KingPin!
In my defence, I was left unsupervised ^^
VU Donator
Platinum Contributor
Member For 4 Years
VU Challenge Team
Reviewer
Hi Folks,
The wait is over, the recurve 2 is finally here…I’ve been eagerly awaiting its arrival since the original was released last year, hoping to see whether Mike and Wotofo would nail it.
Whilst we were patiently waiting there was the release of the Reload S RDA, a slightly awkward moment for Mike with its obvious similarities to the original, however the 2 isn’t about single coil, instead we have the dual coil variant to cover and with it Mike has looked to improve his original iteration.
So without further ado let’s see if he managed to crack it…Wotofo sent me this for the once over, as always I don’t like to make recommendations in my reviews, instead I present you with my findings to help bolster your research should you be interested in the product.
RDA Specification Overview & What’s in the box
RDA Available Colours: Blue, Black, Stainless, Gold, Rainbow, Gunmetal
Impressions, Build Quality & Assembly
I will be comparing to the original throughout this review. Reading back my review notes from last time…
I thought the stock resin drip tip on the original was great for an 810…it was comfortable to use and suited the original curved cap really well. When the 22mm aftermarket cap came out (see below)
...it changed things about tightening the drip tip bore up significantly and reducing the size profile…this helped improve flavour in my opinion and meant I didn’t have to use the 510 adaptor. What you get with the Dual Coil is pretty much a carbon copy of the 22mm with a similar type of drip tip bore. Fear not there is the original shape tip in the box as well, so you can try both out and see what you prefer.
I found the O-Ring holding the drip tip a little too lose last time, which is more noticeable once I started vaping, the exact same issue is present on the dual so careful not to knock the tip out accidently.
Machining is better this time around for the Dual, I can’t see any blemishes anywhere on my deck or top cap. The gold plating has been applied very well. I’m pleased to see Mike dropped the gaudy branding from the original recurve’s top cap and adopted the reserved 22mm variant instead. You still get a bit of unnecessary branding on the sides of the deck though…for some reason if you weren’t sure it was a dual coil...well now you know.
One of the major pointers from my last review was the tight fitting cap, due to the two bottom O-rings being overly large (one directly above the other). One of the suggestions I made to Wotofo was to split these two O-rings to help ease this problem, I felt it would also address leaking under the base….I’m pleased to say leaking is something of the past, in addition the top cap is a lot easier to turn and get on and off as well….both problems fixed.
The only thing I would say is when putting the cap onto the deck...keep it straight or it does snag slightly. This snagging is more about post location being right on the edges of the deck hitting the stop inside the top cap. It’s not really a big deal once you get the knack of it, however if you are someone who likes removing the cap to drip, you’ll notice this a lot.
I mentioned the stops above inside the top cap…as I said earlier the cap is identical to the aftermarket option both inside and out (albeit a larger version of the 22mm). There is an extra step out lip inside the chamber (where the stops are located) which allow it to rest on top of the deck to ensure the holes line up flush with the posts, as a result there is very little wayward airflow entering from the sides.
I noticed it’s impossible to position the airflow down to two holes only, if you try you’ll offset the outer holes past the post which is a bit of an oversight, having said that I like a fairly restricted draw and 4 is absolutely ample to suit that need. Much like its predecessor the draw isn’t overly airy to start with, I expect most people will perfectly happy running it wide open.
The Dual Recurve is more forgiving than its predecessor when it comes to squonking (which was no slouch in its own right)….firstly the posts have now been given a higher platform, they have also spaced the posts further apart, which allows juice to hit the wick faster instead of rising up in the middle as quickly. These two important changes not only make it better for dual coil usage, but dripping as well.
Note: I cut my wicks pretty short for the Dual such that I have them floating above the base of the deck slightly, this helps with the higher coil position and keeping everything nicely saturated. It also helps because the squonk pin isn’t flush this time so not all juice will be sucked back into the bottle.
I noted in my previous review that I didn’t like the flat head squonk pin, preferring instead the Allen key types….the good news is that change has been incorporated also.
The Dual Recurves posts are probably the most obvious modification, keeping in line with the namesake of the RDA. They serve to hug the coils and provide a positioning guide. A closer look though and there is more to it;
Both posts now form part of the deck itself (so both are negative), this is why there is the raised platform ...to create space to house the isolated positive block. Going this route allowed them to push the posts out much further effectively stopping juice getting trapped behind them as easily, which was another thing I noted last time in combination with the leaky base.
You’ll also notice there is no notched cut out around the rim of the deck compared to the original…another small tweak helping to keep juice inside the deck and top cap sealed up tight.
All in all I feel the changes are really positive, it’s not trying to re-invent the wheel, rather perfect the original design to make it the best it can be.
I guess the only thing I would like to have seen (and was expecting to see) were cut outs, essentially stepping in the airflow inlets on the posts (similar to the Reload S approach). I say this because when you adjust the airflow down, it makes sure air is still hitting more of the coils surface…However without trialling it, I can’t say for certain how much difference it would make to the draw, which is pretty spot on for my taste as it is.
The wait is over, the recurve 2 is finally here…I’ve been eagerly awaiting its arrival since the original was released last year, hoping to see whether Mike and Wotofo would nail it.
Whilst we were patiently waiting there was the release of the Reload S RDA, a slightly awkward moment for Mike with its obvious similarities to the original, however the 2 isn’t about single coil, instead we have the dual coil variant to cover and with it Mike has looked to improve his original iteration.
So without further ado let’s see if he managed to crack it…Wotofo sent me this for the once over, as always I don’t like to make recommendations in my reviews, instead I present you with my findings to help bolster your research should you be interested in the product.
RDA Specification Overview & What’s in the box
- Visible Height: 28.5mm
- Diameter: 24mm
- Well Depth: 9mm
- Thread length 4.8mm (gold plated positive pin)
- Construction: 304 Stainless Steel, Resin Drip Tip, PMMA Drip Tip.
- Drip Tip: 810 - Height 6.6mm x Width 17.6mm (Straight Bore 8.4mm)
- Airflow: 2 side areas on top cap (each side contain six 1.4mm holes)
- Post distance for coil width: 13mm
- Deck length between posts: 7.5mm
- Airflow on Deck: Same as top cap
- Extras: O-rings, screwdriver, 4 spare screws, Coil measuring tool, cotton, 2 coils, positive pin, spare PMMA drip tip
RDA Available Colours: Blue, Black, Stainless, Gold, Rainbow, Gunmetal
Impressions, Build Quality & Assembly
I will be comparing to the original throughout this review. Reading back my review notes from last time…
I thought the stock resin drip tip on the original was great for an 810…it was comfortable to use and suited the original curved cap really well. When the 22mm aftermarket cap came out (see below)
...it changed things about tightening the drip tip bore up significantly and reducing the size profile…this helped improve flavour in my opinion and meant I didn’t have to use the 510 adaptor. What you get with the Dual Coil is pretty much a carbon copy of the 22mm with a similar type of drip tip bore. Fear not there is the original shape tip in the box as well, so you can try both out and see what you prefer.
I found the O-Ring holding the drip tip a little too lose last time, which is more noticeable once I started vaping, the exact same issue is present on the dual so careful not to knock the tip out accidently.
Machining is better this time around for the Dual, I can’t see any blemishes anywhere on my deck or top cap. The gold plating has been applied very well. I’m pleased to see Mike dropped the gaudy branding from the original recurve’s top cap and adopted the reserved 22mm variant instead. You still get a bit of unnecessary branding on the sides of the deck though…for some reason if you weren’t sure it was a dual coil...well now you know.
One of the major pointers from my last review was the tight fitting cap, due to the two bottom O-rings being overly large (one directly above the other). One of the suggestions I made to Wotofo was to split these two O-rings to help ease this problem, I felt it would also address leaking under the base….I’m pleased to say leaking is something of the past, in addition the top cap is a lot easier to turn and get on and off as well….both problems fixed.
The only thing I would say is when putting the cap onto the deck...keep it straight or it does snag slightly. This snagging is more about post location being right on the edges of the deck hitting the stop inside the top cap. It’s not really a big deal once you get the knack of it, however if you are someone who likes removing the cap to drip, you’ll notice this a lot.
I mentioned the stops above inside the top cap…as I said earlier the cap is identical to the aftermarket option both inside and out (albeit a larger version of the 22mm). There is an extra step out lip inside the chamber (where the stops are located) which allow it to rest on top of the deck to ensure the holes line up flush with the posts, as a result there is very little wayward airflow entering from the sides.
I noticed it’s impossible to position the airflow down to two holes only, if you try you’ll offset the outer holes past the post which is a bit of an oversight, having said that I like a fairly restricted draw and 4 is absolutely ample to suit that need. Much like its predecessor the draw isn’t overly airy to start with, I expect most people will perfectly happy running it wide open.
The Dual Recurve is more forgiving than its predecessor when it comes to squonking (which was no slouch in its own right)….firstly the posts have now been given a higher platform, they have also spaced the posts further apart, which allows juice to hit the wick faster instead of rising up in the middle as quickly. These two important changes not only make it better for dual coil usage, but dripping as well.
Note: I cut my wicks pretty short for the Dual such that I have them floating above the base of the deck slightly, this helps with the higher coil position and keeping everything nicely saturated. It also helps because the squonk pin isn’t flush this time so not all juice will be sucked back into the bottle.
I noted in my previous review that I didn’t like the flat head squonk pin, preferring instead the Allen key types….the good news is that change has been incorporated also.
The Dual Recurves posts are probably the most obvious modification, keeping in line with the namesake of the RDA. They serve to hug the coils and provide a positioning guide. A closer look though and there is more to it;
Both posts now form part of the deck itself (so both are negative), this is why there is the raised platform ...to create space to house the isolated positive block. Going this route allowed them to push the posts out much further effectively stopping juice getting trapped behind them as easily, which was another thing I noted last time in combination with the leaky base.
You’ll also notice there is no notched cut out around the rim of the deck compared to the original…another small tweak helping to keep juice inside the deck and top cap sealed up tight.
All in all I feel the changes are really positive, it’s not trying to re-invent the wheel, rather perfect the original design to make it the best it can be.
I guess the only thing I would like to have seen (and was expecting to see) were cut outs, essentially stepping in the airflow inlets on the posts (similar to the Reload S approach). I say this because when you adjust the airflow down, it makes sure air is still hitting more of the coils surface…However without trialling it, I can’t say for certain how much difference it would make to the draw, which is pretty spot on for my taste as it is.
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