What’s up vapefam!
SirRisc here with another gear review!
A while back I reviewed one of the starterkits from Joyetech, the EGO One CT, and it was… mediocre.
But Joyetech has a different kind of mod in their range that isn’t so mediocre, the Evic VT. The one with the racing stripes that makes it go faster. (Remember kids, vinyl adds horsepower!)
And they extended that range with another Evic, the Evic VTC Mini, a single 18650 powered device with temperature control for Ni, Ti and SS!
This Joyetech Evic VTC Mini was sent to me for the purpose of this review by Gearbest.com!
Premise.
After using the EGO One CT for a few weeks, I wasn’t entirely sure if I ever wanted to use another Joyetech device.
Not because the quality was bad… it’s a well designed battery with a mediocre tank on top, but it wasn’t tailored to my needs.
The Evic VTC Mini is more tailored to my style of vaping, and has a lot more to offer too.
Has Joyetech succeeded in swaying my opinion? Let’s find out!
Specifications.
- Stainless Steel
- Available in black, white and cyan
- Variable Wattage for Kanthal and Stainless Steel, Variable Temperature for Nickel, Titanium and 304 Stainless Steel, Bypass Mode (battery voltage output)
- Resistance range for VW Mode: 0.1ohm to 3.5ohm
- Resistance range for TC Mode: 0.05ohm to 1.0ohm
- Temperature range: 100°C to 315°C or 200°F to 600°F
- Maximum output power 60W before firmware update, 75W with firmware 2.0+
- Single 18650 battery
- Magnetic batterycover
- USB Charging
- Springloaded 510 connection
Packaging.
The packaging is much like the one the EGO One CT came in, a white cardboard box with silver lettering and a depiction of the mod inside.
On the back you’ll find a bit of info about the mod, the standard configuration which is the contents of the box, and an indication of the color and which coilheads are included.
Sliding it open to the top reveals the mod sitting in a white foam insert, which pops out to reveal the accessories underneath.
The accessories are of course a USB charging cable, a usermanual and warranty card, and last the EGO One Mega tank with a couple of extra coilheads.
Performance.
Ok, let me start off by saying this: the EGO One Mega tank is a piece of crap. I don’t like it. I don’t want to use it. It’s a useless addition.
Why is it useless? Because the window to see your juicelevel is too small, the driptip feels weird, the coilheads aren’t all that great, etc.
If you want to put a proper tank on the mod, go for something like the UD Zephyrus V2, or even the Innokin iSub Apex. Something that actually provides you with a flavorful vape.
That’s all I want to say about the tank.
But the most important part of this set is the mod of course, and that one’s just beautiful.
Starting with the formfactor, to the big display, to the extremely comfortable buttons… it all fits together perfectly.
Except for the batterydoor… that has some play to it. A small issue I solved by cutting the ribbon which was the cause of the batterydoor to push against the battery and not close fully.
Let’s start with the obvious here, the mod comes with firmware that allows it to go up to 60W.
In my case it was firmware 1.2 which was loaded on the mod. The display was simple, and it didn’t have temperature control for stainless steel yet.
Hooking the mod up to a PC and upgrading the firmware will give you a much better and much more versatile experience.
Upgrading the firmware is easy, just plug it into the USB on your PC, load the software, press the button and done.
The display will become a bit easier to read, you’ll get 75W poweroutput instead of 60W, and you’ll get temperature control for 304 stainless steel.
Why they chose to go with 304SS is a mystery to me, since most of the stainless steel wire I see for sale for temperature control is 316L or 317L (US may differ in this).
Not that it matters much, you’ll find that the difference is actually not that great.
A slightly different TCoR which shows a quicker ramp up, you can counter any side effects by setting your temperature slightly lower than you would with 304SS.
Using TC on SS can be fiddly and difficult to get right. It took me a few builds to get the VTC Mini to recognize the coil as being a TC coil and stay in TC Mode.
Anytime it reached a resistance above 0.3ohm it just popped out of TC mode and fired the previously set wattage in power mode.
With Ti01 and/or Ni200 however it seems to have a lot less difficulty knowing what it’s supposed to do.
That said it does read resistance slightly too high, a 0.09ohm SS dual coil read as 0.19ohm and as such had a few issues with TC mode.
It fired fine in power mode though, one of the big advantages of SS wire.
The buttons are made in plastic, which can feel a bit cheap but they’re very tactile and very comfortable.
They’re not flush with the mod but rather sit in an indentation to lower their profile.
An odd choice that really works on this mod, it’s very easy to find the buttons and click them.
I did find the firebutton to be prone to juice getting into the mod, something you should really look out for.
The display is the eyecatcher of this mod, it’s big and bright, and very easy to read.
It contains all the info you’ll need in both power mode and TC mode, and unlike what I expected, it doesn’t scratch much.
With the firmware upgrade the screen became a lot more useful too, because the info on the screen is better distributed.
Switching between modes is as easy as pressing the firebutton three times and then using the minus button to switch.
One thing that I found greatly annoying is that this is also the way you have to adjust wattage in TC mode, it takes too long and if you don’t release the button in time it’ll make you go all the way around.
Aesthetics.
The Evic VTC Mini is what it says it is, mini. In fact it’s about the same size as the Cloupor Mini Plus, or the IPV D2.
It’s less ergonomic as the IPV D2 in form but the buttons are a fair bit better in my opinion.
They’re not flush with the mod, but rather sit in an indentation that lowers their profile.
Feedback is very tactile and the buttons respond very well each time.
The batterydoor sits at the spine of the mod and unfortunately it does have a little bit of play to it.
This wasn’t caused by poor fitting or machining, but rather by the ribbon being folded and pushing the battery out by about half a millimeter.
I cut the ribbon in half but kept the length, and now the batterydoor sits perfectly flush.
The big display is easy to read, shows all the needed info and is definitely an eyecatcher.
It’s a bit prone to scratching if you’re not careful but with regular use it shouldn’t scratch much.
If it does, you’re shit out of luck because there’s nothing you can do to restore the plastic.
A small point that wasn’t addressed in the manual is that the display can actually be flipped upside down.
To do this you need to turn off the mod and then hold the plus and minus button for a few seconds.
A size comparison, IPV D2 on the left, Evic VTC Mini in the middle, Cloupor Mini Plus on the right.
Pros and Cons.
Pro.
- Small
- Lightweight
- 75W with the firmware upgrade
- Firmware upgradeable, software works for Windows and Mac!
- Big display with lots of info
- Buttons are very comfortable
- Batterylife is very good in TC mode
- Stainless Steel TC mode
Con.
- Ribbon pushes the battery outwards
- Display is prone to scratching
- Buttons are not sealed
- Changing wattage in TC mode is tedious
- No button lock (only power lock)
- TC for Stainless Steel can be tricky
In conclusion.
The Evic VTC Mini is definitely a much better device than the EGO One CT or VT if you want temperature control.
Joyetech has the right mindset by making the mod firmware upgradeable and the software actually works very well.
Whether you’re a vaper looking for a good starter or you’re looking for a powerful single battery device, the Evic VTC Mini is a good buy.
The screen is an eyecatcher but would benefit from an added protective layer or maybe even something like gorilla glass.
All in all I’d say the Evic VTC Mini is a great device with a lot of potential, especially at the pricepoint it’s sitting at.
In closing I would like to thank Gearbest.com for sending me the Evic VTC Mini for review!
Thanks for reading, folks! Join me next time as I look into the first temperature controlled mod from ELE (a company that is used to making smartphones), the P70 Laisimo. Oh dear…
I’m always looking for more opportunities to review! Do you think your stuff has what it takes? Get in touch!
I can be reached on my website, via DM on Instagram, on the Facebook page, via DM on Reddit, or via DM on ELR.
#staycloudy !
SirRisc disappears in a cloud of strawberry cheesecake scented vapor
Just select SS 
The Uwell Crown stainless coils are also 316L and I have used them in TC mode. No tricks, just plug and chug!