Steve K's Vaping World

I’m going to start this review of the Vivi Nova 2.5 sort of contradicting myself.  In a recent review of the eGo Stardust line I felt the change to longer wicks improved the model.  Now I’m about to review an update to the original Vivi Nova which does the opposite and ditches long wicks for short, stubby ones. So does that take this modular tank from good to bad, or is it an improvement?

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Design

The Vivi Nova 2.5 is, like its predecessor, a top-coil electronic cigarette tank cartomizer.  The capacity remains unchanged at around 4ml.

The system is a modular design and features four pices.  The tank body itself, a top cap, a bottom cap and stem assembly and the modular atomizer head.

That atomizer head is what makes this tank unique in the increasingly crowded field of cartomizer tanks.  The atomizer head has the unit’s heating coil and two very short wicks.

A modular heating element allows for quick replacement should one go bad, or to easily change the resistance.  Each kit comes with 3 heads in different resistances (1.8, 2.4 and 2.8).  This makes for a very flexible device that can adapt to a variety of e-cigarettes, variable or fixed voltage.

Filling these tanks is dead simply.  Just drip e-liquid directly into the tank (avoiding getting liquid down the center tube) up to, or even slightly above the fill line marked on the side.  Replace the cap and vape.

What’s changed

The replaceable head system isn’t new and the changeover to short wicks isn’t the only difference in the 2.5 version of the Nova.

The new version makes some change or another to every part except perhaps the tank tube, and that’s now available in colored plastic.

Even the top cap is slightly different featuring an indent in the part that accepts the drip tip, presumably to better cope with condensation.

There is a difference in the atomizer heads.  Beyond the obvious shorter wick, the new atomizer head is shorter than the original.  The opening at the top which fits against the top cap is considerably wider with a slightly funnel-shaped top as opposed to the flat top of the original.

Both versions still feature a 510 connection that hooks into the center tube. Out of necessity, the inner stem of the Vivi Nova 2.5 is longer to accommodate the shorter head.  The new post is also slightly thinner which should add a tiny bit of added capacity to the tank.

On the bottom, there’s also a minor change to the end cap.  The first version featured a vent hole in the side of the cap itself.  That is now gone replaced with a more traditional vent just above the threading on the battery connector as found in most 510 threaded cartomizers.

Does the Vivi Nova 2.5 perform any better?

To be honest, I thought the original version performed pretty well.  Therefore, the new version isn’t going to represent a massive improvement in performance.

However, there is an improvement.  The biggest change isn’t so much with the vapor, but the condensation.  One of the biggest issues with the top-coil style cartomizer tanks is the nasty habit they have of condensed vapor being collected and going straight into my mouth.

This still happens with the 2.5 update, but to a much lesser extend.  Most of the excess condensation drains back into the device, but a bit still gets stuck in the cap requiring the occasional dabbing out of excess.

That’s a marked improvement over the original. There’s a new odd side-effect with the update, however.  The first few puffs after filling the tank have very little vapor.

That shortcoming goes away quickly, and the new version performs well with a good amount of vapor.  Flavor production is very pleasant.  Throat hit is also good, but more mellow.

Like many CE2 derived devices the throat hit isn’t quite as harsh as it can be on something like a dual coil cartomizer tank. That’s not to say it has less throat it, it’s just a little bit different.

Surprisingly, despite the sorter wicks the new version doesn’t have much of a wicking problem.  As the tank gets below 1/3 full tipping the tank horizontal might help with wicking every now and again.  The same held true for the original one as well even with the longer wicks.

The series of changes seem to have made a steady, though not radical, improvement over the original design.

Too Long; Didn’t Read

A new version of the Vivi Nova is out.  The new version features a lot of small changes to the design.  These changes helped reign in condensation problems and improve performance slightly.  The changeover to short wicks didn’t seem to hurt the performance of this model.  If you want a high-capacity CE2-style top coil device that can be adjusted and repaired easily, this might be worth the look.  You can pick one up at Vapor Alley.

Pros:

• Easy to fill
• Replaceable atomizer heads
• Easy to change resistance
• Good performance

Cons:

• May get dry hits when tank is low
• Some condensation build up in drip tip area
• First few puffs after filling are weak

Details:

Product Name: Vivi Nova 2.5
Available From: Vapor Alley
Price: 16.95 (check for discount pricing)
Threading: 510
Resistance: 1.8, 2.4, 2.8 ohm heads included

Disclosure: I received this item from Vapor Alley for review and I feature affiliate links for Vapor Alley.