madecat_vapes
Member For 4 Years
Hello VU! Today I am reviewing for you the VooPoo VMate! The design aspects of VooPoo mods have been debated in the past, but one thing is generally regarded as true: the GENE chip performs fantastically. The VMate is undoubtedly the sleekest design we've seen out of VooPoo and one of my personal favorites. Does the VMate perform as well at it looks? Read below for my evaluation.
I have had the VMate for 4 weeks now and feel I can give a fair assessment of its quality.
This product was sent to me from VooPoo for the purpose of a review.
Specs
Contents
Pics Album
Operation
VMate
The VooPoo VMate is a super lightweight and sleek looking device and comes in a variety of battery door cover accent pieces for some added styling. Housing an upgraded version of the GENE chip (GENE.Fan), the VMate is a contendor for my top favorite devices this year. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's jump off this review and start at the best place possible: the top.
Final Thoughts
Pros
I wouldn't really say I'm a VooPoo fanboy, but I've pretty much loved every VooPoo device I have ever used, and the VMate is no different. It's a great performing device that looks great! I have thoroughly enjoyed using the device from the day I got it and I will definitely continue to use it. I really wish TC wasn't capped at 80W, but I mainly use Power mode anyway, so it's not a huge deal for me personally. For all of you that have been waiting for a better looking VooPoo device, the VMate has arrived!
Purchasing
The VooPoo VMate is still on preorder
Thank you...
...for your attention VU. I hope you all have a great weekend!
I want to give another shout out to VooPoo for giving me the opportunity to provide this community with this review. If you want to check them out, you can follow them on their Facebook or Instagram pages.
Also, if you want to keep up with me, you can follow me on Instagram.
I have had the VMate for 4 weeks now and feel I can give a fair assessment of its quality.
This product was sent to me from VooPoo for the purpose of a review.
Specs
- Dimensions: 89mm x 47mm x 30mm
- Weight: 100g
- Material: Zinc Alloy
- Max Output: 200W
- Max Output Voltage: 7.5V
- Modes: Power/TC (Ni200/Ti/SS)/TCR
- Resistance Range: Power - 0.05-3.0ohm / TC - 0.05-1.0ohm
- Temperature Range: 200°F-600°F / 100°C-315°C
- Battery: Dual 18650 (split battery chamber)
- Chip: Updated Gene.Fan Chipset
Contents
- VMate 200W TC Mod
- USB Cable
- User Manual
- Warranty Card
- GENE Chip Card
Pics Album
Operation
- 5 clicks on. 5 click off.
- 3 clicks to scroll through operation mode (Wattage/TC)
- 4 clicks in TC mode to adjust watts
- Hold + and - to enter menu
- Hold + and fire button to lock/unlock device
VMate
The VooPoo VMate is a super lightweight and sleek looking device and comes in a variety of battery door cover accent pieces for some added styling. Housing an upgraded version of the GENE chip (GENE.Fan), the VMate is a contendor for my top favorite devices this year. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's jump off this review and start at the best place possible: the top.
Top/510: The top of the VMate has a contoured 510 platform with a beefy 510 plate. The platform will fit up to 25mm attys without an issue, but anything over 25mm is going to overhang. If the platform didn't have the contour you could probably get away with 26mm-28mm, but I like the contour and think it helps with the sleekness of the design. Threading on the 510 is really smooth and the positive pin is spring loaded.
Buttons: Also on the top of the device you'll find all the buttons. They are on either side of the mode, with the fire button on one side (taking up the whole side) and the +/- buttons on the opposite side (each taking up half of the side with a separator between them). The buttons start at the top of the VMate and curve down the sides. Buttons cannot be pressed down from the top, and are instead activated by pushing in on them from the sides. I feel like this configuration is better suited for the device and feels more natural. Buttons are nice and clicky and responsive.
With the way the buttons are done, it might be easy for you to mistake one side with the other and start adjusting your watts or temp when you meant to fire it, especially if you aren't looking at your device or haven't been using it for long. I found that it's fairly easy for me to determine which side the fire button is on just by holding the device in my hand as the screen juts out from the mod more than the plate on the back allowing me to easily identify how I need to hold it to fire it with my index finger. That's another thing, if you're left handed, you'll likely be firing it with your index finger unless you want to palm the screen. Similarly, if you're right handed, you'll be firing it with your thumb for the same reason. This is really a matter of personal preference for the individual and I feel it is comfortable to fire the VMate either way.
Screen/Menu: On the front of the device is a large glass plate that is countoured our from the device and that houses the screen. The screen is not the entire height of the device and only really takes up about half of that real estate. One thing to note about the screen, it's a finger print magnet as well as the glass on the backside of the mod. You're not going to find a color screen here as the screen on the VMate is very similar to the one found on the Mojo. In fact, the UI is pretty exact to how it is on the Mojo, so pardon my copy/paste: The menu system is very simplistic and allows you to select Power Mode or Memory Mode, lock your device, view device information, see firmware version and, while in TC mode, set your ohms and can change the TCR values. The values for TCR seem to be custom VooPoo values specific to the device, so read the manual for information on changing that as the values are not similar to most devices.
Battery Doors/Tray: The battery doors on the VMate are the main accent pieces of the device and come in some really nice looking configurations. They are made of plastic, though, and not resin as you might expect. This really isn't a huge deal as it helps to keep the weight of the device to a minimum. On the backside of each battery door towards the top is a little indention cut into it to help you remove the door. Doors are held in via a notch and grove at the bottom of the door and a magnet at the top. Doors have to be inserted bottom first as the notch must be inserted into the device first for it to seat properly. The inside of the door and tray are marked with either L or R so you can be sure to put the doors on the proper side, with the indention on the back. The battery tray also has a +/- clearly marked so you are sure to insert your batteries properly and a battery ribbon to help with removing batteries.
Size/Styling: The VMate is a nice size for a dual 18650 device and the device itself is very lightweight. All corners, with the exception of the bottom of the device, are rounded quite nicely and make it very comfortable to hold. It just feels really nice in the hand. The metal finish on the device has a nice sheen to it and seems to hold up fairly well. However, I have noticed some scratches on the bottom of the device. I'm not particularly hard on my devices, but I do let them sit in my car cupholder, so that's likely where those came from. The last bit of styling to talk about would be the battery covers. While I'm not a huge fan of all of the designs, I think they look really great and there's bound to be something for everyone. The whole device just screams class to me, and I feel like this is probably the best looking device VooPoo has released to date.
Performance: The performance of the VMate is very much in line with what we have come to expect from VooPoo. Power mode hits nice and quick, and never feels too soft or too hard. Again, we have the one down-side to quick firing devices present in the VMate: 5-clicking off the device will fire it. It's just one of those things we have to accept if we want fast-firing devices.
TC mode is more of the same we have seen from VooPoo. TC works nicely and never burned my cotton. I tested TC with some AVS Alien coils, beefier clapton coils (26x32), and smaller claptons (28x36). The biggest con I have for TC is that VooPoo has once again capped Wattage at 80W. This is just sometimes not enough for my style of vaping and I really wish they would give us the full wattage of the device to utilize. My other concern with TC is VooPoo's TCR values. They are very much different than what we are used to seeing on most devices. However, the manual does have information on the range for each type of wire, so it's not a huge issue.
Buttons: Also on the top of the device you'll find all the buttons. They are on either side of the mode, with the fire button on one side (taking up the whole side) and the +/- buttons on the opposite side (each taking up half of the side with a separator between them). The buttons start at the top of the VMate and curve down the sides. Buttons cannot be pressed down from the top, and are instead activated by pushing in on them from the sides. I feel like this configuration is better suited for the device and feels more natural. Buttons are nice and clicky and responsive.
With the way the buttons are done, it might be easy for you to mistake one side with the other and start adjusting your watts or temp when you meant to fire it, especially if you aren't looking at your device or haven't been using it for long. I found that it's fairly easy for me to determine which side the fire button is on just by holding the device in my hand as the screen juts out from the mod more than the plate on the back allowing me to easily identify how I need to hold it to fire it with my index finger. That's another thing, if you're left handed, you'll likely be firing it with your index finger unless you want to palm the screen. Similarly, if you're right handed, you'll be firing it with your thumb for the same reason. This is really a matter of personal preference for the individual and I feel it is comfortable to fire the VMate either way.
Screen/Menu: On the front of the device is a large glass plate that is countoured our from the device and that houses the screen. The screen is not the entire height of the device and only really takes up about half of that real estate. One thing to note about the screen, it's a finger print magnet as well as the glass on the backside of the mod. You're not going to find a color screen here as the screen on the VMate is very similar to the one found on the Mojo. In fact, the UI is pretty exact to how it is on the Mojo, so pardon my copy/paste: The menu system is very simplistic and allows you to select Power Mode or Memory Mode, lock your device, view device information, see firmware version and, while in TC mode, set your ohms and can change the TCR values. The values for TCR seem to be custom VooPoo values specific to the device, so read the manual for information on changing that as the values are not similar to most devices.
Battery Doors/Tray: The battery doors on the VMate are the main accent pieces of the device and come in some really nice looking configurations. They are made of plastic, though, and not resin as you might expect. This really isn't a huge deal as it helps to keep the weight of the device to a minimum. On the backside of each battery door towards the top is a little indention cut into it to help you remove the door. Doors are held in via a notch and grove at the bottom of the door and a magnet at the top. Doors have to be inserted bottom first as the notch must be inserted into the device first for it to seat properly. The inside of the door and tray are marked with either L or R so you can be sure to put the doors on the proper side, with the indention on the back. The battery tray also has a +/- clearly marked so you are sure to insert your batteries properly and a battery ribbon to help with removing batteries.
Size/Styling: The VMate is a nice size for a dual 18650 device and the device itself is very lightweight. All corners, with the exception of the bottom of the device, are rounded quite nicely and make it very comfortable to hold. It just feels really nice in the hand. The metal finish on the device has a nice sheen to it and seems to hold up fairly well. However, I have noticed some scratches on the bottom of the device. I'm not particularly hard on my devices, but I do let them sit in my car cupholder, so that's likely where those came from. The last bit of styling to talk about would be the battery covers. While I'm not a huge fan of all of the designs, I think they look really great and there's bound to be something for everyone. The whole device just screams class to me, and I feel like this is probably the best looking device VooPoo has released to date.
Performance: The performance of the VMate is very much in line with what we have come to expect from VooPoo. Power mode hits nice and quick, and never feels too soft or too hard. Again, we have the one down-side to quick firing devices present in the VMate: 5-clicking off the device will fire it. It's just one of those things we have to accept if we want fast-firing devices.
TC mode is more of the same we have seen from VooPoo. TC works nicely and never burned my cotton. I tested TC with some AVS Alien coils, beefier clapton coils (26x32), and smaller claptons (28x36). The biggest con I have for TC is that VooPoo has once again capped Wattage at 80W. This is just sometimes not enough for my style of vaping and I really wish they would give us the full wattage of the device to utilize. My other concern with TC is VooPoo's TCR values. They are very much different than what we are used to seeing on most devices. However, the manual does have information on the range for each type of wire, so it's not a huge issue.
Final Thoughts
Pros
- Lightweight
- Sleek
- GENE chip
- Fits 25mm attys
- Smooth threading
- Spring-loaded 510
- Buttons clicky and responsive
- Menu simplicity
- Battery doors look mostly great
- Great size
- Feels great in hand
- Power mode performance
- TC mode performance
- Larger than 25mm attys will overhang
- Could potentially mistake fire button for +/- buttons if not paying attention
- Lefties pretty much have to fire with index finger/Righties with thumb (unless you want to palm the screen)
- Screen and back plate are finger print magnets
- Would have really liked to see the doors made out of Resin
- Bottom finish scrathes a bit (mainly my fault)
- TC wattage capped at 80W
I wouldn't really say I'm a VooPoo fanboy, but I've pretty much loved every VooPoo device I have ever used, and the VMate is no different. It's a great performing device that looks great! I have thoroughly enjoyed using the device from the day I got it and I will definitely continue to use it. I really wish TC wasn't capped at 80W, but I mainly use Power mode anyway, so it's not a huge deal for me personally. For all of you that have been waiting for a better looking VooPoo device, the VMate has arrived!
Purchasing
The VooPoo VMate is still on preorder
Thank you...
...for your attention VU. I hope you all have a great weekend!
I want to give another shout out to VooPoo for giving me the opportunity to provide this community with this review. If you want to check them out, you can follow them on their Facebook or Instagram pages.
Also, if you want to keep up with me, you can follow me on Instagram.