Product introduction
The Vuse Alto is a stealthy beginner vape with pre-filled flavors. The Alto battery has a capacity of 350 mAh, a built-in automatic draw, and it takes pods that hold 1.8 mL of juice. The nicotine strengths are available in 5.0%, 2.4%, and 1.8%.
The Alto now has a truncated menu of only three flavors: golden tobacco, rich tobacco, and menthol. The pods are available for purchase in two- or four-packs.
Prices:
Vuse Alto Complete Kit: $38.48
Vuse Alto Power Unit: $24.99
Vuse Alto pods: $13.49 (for a pack of two pods)
Size, weight, and feel
The Alto is very similar to the JUUL. It’s a small stick-style battery that powers drop-in pods that are prefilled with flavored e-liquid and nicotine. These types of devices are called pod vapes or beginner vapes.
With a pod attached, the Alto weighs about 22 grams. It’s a little heavier than the JUUL, but it’s more lightweight than the Vuse Vibe. Even if it’s heavier than the JUUL, the Vuse Alto is a very lightweight device that’s barely noticeable in a pocket.
The pod for the Alto is made of a sturdy and transparent plastic, and the black mouthpiece is slightly flattened. It’s also a bit curvy, making it very comfortable on the lips—in fact, this may be the most comfortable mouthpiece we have encountered on a beginner vape to date.
Getting started
Getting started with the Vuse Alto requires more work to open the package than to get started vaping. Once the kit is out of the box, it’s a one-step process to begin. Just drop a pod into the magnetic housing and take a drag. The Alto has no on/off button, because the draw is automatic.
The pods are held in by magnets. The issue is that the magnets are really weak. And, there’s a little wiggle room in the pods. The pods will pop out of the battery holder if it gets dropped. That’s annoying, but to be fair, it happens with most pods on the market nowadays.
The Alto battery should arrive to you charged. If you need it to be fully charged, go ahead and charge it first. If you want to read a bit more about the charging of the Alto, see the battery life and charging section.
Note: to get a kit that has everything you need (including a flavor pack), be sure to buy the Complete Kit and not the Power Unit.
How does it hit?
The Vuse Alto has a draw that’s tight like a cigarette, and even tighter than the JUUL. And the hit is really strong. In our opinion, it’s actually stronger than the JUUL when comparing comparable strengths.
On top of that, the hit on the Alto doesn’t seem to taper off either. Most people that have used a JUUL frequently will tell you that the pods don’t hit as strong after the first few puffs. The Alto on the other hand, hits hard throughout the duration of the pod. Two thumbs up on the hit.
If there's any problem with the Alto hit it's that the pods sometimes can suddenly give a bad hit or simply stop working. We don't know why this happens with Alto pods. We've contacted the Vuse call center (as customers, not reviewers) and gotten our bad pods replaced free of charge. If you are experiencing poor performance with your pods or Alto in general, call: 1-800-614-VUSE
Are the flavors any good?
The new truncated menu of flavors for the Vuse Alto are all tobacco and menthol. There are just three flavors in all and they come in strengths of 5.0%, 2.4%, and 1.8% nicotine.
Golden Tobacco: A fairly standard cigarette-style flavor. It's a dead ringer for Halo Torque 56. Golden Tobacco is a strong but brighter tobacco taste than something like the Rich Tobacco flavor.
Rich Tobacco: If you're looking for a bold and mature tobacco flavor, Rich Tobacco is for you. It’s more dark tasting than Original, but it’s got an overall fuller flavor profile that’s more developed. But if you want something simpler and more straightforward, go for the Original.
Menthol: This is a standard tasting menthol with a fairly icy finish. There’s nothing particularly exciting or disappointing in the flavor. It tastes and feels like menthol.
When vaping the Alto, there is a noticeable room note. The smell is not offensive to us, but all the flavors except menthol left a lingering smell. We actually like the aroma seeing as it reminds us of "old school" e-liquid, but this is something to consider if you’ll be using the Alto around others.
Update on U.S. flavor availability
On July 18, 2024, the FDA granted marketing authorization for the Vuse Alto, and Golden Tobacco and Rich Tobacco refill pods in all three nicotine strengths. And while the FDA denied marketing permission for Vuse Alto menthol pods in October 2023, manufacturer R.J. Reynolds continues to sell them while it challenges the FDA denial order in federal court.
Battery life and charging
The Alto comes with a 350 mAh battery, which is about average for a device of its size. Battery life isn’t great, but it should get most people through most of the day. There’s a green LED in the center of the Vuse Alto battery that flashes 10 times when the battery needs to be charged.
To charge the Vuse Alto battery, place the bottom of the device inside of the magnetic charge port on the charger cord and plug in the USB into a computer. You can actually use the Alto while it charges. The full charge takes about 70 to 80 minutes.
It should be noted that the Vuse charger is a proprietary piece of equipment. This is not a charger to discard. If you do, you will have to purchase a new one through Vuse.
Pros / Cons
Pros
- Compact and lightweight
- Well-built
- Easy to change pods
- No buttons
- Cigarette-style draw
- Incredible hit
- Assertive flavors
Cons
- Pods are not held in strongly enough
- Pods are inconsistent (some perfect; some bad)
- Liquid level is difficult to monitor
- Uses a proprietary charger
Verdict
We really enjoy using the Vuse Alto...when it's working properly. Unfortunately, the pods have consistency issues. Especially the Rich Tobacco, otherwise one of our favorite flavors. Sometimes they just start tasting burnt and won't stop, and sometimes they don't make proper connection with the battery. We hope Vuse can get those issues worked out because the device is really satisfying when it's working well.
At this time, we only hesitantly recommend the Vuse Alto. And the recommendation comes with the caveat that you might have consistency issues with the pods. Keep your receipts, just in case.
Have you tried the Vuse Alto? Let us know about your experience in the comments section.
If you are experiencing poor performance with your pods or Alto in general, call: 1-800-614-VUSE.
Vaping360 Staff
