Review of the Smok Nord 2 Kit from E-Cigarette Direct
A couple of months ago I reviewed the original Smok Nord kit from E-Cigarette Direct, and was impressed with compact size and full on flavour, So I was super excited when I found that E-Cigarette Direct, where stocking the new and improved Smok Nord 2, and was interested to see what Smok had done to improve this iconic pod. The team at E-Cigarette Direct were kind enough to send over the Smok Nord 2, a few weeks ago, to allow me to see how it compared, and how it performed.
Introduction.
The Smok Nord 2 is a versatile device which can be used for a tight, restricted vape or an open and airy vape. The original Nord proved hugely popular, but with more wattage, more battery capacity and better airflow, version 2 is even better.
What’s in the box?
- 1 x Smok Nord 2 device
- 1 x Nord 2 RPM pod - 0.4Ω coil pre-installed
- 1 x Nord 2 Nord pod - 0.8Ω coil pre-installed
- 1 x USB cable
- 1 x User Manuel.
Nord 2 Specification.
- Size: 95 x 30.5 x 20mm
- Capacity: 4.5ml/2ml(TPD-UK)
- Battery Capacity: 1500mah
- Output Power: 1 – 40W
- 69inch OLED screen
- Resistance Range: 0.3 – 3.0Ω
- Nord DC 0.8Ohm MTL Coil
- RPM Mesh 0.4Ohm DTL Coil
- Wattage Adjustment with A Click：1W-40W
The Smok Nord 2 comes in a choice of new colours and finishes,
Red, Black Cobra, 7-Color Oil, Gold, 7-Color Cobra, White Cobra, 7-Color Resin, Black Stabilizing Wood, Red Stabilizing Wood
I was lucky enough to be sent a Black & Gold., which looks stunning a has a really nice finish it it, with an almost 3D look.
Design & Build Quality.
With a similar look and feel to the Nord 2, Smok have kept the same classic design, due to its success, there was no real need to completely change it, just add some extras.
The first this you notice, is that the Nord 2 is slightly bigger than the original. Measuring in at 95mm by 30.5mm and thickness of 20mm. And feels slightly heavier in the hand, weighing in at 80g with a pod attached with a pod attached , so compared side by side, the Nord 2 is slightly thicker and just a touch taller than the original Nord.
As with its predecessor the Nord 2 body section, is made out a Zinc Alloy, with colourful high gloss plastic inserts, which have a real shine to it. The mouth piece is also made from plastic, high quality, and a great design, that feels great in the mouth, and has a really natural feel, due to its well designed shape.
SMOK Nord 2 Battery.
Housed in the main body section the 1500mAh battery connects to the pod, via the to small, brass looking pins, located in the pod recess in the top of the body section. The pins are springy, and allow for a good connection to the pod section when I place. The contacts seem to have been redesigned during the face lift, and improved, as the original used to have issues with the pins getting stuck down, due to juice getting on them, glad to say that the 2nd Edition has no such issues.
The two large slots at the top of the recess, are for airflow, whilst the small notches either side, allow the pod section to be securely held in place when it is press fitted in, I would have thought that Smok would would have gone for magnets, as other pod systems do.
With its 1500mAH battery capacity the Nord 2 is more powerful than its predecessor firing up to 40w when the correct coil is installed, with a resistance range of 0.3Ω to 3.0Ω.
The New Display.
The right side of the device, hidden behind the black smoked panel, is the small 0.69inch OLED display, which will display all your basic devices information.
- Wattage
- Coil Resistance
- Applied Voltage.
- Remaining battery indicator
- Puff counter.
Personally, I’m not a fan of the battery icon with the % remaining inside, as I find it virtually impossible to read. And it would have been much better, if they had made the battery display a lot bigger. Or given you the ability to press the fire button four times to display the full sized battery read out. I’m sure all vape manufacturers think that all vapors have perfect eyesite.
Built in Safety.
As will most pod systems on the market the Nord 2 has a number of features built in to keep you safe.
- Pod Detection
- Short circuit protection
- 8 second cut off
- Low voltage protection
Charging.
To charge your device, simply plug in the supplied USB, when you plug it in, it will initially display that it is charging, displaying a nice full screen battery indicator, along with a time remaining until fully charged, witch is a great feature, that I would love to see on more devices.
On a full charge at 20watts on the RPM coil, I was getting about 3.5 hours to 4 hours, depending on how much chain Vaping.
Whilst we are on the subject of charging, I was hoping that through the upgrade, they would have included a type C charging socket, rather than the older Mirco USB. And make use of the faster charging.
The fire button,
There is only one button, located on the front of the device, with a small back lite LED. To keep the clean look, Smok have designed the Nord 2, with just the single button, not a + or - button insight. As it is all done with the single fire button.
5 Clicks on and 5 Clicks off, and pressing the fire button 3 times, will enable the wattage adjustment, and the wattage display will begin to flash, it will give you 3 flashes, before it comes out of adjustment mode, so whilst it is flashing simply press the fire button again, to progress up through the watts, from 5w all the way up to 40w, once you have reached your chosen wattage, just pause, and it will then set the wattage.
Nord 2 Pods and Coils.
As stated the Nord 2 comes with two pods, with two different types f coils installed, to allow you to fine tune your Vaping experience.
Both pods are manufactured out of clear plastic, with black buck bill mouth pieces, with side fill juice ports. Located on the side of the pod, covered with a small rubberised bung.
This bung can be easily opened, even with my pointless nails, and once opened, it reveals a good sized whole, which allows for easy juice filling, with no airlocks.
Both pods in the kit look very similar, but they are indeed slightly different, One pod will take Nord coils and compatibles Rebuildable coils such as the Reewape RUOK RBA base , whilst the other pod takes the standard RPM mesh coil and is compatible with the rebuildable SMOK RPM RBA. So plenty of opinions.
Plus the actual mouth piece hole in each is also slightly different, to maximise the draw from each coil, The Nord Mesh Pod, with the smaller Coil hole is slightly narrower than the RPM pod mouthpiece.
The other way to tell them apart is the Nord Pod, has a slightly tinted tank section.
The actual coil options SMOK has supplied and pre installed into each pod with this kit are:-
- RPM Mesh 0.4Ω DTL Coil best up to 25w
- Nord DC 0.8Ω MTL Coil best up to 16w
Coil Performance
Nord DC 0.8Ω MTL
I vaped on the preinstalled Nord DC 0.8MTL coil first of all, with some Jack Rabbit Mandarin Cheesecake. The airflow was a nice MTL draw, not the tightest I have had, and just about how I liked it. I vaped it at the suggested 16w, which did feel a bit unwheming, and did find myself cranking it up to 20w. Which seemed to deliver a overall better vape. You seem to get a nice amount of vapour, considering the airflow, and the flavour was about a 6 or 7 out of 10, and did feel a bit muted on occasions.
RPM Mesh 0.4Ω DTL
I set the wattage to 20watts to start off with, and soon found my self turning it up to 25w, which produced a warm flavour sum vape, and more to my liking. With a generous amount of vapor clouds, and a flavoursum 8/10 vape. I tried the RPM coil all the way up to 30watts but found it a little to hot, with occasional spit back.
So between the two I would have to pick the RPM Mesh DTL coil, as my ADV.
The coils seem to last for ages, and I still haven’t had to change out the RPM coil yet, but the coil life will heavily depend on the type of juice you are Vaping, and the level of sweetener.
Normall I measure the coil life on Puffs , shown on the puff counter, but unfortunately the puff counter on the Nord 2 resets each time you take the pod out, and considering you have to take it out to fill it, it is not much use.
Positives 👍
- Classic Design, very comfy to vape on.
- Very well built, high quality feel
- Huge choice of colours and finishes.
- Good Vapour and Flavour production
- new OLED screen
- Easy to use and clean design.
- Good batter life from the surprisingly large 1500mAh battery
- Long coil life
- Easy to fill.
- Wide range of coil options and types.
Negatives 👎
- Battery Display to small (for old eyes)
- Puff counter resets.
- No type C charging socket.
- Would have preferred magnets to hold the pod in place.
Final thoughts on the upgraded Smok Nord 2.
The Nord 2 is definitely an improvement over the original SMOK Nord. And the screen and wattage adjustment is a real game changer. With choice of coils, means it will appeal to more vapors, SMOK have done a great job, and have made a perfect Pod system even better. So the answer to the big question, Is it worth upgrading to the New SMOK Nord 2 ? Is Yes definitely 👏
You can pick up the SMOK Nord 2 over at E-Cigarette Direct for only £23.99 inc. FREE ELIQUID by clicking on the link below,
https://www.ecigarettedirect.co.uk/smok-nord-2
