Need help buying RBA/RTA Noob Alert?

[memzey]

I'd get either the Wotofo Bravo or Geekvape Blitzen. Both very good rtas.

The Zeus X is shite and the Triple 28 is too big at 28mm and it takes 3 coils. Definitely not for the inexperienced.

What do you find shite about the Zeus X I wonder? Not being funny, genuine question. I’ve got a couple and once wicked correctly they work great.

 

[canada16]

The 2 he suggested Wotofo Bravo and Geekvape Blitzen all get 5 stars from most reviewers, they look like amazing quality as well.
The wotofo I think some reviewers said it can be a bit difficult to place the coils, Im sure not too hard, but more difficult than usual.

The Zeus has a 5 star review as well, so not sure why its Crap ?

 

[Hodge]

I got one of those coil kits and it was only the Aliens that were usable really. The resistance on the others fluctuated wildly from what they stated they were and I didn't really feel comfortable using them. Best thing I did was buying the wire shots from Stealth Vape someone on here recommended and winding them myself. Super easy and the quality is much better IMO.

 

[Mitz]

What do you find shite about the Zeus X I wonder? Not being funny, genuine question. I’ve got a couple and once wicked correctly they work great.

I think it's an inferior design that results in an inferior vape. They've ripped off the Advken CP TF RTA but badly. What advken did right is include bottom airflow as well as keep the wick length short. The top row of air holes on the X's chimney don't help things either. I've owned literally dozens upon dozens of rtas. They are my "thing" and always have been since I started vaping. I'll take a quality rta over an rda any day of the week. So I know how to build and wick an rta. I've helped many members here since I joined to tweek their builds and wicking to get the best out of their devices. I just find the X gives an inferior vape even when it's wicked optimally. Does it give a "decent" vape? Sure. Does it compare with the best rtas and give a truly saturated and lush vape? No, not at all. I've toned it down over the last six months but I used to have at least a dozen different vapes on the go at any one time with different kit constantly rotated in and out. The X wouldn't have even made it in to my top 20 and certainly wouldn't have dethroned any of my favourite or established vape setups including the Bravo, Blitzen and Triple 28. I've still got those 3 tanks whereas I sold the X.

The original Zeus was a cracking rta. One of the best. The Zeus dual was also very good but was very finicky with coil position making a big difference. Still a quality vape tho. So I had *extremely* high hopes for the X as it's one of the sexiest tanks on the market, IMHO. But I was *extremely* disappointed. The only other rta I've ever bought that had me that disappointed was the Crius 2 dual. Another rta that couldn't come close to its predecessor; the Crius 2 single coil rta.

I love the look of the X. It's sexy AF. I gave it every chance to impress me. But I'm sorry to say that it didn't. And I really wish that it did.


TL-DR

I don't like the airflow and whoever at Geekvape designed the X should be whipped for designing an rta with wicks that are longer than my driveway.
The X just doesn't compare with the best rtas regardless of how you build and wick it. There's literally dozens of other rtas and rdas that I would choose over it.

But vaping is incredibly subjective. YMMV.

There's really only one solution. For the OP to buy all 3 and decide which is best.

 

[memzey]

I think it's an inferior design that results in an inferior vape. They've ripped off the Advken CP TF RTA but badly. What advken did right is include bottom airflow as well as keep the wick length short. The top row of air holes on the X's chimney don't help things either. I've owned literally dozens upon dozens of rtas. They are my "thing" and always have been since I started vaping. I'll take a quality rta over an rda any day of the week. So I know how to build and wick an rta. I've helped many members here since I joined to tweek their builds and wicking to get the best out of their devices. I just find the X gives an inferior vape even when it's wicked optimally. Does it give a "decent" vape? Sure. Does it compare with the best rtas and give a truly saturated and lush vape? No, not at all. I've toned it down over the last six months but I used to have at least a dozen different vapes on the go at any one time with different kit constantly rotated in and out. The X wouldn't have even made it in to my top 20 and certainly wouldn't have dethroned any of my favourite or established vape setups including the Bravo, Blitzen and Triple 28. I've still got those 3 tanks whereas I sold the X.

The original Zeus was a cracking rta. One of the best. The Zeus dual was also very good but was very finicky with coil position making a big difference. Still a quality vape tho. So I had *extremely* high hopes for the X as it's one of the sexiest tanks on the market, IMHO. But I was *extremely* disappointed. The only other rta I've ever bought that had me that disappointed was the Crius 2 dual. Another rta that couldn't come close to its predecessor; the Crius 2 single coil rta.

I love the look of the X. It's sexy AF. I gave it every chance to impress me. But I'm sorry to say that it didn't. And I really wish that it did.


TL-DR

I don't like the airflow and whoever at Geekvape designed the X should be whipped for designing an rta with wicks that are longer than my driveway.
The X just doesn't compare with the best rtas regardless of how you build and wick it. There's literally dozens of other rtas and rdas that I would choose over it.

But vaping is incredibly subjective. YMMV.

There's really only one solution. For the OP to buy all 3 and decide which is best.

Well thank you Mitz for the full and frank answer and for taking the time to type it out. I don’t have anywhere near the frame of reference that you appear to have so can’t comment on comparative performance of the X against some of the others you describe however, having persevered with it for a while I do now get outcomes that I find very good - lots of flavour and big clouds. I have noticed some foibles though: the tails need to be longer than on other RTAs, as in stuffed in deeper to the wells, otherwise spitback becomes an issue. Also I have noticed that certain flavours, no matter the coil type or wicking, just won’t work. I don’t know why, as the VG/PG ratios are the same but for some flavours taste is poor and wicks last less than a day. For this reason I am considering a Profile Unity to add to my roster for those flavours but I’m now interested in your thoughts on that tank and which other rebuildables you consider worthwhile.

Thanks again for sharing your thoughts and findings.

 

[Mitz]

Well thank you Mitz for the full and frank answer and for taking the time to type it out. I don’t have anywhere near the frame of reference that you appear to have so can’t comment on comparative performance of the X against some of the others you describe however, having persevered with it for a while I do now get outcomes that I find very good - lots of flavour and big clouds. I have noticed some foibles though: the tails need to be longer than on other RTAs, as in stuffed in deeper to the wells, otherwise spitback becomes an issue. Also I have noticed that certain flavours, no matter the coil type or wicking, just won’t work. I don’t know why, as the VG/PG ratios are the same but for some flavours taste is poor and wicks last less than a day. For this reason I am considering a Profile Unity to add to my roster for those flavours but I’m now interested in your thoughts on that tank and which other rebuildables you consider worthwhile.

Thanks again for sharing your thoughts and findings.

No problem at all. Vaping really is very subjective and you bring up a very valid point - that some tanks really don't work well with certain juices and flavours. It's very true. Personally, I vape fruit flavours exclusively and I always have done.

As for coils not lasting long, that's down to the sweeteners in the juice. The more sweetener there is - the quicker it will gunk up.

I wasn't that keen on mesh to begin with largely down to the very poor offerings from Cthulhu and Vandy Vape - The Ceto rda, mesh rda and mesh 24 rta. But Wotofo's Profile Unity couldn't be any more different. In my opinion it is a very nice rta. Flavour is decent and with the spring mounted deck it's very easy to build on. I also like it because it suits my wicking style. It definitely gets a thumbs up from me.

As for other tanks I would recommend, I'll split them in to single coil and dual coil. My top recommendations for single coil would be the Original Zeus. The Crius 2 single coil. The Advken CP 810 Edition. The SteamCrave Aromamizer Lite. The Kylin Mini. And if you can find one and like a restricted vape the Pharaoh Mini.

Dual coil - the Advken Manta is a must have. The Kylin v2. The Reload. The Aromamizer Supreme v2 (or v2.1 if you prefer a postless deck). And the Coil Art Azeroth rta which comes with dual and triple coil decks (triple kicks ass).

Those would be my top picks.

 

[KytanDale]

I also have a zeus dual that sits in a drawer, i know how to build but that one is a pain, more luck than experience to get it right. I will most likely look for a zeus single to add to collection. If you are ok with maybe restricted airflow, i run daily augvape intake ( restricted but good vape) and a serpent elevate rta , less restricted , great vape but thirsty as hell. I only run top airflow rta's, not the best flavour but more than enough and i never bother with leaks.

 

[memzey]

No problem at all. Vaping really is very subjective and you bring up a very valid point - that some tanks really don't work well with certain juices and flavours. It's very true. Personally, I vape fruit flavours exclusively and I always have done.

As for coils not lasting long, that's down to the sweeteners in the juice. The more sweetener there is - the quicker it will gunk up.

I wasn't that keen on mesh to begin with largely down to the very poor offerings from Cthulhu and Vandy Vape - The Ceto rda, mesh rda and mesh 24 rta. But Wotofo's Profile Unity couldn't be any more different. In my opinion it is a very nice rta. Flavour is decent and with the spring mounted deck it's very easy to build on. I also like it because it suits my wicking style. It definitely gets a thumbs up from me.

As for other tanks I would recommend, I'll split them in to single coil and dual coil. My top recommendations for single coil would be the Original Zeus. The Crius 2 single coil. The Advken CP 810 Edition. The SteamCrave Aromamizer Lite. The Kylin Mini. And if you can find one and like a restricted vape the Pharaoh Mini.

Dual coil - the Advken Manta is a must have. The Kylin v2. The Reload. The Aromamizer Supreme v2 (or v2.1 if you prefer a postless deck). And the Coil Art Azeroth rta which comes with dual and triple coil decks (triple kicks ass).

Those would be my top picks.

Thanks Mitz that’s good stuff. I hadn’t even considered a triple coil deck before but now I’m wondering about them. In three coil configuration do you prefer the Azeroth to the triple 28? I have a mod that can cope with 28mm no problem. Do you find that any of these can truly beat a good quality sub-ohm mesh for flavour and cloud production?

 

[Mitz]

Thanks Mitz that’s good stuff. I hadn’t even considered a triple coil deck before but now I’m wondering about them. In three coil configuration do you prefer the Azeroth to the triple 28? I have a mod that can cope with 28mm no problem. Do you find that any of these can truly beat a good quality sub-ohm mesh for flavour and cloud production?

I would definitely choose the Azeroth over the Triple 28. The Triple's biggest flaw for me is the size of the wick ports. It has a very large central trough for an air vent and with such a large deck and so much airflow it really begs for 3 decent sized coils. But they made the wick ports relatively small so it's very easy to over wick and it's quite unforgiving in that regard. I really wish they'd increased the wick ports by 20% or so. The grub screws are also quite poor quality. The Triple is the only tank I've ever stripped multiple grub screws. I stripped 4 out of the 6 all at one time. I managed to remove 3 but the final one was impossible to get out and ultimately I ended up getting a replacement heavily discounted. I don't own one as I've slowed down a lot recently with my purchasing but they have now released a Triple 28 v2. They've revised the airflow and it's now got the "honeycomb" style which should make the airflow more restricted compared to the v1. But it doesn't look like they've increased the size of the wick ports.

The Azeroth is only 24mm. It is much more compact and doesn't have massive airflow. Due to its size and airflow it works better with slightly smaller coils but the flavour is intense. Definitely one of my favourites.

Stock coil mesh subohm tanks have come a very long way recently. Tanks like the Mesh Pro and Falcon have definitely taken things to the next level as far as stock coils are concerned. And tbh a tank like the mesh pro is very hard to beat for pure intense flavour with its double, triple and quad core mesh coils. But cost is a factor and many people just don't want to, or can't really afford to, continually buy stock coils. And others just seem to hate subohm tanks period. I don't think any rta can seriously compete on this level because it boils down to firepower. Dual and triple core stock mesh coils simply have way more surface area than a dual coil rebuildable rta. But you can only get so much flavour out of any given juice. And having said that, for me it's kind of like collecting cars and having a Bugatti, a lambo, ferrari, BMW M6 and a Mercedes SLS. Just because you've got a Bugatti it doesn't mean you don't enjoy driving your other cars. The Bugatti may be great for weekends or for going to the track but it's also by far the most expensive to run and maintain. The other cars are much more affordable and provide just as much fun in their own not so brutal way. And going back to the rebuidables, a lot of us enjoy building our own coils and wicking our tanks. There is a satisfaction in knowing you've got the best out of your device. Stock coils take a lot of that enjoyment away. And not all stock mesh coils are created equal. The Mesh Pro and Falcon are exceptional. There are many stock mesh coils that are OK but nothing special. I think there are several rebuildables that can easily match and even surpass many of the run of the mill stock mesh coils. The mesh pro and falcon tanks being the exception and even then it's only when you get into the dual and triple mesh coils. The Single core mesh coils tend to perform pretty poorly in my experience. I think eventually it just comes down to intensity due to surface area. Yes, the mesh pro and falcon tanks are incredibly good. But I would choose a quality rta over pretty much anything else and even owning both of those subohm tanks I often find myself vaping my rtas whilst those tanks sit on the sideline waiting for their turn again. They're great for flavour and convenience but you really can't beat building your own coil, wicking it perfectly and getting an incredible vape all for a few pennies.

 

[canada16]

@Mitz Your a star, great comments, especially for a noob to RTA's like me.
If you had the choice of the 2 you mentioned, which would you buy, I am leaning towards the Wotofo Bravo, seems to get stellar reviews and good for beginners.
Some have mentioned the Blitzen can be a bit of a pain to wick, but unsure how true that is, have not done extensive research, have read about 5 reviews on each.

Once I am set up and comfortable with building, what RTA would you recommend (Out of everything) I can buy another tank once I am all set up - Again no drippers, I need to fill tanks.

I think if I get lazy or go on holiday I may buy a 10 pack from a seller who makes top quality coils.

Is it true that coils can last over 6 months if cleaned properly? If so why not just buy some top quality pre-builds and just vape on one coil for months? Obviously just need to change the cotton

Thanks Mitz