SMPO kit review | The ultimate pod mod?

SMPO kit intro

I’ve been trying almost every pod mod available on the market right now. So, I’m curious how this kit performs.

The SMPO pod system by SMPO Vapor (Nex Labs), is one of the newest additions to the pod mod market. Nex Labs is a London -based company, while their juice is made in the US and the device is manufactured by Vaporesso. Altogether, it should provide us with a high quality vape. With its small design, it easily fits in every pocket and should give you a very satisfying throat hit. Like the JUUL pods, it uses 5% strength of salt-based nicotine (only 1.8% for the TPD compliant version).

Colors: Black carbon fiber, blue carbon fiber

Note: The SMPO kit was sent to us by Vaporesso for the purpose of this review.

SMPO kit gallery

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SMPO kit specs and features

Kit Content

• 1 x SMPO Mod
• 1 x SMPO 1.8 mL POD Classic Tobacco
• 1 x USB Charging Cable
• 1 x User guide

Specifications

• Parameters: 67 x 34 x 15 mm
• Weight: ~50 g (with pod installed)
• 650 mAh battery
• Magnetic connection
• Battery life indicator
• Auto temperature control
• Low liquid detection
• Quick charging system

Notable remarks

Unboxing

The packaging for the SMPO is very simple. On the front you can see the color you get, and some specifications like quick charging, auto temp control and low liquid detection. I’m interested how this is going to work, especially the temp control. On the back you have the typical kit content, warnings, and legal statements as usual. Sliding the plastic out of the box, you can take out the mod, pod, charging cable, and the user manual. Yep, that’s all you need.

Build quality and hand feel

Taking the SMPO out of the box, it feels just right. Putting it on the scale, it’s weighing in at 43.1 grams without a pod installed. The pod itself weighs 7.4 grams. Coming out altogether at around 50 grams it has a nice weight in your hand. The design is very ergonomic and doesn’t contain any sharp edges, everything is rounded off. I’d compare the overall shape to the Vype Pebble, just a bit longer and less wide (and much more solid). You have a little on/off bottom which is only used for that particular purpose, accompanied by an LED battery indicator that lights up white (above 70%), yellow (30%-70%) or red (below 30%).

The pods

Now coming to the pods, there’s something I need to point out straight away. The mouth piece on the pods are amazing. Again, similar to the Pebble, it utilizes the round shape of your lips with a perfect fit. And not only that, it gets a bit bigger towards the middle to make it more comfortable to use. At the bottom of the pod is a little sticker that needs to be removed. It prevents the pod from leaking while traveling.

Short little flavor profiles:

• The tobacco is a sweet, rich tobacco that tastes very nice.
• The menthol actually tastes like a Wrigley’s Spearmint chewing gum, not sweet though.
• The full fruit flavor doesn’t really give me a “full fruit” feeling, but it’s still a nice, fruity option in case you’re not a menthol or tobacco fan.

The pods have a capacity of 1.8 mL which is almost triple the amount that is used in the JUUL. With a nicotine strength of 50 mg the pods should last for about two days. SMPO is stating on their site that an 18-mg pod is approximately equivalent to 2 packs of cigarettes or 400 puffs. Each pack of pods contains two cartridges.

Are these pods hackable?

Short answer, yes! The SMPO pods are actually hackable. It took me quite some time to get into the pod, but trust me, even though it’s doable, don’t do it. They’re press fit with a kind of hook that holds the bottom part of the pod together with the rest. I screwed up one of the pods in the first attempt. I managed to break it open to understand how the locking system works. But the pod started leaking and I needed to dry out the mod because the liquid went into the battery. So, if you think it’s worth a try, go for it. If you don’t want to risk destroying the battery, please leave it. I do not recommend this at all.

Performance

Now we come to the performance. All you need to do is let the pod snap into the mod with its magnetic connection, turn it on with five clicks on the button, and vape. It’s draw activated, so no need to push that little button. My lips are laying very comfortably on the mouth piece of the pod, and the throat hit on this little bad boy is amazing. Although it’s a little bit dependent on which flavor you use. I personally feel like the tobacco gives you the most satisfying throat hit, followed by menthol and fruit. I’d say this is what a smoker needs for the transition to vaping, but even advanced vapers will appreciate it. The draw on the pod is airy compared to the Bo, JUUL or Phix, but it’s still a good MTL draw. Also, the cloud production is higher compared to other products in this niche. The airflow is, by the way, another very notable feature – It’s not like the usual hole on the side of the body. The airflow is basically coming through the sides of the pod, which makes it impossible to accidently block.

The 650 mAh battery almost does it for the whole day in my case. The charging happens fairly quick. One pod lasts for about a day and a half. Coming to the end of the pods, I sometimes feel like the “temp control” isn’t really working. I’m not really getting a dry hit, but I taste the ceramic that’s used for the coil.

Likes

• Nice hand feel
• Light
• Ergonomic mouth piece
• Good build quality
• No leaking
• Looks sleek
• 650 mAh is a lot for a pod mod

Dislikes

• Only 3 flavors available
• Only 2 colors available
• Starter kit only comes with one pod

Verdict

All in all, I can only say that this is one of the best pod mods on the market. It fits perfectly into your pocket, has a nice draw and an awesome hand feel. Combining this with the nice throat hit it gives you: it’s perfect.

I can highly recommend this little device. Selling the starter kit with only one pod for $34.50 might look like it’s a lot, but it’s totally fine in my opinion. And talking about the pods…. $20 for two 1.8 mL pods is still cheaper than the JUUL, comparing the price/mL.

What do you think about the looks and design? Have you tried the SMPO kit yet? Let us know in the comments!

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