Aspire Zelos M80 | 80 W on the mod, 28 W in the tank

The number that gives the Aspire Zelos M80 its name, the 80 W printed on the box, is also the one that matters least once the kit is put together. Aspire’s spec sheet and the manual packed with the mod list some twenty values, watts, volts, ohms and degrees, and they do not all play in the same league. This benchmark puts each of them in proportion, using the two documents the maker publishes, to show which ones actually count when you set the device up.

Aspire Zelos M80, the kit in figures

The Aspire Zelos M80 pairs a mod with a built-in 2600 mAh battery, adjustable from 5 to 80 W, with a Nautilus 3SR tank. Assembled, the kit measures 123.5 x 25 x 35.3 mm, the mod alone 74 x 25 x 35.3 mm. What comes in the box is listed in the manual.

Item	Published value	Source
Battery	Built-in, 2600 mAh	Spec sheet and manual
Power	5 to 80 W	Spec sheet and manual
Voltage	0.5 to 8.4 V	Spec sheet and manual
Tank	Nautilus 3SR, 4 ml or 2 ml (TPD)	Spec sheet
Pre-installed coil	Nautilus Meshed 0.3 ohm	Manual
Spare coil	Nautilus BVC 1.8 ohm	Manual
Screen	0.96 inch colour TFT	Spec sheet
Charging	USB-C, 2 A maximum	Spec sheet and manual

The box also holds a spare drip tip, a spare tank tube, a pack of O-rings, the USB-C cable and the manual. Aspire publishes neither the weight of the mod nor the widest atomiser it accepts.

80 W on the mod, 28 W at most in the Nautilus 3SR

This is the most telling gap on the Aspire Zelos M80 sheet. The supplied tank only takes coils from the Nautilus range plus the Triton Mini Clapton, and none of them goes beyond 28 W.

The eight compatible coils

Aspire lists eight compatible coils, each with its power range. The two coils supplied in the box are among them.

Coil	Resistance	Published range
Nautilus BVC	1.6 ohm	7 to 11 W
Nautilus BVC (supplied)	1.8 ohm	10 to 14 W
Nautilus Meshed	1.0 ohm	13 to 15 W
Triton Mini Clapton	1.8 ohm	13 to 16 W
Nautilus 2	0.7 ohm	18 to 23 W
Nautilus 2S Meshed	0.7 ohm	20 to 25 W
Nautilus 2S	0.4 ohm	23 to 28 W
Nautilus Meshed (pre-installed)	0.3 ohm	23 to 28 W

What the 80 W actually stands for

Set against the mod’s 80 W, the 28 W of the most powerful coil comes to 35%. The rest of the range is only of use with another atomiser. On that point, Aspire publishes the width of the mod, 25 mm, but no maximum atomiser diameter. A 26 mm tank such as the Geekvape Zeus, whose spec sheet is broken down here, would therefore stand 1 mm wider than the chassis.

Five output modes, five default settings

The manual gives the range and the starting value of every mode. Two of those defaults do not match the pre-installed coil.

Wattage and voltage, two starting points to change

In WATT mode the mod starts at 5 W and moves in 0.5 W steps, or 1 W steps with a long press. The 0.3 ohm coil is rated for 23 to 28 W, so the value has to be raised before first use.

In VOLTAGE mode the default is 4.65 V, adjustable in 0.01 V steps. By Ohm’s law, that voltage gives about 12 W in theory on the 1.8 ohm BVC coil, well inside its range, but 72 W on the 0.3 ohm Meshed coil. On the latter, the 23 to 28 W range corresponds to roughly 2.6 to 2.9 V.

Bypass, CPS and temperature control

According to the manual, BYPASS mode sends the most the mod can deliver with the fitted coil, with no setting at all. It therefore offers no way to stay inside a range as narrow as that of the pre-installed coil.

CPS mode offers three curves, C1, C2 and C3, between 5 and 80 W, starting at 10 W. Temperature control runs from 100 to 315 °C, or 200 to 600 °F, in three sub-modes for nickel, titanium or stainless steel. Aspire does not state the wire used in the supplied Nautilus coils.

Aspire Zelos M80 tank capacity, 4 ml or 2 ml

The spec sheet lists the Nautilus 3SR at 4 ml in standard form and 2 ml in TPD form. In the box, the manual lists a 4 ml tank, which describes the standard version.

UK rules cap refillable tanks at 2 ml, so the TPD version of the Aspire Zelos M80 is the one meant for this market. Nicotine e-liquid sold in the UK is also limited to 20 mg/ml, in bottles of no more than 10 ml. A similar split between a standard and a TPD version appears on the sheet of the Aegis Mini 5, another built-in battery kit, with 3200 mAh and 100 W.

Filling, three descriptions for one top cap

Filling is done from the top, but Aspire’s three documents do not describe the same movement. The kit page speaks of a “push-to-open” system that opens with a simple screwing action. On the Nautilus 3SR page, it becomes a simple push on the top cap.

The manual’s diagrams show a third movement. You slide the top cap marked with a triangle outwards until the fill hole appears, fill through the silicone hole, then slide the cap back into place. Coil changes happen from below, by unscrewing the base of the tank.

Battery, charging and screen messages

The charge level is shown as five bars, one for each 20% band. The manual specifies charging at 5 V and 2 A maximum, stopped if the input voltage rises above 6 V or drops below 4.2 V. Pressing the fire button during charging also stops it.

Screen message	Protection triggered
10S OVER TIME	Puff longer than 10 seconds
CHECK ATOMIZER	Open circuit
LOW RES	Short circuit
BATTERY LOW	Low voltage
TOO HOT	Overheating
CHECK USB	Abnormal charging

The BATTERY LOW message follows the same voltage logic as the one described in our benchmark on the batteries low message. Locking works at two levels. Holding ”+” and ”-” for 1.5 seconds locks only the adjustment buttons, while the side switch puts the mod in a dormant state and displays LOCKED.

FAQ

Five practical questions, four of which the manual answers in a few lines.

How do you switch the Zelos M80 on and off?

Five quick presses on the fire button. Switching on displays “aspire”, switching off displays “GOOD BYE”.

How long should you wait after fitting a new coil?

The manual asks you to let the tank stand for 5 minutes after filling, so the cotton can soak up the e-liquid.

Can you vape while the mod is charging?

The manual states that pressing the fire button while charging stops the charge, as a safety measure.

Pressing the fire button and ”+” together opens the menu. It offers MODE, ANIMATION, BRIGHT, LIGHT, PUFF and EXIT.

What do published reviews say about the kit?

The review published by Vaping Post gives it top marks and lists no drawback. It does, however, call the 1.8 ohm coil a “Nautilus Mesh”, while Aspire’s manual describes it as a BVC coil.

Aspire Zelos M80, the figures that matter when setting up

On the Aspire Zelos M80 sheet, three figures weigh more than the 80 W on the box. The 23 to 28 W range of the pre-installed coil, the 2 ml of the TPD version and the default values of WATT and VOLTAGE modes, to be changed before first use.

The rest, from the 315 °C of temperature control to the 8.4 V maximum voltage, only comes into play with other coils or another atomiser. Reading the Aspire Zelos M80 sheet at this scale avoids setting the mod to a value no part of the kit is designed to take, and the same reading applies to any vaping hardware.

Aspire Zelos M80, the spec sheet figures in proportion

Aspire Zelos M80, the kit in figures