Very usable design
The Solo Mini kit is released in a sleek wight cartoon box. Inside the box, the Solo Mini box stands beside a Reaper Tank, two dual coils (one stainless steel 360L in 0.5 Ω and one NiCr in 0.6 Ω), a USB cable, a user manual in english and, surprise, a protective sleeve in silicone. After the bases are covered, let’s go to the most interesting part.
The 80 W Solo Mini is the Asolo’s little sister, a box that develops 200 W. Its design is round and puzzeling at first sight. All its angles are rounded and the face is cut at 45°. Handling the object is bluffing, the box is ergonomically perfect. With a height of 88 mm, a width of 40.4 mm and a depth of 24.4 mm, for 114 g, it is very compact. The body made of an alloy of zinc and of Teflon limits thermal conduction.
On the front, there are stainless steel controls among which a square switch and a mysterious T button. One also finds a 0.91″ OLED screen and a micro-USB plug for charging. The T button is located at the bottom and merges the + (left) and – (right) horizontally and a control to switch from one mode to another, vertically.
On the rear side of the Solo Mini, a magnetic battery lid hides the battery unit in 18,650. The brand logo Ijoy is perforated in the lid and serves is degassing. A small imperfection, the magnets help closing the lid vertically but it can still slide horizontally.
The OLED display offers multiple readings. In Power mode, it shows the resistance, the voltage (V), the intensity (A), the wattage (W), the charge of the battery and the duration of your puffs. In Temp Control mode, you also have an indicator of the remaining liquid that warns you when it gets dry, the setpoint temperature and a thermometer that graphically indicates when the desired temperature is reached. In Taste Control mode, the setpoint temperature is replaced by a percentage of the temperature. It is complete, even unwieldy for the last two modes.
The Reaper Tank. Its volume is highly reasonable with 3.8 ml and filling is very easy by the top cap. The filling is made even easier with two apertures that fit large pipette tips. The drip-tip is wide (10 mm) and made of stainless steel on the outside and of Delrin on the inside, what reduces the heating. It gets warm but not hot, even when chaining puffs. The cyclopean double airflow allows a wide range of vaping styles, from very tight to aerial in direct or indirect inhalation, depending on you mood. As far as the airflow ring slides well, neither too hard nor too loose.
Technical review
The essential characteristics are:
- A variable power battery mod in 18,650 (not included)
- Adjustable power: 5 to 80 W by increments of 0.5 W
- Adjustable temperature: 100 to 315°C
- Resistance: 0.08 to 1.5 Ω in temperature control mode; 0.08 to 2.5 Ω in taste control mode for Ni, Ti and SS; 0.05 to 2.5 Ω in taste control mode for Kanthal; 0.08 to 3.0 Ω in power control mode
- Complies with Ti, Ni200, NiCr, Kanthal A1 and SS 316L.
- 0.91″ OLED screen (display of temperature, wattage, voltage, Ω and battery, thermometer, percentage of the maximum temperature and intensity
- Chipset Iwepal
- 3 modes: Temperature Ti-Ni-SS316; Taste Control; Wattage,
- I stainless steel Fire button (on and off with 5 rapid pushes)
- Compatibility: screw thread in 510 on spring
- Protection: 10 sec, shortcut, low resistance, polarity, settings lock (protects coil’s calibration)
- Tank Reaper of 3.8 ml
- Two dual coil atomizer heads: 0.5 Ω SS 316L, 0.6 Ω NiCr
- 1 drip-tip (Stainless steel/Delrin)
- USB charging (front)
- Black silicone sleeve
- User manual
- Material: Alloy of zinc/Teflon
- Height: 84 mm (141 with the atomizer)
- Width: 40.4 mm
- Depth: 24.4 mm
- Weight: 230 g (with the Reaper Tank)
- Height of the Reaper Tank: 57 mm
- Diameter of the Reaper Tank: 22.5 mm
- Colours: Black, Red, Gold, White, Green.
Let’s have a closer look at this upgraded version of the Solo Mini by Ijoy. The chipset, developped by Iwepal, a Chinese company specialized in electronic cigarette parts, switched from 75 to 80 W and accepts Stainless Steel 316L in temperature control.
The box is doing very well in power mode. It sends the current without latency period. The Reaper Tank is easy and a very nice clearomizer at use. Vapor production and the rendering of flavors are outstanding.
Let’s switch to the innovation, the Taste Control Mode. This mode is active with Kanthal A1 coils. One the power is chosen, a long click on the T button gives access to the control of taste. A percentage of the maximum temperature and a drop icon are displayed with a thermometer.
The interest of this mode is the fact that its chipset stops the battery is the temperature raises too high, incase of dry hit. This mode is very close to a temperature control for Kanthal A1. The percentage can be adjusted from 80 to 110%. For a power of 30W, the taste control varies between 24 and 33 W. A mode that the Kanthal lovers will appreciate.
To access the temperature control mode, you need to first set the power mode and, with a long click on the T button then click three times. Select one of the three wires: Ni, Ti or SS 316L. The wire is selected with the + and – buttons, so does temperature. The chipset is very precise and the vape smooth.
The Solo Mini has an irritating defect, it does not keep the mounting in memory. Each time you chnage the atomizer, you have to set up everything. It is too bad and a very negative point compared to the eVic VTC or Vtwo Mini.
In summary
The “+” :
- Perfectly fits in hand
- Very good manufacturing quality
- Chipset usability
- Excellent rendering of flavors
- Good vapor density
- Reaper Tank‘s versatility for a tigh or an aerial vape
- Price
- Top filling of the tank
- Magnetic battery lid
- Silicon sleeve included
The “-” :
- High consumption of liquid
- Too many informations on display
- RBA base not included
- The magnetic lid moves slightly
- No stealth mode to save energy
- No memory for settings
Conclusions
Rank 4.5/5. The kit Solo Mini by Ijoy is a good surprise. Despite a few imperfections quoted in the “-“, the Solo Mini seduces by its outstanding usability and its taste control mode, useful and innovative. In competition with the eVic Mini, the Ijoy however stays behind because Joyetech’s chipset is more performant. Nevertheless, combining its Solo Mini to a Reaper Tank allows Ijoy proposing a seducing, performant and versatile kit. Its price is around €50 but the brand is difficult to find in Europe. In future, the European market should be more furnished with Ijoy’s models, thanks to the success of products like the Limitless RDTA.
