Honest review time: Espion Solo with ProCore Air from Joyetech

Here’s a solid little kit that was sent over from Joyetech for review. It’s a special edition 10th anniversary release that I’ve been enjoying it tremendously. It’s a compact single battery device that’s really well made and shows off the company’s dedication to quality. Here are my honest thoughts on the Espion Solo from Joyetech.

Package contents:

Listed features and specs:

• Mod size: 25.5mm39.5mm132.5mm (4.5ml version)
• 25.5mm39.5mm126.0mm (2.0ml version)
• Screen type: 1.3 inch OLED touchscreen
• Screen size: 64*128 px
• Output wattage: 1-80W
• Output mode: Power/RTC/Bypass/TC(Ni, Ti, SS316)/TCR modes
• Atomizer head: ProCA (0.4ohm) head and other ProC series heads
• E-liquid capacity: 4.5ml/2.0ml (two versions for option)
• Resistance range: 0.05-1.5ohm for TC/TCR mode
• 0.1-3.5ohm for Power mode
• Temperature range: 100-315°C/ 200-600°F
• Cell using: single replaceable high rate 21700/18650 cell (CDR25A)
• Max charging current: 2A
• Max output current: 30A
• Max output voltage: 9V

The Espion Solo Mod:

Celebrating 10 years of bringing innovative products to the market Joyetech released a new addition to their Espion line called the Espion Solo. It’s a single battery mod that can use both 21700 and 18650 batteries with the included adapter. To commemorate the special occasion the fire button has been marked with ’10th Anniversary/Limited Edition’. I had recently reviewed the original dual battery version of the Espion and was throughly impressed by both it’s functionality and design and with the Solo I’ve got to say I’ve been equally impressed so far. If you’ve ever used an Evic VTC mini or any of it’s predecessors you might notice a slight resemblance and will likely feel right at home with the Solo like I did.

It’s fairly compact for a single battery mod but because it supports 21700 batteries it will be a little taller the the average single battery mod. It’s bears a lot of the same styling that the original had including the smart looking vertical lines cut in to the body of the mod as well as the squared off stainless steel fire button. It’s got a magnetic battery cover that’s held in place by four very strong magnets and not once has it come loose on me without me wanting it to. Towards the bottom of the device underneath the lock button is a micro USB port that can be used for charging and firmware updates. It charges up to 2A so recharges are fairly quick but as of yet there are no firmware updates available for the device.

It sports pretty much all of the same functionality of the original Espion Solo including POWER mode, RTC(Real Time Clock), Pre-Heat, Temp Control for Ni, Ti, SS316 and TCR for any materials not covered by the default settings. Unlike it’s beefier two battery predecessor the Solo uses a black and white OLED touch screen to make adjustments and change the settings. In my time using it I’ve found the touch screen is quite responsive and they even included a lock button so no accidental swipes or presses will occur. I did however experience some issues with responsiveness in some of the sub-menus where pressing an option sometimes would select the item below it. However once I got the hang of it it really wasn’t an issue, it was just a matter of lining things up on the screen before pressing or swiping. Another thing which needs to be learned is after making adjustments in the sub-menu there is no save button, you have to swipe left out of the option to save your new settings. It take a moment to get the hang of it but like I said once you do it becomes really easy to navigate.

Using the device is very straightforward and aside from the usual five clicks to turn it on and off all of the navigation is handled by the touch screen. You will first need to click the lock/unlock button before accessing the menu which will save you from a myriad of accidental presses. Swiping right reveals a sort of status menu displaying things such as remaining battery, current resistance and things like that. While swiping left reveals a sub-menu with options for MODE, INFO, SETTINGS and EXIT. It’s a familiar layout these days and I didn’t have any trouble navigating through the options. Performance wise this thing works and works well in both power mode as well as temp control mode. It sailed through my usual tests without any issues and delivered exactly what it promises to do. From my basic testing all of the included functions seemed to work as advertised and with the ability to update the firmware any potential issues could most likely be patched up.

The tank and Coils:

Where the original Espion shipped with the ProCore X the new Espion Solo ships with the ProCore Air a new slightly revised version of the ProCore X and the others from the same family. Much like the mod it sports pretty much the exact same features as the ProCore X with top fill, a 4.5ml capacity(also available in 2ml for TPD) and adjustable bottom airflow but now comes with a honeycomb patterned 810 drip tip. However it also comes with some new ProCore A coils which are made of kanthal and are rated at 0.4ohms and can be run from 40-80w. I’m always hesitant to comment too much on coils as experiences with them vary widely depending on liquid used, vaping habits and QC on the coils themselves but in the weeks that I’ve been using them I’ve found them to be as good or perhaps better then the ProC1 coils that came with the original Espion Solo kit. One thing to keep in mind however is these coils look to be interchangeable with a number of other tanks/coils on the market today so if you chose you can try out some other compatible coils with the tank.

For me I found the sweet spot with these ProCA coils to be around 60-65w where they were producing really satisfying clouds with some fantastic flavour. I’ve already gone a few weeks on just the first coil so they should last a decent amount of time but again things like longevity and such depend a lot on liquids used, vaping habits and QC of course. I found with the ProCore Air and ProCore A coils it was just a little bit smoother then the ProCore X, the airflow is about the same on both tanks but the Air just seemed to be smoother and less turbulent, it’s not a huge difference but I found I preferred the ProCore Air and ProCA coils. For me the tank and included coils are much better suited to direct lung vaping then mouth to lung even when closing it off nearly all the way.

Likes:

• Style and appearance
• Touch Screen
• Build quality
• Battery options
• Power and performance
• Flavour and vapour

Dislikes:

• Touch screen can be fidgety
• Not suited for MTL

Overall:

Much like it’s older brother, the Espion Solo is a well put together kit with all the things you need to get started. Not only that it works great and looks good doing it. Considering they are celebrating their 10th anniversary I think Joyetech should be very proud. The quality and design of the Solo is a fantastic tribute to their success. I really didn’t have much at all to complain about with this one and would have no trouble recommending it as a solid single battery device that comes with a solid performing tank. All in all a great job on Joyetechs part. So the big questions:
Will I keep using this thing? Absolutely, it’s already been added to the regular rotation of devices.
Who do I think this is for? I think it’s for new and seasoned vapers alike looking for great single battery device that comes with a solid performing subohm tank.