The Joyetech RunAbout pod mod is from a brand, that in my book, went from making affordable devices that perform as if they’re affordable, to churning out release after release of affordable, innovative, unique and good quality product.
The Espion Solo Anniversary edition remains one of my favourite single battery mods on the market, damnit, it’s actually one of my favourites from my collection. Then there’s the Penguin and Dolphin Pods, forerunners to the slick and convenient pod system on which this review centres.
I have a lot of smoker friends that it’s long been my mission to convert and in the many weeks it’s taken me to deliver this particularly late review, it’s the Joyetech RunAbout pod system which has really made an impact amongst a number of them.
It’s surfboard shaped body (called yacht shaped by Joyetech) made me expect very little when first I beheld it, but it was only a matter of time.
What’s In The Box
Kit Includes
-
- Joyetech RunAbout battery
- 2xpods
- USB Cable
- Spare parts
- User manual
Features
Joyetech RunAbout Specs
- Size: 30.5x117mm
- E-liquid capacity: 2ml refillable
- Battery: 480mAh internal
- Button fire
- Constant voltage output
- 1.2ohm coil
- Select light colour
- Comes in redwood, Blackwood, oak texture, reva, marble and zebra
Build Quality & Design
This pen length device is shaped like a surfboard with a stubby mouth-end…which, incidentally, is likely the most ergonomic shape and size to fit in your closed palm as if it was born there.
On one face you’ll find an indicator LED at the pointy tip, a fingertip sized fire button, Joyetech branding above that and then the transparent beginning of the mouthpiece/cartridge.
Either face has a sticker inlay which element provides your colour of choice. Mine is drab and brown but there are plenty of flash colours, mine is super stealthy.
The other face has a Runabout instead of the Joyetech branding, a central seam and then a micro-USB port at the tip.
One either side, just before the cartridge begins, is a small airflow hole. This is the first time I’ve seen an airflow like this on a pod…usually you can’t really tell where the air is coming in, as it channels through a seam or the charge port.
The mouthpiece has a small round opening to pull through, about a millimetre across.
Gripping the cartridge section, thanks to ribbed sections either side near the join, you’ll find all the connections at the bottom, attached-silicon-stoppered fill port and a hollow internal that holds 2 ml of juice.
The coil is either in the central steel tube I see through the plastic, or it’s in the non-transparent base of the cartridge, closest to the connects, I’m unsure and also not keen to dismantle one of my cartridges, since it still seems to be working great after what may be almost 2 months.
The onboard battery is 480mAh and the device, once you grip it, sits like it belongs in your hand, so you stop fretting about the fact that it doesn’t have a base to stand on, almost instantly.
How Does The Joyetech RoundAbout Perform?
Before laying hands on this keeper I thought the surfboard shape to be so tacky that it would surely have a b-quality, cost effective vape quality, my very first couple of puffs showed me otherwise…just like the perfect, sleek handfeel gave purpose to the unusual choice of contours.
Despite the less than scratch resistant finish, which became quite un-photofriendly after a month of use, the Joyetech RunAbout is the perfect cessation aid, stealth vape, nic salt eliquid and pod device.
While I carry a nic salt vape for purposes of waking up occasionally and trying to convince smokers who’s lungs simply aren’t in good enough health to take a lung full of 0.15 Ohm, 80W cloud action…I noticed a marked difference in the reaction I got from potential quitters who I’ve repeatedly tried my other pod and dainty devices on.
This pod almost invariably got the ‘This one I can vape!’ reaction, to the point where i felt guilty to relieve one or two of the pod joggers of my yet-to-be -reviewed RoundAbout.
In fact, the reason this review comes so long after the RoundAbout’s release is that one of my good friends talked me into letting her use it for an outing and seemed very unavailable when it came time to return the device.
After a weeks pestering I eventually released her and her co-conspirators of the device.
Last time I lend out an un-reviewed device.
But back to the matter at hand.
An issue I often have with smaller devices and pods is a lack of constant voltage…thank goodness for this device’s constant voltage output,which ensures you don’t become inexplicably agitated. As your nicotine consumption slowly wanes and your blood-alcohol level increases, making it impossible for you to understand what the f***.
This is one of the few pods which allows you to taste the nuances of a more complex flavour. I’ll taste both the salt and the caramel, instead of just a vague dream of caramel like so many pods of this size and convenience.
With such a thin shaft and tight, cigarette style airflow, I’d love to know how Joyetech manages to achieve this kind of flavour. It’s literally as pronounced as some of the brands regular tanks, about as good as the Pro Core Aries, which accompanied the Epic primo some time back.
Back then, Joyetech didn’t overly impress me…the Procore Aries is certainly not a go-to of mine but when it comes to a pod, that kind of flavour is legit-the-shit.
Along with a perfect, restricted Direct to Lung (DTL) or smooth Mouth to Lung (MTL) hit, comes a fullness and richness of vapour which really will surprise you…enough to make smokers that I know prefer a few staunch nic salt hits of mister RB than of a stinking emphysema stick.
Also, I really like the shape of the draw-hole, small, round and just thick with vapour, plus, although the vapour and flavour are full, the 2ml tank seems to last for ages before it needs a refill.
How To Fill
- Slip out the mouthpiece/cartridge
- Unplug the fixed silicon stopper on the side
- Fill
- Replace
How To Change the Coil
Coil, mouthpiece and juice tank/cartridge are inseparable, a burned out coil means you have to break out the spare cartridge.
Stock Coil Performance
The 1.2 Ohm coils in this device are simply the shit. Just stupendous at delivering the ultimate, flavour fun, rich MTL and restricted DL vapour.
They also stand up fairly well to chain vaping, although DL requires a little more spacing and a draw time no longer than 4 seconds…which suits me fine.
Something else I noticed was that on a few occasions. When enthusiastic, drunk and experimental smokers took too-long draws and the coils coughed it up, the coils seemed to clean themselves out after a few careful, short draws…so basically a single burned draw doesn’t necessarily spell the end of your cartridge…although there’s a limit to everything.
How To Operate the Menu System
- 5 clicks on
- 5 Clicks off
- To change light colour click thrice to activate light, then once each time to switch colours
Battery Life
When it comes to battery life, the Joyetech RunAbout 480 mAh battery actually doesn’t give the best span…partly because the flavour is so good that you vape more, partly because the device, though I can’t tell you the specifics without guessing, obviously has a higher voltage output than the average pod of similar weight and size.
The lightness of the device is a part of what makes it so perfect…as you simply forget it’s in your hand and tend not to put it down, which is great actually. Trouble is it could use twice the battery life at the rate that I and everyone who gets a puff on this thing.
When I take it out I invariably have to plug it in behind the bar or in the car, almost always half way through a night out. Which constitutes a period of abstinence from nic salts which would likely otherwise send me to the porcelain god…or to some other, woozy, dizzy, desolate hell.
Pros
- The ultimate, hand friendly, stash friendly shape
- Ultra lightweight
- Economical juice consumption
- Bloody delicious clouds
Cons
- Poor battery life
- Picks up scratches quickly
Final Review Verdict
This Joyetech RunAbout pod is, according to me, one of the most smoke-quitter friendly little buggers around, with just the right shape, design and vape quality to satisfy a quitter who’s attempting with the help of nic salt or high nic juice.
I find the device to be a an absolute flavour punching, nic salt joy, although the battery life will demand an hour of vaping your other device or your friends…or maybe even holding your girlfriend’s hand.
And..
Would I buy the Joyetech RunAbout if I lost/broke the device? Hells yeah!
i think they meant “kaYAK” not “YACht”
I agree it does look like a Kayak but the design was actually inspired by a yacht 🙂