Vapor Mods

The Patriot RDA

In stock at:

Brushed Stainless Steel for $74.99 at VaporDNA
Polished Stainless Steel for $79.99 at VaporDNA

Brushed Stainless Steel for $69.99 at VaporAlley (v1 and no custom drill holes)

The Patriot RDA version 1.2

I got my Patriot RDA order in the mail about a week ago. I’ve read and heard all of the rave reviews of this RDA and I thought I’d finally give it a try. For well under $100, I figured it was worth it to give it a shot. So far I’ve been very impressed with the Patriot and the reasons are simple. Its solid, its looks great and its affordable. In this day and age its really easy just to wait a week and find a clone version of whatever you want. Clones can be amazing, but not all of them. What I like about devices like the Patriot is that they’re fairly affordable. You don’t have to gamble in the clone. From all accounts I’ve read – this is not a well cloned device.

What is the Patriot RDA?

The Patriot is designed and built in the USA by Innovape. Its an extremely solid and well priced RDA. It features a mostly conventional 3 post design with base and top cap. Its extremely well designed and vapes incredibly. More on that in a minute.

The version I have is being branded as version 1.2. I never bought version 1, so I can’t really compare. So what’s the difference between version 1 vs version 1.2?

This new version features a longer top cap and the lip actually goes over the base in this version to cover it up. Sure its subtle, but it might make a difference in how flush it looks with your mod.

I’ve also noticed that the version 1 had fixed air hole sizes and no airflow control. Version 1.2 if you buy it from VaporDNA has the option for custom drilling sizes. This is a huge deal for me because I know what I like and what I don’t. The gripe with version 1 is that the draw was a little tight. I personally like 5/64 air holes – they add enough air flow for a solid vape without being too wide. VaporDNA gave me that option which was perfect.

Breaking Down the Patriot RDA

So lets break it down a bit and look at what’s cool about the Patriot RDA. I look at this as a “shovel ready” American version of the Youde IGO-W. The IGO-W is solid, but you need to get a custom top cap with custom airflow to get a decent performance from the unit. The Patriot is ready to go if you order the custom air flow holes. Like the IGO-W, its a very solid RDA for a decent price (though more than the W).

Its fairly basic and straight forward. The deck is outstanding and its a nice size to build on. You can easily do dual or quad coil configurations. I prefer a dual setup and it works like an absolute charm. The Patriot RDA hits like a champ and produces wonderful vapor. I personally like the logo engraving – the “phoenix” is bold looking and stylish without being tacky.

Vapor production and flavor are both outstanding with the 5/64 air hole configuration. Absolutely nothing to complain about.

The Patriot RDA is made with precision machined 303 grade stainless steel. The parts are well made and its very solid. It has a fairly good sized tank which allows for better vapor production and even current draw to the coils. There’s plenty of room to wick the deck so you don’t have to drip nearly as often. The posts are press fit “zero resistance” to make sure the power stays consistent. I’ve had no dry hits on this thing whatsoever.

Also nice is the dynamic “quad ring” seal. It keeps juice in the tank and not on the mod in the event of accidental over-dripping. There are 2 o-rings that fit the cap on tight on both the deck and the drip tip.

The unit also features a heat sink design to keep the Patriot RDA “50% cooler” during chain vapes. I’m not sure what that is 50% of, but I do notice that the Patriot is a well designed RDA that doesn’t get too hot. That’s from my experience this week with my Patriot.

Should I get the Patriot RDA?

Well it depends on what you’re looking for. Personally I love the way it vapes and looks. Its a solid American made RDA and I like having the Patriot in my collection. Is it the best? Well this is where you have to weigh in what you want and what your budget is.

Personally the best RDA available is the Tobh Atty. However they’re really hard to find as they don’t make them in large numbers. The Patriot is easy to find so I’d definitely buy this to use while you’re waiting for the Tobh.

There are other incredible boutique RDA’s out there like the Castle, Magma, Quasar etc. But those units are all well over $100 which again makes a solid case for buying the Patriot. Are they worth all the extra money? I’m not sure they are *that* much better.

The Patriot is outstanding. The price is right. Personally I think you need to have one in your collection as its an incredible performance-based RDA for a very solid price.

In stock at:

Brushed Stainless Steel for $74.99 at VaporDNA
Polished Stainless Steel for $79.99 at VaporDNA

Brushed Stainless Steel for $69.99 at VaporAlley (v1 and no custom drill holes)

Castle Atomizer

In Stock at VaporDNA for $89.99

This week I’ve been vaping my new Castle Rebuildable Atomizer v1.5 made by the awesome folks over at VapeSmith. I’d heard some really good things about this RDA, so I decided to give it a shot. So what is the Castle 1.5 and how does it hold up?

The Castle RDA Overview

The Castle RDA is a rebuildable atomizer with 3 posts. What makes it really unique is the locking airflow control that looks much like a castle turret. Its made of stainless steel and is extremely well built. Some of the early reviews of the Castle Atomizer complained about shoddy quality and loose O-rings. My device is version 1.5 and they’ve cleaned up whatever the complaints were about. The build quality on mine is outstanding and the O-rings are tight. The folks at VapeSmith obviously took comments to heart – the unit I’ve got is outstanding.

The etching on the bottom is different than the 1.0 version. On 1.0 there was a blackletter VS followed by the serial. My version looks to be hand etched and features an “SS” followed by the serial number. I’m not sure what SS means over VS, but I wanted to note the difference.

The Castle Atomizer comes in 3 parts – the deck, the air hole sleeve and the outer sleeve/top cap. The deck features 3 posts with holes in the posts for your coil leads and the standard Philips head screws. The deck features a nice well – not the deepest in the world, but it will keep juice from leaking.

Castle Locking Top Cap for Airflow Control

The air hole sleeve fits over the deck and has 3 sets of air holes depending on how you want to set the air flow. The smallest is great for mouth to lung hits and wide open is for the cloud chasers. Its really nice and versatile. The top cap extends to act as an outer sleeve. You line up the air hole set to the air holes you want to use and it locks down via a series of notches in the top of the unit. Its a great design actually. Its not possible to adjust the airflow without taking the top sleeve off, but I’ve not found that to be a problem. This thing has excellent airflow and I pretty much leave it set at the widest setting.

The O-Rings are tight on version 1.5. In fact you’ve got to pull to get the inner sleeve off – it doesn’t go easily. This is fantastic actually – the top isn’t coming off unless you want it too. No leaking or sloppy construction here.

The finish is polished and looks fantastic. A script “Castle” is engraved to the side. VapeSmith make matching drip tips, but any standard 510 drip tip will work just fine. Every drip tip I’ve tried fits just fine. Not too loose or too tight – just right.

Castle Atomizer Performance

Castle RDA Airhole sleeve

The Castle Atomizer lives up to all of the hype I’ve heard about this thing. Its fantastic. It chucks huge amounts of vapor and you get clouds even at .7 ohms. I don’t like my juice to be too hot which can be a problem with sub-ohming. The design on the Castle Atomizer was done right. It performs like nothing else.

Another great advantage of the inner/outer sleeve configuration is that you’ve got a built in insulation going on with the Castle. It barely gets warm to the touch. For you extreme sub-ohm folks this is nice because the heat is controlled really well.

To summarize, the performance is simply outstanding. It lives up to all the expectations and everything I’ve heard. I’ve been using this exclusively for a few days now and I simply love it. Its looks great, performs well and its competitively priced.

At $89.99 I think this is really reasonable and actually a great deal for a boutique RDA. And considering how well it performs, I’d say its actually a bit of a steal. The high-end vape manufacturers are competing with the clones so much these days its nice to see the prices becoming more reasonable. The Castle atomizer performs better than many RDA’s that cost almost twice as much.

The only downside is that, like most boutique vape gear – they sell out really quickly. If you want one – get it. Its worth every penny.

In Stock at VaporDNA for $89.99

Youde IGO W6

These are enormously popular, so if you want one – get it while they are in stock. They tend to not last.

In Stock at VaporDNA for $35.99

IGO W6 Introduction

The IGO W6 is the monster in a series of rebuildable atomizers that Youde has introduced this year. Youde is a Chinese manufacturer of vaping supplies that has consistently put out really nice gear at really nice prices. You even get adjustable air flow on this beast and its still well under $50!

I recently did a big write up of the IGO W, which is the most basic 3 post model RDA that’s designed for dual coil setups. Its an incredible RDA for the price and serves as both a great starter RDA as well as an excellent utility RDA for experienced users.

The new IGO W6 is the latest in the series of Youde RDA’s and is set up for quad coils. The advantage to quad coil setups is that you can get really low sub-ohm setups with plenty of wraps in your coil. This means excellent vapor production and warm to hot temperatures. You could easily build octo-coils as well, though I haven’t tried this yet. Four coils is plenty!

The bottom line here is you get a great looking, 5 post rebuildable that’s extremely easy to build. Its elegant looking and the price is WAY below any short-run, top of the line RDA or RBA. If you’ve owned Youde stuff before you know what you’re getting into. A great RDA that won’t break the bank.

Youde IGO W6 features

IGO W6 with Quad Coils

The Youde IGO W6 comes in 4 parts: the deck, collar, airflow adjustment ring and top cap. The deck features 5 posts – 4 negative posts and one positive. The positive post is rather unique in that it features textured thumb collars that make wraping the positive side of each coil a breeze. The thumb collars also keep the wire leads separated to ensure good contact. I wrap each of the positive leads 1 time around the post and it worked great.

The air flow adjustment ring is exceptional for an RDA in this price range and ads an enormous bang for the buck on the IGO W6. The ring features 2 sets of air flow holes. There are doubled round holes and slots. The setup is simple. If you’re only using this in a dual coil configuration, use the round hole pairs. My first build was a dual coil and it worked great.

But where this unit really shines is when you set it up in a quad coil configuration. The IGO W6 is mind blowing in a quad setup. You’ll simple use the slotted air flow holes and adjust to the right flow for what you like.

Building Coils on the IGO W6

Post layout on the IGO W6

So this was the most impressive part about the IGO W6. If you’ve ever built quad coils on an RDA before it can be frustrating. Its a lot of coils and they need to be spaced correctly. Having said that – the IGO W6 is extremely easy to build. In fact I was really impressed – I had my first quad coil configuration set up (vertical coils) within about 10 minutes. I couldn’t believe how easy this was to build on.

The negative leads go through the holes on the negative posts – tighten the screw down and you’re set. The positive leads wrap evenly spaced 1 time around the center post. Just space them with the textured thumb collars and you’re done. What makes this particularly easy to do is that the IGO W6 uses two different heights on the negative posts. This makes the spacing really easy when you wrap the positive sides.

Should I get the IGO W6?

In short – yes! I’d personally recommend this unit in a second for anyone interested in a good, affordable quad coil RDA. It looks sharp, its easy to build, its got air flow control and its a fraction of what other boutique 5 post RDA’s go for.

These are enormously popular, so if you want one – get it while they are in stock. They tend to not last.

In Stock at VaporDNA for $35.99

IGO W with Custom Cap

Start with the IGO W base. They are in stock for $9.99 at VaporDNA.

Custom Brass Fauxgatti Caps
Custom Stainless Steel Fauxgatti Caps

The Youde IGO W is probably the ultimate entry level RDA out there. That’s actually an unfair statement, because the I know plenty of seasoned vape enthusiasts that have several IGO W pieces in regular use. Its the Bruce Springsteen of RDA’s. Its the blue collar, working man’s rebuildable. Its affordable and it works. In fact, I think this is the ultimate starter RDA if you’re looking into learning how to rebuild. Its simple and if you know what you’re doing, you can make it incredible.

The Youde IGO W – the working man’s RDA

The IGO W is really simple. Its set up for dual coil builds, but depending on what you put on the top of this, you could easily do single coil builds as well. Heck – you can do quad coils if you want. Its very versatile.

The IGO W is a basic, inexpensive rebuildable atomizer. It features a polished, stainless-steel finish. Under the cap are three basic posts with Philips head screws. The posts have holes so its easy to get just about any coil attached to the device. There’s two basic o-rings and a cap – that’s it! Bring your own drip tip and you’re absolutely set.

Okay, so there’s really no-frills about this thing. However, what makes it great is that there’s been a subculture of vapers using the IGO W that have started modifying the device and this is where it starts to shine.

The Youde IGO W Problem

The major flaw of the Youde IGO W is in the top cap. The airflow is not adjustable, the top cap is not conical, and the holes are tiny. And by tiny I mean microscopic! Vaping with the included top cap is like sucking a steak through a coffee straw. Its really unbearable.

When I got mine, I was wanting to learn how to rebuild RDA’s. The performance was so bad it actually became discouraging. BUT, after some research I found a number of vendors offering custom drilled and even custom designed caps for the IGO W.

Okay, so you have to understand that the IGO W costs about $16. Considering many well made RDA’s cost over $100, this is a steal. And once you add a custom top cap (or more if you’re wanting to experiment), you’ll need to add another $30 or so. But still! You’re well under $100 – heck you’ve spent less than $50. This is why I think this is the ultimate learning RDA, and really if you want to have multiple RDA’s lying around for various juice strengths, it makes it a no-brainer to have a few of these.

The IGO W Gets Better

You can actually now buy the deck and the top cap separately from VaporDNA. This is the ultimate way to go.

So what would I do if I were getting an IGO W? I would actually go for a full custom setup.

Start with the IGO W base. They are in stock for $9.99 at VaporDNA.

Then pick a top cap. There are several ways to go here and you can actually specify the size of the air holes that you want. If you have a feel for what you like in terms of airflow, the custom “fauxgatti” top caps are my first choice. They feature a slightly coned top design which will move your airflow slightly better (Bernoulli’s Principle) which will lead to better vapor production (though its not a true conical design like the Tobh Atty – I’m talking slightly better). You can get them with several options. My personal preference for airflow is 5/64 holes.

Custom Brass Fauxgatti Caps
Custom Stainless Steel Fauxgatti Caps

Alternatively, though they don’t have custom air hole sizes, there are several other top caps available that have big air holes that are MUCH better than the stock IGO W top cap holes. These are even clear acrylic.

VapeTactics Barrel Clear Top Cap
VapeTactics Shorty Clear Top Cap

IGO W Conclusion

So there you have it. The Youde IGO W is a really nice “bang for the buck” rebuildable dripping atomizer that is great to start on and great to own several of. The build quality on these is not mind blowing, but they’re solid. I’ve used mine for a long time now. The O-Rings went pretty quick, but those are pennies to replace and the replacements are better than the cheap stuff they put on here.

Its the working man’s RDA or RBA – get one today. They’re cheap and essential!

The Tobh Atty

Introducing the Tobh Atty

Available for $89.99 at VaporDNA

In short, the Tobh Atty is simply outstanding. I think this is one of the most exciting newcomers on the vape scene and I can’t wait to see what this company comes up with next.

I’ve been using the Tobh Atty rebuildable atomizer for about a month now. This RDA has quickly become my favorite rebuildable atomizer to date. Quite simply, the Tobh Atty is a work of art and no matter what your budget is this month, get one. Plain and simple.

The Tobh Atty gets a double thumbs up just for quality vs price alone. Weighing in at under $100, this is probably one of the best deals in RDA’s you’re going to find. To my knowledge there’s not a clone at this point, but don’t worry about it. Its affordable and you’re going to love this device.

What I’ve discovered about the Tobh – originally I figured this thing was built for cloud chasers, but as you’ll see below – the real jewel here is the conical airflow design – I get big clouds at .7 ohms!!! The Tobh is designed well – probably better than any RDA I own. The look of this RDA is amazing, but the performance will simply blow you away. I’m shocked that more people aren’t talking about this.

So what makes the Atty so amazing?

Tobh Atty unibody construction

Tobh Atty Construction

The Tobh Atty is made as a single piece, 303 stainless steel body. The posts are part of the deck which provides solid performance. This thing hits harder than any other RDA I own. Plus you can guarantee that the posts won’t move or break off. Its as solid as a rock.

The Tobh is set up for dual coil builds. It features 3 posts (2 negative and 1 positive) in the traditional configuration. The posts feature Phillips head screws and are 18-8 stainless steel coated and black oxidized. The posts feature .05” holes that accommodate any kind of wire you want to use and there’s enough room in the design of the posts and deck to accommodate quad coils if you like. The well is nice and deep so you can use lots of wick if you want to get more hits from a dripping atomizer.

The battery contact is made of solid copper, again adding to the performance. The center post features high strength PEEK insulators. These are rated up to 480 degrees fahrenheit which is higher than Delrin. The Tobh is built to last for sure under just about any condition. The O-Rings that come on the device are Black Buna-N and are rated to +280 degrees fahrenheit – nothing on this thing will melt.

The sleeve and cap are extremely well made as well. Also made of 303 stainless steel, they are of a brushed finish with an awesome looking cut ring “finned” top cap design that acts as a heat sink. This keeps the heat in the chamber where it belongs and not up near the drip tip. This also increases performance as this thing chucks clouds at my .7 ohm build even!

Tobh Atty Air Hole Design

The air hole design is adjustable. Each side of the sleeve features 3 1/16 inch holes placed horizontally creating excellent distribution of air flow across the coils. Two blocking posts that are part of the base allow you to situate the air holes to control the flow. This is a really minimal design and is extremely effective.

Also worth noting is the top. It features a conical internal design to channel the airflow. This increases flavor while eliminating turbulent air or low pressure/idle zones (Bernoulli’s Principle).

Design and Aesthetics of the Tobh Atty

This RDA is sharp and looks amazing. The stainless steel has a beautiful brushed matte finish so you don’t need to worry about finger prints. The logo is deep laser engraved and serial numbered. The logo is elegant. The top cap has fit every drip tip I’ve tried on it.

I prefer this on my custom copper/brass Nemesis. I’m currently using a gold DNA drip tip that’s nice and wide so I don’t have to remove anything to put juice in the device.

Should I get the Tobh Atty?

Tobh Atty Serial

Personally I can’t think of one negative about it. You can tell this thing is built for cloud chasers. I’ve built it to .3 ohms and it was a little much for me personally. When the vapor is downright hot, its not really my taste. Some people like this and you won’t be disappointed.

I’ve settled in on a .7 ohm build that is absolutely perfect. The flavor and vapor are the same I’d get at a much lower ohm build, but warm instead of hot.

The only issue you’ll find is that these are rarely in stock. I got mine from VaporDNA and they are outstanding. If they have this in – get one because they go out of stock fast.

My only regret is not having bought 2!

Available for $89.99 at VaporDNA