Table of Contents
Joyetech Cubis Pro
Think = Removable Top Cap
After some brutal torture on our collective tongues, when the Joyetech Cubis Pro arrived for review we seriously considered not reviewing it. If the eLeaf/Joyetech top-down coil heads were going to be the way of the future for these two companies, Joyetech in particular, then we didn’t want to face spending a week or so with constant blistering on our tongues.
The eGrip 2 and the Lyche atomizer, the latest from Joyetech and eLeaf, produced so much spitback we couldn’t take it anymore. Something had to be done, and fast. The Cubis Pro is that ‘something’, and if used exactly as it should, the Cubis Pro is a massive improvement. It’s not perfect, and you may still experience an occasional spitback and gurgling, but at least they are on the right track.
The Removable Top Cap
Joyetech’s solution to most of the spitback issues was to recreate the Cubis tank and include a removable top cap and do away with filling and refilling the tank by removing the one long piece that starts with the drip tip and ends with the coil head.
Assembling and filling the tank is performed by these steps:
- Unscrew the entire top assembly
- Attach Coil Head
- Screw the top assembly back on
- Unscrew the top cap, drip tip knurled grip and flat stainless steel ‘cap’.
- Fill the tank from this new removable top cap
Although the Cubis Pro Manual suggests dripping a few drop of e-liquid into the coil head, while avoiding the center hole in the coil head, we suggest NOT doing that. Just fill the tank, leave the coil head dry, and do the following:
- Take 3 or 4 strong pulls on the drip tip to bring ejuice into the coil head
- Blow through the drip tip 3 or 4 times to force out any excess ejuice.
- Let sit 10 minutes, minimum.
- Vape slowly, at less wattage, until you know if the coil head will begin to gurgle or spit.
- Once you’re confident, proceed to find your sweet spot in wattage or temperature, and vape normally.
For Vapers that did not Read the Manual
If you’ve already owned a previous top-down coil head atomizer from eLeaf or Joyetech you’re first inclination will be to remove the entire ‘drip tip to stem’ in order to attach the coil head, which is correct, so far. However, chances are you won’t know about the removable top cap because the machining of the top cap is so precise you won’t notice it unless you look for it. So, you’ll fill the tank as you do or did with the Cubis or eGrip 2. The Lyche has a side-fill system, yet did little to prevent spitback.
If you’ve filled the new Cubis Pro the same way you did the older Cubis, chances are the coil head(s) will need to be thrown away, or at least left alone for a couple of days, to dry out.
Best Performance for the Cubis Pro
Knowing ahead of time that the top cap comes off and that filling and refilling the Cubis Pro is done through the top of the tank, without removing the entire ‘guts’ of the tank, will prevent a lot of trouble.
Joyetech offers many coil head types that are compatible with the new Cubis Pro, including two brand new ones. Before moving on to the next part of the review, here’s the current list of the coil heads that can be used.
Top-Down Atomizer Coils
Here’s a list of all the Top-Down atomizer coils that are cross-compatible with all of Joyetech’s top-down atomizers:
DL = Direct Lung MTL = Mouth to Lung
- QCS Coil – New – Quick Change System – .25-ohm SS316
- LVC Clapton 1.5ohm MTL. – New adjustable juice flow on coil
- NotchCoil™ 0.25ohm DL
- BF SS316 Series .5-ohm DL, .6-ohm MTL
- BF Clapton-1.5ohm – MTL (Kanthal A1 wire)
- BF Coils in Ni, Ti – DL
- BF RBA head.
If the Cubis Pro is set up and filled as instructed above the reduction in spitback is almost 90%, give or take. Doing it the old way, chances of spitback increases to more than 80%.
By allowing the coil head to remain seated inside the tank, there is less pressure loss, and less flooding. Flooding the coil heads are the primary reason for spitback, as well as gurgling, and eliminating flooding from top-down coil heads, once flooded, is very, very difficult.
The Saving Grace of the Top-Down Coil Head
What makes any top-down coil head from Joyetech or eLeaf worth using is the vapor production. These atomizers produce so much vapor it’s shocking the first time you use one. For such small coil heads they have mastered the art of producing vapor. Flavor depends on the specific top-down coil head. The BF 0.5-ohm SS316L coil head produces superb flavor, as does the MTL coil head called the LVC Clapton, though it’s a 1.5-ohm, or plus-ohm, coil head, which produces less vapor than the DL coil heads.
Two New Coil Heads
QCS Coil – This is a .25-ohm DL SS316L coil head that allows the user to swap out the cotton insert quickly. While it does perform well, this quick change idea is superfluous. Vapor and Flavor are great.
LVC Clapton – discussed above, this new coil head provides a good MTL vape, with good flavor and good-for-plus-
ohm vapor. This new CUBIS LVC stands for Liquid Valve Control directly on the Clapton-1.5ohm head. Rotate the ring on the base of the coil head to adjust the valve for juice flow control. Again, this to me is a superfluous feature and in order to use it you’ll have to lift out the entire inner structure, make the adjustment and screw the structure back on. Doing this negates the usability of the new removable top cap design.
Stainless Steel 316L and Joyetech
I still prefer Kanthal over Stainless Steel, but Joyetech is all about Stainless Steel 316L, which provides a more flavorful vape than plain Stainless Steel, and it requires a different TCR value than SS. Their Kanthal coil head is MTL, so it’s out of the question for my use. If any of the top-down coil head atomizers were used by me consistently, I would stick to their BF SS316 Series .5-ohm DL coil head, or the RBA section, since I can wrap some Kanthal A1 for the RBA.
Other Improvements of the Cubis Pro
I may have spent more time talking coil heads than you may have wanted to hear, but the coil head is the heart of any atomizer, so it needed to be said. However, there is more to the Cubis Pro than the removable top cap and two new coil heads.
Larger Juice Capacity
Although the Cubis Pro is smaller overall than the Cubis, it holds more e liquid due to the new top fill design. You can get a tad more than 4mL into the Cubis Pro.
Redesigned Airflow Control System
Joyetech redesigned and refined the airflow control structure in order to allow more airflow to come in from both sides of the atomizer.
To operate the new system, just rotate the airflow ring clockwise or counter-clockwise. While the Hidden Airflow was a great idea, this new method is easier to calibrate the tightness of the draw.
So What to Make of the New Cubis Pro?
All in all, the Cubis Pro is an excellent improvement on a flawed technology. I’ll never be a true fan of top down coil heads, whether it be from eLeaf, WISMEC, Joyetech, or even Kanger (Kanger’s CL tank sucks), but if Joyetech continues to improve on the atomizer design and coil design they have a chance to make me a fan.
What I really want from Joyetech is for them to add a Ceramic top down coil head, with a Kanthal A1 wire, rated at .5-ohms or lower. Ceramic tanks are non-spit, they don’t gurgle, and the flavor is the best. Joyetech has dabbled in ceramic coil heads before, with the Delta 2, so there is precedence for it. A nice ceramic coil head for the Cubis line would be pretty awesome.
Real World Report
I think I’ve pretty much laid out my real world report above, so I’ll limit this part to talk about how I’ve the Cubis Pro and if I plan to continue using it.
First, because Joyetech is now offering the eVic VTwo and Mini VTwo as a Kit with the Cubis Pro, the tank is available in all the colors that the eVic’s are offered in. I chose to review the Cubis Pro with both the eVic VTwo devices, and Joyetech is correct that the tank is a perfect fit for either device. There is plenty of wattage available, as well as the latest TC technology.
The most used coil head in this review was the SS316L DL 0.5-ohm. It produced no spitback, and very little gurgling. Can’t say the same about the NotchCoil, which I’ve come to the decision that this is the most hyped coil in the community and most of the positive attributes are overblown. The MTL coil heads have very tight draws even with the maximum airflow.
It would be difficult to recommend any top down coil head prior to the release of the Cubis Pro. But, with these big improvements I would recommend it for certain vapers, MTL vapers and those that enjoy Stainless Steel wire.
Lastly, I believe the Cubis Pro will sell well under $20USD, which is a good price for the tank. It will be widely available, and from what I understand the initial run will be enough to supply all vendors and vape shops will plenty of product.
Grade: B+
“Major improvements over the original Cubis, the Cubis Pro is certainly worth considering. Most of the spitback issues have been resolved as long as the removable top cap is used for filling and refilling.”
Tom McBride
Cubis Pro Features and Specs:
- 22mm Diameter
- 510 Threaded
- Top Filled Design
- Innovative Cup Design
- Top Adjustable Airflow Valve
- Increased e-Liquid Capacity
- New LVC and QCS Cubis Atomizer Heads
- Compatible with the Original Cubis Atomizer Heads
- Insulated Drip Tip (2x)
- Fully Detachable and Washable
