Joyetech Espion Solo Review | 80 Watts with a Touchscreen

The Joyetech Espion Solo is a small mod with a full touchscreen. It’s a follow up to the original Espion which came out a few months ago. While the original was a dual-18650 mod, the new Espion Solo gets its name from being a single battery mod. It can use a 20700 or 21700 cell, or an 18650 with the included adapter. The one I received included a 21700 battery by Avatar Controls.

Price, specs, features

• Price: $48
• Colors: stainless steel/black/pink and “dazzle” (rainbow)
• Screen type: 1.3-inch OLED touchscreen
• Screen size: 64 x 128 px
• Output wattage: 1-80 watts
• Output mode: Power/RTC/Bypass/TC (Ni|Ti|SS316)/TCR modes
• Resistance range: 0.05-1.5-ohm for TC/TCR mode
• 0.1-3.5 ohm for power mode
• Temperature range: 100-315° C / 200-600° F
• Uses single replaceable high rate 21700/18650 cell (CDR 25 A)
• Maximum charging current: 2 amps
• Maximum output current: 30 amps
• Maximum output voltage: 9 volts
• Size: 25.5 mm (L) x 39.5 mm (W) x 81.0 mm (H)

Kit Content

• Joyetech Espion Solo mod
• Micro USB cable
• User manual
• 18650 battery adapter
• 21700 Avatar Controls 3.7V 4000 mAh battery

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Joyetech Espion Solo Review

The Espion Solo has a very comfortable shape and it’s quite small as well. It’s like an Evic VTC Mini but with a more rounded back — quite impressive. The magnetic battery plate is held on tightly, with no play, and the screen is bright and large. The screen is operated by touch with a single button below it and above it is a large clicky fire button with no rattle. The paint job on the matte black version I have is okay, and the mod passed the scratch test.

The menu and layout has been revamped. It’s nice and clean, but it’s a black and white display rather than a color one like the original Espion. Overall though it feels like a solid mod with a large and easily readable screen.

Wattage mode performance

For the purpose of this review, I tested this mod with the included Avatar Controls 21700 battery, rather than a Sony VTC5A (as I normally would).

The Espion Solo is very accurate — normally just a few watts low or high. It was mostly within one or two watts in my tests, except for the 0.48-ohm resistance when it was up to 9 watts high (allowing me to achieve 89 watts), however the lower the power setting, the more accurate it got. I was also able to get 80 watts pretty much from all of the resistances I tested (0.11 to 0.48 ohms).

The stated maximum amp output is 30 amps, and a max voltage output of 9 volts. The max voltage output was 6.52 with a 0.48-ohm coil, which shows there is a boost circuit in this mod as they state. They list a 9-volt limit but I would have needed a resistance above 1.0 ohm to test that which I don’t do. It’s plausible though. Regardless, this mod will have more than enough voltage to fill your needs as a single battery mod. The amperage output I measured at 27, however I had reached the watt limit so 30 amps is likely correct.

Temperature control performance

Using SS316 wire with the default SS316 mode and TCR mode set at 92. I tested six builds ranging from single round spaced single and dual coils, to fancy single coil and fancy dual-coils. This mod hits very much on the weak side. Anything under 550 F will barely give any vapor production. I like a warm vape personally and only when cranking it all the way up to 600 F was I able to get a decent vape.

The throttle back is okay; it doesn’t really pulse at all, but should throttle a little less to keep a consistent puff. You have full wattage range adjustment but it didn’t seem to have much of an impact on ramp-up most of the time. Joyetech mods in general have been poor in temperature control, and the Espion Solo is no exception.

Other usage info and features

I’ve used 10 atomizers on the Espion Solo and none have given me problems with the 510 connection. I’ve pushed, pulled, and wiggled all of them and it remains solid. The 510 is not centered but can handle a 25 mm atomizer without overhang.

They claim 2-amp USB charging, but I don’t recommend charging batteries internally on mods unless there is no choice (as with internal battery mods). However I charged the Espion internally with no major issues. It did get quite hot though, and I don’t recommend it.

Although the screen is bright and easily readable, the controls are very glitchy. Letting go of the adjustment buttons, the Espion screen continues scrolling. Swiping to the side is a mixed bag as well. It’s not very responsive at all and can be a royal pain to use.

The mod has full wattage adjustments at 20 watts and higher, 0.1-watt increments below 20 watts. The mod also gets quite hot when vaping at higher wattages which I don’t like at all. As for battery life, actual usage will vary from user to user based on wattage and how much they vape. But in theory the included 21700 battery could get up to 33% more battery life than with a single 18650 (using a 300mah battery like a Samsung 30q or Sony VTC6).

Likes

• Power performance works well
• Preheat options (power/duration)
• Easy to use menu system
• Build quality is nice
• Handles 25 mm atomizers
• Large fire button
• Large bright screen
• Very comfortable
• Great battery life for its size
• No button rattle
• No play in battery door
• Battery tray and loading is great
• Accurately rated

Dislikes

• Temp control performance is poor
• Mod gets hot while charging
• Mod gets hot during normal use at higher wattage settings
• Touch screen controls are bad and quite glitchy

Verdict

If you’re looking for a small mod with good battery life to be used just for power mode, the Espion is a decent one — if you can deal with the mod getting hot and having a glitchy touch screen. In general, the mod has a few good things going for it, but also a few negative things working against it.

If you’ve used the Espion Solo, let me know what you think in the comments below.

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