Today we are pleased to be reviewing the Suorin Air Mini, one we were eager to look at after reviewing its bigger brother earlier in the year.
This being the third device in the Suorin Air series of products we will have reviewed and first impressions of the Air Mini look very good. The styling being instantly recognizable as the Suorin Air series but this time it’s miniaturized.
Mini being the operative word here, the Air Mini easily fits in the hand with the style and surface finish just crying out to be caressed and twiddled. It IS extremely tactile.
Please do carry on reading to see if the performance from the Air Mini is as good as it looks and feels.
Overview
The Suorin Air Mini is a non-adjustable 14W Mouth to Lung (MTL) auto draw activated pod device incorporating an internal 430mAh battery.
Its appearance follows in the vein of the Air series of pods from Suorin; thin and wide and in this case very small, resembling the size of a traditional cigarette lighter. The overall look of the Suorin Air Mini really is superb and as soon as you pick it up it feels so lightweight but well-made and very solid.
Made out of Aluminum Alloy and PCTG, the Suorin Air Mini comes in 10 different designs and colors. I received the Rose Gold Air Mini which has a semi-matte finish to it so unlike the Air Pro we reviewed previously; there is no problem with fingerprint marks.
Included with the Suorin Air Mini kit is a re-fillable (top fill) pod with a 2.0ml e-liquid capacity. The 1.0 ohm Mesh coil is an integral part of the pod meaning it’s not replaceable. When the coil degrades, the pod is disposed of and a new pod fitted.
There is no adjustable airflow; instead it relies on two small pin holes one either side of the Suorin Air Mini body providing the ideal airflow for a smooth restrictive Mouth to Lung (MTL) draw.
The Suorin Air Mini is very simple and straight-forward to use. There is no on/off or fire or control buttons, it’s an auto draw activated pod only. The user interface is a tri-colored LED concealed beneath a micro-grid dot matrix pattern on the front of the Air Mini that illuminates when you draw on the pod indicating the remaining battery status and also when the battery is being charged.
Charging the Suorin Air Mini is carried out using the supplied charging cable that connects to the Type-C USB port on the bottom of the device. A fast charge of only 30 minutes makes this one of the quickest pods in the market today to charge.
I would like to thank Chilly at Youmeit for sending me the Suorin Air Mini Kit for the purpose of this review. As always this review is completely unbiased and is my honest opinion based on my findings while using the Suorin Air Mini Kit supplied. We may receive a small affiliate fee if you click of any of the buy links but at no extra cost to you.
Suorin Air Mini Review
Contents
- Overview
- Features and Specifications
- What’s in the Box?
- Suorin Air Mini Design and Appearance
- – Air Mini Body/Battery
- – Air Mini Pod
- Suorin Air Mini Functionality
- Suorin Air Mini Performance
- Suorin Air Mini Battery Performance
- How do I Fill the Suorin Air Mini Pod?
- When and How do I Change the Suorin Air Mini Pod?
- How do I Charge the Suorin Air Mini?
- Suorin Air Mini Kit Price
- Suorin Air Mini Kit Verdict
- Suorin Air Mini Kit Review Summary
Features and Specifications
- Dimensions: 75mm x 32.3mm x 13.7mm
- Weight: 31 grams (including pod)
- Construction: Aluminium Alloy
- Pod Material: PCTG
- Charging: Type-C USB (no rating)
- Output Wattage: Max 14W
- Output Voltage: Not specified
- E-liquid Capacity: 2.0ml Pod
- Pods: Refillable, Non-replaceable 1.0 ohm Mesh Coil
- Filling Method: Top Fill Port
- Firing Method: Draw Activation
- Resistance Range: Not specified
- Battery Specification: Internal 430mAh
- Input Voltage: Not specified
- Display: Tri-Color Changing LED
- Airflow: Fixed
- Chipset: Not specified
- 5 Safety Protection Features
What’s in the Box?
- Suorin Air Mini Device
- Suorin Air Mini Pod – 1.0 ohm Mesh Coil
- Type-C USB Charging Cable
- User Manual
Youmeit have done it to me again, they have sent the Air Mini to me for the purpose of this review but the color of the actual device I received was the Rose Gold one in the Mint Green box.
I quite like the look of the green one but am more than happy with the Rose Gold color.
The reverse of the box was labelled correctly so I cant complain too much!
Packaging is pretty standard although the box is quite robust and a very tight fit. It did take me a bit of fiddling to open the box carefully so I could take the photos.
Included in the kit is quite a nifty mouthpiece protector made of clear silicone rubber that covers the entire mouthpiece. It fits into the top of the pod and held in place with a small tab that slots into the top opening in the mouthpiece.
Suorin Air Mini Design and Appearance
The Suorin Air Mini Battery/Body
The Suorin Air Mini delivers a fixed power output of 14W (Max) from its 430mAh internal battery and is auto draw activated only. Airflow is not variable but has two small air intake pin holes one either side of its casing which provides a very smooth restricted MTL draw.
I have to say the design and aesthetics of the Suorin Air Mini body is just stunning, I really do like it. Measuring just 43mm tall (75mm including the pod) by 32.3mm wide and 13.7mm thick, this really is a very compact pod.
Constructed out of Aluminium Alloy, the casing appears to be one piece and is a convex shape with the two sides tapering down to only 3.6mm wide. The Air Mini feels solid and looks well built with a completely smooth surface finish. What really is surprising is the weight, the Air Mini body alone weighs in at a mere 22.5 grams.
Charging the Air Mini is carried out via the Type-C USB port on the bottom of the body. I couldn’t find what this port is specified as but does only take approximately 30 minutes to charge from a 1A source. The capacity of the internal battery being only 430mAh is pretty small so a quick charge cycle is expected.
The Suorin Air Mini is auto draw activated so there is no fire button or on/off control. It outputs a fixed wattage (14W) so no adjustable wattage buttons either, it’s as simple as it comes.
Safety features are maintained by the on-board control, such as:
- Overtime Protection (5 seconds)
- Low Battery Voltage Protection
- Open Circuit Protection
- Over Charge Protection
- Short Circuit Protection
There are 10 different body colors available in the Suorin Air Mini range:
- Mint Green
- Silver
- Black
- Star Spangled Red
- Star Spangled Blue
- Red
- Diamond Blue
- Light Blue
- Rose Gold
- Gold
The color I received to test for this review was the Rose Gold variant. While I’m not a fan of pink, this is a subtle rose color shade so won’t affect my street cred if I take it out! The surface color is a semi-matte finish and doesn’t show any finger print marks.
Branding for me is slightly strange; the words “Suorin Air Mini” are screen printed on the front face in black lettering and it’s quite discrete. On the reverse face is the slightly more obvious “UK CA” with “CE” marking and the do not dispose “BIN” sign in a darker font. I was surprised to see the latter is more prominent.
On the side edges of the Suorin Air Mini are one air intake pinhole in each side, measuring approximately 1mm in diameter, positioned just below the pod recess. The airflow provided by these pin holes produces a reasonably restricted MTL draw.
Normally I would say that placing your thumb/finger over one of the air intake pin holes would restrict the draw but in this case it doesn’t. Closing off both air intake holes hardly made any difference.
A tri-color changing LED, located beneath a laser engraved dot matrix grid, positioned in the center of the Air Mini front face illuminates when you draw on the pod in the color that corresponds to the level of charge left in the internal battery. This LED will also illuminate when the Suorin Air Mini is being charged or it’s displaying any notifications of the different levels of protection.
The tri colored LED is reasonably bright but does produce a fused light due to the laser engraved grid matrix which does look pretty neat.
See the Functionality section of this review for the different levels of protection and the safety notifications that are displayed with the tri-color changing LED.
The base of the Suorin Air Mini is flat although this is only a small surface area so it will stand upright but not that stable. The bottom flat surface only measures 5mm deep so it makes sense to lie this down on its side when not in use so it doesn’t topple over.
At the top of the Suorin Air Mini is a shaped recessed opening where the pod locates. Two circular magnets sit either end of this recess with two gold plated spring loaded coil contact pins that sit dead center.
There is a third black pin/stud to the side of the coil contact pins which is the auto draw sensor.
Because the pod recess is shaped, the pod will only fit in this recess one way round. The photo above shows the orientation of the pod the wrong way round, it will have to be turned around for the pod to fit in the pod recess correctly.
When the pod is inserted into the Air Mini, it doesn’t always locate with the magnets, you do have to push the pod fully in so it snaps into position. Once located, the tri-color LED will illuminate for 1 second in the color appertaining to the battery status.
The Suorin Air Mini Pod
Like its bigger brother, the Air Pro, the pod spans the width of the Air Mini body. I liked that one and yes you’ve guessed it, I like this one too.
The Suorin Air Mini pod is re-fillable with a 2ml e-liquid capacity and has an integrated 1.0 ohm mesh coil. The coil is sealed into the pod and is not replaceable so once the coil degrades the whole pod will need replacing.
Manufactured out of semi-clear opaque PCTG material, you can see the level of e-liquid through it when held up against a light. Because the mouthpiece encloses the pod, you do have to remove the pod to see the level of e-liquid that’s remaining.
The pod has a removable mouthpiece which has a top 10mm rectangular opening tapering down to an oval 3mm centre section which leads down onto the chimney/coil. This provides a semi-restrictive MTL vape style.
The Air Mini pod is a top filling design with the opening concealed under the removable mouthpiece. To gain access to the fill port, the mouthpiece has to be removed from the pod body.
Grasp the sides of the mouthpiece while holding the pod body, squeeze the sides and prize the mouthpiece to release it from its locking lugs and pull the mouthpiece upwards and away.
When the mouthpiece is removed there are two circular outer holes in the top of the pod body and an oval center hole. The central oval hole is the top of the chimney/coil, do NOT put e-liquid down this hole. Either of the two outer circular holes are used for filling the pod.
Both the filling holes are only about 6mm in diameter so take care when using short stubby e-liquid tips, we found a needle tip much easier to use. When filling with e-liquid, press the bottle tip into one of these holes and start to fill the pod with your e-liquid. The other outer hole acts as an air escape so your e-liquid wont spill over the filling port you’re using.
Once the pod has been filled with your e-liquid, replace the mouthpiece ensuring it snaps in place.
On the underside of the pod are two gold plated coil contacts located in a semi-recessed black surround which provides the airflow ingress to the coil. There are no magnets on the pod, the surrounding base is metal (alloy) which when fitted to the Suorin Air Mini makes contact with the two magnets in the Air Mini body to firmly secure it in place.
The lower section of the pod is shaped to follow the contour of the Suorin Air Mini body so will only fit one way round. On this section is written the name “Suorin”, with “2.0ml” capacity and a “Min” e-liquid level but no reference to the coil resistance.
When the pod is fitted to the Suorin Air Mini, the tri-color LED beneath the laser engraved dot matrix grid will illuminate once with the designated color corresponding to the remaining battery level (green, blue or red).
The pod is held securely in place by both the magnets and the push fit of the pod against the Air Mini recess.
During the time I’ve been using the Suorin Air Mini, each time I’ve removed the pod to fill with e-liquid, there were no signs of leaks or any condensation on the base of the pod or around the Suorin Air Mini contact pins. I will say if you leave e-liquid to stand in the pod without using for any length of time, remove the pod from the Air Mini body as e-liquid seepage will occur.
Suorin Air Mini Functionality
Using the Suorin Air Mini is very simple and straightforward to use. There are no menu options, no wattage adjustment, no airflow to fiddle with and no on/off button. You simply draw on the pod and enjoy your vaping experience. Do ensure your Air Mini is charged and the pod is filled with e-liquid first.
The only indication on the Suorin Air Mini is the small tri-colored LED beneath the laser etched dot matrix grid on the front face of the device. This will light up when the pod is inserted, lights up when you draw on the device, and cycles when the device is on charge.
This tri-color changing LED will highlight the status of the battery during use and while it’s charging with three colors as shown below:
- Green – 75%- – Full charge
- Blue – 40% – 75% of charge
- Red – 0% – 40% of charge
- Flashing Red – Low voltage cut-off
The chip set that controls the Suorin Air Mini maintains a constant output throughout the discharge cycle of the battery, providing a fast responsive draw activated vape. This chip also controls the included safety features and operating functions providing a visual indication via the Illuminated LED as follows:
- Charging – LED cycles on and off (red, blue or green)
- Full charge – LED remains constant green
- Pod inserted – LED flashes once
- Low battery – LED flashes red 3 times
- Low resistance – LED flashes 5 times
- No Pod fitted – LED flashes once
- No atomizer detected – LED flashes 8 times
- Overtime protection (5s) – LED flashes 10 times
The manual that’s supplied with the Air Mini kit mentions haptic feedback i.e. vibration. The Suorin Air Mini doesn’t have this facility so I’m guessing it’s an error in the manual.
Pass-through vaping is a feature on the Air Mini so you can vape while it’s being charged.
Suorin Air Mini Performance
As with most MTL vape pods, using e-liquid with a PG/VG ratio of 50/50 is recommended because of the smaller wicking ports and lower power. With some pods, the throat hit when using freebase nicotine around 3mg or 6mg doesn’t provide a good enough hit to satisfy your craving. In this case, Nic Salts are used at higher nicotine strengths to overcome this problem.
This 1.0 ohm pod doesn’t suffer from this problem. Irrespective if you’re using higher strength Nic salts or a lower level freebase nicotine, the pod performed really well in terms of flavor and throat hit with pretty decent vapor production.
Flavor came through really well, even from the first draw. Vapor was ideal, not excessive but enough to feel satisfied. I stayed using a 50/50 ratio as the coil in the pod is quite small and I was worried that the wicking ports may not keep up with a higher VG ratio.
The lack of any variable airflow was not a problem; the draw on the pod with the two airflow pinholes gave just enough restriction in achieving my ideal MTL draw.
Auto draw worked every time, it was very responsive, even the slightest draw activated the Air Mini.
Suorin mention in their publicity information that the coil has a lifespan of 1 week from its first fill. I do find this statement a little ambiguous, a much more realistic measure would have been to say how much e-liquid or how many draws the coil is likely to last for.
While testing and writing this review, I’ve cycled approximately 45ml of e-liquid through the pod over a two week period and the flavor and vapor is as good as the first draw. The coil/pod is showing no signs of faltering with no e-liquid seepage visible on any of the coil contacts.
Suorin Air Mini Battery Performance
The Suorin Air Mini is powered by an internal 430mAh battery. By todays standard this is reasonably small but don’t let this put you off, it does last pretty well before needing to be charged. Charging time is very quick, taking approximately 30 minutes to fully charge via the on board Type-C USB port with the supplied cable.
On average I was achieving around 5 hours vaping from a fully charged battery. This time will vary depending on your vaping style i.e. duration and frequency of your draw. Considering the Air Mini’s size and lowish battery capacity, that’s not bad.
The battery level indications on the LED are pretty accurate so you will know that once the LED is showing red when you vape, the battery level remaining is below 40% of its charge. I found that I was getting around 1 hour of usage left before the battery cut out and started flashing 3 times.
Once the LED flashes red 3 times, you will no longer be able to vape and will have to re-charge the battery. The Suorin Air Mini does have pass-through so you are able to vape while it’s being charged.
I did an experiment to gauge the length of time the tri-colored LED took to change to each color level. The times before switching to each color were repeatable and I have listed these approximate times below:
- Green – Blue – 1.5 hours
- Blue – Red – 2.5 hours
- Red – Flashing (discharged) – 1 hour
How do I Fill the Suorin Air Mini Pod?
Due to the design of the pod, although being a top fill, you will have to remove the pod from the Suorin Air Mini body first and then remove the mouthpiece to gain access to the filling ports. Do note the mouthpiece is a secure snap fit so does take quite a bit of pressure to pull the mouthpiece away from the top of the pod. It is certainly child proof.
With the mouthpiece removed, the top of the pod has 3 holes; two outer circular holes and a square/rectangular center hole. This center hole is the chimney leading down onto the top of the coil; do NOT use this hole for filling.
The two circular outer holes are the fill port holes. Use either of these holes to fill with your e-liquid. The other provides the air intake while filling so your e-liquid won’t come back out of the hole you’re using.
Fill the pod up with your e-liquid and replace the black mouthpiece ensuring it snaps into position.
There are two small lugs on the inside of the mouthpiece so when it’s fitted they block the two fill holes so no e-liquid can escape when its turned upside down. The circular fill port holes are not the biggest so take care when using short stubby tip bottles.
Re-insert the pod into the Suorin Air Mini and push the pod down to ensure it’s securely fitted. The LED will flash once indicating the pod has made contact with the Air Mini and is ready to vape.
Do ensure that you don’t let the e-liquid level run down too low before you top up the pod. There is a minimum e-liquid mark on the pod as a guide. Letting your e-liquid level run down too low will burn the coil/wick and a new pod will have to be fitted.
Quick Tip: If you are filling the pod for the first time, once filled, leave to stand for approx. 10-15 minutes before you start to vape. This will help saturate the wick fully in e-liquid and help prolong the life of the coil in the pod.
When and How do I Change the Suorin Air Mini Pod?
Because the Suorin Air Mini has a fixed 1.0 ohm coil and is NOT replaceable, when the coil starts to degrade after a couple of weeks use, the pod will need to be discarded and a new pod fitted. Suorin state on their website that the pod/coil is good for 1 weeks use but this is only a guide.
An indication of the coil degrading will show by either a loss of flavor or a lack of vapor or in worst case a severe nasty burnt taste. It is possible too that the coil could fail completely showing a No Atomizer indication. Either way, discard the pod and fit a new one.
Pull the pod away from the Suorin Air Mini body. Unfortunately if you still have e-liquid in the pod, this will have to be discarded as well.
When fitting a new pod, follow the procedure for How Do I Fill The Pod, written earlier on in this review. As you insert the pod into the Suorin Air Mini body, the tri-colored LED will briefly illuminate once to identify the pod has been fitted.
How do I Charge the Suorin Air Mini?
When you first receive your Suorin Air Mini it does come with a nominal charge. Before using for the first time we recommend fully charging the device.
During use, once the tri-colored LED starts flashing red 3 times highlighting that the battery has reached its low battery cut-off, you will need to place the Air Mini on charge.
Using the supplied charging cable, plug the cable into the Type-C USB port on the bottom of the Suorin Air Mini body. Connect the other end into a suitable power source (typically 5V/1A).
When the Suorin Air Mini is first placed on charge the LED will glow and cycle red in color. As the charge increases beyond 40% of its full capacity, the LED will glow and cycle blue in color. As the charge time increases, once it’s reached 75% of its full capacity, the LED will glow and cycle green in color.
Once fully charged, the green LED will turn static and remain constantly illuminated indicating the charge cycle has been completed. At this point, remove the power source and you’re ready to vape again.
I did a quick test while I was charging the Air Mini to see how long the charge cycle took to reach each change in color:
- 3 minutes – Red to Blue
- 13 minutes – Blue to Green
- 9 minutes – Green to Static Green
Charging time takes approximately 30 minutes (25 minutes actual) to fully charge the battery using the supplied charging cable via an appropriate charging source. Do note the Suorin Air Mini does have a ‘pass-through” facility therefore you will be able to charge and vape at the same time.
I did observe that while the Suorin Air Mini was on charge, the case was quite warm to the touch. I strongly advise to always charge this, and any other device for that matter, on a non-flammable surface.
As always, NEVER leave your vape device unattended while on charge.
Suorin Air Mini Kit Price
If portability and simplicity is your thing then the Suorin Air Mini fits the bill perfectly. This fits in the palm of your hand with ease. Performance from the pod for such a small device is very good.
At a cost of around £20/$25 for this kit it’s well worth the money.
Suorin Air Mini Kit Verdict
Pros
- Great design and build quality
- Small, slim and extremely stylish
- Very lightweight
- Robust
- Good flavor and vapor
- Draw activation responsive
- Impressive in-built 1.0 ohm coil
- Good coil life
- Good battery life
- Easy top-fill design
- Accurate battery status LED
- Pass-through function
Cons
- E-liquid not visible when pod fitted
Suorin Air Mini Kit Review Summary
There is very little not to like about the Suorin Air Mini. For a pod this small it does perform very well for its size. Of course it’s restricted in functionality in terms of variable wattage etc. but then you’re not buying it for this.
It’s perfect for taking out and about as you hardly know it’s in your pocket. The aesthetics look good, it’s robust and a pleasure to use.
Its 430mAh internal battery capacity is pretty small but certainly good enough to last an afternoon/evening. Charging time is very quick (30 minutes) and the LED battery status from the tri-color LED is perfect. Not forgetting it also has pass-thru so you can vape and charge at the same time.
Flavor and vapor from the 1.0 ohm coil was good, auto draw activation worked every time, the fixed airflow was just about right for a semi-restricted MTL vape and the 2ml e-liquid capacity lasted well between re-fills.
I feel Suorin have produced a great little pod kit with the Suorin Air Mini. We liked the Suorin Air Pro, Suorin Air Mod and Suorin Drop 2 which we have also reviewed. Their styling and performance are a credit to them.
Hope you enjoyed this review and found it useful and helpful, explaining what it does and doesn’t do. If you have any questions or feedback, please feel free to leave us a comment below.
If you do have one or are planning to buy one, please let us know your thoughts on the Suorin Air Mini.