VOOPOO ARGUS E40 Review: A Great Vape Mod Alternative

Design & Build Quality

It’s been a while since VOOPOO has released a larger pod vape/pod mod like the E40, so the design is pretty much all-new and mostly different from their other devices. It still has some design elements shared with other ARGUS pod vapes, but there’s no mistaking it for a previous VOOPOO device.

The E40 has a tall rectangular shape like a lot of other pod vapes, but it’s quite a bit chunkier in all dimensions. At 114mm tall, 31.2mm wide, and 22.6mm thick, it’s much larger and heavier than a typical pod vape and I definitely notice the size and weight when I pick it up to vape.

Despite the comparatively large size, it’s still much more portable than a vape mod and that’s the whole point of the E40. It’s not meant to compete with smaller MTL pod vapes, but rather with larger mod kits for DL. In that regard, it’s got dual battery mods beat handily. The 1800mAh battery packed inside the E40 is a reason for the size and weight and it provides plenty of battery life to compete with single and even dual battery mods – but more on that later.

The body of the E40 is about two-thirds metal and one-third plastic. The zinc alloy metal casing makes up the back and most of the sides, while a clear plastic casing makes up the entire front. The paint finish looks great and it’s even survived a few drops from my clumsy hands. There are a few small nicks in the metal case but nothing major.

The clear plastic casing on the front is okay but it picks up fingerprints and scuffs/scratches pretty easily.

On the front of the E40, under the plastic top layer, there’s what looks to be more metal, a screen, and a holographic panel. The coolest thing though is on the back, where there’s a window cut into the metal case. Through this window you can see a bit of the circuit board and what looks like a mini-fan.

One one side of the E40 is an airflow adjustment knob. This knob is small but feels solid and substantial because it and the airflow slider are machined out of a single piece of metal. Since this is a direct-lung device, the airflow slot is quite large to allow for a lot of airflow. However, when fully closed the airflow slot leaves only a single pinhole open so that it can be used for some MTL vaping as well.

On the other side of the E40 is the power/fire button. It’s quite tall and perfectly sized and positioned for either thumb or index firing.

As a whole the ARGUS E40 is a very nice device. It has a nice design and the components like the airflow adjustment slider and power/fire button are nice and function great. I don’t have any complaints about the build quality either; solid construction here.

Pods

Even though the E40 is an ‘ARGUS’ series device, it’s a bit different from VOOPOO’s other ARGUS pod vapes because it doesn’t use the same type of pods. The pods (VOOPOO calls them cartridges to make a distinction) for the E40 are much larger and hold a lot more ejuice (4.5ml) so they won’t fit in any other ARGUS device. Other ARGUS pods also won’t work in the E40 because they are way too small.

The two cartridges that you get in the box with the ARGUS E40 have non-removable coils built into them. These are a 0.3Ω cartridge and a 0.6Ω cartridge. However, you can also purchase ‘empty’ cartridges which take any of VOOPOO’s PnP X coils. This opens up the coil options for the E40 as there are quite a few PnP X coils available:

• 0.15Ω
• 0.20Ω
• 0.3Ω
• 0.45Ω
• 0.6Ω

Other devices that use PnP X coils are the DRAG X2/S2 and ARGUS PRO 2, so if you have coils for those devices then all you have to do is buy an empty E40 cartridge and you’re good to go.

VOOPOO says that these coils (including the ones in the cartridge which come with the E40) can last for up to 100ml of ejuice without any burning, flavor fading, or leaking.

While I didn’t manage to go through that much eliquid with the specific coils that came with my E40, Robert previously tested these claims with the PnP X coils that come with the DRAG X2/S2 and ARGUS PRO 2. In his testing, he managed to vape over 90ml of ejuice before there was any sort of flavor drop off and he also didn’t experience any leaking. If you ask me, that’s a pretty good testament to the longevity of these coils.

The pods themselves are tinted so it’s not very easy to see inside of them unless you have good lighting. The pod connects magnetically and it’s held in place by four strong magnets. It sits snugly and securely and there’s virtually no wiggle with the pod inserted, which is excellent.

The mouthpiece is quite wide but slim, with a large bore hole. This contributes to the E40 being a great direct lung vaping device as it allows for a lot of airflow at once; exactly what you want for a good DL draw.

The fill port for the pod is located on the side, just under where the pod sits in the battery, so the pod has to be removed in order to fill.

One last thing to note about the cartridges is that they feature an upgraded “4-layer leakage-resistant design”. I don’t have specifics on what exactly this is but what I can say is that I haven’t had leaking from any of the pods that I’ve used, including the sold-separately ‘empty’ cartridge which takes the PnP X coils, so this leak-proof structure seems solid.

Features & Functions

The ARGUS E40 is meant to be an alternative for DL vapers and box mod users but don’t expect it to be as feature-filled as a mod, because it’s not. Still, I wouldn’t disqualify it based on the lack of temperature control or an in-depth menu. It still comes with all of the basic features needed for a good DL vape like adjustable airflow, adjustable wattage, and (perhaps most importantly) a good selection of coil resistances.

The display on the E40 is a tiny 0.42” black and white screen. All of the information is in very small font and kinda crammed in there but the basic information you might want is there. The display shows battery life as a percentage, wattage, coil resistance, and a puff counter. 

On either side of the display are two checkerboard pattern LED lights that light up either green, blue, or red, depending on your battery charge. Above 60% the lights are green, from 20-60% the lights are blue, and under 20% the lights are red. This makes it easy to see how much battery is left from just a quick look so it’s a nice feature to have. The LEDs also aren’t too bright or obtrusive so I like them a lot.

To change the wattage, press the fire button three times. The wattage will begin blinking and you can then press or hold the button to increase the wattage.

The wattage can be set at up to 40W but only with the 0.3Ω cartridge. The maximum wattage with the 0.6Ω cartridge is 23W. When first inserted, the 0.6Ω cartridge defaults the wattage to 20W. The 0.3Ω cartridge defaults to 35W.

Pressing the button five times will open up a basic menu. This menu allows you to clear the puff counter, lock the device, or power the device off.

The ARGUS E40 can be used with both button and draw-activated firing. The draw activated firing works surprisingly well, even with the airflow fully open, and I never had to struggle to get it to work. 

Battery Life & Charging

The ARGUS E40 may be chunkier than other pod vapes out there but how many of those slim little pod vapes have an 1800mAh battery?

This 1800mAh battery allows the E40 to go for days of use on a single charge and I got to over 500 puffs with the 0.6Ω cartridge on one charge. About 2-3 days of usage was my average but obviously your mileage will vary depending on the lengths of your draw, as well as the pod and wattage that you use.

The E40 has a Type-C charging port and supports 2A fast charging. It takes around an hour for a full charge – not too bad considering the size of the battery.

Performance

For my time with the ARGUS E40 I used both of the included cartridges (0.3Ω and 0.6Ω) with freebase ejuices, as well as one of the ‘empty’ cartridges with a 0.6Ω PnP X coil and some 20mg/ml nicotine salt ejuices.

Both the 0.3Ω and 0.6Ω cartridges can do direct-lung and restricted direct lung vaping without a problem and they do it well, too. The 0.3Ω cartridge feels a bit airier overall but they both provide a really good experience for DL vapers and I myself was satisfied with their airflow and performance.

Wide open is a really airy draw from both pods and this can be taken down to a restricted direct lung draw by closing down the airflow. You have to close it quite a bit to get that restriction on the airflow but about half-way to two-thirds of the way closed felt the best for a nice RDL draw.

MTL is possible with the 0.6Ω cartridge but the airflow has to be nearly closed, or fully closed so that only the pinhole on the airflow slider is drawing in air. You can get a loose MTL draw with the airflow nearly closed, or a tight MTL draw from the pinhole. There’s not a lot of room to adjust the MTL draw so I wouldn’t use this as my main MTL device, but the E40 could still be good for DL vapers who like the occasional MTL and who aren’t too picky about their MTL airflow.

Flavor from both cartridges, as well as from the empty cartridge with the 0.6Ω PnP X coil, is awesome. They deliver strong flavor and the vapor is smooth too. I also can’t knock the clouds coming from a pod mod of this size.

Verdict

The ARGUS E40 is VOOPOO’s answer to vapers looking for a portable and pocket-friendly DL companion. It has a nice design, good coil resistance options, and just enough adjustability with adjustable airflow and wattage to make it a viable alternative for mid-power vape mod users.

If you’re looking for a light and slim pod vape then the E40 won’t fit your criteria, but it has a huge battery and will last for a few days of DL vaping at moderate wattages; it’s a great alternative to even larger and even heavier box mod kits.

I don’t have many complaints about the ARGUS E40, and the ones that I do have are minor. There are definitely better options out there for MTL vapers but for RDL and DL vapers who may want to do MTL every once in a while, the E40 easily gets my recommendation.