Design: An update of the Nautilus Mini
Visually, Nautilus 2 reuses the rounded shapes that made the success of the Nautilus Mini, an appearance that wasn’t shared by the Nautilus X. I have to admit that the result is pleasant. Its body is made of anodized aluminium (for the black, red and grey versions) or of stainless steel for the silver version. The one I received in test is the black one.
More compact with only 53 mm high (72 mm for Nautilus Mini), Nautilus 2 as a classical diameter of 22 mm (19 mm for the Mini). Its weight is 40 g higher than before and averages 80 g. This apparent excess is due to the aluminium bell that covers the whole body and prevents it from shocks. The bell possesses two large windows to visualize the e-liquid level.
Airflow system: Progressive and polyvalent
Air inlet is made of 5 holes of increasing size at the base of the clearomizer. You have to rotate the ring to adjust the air flow. The mechanism is soft and precise. Nevertheless, when the clearomizer is in place, you need to hold it firmly when operating the airflow ring otherwize the whole clearomizer may rotate at the same time. At the first position, the airflow is very tight and becomes semi-aerial with the five holes opened but it remains quite restricted. It is then not a clearomizer dedicated to the production of large clouds but rather a device oriented to a tasty experience and reasonable juice consumption.
Drip-tip is usable
The drip-tip is curved and ergonomic, soft in mouth, particularly that in Delrin (the black one) that is also efficient at insulating. Its opening is small compared to most of the competitors of the market. It is nevertheless in complete harmony with the vaping style imposed by the design of the object, coherent. It is so small at its narrowest point that it is extremely discreet in mouth. Although it is a 510, its connectivity is a bit larger than regular ones and it may not fit on every type of 510 clearomizer.
The finish looks excellent, the screw threads are well manufactured and the whole is covered by an unibody metallic bell that looks very robust.
Technical review
The main features of Aspire’s Nautilus 2 are:
- Height: 53 mm with the drip-tip
- Diameter: 22 mm
- Tank capacity: 2 ml
- Weight: 80 g
- Materials: Stainless steel, aluminium, Pyrex
- Top filling system
- Airflow: adjustable, bottom
- Colors: Silver (stainless steel), black, grey or red
The package includes:
- 1x clearomiser Nautilus 2
- 1x BVC resistance coil 0.7 Ω
- 1x BVC resistance coil 1.8 Ω
- 1x spare Pyrex tand
- 1x spare drip-tip
- 1x spare O-rings set
- 1x user manual
- 1x manual for filling up
Top filling system: Watch the thread!
The heating element is screwed on the bottom of the tank. For this operation, it is necessary to remove the Pyrex tank, which is a bit difficult the first time but easier with time.
The Nautilus 2 is equipped with a top-filling system and filling up starts with unscrewing the bell. Then, introduce the liquid in the space between the resistance and the Pyrex. Aspire recommends not to add liquid above the upper thread to avoid leakage. It is not difficult but it requires attention. When using a resistance coil for the first time, take care to wait for at least five minutes before using the e-cigarette. This is the time required for the liquid to climb by capillarity and to soak the cotton wick. And this will avoid you unpleasant dry hits.
High comfort and excellent rendering of flavors
Let’s start with the 1.8 Ω coil. Aspire recommends to use it between 10 W and 14 W. Rendering of flavors is just excellent, the vapor is dense and smooth, very pleasant for such a simple product of this range. Vaping is comfortable, without agglutination and in silence. I have been agreeably surprised by the amount of vapor produced with such a high resistance. Finally, the consumption of liquid is of course very low, which is extremely interesting for your wallet.
With the 0.7 Ω coil, power can be raised between 18 W and 23 W, according to Aspire. Same vaping quality, silence, density and savor. The volume of vapor is logically higher, as is the consumption of e-liquid. With this resistance, a minimum of 3 airflow holes must be opened to supply enough air to the system. The stainless steel drip tip heats a little bit, not the Delrin one.
Tested with a juice of 80% VG, no dry hit occurred, even when boosted at 23 W with the 0.7 Ω coil. Aspire is definitely good at building high level coils.
During the test, Nautilus 2 did not suffer from any leakage, any seepage or whatever. It was a great pleasure to use it.
In Summary
The “+”:
- Awesome vaping quality
- No seepage, no leakage
- Quiet
- Good volume of vapor
- Reduced consumption in 1.8 Ω
- No dry hit, even with high VG liquids
- Pleasant drip-tip
The “-“:
- Necessity to empty the tank before switching the resistance
- Airflow difficult to reduce when the clearomizer is screwed onto the Mod
- A top filling system that requires a lot of attention
Conclusions
Rating of 4.3/5. Except for the inconvenient of having to empty the tank before switching coil, the Nautilus 2 is doing a faultless performance. Easy to use, sober – especially with the 1.8 Ω coil -, it produces a large volume of tasty and dense vapor, in a quasi monastic silence. Nautilus 2 is likely to become a new standard for beginners or the adepts of a reasonable and classical vaping style.
So you recommend Nautilus 2 or Nautilus X for the ultimate in MTL vaping? And any recommendations for its mod?
I got my nautilus 2 on an EH Pro 101, loving it thus far. Best ratio for juice appears to be 60% ~ 70% PG.