UWELL CALIBURN G5 Lite & G5 Lite KOKO Review

Design & Build Quality

The G5 Lite and G5 Lite KOKO function nearly identically, but their exterior is slightly different, despite being built from the same materials. 

The G5 Lite sports the typical tall and slim pod vape form factor, measuring in at 112.2mm tall, 30.2mm wide, and 18mm thick. This is slightly wider and thicker than the G4 Mini, and even larger than the Caliburn G4, so it feels like a full-size pod vape in the hand; not quite as portable as the previous generation. It’s also heavier than either of the aforementioned devices, weighing in at 60g. It’s still pretty light,  but not as light as the G4 Mini’s 46g.

It’s a similar story with the size and weight of the G5 Lite KOKO. This device has a rectangular form factor, which is basically the only difference between it and the G5 Lite. Compared to the G3 Lite KOKO (UWELL never released a G4 Lite KOKO), this device is taller, but it’s actually thinner and slimmer. At 112.7mm tall, 24.1mm wide, and 14mm thick, the overall footprint is smaller than its predecessor, but the 64g weight is a noticeable 18g increase.

Both devices feature the same textured plastic exterior; it reminds me of waves rippling across the water. Not only does it look cool, but it also adds a lot of grip to the devices, making it less likely that they’ll slip out of your hand.

The top portion of each device, where the pod connects, has a transparent 3mm section that lets you see the pod’s contents without removing it. There’s also a wide but short e-juice viewing window through which you can see the bottom-most contents of the pod. Very little of the pod is obscured when it’s inserted, which I think is a rather cool design feature.

Both devices have a small airflow slider. On the G5 Lite, it’s on the side of the device, while the G5 Lite KOKO has it on the top of the device. I’ll get into the airflow in the performance section of this review. Both have a Type-C charging port on the side.

Pods

If you have older Caliburn pods lying around, then you’re in luck. The G5 Lite and G5 Lite KOKO both use the same pod family as the G3 and G4 series devices: GPP pods. There are 3ml and 2ml versions available in four different resistances.

The ones that you’ll be able to get will depend on your location. Since I’m in Canada, my devices came with 2ml pods, but other than the capacity, they are exactly the same as the 3ml pods.

Both the G5 Lite and G5 Lite KOKO come with a single 0.6Ω pod. The other available resistances are 0.4Ω, 0.9Ω, and 1.2Ω.

The 3ml pods are side-filled, with the fill port secured by a rubber plug. Since the fill port is located towards the top of the pod, these can be filled without being removed from the device. The 2ml pods are either side-filled or top-filled, depending on the version that you have (G3, G4, or G5).

The G5 pods that came with my devices are top-filled, requiring you to pop off the mouthpiece to reveal the fill port. This fill port is a plunger-style, so you have to push down with your bottle nozzle while you fill in order to open up the port. Once you’re done filling, removing the nozzle will close the fill port, which prevents any leaks.

The 2ml pods that came with my devices are completely clear, making them easy to see into. However, the capacity is a bit deceiving. The bottom portion of the pod has a clear section that is raised up a few millimetres, and this makes it look like there’s still e-juice in the pod. In reality, this clear section is the true bottom of the pod. I had a few times where I took a peek at the pod and thought that I still had e-juice, only to take a dry-tasting puff. Don’t make the same mistake that I did!

Battery Life & Charging

The big upgrade over the G4 Mini and G3 Lite KOKO can be found in the battery capacity of these devices. Both the G5 Lite and G5 Lite KOKO have a 1600mAh battery capacity, an increase of 500mAh and 400mAh over their predecessors. This results in noticeably better battery life, somewhere around 3-4 pods per charge and multiple days of use.

Even though they both use LED indicators, each device displays the remaining battery life slightly differently. With the G5 Lite, the LED indicator is made up of four bars, which change color and drop as the battery depletes:

• 4 Bars, Lights up Green: 75-100%
• 3 Bars, Lights up Blue: 50-74%
• 2 Bars, Lights up Yellow: 25-49%
• 1 Bar, Lights up Red: 0-24%

The G5 Lite KOKO does not have a bar system, and the LED indicator only changes color to indicate the battery status:

• Green: High battery
• Blue: Medium battery
• Red: Low Battery

Neither the manual nor UWELL’s website states what each battery level corresponds to, but I got quite a bit of vaping time from when the battery reached the red indicator to when it actually died, so there’s more than enough time to get to a charger.

The biggest difference between these two devices is the charging speed. Thanks to its 2A charging, the G5 Lite KOKO is the faster of the two, reaching 90% in thirty-five minutes and 100% in forty-five minutes. The G5 Lite is significantly slower due to 1A charging, taking an hour and ten minutes to reach a full charge.

Performance

When it comes to how these two devices actually vape, the experience is identical. Even though they’re different in shape, the airflow feels exactly the same. Airflow from RDL to MTL is possible; it just depends on which pod you use and how you set the airflow slider.

With the 0.6Ω pod and the airflow open, I get a restricted direct-lung (RDL) draw that, while airy, still delivers a bunch of flavor from my e-juice. If I close down the airflow, I can get it down to a mouth-to-lung (MTL) draw, and the flavor is still very good despite the airflow being restricted. 

With this pod, I think it’s best to leave the airflow open and vape it as intended for RDL, as the flavor is just a bit better.

I used a 20mg/ml nicotine salt e-juice with the 0.6Ω pod, and I found it just fine, but I would not recommend using a higher nicotine strength. 20mg/ml already feels a bit strong, and I can only imagine that a higher nicotine strength e-juice would be just too much with this pod, as it fires at 25W.

The 0.9Ω pod fires at around 15W and provides a nice mouth-to-lung draw even with the airflow open. The flavor is just as good as the 0.6Ω pod, so no complaints in this department. For a tighter draw, the airflow can be closed down without affecting the flavor too much, allowing for a tight MTL draw when nearly closed. 

Verdict

The CALIBURN G5 Lite and G5 Lite KOKO don’t really bring anything new to the table, but they’re still good devices. For beginners, their simplicity and ease-of-use make it easy to get into vaping, which is what I think UWELL was going for here. They could even work great as secondary backup devices, or as simple pod vapes that you can take out of the house instead of a larger device.

Both of these CALIBURN Lites deliver strong performance and flavor, and the fact that they are compatible with all G3, G4, and G5 GPP pods means that finding pods won’t be an issue. The 0.6Ω pod works great for restricted direct lung (RDL) vaping, and the 0.9Ω pod is just as good for mouth-to-lung (MTL) vaping, with two other pod resistances available. However you prefer your airflow, one of these pods will be a fit.

But which one should you get? The main differences between the G5 Lite and G5 Lite KOKO come down to their form factors and charging speeds. The G5 Lite is slim and pen-shaped, while the G5 Lite KOKO features a compact rectangular design. If you don’t mind the KOKO’s shape, it’s the better pick just because it charges much faster thanks to its 2A charging speed.

Right now, I’m seeing both of these selling for around $10 USD, which is incredibly cheap for what you get. You really can’t go wrong for ten bucks.

Overall, I can easily recommend either of these devices (but more the G5 Lite KOKO) for beginners or for anyone looking for a simple, no-frills pod vape. While they lack advanced features, their consistent vaping experience, excellent battery life, and wide pod compatibility make them good picks.