Augvape has built a name for themselves in the vaping market with popular releases like the Druga rda and their series of RTA’s like the Merlin Mini. Today I will be reviewing Augvape’s latest RTA called the iNtake RTA which is a collaboration between the very popular YouTube reviewer, Mike Vape’s and Augvape. The two have collaborated to design a rather unique single coil leakproof RTA which is capable of transferring the top airflow directly beneath the coils to give the user a ‘bottom’ airflow RTA flavor with the advantage of being leakproof.
In the box you get:
Design:
Out of the box, the iNtake RTA looks to be a big and bulky single coil RTA with its bubble glass pre-installed. Do note that you can get this RTA to look slimmer/smaller if you switch out the bubble glass to the spare glass included in the box however, this will decrease your juice capacity from 4.2ml down to 2.5ml. The iNtake RTA is a 24mm Single coil RTA which has an aesthetically pleasing design to it. I have the Stainless-Steel option, but you can find this RTA available in 4 different color options which include: Stainless Steel, Black, Gun Metal and Blue. If I’m not mistaken, more colors are being added on which you should be seeing soon.
Starting from the tip, you have a comfortable, although short Resin 810 drip tip. You do get a taller Delrin drip tip in the spares bag if you prefer a taller drip tip. Below the drip tip you have the top fill cap with knurling on it so that it’s easier to open it. The top fill ports are decent sized, and you should be able to refill this RTA with no mess at all.
Below the top fill cap, you will notice the top airflow ring which has knurling on it as well to make it easy to adjust your airflow. The airflow ring can be adjusted smoothly and has the perfect tolerances, so you won’t be finding yourself struggling to open or close the airflow with this RTA. You can definitely tell that Mike Vape’s has paid a lot of attention to detail when designing this RTA.
Going on to the glass section, you have a bubble glass which is 27mm at its widest point. This does make the RTA wider, but you do get the advantage of increased capacity. Some people may prefer a straight glass for reasons such as, if the device falls and you have a bubble glass on, the glass will take damage. It’s nice that Augvape includes the straight glass tube as well for this RTA. On the barrel, you have ‘iNtake’ engraved on it.
Overall, I would say the external design of this RTA is done really well and the RTA does look appealing. What I really like is the attention to detail when it comes to making things easier. The use of knurling on the top fill cap as well as the airflow control ring was such a nice touch and including a straight glass tube as well in something I liked.
Build Deck and Airflow:
The iNtake RTA has a 2-post build deck which some of you may have seen before. It’s a very simple build deck to work on but there is one con. You need to think how you would like to place your coil before building it so that your leads are facing the right way. This isn’t a major con, but it should be noted. To combat this ‘con’, I think Augvape should’ve done something similar to what Wotofo did on their SMM RTA so that you could place your coils how ever you liked without worrying about which direction your leads are facing. The iNtake makes use of Philips head screws which I had no issues with.
On the build deck, you will notice 2 pipes which are for the airflow. How the airflow system works with this RTA is a bit different from other top airflow/leakproof RTA’s. Air enters from the top, travels down the 2 pipes which you see on the build deck and finally escapes from below the coil giving you the bottom airflow experience. I stand to be corrected but I think the iNtake RTA is the 2nd RTA to feature such an airflow system. The first RTA that had top to bottom airflow was the Uwell D2, but their method was nowhere as good as Augvape’s method. The airflow on this RTA is really smooth as well with very little noise.
Wicking:
Wicking this RTA, like most RTA’s, is probably the only thing that one may find a bit difficult. It is by no means difficult. You just need to make sure to cut the ends/tails short so that it just dips into the wicking ports. If you use pack the wicking ports with cotton, you may experience wicking issues at higher wattages. If you use too less cotton, you will experience spit back since the atomizer will flood. If you need a better idea of how to wick this RTA correctly, check out Mike Vape’s video. I have been using his method and its been working perfectly for me. I can easy do 50+ watts with no sign of inefficient wicking or hearing that sizzling/burning sound after you take a drag.
Comparison to the Engine Nano Single Coil RTA
I have tried the OBS Engine Nano which is a single coil leakproof RTA. I have used the iNtake RTA and the OBS Engine Nano side by side, so I figured I should write down my thoughts on these 2.
For those of you who don’t know, back when OBS launched the Engine line of RTA’s, it hit the market big time and Mike Vape’s himself rated the Engine as his favorite RTA.
Airflow:
The OBS Engine Nano features a top airflow design and works as follows: Air enters through the top, travels through the chimney and hits the coil on its side.
The iNtake RTA has a Top to Bottom Airflow design and it works as follows: Air enters from the top, travels down the 2 pipes which you see on the build deck and finally escapes from below the coil giving you the bottom airflow experience.
Speaking of airflow, the OBS Engine has a lot more airflow than the iNtake RTA. I would say that both have a good amount of airflow (more than I use). I don’t think you’ll find a problem with either of them having too less airflow unless you like your direct lung hits to be very airy in which case, the Engine Nano will be your friend.
Wicking:
Wicking the iNtake RTA is a simple task, but it would take you a few attempts to nail the wicking. I would suggest watching Mike Vape’s video to see how to wick this RTA properly. Using his method, the RTA wicks perfectly even at high wattages. I find the Engine Nano less forgiving when it comes to wicking. The Engine Nano does require much more attention when it comes to wicking it especially if you are planning on vaping at high wattages. I have been using the Engine Nano since it early 2017 so wicking it now wasn’t difficult but personally, I found it much easier to wick the iNtake RTA.
Since these RTA’s are top airflow, you won’t get leaking, but you do get dry hits, gurgling or spit back due to incorrect wicking. The only fix to these issues is re-wicking.
For spit back and gurgling:
Spit back is mostly caused because over saturated coils. To fix this, use more cotton (thicker piece) and try to cover the wicking ports a bit more. Fixing this issue requires trial and error to find a method that works best for you.
For Dry hits:
Dry hits occur due to you using to high wattage or wicking incorrectly (Too much cotton). Most of the time it’s using too much cotton that causes this issue. To fix this, simply use less cotton through the coil (if it is too tight through the coil) and cut the ends of the wick more so that it just sits and covers the wicking ports.
Flavor and performance:
To really test the flavor these RTA’s produced and how they compare, I used the exact same build in both and the exact same juice. The build I had in both was a 7 wrap, 22g Flat wire build with a 3mm inner diameter.
I have to say the iNtake RTA gave me much better flavor compared to the Engine Nano! At first, I though maybe I did something wrong in the Engine Nano because the difference in flavor was significant (Much more significant than the Zeus Dual vs Engine Dual). I then opened the Engine Nano, and everything seemed fine, but I dry fired and re-wicked it anyways just in case. After doing all of this, the iNtake still had much better flavor. I tried again this time with a different juice and still the iNtake outperformed the Engine Nano. Like test I did before with the Zeus Dual, I gave both RTA’s to 3 different people to try and asked them to pick out which RTA gave them better flavor and their response were as follows:
1. iNtake RTA – “The Flavor seemed to be more potent”
2. iNtake RTA – “The vape felt bolder and much more flavorful”
3. iNtake RTA – “You can’t even compare the 2”
If you have seen my review on the Zeus Dual vs Engine Dual, you would know that not all 3 people agreed on 1 RTA whereas with these 2 RTA’s all 3 people including myself felt that the iNtake RTA destroys the Engine Nano.
There’s no doubt that Augvape and Mike Vape’s have done an incredible job with this RTA. The airflow system in place is genius and the build quality is really good. Every component seems to have knurling on it so adjusting your airflow, removing the build deck or even refilling is a breeze. Adding a straight glass as a spare as well as a taller Delrin 810 drip tip was a nice touch.
In short:
The iNtake RTA performs excellent in flavor and is the best single coil leakproof RTA. I would say that the flavor this RTA produce can be compared to that of a Dual coil RTA. Comparing it to the Engine Nano, the difference in flavor was very noticeable. If you are in the market for a single coil RTA, the iNtake RTA is an excellent choice and I can safely say that you will not be disappointed by this RTA.
In the box you get:
- 1 x iNtake RTA
- 1 x Glass tube (2.5ml)
- Screwdriver
- 510 adapter
- Accessory bag
- Leakproof
- Top to bottom airflow directed beneath the coil
- Single coil RTA
- 4.2ml or 2.5ml capacity
- 24mm Diameter
- Easy to use
Design:
Out of the box, the iNtake RTA looks to be a big and bulky single coil RTA with its bubble glass pre-installed. Do note that you can get this RTA to look slimmer/smaller if you switch out the bubble glass to the spare glass included in the box however, this will decrease your juice capacity from 4.2ml down to 2.5ml. The iNtake RTA is a 24mm Single coil RTA which has an aesthetically pleasing design to it. I have the Stainless-Steel option, but you can find this RTA available in 4 different color options which include: Stainless Steel, Black, Gun Metal and Blue. If I’m not mistaken, more colors are being added on which you should be seeing soon.
Starting from the tip, you have a comfortable, although short Resin 810 drip tip. You do get a taller Delrin drip tip in the spares bag if you prefer a taller drip tip. Below the drip tip you have the top fill cap with knurling on it so that it’s easier to open it. The top fill ports are decent sized, and you should be able to refill this RTA with no mess at all.
Below the top fill cap, you will notice the top airflow ring which has knurling on it as well to make it easy to adjust your airflow. The airflow ring can be adjusted smoothly and has the perfect tolerances, so you won’t be finding yourself struggling to open or close the airflow with this RTA. You can definitely tell that Mike Vape’s has paid a lot of attention to detail when designing this RTA.
Going on to the glass section, you have a bubble glass which is 27mm at its widest point. This does make the RTA wider, but you do get the advantage of increased capacity. Some people may prefer a straight glass for reasons such as, if the device falls and you have a bubble glass on, the glass will take damage. It’s nice that Augvape includes the straight glass tube as well for this RTA. On the barrel, you have ‘iNtake’ engraved on it.
Overall, I would say the external design of this RTA is done really well and the RTA does look appealing. What I really like is the attention to detail when it comes to making things easier. The use of knurling on the top fill cap as well as the airflow control ring was such a nice touch and including a straight glass tube as well in something I liked.
Build Deck and Airflow:
The iNtake RTA has a 2-post build deck which some of you may have seen before. It’s a very simple build deck to work on but there is one con. You need to think how you would like to place your coil before building it so that your leads are facing the right way. This isn’t a major con, but it should be noted. To combat this ‘con’, I think Augvape should’ve done something similar to what Wotofo did on their SMM RTA so that you could place your coils how ever you liked without worrying about which direction your leads are facing. The iNtake makes use of Philips head screws which I had no issues with.
On the build deck, you will notice 2 pipes which are for the airflow. How the airflow system works with this RTA is a bit different from other top airflow/leakproof RTA’s. Air enters from the top, travels down the 2 pipes which you see on the build deck and finally escapes from below the coil giving you the bottom airflow experience. I stand to be corrected but I think the iNtake RTA is the 2nd RTA to feature such an airflow system. The first RTA that had top to bottom airflow was the Uwell D2, but their method was nowhere as good as Augvape’s method. The airflow on this RTA is really smooth as well with very little noise.
Wicking:
Wicking this RTA, like most RTA’s, is probably the only thing that one may find a bit difficult. It is by no means difficult. You just need to make sure to cut the ends/tails short so that it just dips into the wicking ports. If you use pack the wicking ports with cotton, you may experience wicking issues at higher wattages. If you use too less cotton, you will experience spit back since the atomizer will flood. If you need a better idea of how to wick this RTA correctly, check out Mike Vape’s video. I have been using his method and its been working perfectly for me. I can easy do 50+ watts with no sign of inefficient wicking or hearing that sizzling/burning sound after you take a drag.
Comparison to the Engine Nano Single Coil RTA
I have tried the OBS Engine Nano which is a single coil leakproof RTA. I have used the iNtake RTA and the OBS Engine Nano side by side, so I figured I should write down my thoughts on these 2.
For those of you who don’t know, back when OBS launched the Engine line of RTA’s, it hit the market big time and Mike Vape’s himself rated the Engine as his favorite RTA.
Capacity:
The OBS Engine Nano had a 5.3ml juice capacity whereas the iNtake has a 4.2ml capacity. For a single coil RTA, I think 4.2ml is a pretty good amount of juice. On the iNtake you do get the option of switching the bubble glass to the straight tube but that would decrease your capacity to 2.5ml.
Airflow:
The OBS Engine Nano features a top airflow design and works as follows: Air enters through the top, travels through the chimney and hits the coil on its side.
The iNtake RTA has a Top to Bottom Airflow design and it works as follows: Air enters from the top, travels down the 2 pipes which you see on the build deck and finally escapes from below the coil giving you the bottom airflow experience.
Speaking of airflow, the OBS Engine has a lot more airflow than the iNtake RTA. I would say that both have a good amount of airflow (more than I use). I don’t think you’ll find a problem with either of them having too less airflow unless you like your direct lung hits to be very airy in which case, the Engine Nano will be your friend.
Building:
The OBS Engine Nano had a stepped 2 post design and the idea behind the ‘stepped’ post holes was so that your leads could slide in without bending. This was a really good idea and it worked really well. The iNtake RTA features a 2-post build deck as well which some of you may already be familiar with. Overall, I would say both RTA’s require no experience to build. The decks are extremely simple to build on. The iNtake can however take bigger builds than the Engine Nano so if you like using exotic coils, the iNtake will allow you to install it with ease.
The OBS Engine Nano had a stepped 2 post design and the idea behind the ‘stepped’ post holes was so that your leads could slide in without bending. This was a really good idea and it worked really well. The iNtake RTA features a 2-post build deck as well which some of you may already be familiar with. Overall, I would say both RTA’s require no experience to build. The decks are extremely simple to build on. The iNtake can however take bigger builds than the Engine Nano so if you like using exotic coils, the iNtake will allow you to install it with ease.
Wicking:
Wicking the iNtake RTA is a simple task, but it would take you a few attempts to nail the wicking. I would suggest watching Mike Vape’s video to see how to wick this RTA properly. Using his method, the RTA wicks perfectly even at high wattages. I find the Engine Nano less forgiving when it comes to wicking. The Engine Nano does require much more attention when it comes to wicking it especially if you are planning on vaping at high wattages. I have been using the Engine Nano since it early 2017 so wicking it now wasn’t difficult but personally, I found it much easier to wick the iNtake RTA.
Since these RTA’s are top airflow, you won’t get leaking, but you do get dry hits, gurgling or spit back due to incorrect wicking. The only fix to these issues is re-wicking.
For spit back and gurgling:
Spit back is mostly caused because over saturated coils. To fix this, use more cotton (thicker piece) and try to cover the wicking ports a bit more. Fixing this issue requires trial and error to find a method that works best for you.
For Dry hits:
Dry hits occur due to you using to high wattage or wicking incorrectly (Too much cotton). Most of the time it’s using too much cotton that causes this issue. To fix this, simply use less cotton through the coil (if it is too tight through the coil) and cut the ends of the wick more so that it just sits and covers the wicking ports.
Flavor and performance:
To really test the flavor these RTA’s produced and how they compare, I used the exact same build in both and the exact same juice. The build I had in both was a 7 wrap, 22g Flat wire build with a 3mm inner diameter.
I have to say the iNtake RTA gave me much better flavor compared to the Engine Nano! At first, I though maybe I did something wrong in the Engine Nano because the difference in flavor was significant (Much more significant than the Zeus Dual vs Engine Dual). I then opened the Engine Nano, and everything seemed fine, but I dry fired and re-wicked it anyways just in case. After doing all of this, the iNtake still had much better flavor. I tried again this time with a different juice and still the iNtake outperformed the Engine Nano. Like test I did before with the Zeus Dual, I gave both RTA’s to 3 different people to try and asked them to pick out which RTA gave them better flavor and their response were as follows:
1. iNtake RTA – “The Flavor seemed to be more potent”
2. iNtake RTA – “The vape felt bolder and much more flavorful”
3. iNtake RTA – “You can’t even compare the 2”
If you have seen my review on the Zeus Dual vs Engine Dual, you would know that not all 3 people agreed on 1 RTA whereas with these 2 RTA’s all 3 people including myself felt that the iNtake RTA destroys the Engine Nano.
There’s no doubt that Augvape and Mike Vape’s have done an incredible job with this RTA. The airflow system in place is genius and the build quality is really good. Every component seems to have knurling on it so adjusting your airflow, removing the build deck or even refilling is a breeze. Adding a straight glass as a spare as well as a taller Delrin 810 drip tip was a nice touch.
In short:
The iNtake RTA performs excellent in flavor and is the best single coil leakproof RTA. I would say that the flavor this RTA produce can be compared to that of a Dual coil RTA. Comparing it to the Engine Nano, the difference in flavor was very noticeable. If you are in the market for a single coil RTA, the iNtake RTA is an excellent choice and I can safely say that you will not be disappointed by this RTA.
