Is the Joyetech Espion Tour cheap and cheerful or designed as intended for ultra lightweight portability?
The Espion Tour is the latest offering from Joyetech following on from the popular Espion, Espion Solo, Espion Silk and the Espion Infinite. The Joyetech Espion Tour comes as a dual 18650 Mod, 220w kit including the Joyetech Cubis Max Tank.
The Joyetech Espion Tour is supposedly designed to represent a suitcase. I’m not quite sure on that one unless you were looking at it after a Jaeger Bomb or three. The whole kit is a rather lightweight affair with the Mod made from, mostly, lightweight plastic material.
The device itself sits very well in the palm of your hand with well-rounded curves for a very ergonomic feel.
I received the Espion Tour in Green as you can see from the image above. The kit does come in four other colours.
This kit was sent to me for review. As always, I will give you my own, honest opinion of this product after a lengthy testing period.
Check Out My Joyetech Espion Tour Video Review
What’s in the Box?
- 1 x Joyetech Espion Tour Mod (Batteries not included|)
- Joyetech Cubis Max Tank (5ml capacity)
- 2x NCFilm heater films (35w-45w)
- Spare parts
- USB Cable
- User manual
- Warning Cards
- Warranty Card
- Cotton
- Contents
Features
Tour Mod
- Product Size: 90x48x33mm
- Weight: 220g
- Output Wattage: 1 -220 Watts
- Resistance range: 0.05-3ohm (VW) / 0.05-1.5ohm (TC)
- Display OLED 0.96”
- Dual Battery: 18650 (Not Included)
- 2A Quick Charge
- Upgradable Firmware
Cubis Max Tank
- Height: 50mm
- Diameter: 28mm
- Joyetech NCFilm Heater (Kanthal)
- Adjustable Top Airflow
- Slide across top fill
- Capacity: 5ml
- Gold Plated 510 pin
Design and Build Quality
The Joyetech Espion Tour is a very sturdy built device despite it being made from plastic. The device itself is finished very nicely, no sharp corners or awkward protruding edges.
There is no rattle from the mod or tank so feels very sturdy indeed.
The device can be very easily fired using your thumb or finger depending which way round you hold it, all with a satisfying ‘click’. The fire button on this device doesn’t need a lot of pressure to fire and there is no movement at all from it.
Everything fits perfect, not a gap in sight.
The battery door on this Mod is easily removable with tiny notch towards the bottom of the Mod allowing you to take the battery door off with ease.
Cubis Max Tank
When I first took a look at the Cubis Max Tank I thought that it would be another standard kit inclusion as I’ve not used or indeed come across it before. I was more than pleasantly surprised with it’s ease of use, the flavour and the vapor production.
Although the wicking and the heating element inside (NCFilm) isn’t new, I couldn’t have been more surprised.
The small pieces of cotton can be changed out with ease and as often as possible when you wish to change your e-liquid. Joyetech do state that the lifetime of the NCFilm is three months or more. On the longevity of the NCFilm, I can’t comment, but I will say, the flavour and the vapour production is very good indeed.
There is one downfall I have found using this Tank that could easily be, in my opinion, rectified. I do not get any leakage through everyday use of the Cubis Max but if I lay the Mod on it’s side or it gets knocked over then I find the e-liquid tends to seep out from the fill port between the slidable top cover and the tank itself.
Now, if there was some sort of rubber O-ring around the fill port, I feel this would stop e-liquid from coming out.
Filling the Cubis Max Tank couldn’t be simpler. Slide back the top cover at the red arrow until the cap goes back no further. Once the cap is slid across, you will be met by a sizeable slot to put your e-liquid in.
Filling
Filling the Cubis Max Tank couldn’t be simpler. Slide back the top cover at the red arrow until the cap goes back no further. Once the cap is slid across, you will be met by a sizeable slot to put your e-liquid in.
When you want to change out for a different flavour and need to clean and re-wick, that also is a simple task. Unscrew the bottom, remove the bottom plate where the cotton is seated then simply remove, throw away, clean up and insert a fresh piece.
If you wish, you may also wipe down the NCFilm or run under lukewarm water.
Joyetech Espion Tour
When you first look at the Espion Tour, I can’t lie, it was a bit of a “this is going to be crap, it’s cheap and it’s plastic”.
Quite often in vaping, as is in life, you look at something and you instantly come to a conclusion, delving further into it and using the Joyetech Espion Tour I was pleasantly surprised.
Despite it’s lightweight feel its well built, sturdy and very ergonomic. Everything it does, it does it well and it does it bloody quickly.
You get a 0.96 inch OLED display. It sits quite neatly on the front of the device and though small, everything you need fits nicely onto it.
Initially you are met with mode (VW,TC or TCR). Coil ohms, volts, amps and each battery level. There is a whole host of changeable settings with three presses of the fire button.
Where the amps is displayed, you can change this for the puff counter or how many total seconds you have used the device.
The display is very bright and easily viewable in bright sunlight which is pleasing as so many displays lack outdoor view ability.
How Does the Joyetech Espion Tour Perform?
Well… The Espion Tour is a bit of a Wolf in Sheep’s clothing, it’s rather a beast.
Everything it does, it does very well indeed. From the device starting up, shutting down and firing, it is very quick on all counts. The menu system is easy to use due to its simplicity but this device has everything you would ever need in a Mod.
Did I mention it is plastic though?
The tank provided with the kit is rated from 35 to 45 watts (0.25Ω) though I have constantly vaped it 55 watts without a problem at all.
When you start the Mod up with five clicks of the fire button, the display lights up instantaneously and as quick as you can press the fire button afterwards, vapes straight away.
How To Install The Batteries
The answer to the above is very easy. You simply lift off the back panel via a small notch on the bottom of the Mod and insert your 18650 batteries. The polarities are marked inside the device though, for me, as with a lot of devices, aren’t marked clearly enough, they sort of blend into the background.
Certainly, if you have even slight sight issues, you may struggle. One thing to also note is, when you want to remove the batteries, there is no pull cord that sits under your batteries for quick removal which would have been a very welcome addition.
Joyetech do state that you can charge the Joyetech Espion Tour via the USB port and has 2A quick charge. As always, I would urge against charging batteries inside the Mod and to use an external charger.
Flavour and Vapour Production
Using the Cubis Max tank, I was very pleased not only with the flavour it produced but with the overall ease of use. The cloud production from the tank was very favourable indeed.
You’re not going to win any cloud competitions with it but you may well get a nudge in the ribs from you other half for fogging over the TV during I’m a Celebrity!
Pro’s
- Excellent build
- Great Flavour
- Clean menu system and easy to navigate
- Quick firing Mod
- Lightweight
- Ergonomical
- Choice of colours
- Very good battery life
- Upgradable firmware
Cons
- Plastic!
My Final Thoughts
The Joyetech Espion Tour was a surprising pleasure to use. This device will certainly come close to being my daily driver for work as I imagine the Mod itself will be very durable indeed.
I have really enjoyed my time with the Joyetech Espion Tour. It is a great all-round Mod, looks decent (except for the plastic), has great battery life and is very lightweight. Throughout the two week testing period it hasn’t let me down at all.
In conclusion, if you are on the lookout for a device that’s robust, will take a bashing, has good battery life and has top performance, you would do well to find a better device.
