OXVA Arbiter 2
Si needs no help deciding whether the new OXVA Arbiter 2 is a banger or not, this is a fantastic RTA. Read on to find out why
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by Si Davies
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Supplied by OXVA for review
https://www.oxva.com/pages/arbiter2
$35.99
OXVA’s latest release is a new version of the Arbiter RTA. I didn’t get the chance to try the previous version but OXVA have made the new version smaller along with some other cosmetic changes.
The name ‘Arbiter’ means "a person who settles a dispute or has ultimate authority in a matter, but many people will associate the name with a Halo character/rank".
Now I don’t know the answer to which one, so I need an Arbiter!
- Dimension: Φ26mm ( Bottom: Φ24.5mm)*52mm
- Capacity: 5ml (Bubble Glass) & 3.5ml (Straight Glass) & 2ml(TPD)
- Weight: 77g
- Material: SS, Glass, Resin
- Drip Tip: 810 & 510 Drip Tip
Unboxing
The Arbiter 2 comes in a compact and sturdy box, the outer sleeve shows the generic colour with a sticker showing your colour choice, the features and contents are listed on the back.
The two piece, all black box is sturdy enough for the postman to lob it around without damaging the tank. The top layer holds the tank and a spare straight glass.
The accessories include: 510 drip tip adaptor, tri-tool, allen wrench, 2 Ni80 0.4ohm coils, 2 pieces of shoelace cotton, some spare deck screws, spare tank seals, the manual and a warranty card. I love it when companies include coils as you get to try it out as the designers intended.
First Impressions
I really like the look and size of this RTA, they have kept it fairly clean looking but it still has plenty of style. I knew I was going to have no trouble finding a mod to suit it as it looked great on most of the ones I tried, the 24.5mm base taper really helped too.
The top airflow helps to keep the base quite slim. The adjustment ring is buttery smooth and firm enough to stay in place. The resin 810 drip-tip is gorgeous and tops off the style nicely as it’s quite short and not overstated, it’s rare I use included drip-tips but I can see me keeping this one on.
The top cap is a 3rd turn twist and feels secure when tightened, the fill ports are wide, and I like that they are recessed to capture any overfilling and there is no chance of accidentally spilling juice down the bore.
The tank strips down easily by unscrewing everything counter-clockwise, everything fits together perfectly and nothing is too tight. It all feels very refined.
Once split into components, I appreciated how easy this construction will be to clean and maintain, the top airflow channels line up with the raised vents on the deck and popping it back together was faff free as they line up well. The post-less build deck was interesting with the raised air vents, and you can see how ‘wrap-around’ the air circulation will be around the coils.
There’s one tool missing in the accessories in my opinion; it should have had a little coil trimming guide (like a ‘Coily’) as you have to cut the legs down to size before fitting them in a post-less deck, the manual is of no help as it doesn’t advise the trimming length, so you’re left to guess and judge it for yourself.
I had a spare 7mm and 5mm jig so I tried the 7mm first to be on the safe side but I could see that was going to be too high by a couple of mm, so the 5mm turned out to be perfect and I trimmed them to that size.
If you don’t have a ‘coily’ type jig, you can judge it by eye if you place a coil in loose and judge how much it needs to come down to look even between the air vents, there’s a little wiggle room if you trim them a mm too short.
But once you have the length sussed, it is very easy to build and tweak. The coil placement is intuitive and you can simply see where they should end up.
You’re mainly looking for the airflow to slightly hit the base of the coil and the rest towards the sides (any air going directly over the top is wasted and will mute the flavour a little). The airflow holes were pleasingly spaced and long enough to hit the whole coil length, and I even had enough room to slightly space the coils
Despite the deck being encased, it was roomy enough to straighten and tweak your coils. Those air vents really helped to visually guide the position. As long as you remember 5mm leg length, then this will be super quick and easy the next time you build.
You get two wicks include but you only need one as it’s long enough for both coils and is almost the perfect length to cut too. Loop it through evenly and snip off the shoelace end, they should be just long enough to fit through the wick ports so you can see some hanging on the underside.
I did find the wicking ports a bit tight so I had to thin the ends a bit, if it feels like you are forcing the cotton through then it’s too tight and can lead to dry hits, too loose and it will flood. Ideally you should be guiding the cotton down rather than forcing it.
Overall, the Arbiter 2 was reasonably easy to build, and the next build will be even easier once you know how it goes. There was no point that I felt frustrated with it and that’s a sign of a well-designed tank, it’s one of those RTAs where you will just know if you’ve messed up while building as you can just see if it looks wrong.
I popped it back together and chose the straight glass, and I chose my old favourite Smok Mag to mount it on. The build was around 0.18 - 0.2ohms, I was expecting it to require 60+ watts so I went with my OCD favourite 66.6 watts (the number of the beast) and took it for its first toot…..
Performance
What can I say? The Arbiter 2 RTA was just an instant success and quite the flavour banger. The top airflow was very airy and sounded smooth, impressively airy for a top airflow and I closed it off a 3rd to suit my taste. Vapour production was high and should please cloud chasers.
To my surprise I still found it more than acceptable going down to 50 watts, I settled at 55.5 (yeah I know!) and chain vaped the frig out of it, it kept up perfectly and wicked well, no signs of a dry hit, and I would say there is next to no chance of a dry hit in normal use.
It reminded me of the Dovpo Blotto dual coil RTA as the vape and flavour was close to a dripper. I need to do an identical side by side build to be sure but so far I think the Arbiter is better for flavour and personally I think it looks better and is easier to match a mod.
Conclusion
OXVA pretty much got everything right with the Arbiter 2 RTA, great flavour, high vapour production, smooth and efficient airflow path, and leak-proof top airflow, what’s not to like. The style is very nice looking but clean enough to suit most mods, especially as the base tapers down to 24.5mm.
Pros
- Superb flavour
- Efficient airflow path that covers the whole coil
- Simple construction
- High quality and well-engineered
- Intuitive build and wicking
- Leak-proof top airflow
Cons
- No coil length jig
Final Thoughts
OXVA clearly did their homework with the Arbiter 2 tank as the vape quality it produces is top notch and it is one of the most impressive RTAs I’ve tried. As long as you remember 5mm legs and thin the wick ends, then it’s easy to build for a consistent performance. The included coils were perfect to reflect how well this tank delivers.
Score: 9/10 – Superb dual coil RTA – there’s no dispute here!
Si Davies
Reviewer at POTVMy background is Engineering and Professional Photography. Mostly from POTV users knowledge I learned so much about pretty much all styles of vaping and equipment, Cloud Chasing, Squonking, Mouth To Lung, Direct To Lung, Pods, Mechs, Rebuild-able tanks and atomisers etc, and have experience with many many devices and atomisers, it's become a hobby and enjoy trying out the latest gear. I like to think my reviews are plain speaking and informative without getting too technical, if I have to resort to reading the manual then I don't consider it user friendly!
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