Smok Novo GT Pod Kit

This is the Novo GT's headline feature and the reason it suits ex-disposable vapers so well. By default it is draw-activated: you just put it to your lips and pull, exactly like a disposable, and it fires automatically. There is no button to remember, no learning curve, it simply works the way the thing you are coming off worked.

If you prefer the control, you can fire it on the button instead, which lets you prime the coil with a quick press before you draw. Most rivals in this class are button-only, so the choice is a genuine point of difference. Either way, the large colour screen shows your wattage, battery level and a puff counter at a glance.

The Novo GT runs up to 30W and you set the wattage yourself, shown on the colour screen, so you can wind it down for a cool, tight cigarette-style draw or push it up for a warmer, airier hit. That is more control than a simple one-power pod, and the screen makes it easy to see what you are doing.

Battery life is a strong point for a device this size, easily a day of vaping for most people, and it charges back up over USB-C so a top-up is quick. For comparison it sits in the same bracket as the XROS 5 and above the little Gotek X, while undercutting the touchscreen Caliburn G4 Pro on price.

The GT uses refillable 2ml Novo pods, which you fill yourself, with the coil built into the pod. There are two main coils: a 0.8ohm for a tighter mouth-to-lung draw, happiest around 14W, and a 0.6ohm for a warmer, looser restricted-lung hit, best around 18W. Swap between them depending on the day and the strength of your salt.

Here is a quiet advantage: the Novo pod line is one of the most widely stocked in vaping, so wherever you are, finding refill pods is rarely a problem. When a pod tires after a week or two, you drop in a fresh one rather than binning the device. Look for Smok Novo replacement pods to restock.

You fill the pod with bottled e-liquid, and for a kit like this you want a 50/50 nic salt. Salts give a smooth hit even at higher strength, which is what you want off disposables, and the 50/50 mix wicks properly through these MTL coils. Anything in our nic salt range works: Hayati Pro, IVG Intense, MaryLiq, ELFLIQ, Doozy Infinity, OX Passion or Riot X. Prefer a bigger bottle you nicotine yourself? A 50/50 freebase like IVG 50/50 suits the 0.8ohm pod, topped up with nic shots.

Filling takes seconds. Open the pod's fill port, drip your juice in to the 2ml line and close it. Give a fresh pod a few minutes for the coil to soak before the first vape, which avoids a dry, burnt first puff. After that, top up whenever it runs low.

Coming off disposables, the one new habit is filling and priming the pod, and it takes under a minute. Pull the Novo pod out, open the fill port, and drip your e-liquid in slowly until it looks full, stopping before it overflows. Drop the pod back in and let it stand a minute or two so the coil soaks, then take two or three gentle draws without firing to prime it. That short soak is the single most important step, because firing a dry coil is what causes the burnt taste people sometimes blame on the device.

After that the dual-fire design makes it about as easy as a vape gets. Leave it in draw-activated mode and it fires when you inhale, exactly like a disposable, or use the button if you prefer. The colour screen shows your wattage, battery and puff count at a glance, and you set the power once to suit the pod. When you refill, top the pod up before it runs dry rather than after, since a near-empty pod is the other quick way to scorch a coil.

The Novo GT makes its case on cost and waste. The kit is £22.99 once, then your only outlay is Novo pods and e-liquid. A pod lasts a week or two and costs a couple of pounds, while a 10ml bottle of salt is a pound or two and refills it several times over. Against a disposable habit, where each device is a few pounds and lasts a day or two, the Novo GT typically pays for itself within a couple of weeks and saves steadily after that, helped by the big battery meaning fewer chargers and a longer service life.

There is an environmental side too. A disposable is a battery and a circuit board in the bin every couple of days, whereas the Novo GT is one rechargeable device you keep, with only the small pod as a consumable. Because the Novo pod family is one of the best-selling in the world, the refills are easy to find anywhere, which is part of what makes the device so practical to live with long term.

All the popular refillable pods do the same core job, so it comes down to what matters to you. The Novo GT's pitch is the auto-draw, which makes it about the easiest of the lot to step onto from disposables, plus a screen, adjustable power and the reassurance that Novo pods are stocked nearly everywhere.

If you want a tougher build and do not mind a button, the Wenax Q2 is the rival at a similar price. The Caliburn G4 Pro is the touchscreen flagship, the XROS 5 the sleek mid-range pick, and the Gotek X the cheapest, simplest starter. The Novo GT is for the person who wants to just puff and go, with the option to take manual control later.

Buy the kit once and you are then only paying for pods and juice, far cheaper than a disposable habit. See how it compares against prefilled pod kits and full-size sub-ohm vapes.