Steve K's Vaping World

Oddly, the instruction manual was for a standard 650mAh eGo e-cigarette kit. I’m not sure if that was a mistake (or laziness) at the factory, or if the vendor mixed the manuals up along the way.  The Epower is a fairly straight forward device, and you’re smart, so I’m pretty sure you’ll be able to figure it out without the manual.

As I mentioned in the introduction, the new Epower is quite a departure from the old version.  For starters, where the old model was a fairly simple tube mod with threading for a very large cone, the 2800 model’s top end is tapered and ends in a button assembly very similar to that of a standard eGo.

The button itself is a smoked clear plastic hard button illuminated with a blue LED as found in many eGos.  Unlike some of the newest eGo models, this version does not feature a 5-click on/off.  There is, however, a 10 second safety cutoff which is common in that style of e-cigarette.

I found there were some inconsistencies with the button.  They’re actually about the same issues I’ve seen with my regular eGos as well.  The unit I received had an issue where the button would occasionally stick in the on position until pressed again or the cutoff kicked in.  It felt as if it were physically sticking.

Vapor Alley sent a second unit to see if the button issue was a problem with the design of the device.  My second button didn’t stick, but the action on the button also felt stiff and as if there were little travel in the button.  This eased up to some degree after a little use, but it does appear there is some tolerance issues in the button, much like many of the standard eGos I’ve used.

Much like the button, the connector end of the Epower is eGo all the way.  The connector features both 510 threading and the eGo cone threads.  This means that all manner of eGo accessories will work, cones, eGo-specific cartomizers and the eGo-W cartomizers among others.  The Empire Drip Shield also works on this device (and looks great) without an adapter, which makes me happy since I have the atomizer-equipped version of the starter kit.

The overall tube construction appears to be roughly the same as the old version.  The major exception being the button assembly is no longer removable, one feature I wish had stayed in the reboot.  The bottom end-cap does screw on a little more smoothly although it is nowhere near as velvet-like as the Provari’s end cap.

The spring is also somewhat on the flimsy side much like its predecessor.  It even has the same odd bug where placing the device upright too hard will cause the button light to flash as the battery briefly loses contact. The previous Epowers also had issues with the black finish coming off, I’ve tried to flake the color off on the new one with no success.

Perhaps one of the most interesting things about the Epower isn’t the e-cigarette device itself.  The battery is somewhat noteworthy due to its stated capacity.  The battery is identical in size to a standard 18650 battery, but it is an IMR (high drain battery) which are usually between 1800-2200 mAh.

The battery provides the Epower with plenty of staying power.  I conducted an informal test just to see how long I could run on a single, fully charged battery.  I vape quite heavily, so I can normally wear a battery down fairly easily.  Running a dual coil cartomizer on the device, I finally gave up after about 13 hours of use.  The big battery definitely provides some longevity to this device.

The power supply still shares the same pulsing power output that the original 18650 Epower had.  Testing the power output on a multimeter indicates that it does output whatever voltage the battery is providing.  The device measured 4.1v with a fresh battery.

In day-to-day use, I found the Epower provided adequate performance.  I tested it both with the included SmokTech atomizers as well as variety of other cartomizers and tanks.  This gave me a good general idea of how well the e-cigarette would perform in any of the starter kit configurations.

The included atomizers are 2.0Ω and feature a pretty huge bridge inside.  The bridge probably works very well with cartridges, but honestly, I refuse to use cartridges.  I opted to break out the drip tips and direct drip into the atomizer.

The atomizer performed fairly well, producing respectable vapor and warmth.  I found that feeding the atomizer was pretty tricky.  I was punished with some very unpleasant dry hits at the slightest provocation. The atties were also remarkably easy to overfill as well.

I suspected that the bridge was to blame, so I carefully removed the bridge.  The atomizer became much more civilized after its little operation.  I was able to fairly consistently keep it fed, and when I did let it run a little dry, it wasn’t nearly as abusive as before.

Using the dual coil cartomizers on the device, I found they performed OK but nothing ground shaking.  I’m personally a fan of running dual coils at higher voltages to get the best performance out of them.  The Epower pushed the dual coils at a level pretty consistant with any other 3.7v device.

For the tank, I cheated a little and used a Big Daddy tank along with a punched 1.7Ω SmokTech cartomizer.  For me, this provided the best performance.  Some of that is personal preference as that tank setup is my daily driver.  The cartomizers work well in the range of 3.2-3.9v so they were well suited to the Epower.

At the end of the day, which kit you go with would probably depend on your preferences.   I’d opt for something other than the atomizer choice if you’re not a regular dripper.  Of course, I suspect many of you already have a preference for hardware, so the choice may not matter a whole lot.

Too Long; Didn’t Read
The Epower 2800 is welcome update to the original Epower 18650.  The more attractive design, along with better compatibility with existing gear makes it a more civilized choice.  The big battery should provide most people with an all-day experience in between charges.  The overall eGo styling of the Epower along with it’s relatively friendly price tag makes this an attractive choice for those looking to step up from a standard ego device.  You can pick one up at Vapor Alley (use code SteveK for a 5% discount).

Pros:

• More stylish
• Fully eGo compatible
• Good battery life
• Good performance
• Improved button mechanisim

Cons:

• Button assembly not replaceable
• No 5 click on/off
• 10 second cut-off time
• Flimsy spring
• Slight quality control issues with button

Disclosure: I received this item from Vapor Alley at no charge for the purpose of this review.  I feature affiliate links and banners from this vendor.