It’s finally time for a SMOK Nord review…
For the past three weeks I’ve been putting the SMOK Nord to the test as part of our pod system review series.
Now if you’ve read our UWELL Caliburn review, you know I’m pretty new to the world of pod vaping…
The Caliburn and MOTI Pod were the only two devices I’d tried up to that point and I loved them both!
But deciding what pod system to test next wasn’t easy. The SMOK Nord was released WAY back in late 2018. And with so many pod systems on the market now, it would’ve been easy to overlook the Nord as outdated or obsolete.
I’m really glad I didn’t make that mistake…
With an 1100 mAh battery, refillable 3ml capacity pods and both MTL and DTL coil options, the SMOK Nord is definitely still a pod worth buying!
But enough of me rambling, let’s get into the full SMOK Nord review…
Quick Note: I only review and/or recommend products I’ve tried and tested. If this post contains an affiliate link I may receive a small commission on any purchase made at no extra cost to you.
Features and Specification
- Size (mm) – 94 x 30 x 18.8
- Net weight – 80g
- Internal 1100 mAh rechargable battery
- Micro USB charging port
- Charge time – 1.5 hours
- Maximum wattage – 15w
- Voltage range – 3.3V/4.2V
- Button activated
- LED battery indicator
- 3ml e-juice capacity
- 0.6ohm mesh coil for DTL
- 0.8ohm mesh coil for MTL
- 0.6ohm dual coils for MTL
- 1.4ohm regular coil for MTL
- 1.4ohm ceramic coil for MTL
- Side fill pods
- All the usual safety features
What’s in the box?
- SMOK Nord pod system
- 0.6ohm mesh coil for DTL
- 1.4ohm regular coil for MTL
- USB charging cable
- User manual
Design and Appearance
Design and build quality on the Nord is fantastic, hands down the best of the pod systems I’ve tried so far. At 80g it’s slightly heavier than I expected, but I’m genuinely surprised at how solid and well made the Nord is!
The zinc alloy body is rectangular, with slightly rounded edging/corners and smooth plastic face panels on either side. I opted for the black and white resin pattern and as you can see from the pictures, it’s a really sleek and stylish little pod!
The Nord is 94mm in height (with pod attached), 30mm in width and 18.8mm in depth. Compared to the Caliburn, the Nord is much shorter but also chunkier, although still small enough to fit easily in a pocket. One thing I found I loved about the Nord right out of the box – It’s really smooth and comfortable to hold. So much so that I actually found myself picking it up just to fidget with it even when I wasn’t vaping!
The body of the Nord has a single firing button. SMOK chose not to include draw activated firing, which I was initially concerned about, having spent so many months using the Caliburn. BUT to be honest, with a couple of hours I’d completely forgotten about it and I can’t really say I miss it all that much.
In the centre of the firing button is a small LED battery life indicator, which you click twice to see the remaining battery life. Green, amber or red tells you how much battery you have left. The Nord holds an 1100mAh internal battery, a huge plus point for SMOK here! The battery life on the Nord is incredible – but more on this later…
SMOK Nord Pods | Design
The Nord pods are a clear plastic body with a fixed plastic drip-tip and a removable coil head that slots into the base of the pod. This is a completely different design over the other pod systems I’ve used. In contrast to those other devices, the Nord pod doesn’t really need to be replaced… You just pop out the coil and insert a fresh one into the bottom of the pod.
The kit I ordered came with one pod and two coils – the 1.4ohm regular MTL and the 0.6ohm DTL. There are three other coil heads available to buy separately; a 1.4ohm ceramic coil, 0.8ohm mesh coil and a 0.6ohm dual coil. With MTL and DTL coil heads, it’s not hard to see why the SMOK Nord was so popular! It’s a really cool feature and something I’ll definitely miss if it’s not included on the next pod system I review.
The pods hold 3ml of e-juice and are refillable via a black rubber plug on the side of the clear plastic body. The pod also has small windows at the base, where the pod attaches to the Nord, so you can see how much e-juice you have left.
The pods are really easy to fill and I’ll show you how a bit further down…
SMOK Nord | Performance
As I mentioned earlier, the kit I ordered came with two coil heads – 1.4ohm MTL and 0.6ohm DTL. The performance you get from each coil is completely different, so let’s break it down…
1.4ohm MTL
The airflow on the 1.4ohm coil was perfect for me. Not too tight, not too loose. But I would say the Nord is probably not ideal if you like a super tight MTL draw comparable to a cigarette.
No complaints with coil life. I got between 2-3 weeks with the 1.4ohm MTL coil.
Vapor production is outstanding, far better than I’d expected. Compared to the other pod systems I’d used up until that point, the Nord easily took the top spot in terms of vapor production.
Flavor, while decent, was less impressive… Compared to the Caliburn, the Nord 1.4ohm MTL coil was slightly muted. It’s not awful by any stretch, but definitely not as flavourful as I’d hoped…
No leaking, spitting or gurgling.
0.6ohm DTL
I love the 0.6ohm coil!
The flavor and vapor production is crazy and not what I expected at all! Obviously you’re not going to get the kind of performance you get from an RTA at high wattage… But the flavor and vapor production is far better than I expected from a pod system!
Coil life, as expected, was less than the 1.4ohm coil but I got a solid week of heavy vaping before the flavor started to drop off.
Again no leaking, spitting or gurgling.
Overall, both coil heads were impressive… Not a single dry hit, great coil life, decent flavor and outstanding vapor production!
But the 0.6ohm DTL coil really elevated the Nord above the other pod systems I’ve tried!
SMOK Nord | Battery Performance
The SMOK Nord is powered by an 1100 mAh internal battery and kicks out up to 15w of power. With such a large capacity, battery life on the Nord is incredible…
I vape heavily all day and I get almost a full day on the 1.4ohm MTL coil before I need to re-charge. And if you’re using the 0.6ohm DTL coil, you’ll still get around 6-8 hours of vaping.
You can check how much battery you have remaining by pressing the fire button twice. The LED light in the centre of the firing button will flash once to show how much battery life you have left:
- 70% or above – Green light
- 30% – 70% – Amber light
- 30% or below – Red light
A couple of minor gripes though…
The Nord has pass-through capability, which means you can vape while charging. But the USB cable included in the kit is so short you have almost no hope of using this feature!
It can also take up to 90 minutes to charge the Nord. I tend to keep the battery topped up throughout the day. But if I do let the battery drain completely, it feels like it takes forever to charge…
How do I fill the SMOK Nord pod?
Regardless of which coil you’ve installed, filling the SMOK Nord pod is quick and easy. Just pull on the pod section of the Nord to remove it – you’ll need to give it a hard tug as they’re fitted pretty tight!
When you’ve removed the pod, you’ll see a black rubber plug on the side of the clear plastic shell. The plug is easy to open, just pop a finger nail under the tip and lift. Now you’ve opened the fill slot, just pop the tip of your e-juice bottle in the opening and fill to the maximum line on the pod.
When you’ve finished filling the pod, press the rubber plug back into place. Insert the pod back into the body of the Nord and give it a firm press to make sure it’s secure. Just remember to wait a few minutes for the wick to saturate fully – the last thing you want is a dry hit!
How do I charge the SMOK Nord?
To charge the SMOK Nord, just connect the supplied USB cable to a suitable outlet and insert the cable into the USB slot at the bottom of the device.
As I mentioned earlier, it takes me about 90 minutes to fully charge the Nord. Not ideal if this is the only vaping device you own, especially as it’s nearly impossible to use the pass-through feature with the tiny USB cable included with the kit!
The LED battery indicator will light up while charging – red, amber or green depending on battery level. When the Nord is fully charged, the LED will go out.
SMOK Nord | Price
I’m constantly surprised by how affordable pod systems are. Especially considering what you get for the price!
I picked up the SMOK Nord for £19.99 from NewVaping. Both the DTL and MTL coil heads come included, as well as two free 10ml bottles of e-juice.
My only complaint – it’s not cheap to buy replacement coil heads…
Last I checked, the 1.4ohm coil heads were around £10 for a pack of five. I know this isn’t too bad compared to the cost of cigarettes, but it can get expensive if you’re a heavy vaper!
Verdict
Pros
- Fantastic design & build quality
- Really comfortable to hold
- Comfortable drip-tip
- Great vapor production
- Amazing battery life
- MTL and DTL coil heads
- 3ml e-juice capacity
- Easy to use and re-fill
- Affordable
Cons
- Flavor could be better on MTL
- Time it takes to fully charge
- Unable to use pass-through feature due to length of USB cable
- Expensive to replace coils
Overall I’m really impressed with the SMOK Nord.
Yes the flavor on the 1.4ohm coil could be better and I wish it didn’t take quite so long to charge.
BUT great vapor production, amazing battery life and the option to vape either MTL or DTL keeps me coming back to the Nord time and time again.
For an older pod, I really didn’t know what to expect…
But it’s not hard to see why the SMOK Nord is so popular and I’d definitely recommend it!
I hope you enjoyed our SMOK Nord review, please leave us a comment with your thoughts below!
Comments 2
This vape is a piece of absolute garbage and anyone that reviews this positively either hasn’t used it more than a few puffs or just has nothing to compare to. It leaks almost as much as you can smoke in a day. The fire button is extremely easily engaged so often turn on and burns away in your pocket or changes voltage in you pocket to give you a surprise. Good for vape shops you’ll be buying way more coils and juice than you should with a device that doesn’t leak or with such a fire button you’ll turn it on walking and fire away.
Hi Scott, thanks for your comment. I’m sorry to hear you’ve had problems with the Smok Nord! I’m still using the Nord as my all-day-vape and absolutely loving it! The flavor isn’t as crisp as the Caliburn but the vapor and battery life is spot on! I’ve experienced slight leaking at the bottom of the pod but nothing like you describe. Have you tried contacting the seller – perhaps your Nord is faulty? I noticed you also mentioned the Nord fires and changes voltage in your pocket. Bit confused by this as you can’t change voltage on the Nord… To stop the Nord firing in your pocket, I recommend turning it off (click the firing button 5 times) whenever you’re not using it. This will prevent any accidental firing. Hope that helps!