Minican 2 by Aspire
Aspire Minican 2: Simple But Effective!
What’s floating your boats these days, vape fam? Well, for me, I have been testing out the new Aspire Minican 2 from Aspire, their latest addition to their Minican series!
I have talked about Aspire in previous reviews, and they are still one of the most renowned and reliable global vape manufacturers out there. At least here in the UK, most beginner vapers would have used or may be seen the Aspire Pockex kit, which remains to be a very popular beginner kit even to this day, several years after its release. I know I did!
And here comes the Aspire Minican 2, as the newest Minican iteration from Aspire following the Minican (original) and Minican +. Although each version has differing features from others, a common theme one may notice with the Minicans is that they are meant for utter simplicity. Indeed, this is as fuss-free as you can get in terms of starting vaping, apart from disposables, of course. But that’s another (and longer) topic to discuss…
As always, my review will be from my own experience of using the device as a regular vaper, as most of you buying this device will be.
So, what do you get in the kit?
§Minican 2 Device, which feels to be made of plastic.
§1 x 3ml Minican Pod with 1.0-ohm mesh coil. Coils are not replaceable although the pod is refillable.
§User manual.
§USB-C charging cable.
The kit sample packaging is minimal and is done in typical Aspire orange print on white box/background. It has a photo of the device in front, with warnings and package contents printed around the sides and back. This box has hardly any bulk, which I love (I hate dead spaces in kit packaging!), and I hope that the retail packaging will be the same as the sample I received.
What does it actually do?
§400 mAh battery, which isn’t a whole lot but should last at least half a day with MTL vaping.
§Dimensions at 28 x 16 x 83 mm. This is tiny and extremely pocketable!
§Has auto-draw firing only, no buttons anywhere on the device.
§Bottom-fill pod.
§LED light to indicate battery life and charging (light goes off when fully charged).
§Runs on bypass output mode, so the vape quality may diminish slightly alongside battery life decrease.
§And of course, has the standard protections we are familiar with via the ASP chipset.
OK, So How Does It Perform?
This is as simple as it can get. Just fill the pod via the bottom fill hole, which is considered large enough for most commercial E-liquid bottles and to let the air out when refilling. Wait 5 minutes, and then put the mod into the device via magnetic action, and voila! You’re off vaping!
The pod can go either way on the device. There is no airflow control, and the draw is what I would describe as a medium to loose MTL. The draw is still warm enough even though the coil is a 1.0-ohm mesh; but for someone like me, I prefer warmer and tighter draws. Saying that though, I was still satisfied enough with the Minican 2, and that is primarily because of the flavour!
The air comes in via two holes on either side of the device. I suppose that if you really wanted a tighter draw, you could cover one of the holes, however, air will only be coming from one hole/side of the device and so that is something to take note of.
The flavour from these coils is surprisingly amazing (7.5/10)! I had my doubts seeing the coil information, but to me, it vapes like a 0.8-ohm coil in a MTL pod system, exactly to the draw and warmth! It felt like it was giving around 12W of power with a full battery, and the taste from the coil is crisp and spot-on.
The pod is tinted but not too heavily; it’s always easy to see how much juice is left in the pod. It is also comfortable enough to use despite being of a duck-bill shape.
The auto draw works perfectly and is very sensitive to the slightest of drags. But as there is no button to the device for any adjustment or even to turn it on or off, I would advise disengaging the pod from the device when not in use. I never had any problems with it during my testing, but this is just a good and logical habit to have when using pod systems. No leaking or device firing by itself which speaks to the quality of Aspire products, and that has been my experience in testing the Aspire Minican 2!
The USB-C charge port is at the bottom of the device but I did wish they put it on the side so that it can be charged upright.
Should you buy it?
As a pure starter kit, as in someone’s very first vape kit, this is absolutely perfect for that purpose! It’s small, convenient, easy to maintain and operate, and gives an excellent quality of flavour to the vaper. The pod doesn’t leak or spit back, and there are no buttons for adjustment or control. For the new vaper, there is nothing much to learn about the kit before they start using it, which makes me think of this as an ideal starter kit.
Sure, the battery life isn’t the longest versus other pod systems out there, but it doesn’t take very long to charge anyway (about 30 minutes or so). My only con about this kit is the fact that it has only one pod included in the packaging. I’ve said this before of other similar kits: there must be at least 2 pods or coils in a kit in the event that one of the pods or coils included is a dud because it does happen from time to time. I do hope that Aspire takes this feedback into account when preparing for its retail packaging.
But again, there is nothing else to complain about the Minican 2 as a starter kit. As a matter of fact, I can already imagine these kits sitting alongside cigarette packets in tobacconists as a great and viable alternative to smoking. You know that I wish that actually happens – one can dream!