JAC Vapour is a UK-based company offering a range of eGo-style and more advanced devices, with the Series-E battery offering variable voltage between 3.7 and 4.8 V, a capacity of 1000 mAh and coming in kits with either the ProTank or Aero Tank. But how does it perform? Is it worth the investment, or should you look elsewhere?
The Series-E is a fantastic option for the just-switching smoker, having the ease of use you associate with eGo-style devices with the added bonus of some options for voltage. While there could be more choice over voltage setting, the available options will be enough for most people’s purposes, unless you’re planning on using very high or low-ohm coils. The biggest downside is the price, with Vision Spinners and eGo Twists available for a little less and offering more choice in terms of voltage. However, in terms of the quality of what you get, the Series-E does a great job, and you’re unlikely to be disappointed.
Most modern e-cigs are either eGo-style devices preferred by just-switching smokers or more capable mods, which offer vast improvements in performance but often at the expense of ease-of-use. For anybody looking for a middle-ground between the two, devices like the eGo-Twist and the Vision Spinner are among the only possibilities, but the Series-E from JAC Vapour offers another option within that niche. The UK-based company got started in 2010, offering an ever-expanding range of vaping products and gaining a lot of praise in the process. You can pick up the Series-E in the basic kit (battery only), with a ProTank or with an Aero Tank. We’ve put the Aero Tank version of the kit to the test in our JAC Vapour Series-E review to see if it performs well enough to help smokers make the switch to vaping.
What You Get
The Series-E kit comes in black plastic carry case, surrounded by a cardboard sleeve with some basic instructions on the interior. The case has two trenches inside, one with the battery and your tank and another in case you’ve sprung for an extra battery, as well as a spare coil for your tank. You also get a USB charger, which you attach directly to the device to recharge, and has a LED light to let you know when it’s finished charging. Overall you get what you’d expect from any starter kit, but the carry case is a nice touch; perhaps a bit long to fit into a pocket but useful for putting in a bag none-the-less.
Design and Compatibility
In terms of design, the device looks like a cross between an eGo battery and a metallic tube mod, with stainless steel construction and minimal, light grey branding. “JAC” is printed up the length of the battery, with the “C” resting on the fire button and tweaked so it also looks like a power symbol.
It measures 7.8 cm (3 and 1/16 inches) without an atomizer attached, and 1.9 cm in diameter (about 3/4 of an inch), making it relatively portable and fitting comfortably into your hand. The fire button doesn't quite sit where your thumb naturally falls, but it's easy enough to adjust to. The bottom of the device has six small vent holes, providing some physical protection in case something goes wrong with the battery.
It comes with a beauty ring, which you can remove to reveal full eGo threading (for clearomizers), but when in place it’s well-covered, leaving only the spring-loaded 510 connection visible. This means you can use pretty much any type of atomizer with the Series-E, and the spring-loaded connector means you’re highly unlikely to have connectivity issues.
The appearance with the included Aero Tank is sleek, with the two devices looking like they belong together – particularly with the addition of the JAC Vapour branding just above the air-holes on the tank. You also get a metallic drip tip, fairly basic but again fitting in nicely with the overall aesthetic.
Battery Life and Features
The battery has a capacity of 1000 mAh, more than most eGo-style devices but falling a little shy of what you’ll get with most mods. The upshot is that you can get a day’s worth of moderate use out of it, but if you’re a heavy vaper – or are just switching from smoking – you might find you’ll have drained the battery by some point in the evening. It’s much better than many comparable devices, but it may be worth picking up the spare battery if you don’t have anything to use during charging. It charges within a few hours, but that’s a long time to go without nicotine if you don’t have a backup.
Although it’s a beginner-friendly device, there are a couple of additional features on the Series-E, the most important of which is some variable voltage capability. Pressing the fire button three times cycles through the available voltages, 3.7, 4.2 and 4.8 V, which are color-coded (both when you change setting and when you hit fire) red, green and white to let you know which setting you’re using. This is a great additional feature, and while many may prefer to stick to the lower two settings, the high voltage option offers a boost in vapor production and a more satisfying vape for heavier smokers. As you’d expect, though, using higher voltages will reduce the battery life of the device.
You can also lock the device by hitting the fire button five times in quick succession, ensuring you stay safe when you’re carrying the device around by preventing accidental firing.
Overall, both the battery life and extra features are great for a beginner-level device, offering you plenty of control over your vaping experience, and surpassing most eGo-style devices in terms of battery life.
In Use
The biggest benefit of the Series-E is that it has the aforementioned extra features but still remains as easy to use as any eGo-style device, requiring only periodic charging, filling the tank, occasionally cleaning, changing coils and holding the fire button to vape. If you’re using pre-built coils, you’ll barely ever need to adjust the voltage once you’ve found the right level for you, so really it’s no more complicated than any entry-level option.
When this ease of use is combined with the ability to use the included tank or any old clearomizers or other atomizers you have lying around, the Series-E is a solid device for any new or even already-converted vapers. The size makes it pretty easy to carry around – without the case it’s a little easier, to be honest – and if offers ample battery life for most trips out of the house, whether for a night on the town or a day at work (unless you chain-vape, perhaps).
When you do need to charge, the fire button blinks (multi-colored), and you simply unscrew your tank, take off the beauty ring and screw the connector onto the charger before plugging it into your laptop. The LED on the charger will flicker to green and back to red again for a while before it’s fully charged, but you know it’s done when the green light stays on solidly. The short charger wire makes it a bit awkward to position the device when you’re charging, but that’s only a minor annoyance.
As for vapor production, the choice of three voltages means that most vapers and smokers will be happy with what’s on offer. On the lowest setting, the vapor production is still fairly substantial, but on the middle and higher settings it’s much better, particularly if you’re looking for the sort of performance you get from higher-end mods in a more user-friendly package. Clicking three times to change voltage isn’t as user-friendly as an eGo Twist/Vision Spinner-style twisting selector, but you quickly get used to it. Having more options for voltage would be nice – and would allow more fine control over your experience – but it’s unlikely to be a big issue for most just-switching smokers.
Of course, much of the vapor production comes down to the tank, and the Aero Tank included in our kit definitely helps with that. The tank has five airflow holes and a ring to allow you to uncover or close as many off as you like (an adjustable airflow system). This means you can loosen up or tighten the draw to suit your preferences, although it’s worth noting that more airflow tends to mean more vapor production. For me, the fully-open, five-hole airflow is the best way to go, but for anyone looking for a tighter draw, the option is there.
Most of the maintenance you’ll need to do – and the more technical stuff altogether – is with the tank, and thankfully it’s very straightforward. To refill, you simply unscrew the bottom portion of the tank (including the airflow section) and invert the tank before filling, making sure you don’t get any juice down the center tube. The atomizer heads are easy to replace too: simply unscrew the stem-and-coil portion and put the new one in its place. When you fill for the first time, you need to leave the juice to soak in for ten to 15 minutes (to avoid dry puffs), but this won’t be such an issue after the first fill. The components can be cleaned with warm water while you have the tank disassembled.
The only minor issue with the device in use was some occasional flashing of the fire button when I went to fire, even though the battery wasn’t drained and the coil was working fine. According to JAC Vapour’s website, this is due to the tank being screwed on a little too tight, and after slightly loosening it there haven’t been any issues.
Aside from this minor hiccup, there’s nothing to complain about with the device in use. While you can find better battery life, vapor production and performance with higher-end devices and mods (not to mention extra features like ohm-checkers, screens and finer control over voltage), in its class the Series-E is an absolute knockout.
Manufacturing Quality
Throughout testing, there were no problems whatsoever with the JAC Vapour Series-E. The build quality seems solid, with everything working as it should and no problems with the threading or in any other areas. Some users have had problems with batteries running out a little quicker than they should, and some report faulty chargers, but this is to be expected on rare occasions with pretty much any device, and it seems that the vast majority of vapers – like me – have no issues whatsoever.
To find similar devices, check out our recent vaping mod reviews, and if you want specific suggestions for top performing devices, see this list of the best rated vape mods or best vape pens we put together based on suggestions from the community.