Wismec Reuleaux RX Mini Kit Review
The smashing success of the Reuleaux RX200 has been both a blessing and a curse for Wismec. On the one hand, it established the Chinese manufacturer as one of the top brands in the vaping industry, but it also set customer expectations for their future releases, and meeting them is anything but simple in such a competitive market. In this review, we’ll be looking at the Reuleaux RX Mini kit, Wismec’s attempt at tackling the mini mod/tank sector, and determine whether it can make the same kind of impact that its older brother did last year.
A Look at the Contents
The Reuleaux RX Mini kit comes in the same packaging as most vaping products today – a black cardboard box. On the front of the box we have a sliver drawing of the device inside, and on the back, we have a list of contents, company information and a bunch of safety pictograms.
Inside the box, we have the assembled Reuleaux RX Mini 80W mod and the Reux Mini tank sitting in a foam holder. Underneath this holder are two user manuals – one for the mod and another for the tank – a USB charging/update cable, a spare coil head (the other comes preinstalled in the tank), a 3M fake leather sticker to customize your mod, and a bag of spare o-rings for the tank.
So, basically, you have everything you need to start vaping, minus the e-liquid. However, one thing I would have loved to see in the box is a spare glass tube for the tank. If you’ve ever cracked a tank by accident, you know how handy those things can be.
Design and Build Quality
With the growing demand for full-featured, pocket-friendly vaping devices, Wismec decided it would be a good idea to scale down the size of its popular Reuleaux RX200s to access this lucrative niche market. At least that’s how I assume the Reuleaux RX Mini came to be, since the design similarities between the two mods are pretty obvious.
There’s just one problem with that idea, though. Despite its reduced size, the RX Mini still retains the diamond shape of an RX device, so the girth is still considerable. That makes it very comfortable in the hand, but sliding it into a small pocket can be a little difficult. And even if you manage to do it, you’ll be left with a noticeable bulge. That’s not a huge deal, but I’m guessing it may bother some people.
I’ve had trouble finding out what material the Reuleuax RX Mini is made of, as Wismec doesn’t list that information on their site, but I’m guessing it’s either zinc alloy or stainless steel. Either way, the mod feels really solid in the hand, and has some weight to it, which really gives it a quality feel.
For this review, I received the grey version of the Reuleaux RX Mini, but you can also get in stainless steel and black.
On top of the mod we have a spring-loaded 510 connection that seems to leave a gap between the device and the atomizer regardless if you’re using the included Reux Mini tank or another atty. I’m not 100% certain, but I believe the reason for this is to make sure that screwing on the atomizer all the way down doesn’t scratch the matte finish of the mod. The gap is barely noticeable though, so I’m not even going to count it as a con.
If the 510 connection would be located more to the center, it could fit a 24-mm atomizer without the slightest bit of overhang, but as it’s actually located near one of the sides, anything over 22-mm in diameter, will definitely overhang.
On the sides, we only have a couple of battery venting holes and a replaceable fake leather sticker that not only looks goof but also improves your grip on the mod, preventing it from slipping from your hand. The pre-applied sticker is black, but you can replace it with a brown one included in the starter kit.
One of the coolest features of the Wismec Reuleaux RX Mini is the large, super-bright OLED display. It’s without a doubt one of the best-looking mod screens I’ve seen a while. It’s bright enough to be perfectly visible in any lighting conditions, and all the various info is displayed in a large enough font to be clearly visible from arm’s length.
The display takes up a lot of space, though, so much in fact that there really isn’t enough space left for the ‘up’ and ‘down’ buttons on the side of the RX Mini, so Wismec decided to put them on the bottom. It’s a bit unusual, but we’ve seen this done on mini mods before, like the Eleaf iStick PICO 75, for example. However, in this particular case, the implementation is less than perfect.
I have no problem with the positioning of the adjustment buttons, but their shape and size is definitely a problem. With so much space to work with thanks to the overall girth of the mod, Wismec and Jay Bo could have went for some beefy buttons, but instead they decided to go with two very small, very thin buttons that are so close together that it makes pressing them correctly very frustrating.
To be perfectly honest, I personally didn’t find it too difficult to operate the ‘up’ and ‘down’ buttons, but then again, I have really thin, girly fingers. Someone with big hands, however, is going to be struggling a lot with them, especially if they just clipped their nails. These buttons are basically a thin line split in two, so trying to press one without pressing the other can be very frustrating. Not to mention trying to press them both at the same time. Good luck trying to fit both your thumbs on them!
I liked that they fit two more venting holes on the bottom of the RX Mini. Along with the two on the sides, that’s four venting holes, which for a device this size is quite impressive. Wismec takes battery safety seriously, and that’s definitely a big positive in my book.
Battery Life
Despite its impressive girth, the Wismec Reuleaux RX Mini is a very small device, even for a mini mod, so I really wasn’t expecting too much from it in terms of battery life. Now, the 2100 mAh capacity of its non-removable battery may not seem that great when you compare it to that of dual-18650 battery devices, but taking into consideration its size, it’s actually pretty good.
This is supposed to be a pocket-friendly vaporizer, small enough to carry in the pocket and easy to use on the go without attracting too much attention. Battery life is definitely not at the top of its strong-point list, but it’s still decent enough to keep you vaping at up to 80W for a few hours.
Accurately estimating the battery life of the RX Mini is pretty tough, since you have to take into consideration the wattage you’re vaping at, the resistance of the atomizer and the vaping habits of the user, but I can share my own experience, to help you get an idea of what you can expect from it.
I have been using the Reuleaux RX Mini with the Reux Mini tank included in the kit for about a week now. The pre-installed coil-head – one of the best I’ve ever used – is rated at 0.2Ω and I have been vaping it at 65W, in power mode. I got an average of six hours out of the battery, which is more than I expected, considering that I was using it exclusively, and that I consider myself a heavy vaper.
Menu and Navigation
The Wismec Reuleaux RX Mini has a seemingly simple menu and navigation system. There is no actual menu to go into, everything happens on the screen, using various button combination, either when the device is turned off or on. It’s basically the same menu type as Joyetech uses on its advanced devices.
For example, to turn the power the RX Mini on/off, you have to press the fire button five times in rapid succession. To change the settings, you have to start by pressing the fire button three times, while the device is turned on. You will see the “mode” icon in the top left corner of the display start to flash, letting you know that you can either change the mode from variable wattage to temp. control (for stainless steel, Ni200 or titanium), bypass mode (mech mode) or memory mode, or browse through the other options.
The thing about this type of menu, as I’ve mentioned when reviewing various Joyetech mods, is that it can be somewhat frustrating to use for less experienced users. For example, when you want to change the vaping mode, if you accidentally press the “up” button instead of “down” you will jump to another setting, instead of browsing through the available modes. You then have to press “up” several times until you see the “mode” icon flashing again, at which point you can press “down” to switch to another mode. You can also just press the fire button to start over, but that’s just what I mean by “frustrating”
There are several other examples like the one above, but it seems that Wismec is somewhat aware of the slightly confusing navigation system of its mod, so it has added a small reset button on the bottom of the RX Mini, which brings the device back to factory settings if you somehow screw the settings up and can’t figure out how to fix them. This button is actually a small hole that can be pressed with something very thin, like a needle.
As I mentioned, there are also some button combinations that have to be done when the RX Mini is turned off. By keeping both the “up” and “down” buttons pressed, you can flip the screen, pressing “up” and the fire button lets you check the voltage of the battery, and pressing “down” and the fire button lets you adjust the TCR for three memory modes.
The RX Mini user manual does a good job of explaining the navigation and all the available button combinations, but I would still like to see a simpler menu navigation system implemented by both Wismec and Joyetech.
The Tank
The Reux Mini tank that comes with the Reuleaux RX Mini is definitely one of the best mini tanks I have used in a while. It’s very simple to use, holds over 2.5 ml of e-liquid (although the official specs say 2 ml) and the flavor production and flavor are simply amazing.
The design of the Reux Mini is fairly straightforward. It comes with a wide-bore Delrin drip tip that can be replaced with any other 510 drip tip, the top cap screws off for refilling, and the metal base is actually an adjustable airflow ring that allows users to restrict the airflow to the coil.
To replace the coil, all you have to do is unscrew the base of the tank, take out the old coil and screw on a new one. To fill the tank, just unscrew the top cap and pour juice in the space between the chimney and the glass tube. That’s pretty much all you need to know to use it properly. There are no bells and whistles like juice-flow control or top adjustable airflow, just a bare-bones tank that actually works great.
Wismec has also done a great job with the Triple coil heads for the Reux Mini. They’re not as impressive looking as those multiple-coil atomizer heads that SMOK makes for its TFV8 tank, but they actually perform very well. The one that comes pre-installed in the tank is rated at 0.2Ω, and not only produces big clouds of vapor, but the flavor you get from it is amazing as well.
I’ve been using the same coil for a week, and the flavor I get from it is still very good, while the coil itself only has minimal gunk build-up, despite having used it with Loaded Glazed Donuts juice, which is rather sweet.
I’ve had no leaking with it whatsoever, which is pretty rare for bottom-airflow tanks. Overall, I have to say that the Reux Mini is a very pleasant surprise.
Conclusion
The Wismec Reuleaux RX Mini kit is a very solid choice for intermediate vapers as well as advanced users looking for something small but full-featured to use on the go. The girth of the RX Mini may not make it the most pocketable mini mod on the market, but the impressive 80W power output, the number of available features and the excellent Wismec board definitely make up for its design flaws.
The Reux Mini tank is an excellent companion to the RX Mini. It may seem simplistic, but this little guy is proof that appearances can be deceiving. It’s actually a great atomizer that will impress you both in terms of vapor production and flavor intensity.
The Wismec Reuleaux RX Mini was provided free of charge for the purpose of this review by VapeSourcing.
I just purchased the Wismec RXmini. I say it dose feel better in my hand then IStick Pico. Pros its easy to use, very cute, fits in the hand. Cons is select choice on color.. not sure if this is a pro or con but battery is not removable… very happy with this mod..