Honest review time: The Lux 200 kit from Coilart

Here’s a look at the latest subohm mesh kit from Coilart. With the boom in popularity of mesh based coils it seems every company out there is working to release a mesh based solution. This kit definitely caters to the cloud chasers and high power vapers out there with one of the beefiest mesh coils I’ve seen yet. Here are my honest thoughts on the Lux 200 kit from Coilart.

Package contents:

  • 1 x LUX 200 1
  • 1 x LUX MESH TANK
  • 1 x EXTRA TUBE
  • 1 x EXTRA COIL
  • 1 x USB CABLE

Listed features and Specs:

Mod size: 89 X 53 X 25mm 
Output wattage: 5W – 200W
Resistance range: 0.05Ω – 3.0Ω
Output mode: VW/TC-Ni/TC-Ti/TC-SS
TC range: 95-315℃ / 200-600℉
Reinforced glass panel with UV Printing
510 spring loaded connector
Features self-adjusting battery contact
Chip Updatable & Host DIY
Black, white, blue, green, red


The Packaging and contents:

The kit comes packed in a big white cardboard box with a window on the front so you can see the mod but not the tank. On the back it’s some basic warnings as well as a sticker with package contents listed on it but it’s not a complete list. I’m not sure if what I received will be final retail packaging so it’s possible it might change. Inside the kit you get the Lux 200 mod, the Lux Mesh tank, a spare bubble glass for the tank, a set of extra o-rings, a nice braided micro USB cable, a user manual for the mod, a manual for the tank and a QC card. You also get a spare coil for the tank with one already installed. It’s a modest kit but you do get everything you need to get started with it.

The mod:

I won’t deny it the mod has a very familiar look to it and probably takes some queues from one of last years most popular devices the Drag. While it’s not an exact copy it does sport a similar shape and when sat side by side the dimensions are nearly identical. Starting at the top it’s got a very nice stainless steel 510 connection which is affixed to the top with two little torx screws. The threads are silky smooth and the gold plated spring loaded 510 center pin has plenty of travel so pretty much anything should sit flush on it. Around the top edge of the device it’s got a very slight taper which will somewhat limit the atomizers you can attach without overhang. The box measures 89mm tall, 53mm wide and it’s 25mm thick but because of that taper it will only accommodate atomizers up to 24.5mm in diameter without a tiny bit of overhang. While all of the edges are rounded and smooth it can feel a bit boxy in hand and could use a few ergonomic refinements.

The Lux 200 is a dual 18650 device and both side panels are removable but you can only insert the batteries in one side. The panels are what Coilart calls reinforced glass panels with UV printing. I got the black version and it’s got an interesting sort of faux marble design on the panels. Being that they’re glass they collect the print of every finger that touches them so while they do look nice unless you’re constantly wiping your device down it’s going to spend most of the time looking a bit of a greasy mess. The panels have a little notch on the bottom that helps lock it in place but also helps with removing the panels. They’re easy enough to put on and take off and on only one of my panels is there any wiggle or play and only if I’m looking for it. On the back edge of the device it has Lux 200 printed in grey and on the very bottom it’s got ‘Designed by Coilart’, the usual CE marking as well as a few little vent holes should anything go amiss with the batteries.

Down the face of the device are the large squarish and gold coloured buttons. The fire button is basically a large square with rounded corners, it’s very firm to press with absolutely no rattle or play to it. The adjustment buttons are sort of sandwiched together to also form a square and are also quite firm with no rattle. In between the fire and adjustment buttons is a rather large OLED screen. It’s fairly bright but I didn’t find anywhere it could be adjusted. It’s not specified but I’d guess it’s probably 0.96″ or so in size. It’s well laid out and easy to read with pretty much all the information on screen at all times. At the top it shows Watts or Temp depending on the mode with the Mode in the top right corner. Just below that are two basic battery bars as well as the fire mode(strong, weak, normal, custom) if using it in VW. Below that is the resistance of the coil, Volts or Watts if in TC, followed by Amps and a Puff count. The puff count however gets reset when batteries are removed.

Functions, features and
performance of Lux 200:

To use the device is also pretty simple with three clicks to cycle through all of the modes which include Power, Bypass, TC Ni, TC Ti and TC SS. Four clicks will let you change the fire mode if in Power with options for Strong, Weak, Normal and Custom where you can set your own basic curve. If you’re in TC four clicks will let you adjust the wattage it will fire at instead of the temperature. I couldn’t find any TCR options on the device so you’ll be stuck with the default TC profiles if you don’t connect it to a PC to customize the profiles nor did I see any means to lock the resistance other than the new coil prompt when attaching a new tank. Personally I don’t tend to use TC much so it wasn’t a big loss for me and I was able to configure the TCR values through their customization software via PC. Pressing and holding both adjustment buttons locks the device and the usual five clicks will turn it on and off.

The device however does have some advantages and uses their smart EAGLE chip which they claim is comparable to Qualcomm’s smartphones with a hint that they use a tech similar to iPhones. The military -grade motherboard boasts a fire time of just 0.005 seconds and is not only upgradeable via firmware but each device is traceable thanks to blockchain encryption. The EAGLE chip can fire up to 200w with an output voltage range of 0.5V up to 8V and supports resistances from 0.05-3ohm. It also has a sort of smart sensing tech implemented where it tries to set a default wattage based on the resistance of your coil which did a pretty good job of it but tended to lean on the safer side setting the power just a bit lower than I’d usually set myself. Interestingly enough it sets the power pretty low for both of the included coils so it definitely still requires some manual intervention but I appreciate that it tries to keep things safe.

As I mentioned the device can also be customized to a degree via their customization software. At the time of this review the software is extremely rudimentary and sports a few minor bugs like not displaying the temperature units correctly but it does let you do some of the things you can’t do on the device. Currently you can chose a Power mode(norm, strong, weak, cust.) for the three main profiles Power, Bypass and TC, you can set the vape time and standby time, you can set a curve for any of the modes, change the temperature units, adjust TCR values and change the boot logos. I’d like to see it a little more polished but as it stands it’s usable.

The Tank:

The tank that comes with the kit is called the Lux Mesh tank and if you haven’t guessed is a mesh based subohm tank. It’s mostly made of colourful resin and pairs up beautifully with the Lux 200. At the top it’s got a wide bore resin 810 drip tip. It’s not a Goon style tip but the tank should still accept Goon style tips with an o-ring in the top cap to support them. Just below it is the easy off top fill. It’s held on with a very coarse short thread so unscrewing and screwing it on only takes about 3/4 of a turn. Because the tank is mostly made of resin and the top fill doesn’t really have any grip to it, if you’re hands are at all slippery it can be a bit of a pain to remove but when dry it’s works flawlessly. The fill ports are fairly wide and the way they’ve implemented it I get almost no mess at all when refilling.

Airflow to the tank comes in via two large and deeply set cyclops style slots on the bottom of the tank. They can be adjust from full open to closed with a stop at either end. At full open it’s a nice direct lung hit with very little resistance. This thing is definitely meant for direct lung though so mouth to lung vapers will probably want to replace the tank if they pick up the kit.

It holds 5.5ml of liquid and comes equipped with a bubble glass tank. The kit includes a spare bubble glass if you happen to break it but doesn’t come with a straight glass so if bubble glass isn’t your thing you’ll be out of luck with this one. There’s actually a good reason this tank uses bubble glass tanks only and it’s the size of the coils. Ok so the default coil is pretty reasonably sized but the alternate coil they include in the kit is just bonkers.

The Coils:

The coils the kit comes with are pretty impressive. The M1 coils that comes installed is a pretty typical mesh coil rated at 0.15ohm with a wattage range of 50-90W with the best recommended being between 60-80W. I felt like it performed about as I’d expect from any good mesh coil with a very short break in time and excellent flavour and vapour production. It worked well for me around 60W giving me a good balance between performance and battery life. I did get a tiny bit of leaking after leaving it sitting for a while but it’s pretty common with mesh coils.

The other coil the M4 however is basically the cloud beast equivalent of a mesh coil with it being a four barrel four coil monster that’s nearly twice the girth of the other included coil. Now you really start to see the need for the bubble glass, it’s not just for capacity it’s also just to house this burly beast of a coil. Each of the four coils when examined up close looks more like a notch coil than it does a mesh coil but it’s a pretty subtle distinction. It actually measures in at the same 0.15ohm but with a much hungrier power range of 80-150W with their best recommended range being between 100-120W. I find they need at least 100W to really shine but run considerably warmer than the M1 coil. Flavour gets pretty intense but it can also get a bit spitty and when it’s over 100W, not something you really want to encounter. Surprisingly the vapour production with the four coils stayed pretty similar to the other coil but felt much denser or at least I felt like I was drinking more juice with it.

Likes:

  • Looks/design
  • Build quality
  • Performance
  • Customization
  • Firmware updates
  • Glass panels
  • Solid buttons
  • Simple interface
  • Performance of the M1 mesh coils

Dislikes:

  • Boxy/not very ergonomic
  • No TCR on device
  • Customization software is very rudimentary
  • M4 coil a bit much/can spit lava

Overall:

Much like the earliest implementation of the Drag it can still use a bit of refinement but with it’s ability to update and customize the interface, not to mention the replaceable panels it should provide an even broader experience for those willing to delve into it. I particularly appreciate some of the design elements they’ve added to the device and tank with the gold accents on the tank matching nicely with the gold buttons on the device. A pretty solid entry from Coilart and a good option for anyone looking for a dual battery device that works well with mesh coils!