Product intro and specs
The VAPORESSO ZERO 2 is the latest pod system by VAPORESSO, a company that has established itself as one of the best vape manufacturers in the industry over the past few years with many great devices. This is the follow-up to the original ZERO pod, which was a great device for its time.
The ZERO 2 is a pod system in a small package, as is the craze these days, but not as small as the Uwell Caliburn A2 or the LUXE Q. It’s a thicker version of the original ZERO. Its internal battery is listed at 800 mAh, it uses inhale to fire (no buttons,) and comes with pods that have a 3 mL capacity and built-in coils.
Back in 2018, the original ZERO found its way into my list of recommended vapes. Keep reading to find out if the ZERO 2 is a worthy successor.
Price: $17.99 (at Element Vape)
Colors: Black, carbon fiber, black blue, black red, black green, black purple.
- Pod capacity: 3 mL / 2 mL (TPD）
- Output power: 1.3-ohm CCELL pod (9W) / 1.0-ohm mesh pod (11W)
- Filling system: PTF
- Battery capacity: 800 mAh
- Battery display: Dynamic tidal light
- Charging: Type-C / 1A
- Charging time: 45 minutes
- 1 x ZERO 2 1.0-ohm mesh pod (3 mL)
- 1 x ZERO 2 1.3-ohm CCELL pod (3 mL)
- 1 × E-Liquid filling bottle (10 mL)
- 1 x Type-C cable
- 1 x User manual
- 1 x Warranty card
Build quality and design
The ZERO 2 is a small rectangular pod with an interesting design. To me, the hump it has on its back makes it look like a futuristic Hot Wheels car without wheels on it. Once you see that you can’t really unsee it, but I like the design. It also weighs very little but feels really solid in the hand. You can tell it’s well built and can survive everyday use and drops. It stands at 89 mm x 31.8 mm x 19 mm, so it’s slightly bigger than their LUXE Q, but not by much. It’s pretty easy to pocket in my opinion.
It's offered in six colors. Black and carbon fiber are the two solid color options, while the other four fade from black to red, blue, green, and purple. I got the black-purple one for review and it’s a nice blend of purple on the top fading into black on the bottom. The colored part of the device is the plate that covers the whole top side. The rest of the body, which is the bottom, the sides, and a small line on the top, are all solid matte grey.
There are no buttons on the device as it is inhale-to-fire. Just an LED strip on the top that uses four arrows to tell you the battery charge. All in all, it’s a pretty standard pod system, but it is built well and looks good.
Getting started
The ZERO 2 is a pretty typical pod system that’s simple to use. There are no buttons or anything, no options or features. It's a simple fill, vape, and charge when needed—making it ideal for beginners.
The pod itself just pops into place via magnets and pops in and out of the device very easily. The magnets are strong, and the pod is held in firmly. To remove the pod, just grab it and pull it out. No special tricks needed. To put it back in, just pop it in and the magnets will grab it. Really easy and simple as it should be.
Refilling works just like the pods on their original ZERO—in fact, the ZERO 2 is compatible with the original ZERO pods. You pop out the pod and on the bottom is a little metal valve. It’s spring-loaded, so push your fine-tipped bottle down on it to open it and squeeze your juice in. It works well, so no complaints. They also include an empty fine-tipped bottle in the package, so if your bottle has a thicker nozzle you can use this one instead.
The pod is tinted which I’m not a fan of, but almost fully exposed which is great. It’s not a really dark tint, but it’s on the darker side, so checking juice levels can be tough in low lighting. I really wish the pods were clear like the XROS Mini I recently reviewed.
Overall, outside of the dark tint on the pods, I’m very happy overall with the simplicity of using this device.
Performance
The most important part of any pod device is going to be the coils. VAPORESSO’s pod systems have had really good coils as of late, so we’ll see how this stacks up.
As I mentioned in the previous section, the ZERO 2 is compatible with the original ZERO pods. It appears that the coils are the same as well with the only difference being the ZERO 2 pods are 3 mL capacity while the ZERO pods were only 2 mL. The ZERO 2 comes with two pods; a 1.0-ohm mesh pod that vapes around 11 watts, and a 1.3-ohm CCELL pod that vapes around 9 watts.
For my testing, I used 50/50 20-30 mg nic salt juices. I started with the pre-installed 1.0-ohm mesh coil and the flavor was great. It’s a solid MTL draw but not super tight. As for coil life, it exceeded my expectations. Normally I look for about 10-12 mL out of a pod like this. I was able to get double that at 24 mL and it was still good and not dead yet, so really happy with that pod overall.
Then I went to the 1.3-ohm CCELL pod. It took a little bit to break in—about half a tank— but then the flavor was good. Just not as good as the mesh coil. It does draw a little tighter as well, so if you like a tighter draw, you may prefer this one. Coil life was still good. Like I said, I usually expect around 10-12 mL, but I got 15 mL out of this, so it’s above average.
Overall, both coils were good, but the mesh coil is a better coil overall. The good thing is that since it comes with one of each, you could try both for yourself and then buy the one you prefer.
Battery life and charging
The ZERO 2 comes with an internal battery listed at 800 mAh whereas the original ZERO was listed at 650 mAh, so they did increase the battery size. They list the charge rate at 1A and a charge time of 45 minutes. I tested all this and for the charge rate I got a max of 1A, so great rating there.
The device charges through a Type-C port that’s placed at the bottom. For charge time, the device appears to be full after 45 minutes as all the lights are lit, but it’s actually only about 90% full at that point. It’ll top all the way off in the next 15 minutes, so it’s really 60 minutes for a full charge—but you’ll get most of it in the first 45 minutes. Still, 60 minutes is pretty good for a pod vape so no complaints. Most pods like this charge up in about an hour to 90 mins.
For battery size, I got around 733 mAh. Good rating there for sure. The charge rate rating is dead-on, and the time and capacity ratings are close enough to be ok in my book. It does have passthrough vaping as well, and it pauses charging while vaping then resumes. The LED acts as a battery meter using four cycling arrow lights:
- Four lights: 80-100%
- Three lights: 60-80%
- Two lights: 30-60%
- One light: 0-30%
I love the spacing and the fourth step, however, it is kinda hard to get a good read on it and not miss one since they flash in a cycle. I wish they would have just kept them on solid and had them stay on a little longer after you finish your puff.
Pros / Cons
Gallery
Verdict
Overall, VAPORESSO did a good job with the ZERO 2. It’s nothing new or groundbreaking and doesn’t really stand out, but it’s a solid overall device to help new vapers and people looking to quit smoking. They made it simpler and with a bigger battery, so it’s a nice upgrade from the original ZERO. It does everything it promises in an affordable and well-built package. It’s simple and just works.
I really don’t have anything bad to say about it. There are some minor quirks I listed as cons, but nothing that would prevent me from recommending it. If you are in the market for a new simple pod device, the ZERO 2 is well worth looking at.
We’d like to hear from you. Have you tried the VAPORESSO ZERO 2? What was your experience with the device? Let us know in the comments below.
