The verdict, up front
Score: 8.4 out of 10.
The Caliburn G3 Pro is the pod kit for a vaper who wants a proper screen, adjustable power and genuinely good flavour without stepping up to a bulky mod. It is not the lightest pod kit you can buy, it is not the longest lasting, and it is no longer the newest Caliburn on the shelf. But for the money it asks, usually well under £25 in the UK, it remains one of the easiest pod kits to recommend.
Buy it if: you vape nic salts, you want to see your wattage and battery at a glance, and you like switching between a tight cigarette-style draw and a looser restricted lung hit.
Skip it if: you want the lightest possible pocket kit, you only ever vape one way, or you want the biggest battery in the Caliburn family. In that last case, look at the newer G4 models instead.
One honest note: this is a mature device, not a fresh launch. Uwell has since released the G4 range with bigger batteries and newer screens, but the G3 Pro is still widely sold, and its pods are shared across the G3 and G4 family. Buy it at a sensible price, not at a launch premium.
What you actually get in the box
The kit holds the device, two pods, a USB-C cable and the manual. The two pods are deliberately different. One is a 0.4 ohm pod for a warmer, looser restricted lung draw. The other is a 0.9 ohm pod for a tighter, cigarette-style mouth to lung draw. That split is the whole point of the kit, and it is also its first trap for beginners, which we will come back to.
The device is a slim stick, about a finger longer than a disposable. The front is dominated by a full length colour screen, a first for the Caliburn line at launch, and still what separates this kit from most rivals at this price.
The specs, checked
Here is the specification sheet, cross-checked against Uwell’s own product pages, the device manual and multiple listings. Where listings disagree, we say so.
| Spec | Caliburn G3 Pro |
|---|---|
| Battery | 1000mAh, built in |
| Output | 5 to 35 watts, adjustable |
| Size | 123.5 x 27.8 x 16.8 mm |
| Weight | About 92g (some listings quote 98g with a pod fitted) |
| Display | Full screen colour LCD, showing wattage, battery, resistance and puff count |
| Activation | Button fire and auto-draw, both available |
| Airflow | Adjustable slider, from tight MTL to open RDL |
| Pods | Caliburn G3 pods, 0.4, 0.6, 0.9 and 1.2 ohm mesh |
| Pods in the box | 0.4 ohm and 0.9 ohm |
| Pod capacity | 3ml with the 0.4 ohm pod, 2.5ml with the 0.9 ohm pod, 2ml in UK TPD kits |
| Charging | USB-C, 2A fast charging |
| Build | Zinc alloy body, PCTG pods |
| Flavour tech | Pro-FOCS |
Two things to note. The UK version holds 2ml per pod under TPD rules, so you will refill more often than the 3ml headline suggests. There is also a KOKO version: a squarer device with a bigger 1250mAh battery and a 1.8 inch screen, the same 5 to 35 watt range and the same pods.
That screen: genuinely useful, slightly silly
The screen is why most people pick this kit over the cheaper Caliburn G3. It shows wattage, coil resistance, battery level and puff count at a glance, and auto-suggests a sensible wattage for a new pod. Changing power means clicking the fire button three times and scrolling, which takes ten seconds to learn.
The silly part is the animated robot that dances across part of the display. It eats screen space that could have shown a bigger battery readout. The puff counter is another missed opportunity: it only appears while you vape and for a couple of seconds afterwards, and you cannot reset it when you fit a fresh pod.
Design and build: heavy, but in a good way
At around 92g, the G3 Pro is nearly twice the weight of some featherweight rivals. For comparison, a basic OXVA Xlim Go is about 41g. You feel the G3 Pro in a jacket pocket, and you definitely feel it in a shirt pocket.
The weight comes from the zinc alloy body, and it buys you something real. The device feels solid, dense and expensive in a way plastic pod kits do not, and it survives the daily pocket test of keys, coins and the occasional drop far better than ultra-light kits do.
The airflow slider sits on the side and stays where you set it. Slide it closed for a tight cigarette-like pull with the 0.9 ohm pod, open it up with the 0.4 ohm pod for a warm, airy restricted lung draw. One design flaw: the e-liquid window is only cut out of one side, so in dim light it is easy to miss a low pod until flavour fades.
Flavour with nic salts: where it earns its score
This is the section that matters most, and it is where the G3 Pro justifies its reputation. The G3 pods use mesh coils and Uwell’s Pro-FOCS flavour system, which recycles airflow through the coil to squeeze more taste out of each puff.
With the 0.9 ohm pod and a 10mg or 20mg nic salt, flavour is clean, crisp and consistent. Fruit flavours taste bright, tobacco flavours taste dry and honest, and dessert flavours hold their sweetness without turning burnt halfway through a pod.
With the 0.4 ohm pod, the character changes completely. At 25 to 30 watts with a lower nicotine freebase liquid, or a low strength nic salt, you get a warmer, denser vape with noticeably more vapour. This is not a cloud machine, but for a pod kit it is impressively full flavoured.
A word of warning for new vapers, and it is an important one. Do not put a strong 20mg nic salt into the 0.4 ohm pod. At higher wattage that combination hits far harder than most people expect, and it is the single most common beginner mistake with this kit. Strong salts belong in the 0.9 ohm pod. If you are switching from disposables, the 0.9 ohm pod with your usual strength is the right starting point, and our guide to the best disposable vapes will help you compare what you are leaving behind.
Battery life in real days, not marketing hours
Battery life depends entirely on which pod you use, so here it is split honestly.
With the 0.9 ohm pod at 12 to 15 watts, a moderate vaper gets a full day easily, and a light vaper stretches to a day and a half. That is roughly 300 to 400 puffs per charge.
With the 0.4 ohm pod at 25 to 35 watts, expect half a day to a full day. Heavy vapers running the 0.4 ohm pod all day will be reaching for the charger in the evening.
Charging is a genuine strength. USB-C at 2A takes the battery from empty to roughly 80 percent in about 25 minutes, and to full in around 45 minutes. A ten minute top-up over coffee genuinely rescues a dying device, and you can vape while it charges.
Pods, coils, leaking and refilling
Pods last about one to two weeks each in normal use, depending on how sweet your liquid is. Very sweet dessert liquids gunk up coils faster and can halve pod life. You will know a pod is done when flavour goes muted and flat, or when you start tasting a faint burnt edge. Swap it then, not later, because a dying pod only gets worse.
Leaking is where the G3 pods quietly excel. The pods are ultrasonically welded, and a U-shaped internal channel keeps condensation away from the contacts. In daily use you get occasional dampness around the pod base after a refill, which is condensation rather than a leak, and a quick wipe fixes it. Full pocket-soaking leaks are rare unless a pod is overfilled or its seal is damaged.
Refilling is simple, with one UK caveat. Standard kits use a side fill port under a silicone plug, while UK TPD kits use a top fill system. Either way, you do not need to remove the pod from the device to fill it. Prime a new pod by filling it and waiting five to ten minutes before the first puff. Skipping that wait is the fastest way to burn a fresh coil.
Replacement pods are cheap and widely available at around £8 to £11 for four in the UK, and because the whole G3 and G4 family shares the same pod platform, you are not locked into one obscure cartridge.
UK price and monthly running costs
The kit itself typically sells for around £13 to £22 in the UK, depending on the shop and whether a free liquid is bundled. That is a strong price for a screen equipped, adjustable wattage kit. US buyers typically see it around $18 to $28.
Running costs are where a refillable pod kit beats disposables by a wide margin. Here is a realistic monthly maths example for a moderate vaper.
| Monthly cost item | Typical UK cost |
|---|---|
| Nic salt liquid, about 6 x 10ml bottles | Around £21 |
| Replacement pods, about 2 to 3 per month | Around £5 to £8 |
| One-off kit cost, spread over a year | Around £1.50 per month |
| Total per month | Around £28 to £31 |
That maths assumes 10ml bottles at about £3.50 each, though the UK vape tax now adds duty to 10ml bottles. A heavy vaper on the 0.4 ohm pod might spend £40 to £50 a month, still a fraction of smoking. For a full breakdown, see our guide to vape juice prices.
How it stacks up against the rivals
Three rival families dominate the same price bracket, and each one beats the G3 Pro in at least one area.
| Rival range | Where it wins | Where it loses | One-line verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| OXVA Xlim range | Lighter devices, huge pod choice, strong battery options | Flavour slightly less refined on some pods | Pick Xlim if you want the lightest kit with the widest pod menu. |
| Vaporesso XROS range | Bigger batteries, excellent CoreX mesh pods, polished screens | Usually a few pounds more expensive | Pick XROS if battery life is your number one priority. |
| Aspire Gotek range | Cheapest kits, dead simple to use, prefilled pod option | No screen, no wattage control, basic flavour | Pick Gotek if you want the cheapest, simplest route into refillables. |
Against the Xlim range, the G3 Pro feels more premium but heavier, with slightly cleaner flavour at the same price. Against the XROS range it is cheaper but gives up battery capacity, since the XROS 5 packs 1500mAh against 1000mAh here. Against Gotek, there is barely a contest on features, but Gotek wins on simplicity and cost. For the disposable side of the comparison, our Geek Bar Pulse X review shows why a refillable costs so much less per month.
The honest drawbacks, all in one place
No review that only praises is worth reading, so here are the real downsides, collected.
First, the weight. At 92g it is a chunky pocket companion, and if you carry your vape in a trouser pocket all day, you will notice it.
Second, the screen is underused. The dancing robot animation, the puff counter that vanishes after two seconds, and the lack of a reset option all feel like missed opportunities on a device sold on its display.
Third, the two pods in the box can confuse beginners. Handing a new vaper a 0.4 ohm pod and a 0.9 ohm pod with no clear warning about nicotine strength is asking for one harsh first experience.
Fourth, the juice window is one-sided and can be hard to read in low light, which means you can run a pod dry without realising.
Fifth, the battery is good but no longer class leading, and heavy RDL vapers will charge this kit daily.
None of these are deal breakers alone. Together, they are why the score is 8.4 rather than 9.5.
Who should buy it, and who should not
Buy the G3 Pro if you are a smoker switching to vaping and you want a kit that grows with you, starting on the 0.9 ohm pod and experimenting with the 0.4 ohm pod later. Buy it if flavour matters more to you than shaving grams off your pocket load.
Skip it if you want the absolute lightest kit, the absolute longest battery, or a device with zero settings to learn. Skip it if you only ever vape one style and one strength, because a simpler, cheaper kit will do the same job. Prefer a squarer shape and more battery? The KOKO version adds 250mAh.
For anyone weighing up whether switching is worth it at all, our piece on vaping versus smoking lays out the comparison in plain terms.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Caliburn G3 Pro good for beginners?
Yes, with one condition. Start on the 0.9 ohm pod with your normal nic salt strength, leave the 0.4 ohm pod alone until you are comfortable, and let the device auto-set the wattage.
How long does a Caliburn G3 Pro pod last?
Typically one to two weeks. Sweet liquids shorten pod life, and chain vaping at high wattage on the 0.4 ohm pod shortens it further. Muted flavour is your signal to change the pod.
Can you use nic salts in the Caliburn G3 Pro?
Yes, nic salts are its natural partner, especially in the 0.9 ohm and 1.2 ohm pods. Keep strong salts out of the 0.4 ohm pod, where high wattage makes them far harsher than expected.
Final verdict
The Uwell Caliburn G3 Pro gets the important things right. Flavour is excellent, build quality is a step above its price, the screen is genuinely useful despite its quirks, and running costs are low. Its weight, gimmicky screen animation and merely good battery keep it from perfection, and the G4 range means you should buy it as the value pick it now is, not as the flagship it once was.
If you want to explore more of the site before you buy, the VapeFeat homepage is the starting point. Our SBX vape review covers a very different kind of device for comparison.