UWELL CALIBURN G VERSUS VAPORESSO XROS

The original UWell Caliburn is one of the most successful refillable vape pod kit designs ever. Famous for its flavor and long-lasting pod design, it has been a favorite of adult nic salt vapers for several years. The original Caliburn was one of the first vape pods that offered both autodraw and button fire activation. The pods came with a preinstalled 1.4ohm coil and the design was pretty much perfect right out of the box. Optimized for vaping potent nic salt eliquids, it proved to be everything that adult vapers were looking for. 

As competition in the refillable vape pod kit market heated up, UWell launched a follow-up product: the UWell Caliburn G. Apparently the engineers at Vaporesso also took note of the UWell Caliburn as their XROS vape pod kit shares many familiar design elements. More on that below. 

The original UWell Caliburn casts a long shadow over this comparison between the Vaporesso XROS and UWell Caliburn G. Is the original still the best? Or do the improvements baked into the new Caliburn G result in a device that is better in practice as well as on paper. And is the Vaporesso XROS able to compete with a legendarily effective vape pod and its beefed up successor?

UWELL CALIBURN G

The UWell Caliburn G shares a lot of DNA with the original UWell Caliburn. The top-fill system is basically the same. It has both autodraw and button activation. The form factor is similar, although the Caliburn G has a more textured body and a higher quality feel.

The UWell Caliburn G is actually slightly shorter than its predecessor.  The first generation Caliburn was 110 mm tall, 21.2 mm wide and 11.6 mm deep. The Caliburn G is 108.33mm x 22.5mm x 12.6mm. Although the Caliburn G is noticeably heavier, it still only weighs 60g, or less than 2 ounces.

Beneath the similarly sized exterior and fancier new skin, the Calburn G does boast some serious upgrades. The 520mAh battery has been replaced with a 690mAh unit. The output of the original Caliburn has been bumped from 11w to 18w.

UWELL CALIBURN G COILS

The increase in power from 11w to 18w allows the Caliburn G to run lower resistance coils and gives it more flexibility. Vapers who want to enjoy max-VG eliquids in a convenient vape pod kit can now do so more easily. This is facilitated by a new 0.8ohm meshed coil. And unlike in the classic Caliburn, these coils can be swapped out in the Caliburn G creating a true “all-in-one” disposable. This is a much more efficient design as it is less expensive to buy the 0.8ohm U2 Meshed coil than an entirely new pod. With greater power does not come a noticeable decrease in longevity. The Caliburn G coils seem to have just as long of legs as the pods for the Caliburn. 

In terms of performance, the UWell Caliburn G has faster ramp up speed and better vapor production than the first generation Caliburn. The flavor remains great as well.

As far as the draw, the Caliburn G actually has adjustable airflow. It is built directly into the pod. Depending on how you orient the pod upon insertion, the airflow is altered. This is a clever and efficient way to alter how a refillable vape pod performs. Both airflow options are tighter than the original Caliburn, which had a somewhat looser draw than a typical MTL. The vapor is also warmer, as would be expected from a device which is kicking out over 50% more power into a lower resistance coil.

Most impressively, the Caliburn G handles max-VG with aplomb, the juice ports never being overwhelmed and no dry hits experienced in over two weeks of usage. The UWell Caliburn G had some big shoes to fill and it does so easily. It is a comprehensively superior device to the original Caliburn. Apart from the added complexity of swapping coils versus popping on a new pod, it is a superior design in every way. But how does it fare against the Vaporesso XROS?

VAPORESSO XROS

The UWell Caliburn was a popular device with a target on its back. The Vaporesso XROS took the shot and it is time to see which is the superior device.

In a sense, the Vaporesso XROS targets both the original Caliburn and the Caliburn G. There is 1.2ohm pod that competes directly with the original Caliburn and a 0.8ohm pod that battles head to head with the Caliburn G. Rather than just two airflow settings like the Caliburn G, which are achieved by swapping the direction the pod is facing, the Vaporesso XROS has a fully adjustable airflow. The airflow control is a bit small but this is to be expected on a vape pod kit that is only 23mm wide.

Despite its size, its an excellent airflow control and allows you to enjoy airy DTL drags or a tighter draw that is quite comparable to the tighter setting on the Caliburn G.

The Vaporesso itself is nearly identical in size to the Caliburn G but boasts a larger battery (800mAh versus 590mAh) and the Axon Chip. This is a nice feature as the output of the Caliburn twins will fade as the battery gives up the ghost.  

Using a USB-C technology, the Vaporesso XROS is quick to regain its charge. Like the Caliburns, it has a dual fire technology. You can use a button or the autodraw to enjoy a deeply flavorful hit.

 VAPORESSO XROS PODS

There are two pods for the Vaporesso XROS and both are fantastic. The top fill design is reminiscent on the Caliburn. But the clear panels to check eliquid levels are simply better designed and easier to observe without removing the pod.

Eliquid capacity is the same for the XROS and both Caliburns: 2ml. The beauty of the XROS is the quality of the flavor. The 0.8ohm mesh pod seems to have even better flavor than the already excellent Caliburn G, although this is pretty subjective when dealing with such outstanding devices.

Both the pods and the device itself possess a high-quality feel. The spitback free performance of the Caliburn G was mostly matched as well. While the Vaporesso XROS gives up a bit in the power department when compared to the Smok Novo 3, the 0.8ohm pod has no problems handling max-VG eliquid.

FINAL THOUGHTS
The UWell Caliburn G is simply superior to the original UWell Caliburn. There isn’t much room for debate. But it is much more evenly matched against the Vaporesso XROS. There are a number of categories where the Vaporesso XROS has an empirical advantage. The UWell XROS has a more versatile airflow, larger battery, more coil/pod options, it is easier to monitor juice levels on an XROS, it has a chip to main constant wattage until the battery is dead and even has arguably better flavor.

The Vaporesso is a durable and well-designed device as well. It is also easier to use, if less efficient, to use swappable pod designs versus pods with replaceable coils. Does this mean the Vaporesso is a slam dunk winner? Not really. Both devices are excellent and in real world terms, the differences in user experience are exceedingly minimal.