Pugsley's seamlessly melded review of the Hellvape Drop Dead RDA

[Steampugs]

I think practically everyone can agree that these days...saying that the vape market is oversaturated...is sugar coating the shit out of it....'sodden'.... is a more apt description. There's a new 'next big thing since the last next big thing but different than any other next/last big thing' device raping our shinyitus infected gullible purse strings every...damn...day....you can't fight it...you can't ignore it...and you sure as shit ain't gonna go without it...fuck that...what if one of your vape peers gets one....and you don't??....Hellll to the no....that can't happen, vape gear to the vast swathe of obsessive cloud monkeys today, is what trainers used to be to teenage boys......

Back when....I was one of those anyway (way ways back)....alright, leave it.....(like...so many, many ways back) .....ALRIGHT....IT WAS FUCKING EONS AGO!!....(I think only people who still say 'eons' will understand just how many 'eons' that actually is).......sigh...
My point is this, there is definitely a 'fashion' within this hobby of ours, and as with every fashion, there are gullible followers that will literally lose sleep over not having the latest and greatest 'thing'....if for no other reason...than to take pictures of it looking windswept and interesting in front of a backdrop usually reserved for postcards (my god you really are old)....and yes......I am one of those people....at least that is how people have described me in the past..

Or.....that.
So...what's the 'buzz'??.....well....this time...nothing new, and I mean that in a good way, no one's trying to reinvent the wheel here, it's still round..and it still turns, but what they have done...is take arguably two of the best 'wheels' from yesteryear, iron out the kinks....fit some new ...spokes.....and....tyres?..and stuff..and make one..really good wheel...??..I've no idea where I'm going with this.....but whatever they did do with this 'wheel'...one thing I can tell you...is that this wheel has been driving the latest journey by the infamous 'Hype Train'.....all the way to Vapeville...."all abooooooard"

(that's not a train) .....I can see that ....(it doesn't have wheels).......I can see that too.......(it's on water)......fuck off.
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Welcome back my dedicated followers of fog fashion, back again with more of the same, and I really do mean more of the same....bear with...... Last year you would have had to have been either dead..or at the very least incredibly stoned...to not notice the buzz surrounding not one..but two RDA's creating quite the chatter amongst the peoples, and these were of course Hellvape's Dead Rabbit RDA by Vape reviewer Heathen, and Digiflavor's Drop RDA by 'The Vapor Chronicles' reviewer Brian Herb....both remarkable RDA's in their own right...and both so very almost perfect.....and it's this 'almost'....that has spawned the latest project from these two 'Cloud Corporals' of the Grand Vaping Army, so....what did they do?....and should we board the Hype train/boat/spaceship to find out?....should we indeed....believe the Hype? or is Flavor Flav correct this time around? ...We shall see, but I will warn you right now, as is usually the case with products riding the Hype Train...this is a long review...so if reading offends you, you may well want go forth and fornicate elsewhere
Courtesy of my good self on this occasion, as I actually went out and purchased this one, well..it's the very least I could do, Brian Herb has shown me unprecedented support over the last year or so and as a writer we tend not to get that so much, so I can't tell you how much I appreciate that support...however...the fact that I bought this, and the fact that I am on good terms with Brian...will not colour my opinion in any way, shape, or indeed... form....which is really easy for me to say now...seeing as I have been using this thing for a few days and thankfully...my thoughts on it have avoided any uncomfortable confrontations during our conversing....

But we'll come to just how good I think this thing is shortly...no spoilers...for now, let me introduce you to the collaboration project between Heathen and TVC, the highly anticipated.... Hellvape Drop Dead RDA...

I know right...utterly dis-gus-ting to look at......so very fugly.....I mean who would be seen (drop) dead with such a thing sat on their mod offending all the eyes that dare lay their gaze upon such a monstrosity.....well...me....and probably everyone else...let's be honest...if ever there was ever such a thing as 'Vape Jewellery'...
So...let's get into it, we have a little extra twist in this weeks review in the form a brief Q&A session that I reluctantly agreed to (seriously...the man just wouldn't take no for an answer...he was camping outside my house for weeks which was quite frankly..a little disturbing), with one half of this little collab project....none other than Mr TVC himself, Brian Herb....he stopped fangirling me long enough to get out some important info which will be very exciting news for most of you...but all in good time..

The Lowdown
The Hellvape Drop Dead RDA is a 24mm squonk and hybrid compatible RDA......yes...another 24mm RDA.....'when will it stop?' you are probably thinking.....never...evidently.....but bear with me, because the beauty in the Drop Dead is not in it's innovation...but in it's lineage.
As far as my knowledge goes...which admittedly is questionable at the best of times... this is something that hasn't been done before, or at least...not with this amount of hype surrounding it, and the reason for this hype?.....well what else would happen if you took two of last years most popular RDA's...put them back into the hands of their creators, and sent them away with one clear and precise list of instructions born from the feedback of both RDA's demographic.....'put the best bits together, and scrap anything that people didn't like' ......
Fast forward several pain staking months later....and out of the shadows....emerged the Drop Dead RDA...

"Looks just like a Dead Rabbit?" ......is usually the first impression that people got, and they were right, of course it does, why wouldn't it?...the Dead Rabbit's aesthetics were simply perfect, so if you were going to meld it with another RDA.....that is certainly one area you would not change, but the differences are there, albeit subtle...if you know where to look.

Starting at the top, the Dead Rabbit was famed for its colourful 'matchy matchy' resin drip tips, and the Drop dead treats us to a similar spectacle, only now they've had a facelift with super smooth and rounded 'marble' effect resin, each colour perfectly complimenting the body of the RDA, and each with a colour matched, branded, metal collar, giving the appearance of a super stumpy drip tip.... yet making the tip long enough to be comfortable..

 

[Steampugs]

Moving down we have the dual adjustable side airflow...

But gone is the 'cyclops' slot we saw on the Dead rabbit and what we have in its place is half of the Drop's 'honeycomb' design, 14 small holes, all adjustable in pairs running horizontally, and covering and angled inlet on the knurled top cap......mmmm...knurling...(drools)

The angle is less severe than the Dead Rabbit and the O-ring tension holding the top cap on is one of the best fitting O-rings I have ever tried, firm enough so that the cap refuses to fly off no matter how hard you shake it,

and loose enough to smoothly adjust the airflow and remove altogether should you wish to paint your coils....love that. You'll also notice the Drop's signature 'notch' along the base of the RDA...this serves absolutely no purpose whatsoever other than a simple nod to its parents method of centering the airflow, because all it is.. is a decoration running along the base, there is no notch to speak of...on the outside anyway....instead..along the bottom.....we have a tooth..

Now this bit....is true genius, you see the problem that RDA's have when they use a centering notch, is that when you adjust your airflow, as you close down one side, the air will only hit one side of your coil, this time however the internal chamber has a channel, so you can still centre your airflow even when closing down the AFC, and it still has the added bonus of helping unscrew your atty without the outer chamber just spinning on its base....brilliant.
And as far as the exterior goes that only leaves us the underneath...so if we dive down for a sneaky peak...

You will find a protruding hybrid compatible pin along with accolades to both creators, it's serial number, and of course..it's name.

Now it comes pre-installed with the standard pin, but of course...in with the impressively comprehensive package...comes a squonk pin..

Along with 2 screwdrivers, an allen key, spare grubs, extra frosted 810 tip, 510 adapter, O-rings, a sticker (nice touch) and the manual.....the only surprising absence considering the package is so plentiful...is a nice pair of coils...I'm sure they had their reasons, what can I say?....I tell you what I can say...WHERE'S THE FUCKING COILS BRIAN!.....I'd shout at Billy too but I don't know him soooo .....that would probably be deemed as rude...but Brian however....I know you can't see me..but I have one eyebrow raised and I...am....judging...

So there's the Drop Dead in a nutshell, it's fucking beautiful, but at this point in the proceedings...say....you'll be about 10 minutes into opening your little toy like a child at Christmas...you'll more than likely be thinking 'It's a Dead Rabbit with a face-lift' ...and at this point you would be correct in your assumptions......but then you'll need to put a build in it.....once you've found some coils that is......*sucks teeth* .....and then...as you remove the chamber....it suddenly all becomes very familiar...

If it was the aesthetics of the Dead Rabbit that people fell in love with...then it was most definitely the build deck on the Drop that set it apart from the rest....such an obvious choice, of course this is what the Drop Dead would use, remember..they took the best bits from both and melded them together.....outside Dead Rabbit...inside Drop...this is the way it was always gonna be....because the Drop build deck...for me personally....is the best 24mm RDA build deck on the market.
It is to all intents and purposes the same deck, just with very subtle tweaks, the inside of the post legs no longer angle inwards for example, this made dropping your coils in a little more tricky because it bent the legs as you pushed it in, so now they are flat, and the posts are ever so slightly closer together because it no longer has the lower vertical airflow that the Drop did, so you won't be pushing air through the posts and under the coils like before....it's tweaked in a way that marries it up to it's new 'Rabbit-esque' overcoat perfectly.....this shit has been given some intense thought...

And building on it?...absolute piece of piss, couldn't be easier if it tried, drop your coils in, trim your legs underneath...or don't....doesn't really matter..tighten it up..and you're golden...and if you think the posts being closer to each other might limit the size of coils you use...(like I did when I first saw it)...don't, I slapped some Juggernauts in there just to prove a point...and it accepted them with pleasure...and space to spare....the crazy little bastard...

I don't think I really need to explain the wicking do I..? I used Cotton Candy in this build...have to admit I am loving this stuff, zero break-in, and seeing as I had so much of it...and the fact that this motherfucker wears a wig compared to most RDA's....it seemed a logical choice...so on with my favourite bit...time to wet this babies head....

The Vape
Worst thing I've ever vaped in my life.....man that would of been so weird if that were true, everything about the Drop Dead RDA couldn't fail if it tried...OBVIOUSLY...the whole vape experience with this thing is nothing short of phenomenal, I admit one thing though, the first build I did, which was the one photographed, didn't fair as well as the second, and it was only through staring at it intently that I knew what I had to do, you see...with the Drop build deck I always had a tendency to keep the coils low, almost flush with the top of the posts, purely because the posts are so high and the vertical airflow on the Drop...which went lower the more you closed it down, went in underneath the coils and between the posts, giving that wonderful thick flavour that the Drop produced....but now you only have the horizontal airflow, so it hit's the coils higher up, all I did on the second attempt was sit the coils a couple of mm higher and pulled them out towards the side of the chamber just a little bit, and fuck my life...the flavour from my 'Vanana Cream Tea' liquid....was just like licking a real banana....

 

[Steampugs]

If you dipped it in custard and shoved it in a scone anyway....which is pretty much the normal thing to do with a banana I think (maybe in your world...fruit weirdo)...
The fact of the matter is, the Drop Dead performs as good as it looks, on the one hand you have the Dead Rabbit, a solid performer that looked amazing and was a big hit with the squonk brigade, and on the other hand you have the Drop which looked 'OK' but out performed pretty much every RDA on the market, put the two together.....and unless you've managed to somehow create some weird fucked up secret 'fail' ingredient that defies the laws of physics......you're gonna hit that big fat WIN...which thankfully....Billy and Brian did...Is it just me or does 'Billy and Brian' sound like a kids TV duo?.....hey if the vape scene falls flat on it's arse they'll always have a future in children's showbiz...

And for myself...I envision a career in interviewing A-list celebrities, maybe even my very own late night chat show.....because let's be honest, after reading this next bit...who isn't gonna want that shit.
The Q&A with TVC
As promised, I did have a little tête-à-tête with Mr 'B1' himself and grilled him like a well done tuna steak about his and Billy's new love child, well......I asked him like.....3 questions before he threatened legal proceedings...but still, I think I got some juicy stuff for your viewing pleasure, so....
Please welcome....the man that needs no introduction...but is getting one anyway.........Mr TVC, The brain behind the Brian, The Herbivore, The Big Daddy Drop, The Man...The Myth...The Banana in a Pyjama ....Mr Brian 'Motherfuckin' Herb (That's actually his real middle name....that's a lie...it's Beryl...but he made me swear I would never mention it again)
Pugs:- Hey Beryl.... firstly...allow me to say you are most welcome for the 'rare' opportunity to build on your climbing success by adorning one of my reviews with your comments and answers to a quite frankly 'rigorous' Q&A session conducted by my very self...you must be beside yourself with excitement, but try to contain it, I just believe in helping those on a clearly lower level of success and 'celebrity' status... than myself...call it charity if you will...but that's just me..I'm charitable...now...on with the grilling, be warned...I ask the questions, and I will almost definitely vet your answers to suit what I think is a better answer...and for that you are again... entirely welcome....no pressure.
Question 1. It almost feels as though the name of the Drop Dead was too much of an opportunity to pass up, so what came first?...the name? or the idea that you and Heathen should work together on a product? or in other words...what was the driving force in bringing the two of you together to work on this particular project?
Brian:- You are so gracious and kind to allow me this tremendous opportunity to be in the presence of excellence. Thank You. Now to answer your question. Heathen and I have been friends since I started my YouTube channel in the Fall of 2014. The story of this collaboration began long before the original Dead Rabbit and Drop launch and we provide great detail about this amazing story in our introduction DROP DEAD video on YouTube. When the DROP was about to be released and reviewers had received them, Heathen posted a picture of the Drop and Dead Rabbit next to each other on Instagram with the text
“Drop Dead” The Dead Rabbit and Drop go together like a good cop buddy movie.

I contacted Billy that night and we decided to do the collaboration. First I needed to release the DROP and hope it was successful because the Dead Rabbit was already huge and I must say that the pressure and stress was immense. I don’t think I have ever had an opportunity present itself that seemed so perfect and felt meant to be like this. I think we both felt this way about the Drop Dead.
Pugs:- I see.....so what you are in fact saying is, that the answer to my question was already out there and has been for ages in the form of a video that you released, and that if I had indeed seen that video and done my research like I was supposed to...I would already know the answer.....well...Brian....that's a bit rude, but I will allow it, and put that down to nerves on your part, and we'll say no more about it ....(ahem)....moving on...

 

[Steampugs]

Question 2. The airflow on the Drop RDA was for me personally the second best thing about it, the first obviously being the build deck, I particularly liked the vertical line of air-holes that brought the airflow lower the more you closed it, for vapers like myself who swear by bottom airflow this was a touch of genius, on the Drop Dead however you have done away with this leaving just the high horizontal airflow like the Rabbit....what was the thinking behind that? and is it true that you and Heathen had a pillow fight in your pajamas to decide the outcome of the airflow, and that he did in fact....take you right down...down town... to Chinatown...?
[/b]

Brian:- Heathen and I are both physically aggressive men and are gifted with high “T” levels which made agreeing on airflow very challenging. We competed in a series of physical tests of strength to determine the victor. Nude Russian bathhouse wrestling, staring contests and competitive twister helped this process. The answer to your question is very complicated but I will say that we both decided that the honeycomb style horizontal airflow was the best choice for this collaboration. If we used the DROP deck and DROP airflow then it would have been the DROP. Careful considerations were made to create a balance between the two RDA’s and that balance was very important to both of us. I didn’t want to create a DROP V2. The DROP v1 is still selling extremely well and it would have been foolish to make the DROP DEAD in a way which could have made the OG DROP obsolete. Vast amounts of vapers enjoyed the DROP and DEAD RABBIT for many different reasons. This was our attempt to create something different enough to satisfy most people and earn its place in this over crowded marketplace of RDAs.
Pugs:- I have actually been shown a video of Heathen performing his Nude Russian Bathhouse wrestling and I have to be honest...I'm surprised you survived, but then Mark Fagan has sent me a lot of videos and how he has stayed out of jail this long..is beyond me, he appears to be surprisingly dexterous....anyway....my last question is this...
Question 3. The Drop Dead is clearly going to be another home run for you..beside vape legends such as Heathen, yourself and the other 2 reprobates from The Vape Team certainly seem to be steering the vape gear manufacturing scene in the right direction with a consistently excellent stream of devices into a market that had gone a little stagnant..yet so far, no collabs between the 3 of you?, so what does the future hold for this vaping vein of gold?....anything in the pipeline that you'd care to share with just me...I pinky promise I won't tell a soul....perhaps a Vape Team three way is on the cards?....hey I'm just spitballing here...after seeing those videos I'm pretty sure Mark Fagan would jump at the chance of a three way with you and Mike.....I....I can't unthink that....you know what that image is saying to my brain right now?...

Brian:- I am really enjoying this creative opportunity that designing products has afforded me. My next one is really going to make a ton of people feel stupid because they didn’t think of it first. It’s so simple and obvious like most game changing innovations. But A vApe Team collaboration would definitely be something I would love to do, it would have to be the perfect product which would reflect all three of our personalities. The only product that comes close to meeting that would have to be a dick of some sort. We could make the best dick in the world so everyone can go fuck themselves. I guess that dick could also vape in some way. Have to bang out those details with the fellas. Lots of R&D needed before the vApe Team has a game-changing product to present to the world. Thanks for your well written and hilarious reviews Paul. It’s always a pleasure.

Pugs:- Oh you're very welcome Brian, believe me the pleasure is all yours....now please stop camping outside my house and get to work on that TVC & Steampugs collab, the 30mm, 6 post, 'Drug' RDA ....oh you thought I was kidding?....no Beryl, now....chop chop...the people are getting anxious and there is already talk of this being the next NEXT big thing since the last next next big thing that wasn't all that great let's be honest.....I mean it was OK but....obviously what the people really want is something by me and....
Brian:- If you call me again I'm phoning the police...and stop sending me dick pics...*click*
Hahaha...erm.....*ahem*.......he's such a kidder that Brian...always joking around.....he obviously had something really important to do so..erm....yeah......moving on....
The Specs
Specification
Product Details Brand: Hellvape
Type: Rebuildable Atomizer
Material: Stainless Steel
Dimension and Weight Product weight: 0.0530 kg
Package weight: 0.0630 kg
Product size (L x W x H): 3.40 x 2.40 x 2.40 cm / 1.34 x 0.94 x 0.94 inches
Package size (L x W x H): 8.00 x 6.00 x 4.00 cm / 3.15 x 2.36 x 1.57 inches
Package Contents Package Contents: 1 x RDA, 1 x BF Pin, 1 x 24mm Ring, 1 x 510 Drip Tip Adapter, 1 x Drip Tip, 1 x English Using Manual

Final thoughts
My final thoughts on the Hellvape Drop Dead RDA would be this, if you love the Dead Rabbit, which many, many people do, and you're bowled over by the performance of the Drop, which many many people are, then this is a total no-brainer, you have the best of both worlds in one RDA, they took the best bits from two of the best RDA's on the market and made one hell of an dripper, the airflow is silky, the flavour is top notch, the machining is flawless and my word is this thing pretty.....is it perfect?....well, hard to say, everyone's idea of perfect is different, but I was a big fan of both the previous RDA's so for me....it's as close to perfect as a side airflow 24mm RDA has been thus far....and if squonking is your thing?....well...you can see how high the airflow sits, you can pump this little bastard all you want without fear of leakage, just like the Dead Rabbit before it - it was MADE for squonking.
And there's there's the C2P appeal...

I don't vape with my eyes closed, although the amount of times I've put an RDA to my lips without the cap on whilst watching the TV would suggest otherwise....

Regardless....I fucking love nice looking vape gear, so when I have a choice of rigs sat on the desk next to me, there's always a couple that stand out more than the rest, and if it performs as good as it looks?....then I naturally gravitate towards that device over all others, and that's what the Drop Dead is to me....it just looks the bollocks on practically everything...

And once you've tried it...you'll struggle to put it down....can I recommend it?....pfft....does a fat dog fart?
The Price
Far more average than it deserves I'll tell you that much, If you're in the UK then expect to pay around £26 to £27 from most online suppliers and in the States it seems to be going for around $30-ish.
There aren't many RDA's that I buy more than one of, with exception to my beloved Sherman RDA's, but I will be buying a few different colours of the Drop Dead RDA because I just love the thing, it's been sitting on my Steampugs Whiterose Lipo since I bought it and I don't see it being removed anytime soon.....that is....until Beryl pulls his finger out and designs our 30mm 6 post DRUG RDA...coz that's gonna knock the shit outta this thing....

Now...if I can just get him to lift the restraining order.....
As always if you would like to see how the Drop Dead scored against other pieces of awesome...and some not so awesome vape gear, then then my doors are open 24/7 over at Steampugs, where you will find a wealth of great reviews from the Steamteam as well as a shop choc full of discounted vape gear, including the Drop Dead, hope to see you there!
Until Next time
Pugs.