Voopoo Argus G3 Review: Bigger Battery, Better Pods

Design & Build Quality

The Argus G3 keeps the same shape as the Argus G and Argus G2, but the design is quite different. It’s less flashy than the G2, and there’s no large black plastic cover over the small display. Instead, the G3 has its 0.96-inch TFT color screen surrounded by a thin metal bezel. 

On seven of the ten colors, this bezel resembles a fine chain, which looks quite good. On two other two colors, Diamond White and Diamond Pink, this bezel is set with faux diamonds. I didn’t receive one of these diamond colors for testing, so I can’t say how they look in person, but the pictures I’ve seen look pretty fancy.

Surprisingly, for having a much larger battery than the G2 (15000mAh vs 1000mAh), the Argus G3 is actually a bit smaller. It’s 120mm tall, 26.4mm wide, and 15.1mm deep. It’s less than a millimeter shorter and a tenth of a millimeter thinner than the Argus G2, but that’s still impressive.

Even more impressive is that the Argus G3 weighs only 63g. Compare this to the 85g weight of the Argus G2, and it’s a significant improvement.

While light, the zinc-alloy body feels solid and sturdy in my hand, and its slender form makes it easy to slip into any pocket. That said, its portability is good and remains unchanged from the G2.

The side of the G3 has an adjustable airflow slider. This slider has three small slots and can be slid upward to restrict airflow or downward to open it up. The slider has the perfect amount of resistance – enough to stay where it is set, but easy to adjust with minimal force.

The other side of the device has a tall, slim button, which is used only for adjusting settings and navigating menu options. The G3 is not a button-activated vape and can only be activated by drawing on the pod.

The button feels solid, but it rattles slightly when using the device. If it only rattled when shaken, this wouldn’t be a big deal, but I noticed it just with regular day-to-day use.

Overall, the design of the Argus G3 is similar to the Argus G2, but with a less flashy appearance due to the absence of LED light strips and more neutral colors available. Comparing the two devices, I prefer the look of the Argus G2, but that’s obviously subjective.

Pods

The most significant upgrade that the Argus G3 brings to the table is its pods. These Top-Fill V2 cartridges use VOOPOO’s new ICOSM CODE 2.0 and are specifically designed to provide longer-lasting and more consistent flavor than their previous Top-Fill cartridges. These pods have a 3ml capacity, unless you’re in a TPD country where they are 2ml.

Two new Top-Fill V2 cartridges come included with the Argus G3: a 0.4Ω cartridge and a 0.7Ω cartridge. There is also a 1.0Ω pod available, which is sold separately.

Although these are called “Top-Fill” cartridges, they’re filled through a port on the side of the pod. However, this fill port is accessible when the pod is inserted and sits above the device, which is where the “Top-Fill” designation comes from.

The Argus G3 is compatible with all Argus pods. Previous Argus devices are also compatible with these new Top-Fill V2 cartridges.

The internals of these pods are interesting, and a lot of information is available on VOOPOO’s website if you’re interested in learning more. But I’ll break down the basics.

Firstly, the pods have what VOOPOO is calling a “Liquid-Seal Shield”. If you look at the pod, you’ll see a large metal cylinder in the center of it, and this is the Liquid-Seal Shield. It surrounds the cotton but leaves a small gap, allowing a film of e-liquid to form and coat the cotton. This also maintains air pressure in the pod, preventing leaking for 30 days.

The cotton is also “Golden Cotton”, which instantly saturates and provides a consistent flow of ejuice to the coil. This improves the flavor consistency and prevent burning.

This golden cotton is also apparently the industry’s first “5A aerospace-grade heat-resistant cotton”, which is a mouthful for sure, but VOOPOO says that it can withstand temperatures of up to 260°C – 73% higher than the 150°C limit of standard cotton.

All of these pod technologies combine for a claimed 100ml of e-liquid usage per pod.

Circling back to the Liquid-Seal Shield, the technology sounds great, but it poses a problem when filling. Ejuice gets trapped and separated in two compartments, split down the middle by this metal cylinder in the center of the pod.

It’s a frustrating experience trying to fill the pod entirely, as air bubbles are constantly being trapped on the far side of the pod. To remedy this, I gently squeezed the pod to release the air bubbles, then closed the fill port and rotated the pod to fill the far side compartment.

It’s not a seamless or smooth filling experience, which is a big downside of these pods.

Features

The Argus G3 is controlled entirely with the button on the side of the device, so you’ll need to know a few button combinations to operate it. Fret not, though, because VOOPOO includes a nice “Button Instructions” card in the box, which is prominently displayed when you open it up. The button functions are:

• 1 click/long press: Wake the screen. The screen can also be turned on/off by holding the button.
• 2 clicks: Change the UI theme to Smart, Sport, or Music.
• 3 clicks: Adjust the wattage.
• 5 clicks: Access the menu. Here you can power off the device, clear the puff counter, or lock the wattage adjustment.

I’ll just reiterate here that the Argus G3 is draw-activated only and does not have button-activated firing. If you hold down the button, you’ll turn off the screen, which is admittedly useful for those times when you’re in a dark room or are trying to vape without attracting too much attention.

The wattage can be set at up to 30W, but this depends on which pod you are using. The device automatically limits the power output for the pod resistance you’re using to prevent burning.

The 0.4Ω pod can be set up to the full maximum wattage of 30W. The 0.7Ω pod, however, is restricted to a maximum of 18W.

The three themes are neat. Smart is the most neutral and professional, while Sport and Music are quite artistic and colorful. There’s no difference in power or performance between the three themes, so use whichever one you like the look of most.

Battery life & Charging

The Argus G3 features a 1500mAh battery, a 50% increase in capacity over the 1000mAh battery of the Argus G2. This is a massive upgrade, especially considering that the Argus G3 still operates at a maximum of 30W and uses the same resistance pods as the G2. With a battery this much larger, you would expect longer battery life, which is precisely the case.

While the Argus G2 lasts about two days of heavy vaping, the Argus G3 lasts three days. For me, this was two and a half pods of e-juice per charge with the 0.7Ω pod and two pods of e-juice per charge with the 0.4Ω pod.

Battery life will depend on the pod you’re using, the wattage, and your vaping habits, but you should generally get at least three days of use per charge.

Even though the battery is 1500mAh, charging is nearly as quick as the Argus G2. With a Type-C charger plugged into a wall outlet, recharging takes 38 minutes. That’s blazingly fast! 

While charging, the display shows the current charge and an estimated time until completion. However, the screen turns off after a few seconds, so you have to press the button to wake the device and see the charging screen again. It would have been better if the screen remained on while charging, but no big deal.

Performance

The Argus G3 really excels for MTL and RDL vaping. With all of the leaps and bounds that pods and their technology have been making in the last few years, it’s hard to say that the flavor and experience from these Top-Fill V2 cartridges is vastly better than the original Top-Fill cartridges. But they do seem better, if only slightly. 

The 0.7Ω pod is made specifically for MTL, and it does wonderfully well with medium-strength nicotine salt ejuices. With the airflow open, it’s a loose MTL draw, but this can be taken down to a tight MTL vape by closing the airflow down. It’s also possible to fine-tune the airflow to a MTL draw that is somewhere in between by playing around with the airflow slider.

On the other hand, the 0.7Ω pod is made specifically for RDL. It offers a nice range of RDL vaping just by adjusting the airflow slider, and it can even be set for MTL by closing it down nearly all the way.

The top end of the wattage range is where these pods perform best. For the 0.7Ω pod, that’s 16-18W. With the 0.4Ω pod, this is 28-30W.

VOOPOO’s claim of leak-resistance for 30 days with these pods has been holding up so far. I’ve only been using the pods for 18 days, so I can’t fully confirm, but I haven’t had any leaking at all in these last two and a half weeks.

Similarly, I’ve gone through just about 20ml of ejuice with each pod, so I can’t confirm the claims of 100ml per pod. What I can say is that, so far, the pods have been outputting consistent flavor, and I haven’t tasted any signs of them deteriorating or underperforming.

VOOPOO Argus G3 vs Argus G2

The Argus G3 and Argus G2 share some similarities, but there are also some significant differences between them. To make the upgrades and features more easily understandable and comparable, we’ve created this easy reference chart for you below:

Verdict

The Argus G3 shares a bunch of similarities with the Argus G2, but it also brings some serious upgrades to the table. The Argus G3 is portable, great for MTL and RDL vaping, and easy to use. Flavor, longevity, and consistency from the new Top-Fill V2 cartridges is great, and just as good as the first generation of Top-Fill cartridges. The flavor is even just a bit better.

Aside from the cartridges, the next most meaningful upgrade is the battery capacity. The 1500mAh battery lasts for multiple days and pods of use, so you really can’t go wrong with the G3 if battery life is one of your main concerns.

While the Argus G3 is generally a good device, there is one major thing that isn’t so good – filling the pods. Due to the metal cylinder, the “Liquid-Seal Shield,” located in the center of the pod, it’s nearly impossible to fill the pod fully without struggling. I shouldn’t have to squeeze the pod to release air bubbles and fill my pod.

Other than this, the other issues that I had with the Argus G3 are all minor, and the pod filling issue doesn’t prevent me from recommending this device.

If you’re a MTL or RDL vaper who is looking for their next device, or if you’re the owner of the Argus G or Argus G2, the Argus G3 is a solid upgrade and a good choice.

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