iJoy Capo Squonk 100W Review

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by James Bickford

Updated: July 21, 2021

iJoy Capo Squonk desktop

Review Score: 74/100

Price Range:
$32.95-$79.95
Colors:
Gun, SS, Rainbow, Black, Gold, Green
Battery:
Single 18650/20700/21700
Wattage:
5W-100W
Works with:
  • Eliquids icon

Pros

  • Squonk bottles
  • Build quality

Cons

  • Deceptive wattage

iJoy better not be messing with my Capo. I liked (or loved) the Capo for what it was — a small, great-looking, powerful device. Everything about it just made sense to me from its single-celled power source to the economical use of its 3750 mAh battery to output a maximum of 100W.

The accompanying Captain Mini sub-ohm tank and the two coil options were the perfect additions to the kit to make the iJoy Capo 100W one of the best box mods of 2020. But, just when I thought that the Capo could not be improved upon, iJoy has decided to refashion this most beloved (by me) box mod into a squonk mod.

iJoy Capo Squonk desktop

Meaning, the Capo has had some work done to it. The most glaring and noticeable difference to the squonk version of the Capo is the addition of an internal squonking e-juice canister that has a nearly 9 ml capacity.

That is a gigantic leap regarding e-juice capacity, and this is one of the chief draws of the squonk mod — the substantial increase in e-juice capacity that makes most traditional tanks blush with envy. Aesthetically, the iJoy Capo, squonk version, has had some minor retouches that suit its new style.

The Capo is still rather small, which is a good thing. The top-loading battery is still featured on this version, as well as that enormous side-firing button. The OLED screen looks like it has been reduced a little and also tilted to accommodate the newest update to its interface — the exposed squonk bottle.

The Goods

Here’s what you’ll find in your newly redesigned iJoy Capo 100W Squonk kit:

  • One iJoy Capo Squonker mod
  • One iJoy 20700 battery
  • One iJoy 18650 battery adapter
  • One Combo RDA Triangle
  • Two Squonk bottles
  • One pack of tools
  • One USB charging/upgrade cable
  • One instruction manual
  • One warranty card

Checking Out the iJoy Capo Squonk Mod

As I mentioned in the intro, it seems that iJoy has kept some of the more appealing design elements of the original iJoy Capo but have melded them to a squonk layout. Most everything about the first iJoy Capo has stayed, from the single, top-loading battery to the spring-loaded 510 connector pin at the top.

The wonderfully big and unmissable firing button has also been re-invited to the party. But, iJoy did not just repurpose the Capo as a squonking mod and then just forget about it. They have invested and infused an enormous amount of work into making the Capo Squonk one of the best beginner, and regulated squonk mods out there.

The squonk bottles (yes, there are two that come included in your kit) are made of a high-quality and food-grade silicone that is not too soft that it forgets to pump e-juice up into the atomizer’s well or stays deformed after you’ve pressed it. One incredible and very particular feature that I loved about the bottles was that they were not made of the same material.

To prevent the bottle from accidentally being squeezed during refilling, the softer side of the container is encased in a hard plastic shell for you to grab onto when pulling out or installing the bottle. When the cylinder is mounted, only the soft silicone belly is exposed to make for a more comfortable refill.

And speaking of the bottle, it gets easily removed or replaced by just slipping off its cover at the bottom left-hand side of the device. With the presence of the squonking bottle, iJoy has had to tilt the OLED screen to the right to make room for this new addition.

The selector button has a volt-shape and is also encased within the screen for easy access. There are some battery airflow holes on the front and the back of the device, as well as a USB charging port on the opposite side of the mod.

The iJoy Capo 100W Squonk Mod: On the Inside

The iJoy Capo 100W is advertised as a regulated mode, but that regulation only extends to the most basic of vaping outputs, variable wattage. There is no temperature control or TCR mode on the IWEPAL chipset, which is not such a loss considering that you do have an RDA attached to the Capo.

Using the Capo 100W squonk is much simpler and straightforward than its traditional predecessor. The squonk bottle was incredibly easy to remove and refill every time you needed to since the bottle is semi-exposed.

When you install your battery and click the firing button five times, the OLED screen will light up, and display only your wattage, the coil resistance, and your battery life. The Capo does not have any other additional menu or vaping options.

Building on the Combo RDA

While I was substantially impressed with the original Capo’s build and machining, I was blown away by the included Combo RDA, which looked incredibly well-crafted from stainless steel. The Combo was a great RDA to add to this kit, primarily for its very roomy juice well and the spaciousness of the deck that made for a more natural build process.

One drawback, however, of using the Combo is the two coil posts that require a double-coil build, which is something that might dissuade beginners from getting the Capo Squonk since they might not want to be bothered to create a two coil setup. I know, speaking from experience, that I wasn’t too thrilled about having to make a double-coil build.

But, I persevered and went with a simple nichrome coil build with the wires at a resistance of 0.15ohms. The post screws were almost outlandishly big and made for easy removal and use. Since the juice well on the Combo is so ample, I left my cotton wicks a little longer than usual so that it could saturate nicely.

The Combo has two air holes on each side, which makes use of a slight depression on its outer lip to enable even further airflow. The top cap gets removed and replaced quite easily; you just have to give it a hard pull or push, and the O-Rings will do the rest.

I also liked the fact that the squonking pin on the inside can be replaced with a standard, gold-plated 510 connector pin (included in your spare parts bag) so you could conceivably use the Combo on other mods as well.

The iJoy Capo 100W Squonk Mod: The Vape

I didn’t fill up the squonk bottle to its maximum, but I figure I put it at least 5 ml of liquid. Squonkers are great for the same reason ketchup bottles, or any other plastic squeeze bottle is great — you get an amazing amount of satisfaction at squeezing the bottle and watching whatever you have inside squeezed out.

I enjoyed just seeing the juice well on the Combo fill up. I turned the device on, I set my wattage to about 60W and started vaping. The flavor of my Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream from Cosmic Fog and VaporFi was incredibly sweet and luscious.

I turned my wattage up and surprisingly did not notice much of a change in my vapor flavor or my cloud strength. I know it might be difficult for someone to see a difference, or lack thereof, strictly based on vapor quality, but higher wattages should produce more significant, and warmer clouds.

The closer I got to the Capo’s 100W maximum, I realized that I was getting neither more profuse or hotter clouds. The flavor profile on my e-juice was pretty evident, but the clouds were not as thick or profound as I would have expected from a 100W device.

I checked the Combo to see if there were any hot spots or anything else that might be preventing the vapor clouds from reaching their maximum potential, but everything checked out okay. I don’t remember having any such issues on the original Capo device (or else you would’ve heard about it), so I was left mystified as for why the device couldn’t produce a real 100W vape.

How the Mod Stacks Up

Since my knowledge and experience with squonk mods are limited, I’ve decided to make a comparison between the iJoy Capo 100W Squonk mod with the only other squonk mod I’ve ever reviewed, the Athena Squonk mod from Geek Vapes.

The Athena Squonk mod was an unregulated, mech mod with the Athena RDA that only needed a single coil build to start working. I wasn’t too put off by the Athena RDA’s build difficulty, although some beginners might have run into problems trying to navigate the Athena’s smaller elements, like the flat-head screws.

One thing that I noticed right away about both the Athena and the Capo is that one is incredibly well-built and designed, but doesn’t perform very well, while the other features a more mediocre and rushed build, but still performs like a champ. The Capo is the former, while the Athena is the latter.

The two side panels on the Athena were a hazard waiting to happen since it didn’t take much for them to come off. The squonk bottle on the Athena was also similarly lackluster because it had trouble re-forming after being squeezed and left a nasty-looking indentation.

The Capo’s squonk bottles, however, are the new gold standard against which all other squonk bottles should be measured. The bottles are removed easily since they are partly exposed and require only a quick removal of the outer bottle casing.

And with two, well-built, bottles made of different materials to allow for easier use, there’s not much else that you need to be convinced. So, for their above-average attention to detail, and the quality of the mod itself, I’m going to give this one to the iJoy Capo 100W squonk mod.

iJoy Capo Squonk 100W Specifications

iJoy Capo Squonk 100W
Battery: Single 18650/20700/21700 High-Amp Battery
Wattage Ouput: 100W
Protections: Short Circuit, Overcurrent, Overvoltage, Overcharge
Resistance: 0.05-3.0ohm
Squonk Bottle Capacity: 9.0mL
Drip Tip: 810 ULTEM

Pros & Cons

The Positives

  • Squonk bottles
  • Build quality
  • Looks/size
  • Battery adaptability

The Negatives

  • Deceptive wattage
  • Combo RDA

Squonk bottles

A vape company reveals who they are and what they are about in many different ways. The effort and attention that iJoy paid to their bottles showed me a side of iJoy that I had never seen before. There is a third bottle option iJoy offers that has a stainless steel build wrapped in silicone for even greater durability that closed the book on squonk-bottle perfection.

Deceptive wattage

I had comfortably at 100W on the iJoy Capo and found I got a 100W cloud. The iJoy Capo squonk mod had a little trouble actually producing a cloud germane to a 100W setting.

Build quality

The Capo became a favorite of mine because of the quality evident in its build, which was a parade of excellent materials laid out in a way that made the mod easy to hold, and great to look at. The Capo squonk mod also had all these great things.

Combo RDA

I’m only adding the Combo RDA as a con for the reason of its dual-coil requirement, which I think puts off amateur vapers and affects the mod’s performance since a single-coil build worked much better.

Looks/size

I loved the iJoy Capo for its looks and size, which made it tough-looking and great for portability. The iJoy Capo gets the same high marks for the same reasons.

Battery adaptability

Being able to use three different battery types allows for a low-tech adjustment that does have some serious impact on your vaping experience.

In the End

The box mod that I loved and enjoyed for so long, the iJoy Capo 100W was sent to the Pet Sematary by its maker, and it came back, but it came back … different. Even though it looked like the same mod, it didn’t act in the same way.

I don’t know why iJoy decided to mess with perfection or why they chose the Capo as the mod to be sacrificed for its squonk makeover. But the results speak for themselves.

iJoy got the first thing right about squonking — the bottle. Both of the options included in this kit were very well-made and worked incredibly well. I don’t use TC or TCR that much anymore, so their absences were not felt.

The Combo RDA was also well-crafted, but it could throw some new vapers for a loop with its unorthodox triangle setup. But again, the inclusion of a 510 pin for the Combo to be used with different devices was something that caught my attention.

Another thing that caught my attention was the deceptive wattage range. I was disappointed with the Capo Squonk unable to truly output 100W as the original version could.

All in all, the iJoy Capo 100W squonk mod was a great entry in the beginners squonk market, but as an excellent vaping device, it could not make it. I think I’ll stick with the version that works best; I capo di tutti capi, the original Capo.

Published: January 3, 2018Updated: July 21, 2021
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James Bickford

My way of understanding the significance of vaping came not only through the disruption of smoking but its effects on society as a whole. Now I bring people to vaping and bring vaping to people. I love using new gear, writing in-depth reviews and generally nerding out about vaping to like-minded people.


Comments

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One comment on “iJoy Capo Squonk 100W Review

  • Ben Johnson

    January 5, 2018 at 6:52 pm

    Be careful not to tighten the atty down to far or too tight as the piece holding the 510 pin in place on the mod is threaded plastic. I was able to fix mine but others may not be so lucky or willing to take things apart as I was. What happens is the tube that goes into the squonk bottle and everything attached to it comes out of place and the device does not work until threaded back into place.
    My bad for being careless but also a lil bit on ijoy for engineering it that way. A lot could have been done. Simple washers could be included to stop the atty from being screwed down too far or recessing the 510 pin a lil farther down….