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RDA choices, opinions?

Synphul

Gold Contributor
Member For 4 Years
I've been considering a couple of rda's but a bit exhausted from several reviews and trying to research them. Both ends of the spectrum, regular use single/dual coil and something smaller single coil to use as a tester for juice flavors.

On the smaller end of the scale I've seen a lot of love for the hadaly, o-atty and narda. One of them, the narda I think people said whistled so not too thrilled about that. The o-atty it looks like you have to bend the legs a little funky on the coils to mount them. So far the hadaly is looking to be the best option possibly but there was mention in a review that it had pretty bad spitback. Another I considered was the wanko rda but if the spring loaded clips fail it could also be a pia to mount coils.

Trying to find something for my mom to use, she just wants something a bit easier for tasting flavors than using her kayfuns. Doesn't need to have a deep juice well or anything, the cotton probably won't even be long enough to tuck into the well. Just a piece long enough to poke through the coil and something that has somewhat restrictive airflow (to try and mimic what she'll get on her kayfuns). She likes the idea of just being able to swap cotton easily and not have to fill a whole tank or break something complex down to wash between flavors.

For myself I've already got an rdta (avocado clone) and it does fairly well. It's only a minor inconvenience to clean the tank out but I've found with bigger builds it really heats up. Just doesn't seem to handle anything with even minor complexity without getting too hot. The juice heats up in the tank under the deck and loses a bit of its flavor cooking and thinning out in there. With the small insulators on it I'm afraid something running more than 60w or so will start a meltdown.

I was looking at the peerless (though not too thrilled with geekvape in general, would still consider it though). I think it was Jai Haze who said it felt really cheap out of the box due to the aluminum construction but said it did a great job staying cool. Maybe something like an ijoy wondervape or vgod pro (clone). Something around 24mm, anything larger will overhang my mod. Doesn't need to have a squonk pin or huge 510 pin since it's not going on a mech/hybrid or anything. Just something with decent airflow, good flavor and that can handle more versatile builds.

Thanks for any suggestions or input and thoughts/experiences with any of these.
 

Mattp169

Platinum Contributor
Vape Media
Member For 5 Years
i am a rta/rdta person myself. But a while back I wanted an rda just to have one in case of emergency.
I picked up a petri clone off ebay I think I paid about $15 form a USA seller.
Thing is super simple to use and the flavor is as good if not better then any of my RTA/RDTAs. It may not have th real gold plating or the fancy smancy hand screws the authentics have but it does the job for testing flavors or in case of emergency
 

Heartsdelight

VU Donator
Diamond Contributor
Member For 5 Years
I just got the Vandy Vape Pulse bf rda. Comes with a 510 pin also. Single coil, 22mm, ultem & delrin driptip & adaptor doesn't leak, unique flow into juice wells when squonking. $26.99/free shipping from bradsvapor.com with coupon "vaportrail" . In really enjoying it, the airflow is so smooth!
 

Giraut

Gold Contributor
Member For 4 Years
I'm fond of the TYPhon RDA myself - easiest thing in the world to build on, flavor is out this world, never leaks, small and compact. I have 6 of them and I've been using and abusing them for months without any issues.

I like the newer Pulse 22 (from Vandy Vape) a lot, but I haven't used it enough to know how I'll like it after some time. Still, it's well made, performs well and doesn't leak.

Then among the older RDAs, I love the Manta v2, the Rogue and the Pulse (the real one, from RM Mods). Same thing: they're all small chamber flavor RDAs with top airflow that don't leak. If you can still find them, they won't disappoint you.
 

KingPin!

In my defence, I was left unsupervised ^^
VU Donator
Platinum Contributor
Member For 4 Years
VU Challenge Team
Reviewer
Skill and Hadaly for me so far

My peerless leaked from the negative screw, which reminds me need to sort that ...other than the dreadful coil mounting system it's actually a really good vape and the stock tip is surprisingly comfy

Got the icon was ok didn't like the draw on it personally it's wasn't smooth like the peerless and skill

Got the Druga waiting to make a build for it when I've got time before I use it :)

I think with RDAs it's one of those things pay a little extra for quality in my opinion pays dividends in the long run as you can see with my experiences above

Got the

Apocalypse
G24
CSMT
Reload
Hadaly (real one)

On my wish list right now
 
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Jriley

Bronze Contributor
Member For 3 Years
Get the druga, its the tits. Only RDA out that makes me consider taking my goon off.
Got my wife the red one with a red wismec predator and they look amazing together also.

Sent from my LGUS610 using Tapatalk
 

Synphul

Gold Contributor
Member For 4 Years
Thanks for the suggestions so far. I'd purposely stayed away from top airflow, many say top air is a flavor killer (maybe it applies to rta's). Not too worried about a smaller rda for flavor testing leaking, it will likely just be used enough cotton to hold a few drops to test flavors rather than steady/full use as a regular atty.

Sucks about the peerless leaking. For being such a highly rated company by many geekvape hasn't really 'wowed' me. Not saying they're bad, they're ok but not like the machining is 'phenomenal' or anything. Personally I've noticed a lot of design quirks that remind me of something that was still in the design phase and got shoved to market a bit too soon. Maybe it's true of any product, idk.

The ammit for instance, I enjoy it. It's a good tank and all, I wouldn't say it's any better really than my ehpro bachelor other than more open airflow. Geekvape being more of a household name in vaping vs ehpro maybe I expected too much. It's like oh, oops yea we forgot to add knurling to the top cap. Oh, oops yea we should have created a bit more space between the chimney and glass. Minor hiccups I'd expect more from a fledgling co rather than one with so much experience and market share.

My concern is getting another of their products only to find out there are several glaring issues that will be corrected finally by version 4 or 5 all being released in a week and a half.

I'll check out some of the ones mentioned here. I appreciate all the feedback and suggestions.
 

Subohmer82

Member For 4 Years
Member For 3 Years
If your looking for a flavor tester, I picked up a mini rda clone of some sort, been a long time but a decent clone flavor chasing atty will be good enough, a short, condensed chamber dripper, petri, hadaly, and whatever else is popular these days, now for thick builds and multiple wire builds I use 24mm rdas since most of them have large airflow options and more space for big builds, my go to 22mm attys are:
phenotype l
Phenotype ls
-24mm attys I use
Mosé
Apocalypse
Terminus
Sleeper
CSMNT
Kryten

It can be over welming finding a good dripper but read and watch reviews and then decide, also buying the clone version prior to buying authentic is a great money saver.
 

Synphul

Gold Contributor
Member For 4 Years
@skt239 How's the flavor on the wasp for flavor testing?

@Subohmer82 Thanks for the list, I've been considering the csmnt for a regular use rda. Several reviews had positive things to say about it.

Still doing a bit of research, good thing. One I'd briefly looked at was the icon from vandy vapes. The posts looked pretty convenient separating the leads out for dual coils until I saw a review of it with one of the posts split clear through where the grub screw threads in. It was a 'wicked wattage' review if I'm not mistaken, he did some closeups and the other post looks like it's about to split as well. Cracks forming. That's no bueno.

I like my avocado 24 ba clone, it just seems limited to smaller coils though. I'd be afraid to run anything more than a pair of twisted 26g ss316L dual coils which is what's in it now. Even at around 60-65w it heats up something fierce. My juice is usually 65vg/35pg or 80vg/20pg and after a couple hits the juice turns thin like 65pg/35vg. The glass gets hot, cap gets hot. It'd be nice to have something that could handle dual coils consisting of fused claptons or something. I've noticed when the juice gets hot/runny like that the flavor turns 'meh'.

Not solely looking for a cloud chucker, flavor's important but the rdta's don't seem designed to handle it. Maybe it's my particular avocado, being a clone or something, idk. Also one that doesn't whistle or sound like setting air breaks would be a plus. lol
 

Jriley

Bronze Contributor
Member For 3 Years
Dude get a troll v2.. That dripper still to me is the best budget workhorse rda that came out.
On another note .. The peerless works great my wife has one , it does feel cheap as shit but... It was cheap.

Sent from my LGUS610 using Tapatalk
 

fq06

Gold Contributor
Member For 4 Years
So far the hadaly is looking to be the best option possibly but there was mention in a review that it had pretty bad spitback.

Hadaly is super easy to build on and has zero spitback. Most likely those saying that it spits put the coil in with the legs on the bottom. Legs on the top drops the coil down into the airflow where it is intended to be, further from the DT so it doesn't spit.

Run it with 4 air holes open or 2, very restricted DL to MTL adjustment will get the airflow to where your mom wants it.

Should be great for taste testing but it is not a dripper IMO, it's a squonker if your going to do more than a few drip sessions to taste juice.
 

Giraut

Gold Contributor
Member For 4 Years
I'd purposely stayed away from top airflow, many say top air is a flavor killer

And I'm here to tell you that's utter crap. I'm a huge fan of top airflow, and I own almost all models that have appeared on the market for the past 5 years, Almost all of them are top performers flavor-wise. (the only true letdown being the Aeronaut).

I suggest you try a TYPhon RDA: it's top airflow and nothing can touch it. It renders flavors so well some of my juices can't be vaped on it without cutting them with VG because they taste hysterically strong.
 

Synphul

Gold Contributor
Member For 4 Years
Hadaly is super easy to build on and has zero spitback. Most likely those saying that it spits put the coil in with the legs on the bottom. Legs on the top drops the coil down into the airflow where it is intended to be, further from the DT so it doesn't spit.

Run it with 4 air holes open or 2, very restricted DL to MTL adjustment will get the airflow to where your mom wants it.

Should be great for taste testing but it is not a dripper IMO, it's a squonker if your going to do more than a few drip sessions to taste juice.
That's all it needs to be. She runs kayfun type rta's, she just wants something to try new flavors on without having to take apart her tank, wash it all out, screw with rewicking and tucking the ends into the juice well/deck. Her eyesight isn't as good as it used to be and that's a lot of fiddling just to try a new flavor and think 'yuck, that's not for me' then rinse and repeat. Dripping on the coil/cotton should be enough for a few puffs. If it's not she can drip a few more, then yank the wick, pulse it and stuff another wick through it to try another.

@Giraut That almost sounds like too much flavor. I'm hoping to find her an rda that gives similar flavor as her kayfun just on an easier rda to swap cotton. If the flavor is worlds apart from other rda's let alone rta's then it might distort flavor from what she'd actually get in regular use.

Right now she's just reluctant to even try new flavors. She considers it a pia. Rewicking as needed every few days is one thing, doing it 3, 4, 5 times to try 3, 4, 5 flavors for a couple puffs and she doesn't want to mess with it. I want vaping to be fun for her, not be stuck with a couple flavors because testing them is too much trouble. For that matter with an rda I could wind her up a few coils and stuff a piece of wick in them, similar to what they send with some rta's. Then I could clean them and rewick them after she's done, it doesn't bother me only takes a couple minutes. But then I don't have to hold them at arm's length to see it either lol. After testing a few flavors she'd likely clean the rda and toss it in a box until she got ahold of different flavors.
 

nikolous

Member For 2 Years
Member For 1 Year
My favourite RDAs in my current collection have to be my Hadaly, and the original Goon which I have 2 of.
 

SleepingGrizzly

Member For 2 Years
Member For 1 Year
And I'm here to tell you that's utter crap. I'm a huge fan of top airflow, and I own almost all models that have appeared on the market for the past 5 years, Almost all of them are top performers flavor-wise. (the only true letdown being the Aeronaut).

I suggest you try a TYPhon RDA: it's top airflow and nothing can touch it. It renders flavors so well some of my juices can't be vaped on it without cutting them with VG because they taste hysterically strong.
Hello, I think I may have found someone who thinks the way I do about atomizers. I have been using an OBS Engine Nano for about 6 weeks and really like it. I am thinking about getting a RDA in the near future. I would really like to know what your list of top air flow RDA's is and which ones you think have the best taste and air flow. I am going to watch some YT videos of the TYPhon you mentioned. Thanks much for posting your info. This forum is really informative, and most people seem to really like helping and sharing their info.
 
I’ve got a small arsenal of RDA’s and the three I use most often are the original Goon (awesome for fused Clapton’s, framed staples, etc.), Recoil by Grimm Green and Ohmboy, and every so often the Twisted Messes 1. Ease of building and adjustable airflow are top notch with the Goon and flavor is pretty good. The Recoil is a bit tighter to build on but comes with two air flow sleeves. One for clouds and one for flavor. The flavor sleeve does exactly that. Puts out good clouds with great flavor. The original Twisted Messes is a bit of a leaker but both ease of build and flavor are still good.

Like everything in the vaping community, it’s all personal preference. I love to build, and have tried simple coils up to some pretty advanced stuff and have tried them all in any RDA I can squeeze them into. The three I posted above are just my all day go to ones. Hope this input helps someone.
 

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