We were out to try some new vape gear and decided that it was time to invest in an RDA. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the abbreviation, RDA stands for Rebuildable Dripping Atomizer and basically means that instead of having a tank for your juice to sit in, you now have exposed wick or cotton surrounding your coil that holds your juice. RDAs are for people who are looking to further their vaping experience, they require that you know about coil building and other factors affecting vapour production such as airflow, PG/VG ratios and voltage output. This being said, once you have experienced a RDA the chances of you going back to a standard EVOD atomizer are slim.
Contents of the box.
We decided to go with the Patriot RDA clone by Yeahsmo from VapeKing. It was definitely one of the best options available to us with regards to value for money. For prices ranging from R220 – R300 locally you get the following: A stainless steel 510 drip tip Two air holes located on either side Chromed brass posts Triple-post system for single/dual coil build (trident) A double o-ring seal set up on the bottom base A small phillips screwdriver 2 ready made coils with wick 2 extra screws 2 extra o-rings Opening the box I found the Patriot along with the drip tip and a packet of bits and pieces including a screwdriver, ready made coils and extra screws and o-rings.
Contents of box.
First impressions of this RDA was that it was not bad for what one would perceive as a clone. It is made of solid steel with a nice chrome finish and has a very similar logo to the authentic Patriot RDA v1.2. I have been using the Patriot RDA clone now for around a week or so and I’ve made the following observations: This product was definitely worth the R220 it cost me, I’ve dropped it about 4 or 5 times and it has not displayed any signs of damage (cracks and dents) verifying my initial first impression of quality. Depending on what juice you’re using, this RDA can create thick white vapour (we like to use 100% VG). There is a noticeable increase in flavour production when compared to normal atomizers. It weighs enough for it to give you a sense of quality but not too much that it becomes an issue to carry it around with you on a night out. I have experienced no leaks so far but this could be because I use cotton instead of wick and never drip too much juice onto my wick, Just enough to saturate it. We’ve also found the trident design makes it quite easy to get into coil building if you have very little or no experience. Building on this base is relatively easy and it allows for a dual coil as well as more elaborate builds too.
Trident base set up.
If you’re serious about vaping you might find that the patriot would perform better with more air holes (I’ve seen this online) as it sometimes tends to be hard to pull on. Over all I would give the Patriot RDA clone by Yeahsmo a solid 4 out of 5 with its solid build and ease of use it is a great starting RDA with excellent value for money.
Vape Town ZA 