if the chipset is regulating power effectively, or if it’s simply the battery doing what it’s supposed to for a direct output mod. I didn’t have any problems getting a satisfying draw from the Caliber, but there wasn’t anything that made me think “this is a special chipset” either. It’s a straightforward experience that might be a little overstated with all the marketing language.

One definitely “lowlight” is the 1-amp onboard charging. At the end of 2018, I’ve seen pod mods with more charging ability. But recharging the Caliber was a long, arduous process that made me wait WAY longer than I should have for an aggressively average vape.

I know I wasn’t going to discuss the Uforce tank – and I’m really not, to be honest – but the included U6 (0.15-ohm) coil head highlighted a major problem I have with the Caliber – it might not be powerful enough to handle its own tank. At least not when the battery is at 50% capacity or less.

When first firing a fully charged Caliber with this tank/coil setup, the results were solid, if not a little flat. In other words, it wasn’t putting out the 110 watts I expected for such a low-resistance coil, leaving me with muted flavors and only average vapor production. Having experienced this tank/coil on countless other devices, I know it’s able to push a lot harder, and offer more satisfaction, than what I experienced on the Caliber.

The (also included) U4 coil, reading at 0.23 ohms, fares better, but still doesn’t offer a truly powerful experience. Is the Caliber purposely throttling itself to preserve battery? Is it not reading coils correctly? I couldn’t tell you because of the lack of information I got from the mod. Does it vape okay? Sure. But nobody is walking into a vape shop today saying “Give me the most adequate experience possible!” – yet that’s exactly what the Caliber is providing here.

Using other tanks, I had some mixed experiences. SMOK tanks seemed to pop a little harder than Voopoo’s own products, but often became excessively warm while doing it. Clearly, the Caliber was pushing more wattage to the SMOK pins than others, which had me questioning safety.

The FreeMax Fireluke PRO (reviewed here) also performed decently, but also became warmer than I was comfortable with, overall.

Finally, I used several other Uforce tanks from my collection, to see if maybe I just got a bum pair of coils, but the experience was largely the same – underwhelming and underpowered.

While I’ll admit to not liking the form factor of most stick mods, I always approach these reviews with an open mind, hoping companies can win me over. But mods like the Voopoo Caliber only frustrate me more. Some people might see a lack information as a “simpler” experience, but all I see is a lack of control over a high-wattage device that sits in my hands and goes in my face.

Between the lack of meaningful battery meters, an erratic power output, and a very poor mod/tank pairing, Voopoo should probably go back to the drawing board before releasing another one in the Caliber series. The vape it gave me was fine. But that’s as good as it got.

Score: C-