Home iJoy Ijoy Diamond Mini Review | A cut above the rest?

Ijoy Diamond Mini Review | A cut above the rest?

Ijoy have taken the success of their Diamond PD270 kit and compacted it into a mini version utilizing the widespread 18650 batteries. But is it this girl’s new best friend or a lacklustre proposal to the mod market?

Kingerax K

August 3, 2018

Today we’re looking at the Ijoy Diamond Mini mod which boasts;

millisecond fire speed
large OLED display
225W high power
easy operation
temperature control
and lest we forget (Ijoy won’t let us – it’s written everywhere) diamond multi-faceted cutting technology

When I read about Diamond Cutting Technology I got rather excited until I realized they were literally referring to the diamond screen display and fire button….

Don’t get me wrong, it looks nice, but I’m not clear on the point IJOY is trying to make.

Nevertheless, diamond multi-faceted cutting technology is a feature that IJOY want us to know about. For me it’s merely the look of the mod, for them it’s something very special – I will let you decide which side of the fence you sit on – is the diamond multi-faceted cutting technology something really special? Let me know in the comments below!

For the purpose of this review, we’ll be looking at the Ijoy Diamond Mini in mirror black.

Disclaimer: I received the Ijoy Diamond Mini for the purpose of this review. All opinions are based on my own experience.

What’s in the Box:

The outer sleeves contain plenty of information front and back.

The box inside is good quality and feels robust enough to withstand the usual knocks and drops during shipping.

Inside you will find:

1 x Ijoy Diamond Mini
Micro USB cable
User manual
Warranty card

Specs and Features

Size: 87.3 x 46.3 x 32.7 mm
Battery: 2 x 18650
Screen: 0.96 inch OLED display
Output modes: VW TC Ni | SS | Ti | and special USER Mode
Wattage range: 5 – 225 W
Voltage range: 1 – 8 V
Temperature: 300 – 600 F | 150 – 315 C
Resistance range: 0.05 – 3.0 ohm (wattage mode)
Continuous firing time:10 seconds
Max output current: 40 Amps
Charging: Via micro USB
510 connection: Spring-loaded gold-plated 510 pin
Firmware Upgradeable: Yes
Power efficiency: 95%

My personal favourites are Mirror Blue and Mirror Gun Metal but I’m not disappointed receiving the Mirror Black.

Build Quality

If you’re not a fan of plastic style mods then this one isn’t for you, but the build quality overall is good. It doesn’t feel like a high-end mod but then it’s not high-end mod priced so we’ll forgive Ijoy for that.

The mod features a centre mounted gold plated, spring loaded, 510 pin which can handle large atomizers with no hangover. There is a side-mounted (diamond cut) clicky fire button. Up and Down buttons are mounted on the bottom of the mod beneath the display.

The screen features all the information in a clean font, however, the window is tinted meaning the display isn’t as clear and crisp as it otherwise could be and it’s hard, if not impossible, to read in direct sunlight.

The battery door opens at the back of the mod and attaches via magnetics firmly, although there is a small amount of rattle.

Charging batteries can be achieved via the micro USB cable. The USB port is situated at the bottom just above the Up and Down buttons. I would always recommend charging batteries on an external device but it’s a handy feature to have if you’re ever stuck. Although do note, there is no pass-through functionality (vape whilst charging).

Overall, it’s a relatively sturdy little device and given the materials used I wouldn’t expect it to get marked or scratched up that easily (big plus). Mine looked fresh out of the box throughout testing, although the OLED screen does pick up finger prints.

I have to mention that the first Diamond mini I was sent broke 3 days after I received it. It just very abruptly failed to power up. I couldn’t work out what had happened. I hadn’t dropped or gotten it wet. I was sent a replacement device and I’ve had no issues with that so far. I’m going to chalk the first one up to a blip.

Hand Feel

The first thing I noted about this mod was the weight. It felt surprisingly heavy to me especially for a smaller mod. However, my every day mod is the Aspire Skystar which is perhaps surprisingly light.

For comparison with 2 x 18650 batteries inserted the Ijoy Diamond Mini weighs 256g and the Aspire Skystar just 207g. I’d say the Diamond Mini is about average compared to other dual 18650 mods.

It fits nicely in the palm of my hand though so is suitable as an everyday device, unless you are specifically looking for something lighter to carry.

The side fire button is easily pressed by finger or thumb with no risk of accidentally hitting the Up and Down buttons and inadvertently changing any settings (another big plus).

Feature Set

The iJoy Diamond Mini offers variable wattage up to 225W. Temperature control is available for stainless steel, nickel and titanium.

The website makes mention to a, ‘personalized design with a unique experience’, and, ‘unique custom user mode’. If I’m honest, I can’t work out what this personalized design is – there are no light settings, or options to change the menu display.

I can only assume they are referring to the large selection of colours available. The user mode is simply a customizable power curve. This allows you to customize your vape for the first three seconds of each puff. In simple terms, when you push the fire button you can adjust whether it fires hard to soft, or normal to hard etc.

I have no idea who uses custom power curve features beyond selecting a simple norm, hard or soft setting but it’s there if that’s your thing. It’s not exactly unique to market though, mods with power curve settings have been around for yonks.

The Ijoy Diamond Mini really comes into its own on performance though. It claims a millisecond firing time and I found this to be true. Moreover, it hits hard. The performance of the Ijoy Diamond Mini is really superb. It hits so hard that I could afford to drop the wattage down and prolong my battery life.

Speaking of battery life, it’s decent, maybe not the best in class but certainly up there with good battery management and the dual battery indicators are another win.

The menu is simple and a big positive to this device. The OLED screen displays a lot of useful information without ever having to get into the menu, everything I need and want to know is right there:

Wattage
Voltage
Battery indicator
Ohms
Amps
Power mode (soft norm, hard)
Puffs

The mod turns on and off with five clicks to the fire button but there’s no way to lock the device.

Three clicks to the fire button brings you to the main menu.
Press Up and Down buttons to switch among the different functions depending on what you want to adjust from the choice of;
Power mode
Temperature control mode
TCRStandby time set
Reset puffs

The instruction booklet is fairly well written and gives clear instruction on how to change different settings. The only thing slightly confusing is sometimes to select an option you use the Up and Down buttons and other times you use the fire button. It would have been better to keep that all aligned.

Safety

10 second cut off
Low voltage protection
Short circuit protection
Overheat protection

Aesthetics

It looks fine. The black version is smart and there’s nothing overly showy about it. The Diamond cutting technology is simply just a design feature but it looks good. If you like your mods to be more bling there’s plenty of colour options to suit.

While larger tanks may fit without overhang they look a bit top heavy like you can see here with the SMOK TFV12 original.

I preferred it best with shorter tanks, such as, the Coilart Mage Subtank.

Or the HorizonTech Falcon and while I wouldn’t classify this mod as a stealth vape per se, in larger hands it has stealth qualities.

Pros:

Centre-mounted 510 pin allows for larger atomizers without overhang
Easy to use
Lots of information on the OLED screen
Good palm sized
Safety features
Range of colours to suit all
Performs exceptionally well across wattage and temperature control modes
Dual battery indicator and decent battery life

Cons:

Tinted OLED screen
Some rattle
Confusing use of fire button vs up and down buttons for scrolling through menu

Final Verdict

It’s a basic mod with an easy to use interface. There’s nothing particularly exciting about it in terms of features but it performs well. The ramp up time and the way it hits makes this little guy a total power beast at a very affordable price.

The Ijoy Diamond Mini isn’t a high-end £200 mod and that reflects in the overall look and feel but we have to remember the Ijoy Diamond Mini doesn’t sport high-end prices with it coming in around the £50 mark. Instead it competes for a place in the market based on the type of power, performance and ramp up time you’d experience in a more expensive device and that makes the diamond a very interesting proposal to the market.

It might not be an expensive show stopper with lots of features, colour settings, or touch screen, but like real diamonds it’s not all about the bling. When choosing a diamond you have to think about the 4 C’s; cut, carat, clarity and colour. A diamond holds its true value when all of the 4 C’s are perfectly aligned but those type of diamonds are rare and out of scope for anyone not holding a few million in the bank.

A smaller but internally flawless diamond can hold the same value as a diamond twice its size which has flaws – so a decision must be reached; is the bigger diamond the winner, or the one with no flaws?

That’s the sort of decision point you’re getting with the Ijoy Diamond Mini, it’s not a show stopper, it lacks the features we’re currently getting used to on the market but its performance is flawless, and it’s this focus on performance at the detriment to features where compromises were made by Ijoy for it to be affordable to the mass market.

Would I buy another iJoy Diamond mini mod it if it broke? This is a really tough one.

I like the Diamond Mini but it doesn’t quite peak my Aspire Skystar because the features I’m used to, like touch screen, simply aren’t there. The power is there, the ramp up time is faster but I rarely vape above 70 watts and the build quality and look isn’t quite as high-end as I’d like and while it sports a small form factor it’s not a true stealth vape and heavier than what I’m comfortable carrying around day to day.

These are all the deciding factors a person needs to weigh up but they are also just personal preferences.

If power is your key thing when choosing a mod then this is for you. If you prefer more features and don’t mind compromising on ramp up time then it probably isn’t your ideal mod.