VAPORESSO ARMOUR ULTRA Review: Built Tough with Multi-Day Battery Life

Design & Build Quality

If you have used or seen any of the “ARMOUR” devices from VAPORESSO, the look of the ARMOUR ULTRA should be instantly familiar to you. It has a bold and distinct design, styled to look like it is, as the name suggests, armored.

To be completely fair, in the ARMOUR series, this isn’t just styling for the sake of making it look rugged. The device is certified to IP68, IP69K, and MIL-STD-810H standards. To put that in terms that normal humans use, it’s waterproof, waterjet-proof, dustproof, and shockproof with 1.2m of military-grade drop resistance. Even the tank, which is made from much more fragile glass, can be fitted with a silicone protector (supplied in the box) to keep it safe.

As you might expect, a 145mm tall and 37mm wide armored vape is not the lightest thing in the world. It’s lighter than many single-battery tank mods, but it’s certainly no lightweight. The tank alone weighs in at about 83g, which is heavier than most small pod vapes. The mod battery section weighs about the same as the ARMOUR S, around 173g.

But because the ARMOUR ULTRA has a built-in battery and the ARMOUR S takes an 18650 cell, in use, it is actually around 25% lighter due to the weight of the battery. If you are used to using single battery vape mods, you’ll notice the lighter feel in your hand, but for someone upgrading from a pod vape, even a pod mod like the ARMOUR G, it’s quite a bit heavier.

One side of the body is rounded for comfort when holding it in your hand and features two sections padded with leather (or a leather-like material). The front face is flat, and this is where you find the 0.96-inch color TFT display, two setting control buttons, the fire button, and the USB port (hidden behind a silicone cap).

To one side of the screen is a button lock slider, within easy reach of your thumb, which makes it very easy to protect the device from unwanted firing. The airflow control, as is the case with the vast majority of tank mods, is a rotatable cuff on the tank itself, not on the mod body.

The ARMOUR ULTRA is available in seven different colors, ranging from the Emerald Green version I was sent to review, to Obsidian Black, Dune Gold, and Light Pink. The design of the leather pads, both in color and embossed pattern, varies across the range. The color options are:

• Obsidian Black
• Camo Silver
• Dune Gold
• Emerald Green
• Titanium Silver
• Storm Blue
• Light Pink

Features & Functions

Compared to the pod vapes I tend to use on a normal day, the ARMOUR ULTRA is pretty feature-rich, but compared to the ARMOUR S and other tank mods, there isn’t anything truly groundbreaking or unique in what this device offers.

I found it both easy to use and eminently adjustable and adaptable, which isn’t always a balance that vape mods achieve. I hesitate to call it idiot proof, but it’s about as close as this type of vape gets.

There are four main modes to choose between: Boost, Pulse, Eco, and Temperature Control. If you have never encountered these modes before, the first three are fairly easy to understand.

Boost Mode uses the most power and provides the highest vapor output of the three, ideal for cloud chasers. Pulse Mode provides a less intense but more consistent hit by pulsing power through the coil at 0.2-second intervals, which is good for flavor production. Eco Mode is the least intense, with the lowest vapor output and less vibrant flavor, but it has considerably less battery drain.

Temperature Control Mode, which is actually split into three modes in this device (TC-SS, TC-NI, and TC-TI), allows you to specify the temperature to which the coil can reach. This is useful for users who prefer a cooler or warmer lungful of vapor than average, but it can also allow you to experience different flavor notes from an e-liquid.

All of the modes available on the ARMOUR ULTRA seem to work exactly as intended, and the straightforward settings menu and Up/Down buttons make switching between them a simple task.

All of the remaining settings are fairly self-explanatory. There is a wattage lock option, theme selection, brightness controls, puff count reset, etc. The device also features Smart Mode, which takes the guesswork out of power settings by recommending a safe wattage range based on the coil that is detected.

All of the settings are accessed by pressing the fire button three times, using the Up/Down buttons to navigate the menu, and pressing fire to select. Wattage/temperature can also be adjusted from outside the menu simply by pressing the Up/Down buttons. Access to all of this, including the fire button, can be locked using the physical slider on the side of the device.

An interesting feature of this device is its battery. Most mods of similar power range use removable and rechargeable 18650 or 21700 batteries, but VAPORESSO has chosen to use an internal 5500mAh cell in the ULTRA. The makers suggest that this will provide up to three days of use (depending on the power mode you use), which is broadly similar to what you might get from two 18650 batteries.

During my tests, a three-day lifespan was often achievable when using the vape in Eco or Pulse Modes, but it was closer to two days in Boost Mode. The coil and wattage you use will also affect this, but on average, two to three days sounds about right.

iTank T Tank

The ARMOUR ULTRA uses a variation of the iTank last seen with the ARMOUR Max and ARMOUR S. This updated version, the iTank T, holds slightly less e-liquid at 6ml, but retains many of the most appealing features, including compatibility with VAPORESSO’s excellent GTi coils.

The tank, which makes up over a third of the total device height and is styled to fit the armored theme, screws securely into the top of the mod using a standard 510 threaded connector. The removable drip tip is also a standard 810 size, making it easy to replace should you decide you want to do so.

The glassware, which is bubble-style and wider than the tank body, is also entirely replaceable should it get broken. You even get a replacement glass tube and a couple of O-rings in the kit. The replacement isn’t a 6ml bubble-style tube, but it should do the job of keeping your device usable while you order a proper replacement. To help prevent untimely breakage of the glass, VAPORESSO also supplies you with a silicone tank protector that can be slid on or off whenever you desire.

Like the other iTank versions, this one is top-fill. You access the fill port by sliding the top section to one side to reveal a silicone cap with a small self-sealing fill port cut into it. Filling needs to be done through the small fill port so that the liquid flows around the outside of the chamber and not down into the coil chimney. As long as you adhere to that rule, refilling is generally easy, and the sliding cap feels secure.

Just below the fill cap is the rotating airflow slider, which can be used to open or close two huge air intake holes. Most DL vapers will likely want the airflow fully or mostly open, but there is quite a lot of adjustability there for those who want a slightly tighter draw. There is a good amount of resistance in the rotating cuff, and I never felt like the airflow was in danger of being accidentally changed while the vape was in my pocket.

As mentioned, the iTank T is compatible with VAPORESSO’s GTi coils. You get a 0.2Ω and a 0.4Ω dual mesh coil with the kit, but you can use any coils from the range. That means you can go as low as 0.15Ω and as high as 0.5Ω, depending on your preferred vaping style and the wattage range you want to use.

The GTi coils differ from VAPORESSO’s GTX coils slightly in that they have wider airflow. This makes them better suited to DL vaping, while retaining the plug-and-go simplicity of a pre-built coil.

Overall, the tank feels solidly and cleverly built, it’s easy to disassemble and maintain, and refilling the tank and changing the coil are quick and simple. I have to admit that glass tanks, particularly bubble glass, make me nervous about handling a device too casually, so it is nice that VAPORESSO provides something to protect it.

Performance

This is undoubtedly and unapologetically a DL device. It’s not the case that it does DL best, but it could be used for other vaping styles; it is purely for DL vapers. The low resistance coils, high airflow, and high power mean that it would not really even work for RDL, and it gets nowhere near an MTL experience.

But then, what would be the point of paying eighty bucks on the ULTRA, when you can buy perfectly good RDL and MTL vapes for well under half that price?

I began my tests with the pre-installed 0.2 coil, running at the recommended 65W, in Boost Mode. This produces a fairly warm draw with huge amounts of vapor, a strong throat hit, and honestly, it felt a bit much for me at the start. However, a bit of tweaking with the airflow made it more manageable.

I’m not bothered about huge clouds, but if you are, that’s the setup to go for out of the box. The sweet spot for me with the 0.2 coil was 60W, airflow open, and Pulse Mode. This produces a good amount of vapor, but more balanced with good flavor.

Switching to the 0.4 coil also helps cool down the draw, if that suits your vaping needs better. Running the 0.4 at 50W in either Pulse or Boost Mode felt, to me, more like an everyday vaping setup. The flavor is still great, the draw is cooler, and you still get a good lungful of vapor with every hit.

You can theoretically run either coil at any level between 5W and 100W, but for the sake of the vaping experience and the lifespan of the coil, I would advise not straying more than 5 or 10W either side of VAPORESSO’s recommended range for each.

The Temperature Control Modes are also worth experimenting with. It allows you to really tweak the vaping experience to your taste, and even seemingly small changes in temp can significantly warm or cool the draw and reveal flavor notes in your e-liquid that you might never have noticed before.

Just be aware that being too extreme with the temperature change can lead to problems such as coil flooding (too low) or shorter lifespan (too high).

The internal 5500mAh battery seems to provide ample power, and after a day or so, I forgot that there weren’t a pair of 18650 cells powering the device. As mentioned earlier, a full charge will last at least a couple of days unless you are using something like the 0.15 coil at close to max wattage.

Recharging is relatively fast thanks to the USB Type-C being rated for either 2A or 3A charging. Using the appropriate cable and mains block for 3A charging, a full recharge took a little over an hour on average; quite good for a 5500mAh cell.

Verdict

While the armor aesthetic might not be for everyone, there is no doubt that it suits a device that can handle almost anything that could be thrown at it. If you are someone who spends a lot of time outdoors doing adventure-type stuff, or even just working outdoors in all weathers, this could be the perfect DL vape. Even if you are more of a homebody, there is much about the ARMOUR ULTRA to recommend it.

The modes are all great and all distinct enough to provide several different DL vaping experiences in a single device. The Pulse and TC Modes were the ones I used most as they really allow the flavor of your vape juice to shine, but I can certainly see the appeal of Boost Mode if you want a more intense draw, and the usefulness of Eco Mode when you need to eke out the battery life. It is easy to switch between modes and the various other settings with just a few button presses.

VAPORESSO’s tanks have been impressing me for several years now, and the iTank T is no different in that regard. It looks good and feels solid, despite having a large glass bubble in the middle. I used it for a day without the tank protector, but had it firmly in place for the rest of the time, just to be safe.

Filling is easy, mess-free, and quick, thanks to that sliding top panel and silicone cap. Top fill and top airflow aren’t new or unique features of this device, but they work so well that it would be a minus point if the tank didn’t have these features.

What I like most about the ARMOUR ULTRA is that it offers great adjustability and a solid DL vape without being overly complicated or punishing if you don’t have every setting just right. You don’t need to learn about rebuildable coils, buy 18650 batteries and a separate charger, or spend days tweaking the setup to find a sweet spot, which makes DL vaping feel within reach of almost anyone who wants to give it a try.

Recommended.