Smok Nord 5 Review – a Beastly Sub-Ohm Pod-Mod

For those who don’t know, Sub-Ohm vaping is popping a vape coil with a resistance below 1.0 Ohms in a device to produce larger clouds of vapour. What it will do is heat up quicker and taste sweeter as it’s usually paired with high VG e-liquids.

Often preferred by advanced vapers, these days you can get all types of devices that can do this with different sizes. The Smok Nord 5 is a prime example of this in a smaller and smarter form factor that still delivers big clouds and flavour but also conveniently fits in your pocket. The Pure E-Liquids team put it to the test to see how it stacks up for Sub-Ohm vapers in 2024.

What is the Smok Nord 5 All About?

The Smok Nord 5 is designed to help those switching from mouth-to-lung vaping to a more powerful Sub-Ohm experience. What this essentially means is you swap discreet cloud performance and a more intense throat hit for much larger cloud production and warmth when vaping.

Many vapers love the idea of billowing clouds to perform cloud-chasing tricks or simply maximise flavour. However, with this style of vaping, you often need to generate more power through a higher wattage and larger battery capacity.

Therefore, it typically means vaping from a larger device called a vape mod, which although offers more advanced features also tends to be bigger in size and less pocket-friendly. But fear not – because the Smok Nord 5 ticks all of these boxes with a much smaller frame, meaning it comfortably fits in most pockets and certainly all backpacks or purses.

Smok Nord 4 vs Nord 5 – Which is the Best in the Series?

For Sub-Ohm vaping, this is by far the best device from the Nord series and may be the first that is actually leakproof. In the past, there were comments from disappointed customers with some of the Smok devices occasionally leaking if you were one of the unfortunate ones.

Nevertheless, with the Smok Nord 5, the new pod design with a lock feature on each pod not only allows easy access to add or replace RPM 3 coils (more about them later) but also helps to lock in e-liquid and avoid any spills!

The Smok Nord 4, which we covered in our previous review, was a great little device which acted as an excellent crossover device between MTL (mouth-to-lung) and direct lung (DTL) vaping. While this is great for those who like to switch between styles, it wasn’t tailored towards one or the other specifically, but rather a jack of all trades.

However, the Smok Nord 5 is without a doubt the best Sub-Ohm kit yet, not just in terms of size but performance. It chucks out some serious cloud compared to its predecessor, and for a great price too!

Key Specifications Of The Nord 5

• 2000mAh battery capacity
• 0.69-inch OLED display
• 5-80W adjustable power output
• Dual-side air inlet
• Side fill port
• Mesh coils
• Anti-leak pod design with coil lock
• Push-fit coil system
• Pod detection, low voltage protection & detection, 8 seconds cut off and short circuit protection

How Does It Vape?

Much better than expected given how Smok pod mods performed in the past, with leaks on occasion. Since the Smok RPM 25W, they’ve really stepped it up and the Nord 5 kit comes with two coil heads so you can alternate between Sub-Ohm resistances.

With the kit, you get an RPM3 0.15 Ohm, which vapes best between 40-80W and a 0.23 Ohm, which vapes best between 20-45W.

Both produce huge clouds and power considering the size of the device! The flavour is super saturated within the coil and the mouthpiece is wide and comfortable to vape more cloud more often!

Is There a Best Compatible Coil from the Collection?

There isn’t a definitive best between the two in all honesty. Testing both repeatedly, we didn’t notice a huge difference. The flavour was nice on both with each bringing the various notes of the e-liquid directly from your coil to satisfying vapour production as the finished article.

Like most discussions within vaping circles, it’s all subjective and boils down to personal preference. What works well for one Sub-Ohm vaper may be too much or too little for another. This is what we love – like a great game of football, it creates endless debate!

Design And Functionality Explained

The Nord 5 is a fairly chunky and yet compact vape. There are lots of cool flashy colour schemes, as well as leather additions.

With excellent build quality, it vapes easily in the hand but always requires a fire button press to activate.

Airflow control is always a welcome handy feature and there is a little switch below the pod. On one side of the device is the smart and intuitive display screen.

Filling the device is easy enough. To add e-liquid, just pull the plug back on the side of any pod and add the vape juice dropper. It’s a nice big gap to support any e-liquid bottle. The pods are secure and the overall build quality is excellent.

Any Drawbacks?

• That it’s fire button activation only
• The mouthpiece is quite wide and chunky, which makes it a little less comfortable for Sub-Ohm vaping
• The side-fill rubber plug is an inconvenience. Would be nicer if Smok designed more top-fill pods

Verdict

To summarise, this is a fantastic little piece of kit. Beefy and powerful enough to Sub-Ohm vape large clouds with an easy-to-use setup.

Vaping quality is very high and the flavour is consistently on point. The battery capacity is another plus like with the rest of the Nord series. We love the power output potential considering the size and the different quirky designs available.

Other than the minor subjective points above, we highly recommend this device for anyone looking to take the next step up away from MTL pod kits, who wish to vape less nicotine and produce more cloud while maintaining a compact form factor!