I wanted to share with you my thoughts on the Azathoth RDA by Cthulhu mods who sent me this to review.
If you want a quick recap scroll down to the Pros and Cons as well as the closing thoughts.
Specs
Yeah, I think the box is cool, it is velvet lined inside as well, nice touch. You get the normal knick knacks like extra o'rings and screws but you also get a squonk pin, 510 adapter and a cool standard screw driver that at first glance I thought was an allen wrench. the screwdriver actually works well and I used it for all 3 of my builds.
The build deck is made for big builds, I was able to get a small build in there with single strands of 26G to see if it would work and it did but there was a little stretching going on to get it to fit. Deep juice well that I just love, I was able to get 60 drips from a unicorn bottle in there without causing a flood out the airhole, anymore than that and it was a race to grab some towels. The grub screws are actually pretty good even though I prefer allen screws. Really like how they designed the bottom airflow so that it is raised up over the deck a little to help prevent leaks. I would have liked the airflow to be a centered instead of right against the wall though so you can center your coils over it. The side airflow has smooth threads and with both the side and bottom fully open this is super airy, I preferred to just use the bottom airflow though.
I was thinking the build quality is pretty nice until I went to do my first build. Cranking down on the positive post and the post shifted, hmmmm. Checked the positive screw and yep, it was loose. Then I went to tighten down the grub screw in the negative side and movement, yep, that was loose too. I have done 2 more builds on this and each time I have to tighten down the positive and negative sides, they just loosen up when building. That is annoying and makes me wonder how many builds this RDA is good for.
Here is one of the 3 builds I tried after I straightened the posts out.
Wide open this bad boy can chuck some clouds and is really airy but then flavor suffers. Nice to have the option depending on what you feel like that day.
Cons:
Now I do have a professional polish machine in my garage but polish wheels can be found at Harbor Freight like this: https://www.harborfreight.com/5-piece-buffing-and-polishing-kit-67259.html
Please just make sure you wear eye protection and a dust mask and it would work best on a variable speed drill attached to a vice to hold it steady.
The white polish is used to remove scratches and get it smoother prior to the final polish you do with the red. It is best if you use 2 different wheels, one for white and the other for red and clean off the white polish prior to buffing with the red polish.
What irks me is Cthulhu has great engineering but they have to work on there build quality. It is not just with the Azathoth either, I have 2 Cthulhu RTA III which I really enjoy vaping and still use from time to time but both the black and stainless steel have there own set of build quality problems. For this reason I don't recommended the Cthulhu RTA III even though I really like using it. If there build quality was like Steam Crave the Cthulhu RTA III would have been a hit.
I am going to continue using my polished Azathoth RTA as I really love the combo on my chrome VT75, makes me feel all specialz and stuffs...haha
I would like to thank @CthulhuMod for sending me the Azathoth to review. I hope they still continue with there great engineering but improve there build quality, I really am rooting for this.
If you want a quick recap scroll down to the Pros and Cons as well as the closing thoughts.
Specs
- 24mm Diameter
- Two Post Build Deck
- Staggered Height Posts
- Top Mounted Flathead Screws
- 2.5mm Each Terminal
- 24K Gold Plated Deck
- 20mm Deck Diameter
- 6mm Deep Juice Well
- Bottom and Side Adjustable Airflow
- Single or Dual Airflow Options
- Rounded Internal Top Cap
- 24K Gold Plated 510 Contact
- 304 Food Grade Steel
- 810 Drip Tip Fitment
- ULTEM Drip Tip
- 510 Drip Tip Adapter
- Squonk Pin
What's in the cool burlap box
Build deck
The build deck is made for big builds, I was able to get a small build in there with single strands of 26G to see if it would work and it did but there was a little stretching going on to get it to fit. Deep juice well that I just love, I was able to get 60 drips from a unicorn bottle in there without causing a flood out the airhole, anymore than that and it was a race to grab some towels. The grub screws are actually pretty good even though I prefer allen screws. Really like how they designed the bottom airflow so that it is raised up over the deck a little to help prevent leaks. I would have liked the airflow to be a centered instead of right against the wall though so you can center your coils over it. The side airflow has smooth threads and with both the side and bottom fully open this is super airy, I preferred to just use the bottom airflow though.
I was thinking the build quality is pretty nice until I went to do my first build. Cranking down on the positive post and the post shifted, hmmmm. Checked the positive screw and yep, it was loose. Then I went to tighten down the grub screw in the negative side and movement, yep, that was loose too. I have done 2 more builds on this and each time I have to tighten down the positive and negative sides, they just loosen up when building. That is annoying and makes me wonder how many builds this RDA is good for.
Here is one of the 3 builds I tried after I straightened the posts out.
So how is the flavor and clouds?
Flavor and clouds are real good but I wouldn't say it is blowing me away compared to other dual airflow RDA's I have. I am enjoying the flavor which is what I strive for but I am not going to throw out words like OMG, flavor bomb or anything like that, it is very good but not a revelation in flavor production. That said I did enjoy using it though and really appreciated the deep juice well so I could vape for a while without constantly dripping. For me the best flavor was when I only used the bottom airflow just a little closed off.
Wide open this bad boy can chuck some clouds and is really airy but then flavor suffers. Nice to have the option depending on what you feel like that day.
So how's the Squonk?
Pretty much no complaints here, straightforward and easy to use, squeezing the bottle filled it up nicely and no visible leaks anywhere. Really no problems while squonking for a week with it.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
- 810 trip tip compatible and includes 510 drip tip adapter
- 6mm deep juice well, I was able to get 60 drops in with a unicorn bottle, would be less with a glass dropper
- Smooth airflow
- Very good flavor from the bottom airflow and a cloud chucker when you open it up
- Comes with a squonk pin
- Domed top cap for improved flavor
- Included slot screwdriver is actually useful, not a throw away like most
Cons:
- Both the positive and negative posts can come loose while building
- If you only want to use the side airflow and close the bottom the side airflow won't be centered on the coils
- Removing the top cap can be a pain, this can be made easier by removing one of the 2 o'rings on the base, for me I left the bottom o'ring on and removed the top.
- Let's be honest, it is plain looking but I did something and now it is sexy....read more below
Do I think the Azathoth is sexy....Nope, not until it met my polish machine
Let's be honest, it is pretty plain looking and I was planning on retiring or PIFing it to a friend after my review. Then a lightbulb went off, I don't have a polished RDA to match my VT75 Chrome so into the garage I went and now it has satisfied my vanity!
Now I do have a professional polish machine in my garage but polish wheels can be found at Harbor Freight like this: https://www.harborfreight.com/5-piece-buffing-and-polishing-kit-67259.html
Please just make sure you wear eye protection and a dust mask and it would work best on a variable speed drill attached to a vice to hold it steady.
The white polish is used to remove scratches and get it smoother prior to the final polish you do with the red. It is best if you use 2 different wheels, one for white and the other for red and clean off the white polish prior to buffing with the red polish.
Closing thoughts
Like I said earlier I was planning on giving the Azathoth away after my review. The reason for that is the build quality on the shifting posts. If I thought this was an isolated problem, maybe it was just one post loose but it never came loose again then I might let it slide. The posts came loose all 3 times I built on it and not just one but both the positive and negative, my last build I didn't even bother to straighten it out, I was tired of straightening out at that point.
What irks me is Cthulhu has great engineering but they have to work on there build quality. It is not just with the Azathoth either, I have 2 Cthulhu RTA III which I really enjoy vaping and still use from time to time but both the black and stainless steel have there own set of build quality problems. For this reason I don't recommended the Cthulhu RTA III even though I really like using it. If there build quality was like Steam Crave the Cthulhu RTA III would have been a hit.
I am going to continue using my polished Azathoth RTA as I really love the combo on my chrome VT75, makes me feel all specialz and stuffs...haha
I would like to thank @CthulhuMod for sending me the Azathoth to review. I hope they still continue with there great engineering but improve there build quality, I really am rooting for this.
