Big name in e cigs but is Gamucci up there with the best?

I was especially pleased to be asked to review this brand – UK based but active in the international market since its appearance in 2007. It is something of a major player in the competitive world of electronic cigarettes, so well worth a closer look.

In the box

The particular box that arrived on my desk for review housed the Gamucci Micro Deluxe Starter Kit. The attractively packaged kit contained:

• 4 cartomisers;
• 2 automatic batteries; and
• a USB and mains battery charger.

Performance

As ever, with all e cigarette reviews, performance largely comes down to the responsiveness of the battery. The Deluxe Starter Kit comes with two of them, both rated 240 mAh – not huge, but delivered completely charged and, so, ready to use straight out of the box.

The battery capacity, of course, is limited by the conscious design of making the Gamucci look like a conventional, tobacco cigarette – even if the smooth white finish lacks the familiar rings you’d find on the original, conventional cigarette. On the plus side, of course, a fairly faithful replication of the original gives this e-cigarette an immediate sense of familiarity and touch.

Reminiscent of the tobacco cigarette, too, is the impressive volume of vapour produced whenever you draw on the cigarette. There’s no need to “prime” the atomiser for the e-juice to be vaporised – and this helps preserve the operating life of the battery. Given its size and rating, a fully-charged battery lasts as long as you might reasonably expect – about half a day.

Obviously, this will vary according to the use you make of your electronic cigarette, but it is what you would expect for a battery of its size – relatively small, in order to echo the dimensions of a conventional cigarette. What that means, of course, is that you are likely to value the provision of a second battery, which you can simply slip in as soon as the first expires, re-charge, and keep the rotation on a more or less constant cycle.

In fact, if you are going to be vaping on anything approaching a “heavy” use basis an argument could be made for Gamucci to include a third battery. But then again, if you are that heavy a smoker, you might want to consider swapping a cigarette lookalike for a chunkier e-cig that can cope with heavier use.

Batteries for the Gamucci Micro Deluxe currently cost £7.99 when ordered from their website.

If you are fairly frequently out and about, of course, then you might also miss the option of a portable charging case (PCC) for your Gamucci e-cigs.

Flavour/vapour

The kit under review comes with a total of 4 cartomisers. Each one is the brand’s Regular Tobacco flavour, with a nicotine strength of 16mg. If you want a different strength or flavour you will need to order that separately.

It is entirely a question of personal taste, of course, whether the flavour you taste lives up to Gamucci’s promise to deliver something “emulating traditional tobacco”. Some people might think it does, though – to be honest – I’m still waiting to be convinced. Probably the closest comparison I could make with respect to the taste is that of VIP e-cig’s tobacco flavour – all in all a bit bland – but your own taste buds might tell you something entirely different.

Being a curious individual, eager to try other flavours that do not come with the Starter Kit, I also tried the coffee and menthol flavours. Coffee flavoured e-cigs might be an acquired taste – especially if you like coffee-flavoured chocolate; but the menthol I found to be a reasonably flavoursome alternative that I might try every once in a while. Both delivered a satisfyingly impressive volume of vapour but still didn’t touch Green Smoke in terms of flavour for my tastes.

How long does the cartomiser last? According to Gamucci it should be around 375 drags. Personally I found this to be overly optimistic, since I got something around 140 drags. It all depends, of course, on the way you use the device – and the slower and longer each one, the fewer you are likely to get.

When the cartomiser has run dry, of course, you will need to re-stock. Currently, a pack of three costs £6.99 – not cheap (the standard across all brands is likely to fall somewhere between £7 and 10 for a pack of five), but by no means top of the range.

When re-stocking, you will also be able to choose from a greater range of flavours – cola, vanilla, cherry, and grape, for example – though these all come with just the one 1.6% nicotine strength.

On the other hand, if you after a genuine tobacco taste, refills come in a choice of 0% (i.e. nicotine-free), 0.6%, 1.1% and 2.2% - none of which are heavily into the nicotine concentration.

Verdict: as ever, of course, it all comes down to a matter of taste. Speaking personally, I didn’t much reckon on any of the tobacco flavours, but would go for the coffee or menthol flavours for the occasional vape. As far as the volume of vapour is concerned, however, there is certainly nothing faulting the Gamucci, which delivered an impressive cloud whenever I took a drag.

Warranty/returns

Provided you haven’t opened the pack, Gamucci will replace it on return within seven days. If the product is faulty, however, the warranty runs for a full 30 days.

Customer service

Thanks to the company being located in the UK, you can contact them via Freephone number – or by email or either their Twitter or Facebook accounts.

Overall verdict

Some good, some bad – like most products, of course. On the positive side is the consistently impressive volume of vapour produced by this e-cig. It is a smooth and satisfying experience, thanks largely to the company’s exclusive Vaporcore technology.

The problem with a lookalike cigarette, of course, is always going to be its size and, therefore, the relative limitation of its battery. Unless you get a portable charging case like that included with the Jacvapour V1P starter kit or are prepared to go for a fatter, chunkier electronic cigarette, there is really no way around this problem – though you might want to consider investing in a third battery if the Gamucci Micro Deluxe is the one for you.