G-Priv 4 Kit by Smok

Review by Jen_Turista

Smok G-Priv 4 Kit Review: Smokin’ Touch!

Hello, hello, vaping community! I’m back again with another hardware review! This time, we will have a look at one of a handful of touchscreen mods (in kits) released in 2022: the Smok G-Priv 4 Kit!

This kit was kindly supplied to me by Sourcemore for the purposes of a review (thank you, Joyi!). Since 2009, Sourcemore has been catering to the needs of vapers from their China headquarters. They sell all kinds of vape gear and run serious promotions from time to time, and the code GP4K gives you 20% off if you pick this kit up from Sourcemore.com. So be sure to check them out as they are one of the most reliable international vape shops around!

So yes, a touchscreen mod. Feels futuristic, right?! But it has been done before by a few manufacturers, with varying degrees of success. In fact, the dual battery G-Priv series by Smok is all touchscreen mods- and now, we are having a look at its 4th iteration, bringing it up to date in terms of looks and its accompanying atomiser.

Unfortunately, I have not used any of the previous kits in the G-Priv series, so I am not in the best position to compare previous vs current. But when it comes to touchscreen mods – I started out my review on the fence about it. As probably one of the clumsiest people on earth, I was wary of the screen size and how I might inadvertently alter something on the mod by random touches on the screen. I’m sure there are vapers out there with the same concern, and so, with this review, we shall see how I fared with the G-Priv 4 and touchscreen mods in general as an average vaper!

Packaging and Contents

I was sent the retail version of the Smok G-Priv 4 Kit, containing:

• G-Priv 4 Mod.
• TFV18 Mini Tank with a very generous 6.5 mL capacity.
• A meshed 0.33 ohm V18 Mini coil that is preinstalled.
• A dual meshed 0.15 ohm V18 Mini coil.
• Replacement Bubble Glass.
• User manual, warranty card, battery warning card.
• Spare o-rings and seals.
• A USB-C charging cable.

The salient Features of each main component are below. I should point out that we’ve already seen and reviewed the TFV18 mini tank in the Smok RKISS 2 Kit review, which is also available on the blog.

TFV18 Mini Tank

• Dimensions at 25 x 59 mm (flares out to 28 mm with the bubble glass) and made with stainless steel.
• Top cap that swivels with a push of a button to expose 1 kidney-shaped fill hole, thereby childproofing the tank.
• Very large fill hole for easy refilling, with plenty of space to let the air out and accommodate e-liquid bottle tips and glass drippers.
• Has a replaceable Delrin drip tip that is custom to the tank- so not your standard 810, unfortunately.
• Adjustable bottom airflow with 3 cyclops slots and hard stops.
• 510 threaded.

G-Priv 4 Mod

• Dimensions at 90 x 51 x 29 mm. It’s not the smallest dual 18650 battery mod on the market and is a little chunky, and I think that’s because of the touchscreen. However, it is still comfortable to use and carry around. Another plus is that the mod can match well with atomisers up to 28 mm in diameter.
• Kicks out 5W-230W in power in variable wattage (VW) mode, and 10W-230W in TC. Adjustments go by one-watt increments.
• Weighs 167g owing to the materials used (leather, and probably zinc alloy?), but does feel really solid in the hand.
• Has 2A fast charging.
• Input voltage of between 6.4V to 8.4V and output voltage of 0.5 to 8.2V.
• Reads 0.10 ohms to 2.5 ohms in VW mode, and 0.05 to 2.0 ohms in TC.
• Has wattage and TC modes only. For me though, I would have loved to also have a bypass mode for that “mech-like” experience with the mod.
• Has a coloured 2” touchscreen.
• The usual vape device protections via its IQ-M chip.

Impressions and Experience

A. Packaging and Kit Initial Impressions

The kit comes in a sleek black box that has a photo of the device in front. You will find kit features, contents, manufacturer information and the usual warnings printed around the box. The mod sitting on a plastic tray greets you upon opening the box. The atomiser and all kit accessories are in a compartmentalised foam tray beneath the mod. All in all, a very compact way to fit all the goodies that come with this kit!

I received the G-Priv 4 in Beige White, which is really more white than beige, and I love it! As a whole, the G-Priv 4 kit looks amazing and much classier than most sub-ohms kits on the market. It is available in 6 colours, and you will be sure to find a design that fits your personality.

B. TFV 18 Mini Tank and V18 Mini Coils

As mentioned, we’ve already had a look at the TFV 18 Mini Tank in the Smok RKISS 2 review, and you can refer to that review for detailed information. Using it again in the G-Priv 4 kit though, I remain as impressed as I was with it! It packs a lot of flavour and airflow, which sub-ohm vapers will thoroughly enjoy.

Refilling is via a top cap swivel system, that works perfectly and has the right amount of resistance to keep it in place. The threads of the atomiser are smoothly finished, with every component fitting into each other well. The airflow o-ring resistance is just right too.

The TFV18 Mini Tank looks neat with minimal branding and complements the mod really well. The custom sleeve drip tip remains comfortable to use.

As for the airflow, this atomiser has tonnes of it, as I expected! Fully open, it really is too much for someone like me, so I cut my airflow down to around half or a third of the way, depending on the coil I’m using.

The coils thread into the base of the tank (install the coil at just finger-tight and no more than that), onto five contact braces, and then into the top cap. Unfortunately, this does mean that you will essentially need an empty tank to be able to replace your coil with minimal mess, so something to keep in mind.

Moving on to the coils, the 0.33-ohm meshed coil (80-140W, best between 100-110W) is still a beast for flavour (8.5/10) and clouds! There is PLENTY of airflow with this coil, and so I vaped this at 90W with the airflow halfway closed as my perfect power and airflow combination for flavour.

The 0.15-ohm dual meshed coil (80-110W, best at 90W) is my current preference for the two coils, as this coil gives me a bit more restriction to the airflow (but this is just down to how I vape). The flavour from it is still gorgeous, (8/10), at 90W with the airflow closed about a third of the way. A very warm and powerful vape that satisfies my cravings!

Both coils kept up easily with chain vaping – I’ve had no dry hits or wicking issues at all! Really impressive coils from Smok here, that are brought to life by the TFV18 Mini Tank. One thing I will say is that because these coils are power-hungry (running upwards of 80W), do make sure that you take replacement batteries with you when you are out and about for uninterrupted vaping!

C. G-Priv 4 Mod

And so, we come to what is actually new in this release by Smok: the G-Priv 4 Mod! Off the bat, it looks simple and yet compact and solid. Made from metal and leather that’s actually squishy, it appears sturdy enough for usual knocks. It does have a fair bit of branding, but Smok kept it a little more discrete: “G-Priv 4” is debossed on the wider area of the leather, and “Designed By Smok” is also debossed on the side. There are big fonts used but since they’re in keeping with the leather’s colour, it really is quite well done and classy on the whole.

The mod is comfortable enough to use and hold despite its boxy appearance. It is quite light on its own, but of course, you will feel some weight when the batteries are installed. One thing I would comment on about ergonomics is the placement of the secondary key (the smaller button which is right at the top of the fire bar, and the opposite side of the leather spine). It works where it is, but for my style, I would have preferred this to be on the opposite side of the fire bar. This way, I can toggle this button with my thumb, and it would be out of the way of the fire bar. Read on for more information on how this secondary key works!

Up top is an off-centre 510 plate that is secured via 3 screws. The USB-C port is right below the firebar. The fire bar is sizeable, clicky, and you would have to press it from the middle and upwards to get the mod to fire.

The batteries load from the bottom of the mod, via a hinged door that is opened by sliding back the lever on it. The door itself was quite sturdy and has hardly any play on it, which is always great to see! Battery polarities are clearly marked on the underside of this door and also inside the battery chamber- always a huge plus! There was also no rattling or looseness with the batteries installed, and the door never came undone during my testing despite me treating the mod a little roughly (we have to as reviewers!). The mod’s battery management was also pretty decent, given the high wattages demanded by the coils. During charging, the mod didn’t get warm either, and it charged fairly quickly.

The front of the mod is basically a glass panel, with the 2” touchscreen embedded. The screen is crisp and bright and displays important vaping information such as battery life (A & B batteries) in both percentages and bars, the mode selected as well as preheat setting (soft, normal, hard), wattage or temperature level, ohm load, amps &voltage, 4-digit puff counter and duration of puff. There is an on-screen indicator as well of the mod’s lock status, and a button to access the full menu. The colour of the screen can also be changed into the six colours pre-set into the mod (red, gold (bronze?), purple, blue, green, and white).

The screen, having so much real estate, has very easy-to-read fonts which will be friendly to all vapers. It is also very responsive and accurate to touch which I am quite impressed with. Having said all this, I did wish that there were options for screen layout. For example, a simplified layout with select vaping data would have been nice, especially for beginners. Perhaps something to look out for in a software update?

The mod is surprisingly easy and intuitive to operate, especially considering that it’s all done by touch!

• Five clicks of the fire bar to turn it on and easily access the option of turning it off (you have to tap the screen to confirm that you are turning the mod off).
• When locked, a long press of the secondary key unlocks the mod’s controls. Wattage or temperature can be adjusted using arrows of opposing directions, and touching the menu button on the upper left of the screen gives way to the menu.
• When unlocked, a quick click of the secondary key turns the screen off and also locks the mod.
• With the screen off, you can press the secondary key to “wake” the screen, although it will still be in a locked state.
• Three clicks of the fire bar locks and unlocks this button.

As for the menu, there are great options available to customise your vaping experience. There are four main “menu headers” in this user interface to help simplify the controls:

• Mode: is where you select between wattage and TC. In wattage, you can select your preheat level and adjust the wattage (another way of doing it apart from the main screen). In TC, you can select your coil material as well as TCR and preheat levels.
• My Mode: gives you access to 4 “modes”, which are essentially user profiles. In each, you can set your wattage and preheat levels, and also record your e-liquid flavour and nicotine level, if you’d like to do so. This is actually a pretty neat feature for the more fastidious vapers out there who’d like very detailed tracking of their vaping!
• Puff: This is where your current puff count is also displayed, but you can also set your maximum number of puffs. Resetting the puff counter is also done under this menu setting.
• Setting: this will give you general information about the mod’s chip, as well as allow you to adjust the font colour and screen time (maximum amount of time the screen will be on). Under the General subheading of this menu option is where you’ll find information about the mod, options for accessibility, turning the mod off, and resetting the mod to factory settings.

The mod fires super quick, and combined with its responsive touchscreen, has been a joy to use!

Overall: Yay or Nay?

Even though I was on the fence about touchscreen mods at the start of the review, the Smok G-Priv 4 has won me over! The controls are quite user-friendly, especially after getting used to them. I like how the secondary button is utilised in the mod for simplified operation, plus the fact that I can lock and turn the screen off is a big help, especially with how clumsy I can be!

The TFV18 Mini atomiser is still the workhorse I know it to be along with its superb and tasty coils. The menu options offer a lot of control for the vaper, although I still would have liked to see a bypass mode. But, for a sub-ohm kit and as a whole, the G-Priv 4 will be a great choice for vapers out there, regardless of experience levels.

Once again, my sincerest thanks again to Joyi and Sourcemore for sending this kit to me for the review! To purchase the kit, head on over to Sourcemore via the links in the review and don’t forget that code at the start of the review during checkout.

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This review was written by jen_turista who is very active within the vape community. You can go give her a follow on Instagram and Twitter.