Vandy Vape Jackaroo Mini Kit Review: The Same Jackaroo, But Different

With the extreme popularity of the Jackaroo series, the release of an internal battery Jackaroo mod was expected, if not inevitable. Now you can have a Jackaroo device no matter how you like your mod to be. The original Jackaroo was a single battery mod that came out in early 2019. It was followed by the Jackaroo Dual late last year which, as the name implies, took dual 18650 batteries. 

The Jackaroo Mini is the latest and smallest Jackaroo device yet. The IP67 rated body houses an internal 4000mAh battery and it can output a maximum of 128W. The kit comes with the Jackaroo Mini tank which uses the same VVC coils as the Jackaroo Pod kit.

Is the Jackaroo Mini good enough to replace your current internal battery mod? Let’s find out!

This kit was sent to me by from Vandy Vape for this review.

Box Contents

• 1 x Jackaroo Mini Mod
• 1 x Jackaroo Mini Tank
• 1 x VVC 0.30Ω Coil
• 1 x VVC 0.15Ω Coil
• 1 x QC USB Cable
• 1 x Instruction Manual

Specifications

• Size (Mod): 85mm x 30mm x 46mm
• Power Range: 5-128W
• Internal 4000mAh Battery
• Power, Voltage, TC, TCR, & Bypass Modes
• IP67 Waterproof, Dustproof and Shockproof
• Full Color 0.96” Display

Design & Build Quality

When I reviewed the Jackaroo Dual I noted that it was practically identical to the first Jackaroo. Now with the Jackaroo Mini, I’m getting that feeling of deja vu all over again. Nothing has changed except for the size and the fact that it uses an internal battery, but to be fair, those are the two reasons why you would pick this up over the other Jackaroo devices.

The Mini is 85mm tall, 30mm wide, and 46mm deep — quite a bit smaller than its predecessors. And while it is lighter, it still has a fair amount of weight to it that gives it a solid hand feel. 

The Jackaroo Mini features the same rugged waterproof, dust proof, and shockproof silica gel body that we’re used to seeing on the Jackaroo. This gel is firm but still a bit squishy and it is this gel that gives the Jackaroo Mini most of its drop and shock resistance. 

The shape of the body is identical to previous generations and features a notched grip that conforms nicely to my fingers. Because of this notched grip I find it most comfortable to thumb fire. Index firing just feels awkward. 

At the current moment there are 4 panel options available: Stripy Black, G10 Obsidian Black, Resin Red Agate, and Resin Blue Porcelain. Regardless of the color you choose, the silica gel body and the rest of the device will be black, only the design of the panels will be different. Due to their smaller size, these panels are not interchangeable with previous Jackaroo devices.

For its small size, the Jackaroo Mini can surprisingly take atomizers up to 30mm in diameter without overhang. Interestingly enough, the Jackaroo Dual could only take tanks up to 26mm in diameter. I suppose that Vandy Vape realized that some people like to use larger tanks and widened the top of the Jackaroo Mini. I give them credit here for that. 

There’s no 510 plate up top like you would expect to see. Instead, there’s just a spring loaded 510 connection. Next to the 510 connection are venting holes for the internal battery. These holes are internally sealed to keep the waterproofing intact and will only open if your battery vents.

The buttons on the Jackaroo Mini are identical to previous generations with a single large circular fire button and two smaller adjustment buttons. The buttons are all firm but responsive and take just enough pressure to activate. 

One of my nitpicky cons that was present from the first Jackaroo is still present — the spinning fire button. It feels firmer and more resistant to spinning though so maybe they changed it slightly, but it will still spin if you try. For now it isn’t a big deal, but if it loosens up with use then I can see it being an annoyance.

The screen is a 0.96” full color display that is bright, clear, and easy to read. The UI has been upgraded to be the same as the one on the Pulse V2 and Gaur-21 mods and that’s a real relief. The UI on the Jackaroo Dual was just plain ugly so good riddance to that.

Just below the adjustment buttons is a micro-USB charging port. Don’t even get me started here. It’s 2021 and it should have been Type-C. That’s all I’m going to say. 

The Jackaroo Mini kit is just like its older brothers (perhaps too much like them). It’s a very well constructed mod that feels good in the hand and looks good at the same time. I wish that they would fix the spinning fire button but that’s a minor con that I can live with.

Features & Functions

The Jackaroo Mini’s main selling point over previous Jackaroo’s is that it houses an internal 4000mAh battery.  This means that you can use it and plug it in to charge it when it dies, rather than using external batteries and an external battery charger. This makes it slightly more convenient because you don’t need to worry about batteries, but it also means that you can’t have multiple batteries ready to go. When it dies you’re going to have to wait for it to recharge and there’s no way around that. I personally see this as a con compared to the Jackaroo Dual, but it really comes down to personal preference.

For an internal battery mod the Jackaroo Mini can output a surprisingly high 128W. It also has a large array of modes, these being Power, Voltage, TC, TCR, & Bypass Modes.

The UI is clean and identical to the one on the Pulse V2 and Gaur-21. You can change the color of the UI in the settings menu and there are 6 colors to choose from: red, light blue, light green, cyan, dark purple, and dark orange. The UI displays a battery life indicator, your mode, wattage, coil resistance, voltage, puff counter, and puff time.

Holding both adjustment buttons brings up the menu. The first option lets you toggle modes on or off, which is useful to turn off modes you don’t use. If the “ARR” setting is toggled off, the device will automatically set the wattage when you connect an atomizer. “FIR” lets you toggle if the fire button locks when you lock the device.

The other options in the menu let you set the time before the device goes into hibernation, adjust the screen brightness, reset the puff counter, or change the color of the UI. When you’re in one of the TC modes, this menu also lets you set your coil resistance and adjust the TCR value.

Jackaroo Mini Button Combinations

• Turn the Jackaroo Mini On or Off: Press the fire button 5 times.
• Change Modes: Press the fire button 3 times and then use the adjustment buttons to select your mode. Press the fire button to confirm your mode.
• Adjust settings in your current mode (such as wattage in TC mode): Press the fire button 4 times.
• Enter the Menu: Hold the up and down adjustment buttons.
• Lock the mod: Hold the + adjustment button and fire button together.
• Flip the Screen: Hold the – adjustment button and fire button together.
• Stealth Mode: Hold both adjustment buttons and the fire button together

Jackaroo Mini Tank

The Jackaroo Mini Tank is essentially a plastic pod tank with a 510 connector. The pod attaches magnetically to the 510 base, which then screws onto the mod like a normal tank. This design makes changing the coil easy because you only have to pull out the pod tank from the base, and then pull out the coil from the bottom. You don’t have to unscrew the tank or anything to get to the coil.

The tank has a 26mm diameter and will hold up to 4ml of ejuice. It’s filled by pressing the rectangle black button just below the drip tip which will flip open the tank. The button has to be pushed in pretty far before the tank will flip open so it’s quite resistant to accidental presses. Even if it does open accidentally, the fill port is covered by a silicone gasket that prevents ejuice from leaking out even if I turn the tank upside down.

The drip tip appears to be 510 sized and looks like it can be removed but I’ve had no success removing it. It’s either permanently attached or extremely difficult to remove. I don’t have a problem with it though and actually found it pleasant to use. It’s nicely rounded and feels nice to vape with.

The airflow control ring is located on the 510 base and can be freely adjusted as it does not work on a stopper. There are 3 medium sized airflow holes which allows you to get from a slightly restricted DL draw to a more restricted DL draw depending on how you set the airflow.

The kit comes with two VVC coils, a 0.15Ω and a 0.30Ω. These are the same types of coils used by the Jackaroo Pod kit so if you have any laying around you’ll be able to use them with the Jackaroo Mini tank.

Durability Testing — Water, Dust, and Shock Resistance

The Jackaroo Mini is IP67 rated and is waterproof, dustproof, and shockproof. Because it’s properly IP rated, this means that it can survive much more than just a spill. It can actually be submerged in up to a meter of water for up to 30 minutes without any ill effects. Keep in mind that this only applies to the mod and not to the included tank.

For my water testing I removed the tank and put the Jackaroo Mini into a bucket of water. I left the device on for this. I waited for just under a half hour before removing it from the water and upon taking it out it was still functioning just fine. I cleaned it up with a towel and attached my tank and it worked just the same as it did before with no damage done. That’s a pass for the water test.

For my drop testing I again removed the tank and went outside to the pavement. I threw the device up a few feet and let it hit the ground. I did this a couple of times, checking on the device after each drop. I also dropped the device from standing height to simulate it falling out of my hand. After everything the Jackaroo Mini was still working, but it did look a little worse for wear. The silica gel had a few small chunks missing and the panels got beat up a little as well, but it still works and vapes properly so I have to give it a pass for the durability test.

Performance

I’ll start the performance section with the performance of the Jackaroo Mini Tank. The kit comes with two coils, a VVC 0.15Ω coil and a VVC 0.30Ω coil.

The 0.15Ω coil is rated for 35-60W. I found it to be best from 50-60W and I tended to use it at 55W most of the time. The flavor is very weak and I expected a lot more from this coil. Using one of my favorite ejuice, a blueberry razz, I could only taste weak and muted flavors that did not at all do this ejuice justice. The wicking was great and managed to keep up with long hauls and frequent puffs, but the flavor from this coil leaves a lot to be desired.

The 0.30Ω coil proved to be much better. This coil is rated for 30-45W and I found it best at the top end of the range right at 45W. I even pushed this coil to 55W and vaped it like that for a while but I ended up turning it back down because I didn’t want to risk prematurely burning out the coil. It handled 55W very well though. At 45W the flavor is good and the clear winner out of these two included coils.

The Jackaroo Mini performs exactly the same as its older brothers. Power output is instant when I press the fire button and wattage and voltage modes work without a problem. 

The downside is that it’s still not very good for temperature control mode. The consistency isn’t great and it just does not vape how a properly performing TC mode mod should. It’s not the absolute worst that I’ve used; I never got a dry hit and that’s a plus. However it doesn’t feel like it’s reducing the power when it should and at other times it reduces the power when it shouldn’t. 

Verdict

The Jackaroo Mini is a good mod but it’s not very different from the previous models. The main differentiating features are that it is slightly smaller and uses an internal battery, however this battery only charges through micro-USB. If you aren’t the type that likes to use external batteries then the Jackaroo Mini is a solid mod that is extremely durable thanks to its IP67 rating and it performs well too. 

Otherwise, if you don’t mind using external batteries and charging them in a dedicated charger, the Jackaroo Dual is still going to be the better pick up. Temperature control mode is usable, but I would only suggest this mod to wattage mode vapers.

The Jackaroo Dual was an excellent mod and they didn’t really change much. That being said, Vandy Vape did a good job with the Jackaroo Mini.

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