Cuboid Mini by Joyetech: A Compact Powerhouse Revealed in This Comprehensive Review”

Joyetech Cuboid Mini Review

There are two things I want to talk about before I get to the actual review. First is the ‘NotchCoil™’ and second is the weight of the new Cuboid Mini.

What is this NotchCoil™ thing anyway?

The NotchCoil™ was developed to create much more surface area for e liquid to cling to, thereby producing more flavor and more vapor than traditional coils, and as a coil with a much faster ramp up time. It is most definitely designed for Lung Hit vaping.

The concept for the NotchCoil™ is sound. After all, the idea behind coil builds like the Clapton is to create more surface area for e liquid. Because the NotchCoil™ is made with Stainless Steel, the ramp up time is considerably less than traditional Kanthal or Nickel wire. In addition, Stainless Steel can be used in either Variable Wattage or Temperature Control modes. It is definitely a step in the right direction.

As I type this the NotchCoil™ is being used in the WISMEC/Jay-bo Theorem atomizer and in the coil heads of this Cuboid Mini. You can expect the coil to appear in many more mods, tanks, and RDAs down the road. I’ll talk to the vapor production and flavor traits in a bit.

The Cuboid Mini Weight Factor

Like the original Cuboid by Joyetech, the Cuboid Mini is heavier than it looks. While I enjoyed using the original Cuboid while under review, I found it a bit too heavy to use as a primary device. The Cuboid Mini is heavier than other mods of similar size, but it is not prohibitively heavy, which will be good news to users who were unhappy with the Cuboid’s weight.

About the Joyetech Cuboid Mini

Joyetech launched this scaled-down version of the Cuboid a couple of weeks ago, and while I could have written this review after just a few days, I decided to take my time with it to be sure that what I say about the Cuboid Mini will remain my opinion down the road. Sometimes I dislike a device and it grows on me, and sometimes I like a device only to dislike it a few weeks later. Rushing to print with a review just to get it out there would either be a disservice to Joyetech, or worse, you, our readers. So consider my impressions of the Cuboid Mini to be my long term impressions.

The Cuboid Mini is powered by a 2400mAh built-in battery. Maximum output is 80W. The Cuboid Mini uses two sets of battery protection circuit systems making it safer and more reliable. Inside is a single 18650 2400mAh battery by Samsung (I haven’t forced mine open, only reporting what I was told.)

With both a Variable Temperature Control system and a Variable Wattage mode, the Cuboid Mini is equipped with the latest electronics, offering TC modes with Ni200 (Pure Nickel), Ti (Titanium), SS (Stainless Steel).

The TFTA-Tank (top-filling plus top-airflow tank) allows the top part and coil to be removed as a solid unit. Coil replacement and e liquid filling is done by removing this top section from the cup reservoir. It’s so easy to refill you can actually tip your bottle over the hole and pour. Fill to just under the top of the front glass window and its filled to its maximum 5mL.

The Cuboid Mini offers upgradable firmware as well, through the USB port, and is offered in Stainless Steel ‘silver’, Black, Gray, and White. I received the silver one, John received a black one. I definitely preferred the black color for this particular device.

Basic Functions:

The Cuboid Mini is a 5-click off/on device. Getting into the menu system is 3-clicks. Using the single plus/minus adjustment bar under the OLED display, you can change modes and settings at will. The Cuboid Mini uses a similar display as the eVic-VTC and the Cuboid original, a hi-res display that easily bests any other display in other devices.  Like other Joyetech products, you can adjust the wattage while in Temperature Control mode to further enhance your vaping experience.

The Unique Atomizer

The Cuboid Mini Atomizer is designed to maintain the same appearance of the Cuboid Mini body. No doubt most people, especially non-vapers, will see the Mini and the Atomizer as a single unit.  For purely aesthetic reasons the Cuboid Mini Atomizer definitely adds to the ‘cool factor’, and there are some advantages beyond the aesthetic that provides an excellent vape experience. However, the atomizer, or tank, adds more weight to the overall device than any other tank I know have.

This oblong shaped tank holds a gratifying 5+ mL of e liquid, and the actual atomizer part of the tank works exceedingly well, though at first glance it looks rather complicated to piece together. But, a tank is merely a reservoir for liquid, it’s the atomizer/coils that make or break the vape experience. Joyetech provides a few different coil heads and the vape experience is different which each one.

The Coil Heads and the Vape

NotchCoil™ – The Cuboid Mini Starter Kit comes with a single NotchCoil™ rated at 0.25ohm. One of the first things you might notice is the consistency of the ohms with the NotchCoil™. This DL (Direct Lung), coil head stays steady at 0.25-ohms. Although the NotchCoil™ in the WISMEC Theorem is a lot larger than the coil in the Cuboid Mini coil head, the performance is nearly equal.

Naturally my first coil head choice during the review period was this new NotchCoil™. Filling the tank with a MaxVG e liquid and allowing it to sit for about 30 minutes, I set the mode of the Cuboid Mini to Variable Wattage and turned the device down to 30W. (The Cuboid Mini’s default wattage is 80W, its maximum output) I then took a 1 to 2 second pull on the drip tip. What I exhaled just about shocked my senses… more vapor from a short, light pull then I ever imagined possible. Now I know that sounds like hyperbole, but I assure you it is not. After a few more similar pulls on the drip tip I was convinced that the NotchCoil™ was the real deal, a coil head like no other.

In Temperature Control mode the vape experience was very similar to variable wattage. Best vape was found at 520F at 40W, in variable wattage mode the best vape was found at 38w, although the coil is rated at 30w-70w. The NotchCoil™ is said to last longer, and can be used under high wattage conditions without compromise. I was able to push the vape up into the high 50’s without hurting the vape experience, but the flavor production seemed to weaken the higher the wattage went. That’s not that unusual for me, there are several tanks and coil heads that do the same thing.

While the NotchCoil™ has to be the best vapor producer ever, it is not equally as great at producing flavor from the e liquid. That said, I don’t think the flavor produced from the NotchCoil™ would disappoint any vaper, it just wasn’t as spectacular as the vapor production. After a couple of days of use, the NotchCoil™ performed extremely good with vapor production, but the flavor only improved marginally. If the best vapor and best flavor were graded at 100 being “perfect” I would grade the NotchCoil™ in the Cuboid Mini as: Vapor: 99, Flavor: 92.

0.5-ohm DL BF316 SS Coil Head – Another Direct Lung coil head, I found the performance to be about 75% of the NotchCoil™ with respect to vapor production. The best performance is found near the same wattage and temperature, but in all honesty, the half-ohm coil could be pushed a bit further up without a loss in performance.

1.5-ohm MTL BF Clapton Coil Head (Kanthal) – As I am not a MTL (Mouth to Lung) vaper I did not spend much time with this coil head. The draw is much tighter than a DL coil heads, and the vapor production much less. However, the Clapton build allowed for very good flavor production. In fact, to make sure of this I vaped for a while with a Cubis tank, also from Joyetech, using the same 1.5-ohm BF Clapton. Flavor is what this coil head is about, for the mouth to lung vaper anyway.

BF RBA Head – For vapers wanting to build their own coils to use with the Cuboid Mini the BF RBA Head will probably work fine. I say probably because with any deck this small, it would take me a while to seat a coil, and its not something I usually do. Luckily the RBA Head comes completely built and ready to vape with coil and cotton, and the performance was only bested by the NotchCoil™. Tons of vapor, and excellent flavor, the RBA Head was lovely.

Conclusion

If you liked the original Cuboid by Joyetech you’ll love the Mini. The unique tank, along with the advanced electronics, are the biggest selling points to the Cuboid Mini. The price, from $50-$60, (usually $54.95) is lower than I expected, and definitely a bargain.

I don’t think I would recommend the Cuboid Mini to new vapers, only because of the complexity of putting together the whole drip tip to coil head piece. Sure, you can put it together and enjoy it for a time, but it will eventually need to be taken apart and cleaned, and new vapers could be dissuaded from using it because of the number of parts.

Vapers in general are faced with buying decisions constantly. There is no shortage of devices out there. What makes the Cuboid Mini “original” is the oblong tank and being the first Joyetech device to offer a NotchCoil™ coil head, but is that enough to cause vapers to add this device to their ever-growing collection? Maybe. I personally love Joyetech products, but after the review period was over I found myself reaching for one of my eVic-VTC’s and one of many sub-ohm tanks I use regularly, more so than one of the Cuboids.

Grade: A “a solid, newly advanced two-piece device, the Cuboid Mini provides an amazing vape experience when used with the NotchCoil™. It’s 5mL tank is ample for 3 or 4 hours of vaping, the battery life is good, though 2400mAh is on the low side, and the price is excellent.”

Julia Hartley-Barnes 

Features and Specs for Cuboid Mini 80W TC Device:

• Dimensions: 3″ x 1-3/8″ x 7/8″(without Cuboid Mini Atomizer)
• Spring-loaded Contact Pin
• Stainless Steel 510 Threads
• Battery Capacity: Built-in 2400mAh Battery
• Operating Wattage: 1.0 – 80.0 W
• Temperature Control: Nickel (Ni), Titanium (Ti), Stainless Steel 316 (SS316), TCR Modes
• Temperature Range: 100-315°C / 200-600°F
• Bypass (Direct Output Voltage) Mode
• Resistance Range: 0.05-1.5ohm for Variable Temperature Control Mode
• Resistance Range: 0.1-3.5ohm for Variable Wattage and Bypass Mode
• Large 0.96″ OLED Display Screen
• Bottom Ventilation Holes
• Micro USB Charging Port
• Upgradeable Firmware
• Stealth Function
• Key Lock Function
• Rotate 180 Display Mode
• Short Circuit Protection
• Low Battery Alert
• Low Resistance Alert
• Temperature Protection
• Temperature Alert

Features and Specs for Cuboid Mini Atomizer:

• Dimensions: 2″ x 1-3/8″ x 7/8″ (Including Drip Tip and Threads)
• 510 Threaded
• 0ml liquid Capacity
• Innovate Leak Resistant Cup Design
• Tempered Glass Window
• Convenient Top-Fill Feature
• Top Airflow Control
• Compatible with Cubis Atomizer Heads
• Includes (1) NotchCoil™TM 0.25ohm Direct Lung Atomizer Head

Includes (1) BF Rebuildable M&L Head