The SMOK Nord made a big impression on vaping enthusiasts when it first came out in 2018, but the company didn’t stop there. Other versions of the Nord soon followed, including the brand new SMOK Nord 4. We recently had a chance to get our hands (and mouths) on this product, and we’re pretty eager to tell you how it compares, both to the original Nord and other products in its class.
Below, you’ll find enough details about the SMOK Nord’s features and functionality to make an informed decision about whether or not to try it for yourself. And remember: we love educating people about vaping, so you can always learn more about the products that interest you by reaching out to speak with a member of our team.
But for now, let’s dive headlong into reviewing the Nord 4—a beefed-up version of the vape pen so many people already know and love, with a few surprising changes in store!
Video Review & Unboxing
What's in the kit?
For this review, we got our hands on the SMOK Nord 4 vape device kit, which includes:
- 1 x Nord 4 Device (2000mAh)
- 1 x Nord 4 RPM 2 Pod (RPM 2 Mesh 0.16 Coil Preinstalled) (4.5ml)
- 1 x Nord 4 RPM Pod (RPM Mesh 0.4 Coil Preinstalled) (4.5ml)
- 1 x Type-C Cable
- 1 x User Manual
The packaging for this kit is pretty sleek, which is to be expected for most SMOK products. The company has built quite a reputation over the past few years for creative and appealing design choices, and they don’t cut any corners on the Nord 4—not even when it comes to the box.
First impressions of the SMOK Nord 4
If you’ve used the original Nord before, you’ll notice that the Nord 4 looks pretty similar. The shape hasn’t changed a great deal, although it’s a little larger than the first model at 33.7 x 24.4 x 104.9mm.
Does the size of the Nord 4 make it uncomfortable to hold or store on your person, though? Absolutely not. This is still a fairly compact little number, which feels very convenient to carry around and use.
You might also notice that the duck-bill mouthpiece for the Nord 4 seems a bit more robust than the original—which is true, since it has to fit on a larger product. We’ll get into how it felt to use this new mouthpiece in the next section, so stay tuned!
One feature the original Nord didn’t have is dual-airflow, which is controlled independently by two separate knobs. One of these knobs is located just between the mouthpiece and the power button, with the other one in the exact same place on the device’s other side. These provide you with an excellent ability to customize each draw (as long as your fingernails can turn them).
Lastly, the zinc alloy used to construct the Nord 4 comes in a wide variety of colours and patterns. Again, this is par for the course with the Nord line, since SMOK has always put a lot of thought into the way their products look and the Nord series is pretty much their main draw (ha ha). This version also sports a cool-looking tinted view window, which allows you to see how much juice you have without removing the mouthpiece. Woah.
Trying out the SMOK Nord 4
Okay, so it looks like a prop from Blade Runner 2049 (that’s a compliment) and it comes in a bunch of pretty colours. But now for the important stuff—namely, how does the Nord 4 perform during use?
We called the original Nord user-friendly and intuitive in our review of that product, and thankfully, the Nord 4 offers the same advantages. However, this is far more than just a re-release of an existing product.
For starters, the Nord 4 vape device kit comes with 2 different pods—each of which features a different coil size. You get the Nord 4 RPM Pod with a 0.4 coil, but you also get the Nord 4 RPM 2, which sports a 0.16 coil instead. Both pods are also clearly labeled, which is a nice design feature you don’t see in a lot of pods for other devices.
Once you choose the pod you want, just fill it up, snap it into the top of the device, and turn the Nord 4 on by clicking the power button 5 times. When you do, you’ll see the display screen on the side of the pen light up. This does things like tell you your wattage (which can go up to 80 on this device!) and notify you when you’ve locked the device, which you can do by clicking the power button 3 times—another feature the original Nord didn’t have.
We’re happy to report that the larger mouthpiece on this device didn’t have any negative impact on the quality of our experience, although some people (not us) prefer round-tip mouthpieces. You can use the Nord 4 as a DL or MTL device, and it performs well in both categories—you get a lot of nice flavour from the whole Nord series, so no surprises there.
You don’t get auto-draw with this device, but since that’s the case with almost every higher-wattage vape in existence, we can’t really complain. There are also a lot of different coil options to choose from, so the Nord 4 makes it pretty easy to customize your experience and find the style you like best.
Lastly, you’re going to love the 2000mAh battery on this thing. That’s clearly what some of the Nord 4’s larger size was dedicated to storing, and the results are impressive to say the least. Lots of users have reported getting through a pod and a half on a single full charge without a noticeable drop in performance, and we’ve found that to be a reasonable expectation.
Perplexingly, charging the battery for the Nord 4 is still kind of weird—they haven’t moved the charge port away from the bottom of the device, which means you have to lay this cool-looking gadget down sideways to fill the battery where people won’t notice it’s awesome design as easily. Yes, we’re splitting hairs here—but this was a gripe we had for the original Nord as well. Apparently though, not enough people found this an issue for the company to change it.
SMOK Nord 4 Key Features
SMOK Nord 4 Price
Final thoughts on the SMOK Nord 4
SMOK has worked another mini-miracle with the Nord 4, a bigger version of its predecessor that improves on it in practically every way. If you liked earlier versions of the Nord, you’re going to love the extra battery life and wattage that the Nord 4 provides.
We still aren’t in love with charging our Nord devices, and we’ve heard from some users that it would be nice to have a round-tip mouthpiece option—but at the end of the day, these are highly subjective complaints that are unlikely to have a significant impact on your vaping experience.
Whether you’re an existing user of the Nord line of products or a curious potential convert, we feel confident recommending the Nord 4 as a vape device you can expect to enjoy. To learn more about the SMOK Nord 4, feel free to contact us and have your questions answered by an experienced member of our team.
