Sign In
Create Account
3
for my own money.
Introduction
I've been vaping for some four months now, starting off like many with an eGo
and working my way through the Pure Smoker Prodigy and the Lavatube. The Lavatube
was my first real introduction to variable voltage vaping and while it's a great
device for the money, I quickly started to tire of the actual output dropping as
the battery discharged. This gets more and more pronounced as you get to the lower
end of the battery's charge and I found myself swapping batteries when the charge
got down to 3.5 volts. Having read other opinions of the Provari, I decided to bite
the bullet and get one.
Look and Feel
So here it is with a SmokTech tank on the top. As you can see, I went for the
satin finish. I'd read that the black chrome is nowhere near as permanent as it
should be and I didn't care for the chrome finish as I'd be forever polishing the
fingerprints off it!
As supplied, the Provari takes one 18500 battery. Only AW IMR batteries are
recommended for the Provari as it places some fairly heavy demands on the battery,
especially when boosting the battery's output to higher voltages. In 18500 mode, the
Provari is 105mm tall and has a diameter of 22mm. I also got the extra end cap that
lets you use an 18650 battery and in this mode, the Provari grows to 117mm tall.
This is a heavy device. The solid, stainless steel construction is very convincing
and it just feels 'quality'. With battery, it weighs 152g in 18500 mode and 169g in
18650 mode. Is it too heavy? I don't think so. My smartphone weighs in at 147g, and
if that's OK for a phone then just a few more grams more for the Provari does not
seem excessive.
It's not really that big either, here's a comparison to the Screwdriver Keyring
first in 18500 mode then 18650 mode.
It fits into my hand very nicely, with my thumb naturally finding the single button.
Provari Functions
We are talking about a variable voltage device of course and the Provari will deliver
anything from 3.3 to 6.0 volts. The voltage setting and other functions are accessed
via the Provari's menu which you enter by pressing the fire button five times. There
are then six items on the menu, each one separated by a blank entry:
Voltage Up
Voltage Down
Power On/Off
Check Battery
Atomiser Ohms
Light On/Off
After five presses, you are at Voltage Up and you need to press twice to get to the
next entry in the menu. It's not as bad as it sounds! To raise the voltage, you'd
do the following: Press fire five times - the display shows Pu (Power Up) - wait two
seconds and the current voltage is displayed - press fire again to raise the voltage
by .1 of a volt for each press - when the desired voltage is reached, just wait two seconds
and the display goes out. The new voltage setting is now activated and will be remembered
even when changing batteries. I guess it took me all of ten minutes to get used to.
I won't explain every menu item, as it's fairly obvious what they do. The Light On/Off
entry allows you to control the LED in the fire button that normally lights when you
press it. As the light is also used to tell you when the battery is getting low on charge,
turning the light off will also turn off the battery warning! Both the Atomiser Ohms and
Check Battery functions power up your atomiser for a short time. This is needed to check
the atomiser's resistance, and is sensible when checking the battery as you are shown the
battery voltage on load rather than off load.
When the battery gets close to needing changing, the fire button starts to flash once
every two seconds. Once the battery finally runs out, the Provari powers down the
atomiser and flashes the fire button twice per second to tell you that it is empty.
I've found that you get about 30-40 drags more from the device once the low power
warning starts. This will, of course, vary with how high or low you currently have the
voltage set. I get about 8-10 hours use from one 18500 battery so as long as I start
the day with a fully charged battery it will last the entire working day.
The display is bright! In dark environments, it seems even too bright, but the flip-side
of this is that you can actually read the LED display in bright sunlight.
So here's the display and button:-
In Use
It's a great device in your hand. The button has three concentric rings on it to give
some grip for your thumb and operates totally silently with a couple of millimeters of
travel. It works first time and every time. The button also stops it from rolling off
a table if you lay it on its side. I don't think I'd like to drop this onto a tiled
floor. I know which would come out worse for the encounter!
The 510 connector at the top is well made with smooth threads and a gold plated centre
pin. Surrounding the connector is a good sized drip well to cope with overdripping. The
connector is sealed that that you won't end up getting juice on the electronics.
The threads on the battery cap are equally well made and the cap screws on on off with
a silky feel.
I've been vaping atomisers, cartomisers and carto tanks on the Provari and all of them
work really well. Although it's normally recommended to use standard resistance devices
on a VV mod, this is far from mandatory. The Provari is just as happy running a low
resistance dual-coil carto at 3.8 volts as it is running a 2.8 ohm atomiser at 5.5 volts.
What's really important is getting exactly the same voltage that your device is happy
at on each and every press of the button. This is where the Provari really shines. On
my Lavatube, the voltage drops noticeably as the battery discharges. You start to get
less and less vapour. No so on the Provari. I get exactly the same vape with a fresh
battery as I get with the 'low battery' light blinking. The electronics in the Provari
are superbly designed and deliver exactly what VV is all about - stable output at the
voltage you choose.
If you turn up the voltage too high, the Provari displays 'E2' to tell you that you
have exceeded the device's current limit. Nominally, the Provari is limited to 2.5 amps,
but mine will manage 2.6 and I know that other Provari owners can get more than that.
A short-circuited atomiser will not harm the Provari, it simply displays 'E1' when you
try to use it. There are various other errors that can be displayed and it will also
protect itself if it gets too hot.
When you are vaping with the Provari, it feels comfortable in your hand and the quality
feel is just the same as my favourite non VV device - the Pure Smoker Prodigy. It's also
about the same size.
In Summary
I can't see any bad sides to the Provari. It is superbly and robustly made. It gives a
perfectly regulated output voltage all through the battery's charge life. It is simple
to use and thoughtfully designed.
A top class device that is worth every penny. 10/10
Back to top
