Hi All, Anthony Vapes back here with my review of Smoant Charon Mini mod. Please see bottom for disclaimers and links.
Introduction:
The Smoant Charon Mini is the latest mod from popular company Smoant. While not as popular as some of the large one’s overall, they are very well loved in the vape community and caught on with their battlestar mod form 2 years ago. The Charon mini is a dual 18650 battery mod listed at 225 watts with a massive 2 inch color screen and an updated version of their Ant chip labeled the ant225. It’s available in 4 colors Black, Red, Gold, and Rainbow and I see them online for around 40-50 USD and also available in a kit version with the battlestar tank.
Manufacturer's Specs:
album
Initial Impressions and features
When I first got this Mod, I was pretty impressed with the size and looks. It’s not a big mod at all it’s on the smaller side of dual 18650 mods but not tiny. It’s light but feels well built. The design and style is very similar to the vaporesso polar mod just slightly smaller. (pics in the album) it’s not a mini mod by any means but it is a good size for a dual 18650 for sure. It’s got a glass plate on the front that is really shiny and can glare and a fingerprint magnet but it protects the large 2 inch color screen which i believe 2 inches is the largest to date along with the polar mod. I like the centered 510 pin as well. The finish on the black i have is a nice. Overall I really liked the design of this mod from the start.
Watt Mode Performance (chart and spreadsheet in picture album)
Before we get into the data i want to state i’ve used 3 firmwares on this mod. The one it came with, 1 update like a week later, and a 2nd update like a week or so after that one which according to smoant should be the one the final release comes with but at minimum will be available at launch. It’s version 1.1.6. The results for the power mode and TC performance are from this version of the firmware. Now let’s get into some data. I ran my normal testing. I used Sony VTC5A batteries for the testing. Testing resistances were done at .11, .15, .2, and .61 ohms. wattage points were max (225), 200, 150, 100, 75, 50 and 25. At .11 ohms it maxed out at 222 watts and 45 amps. For the rest of the testing it was pretty accurate about 5 watts low over 100 and 3 watts low to 4 watts high at 100 or less. At .15 it maxed out at 207 watts. The rest were pretty good again. At 200 it was 7 watts high, but 150 or less 1 watt low to 5 watts high. For the .2 test it maxed out at 180 watts. Again pretty accurate but a little on the high side. 2-5 watts. For the .61 testing it maxed out at 86 watts and 7.258 volts. For the rest of the testing 1-6 watts high. The volts shows there is no boost circuit in this mod as usual with smoant mods and like most dual 18650 mods on the market.
Overall I felt the performance of this mod was good. It’s mostly just a few watts off never more than 5 or 6 really but usually just a couple watts high and in a few cases a couple watts low. Pretty damn accurate when compared with many dual battery mods. I was able to get 222 watts max, so I consider it to be accurately rated at 225 watts. The 7.258 volt limit shows there is no boost circuit. Their site lists the max Volts at 8.4V implying no boost circuit however it’s a theoretical number based on input voltage of batteries if they didn’t sag and if the chip was 100% efficient which we all know isn’t possible. 7.5V would have been a better rating and really the best rating for almost all dual battery mods without a boost circuit. They do not list an amp limit i could find but the 45 amps was pretty impressive for a dual 18650 mod and above average. The watt curve mode also works very good as well. The mod gets a little warm when stressing it at 150+ watts but not hot and handles high watts very well, but i don’t recommend vaping over 150 watts with a dual battery mod and always use good 20 amp CDR or high trusted batteries.
Simplified TLDR Power Performance summary
Mod performance is really good. Mostly hits just a few watts off on the high side. Accurately rated for watts (222), No boost circuit, amp limit 45 which is impressive. Volts tested at 7.258 so no boost circuit and falls short of the 8.4V listed
Also because this is a thing people ask about i tested the idle drain. I used 2 VTC5a batteries. They were at 4.19V each when I put them in the mod. I left it sitting in standby with an atomizer attached for 24 hours and then checked the batteries and got 4.17V on each cell. I then left it for another 24 hours and checked again and got 4.15 and 4.16V for the 2 cells. So over a 48 hour period with a starting point of 8.38V i ended up with a total of 8.31V so .07V idle drain per 48 hours. If you left them for a week that would mean a total of about .245V drained leaving full batteries from 8.4V total to 8.155V so not a big deal IMO but you have the numbers so you can make your own decision on it. The software lists the soft cell cut off at 3.0V. I measured it at 3.10 and 3.09 so pretty close and low enough to please most people.
Temperature Control Performance
Using SS316 wire and both SS mode and TCR mode, I tested 7 builds. 2 simple round spaced, 1 simple round dual, 1 small tiny clapton for loose MTL vaping, 2 large fancy single coils builds, and 1 large fancy dual coil build. The mod performs very well with the right settings but not as a default. The SS mode hits way too high and needs to be used at less than 370F for a warm vape. Feels about 70-100 or so degrees off. Using TCR mode with 92 as a setting, you need to go over 500F to get a decent vape. It hits really weak. I found using a TCR of 100 works very well and feel pretty accurate. Around 460-470F is where i get a warm vape so maybe like 10 or so degrees low but not a big deal and it’s a nice round number. The ramp up is great and you can adjust watts easily (hold fire and up to adjust watts) which changes the ramp up, and can change the TCR easily as well in TCR mode (hold fire and down). You can also lock your resistance but it didn’t make any difference and isn’t needed. The dry hit protection is pretty good as well and the throttle is nice and smooth. Overall a pass for temp control mode like most of smoants mods it does a good job for the price but i recommend only using TCR mode with the TCR at 100 for SS316 wire.
Other Usage Notes
The mod uses a 5 click to turn on and off. I don’t normally talk about fire speed as it’s mostly just a buzzword these days since not many mods still have a fire delay, but this one fires so fast that you’ll get a sizzle from your coil just by clicking the 5 times to turn off or 3 times to enter the menu. The menu system is very nice and easy to navigate and simple. You use 3 clicks to enter the menu for changing your modes. You use up and down to navigate the menu and fire to accept. I like that at any time while in any menu you can hold fire to go back a menu page. The mod features VW watt mode with soft, normal, and hard preheat as well as a full watt curve mode. Temp control mode for Ni200, SS, and Ti as well as TCR mode and temp curve mode. There is a wallpaper setting where you can choose your wallpaper and set the screensaver to be the wallpaper or a clock. In the settings you can adjust the brightness, set the time, screen timeout, and change the GUI between the 2 options. One option looks like a speedometer with a single battery meter, while the other option my preferred one is a more standard layout with individual battery monitors. It is firmware upgradable as mentioned before and the software for it also allows you to place custom wallpapers on the mod as well. You can store 9 total wallpapers on the mod and they have a ton of premade options in the software already as well as you can add your custom ones in. The software is easy to use and well laid out but funny enough lists the mod as the cylon mini. I’m guessing it was originally called that and later changed to the charon mini for some reason. It has more in common with the cylon IMO and is smaller so cylon mini would have made more sense. The mod also adjusts by full watt 100+ and .1 watts under 100. I like that but would have preferred the full watt adjustment at a lower point though. Maybe at 50 or less or even 30 or less. It also round robbins which is very nice and i wish all mods did that.
The mod itself is build solid with no rattle on the buttons, and is not heavy at all and is really light. Very similar to the polar. It has a nice weight to it. The Battery door is a standard magnetic backplate. It fits nice with no play on it. I did notice mine is missing a magnet on one side. Not sure if it came like that or if i knocked it out (i did knock it over a few times) and didn’t notice it until recently that it was missing. Even without it though it fits perfect in place and is easy to get on or off with the indent to pop it off on the bottom of the mod. The battery door is solid metal but with a plastic cover on the inside for extra protection against batteries with torn wraps which is nice, but seriously don’t use batteries with torn wraps. It’s easy to get batteries in and out without damaging wraps and takes 2 18650 batteries. The batteries stick out enough from the tray that it doesn't need a ribbon. You can just easily grab them from the top or bottom andpop them out. Really nice battery tray. The paint looks nice and doesn't scratch off, and i have no visible wear. Due to being designed like the revenger mods the bottom base is thin and rounded up so it can be tipped over somewhat easily. I did it a few times. Not a big deal but worth the mention. The fire button is nice and large and clicky. It’s a black tall octagon shape with texture. It works well for the most part unless you only press the very bottom of it. It never gets stuck or anything though which is as it should be. The 510 pin gave me no issues and every atomizer i used on it worked great with no gaps and is centered and looks nice and handles a 25mm atomizer flush. The screen is a massive 2 inch color screen that is nice and bright and easy to see. Even in sunlight it’s pretty visible it’s covered in a class which can glare that is pretty thick and is a fingerprint magnet but not a big deal. I love the screen on this mod. They list 2 amp balanced charging as well but i don’t recommend charging internally in your mods.
Pros:
So with all that said, do I recommend this mod or not? I don’t like to do the yes or no, but for this i’m going to lean a pretty hard towards the yes. It’s one of the better mods to come out in 2018 for sure. Works as it should and meets pretty much every promise except for the slightly overstated theoretical volt limit. It’s what we’ve come to expect from smoant. Tons of features nicely built mods that work at an affordable price. Well worth looking at if you are in the market for a new mod.
This is Anthony Vapes just keeping it honest, hopefully you all can say the same and i’ll catch you on my next review. Also next week i’ll be doing my best of list so far in 2018 so stay tuned for that!
Product Disclaimer
This product was sent to me from Smoant
Review Disclaimer
Due to possible QC difference your experience may vary.
Reviewer Disclaimer
I’ve been doing vape reviews since late 2016 and have done around 200 reviews to date. I enjoy helping vapers on forums as well and helping contribute to the great vape community. I’m not an “out of the box” reviewer. I do my best to be thorough at all times and have enough experience with many products to tell what’s good and what’s not. All mods get tested with an oscilloscope and stress tested and results are posted in my reviews.
Recommendations and Past Review Links
written reviews list here
Youtube Channel here
Spreadhseet of Recommendations here
Best of 2017 list here
Introduction:
The Smoant Charon Mini is the latest mod from popular company Smoant. While not as popular as some of the large one’s overall, they are very well loved in the vape community and caught on with their battlestar mod form 2 years ago. The Charon mini is a dual 18650 battery mod listed at 225 watts with a massive 2 inch color screen and an updated version of their Ant chip labeled the ant225. It’s available in 4 colors Black, Red, Gold, and Rainbow and I see them online for around 40-50 USD and also available in a kit version with the battlestar tank.
Manufacturer's Specs:
- Compact size: 45mm(L) X 29mm(W) X89mm(H)
- Takes 2X 18650 battery
- Display: 2.0 inch TFT color screen
- Output range: 1 – 225 W
- Output modes: VW / VW Curves / Temp Control/ TCR / TC Curves
- Resistance range: 0.1 - 2.0 Ohm for TC mode / TCR mode / TC Curves
- Resistance range: 0.1 - 3.0 Ohm for VW / VW Curves
- Centered 510 connector
- Two different UI available to choose
- Pass-through available
- Instantly fire in 0.015 second
- Balance charging
- Firmware upgradeable
- Reverse Polarity protection
- Overheating protection
- Low voltage protection
- Overload Protection
- Short-circuit protection
- Over-time protection
- Color: Black, red, gold and rainbow available
- Charon mini mod
- USB charge & update cable
- User manual
album
Initial Impressions and features
When I first got this Mod, I was pretty impressed with the size and looks. It’s not a big mod at all it’s on the smaller side of dual 18650 mods but not tiny. It’s light but feels well built. The design and style is very similar to the vaporesso polar mod just slightly smaller. (pics in the album) it’s not a mini mod by any means but it is a good size for a dual 18650 for sure. It’s got a glass plate on the front that is really shiny and can glare and a fingerprint magnet but it protects the large 2 inch color screen which i believe 2 inches is the largest to date along with the polar mod. I like the centered 510 pin as well. The finish on the black i have is a nice. Overall I really liked the design of this mod from the start.
Watt Mode Performance (chart and spreadsheet in picture album)
Before we get into the data i want to state i’ve used 3 firmwares on this mod. The one it came with, 1 update like a week later, and a 2nd update like a week or so after that one which according to smoant should be the one the final release comes with but at minimum will be available at launch. It’s version 1.1.6. The results for the power mode and TC performance are from this version of the firmware. Now let’s get into some data. I ran my normal testing. I used Sony VTC5A batteries for the testing. Testing resistances were done at .11, .15, .2, and .61 ohms. wattage points were max (225), 200, 150, 100, 75, 50 and 25. At .11 ohms it maxed out at 222 watts and 45 amps. For the rest of the testing it was pretty accurate about 5 watts low over 100 and 3 watts low to 4 watts high at 100 or less. At .15 it maxed out at 207 watts. The rest were pretty good again. At 200 it was 7 watts high, but 150 or less 1 watt low to 5 watts high. For the .2 test it maxed out at 180 watts. Again pretty accurate but a little on the high side. 2-5 watts. For the .61 testing it maxed out at 86 watts and 7.258 volts. For the rest of the testing 1-6 watts high. The volts shows there is no boost circuit in this mod as usual with smoant mods and like most dual 18650 mods on the market.
Overall I felt the performance of this mod was good. It’s mostly just a few watts off never more than 5 or 6 really but usually just a couple watts high and in a few cases a couple watts low. Pretty damn accurate when compared with many dual battery mods. I was able to get 222 watts max, so I consider it to be accurately rated at 225 watts. The 7.258 volt limit shows there is no boost circuit. Their site lists the max Volts at 8.4V implying no boost circuit however it’s a theoretical number based on input voltage of batteries if they didn’t sag and if the chip was 100% efficient which we all know isn’t possible. 7.5V would have been a better rating and really the best rating for almost all dual battery mods without a boost circuit. They do not list an amp limit i could find but the 45 amps was pretty impressive for a dual 18650 mod and above average. The watt curve mode also works very good as well. The mod gets a little warm when stressing it at 150+ watts but not hot and handles high watts very well, but i don’t recommend vaping over 150 watts with a dual battery mod and always use good 20 amp CDR or high trusted batteries.
Simplified TLDR Power Performance summary
Mod performance is really good. Mostly hits just a few watts off on the high side. Accurately rated for watts (222), No boost circuit, amp limit 45 which is impressive. Volts tested at 7.258 so no boost circuit and falls short of the 8.4V listed
Also because this is a thing people ask about i tested the idle drain. I used 2 VTC5a batteries. They were at 4.19V each when I put them in the mod. I left it sitting in standby with an atomizer attached for 24 hours and then checked the batteries and got 4.17V on each cell. I then left it for another 24 hours and checked again and got 4.15 and 4.16V for the 2 cells. So over a 48 hour period with a starting point of 8.38V i ended up with a total of 8.31V so .07V idle drain per 48 hours. If you left them for a week that would mean a total of about .245V drained leaving full batteries from 8.4V total to 8.155V so not a big deal IMO but you have the numbers so you can make your own decision on it. The software lists the soft cell cut off at 3.0V. I measured it at 3.10 and 3.09 so pretty close and low enough to please most people.
Temperature Control Performance
Using SS316 wire and both SS mode and TCR mode, I tested 7 builds. 2 simple round spaced, 1 simple round dual, 1 small tiny clapton for loose MTL vaping, 2 large fancy single coils builds, and 1 large fancy dual coil build. The mod performs very well with the right settings but not as a default. The SS mode hits way too high and needs to be used at less than 370F for a warm vape. Feels about 70-100 or so degrees off. Using TCR mode with 92 as a setting, you need to go over 500F to get a decent vape. It hits really weak. I found using a TCR of 100 works very well and feel pretty accurate. Around 460-470F is where i get a warm vape so maybe like 10 or so degrees low but not a big deal and it’s a nice round number. The ramp up is great and you can adjust watts easily (hold fire and up to adjust watts) which changes the ramp up, and can change the TCR easily as well in TCR mode (hold fire and down). You can also lock your resistance but it didn’t make any difference and isn’t needed. The dry hit protection is pretty good as well and the throttle is nice and smooth. Overall a pass for temp control mode like most of smoants mods it does a good job for the price but i recommend only using TCR mode with the TCR at 100 for SS316 wire.
Other Usage Notes
The mod uses a 5 click to turn on and off. I don’t normally talk about fire speed as it’s mostly just a buzzword these days since not many mods still have a fire delay, but this one fires so fast that you’ll get a sizzle from your coil just by clicking the 5 times to turn off or 3 times to enter the menu. The menu system is very nice and easy to navigate and simple. You use 3 clicks to enter the menu for changing your modes. You use up and down to navigate the menu and fire to accept. I like that at any time while in any menu you can hold fire to go back a menu page. The mod features VW watt mode with soft, normal, and hard preheat as well as a full watt curve mode. Temp control mode for Ni200, SS, and Ti as well as TCR mode and temp curve mode. There is a wallpaper setting where you can choose your wallpaper and set the screensaver to be the wallpaper or a clock. In the settings you can adjust the brightness, set the time, screen timeout, and change the GUI between the 2 options. One option looks like a speedometer with a single battery meter, while the other option my preferred one is a more standard layout with individual battery monitors. It is firmware upgradable as mentioned before and the software for it also allows you to place custom wallpapers on the mod as well. You can store 9 total wallpapers on the mod and they have a ton of premade options in the software already as well as you can add your custom ones in. The software is easy to use and well laid out but funny enough lists the mod as the cylon mini. I’m guessing it was originally called that and later changed to the charon mini for some reason. It has more in common with the cylon IMO and is smaller so cylon mini would have made more sense. The mod also adjusts by full watt 100+ and .1 watts under 100. I like that but would have preferred the full watt adjustment at a lower point though. Maybe at 50 or less or even 30 or less. It also round robbins which is very nice and i wish all mods did that.
The mod itself is build solid with no rattle on the buttons, and is not heavy at all and is really light. Very similar to the polar. It has a nice weight to it. The Battery door is a standard magnetic backplate. It fits nice with no play on it. I did notice mine is missing a magnet on one side. Not sure if it came like that or if i knocked it out (i did knock it over a few times) and didn’t notice it until recently that it was missing. Even without it though it fits perfect in place and is easy to get on or off with the indent to pop it off on the bottom of the mod. The battery door is solid metal but with a plastic cover on the inside for extra protection against batteries with torn wraps which is nice, but seriously don’t use batteries with torn wraps. It’s easy to get batteries in and out without damaging wraps and takes 2 18650 batteries. The batteries stick out enough from the tray that it doesn't need a ribbon. You can just easily grab them from the top or bottom andpop them out. Really nice battery tray. The paint looks nice and doesn't scratch off, and i have no visible wear. Due to being designed like the revenger mods the bottom base is thin and rounded up so it can be tipped over somewhat easily. I did it a few times. Not a big deal but worth the mention. The fire button is nice and large and clicky. It’s a black tall octagon shape with texture. It works well for the most part unless you only press the very bottom of it. It never gets stuck or anything though which is as it should be. The 510 pin gave me no issues and every atomizer i used on it worked great with no gaps and is centered and looks nice and handles a 25mm atomizer flush. The screen is a massive 2 inch color screen that is nice and bright and easy to see. Even in sunlight it’s pretty visible it’s covered in a class which can glare that is pretty thick and is a fingerprint magnet but not a big deal. I love the screen on this mod. They list 2 amp balanced charging as well but i don’t recommend charging internally in your mods.
Pros:
- Build Quality
- color options
- no button rattle
- Power mode performance and preheat options
- temp mode performance
- watt curve modes
- nice fire button
- Accurately rated for watts
- batteries are easy to get in and out without damaging wraps
- nice centered 510 pin
- High amp limit
- full watt adjustment at 100+ watts
- easy to use menu system
- nice large 2 inch bright colored screen
- custom wallpapers
- nice battery trey and magnetic backplate
- preset SS mode is off, best used in TCR at 100 for SS316 wire
- overrated volt limit listed
- can tip over easy
- fingerprint magnet
So with all that said, do I recommend this mod or not? I don’t like to do the yes or no, but for this i’m going to lean a pretty hard towards the yes. It’s one of the better mods to come out in 2018 for sure. Works as it should and meets pretty much every promise except for the slightly overstated theoretical volt limit. It’s what we’ve come to expect from smoant. Tons of features nicely built mods that work at an affordable price. Well worth looking at if you are in the market for a new mod.
This is Anthony Vapes just keeping it honest, hopefully you all can say the same and i’ll catch you on my next review. Also next week i’ll be doing my best of list so far in 2018 so stay tuned for that!
Product Disclaimer
This product was sent to me from Smoant
Review Disclaimer
Due to possible QC difference your experience may vary.
Reviewer Disclaimer
I’ve been doing vape reviews since late 2016 and have done around 200 reviews to date. I enjoy helping vapers on forums as well and helping contribute to the great vape community. I’m not an “out of the box” reviewer. I do my best to be thorough at all times and have enough experience with many products to tell what’s good and what’s not. All mods get tested with an oscilloscope and stress tested and results are posted in my reviews.
Recommendations and Past Review Links
written reviews list here
Youtube Channel here
Spreadhseet of Recommendations here
Best of 2017 list here
