I was impressed with the power (i.e. "Eco") mode performance of the Vaporesso Armour Ultra, & was hoping for similar from the Gen 80S. However, a thorough testing has convinced me that it's not in the same class. So although I've already used it successfully for several tripping sessions, a few issues take the shine off its desirability for me.
Unlike the Armour Ultra, the Gen 80S has the stainless steel firmware bug (explained in the mod guide, scroll down to "Inaccuracies - set vs actual wattage). So it might not be ideal for emesh or if (like me) you have a substantial stock of stainless clapton wires.
Wattage delivery on the standard Power mode, i.e. "DIY VW" or "VWN" (Variable Wattage Normal) is a bit light, achieving only around 26W when set to 30W with a 0.3Ω load. It can be compensated (by using Pulse Mode) but it's a hassle I'd rather not have.
To me, the external design feels lamentably plain & basic, with seemingly zero effort expended on outward design. No soft padding, buttons very uninspiring, a very plain shape, lacks a cover for the USB port. IMO it sorely lacks even the slightest shred of "wow factor", feeling disappointingly cheap & nasty next to many of my other mods. Of course, none of this affects its performance, but it does present a very half-baked feel imo.
The Gen 80S has three small buttons at its lower end. Most mods have just two, one each for up & down, and I believe this arrangement is far superior. On the Gen 80S, the middle button activates setup options but responds only to a long press, or three quick presses. An accidental single press throws up a sub-miniature error message while blocking the mod for 3 secs. It's easily activated accidentally during tripping sessions, and can be annoying.
As expected with modern mods, basic modes/functions hide behind fanciful vague names with absurdly extravagent unfounded claims. Predictably, the manual is a supreme masterpiece of uselessness Gen 80S user manual.
All modes mentioned below, except for Bypass, Variable Voltage, and of course System Set) are affected by the Stainless Steel firmware bug
F(t) The manual spouts this utter nonsense:
'By adjusting temperature, heating speed and time, F(t) mode releases the flavors of e-liquid adequately, delivering the perfect balanced tasting experience consistently from the first puff throughout'
In reality, F(t) mode is identical to the Vaporesso Armour Ultra's Boost mode (apart from the Gen S being affected by the SS bug). Simply, F(t) gives a brief Wattage overshoot upon initial firing and around 12% or so extra Wattage throughout the remainder of the fire cycle.
PUL (Pulse) Once again, the manual is a joke:
'Pulse mode improves vaping experience through constant voltage output, delivering optimal flavor production, throat hit, nicotine satisfaction, and perfect temperature cloud continuously'
In reality, the Gen 80S pulse mode is almost identical to the the Armour Ultra's equivalent, adding ~10% extra onto the dialled Wattage, with a small 2Hz DC ripple addition to the output Voltage.
💡I suggest using "Pulse" as a regular power mode, as it helps compensate for the Gen's Wattage shortfall (around 4W under the 30W test conditions) returning it to acceptable accuracy levels over much of our useful working range
Despite fancy names, F(t) and Pulse modes are little more than just different level of boost. I suggest using the Pulse mode for a more accurate Wattage output than VWN mode.
VWN Variable Wattage Normal - a shortcut to the VWN mode as mentioned below. Note that "close to the set Wattage" here means around 26ish Watts delivered to the coil when 30W has been dialled into the mod under the test conditions.
DIY mode This has three sub-modes - VW, VV and Bypass
- VW (Variable Wattage) has three sub options as follows.
1. VWS (Soft) Delivers close to the set Wattage for the first second of the fire cycle, then gradually reduces the power by about 17ish percent for the next couple of secs, maintaining the new value for the remainder of the fire cycle.
2. VWN (Normal) Delivers close to the set Wattage for the duration of the fire cycle
3. VWH (Hard) Delivers an approx 25% power overshoot for the first ~0.25secs, then reduces to close to the set Wattage over the next approx 0.25 secs, maintaining this for the remainder of the fire cycle.
- VV (Variable Voltage) settable Voltage from 1-9.0V in 0.1V steps. Seems to work well up to the limitations of the installed battery.
- BP (Bypass) applies near full battery Voltage to the coil. Of little or no use for Dimitri.
System Set - on/off settings for Smart, which auto-sets wattage based on coil resistance value (probably compatible with the Vaporesso GTX series of non-rebuildable coils), puff counter reset, and firmware version display. When Smart is enabled, a tiny "S" flag is displayed on screen. I strongly suggest leaving Smart disabled as we would never want our Wattage modified automatically.
☹️ Wattage delivery a little light - On Variable Watts Normal, I measured it as around 12-14% down on dialled values across 20-30W setting. Not disastrous, but noticeable against other mods like my Solo V1, Aegis X, etc. It can be compensated to some extent by selecting Pulse Mode, but this reduces the font size, and changes the colour to a less legible dark red . Not a showstopper perhaps, but slightly annoying for me at least
☹️ Has the Stainless Steel Bug - Affects all Wattage modes (VWN, VWS, VWH, F(t) and Pulse), resulting in a power reduction as the coil heats up. It can be negated by using Ni80 or Kanthal coils. Somewhat disappointing as the Vaporesso Armour Ultra handles coils of any material equally well. As far as I can tell, the manner in which the Gen80 SS bug manifests is almost identical to the Voopoo Argus MT, see the bottom of the review page for details
🙂 Large Wattage display which is also very clear, but lacks an intensity control
🙂 Lightweight Small and lightweight mod, which is preferred by some
☹️ Setup button (middle button on the lower end) is very easy to activate accidentally, and can be annoying during tripping sessions.
☹️ External build design is functional, but imo very unimpressively plain & basic. Zero design effort apparent, and zero out-of-the-box wow factor imo.
