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Anthony Vapes: Desire X Mini Mod Tech Review

SirRichardRear

AKA Anthony Vapes on Youtube
VU Donator
Diamond Contributor
Member For 3 Years
Reviewer
Hi All, Anthony Vapes back here with my review of Desire X-mini Mod. Please see bottom for disclaimers and links

Introduction:
The Desire X Mini is the newest mod form manufacturer Desire. While they aren’t super popular, they have been around for a while and have made some great RDAs like the Mad Dog V2 which came out earlier 2018. The X Mini is a single 2x700 battery mod (can take 21700, 20700, and 18650 batteries) That can fire up to 108 watts and has unique “X” shape and outside LED. It’s available in 5 colors, White, Silver, Black, Red, and Blue.

Manufacturer's Specs:
  • Size: 53x25x109mm
  • Power range: 5- 108W
  • Output voltage: 0- 8V
  • Max output Amps 40
  • Input Voltage 3.1V-4.2V
  • Temperature limit: 200- 600℉
  • Resistance range: 0.08- 3.0ohm
  • Battery: 21700/20700/18650 (Not included)
  • Colors: Black, Silver, White, Red, Blue
  • LED Light Indicator
  • O-LED Settings Display
  • Weight 246g
Included in box:
  • 1x X-Mini Box Mod
  • 1x 18650 Battery Adapter
  • 1x USB Charger
  • 1x Warranty Card
  • User Manual
Picture Album
https://imgur.com/a/F6WJ1gD

Initial Impressions and features
When I first got this Mod, The first thing that stuck out to me was the size. I’ll probably repeat it a lot during the review but for something called the X mini, there is nothing mini about it at all. It’s huge. I understand it’s expected to be a little bigger due to being able to handle a 21700 battery, but it’s bigger than my dual 20700 mods and dual 18650 mods which defeats the purpose. I didn’t expect a mod labeled as a mini to be that big. The “X” shape to it looks pretty cool and it’s much more comfy to hold then I expected. It’s also a really heavy mod, it weighs 246g. One side has a diamond like design on it with a big LED of the desire logo. The other side is the magnetic battery door which has a little play in it. Overall though, wasn’t very impressed with it from the start, but mostly due to its size.

Watt Mode Performance (chart and spreadsheet in picture album)
Let’s get into some data. I ran my normal testing. I used the ijoy 5 leg 20700 batteries for the testing. Testing resistances were done at .11 , .15, .2, and .61 ohms. wattage points were max (108), 80, 60, 40, and 20. At .11 ohms it maxed out at 103 watts and 31 amps. For the rest of the testing it was never off by more than 3 watts. At .15 it maxed out at 107 watts. The rest of the tests it was never off by more than 2 watts. For the .2 test it maxed out at 112 watts. For the rest of the testing it was never off by more than 4 watts. For the .61 testing it maxed out at 91 watts and 7.469 volts. The rest of the testing it was never off by more than 2 watts. The volts shows there is a boost circuit like most single battery mods.

Overall I felt the performance of this mod was really good. Worst case it was off by 4 watts, that was only in a couple of cases. Most of the time it was on point or within a watt or 2. 15 out of the 20 test points was within 2 watts. 2 tests were limited by the volts or amps. The other 3 tests were 3-4 watts off. So really accurate. It’s also pretty accurately rated at 108 watts since i got 112 with the .2 test and 107 with the .15 test. The 7.469 volt limit shows there is a boost circuit but falls a little short of the listed 8V max. I guess they rounded up, but i would have personally listed it at 7.5. They list the amp limit at 40 which is overstated. I got 31 max which is still good for a single battery mod.

Simplified TLDR Power Performance summary
Mod performance is really good. Very accurate. Mostly within 2 watts. Accurate rating for watts (112), Yes boost circuit, amp limit 31 which is good. Volts tested at 7.469 so close to the 8V they list. They also have PGM mode (power curve) which works pretty good too.

Temperature Control Performance
Using SS316 wire with the SS mode. I tested 6 builds a single round spaced, a dual round spaced, 2 fancy single coil builds and 2 fancy dual coil builds. The mod has no limit for power in temp mode so you can use the full 108. Adjusting the watts does change the ramp up as it should and it had no issues powering 80 watt dual coil builds either with a fast ramp up. It also did a good job on the throttle, it doesn't throttle too hard at all and gives a nice smooth consistent vape. It also provides a warm vape in the 440-460 range as it should, so it feels pretty accurate. Overall I was pleasantly surprised by the temp control on this mod. It worked very well. It does also have a TCR mode but it worked well enough in SS mode I didn’t feel the need to try it out.
 

SirRichardRear

AKA Anthony Vapes on Youtube
VU Donator
Diamond Contributor
Member For 3 Years
Reviewer
Other Usage Notes
The mod uses a 5 click to turn on or off. The LED isn’t very programmable from what i could tell. There is only 2 options and you toggle them with 4 clicks. Option one is only on when firing and option 2 is always on. You also can’t change the color. There should have been more options for it. When you plug the mod into charge it’ll light up red while charging and blue when the battery is full. The menu system is clunky and outdated. It’s very similar to the old Wismec RX menu system. 3 clicks to change modes, use plus to cycle modes and use minus to change options within the modes on the screen. In 2018 the menu should be more intuitive and easy to use. There is no actual menu screen, you just cycle but have to cycle one way only since the minus changes settings in the mode you are on itself. I think geekvape does this style much better and more intuitive.

The mod itself is build solid and heavy with no rattle on the buttons but the battery door has a little play in it. The paint looks nice and doesn't scratch off, but you can see on the top where it does get scratched from the atomizer. They include 2 plastic discs to protect the mod from the atomizer though. The Battery sled is very nice and easy to get batteries in and out without damaging wraps. As i said earlier it’s compatible with 21700, 20700, and 18650 batteries (18650 with included adapter). The fire button is nice and large and great for them fire or pointer finger fire. I like the angled plane it’s on. Similar to the Tesla nano 120. The 510 however doesn't look like much from the outside and is too deep. It’s 2018 we should have nicer 510 pins. Atomizers with short 510 pins wouldn’t make contact or read on the device. That’s a pretty big issue, we shouldn’t have to worry about atomizers working on our mods anymore. I know desire is kind of new to the regulated mod game, but this is a hard lesson they will hopefully learn for the next mod they make. The screen is a good size and nice and bright and easy to read. Also the mod can only take a 26mm atomizer. It’s not even about overhang, but due to the design with the raised platform it lietally won’t fit. It makes sense on a mod like the Pico because it’s so short, but on this mod, the design is all for looks and ignores functionality. I went price hunting as well and looks to be around 50-60 bucks online.

Pros:
  • Build Quality
  • Nice looks and form factor
  • color options
  • no button rattle
  • Nice medium sized bright screen
  • Power mode performance is good
  • nice fire button
  • Watt curve mode
  • Mostly accurately rated (watts and volts)
  • battery is easy to get in and out without damaging wraps
  • Temp Mode performance
Cons:
  • mod doesn't work with atomizers with a short 510 pin
  • minor play in battery door
  • clunky outdated menu system
  • way too big for a single battery mod
  • bigger than 26mm atomizer won’t fit at all
  • overrated amp spec (amp limit is 31 not 40 as listed)
  • lack of LED options (no color change, can't turn off)
Conclusion
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 have to lean towards the no. It’s a shame because the chip is a solid performer for power and temp mode and even has a watt curve option, But the huge size really kills it. You can buy a dual 18650 that’s smaller or even a dual 20700 mod that’s smaller. The design on the top limiting atomizer size wasn’t a good idea, and worse off the 510 not working with some atomizers is a big deal breaker. They also have some more minor stuff to fix as well. This is why it’s important to be thorough in reviews, Desire can use this to make a better mod next time around and not just do the I used it for a week it seems ok go buy it type of reviews. All that does is lead to poor products on the market and wasted money for consumers and companies who think they are making better products than they are. It does nobody good. Also just saying something is crap with no reason doesn't help either. Reviews are about constructive criticism and good information from a place of knowledge and a good one will help out everyone. I hope desire listens to the issues and uses it to make a better mod in the future because they have potential to make some good ones. This one just misses the mark. I won’t be adding it to my sheet

This is Anthony Vapes just keeping it honest, hopefully you all can say the same and i’ll catch you on my next review.

Product Disclaimer
This product was sent to me from Desire

Review Disclaimer
I review products for what they are with no account of where it comes from or who makes it. The test results are the results for what is in my hand. Due to possible QC difference your experience may vary. There is no way for myself or anyone to predict if a device will last 6 months, 1 year, 5 years etc. Any manufactured item from cars to phones to computers to mods have a possibility of arriving DOA or having a small percent failure rate. There is no way to predict this or quantify this. That’s why warranties and lemon laws exist. I can only review what I have in my hand for better or for worse. Contrary to popular belief, there is no special review samples of higher quality. Most of the time personally i get retail versions, the few times i’ve gotten early releases they are usually worse than the final retail version.

Reviewer Disclaimer
I decided to add this disclaimer in as i feel it’s important for people to know their source of the review. I’ve been vaping since late 2011. I’ve vaped all the styles from MTL to RLH to DTL. tanks, RTAs, RDAs, you name it. I do prefer the DTL and RLH style over MTL personally. My main focus from an atomizer is flavor. For mods i’ve used mechs and regulated mods. I’m an avid temp control vaper but enjoy power mode as well and the occasion mech useage for nostalgia. I’ve been doing reviews since late 2016. As of Jan 2018 I’ve done over 100 written reviews and done over 150 video reviews on my channel, Although i’ve taken a break from videos in the past few months to focus on written reviews.

I spend a lot of time helping vapers on forums as well and try to answer all the questions and comments on my reviews. I’m not an “out of the box” reviewer. I do my best to be thorough at all times. All mods get tested with an oscilloscope and stress tested. At times if needed i’ll disassemble them as well. Rebuildables get multiple builds in them. Tanks i use all coils until the die or a minimum of 2 weeks if they don’t die sooner. I do this for the community to help people find good products and avoid bad ones. In my opinion a reviewer works for the community and nobody else. It’s our job to inform vapers of issues and not be advertisers as well as provide constructive criticism from a place of knowledge back to companies with these reviews so they can improve and make better products in the future.

Recommendations and Past Review Links
written reviews list here

Youtube Channel here

Spreadhseet of Recommendations here

Best of 2017 list here
 

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