Aspire Minican Pod System Review – Can Mini Be Mighty?

The Aspire Minican is arguably the smallest, and almost the cheapest pod system on the planet!

Pod systems have grown and grown in size over the past year, with most manufacturers tending to create huge cloud-chucking ‘pod mods’ recently.

How small can we go?

So its nice to see companies like Aspire hasn’t forgotten those who still want a discreet MTL vape and have produced this delightful little thing, the Aspire Minican.

Aspire are experts at starter kits so I’m expecting big things from this small unit.

What Can We Expect From The Aspire Minican Pod System?

The Aspire Minican’s features really wont blow your socks off. Apart from the sneaky little detail you wont notice unless you delve into the user manual…a 1.2Ω MESH Coil.

Mesh coils are all the rage in the sub-ohm world, in fact its now very rare to see anything but a mesh coil, however I generally thought the reason we didn’t see mesh coils of a higher resistance (above 0.8Ω) was probably because they’re simply too small to produce.

Aspire obviously has different ideas.

Everything else with the Aspire Minican is pretty much what you would expect. It comes in a range of colours, has an automatic fire system, a 350mAh battery, a micro USB port and a tiny LED indicator.

So let’s crack on with the Aspire Minican review and see what this kit is all about.

This kit was sent to me free of charge for the purpose of review.

All views and opinions are solely those of my own and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of others.

Video Review: See the Aspire Minican In Action

Inside the Box

• 1 x Minican Device
• 1 x Pod (2.0ml TPD)
• 1 x Micro USB Cable
• 1 x User Manual

Specs and Features

Aspire Minican

• Size: 65 x 25 x 15.5mm
• Battery: 350mAh Built-In
• E-Liquid Capacity: 2.0ml
• Coil Resistance: 1.2Ω Kanthal Mesh Coil
• Airflow – Non-Adjustable
• Filling – Bottom Fill
• Automatic Draw System
• Charging: Via Micro USB Port
• Available colours: Orange | Blue | Black | White | Grey

Design and Build Quality

I received the white variant of the Aspire Minican and the first thing you notice when you take it out of the box, is how smooth the finish is!

Almost like a thin layer of silicon or rubber on the device.

Its really nice, and strong too! I ran my fingernail across it, expecting it to tear or scratch but nope.

This really is a small device so with regards to build quality in general, it’s doing what its supposed to do.

Aspire Minican – The Pod

The oddly shaped pod holds 2.0ml of e-liquid and although its quite dark, you can still see your e-liquid level fairly easily.

The pod itself clips into the device via magnets and sits in the device nice and snug.

It’s at the base of the pod where you have to remove a small silicon bung, to fill with e-liquid.

One observation, because of the shape of the pod, its actually a little tricky to remove as your fingers practically slide off the pod when attempting to remove it.

You’ll get the hang of it eventually but I think they maybe should have added some small groove to each side of the pod, to make removal a much simpler task.

Another thing…

The pods have non-replaceable coils meaning once that coil is dead, you have to throw away the entire pod.

Something I always hate about pod systems and with no spare pod in the kit, you might as well pick up a spare pack of pods on the same day you buy the Aspire Minican itself.

Aspire Minican In the Hand

What is there to say about something that’s about as long and slender as a USB stick and as wide as a 50ml shortfill bottle?

Your hand will swallow the device, but it does feel nice to be fair.

Regardless of how you hold this device, its comfortable, and because of the auto draw function, there is no button to worry about.

How To Fill the Aspire Minican

Once you’ve eventually removed the pod from the Minican itself, filling is fairly simple.

However its fair to say the filling port is quite small and there is no additional venting port, meaning at times, you may find your e-liquid bubbles back out, rather than filling the pod.

Annoying!
Here’s what to do:

• Remove the Pod from the device
• Turn upside down and peel back the silicon bung
• Fill with your desired e-liquid
• Re-fit the bung and install into the device

The device wont flash or light up once the pod is installed, so don’t expect a fancy light show.

Aspire Minican Functions

Considering the Aspire Minican has an automatic draw system, there’s really not much to worry about.

What you may need to focus on, is the LED indicator, and what colour is displayed.

Here’s the info:

• White LED – Device In Use
• White Flash 10 Times – Battery Low (Low Battery Protection)
• White Flash 2 times – Vape Over-Time Protection
• White glow for 2 seconds – Short Circuit

How Does the Aspire Minican Perform?

I loaded the Aspire Minican with a Nicotine Salt from Ohm Brew and I went to town on it for the first 48 hours, using it as my all day every day device.

After that I kept the e-liquid the same but used it as my daytime companion, whilst enjoying some of my favourite devices in the evenings.

Why? More on that shortly.

Aspire Minican – Flavour and Clouds

The Aspire Minican is 100% a MTL device.

The draw could be a little bit tighter for my personal preference, but its more than acceptable for a decent MTL vape.

I’ve never had a mesh coil at such a high resistance, but I’m pleased to say it works.

The flavour from the Aspire Minican is a solid 9/10 for a pod system – and I do mean for a pod system, not compared to everything else ever made.

The vapour production is also nice and enjoyable and considering this is mesh we’re talking about, the vape is slightly warm.

The Minican’s airflow isn’t loud or turbulent at all – it’s a nice quiet vape.

Aspire Minican – Coil Breaking-in Time

I’m extremely impatient, meaning once I’ve filled a pod system up, I want to try it out.

I would certainly recommend giving the pod at least 5 minutes to saturate to start with – known as priming your coil.

But once you’ve given it time to saturate, you almost instantly get the full flavour – top marks!

Aspire Minican Battery Life

The 350mAh battery doesn’t sound a lot but you have to consider this is a really small device.

I was expecting this to last a day, especially considering the 1.2Ω coil.

However in practical terms you’ll enjoy a good 4ml of e-liquid before having to stick the Aspire Minican on charge.

Which in my time with the Minican, means putting the device on charge at some point during the early evening.

So not quite a days battery life, but the device only takes 40 mins to fully charge so its not the end of the world.

Just a shame they couldn’t squeeze an extra 50-100 mAh in there somehow.

BTW, whilst charging, the LED indicator will glow white.

Does the Aspire Minican Leak?

I’ve had no leaks with the Minican, however due to the filling method, I have had a few small issues with keeping the base of the pod, and the inside of the device clean and dry.

So once filling, make sure you thoroughly clean and dry the base of the pod, to prevent any long term damage to the contacts.

Pros

• Good flavour
• Decent slightly warm vape
• Super compact
• Nice rubbery feel
• Charges fairly quickly

Cons

• Cannot replace the coil
• Only comes with 1 pod
• Battery doesn’t last a day
• Pod is a little tricky to remove

Final Review Verdict

Before I round this review up, there is one BIG selling point to this small device – its price.

Aspire is looking to put this device out for around the £12 mark.

Which quite frankly is epic and a clear competitor to the Vaporesso Osmall that the excellent Neil Cozens looked at in March and gave it a glowing 9.4/10.

You can’t really ask for much more at that price point.

The Aspire Minican doesn’t feel particularly cheap, however, it is a very small pod system so its almost pointless to make it out of stabilized wood..

There’s a number of features that I look at when trying out a device, and for something to score highly, it needs to meet certain demands.

Would this device be long lasting and still work 3, 6 or even 12 months from now?

As much as its built really well, I’m really not sure if someone will still be using this device 6 months down the line.

It’s extremely simple and produces a nice vape.

But I just feel with the small battery capacity and its overall size, I think someone’s more likely to lose it than use it for more than 6 months.

Does this device deliver the flavour, vapour and general experience I require, in order to be enjoyed?

The Aspire Minican packs a serious MTL Punch.

Definitely enjoyable and most certainly delivers the kind of flavour and vape experience I’m looking for in this category.

Is this device versatile to suit a new vaper, and an experienced one alike?

For someone quitting the stinkies the Aspire Minican is a very good option, firstly due to its price but also its simplicity and ease of use.

For a long term vaper, they might consider the Minican as a backup or for those times they want a sneaky vape and don’t want to carry around anything larger.

Have you bought the Aspire Minican?

Or have you given it a try?

Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.