I bought a mini reo and looove it - keep my Rivas and use them as my "social" piece. Personally, I like the bottom feeder - I don't have to fuss as much with changing cartos, dripping etc.
Most of what I've read says that some of the "booms" with mods come from people who are using batteries improperly. I'm still learning and would recommend that you read a bit about the protected batteries that go with mods and how to properly charge them.
It can't be easy to blow up a mod because I'm a klutz - if there was a way I probably would've been starring in a ecf video by now.