If you’re thinking anything like what I was thinking when I saw the Artery PAL Mini for the first time, what you’re thinking is, “Oh great, another tiny mod.”
While I can’t deny that recent innovations and improvements in the vaping world have brought about a resurgence in tube mods and other miniature devices while edging away from clunkier, bulkier box mods, is this a trend that really needs to be taken to the extreme?
The PAL Mini is the shrunken version of the PAL AIO Kit by Artery, which, in its own right, is a very decent kit. While I was pleasantly surprised with how the PAL Mini performed, as you will find out, I have a hard time wrapping my head around the question of “Why is this necessary?” Read on to find out more.
What’s in the Box:
- The PAL Mini
- Two coils, one 1.6 ohm ceramic and 1.0 ohm organic cotton
- Charging cable
- User Manual
- Certificate of Authenticity
- Warranty card
- A card stating not to use juices with greater than 50% PG
Features
- Size: 71 x 38 x 14.5mm
- Material: Aluminum 6063
- Battery: Built-in 1000mAh battery
- Voltage: 3.2V (constant)
- Coil resistance: 1.6ohm ceramic wicked pod/1.0ohm organic cotton wicked pod
- Juice capactiy: 1.1mL
Design and Build Quality
Solid Body
I’ve been using this device for about two weeks now, keeping it in my pocket with my keys, and there is not a scratch on it. The PAL Mini feels heavy for its size, and feels indestructible.
I purposely dropped it from standing just to test its durability and after hitting the pavement there were no dents nor scratches. Honestly, it just feels well made.
Innovative Juice Filling Design
The e-liquid is extremely easy to fill: just unscrew the mouthpiece and slide the coil and tank out.
Remove the coil, which is held snugly by an o-ring, and fill the tank.
Once filled, replace the coil, slide the unit back in, and screw the mouthpiece back on.
It’s leakproof, mess-free and convenient, given how often you have to refill the device given its small capacity. Speaking of which…
Sacrificing Good Design for Size
While I am impressed with this device as a whole, there are fundamental design flaws caused by its small size.
The airflow hole is on the bottom of the left side of the mod, which makes any grip you might use where your hand wraps around the device block the airflow, either with the palm of your left hand or the fingers of your right.
It took a lot of practise to avoid blocking the airflow hole, which would be unnecessary had the device been made larger and the airflow been placed somewhere less likely to be interrupted by what one might consider comfortable use.
I’ve determined that using it with your right hand with your thumb on the fire button and your fingers outstretched along the back to be the easiest way to use it, however that isn’t very intuitive and takes learning.
Another gripe with the design is the incredibly small capacity (1.1ml). While these coils don’t burn through e-liquid very quickly, it is still a pain having to refill as often as I must.
How Does the Artery PAL Mini Perform?
For this review, I used Flavour Crafters Black Cherry 50/50 mix e-liquid. I also tested the device with Evape Quest Karma 60VG/40PG and The Milkman Moonies 65VG/35VG just to see how well it handled the concentration of VG.
Flavour? Check. Clouds? Check.
Much to my surprise, this device puts out a decent amount of flavour. Both the 1.6ohm and the 1.0ohm coils didn’t disappoint in this regard. The cloud production is fine as well; not as great as the flavour, but fine considering the device itself.
This has to do, I’m sure, with the airflow hole, and for this reason I expected the level of clouds it created.
These coils don’t quit!
After using the Artery PAL Mini for over a week, I noticed no drop in flavour or any off taste due to the coils dying.
I even put these coils through the ringer and sampled higher VG juices despite the included card warning me not to, and much to my delight I found that the 1.0ohm coil handled a tankful of 65VG/35PG e-juice without issue.
The 1.6ohm Ceramic coil struggled with that concentration, though did fine with a 60VG/40PG mix. All in all, I am very impressed with the included coils.
Battery life? No problem!
With a 1000mAh battery, I expected to have to charge the PAL Mini quite often, nightly at the very least, however a charge easily saw me through two full days of use.
With its minimalist design, the only indicator of power is in the form of a blue light right below the charging port that switches to red when the battery is low, though I found the red light indicator to be generous with its warning, and could vape with it on for an hour or so before the clouds began to shrink.
Pros
- Solid, scratch-resistant body
- Discrete size
- Easy-to-fill tank
- Long battery life
- Well-made coils
- Strong flavour
Cons
- Non-intuitive design for holding
- Small juice capacity
Final Review Verdict
While I was impressed with the Artery PAL Mini overall, I cannot get past the cons. While they appear heavily outweighed by the pros in my list, they are so prominent in my mind due to the fact that they do not exist with the full-sized PAL.
My recommendation would be that unless you, for whatever reason, require a device this small, you should save yourself some hassle and just go for the full-sized version.
