Hellbeast, another Hellvape offering in the world of DTL / RDL and a way to provide products at the lowest possible cost while maintaining acceptable quality. The real novelty is the return to old-school airflows: air is taken from the side (for real) and not from the top, which benefits the draw and the flavor. The Hellvape Hellbeast rta was gifted by sourcemore.
The usual black and orange Hellvape packaging with a sleeve that keeps the cardboard box sealed. Inside, you'll find the Hellbeast and a spare pyrex tank (2 total, including the pre-installed one). In the small bags, there is a mix of o-rings, screws, and a top cap gasket. For rebuilding, there's a screwdriver, a coil trimmer, two 0.37Ω Ni80 Clapton coils, and two pieces of cotton.
Hellvape is quite discreet about the material: they mention an aluminum finish, which I assume is for the top cap and the base, as they reflect light differently. The rest seems to be "normal" steel, without any aluminum-plated inserts in contact with the e-liquid. It weighs 68 grams. The diameter is 25mm, and the height is 49.5mm.
The drip tip is a transparent 810 declared as resin, with a color that matches the Hellbeast's finish. It's not very tall at 6mm, and its hole goes from 8mm at the base to a flare near the vapor exit hole, reaching 13.5/14mm. There are no o-rings at the base,the top cap also has an 810 connection, an internal drip tip o-ring, and knurling to help unscrew it. A quarter turn is enough to release the bayonet system and lift it off.
Unfortunately, the inside of the top cap shows a cost-cutting habit of using a giant gasket to fill space instead of using a more solid steel top cap with a single o-ring, which is common on 90% of atomizers, including those from Hellvape. Besides the aesthetics, if you remove it for washing, it can deform over time, and if you don't remove it, you'll need to soak it to remove the previous liquid's smell. Hellvape doesn't seem to sell replacements. If you choose to remove it and use the Hellbeast without it, the top cap will not be sealed and will spin freely.
For refilling, there are two large kidney-shaped slots that allow for refilling with any bottle or dropper. The pyrex tank is held between two o-rings installed between the filling port and the chamber of the Hellbeast, and they are held together by the threads on the chimney. Be careful with the o-ring at the very end of the chimney, which has a diameter of (approximately) 6.5mm. The capacity is 4.5ml, which keeps the size compact without needing to install bubble glass that ruins the aesthetics. If you are a fan of bottom refilling (like with the Dvarw or Diplomat), it is possible, though the capacity decreases to just over 4ml.
Inside the chamber, there's the usual reduction that corresponds to the 15 total holes per side, making it a side airflow. Slightly hidden on the other two sides are the two e-liquid intake holes that will saturate the coil. Although it aesthetically looks like a top-airflow atomizer, the Hellbeast is no different from other RTAs with e-liquid saturating the wicks from the bottom. The JFC (Juice Flow Control) is absent, so it is not possible to regulate the e-liquid flow to the coil. Unlike other Hellvape releases and other manufacturers, the Hellbeast's internal chamber/airflow is fixed, so it does not rotate.
Externally to the chamber and on both sides, there's a rotatable airflow ring with a stopper. It's removable and can be used with 2 rows of 5 air holes or 3 rows, each with five air holes. On the actual chamber, "only" 3 rows of five air holes each are engraved, for a total of 15. It is therefore not possible to open the entire ring (25 total holes) because the first holes in the 2-row configuration close as you open it. For an RDL draw, the minimum holes to open to hit the coil centrally are the first 3 rows with two holes. If you open only one or two, the air does not hit the coil. On the Hellvape RDA 3, this aspect was slightly better. A single coil with 3 rows of holes provides an RDL draw, while for a dual coil configuration, you'll definitely need to open the 3-hole row. If you try to open more air holes, or only open them halfway, the draw is affected.
The movable point this time is the deck, with the entire block rotating to allow the base to screw onto the chamber. It's a strange solution, but it doesn't seem to cause any problems. The deck is postless but, as expected, it's solid: no air comes from below. There are 4 posts for a maximum of two coils, but you can also use a single, large one. The coil can be secured with flat-head screws. The cotton wells are fortunately not too deep, so you just need to lay the cotton in and cover them completely (you don't need to thin out the cotton much for a single coil, but you do for a dual coil) for zero wicking problems.
Hellvape, as always, provides two Clapton coils in addition to the useful coil trimmer, recommending cutting the legs at the "5" marking. However, in the photo, even for a single coil build, I cut them to 4, and they work just fine. In the photo, one of the possible rebuilds is shown, with parallel legs occupying two parallel posts. It's possible to insert a single coil with "crossed" legs or build it in dual coil without any issues.
Returning to the coil height / leg length, you can adjust it better by removing the airflow ring and screwing in the chamber: from the air holes, you can see how high the coil is in relation to them. Given the weight and the not-so-abundant chamber dimensions, you can get creative with a single coil. For a dual coil, depending on whether you're using a mechanical or regulated mod, you can adjust based on the maximum airflow and how much you actually like a warm vape.
The base has the CE and Hellvape logos, as well as the disposal logo. By unscrewing the pin with a flat-head screwdriver and tightening all the deck screws, you can remove the positive post tower with its PEEK insulator for the first cleaning, which I always recommend for atomizers of this type. The back of the positive post is flat with a hole where the pin screws in.
I assume the rotating post block is pressure-fitted, as there is no way to remove it. The gold-plated 510 pin insulator visible in the center of the deck also doesn't seem to want to come out, but you can still do a good cleaning without removing it.
The flavor, as is easy to guess, leans towards sweet for creams, fruits, and menthols. The vapor is dense even with liquids slightly unbalanced towards VG (like a 60 VG - 40 PG) for a simple single-coil setup. The draw is good; it's just a shame about the top cap gasket. The Hellvape Hellbeast RTA is available on Sourcemore at https://www.sourcemore.com/hellvape-hellbeast-rta.html for $23.39 by entering HHBR in the Discount Codes box during checkout.
I thank the e-cigarette forum community and staff for the space and Sourcemore for the gift.
