What you get
Now I got a trial production unit and as stated on the box may be different than the bulk production units.
- Kylin mini with 3ml glass installed
- Bubble glass for 5ml capacity (verified with a syringe)
- Spare o'rings
- Spare allen screws (the deck comes pre-installed with phillip head grub screws)
- Blue 810 drip tip and optional black grooved 810 drip tip
- 510 drip tip adapter
- Phillips screwdriver and allen wrench
- Clapton coil
- I did not receive a owners manual but I believe the production version will
- 42.5mm H with drip tip, not including 510 x 24.4mm wide at base, 28mm for bubble glass
- Threaded top fill with 2 large kidney shaped fill holes
- 180º 21-hole honeycomb airflow
- Reduced chamber design
- Gold plated postless deck and screws
Check out this deck!
First thing that impressed me was the deck, talk about coverage, it encircles the bottom of your coils....I was impressed when I saw it.
Normally I am not a big fan of phillip head grub screws but these are the usual great screws you get from Vandy Vape, build after build they hold up so well. They include a spare pair of your normal everyday allen grub screws, also gold plated but this is one of the few times I didn't feel the need to swap out the phillip heads, there excellent.
One thing that gave me pause was the wicking slots, not a lot of room there, it is about 1.6mm deep and 6mm wide. You are also in the way of the threads so care has to be taken so you do not get your wick shifted when you screw the tank back together.
Another thing that made me go hmmm was to remove the deck the glass is just floating there. Luckily the top o'ring holds it snug so even if I removed it with juice still inside I was able to access the deck. You have to be careful though, would have been nice to have the glass secured when removing the deck.
It will take all 810 drip tips but I did notice that most of my TFV8/12 810 drip tips with dual o'rings and some goon style friction fit did not sit flush. That is sort of a bummer but the majority of my friction fit 810's were fine.
For a 24.4mm tank the fill ports are as big as they can make them which is great, I would sometimes just carefully pour directly from the bottle instead of using a dropper.
The Build
I tried several builds in the Kylin Mini, all of them various degrees of great, even the supplied coil gave off some excellent results. Here I am going to show my favorite build using Quad Core Fused Claptons by www.advancedvapesupply.com which is SS316L 30G x 4 with a 40G outer wrap.
I used 6 wraps on a 3.5mm post.....oh yeah, this deck can take a big coil, there is room for bigger if your so inclined but thinning out the wicks is a must with that much cotton through the coil.
This build I had sitting a little higher to give the airflow room to breath. You can't go much higher though with a big coil due to the reduced chamber design.
Now with this 3.5mm coil I had a lot of cotton to deal with, I cut the wicks by putting my scissors on the bottom of the deck, not the base and cutting there.
This is prior to thinning out and fluffing the cotton.
What worked best for me and my chain vaping style was to have the wicks end right before the threads. This pic is with the wick dry, after juicing them up just position them so they are not in the way of the threads.
Performance
The flavor I am getting off this is just fantastic and the airflow is smooth. Being a single coil it is not for cloud chasers but it's no slouch either, nice dense flavorful clouds is what you will get. The flavor I get with the 3.5mm coil is the kind of flavor where you lick your lips a little after, not spitty but not dry. A smaller coil produces less of the lick your lips phenomenon but still gives out great flavor.
The airflow control is smooth and solid and no weird sounds whether it be full open, 3/4 or any size opening, this must be mainly due to the honeycomb design.
With the wicking I prefer it can be a little spitty right after you refill, this goes away after a few pulls though. Juice flow control would have been nice but I am not mad at it and have never sprung a leak.
I must say that build after build the Kylin Mini has left me impressed, one of the best....hell...probably the best single coil RTA I have reviewed.
Some comparisons
I have been enjoying some single coil RTA as of late, not my usual norm, I still prefer dual coils as it just matches my vape style better. While doing a build on the Kylin Mini I decided to put the same build in a couple others I had purchased for fun......ok, there was a sale...can't help myself.
Pharoah Mini: Now I just got this in a few days ago so not a fair comparison until I have more time. Flavor is pretty good on the Pharoah Mini but the airflow is more restrictive. Just from an airflow standpoint alone I prefer the Kylin Mini and feel the flavor is just a little more rich.
Geekvape Zeus: I am a fan of the Zeus, not the best flavor but the looks and top airflow so no leaks offset the slight loss of flavor, it is not bad but the Kylin Mini beats it for flavor.....easily. The Kylin Mini is also easier to build on, if I had to let one go then it would be the Zeus but I sure would hate to.
OBS Crius II: Only about a week of limited use but I got the gold and wow is it sexy. For looks the Crius wins hands down, just a great looking tank. Maybe I have to buy the Kylin Mini in gold for a fair comparison but I have my doubts it would be sexier. The Crius II is a very good performer but the airflow is slightly more restricted. The Crius II also has an odd triangle type screwdriver, if you lose that your screwed...what was OBS thinking, are allen screws so passe? Flavor is pretty close but I still give the edge to the Kylin Mini. I sort of want to say it is a wash between these 2 so far but then again my time with the Crius II is limited. For looks I would pick the Crius II, for performance the Kylin Mini.....I would go with the Kylin Mini, the thought of losing that stupid Crius II triangle screwdriver would keep me up at night.
Pros:
- Outstanding flavor
- Smooth airflow
- Easy build
- Can take a big coil
- Great grub screws
- Well built
- Large kidney shaped fill ports
- Includes a colored and black grooved 810 drip tip
- 510 drip tip adapter
- No leaks
Cons:
- Thin juice ports, makes wicking a little tricky
- No juice flow control (can get spitty after filling)
- Not the sexiest looking tank out there, well at least not my SS version
- Glass only held on by top o'ring when removing the deck
- Only comes with 1 size of each glass, if you break one you are stuck with the other size
- TFV8/12 style 810 drip tips don’t sit flush
Final thoughts
I have to admit that from my first build I was impressed with the flavor and quality of vape the Kylin Mini puts out. After a few days I thought wow, I could write the review now but dredged on to see if I could find a fault other than the tricky wicking. After close to 3 weeks and 4 or 5 builds it has held up extremely well and my opinion from the first few days has not changed, it is an excellent performing tank that is hard to fault.
About the only thing that I don't love about the Kylin Mini aside from the wicking is the looks of my SS version. Once they are readily available I am going to check out the other colors, just may very well be another Kylin Mini in my future to replace my SS version. As I tend to do there is a pic gallery at the end of my reviews with the Kylin Mini on various mods, you can decide for yourself.....I just looked at my pics and it is not bad looking at all, I am just being a jerk....as usual...lol
If you haven't noticed I really enjoyed my time with the Kylin Mini and it will be the benchmark I use for single coil tanks until something else dethrones it. I want to thank Vandy Vape for sending this for review, you can find out more at there website: Kylin Mini RTA | VANDY VAPE
If your looking for a deal check this: Vapecrawler
I am seeing prices under $30 from US vendors, keep in mind that Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring Festival is upon us so China vendors will not be shipping during that time. Not a lot of places have them in stock as of this date though.
Pics on various mods and different drip tips I used
Eleaf Tessera (review in progress) stock VV black grooved drip tip
Vapecige Creator IM250 with stock VV black grooved drip tip
Wake Mod Co. Littlefoot with stock VV colored drip tip
Tesla Nano 120 with Kennedy 810 drip tip
Vaptio N1 Pro with a random 810 Ultem drip tip
