Joyetech CuBox AIO Review: Amazing With The Right Set Up!

(Review Updated 14/10/17 – my ratings have gone way up for this as I LOVE it!!)

The Joyetech Cubox AIO is one of the latest devices to hit the shelves from one of the most well-known brands in the industry.

Products such as the Atopack Penguin SE, eVic Primo were well received and their next round of devices such as the Capo Squonk and EKEE mod look to be winners as well.

The CuBox AIO by Joyetech – Updated After More Usage!

The Cubox AIO, as the name would suggest is an All In One device with integrated tank.

Could this be a contender for best vape for beginners? Let’s see how it performs.

What’s In The Box

• Joyetech CuBox AIO device
• 2 x ProC-BF 0.6ohm coil heads
• USB cable – QC (Quick Charge when used with compatible charger)
• User Manual
• Warranty card
• Warning card
• Spare parts (O-ring seals)

Features

• Size: 22.5mm (W) X 40mm (L) X 87mm (H)
• Battery capacity: 2000mAh – Built in battery (not replaceable)
• Weight: 104.5g
• Max output: 50W (with battery fully charged)
• Max charging current: 2A
• Atomizer head: ProC-BF series head/CUBIS BF series head
• Atomiser resistance limits 0.2-3.5 ohm
• Colour: silver, black, red, blue, green
• Dual circuit protection against over-charging, over-current and over-discharging.
• Ventilation holes at bottom of device to aid heat dissipation.
• Can change atomiser coil head without emptying tank.

Tank

• Capacity: 2ml
• Tube Materials: Pyrex Glass
• Coil Changeable: Yes
• Connection Thread: 510
• Filling Method: Top Filling

Build Quality & Design

This is an All in One (AIO) device comprising of only 4 components – the Joyetech CuBox device, coil/atomiser head, airflow ring and mouthpiece.

The device I received was in the blue colour. It is a lovely colour – It does look like a toy though in my opinion – very cute.

The blue finish is a paint finish not a sticker or veneer and the black graphics are printed onto this. I can’t make up my mind whether the black graphics enhance how this looks or cheapen it?

Being the clumsiest person alive (I should be wrapped in bubble wrap), I have knocked this over so many times already and so far no dents or scratches to the finish

The mouthpiece and airflow ring do not protrude much from the body so it is pretty compact.

It stands up nicely unless you connect the charging cable.

There is no display screen – the battery indicator lights display the battery capacity remaining when the fire button is pressed or whilst charging.

The display, tank window and USB port light up with a bright blue LED when the fire button is pressed.

This is almost a plug and play device – apart from installing the coil and filling the tank – so pretty low maintenance.

The Tank:

The tank is integral to the device. This could be tricky to clean as getting the rest of the device wet could cause damage. There is no mention in the instructions of the correct method to clean the tank. The tank would need cleaning if you were changing to a different E-liquid flavour.

When I changed flavour I used 1 tank full of unflavoured liquid to clear it through and then basically mopped the tank out with a tissue – not ideal.

The Battery:

The battery is integral to the device – so if it fails you will need to buy a new device.

When charging or pressing the fire button the “fan” shaped indicator lights illuminate to display the amount of charge in battery. All 5 lights lit = fully charged, 1 light lit = charge now!

To charge the device plug the supplied USB cable into a suitable USB outlet and plug the smaller end into the CuBox charging port. With the USB cable attached the device doesn’t want to stand up. When all the lights go out the battery is fully charged.

The device has a quick charge capability of maximum 2 amps when combined with an Avatar Quick Charger – which is sold separately.

In The Hand

This thing is little and very very cute!

I didn’t find this as comfortable in my hand as other mini devices. I kept knocking the airflow adjustment and obscuring the air intake too. It is tall but not wide so you find yourself gripping it a bit tighter than you would usually.

Eureka! I have just realised – 3 hours after starting to use the CuBox AIO – why I find it odd.

The fire button is on the opposite side to the mouthpiece. I am used to mods which have the fire button below the tank. I instinctively keep pressing the tank window by accident.

How Does the Joyetech CuBox AIO Perform?

The instruction manual is very thick but only 3 or 4 pages per language so it is pretty brief. There is only one diagram in the manual and the coil is not shown installed.

The enclosed warning card gives a guide about refilling liquid and best practice.

So to get you up and running here is a quick start guide with a few tips.

Basic operation

• 5 clicks of the fire button to turn on/off – confirmed with 5 flashes of the lights.

The internal LEDs also illuminate when there is a fault.

• 5 flashes when not turning on or off = short circuit when not firing
• 3 flashes = short circuit whilst firing
• 40 flashes = time to charge battery – voltage below 3.3V and device will power off.
• 10 flashes when pressing fire button = coil head resistance too high.
• 5 flashes when pressing fire button = coil head resistance too low.

How To Fill The Tank

• Unscrew the mouthpiece from the airflow ring.
• Squeeze E-Liquid into the filling holes on either side of the centre hole. Do not put E-liquid in the centre hole or it will spit fire at you!
• Leave the device to stand for 5 minutes for the liquid to soak into the coil.

How To Change The Joyetech ProC-BF Coil Head

When the flavour starts to taste burnt (unless the tank is empty – check this first), or the performance drops then it’s time for a coil change. Also a new device will need to have a coil installed. Good news is the tank doesn’t have to be empty to change.

• Unscrew the mouthpiece and airflow ring from the body.
• If a coil is already installed unscrew this from the underside of the airflow ring.
• Prime the new coil: see below…

There is a warning card in the box detailing tips for priming the CuBox AIO coil. The card tells you not to overfill – but doesn’t tell you the correct liquid level?

One of the priming tips is to put liquid on the coil head – the illustration however illustrates simply applying liquid on the top of the coil.

There is a danger of liquid entering into the centre part of the coil – which will make the coil spit scorching e-liquid for the first few times you press the fire button.

So I would possibly say when priming the coil apply a couple of drops of liquid to the green areas shown in the top of the coil on the diagram below and to the cut outs on the bottom of the coil – Do NOT put liquid down the centre hole of the coil.

• Screw the new primed coil onto the underside of the airflow ring.
• Fill the tank as described above.
• Take a few inhales from the mouthpiece without pressing the fire button to get the liquid into the coil head.

Airflow Adjustment

In addition to being able to choose a coil to suit your vaping preferences you can also adjust the airflow using the airflow ring.

If you look closely as you turn it more holes become covered or uncovered. So just perhaps set this in the middle initially with 2 holes open and 2 closed and adjust as required.

Flavour & Cloud Production

To get a good idea of the capabilities of this I used the following E-liquids in the Joyetech CuBox AIO :

• 0% nicotine White Cloud Cherry Black E-liquid
• 12mg nicotine Blackcurrant 50/50 PG/VG E-liquid
• 6mg nicotine Fruity High VG (80%) E-liquid

Further Reading: What is PG and VG in E-liquid?

This little beauty really impresses when you get the set up right. But for me it was a bit “trial and error”.

I recommend a high VG E-liquid (50% plus) for the supplied 0.6ohm coils.

The Joyetech CuBox AIO can get a bit “spitty” at times – especially with higher PG liquids – which is odd for a device said to be for MTL vapers. One of the other reasons can be the airflow adjustment – see below.

To clear the spitting wrap tissue around the airflow ring and blow down the mouthpiece. Also holding the device away from you and pressing the fire button for a second will test if the spitting has cleared.

You can also try rolling a piece of tissue tight and poking down the centre hole of the coil, this should soak up any excess liquid on the coil itself.

The airflow adjustment ring is easy to knock and with the airflow too open it made the spitting issue worse for me.

ProC-BF Coil Range

This device can also use other coils in the ProC-BF range to tailor your vaping experience – they specify whether they are DTL (direct to lung) or MTL (mouth to lung) style coils.

The coil range is also compatible with other Joyetech models including the CUBIS series, eGo AIO series, eVic AIO and the Elitar Pipe.

The coils in the range include:

• 0.5 ohm – for DTL – Kanthal – 15-30W
• 0.6 ohm – for MTL – SS316 – 15-28W (supplied in this kit)
• 1.0 ohm – for MTL – SS316 – 15-25W
• 1.5 ohm – for MTL – Clapton – 8-20W

I only tried the 0.6 ohm and 1.5 ohm coils so cannot comment on the performance of others in the ProC-BF range.

If using the Sub Ohm coils (coil resistance is less than 1 ohm) High VG E-liquid will give better vapour performance. You generally need a lower nicotine strength for sub ohm coils as you get a very strong throat hit – between 3-6mg/ml of nicotine. Any stronger than that can be overpowering!

With the coils at higher resistance than 1 ohm – liquids with lower VG will be preferable. These can be used with higher nicotine strengths to get the required throat hit. High VG liquids can sometimes struggle to be absorbed in higher resistance coils causing Dry Hits (burnt taste).

0.6 ohm ProC-BF Coil

The supplied Joyetech ProC-BF 0.6 ohm coil heads are aimed at MTL vapers. The coils are made from SS316 (Stainless Steel 316 grade. Further info on coil materials can be found here). They are wicked with pure cotton and optimum power is rated 15-28W.

I have very mixed feelings about these coils. The first E-Liquid I tried I think was higher in PG (the proportions are not stated sadly) and with this liquid they performed very badly. Spitting, hissing and the first coil died within 7 hours. So my first impressions were not good.

Using higher VG (first 50% and then 80%) liquids things improved things a lot. The vapour was pretty hot but tasted lovely and good volume of vapour.

It worked well for MTL with airflow closed to one hole.

I fully opened the airflow for DTL and it actually made me cough! It kicked out the clouds that well!

There will be a grotty taste when the liquid level is low so keep an eye on this – it does seem to guzzle the liquid.

Once you get the liquid and airflow right they are wonderful.

1.5 ohm Clapton ProC-BF Coil

I purchased some of the 1.5 ohm coils to try as I usually use higher resistance coils as a MTL vaper.

The coils are made from Clapton and are rated at 8-20W for the optimum performance.

I used 50/50 VG/PG liquid with these.

They kick out a good vapour volume compared to devices with similar coil resistance. A cooler inhale with these too.

Using as MTL device there was no spitting and I did find I had to close the airflow down to half a hole. Flavour is there but not very strong. I was having to take very long inhales to get a throat hit.

With the airflow fully open and using DTL the flavour was pretty poor but the vapour volume was good.

Not a bad performance from these coils at all – but I do prefer the 0.6ohm with high VG liquid.

Battery Life

This has a 2000mAh battery which is excellent for the size and price of this device.

The battery is still going over 9 hours later on 2 lights! The battery charge has outlived one of the coil heads! Surely that isn’t right!

(Update 14/10/17 I use this a lot and the battery life really is excellent!)

What I Like

This is very cute and very powerful with an excellent battery life.

(Update 14/10/17 very robust not a scratch in sight and this goes everywhere with me.)

What I Dislike

A lot of trial and error to get performance correct. Some people may give up trying and write off this little beauty.

Final Review Verdict

For an All in One starter device you can customise this more than any other I have tried. But the set up on this device is critical – its rubbish when you can’t get it right and amazing when you do.

I do urge Joyetech to supply several different coils in this kit – to get the best impression. The supplied coils are not very versatile.

With this being small and looking “toy like” you don’t take it very seriously until you actually use it. Then it really impresses you with how well it performs.

The “Mom” test – could I give this device to my (cig-a-like using) mom to use? I think so – she may be put off with trying to get it set up to her preference and would simply reach for her easy to use cig-a-likes.

She wouldn’t have a clue about PG/VG so to make this more user friendly this should be stated on the box or instructions. This is why I rated it low in the “ease of use” category.

(Update 14/10/17 – I have found myself using this little beauty a lot, with the 0.6 ohm coils and high VG E liquid, it has been incredible. It has gone everywhere with me! No leaks, battery life is amazing, robust and easy to carry! I really recommend this! I have updated the ratings below to show how much I have fallen in love with this!)

What are your thoughts on the Joyetech CuBox AIO – feel free to comment below!

Pros

• Lots of coil options to tailor this device to MTL, DTL and other preferences.
• Airflow adjustment.
• Top fill.
• Good price for device and coils.
• Warm, lovely tasting vapour from the supplied coils with High VG liquid.
• Excellent battery capacity.
• Very cute and love the LED effects.
• No leaks.
• Build is solid with no wobbly or rattly bits!
• Low maintenance – just charge, fill and when required change the coil.
• Really hard wearing – no scratches after several weeks of clumsy use.

Cons

• It looks like a toy! Other vapers may not take you seriously! I think without the black graphics this would look a lot better.
• Unscrewing the mouthpiece for refilling you keep removing the airflow ring too.
• It is a thirsty little thing – guzzles the liquid and its difficult to see the fluid level.
• It does like to have a tantrum and spit liquid if the airflow is incorrect or too high PG E-liquid.
• The fire button feels like it is on the wrong side of the body.
• Only one type of coil included in the kit.