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iJoy Captain 2 Kit Review: Test Results Are In
Product intro and specs
The Captain 2 is the latest dual-18650 mod from longtime manufacturer iJoy. They don’t really have a standout product that was really popular, but they make some pretty decent stuff overall with a few missteps here and there. I wasn’t a fan of the original Captain mod, so we’ll see if this one is any better.
They updated it to have a rugged design, however it’s not waterproof (or at least not listed as such) like we’ve seen from the Aegis or Jackaroo lines. It is however meant to be shock resistant and dust resistant. It comes in a kit with the new Captain V sub ohm tank which is made for DL vaping.
Price: $64.99 (Here)
Colors: Gunmetal, red, blue, black, rainbow
Specifications
- Size: 136.8 mm x 52.2 mm x 33 mm
- Battery: Dual 18650 batteries
- Output power: 5-180 watts
- Resistance range: 0.05-3.0 ohms
- Screen size: 0.96 inch
- Material: Aluminum alloy & silicone
- E-juice capacity: 5 mL / 2 mL
- Firmware upgradeable
Kit contents
- 1 x iJoy Captain 2 box mod
- 1 x USB cable
- 1 x Captain V tank (X3-mesh coil pre-installed)
- 1 x X3-C1 coil
- 1 x Manual
- 1 x Warranty card
First impressions
It’s been a long time since I’ve reviewed or even used an iJoy mod personally, so I was expecting something pretty different than what I’ve gotten in the past. The last iJoy mods I reviewed were the Diamond and Avenger.
When I first got this mod though, it was pretty much just the Captain mod in an upgraded rugged casing. Same screen and menu system, and same design overall. The main difference is that this one takes 18650 batteries, while the original iJoy Captain was popular for being one of the first dual-20700 mods.
Due to these similarities, I wasn’t really impressed by it. Even though it’s more durable, it doesn’t seem like much of an upgrade. There is already a really good line of durable and water-resistant mods out there, and this one isn’t even listed as IP67 or water-resistant.
Build quality and design
The Captain 2 is a well-built mod. It looks nice and tactical. It feels solid, not cheap or flimsy, with some heft to it for sure. The fire button is rectangular, and it is positioned on the side of the mod. Below the screen are the up and down buttons and below them is the USB port under a rubber plug that prevents dust from getting in. It features a large black and white 0.96-inch screen that’s clear and easy to read, but a bit dim by today’s standards.
It’s not a small mod by any means, but it isn’t overly large either. It’s comparable to other rugged dual battery mods. The 510 pin is great and gave me no issues with any atomizer. Plenty of room to fit a 30 mm atomizer without overhang. The 510 is centered and the whole mod itself is symmetrical, which I like.
As far as colors go, they have five options listed. I was sent the rainbow one. All of them are mostly black though with different colored side panels. The body of the mod is covered in silicon for durability. All the color options have two black leather strips on each side and the leather looks and feels great. My rainbow panels are nice and shiny and look great as well.
I like that branding is kept nice and simple. There is a small “iJoy” logo above the screen. The back panel is carbon fiber styled with a Captain 2 logo at the bottom. The battery door is a standard latch system on the bottom, similar to the Aegis Legend. It worked great with no issues and I had no problem getting batteries in and out. Overall, it’s a great looking and well-built mod. The only negative I found is that there is some button rattle with the up and down buttons.
Features and functions
The Captain 2 mod has all the features we’ve seen on iJoy mods over the past years. Nothing new, but everything you will need for the most part. You have Power mode with soft, normal, hard, and user preheat options (practically a watt curve mode,) and Temp control mode for Ni200, Ti, SS and TCR. Nothing fancy or overbearing, but all the needed features we expect to have in a regulated mod are here.
Using the Captain 2 mod
As far as the menu goes, it’s the same as the original Captain.
Here is a quick rundown of the usage:
- Five clicks of the fire button to turn on and off
- Three clicks to enter the menu
- Use up and down in the menu to select modes and fire to accept
- In TC mode, pressing up first lets you adjust the watts, pressing down first lets you adjust the power
- Up and down to lock resistance in TC mode and to lock the mod (locks adjustment buttons only, can still fire)
Overall, very simple and easy to use with a good menu.
Power mode performance
Testing on this mod was done with Sony VTC5A Batteries. In the included manual they only list the max watts which is 180. I wish they would list all three (watts, volts, and amps.) During my testing, the max achieved wattage was 186, so their rating at 180 watts is excellent—if not slightly underrated.
The amp limit I got was 40, which is around the average these days on a dual-18650 mod. The volt limit I got was 7.153 so there is no boost circuit in this mod. While it’s not 100% needed on a dual-battery mod, it is nice to have. Lots of companies are doing it as a standard these days like Aspire, Innokin, Vaporesso, and Geekvape off the top of my head. Still, the specs are pretty solid. No complaints; but nothing that jumps out either.
The mod adjusts in 0.1-watt increments which I’m not a fan of. If you hold it down though, it’ll do full watt and pretty fast, so not bad. Over 100 watts it’ll go by 10-watt increments when held down. There is no round robin for wattage either.
During my testing the mod did a great job of not getting hot. From an accuracy standpoint it’s a mostly accurate mod. It struggled a little and hit a bit low when I tested it with a 0.1-ohm coil, which is fairly common. Overall, it tends to hit a little high. Also worth noting is that on normal they have a forced hard preheat. I really wish companies wouldn’t do that. Many used to but stopped. It feeds into the nonsense of a mod “hitting hard” but mods should do what you set them to do; and not force you into something so it can trick poor reviewers into raving about it. I’ll ding them for that as well.
Overall, a solid performer as you can see the full test results above. They also list a 1.5-amp charge rate and, while I don’t recommend charging your batteries internally if it can be avoided, I did test it. The max I got was 1.87 amps so very good rating and even a little understated. Most that are rated for 2 amps will charge at that speed more or less, so even a 2-amp rating would have been acceptable. Good job with that.
Temperature control performance
Using SS316L wire in TCR mode (using .00092), I tested four builds:
- One simple round single coil build
- One simple round dual coil build
- Two fancy wire single coil builds
The power is fully adjustable as well in temperature control mode with the full 180-watt limit.
As far as the performance goes, it’s no secret that iJoy is not known for good temp control. I was hoping for an improvement from the past but didn’t get one. It was ok at times, but very inconsistent. Even to the point where dropping it down to 300F would produce a hot vape with no cutting off. Other times, even at 450F it was weak.
The main thing with TC mode is consistency. You want to lock it and get a consistent vape every time and dry hit protection. This mod didn’t offer either. Overall, not a mod that should be considered if you like to vape in temp control mode.
Captain V tank rundown
Ok, so let’s do a quick rundown of the Captain V tank. The preinstalled coil is a 0.15-ohm X-3 mesh coil rated at 40-90 watts and the other included is a 0.4-ohm X3-C1 coil rated 60-90 watts. Overall, they have 17 (!) coil options as well as an RBA deck. I was only sent the two included so that’s all I can judge it on.
The tank comes with a straight glass (2 mL) and a bubble glass (5 mL). The coils screw into the base like in many other tanks. They are easy to remove and replace by unscrewing the base and just unscrewing them. You can’t do it with a full tank; it needs to be empty.
It uses a standard wide bore 810 O-ring fitted Delrin drip tip which is pretty plain but fits very nicely. A resin tip would have been better in my opinion though. All the threading on the tank is nice and smooth, and the top cap can be easily removed for filling. It has two large fill holes for juice and it’s very easy to fill. The airflow control is also smooth, easy to adjust and on a stopper.
Overall, the tank itself is nothing out of the ordinary, but at least it is done well. They claim it as a leakproof tank as well for some reason. No tank can be completely leak proof as that would require it to be airtight which a tank can’t be. Top airflow can be leak-resistant, but could still leak in extreme cases. Either way, since they listed that I’m going to point out it can leak and mine did a little after the coil was worn out. It’s normal and not a big deal on its own but still, it shouldn’t be listed as leakproof when it isn’t.
From a performance perspective, I was not very impressed. While the X3 mesh was a little better, both coils were lacking in flavor compared to many others I’ve tried. And neither lasted very long either. Most coils these days, at least the good ones, can get you 80-100 mL per coil of juice on a DL tank. With these, 40 mL was pushing it and the flavor degraded even before that. Overall, it’s a nice tank but the coils kind of ruin it. You probably have a better tank already.
- (+) Great build quality
- (+) Nice coating and panels
- (+) Accurately rated for watts
- (+) Solid power mode performance
- (+) Nice 510 pin
- (+) Handles 30 mm atomizers without overhang
- (+) Nice large clear screen
- (+) Affordable
- (+) Watt curve mode
- (+) Easy to use menu
- (+) Fast charge rate (1.87 amps)
- (+) Rugged and durable
- (+) Good amp limit
- (-) No listed amp or voltage limit
- (-) No boost circuit
- (-) TC mode doesn't work well
- (-) Included tank performance is subpar
- (-) Forced hard preheat
- (-) Button rattle
- (-) Screen is a little dim
- (-) Not IP67 rated or water-resistant like other rugged mods on the market already
- (-) Tank is listed as leakproof but it isn’t
Gallery
Verdict
Overall, the Captain 2 is an improvement from the original Captain which came out about two years ago. The original one was not a mod I could recommend anyone to buy. While I wouldn’t go out and get this one personally, I wouldn’t avoid it either. It’s a solid power mode mod with some durability; but that’s about it.
It was nice to get to review a mod after months of nothing but pod systems, but this is one that is easily forgettable to me and already outclassed by other mods on the market. However, if you don’t vape in temp control and you like the way it looks, it’ll get the job done for you.
Let me know how you feel about the Captain 2 kit in the comments below!
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Article Author: Anthony Victor
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