Yeah my first atty was a VA kraken. not the easiest to build. as for indestructible, i build for clouds. everyone is different. My first dripper was a tobh, very expensive at the time. and to be honest it was worth the 100 and something dollars. I say if this is your first ever RDA go to your local B&M and buy a clone of something that pleases you and work with that. Not trying to promote buying clones. Support your authentics.
Yeah man, tobh's are the precursor to the Indestructable v1. The Indestructable (Wismec mfg'd today) is a different story, don't know about quality on it but it's cheap enough and has nice enough features to look into buying one. A few months ago before JayBo teamed up with Wismec, he released a comp cap/sleeve and upgraded centerpost & pin for the original Indestructable. The comp cap & sleeve could be used on the Vector as well but the sleeve wasn't a great fit while the cap was. But what I'm trying to say is that today's Indestructable atty has the upgraded post & comp cap with top airflow.
I agree in a way to the buying a clone to see if you like it, but even then you don't know if you'll like an atty because clones aren't always up to quality. Don't get me wrong, in the beginning of my building days I bought clones, and some of them still work today. I've also bought authentics that have crapped out on me within a week (Wotofo Sapor).
In the end it comes down to features you're looking for, whether you want AFC control vs fixed AFC, 2 posts, 3 posts, or a 3 post with a centerpost block for 4 post holes, size, bottom air, side air, top air, or a mix of airflow, etc.
My two favorite RDA's are the Kennedy 24 & dotmod Petri. Both are fixed airflow, and pretty basic in set up. One thing about American made atties that I've noticed the customer service is great. My Kennedy 24 went down with a busted insulator, so I sent it in to be fixed the Monday before Thanksgiving and am expecting it back today (tracking says delivery date is today, but knowing USPS it could come tomorrow). When my Kennedy 24 went down, I didn't know what to do for a week and went back to my Petri but the airflow wasn't the same. So I bought a dotmod cloud cap on Black Friday weekend...(couldn't resist 35% off at a local shop that sells for the same MSRP's as online). Now my Petri has the same AFC size (4x3mm airholes) as the Kennedy 24, but I also have the option to use my standard cap with 2x3mm airholes.
Kennedy Enterprises takes care of their customers, they fixed my atty no questions asked once I told them what the problem was. Because of that, I bought another Kennedy 24.
Another great company is Hobo Customs. I accidently broke my hobo v3.1's center pin in half by over tightening it back into the post. I emailed Hoberto a picture of it on a Friday with my address, after I DM'ed him on Instagram & that Monday, yes, 4 days later, a new center pin was in my mailbox. Great CS yet again.
I'm not saying you have to spend $90+ to find an atty made in America just for quality control and customer service, but knowing a company is going to back their products and won't ignore the customer as most lower end companies have (Wotofo when my Sapor went down, B&M replaced it bc it was under a week old, and the second one broke within 5 days), influences my choices in products.
I still say Vector or the Indestructable atty, but the Vector is a bit simpler & cheaper at the moment. It's top air only so less chance of leaking and over dripping and everything like that, plus it's selling for <$30 at the moment.
The Vector RDA by VLS *
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As my personal opinion you would be hard pressed not to like the velocity. Unless you only vape single coils. Still getting to know my kennedy 22. so can't speak much on it besides its a little harder to build. Air flow is great. Hey tom could you PM me some instructions on how to color the coils. That would be awesome. BUY A VELOCITY FROM INSIGNIA. Great people. Just waiting for my other one from Dino
