RBA....is it worth it?

[jblindy]

I am thinking about getting into rebuildable atomizers. Honestly, though, I don't mind using clearomizers. As long as I can rebuild them or replace the heads, I think I'd be fine. But I am chasing more flavor and so my question is this? Do an rba really provide for a better flavor from your juice? Or is the big draw to rba's is the simplicity of rebuilding them?

 

[ConradM]

The rebuilding part is fun. But the flavor, vapor and nic hit out of a RBA blows clearos away. But it seems like rebuilding isn't for everyone... What's your aptitude for working with small electronic devices?

 

[ConradM]

I started with a Protank 2 then moved to Aspire BDC's which IMO destroy any kanger tank. Vaped the Aspires for a good month and they're pretty painless for a $10 clearo. Got a smok RSST last week and have since cleaned out my Aspires and stopped using them.

 

[Peppie]

Night and day
Apples to peaches
Black and white
Dusk to dawn
Yamaha to Harley
mountain to mole hill
ego twist to Caravela
two peas in a pod to Alice in Vapeland
Jets to Seahawks
ground beef to T-Bone
Jeremy Mayfeild to Dale Earnhardt
hardwood floors to Shag Carpet
tighty whiteies to boxers
slippers to stilettos
Granny Panty to thong
Billy Ray Cyris to Hank Williams
2% milk to whole milk
Ryobi to Bosh


Well you get the picture

All of the above. IMO

 

[jffvera]

If you are rebuilding clearomizer heads you are more than ready for an RBA. The flavor is much, much better, there is more vapor, and I don't mean just on sub ohm builds. I find it to be an all around better experience. If you are unsure about it, get an RSST for around $25. It's by no means going to perform as well as a Kraken or Kayfun, but it's a huge step up from clearomizers and an inexpensive way to try it out and evaluate it for yourself.

 

[Phone Guy]

Night and day

Granny Panty to thong

LMAO! That one's my favorite!


Seriously, yeah it's worth it. 2 months ago I was using kanger tanks... got into RBA (not drippers too much, I like tank systems) and NEVER use the clearos anymore.

The flavor difference alone is SO worth it. You have no idea. Those juices you have will take on a new life... some for better, some for worse. But the flavors just burst. Like candle light to 100 halogen spot light. (Yeah I went there)

 

[Wickeddeuce]

Night and day
Apples to peaches
Black and white
Dusk to dawn
Yamaha to Harley
mountain to mole hill
ego twist to Caravela
two peas in a pod to Alice in Vapeland
Jets to Seahawks
ground beef to T-Bone
Jeremy Mayfeild to Dale Earnhardt
hardwood floors to Shag Carpet
tighty whiteies to boxers
slippers to stilettos
Granny Panty to thong
Billy Ray Cyris to Hank Williams
2% milk to whole milk
Ryobi to Bosh


Well you get the picture

All of the above. IMO

You know a few years ago this would not have been a legitimate comparison... congrats to the sea chickens on clinching the nfc... and pretty much a 85% ride to the super bowl... i think it will happen... but i have told my wife this time and time again, i dont think it will happen this year... it is a good team, a phenomenal team in seattle, but on the road... eh... and in the super bowl... against say, the broncos, the chiefs, another really really good afc team (i hate the afc) i dont think they will win the bowl...

 

[Peppie]

You know a few years ago this would not have been a legitimate comparison... congrats to the sea chickens on clinching the nfc... and pretty much a 85% ride to the super bowl... i think it will happen... but i have told my wife this time and time again, i dont think it will happen this year... it is a good team, a phenomenal team in seattle, but on the road... eh... and in the super bowl... against say, the broncos, the chiefs, another really really good afc team (i hate the afc) i dont think they will win the bowl...

Big thanks to you guys out there at the fort.
This is the year the Hawks will do it. (fingers crossed)

 

[Wickeddeuce]

Big thanks to you guys out there at the fort.
This is the year the Hawks will do it. (fingers crossed)

No problem, and I would like to see the Hawks do it, I am not a Seahawks fan, but Lynch is my favorite RB in the league, hands down. I like Wilson too, and I would like to see the Hawks win the bowl, but I don't think they have hit that point yet. I feel a large majority of the Hawks dominance was/is based on being in Seattle playing with the 12th man. Now they won a good amount of games on the road, but those teams are/were debatable at that time. In New York (New Jersey) in February, I do not feel that the Hawks will be able to play at their prime. Also, of the teams that I suspect will make it from the AFC, they are more climate prepared, better on the road teams, and will have a better shot at winning. The Hawks will be the underdog, that I am 100% on. I hope they do it, but I also hope no one is in a contract year.

 

[super_X_drifter]

I am thinking about getting into rebuildable atomizers. Honestly, though, I don't mind using clearomizers. As long as I can rebuild them or replace the heads, I think I'd be fine. But I am chasing more flavor and so my question is this? Do an RBA really provide for a better flavor from your juice? Or is the big draw to RBA's is the simplicity of rebuilding them?

Yes. With an RDA you have full control of the warmth of your vape by building to different resistances, you can tweak variables such as coil to airhole relationship to adjust VTF, and experiment with different wire sizes, coil and wick configurations until you achieve the perfect vape.

And it's extremely intuitive and simple.

 

[st0nedpenguin]

Pick up an IGO-L, some kanthal and some silica and give it a shot, you won't know until you try!

 

[G Izlude]

There are some three post rebuildables out there in the $10-$20 range that are clones of more expensive devices; some are good enough, others are just plain junk. I recommend getting something that has more than one o-ring to seal the top cap and don't buy unless you've held it in your hand to get a feel for the sturdiness of the material (window shop around the brick and mortar before buying online). Some are made from cheap, thin, low quality, "barely metal" material with a high gloss coating that isn't going to stand up to heat well. If it's seems to be to light too be made of metal, this is probably the case. Remember that these things can be exposed to some serious heat. You don't want to risk baking some chemical coating off and breathing contaminates.

Look for designs that are easy to build on. Ask people what they like and dislike about their RBA and make a decision based on your personal needs. Some are troublesome for those with "well endowed" fingers. Some require Alan keys to tighten wire terminals. Some designs trap wires under screws, some have tiny holes to pass wire through and clamp the wire within the post (numbus clone).

You don't have to spend a lot of money on an RBA. But you will spend a lot of money unnecessarily if you make uneducated purchases and learn by your own trial and error rather than someone else's. Also know that there is a saying that goes, "Buy once, cry once." Basically, if you find a design that works well, sometimes it's better to just buy the better version rather than buy up all the cheaper versions hoping to save a buck only to end up buying the expensive version after all.

 

[jblindy]

The rebuilding part is fun. But the flavor, vapor and nic hit out of a RBA blows clearos away. But it seems like rebuilding isn't for everyone... What's your aptitude for working with small electronic devices?

With the resources available to me online, anything is possible.

I started with a Protank 2 then moved to Aspire BDC's which IMO destroy any kanger tank. Vaped the Aspires for a good month and they're pretty painless for a $10 clearo. Got a smok RSST last week and have since cleaned out my Aspires and stopped using them.

I have a Protank 3 and a Vivi Nova that I use right now, and I actually have had a Smoktek RSST in my shopping cart for a few days. I just haven't pulled the trigger yet. I've just been trying to determine if it's worth it. I guess for 30 bucks, it can't hurt to try.

 

[G Izlude]

I guess for 30 bucks, it can't hurt to try.

For $30 you could buy a Rocket and have some $ left over... if you like it perhaps a higher quality Kayfun/Russian type would be more to your liking... Genesis style atomizers served their purpose as an intermediate step to combining a tank and an RBA... the Kayfun design perfected it. Toss those geny's in the junk drawer.

Gravity is the enemy of a genesis and a friend of the Kayfun... Don't fight gravity while vaping!

 

[ConradM]

With the resources available to me online, anything is possible.



I have a Protank 3 and a Vivi Nova that I use right now, and I actually have had a Smoktek RSST in my shopping cart for a few days. I just haven't pulled the trigger yet. I've just been trying to determine if it's worth it. I guess for 30 bucks, it can't hurt to try.

You can get it from Clouds of Vapor for $25 with the coupon, bigbuyer.

 

[Wickeddeuce]

For $30 you could buy a Rocket and have some $ left over... if you like it perhaps a higher quality Kayfun/Russian type would be more to your liking... Genesis style atomizers served their purpose as an intermediate step to combining a tank and an RBA... the Kayfun design perfected it. Toss those geny's in the junk drawer.

Gravity is the enemy of a genesis and a friend of the Kayfun... Don't fight gravity while vaping!

I may be wrong, but the genesis style atomizers were not a lead up to the rba... IMHO the genesis style atomizer was designed to give the best of both worlds... and by both worlds i am referring to dripping versus clearo/carto...

the consensus is that the best flavor comes from dripping, but you have to constantly be able to drip every few draws, the clearo/carto gives you less flavor but gives you a tank to carry more liquid in... the trade off...

kayfun/russian/etc is a much better form of a clearo... leaps and bounds... a rda is a great dripper... and a genesis is more of a dripper with a reservoir... designed to give the benefits of a dripper with the juice capacity of a clearo...

again i may be wrong, i may be way off... but this is my take on the subject

 

[super_X_drifter]

^ dude, totally leaving bottom feed mods out if the equation

I think they are the best of all worlds...

Fresh squeezed juice on demand that just by thumbing an onboard bottle feeds juice directly thru the bottom of the RBA and perfectly wets the wick.

The vape is the optimum because unlike dripping, you feed exactly as much juice as you want and don't heat excess juice. Unlike genesis, you don't have a wick running down into the tank doing the same. No exposed tanks, no dripping mess cause the bottle is onboard. It rocks.

Additionally, they are very pocket friendly and don't leak. They are durable, compact and simple.

I run the REO grands. To me not only is it a game changer, it's the game ender

 

[Rule62]

^ dude, totally leaving bottom feed mods out if the equation

I think they are the best of all worlds...

Fresh squeezed juice on demand that just by thumbing an onboard bottle feeds juice directly thru the bottom of the RBA and perfectly wets the wick.

The vape is the optimum because unlike dripping, you feed exactly as much juice as you want and don't heat excess juice. Unlike genesis, you don't have a wick running down into the tank doing the same. No exposed tanks, no dripping mess cause the bottle is onboard. It rocks.

Additionally, they are very pocket friendly and don't leak. They are durable, compact and simple.

I run the REO grands. To me not only is it a game changer, it's the game ender

I've been procrastinating about getting a mini for a while now; because I'm already rotating about 18 tube mods.

 

[super_X_drifter]

I've been procrastinating about getting a mini for a while now; because I'm already rotating about 18 tube mods.

I wouldn't get one. Unless your ready to have a big ol yard sale on the classies or a bunch of dusty tubes

Seriously though, I'd strongly suggest a grand. They are only slightly larger than a mini but the 18650 kills an 18490, 6ml bottle is double the 3ml and the ease of access / filling the bottle vs the tiny mini put the grand over the top.

I started with minis but once I got grands the minis were sold / traded off

 

[Wickeddeuce]

^ dude, totally leaving bottom feed mods out if the equation

I think they are the best of all worlds...

Fresh squeezed juice on demand that just by thumbing an onboard bottle feeds juice directly thru the bottom of the RBA and perfectly wets the wick.

The vape is the optimum because unlike dripping, you feed exactly as much juice as you want and don't heat excess juice. Unlike genesis, you don't have a wick running down into the tank doing the same. No exposed tanks, no dripping mess cause the bottle is onboard. It rocks.

Additionally, they are very pocket friendly and don't leak. They are durable, compact and simple.

I run the REO grands. To me not only is it a game changer, it's the game ender

i think you are agreeing with me, despite my small gap in knowledge... and if thats the case... Yay! First off, if you were, then awesome because I have been working with the learning curve... I mean I only started 3 months ago, actually at the 3 month mark today.

As far as bottom feed mods... I haven't looked too much into them for two reasons. (Please correct me if I am mistaken)

First they appear to be unregulated and I prefer to play it safe and stick to regulated, not because I don't know how to work the unregulated the math, the theory is rather simple. It is the safety features of the regulated, that if I am slightly careless that make me prefer the regulated. I am not saying that I feel regulated can't have something bad happen, but if I am careless and say don't pay attention to my battery the device will cut off instead of discharging below a safe level.

Second I am still in the early stages of the vape game, and while I am trying to gather as much information as possible, I haven't come across too much on bottom feed, plus the only things I have seen for them have been unregulated, and expensive. Some day I may venture towards a bottom feeder, but I am a very budget vaper for the time being. I almost immediately wanted/was ready to make the leap to my SVD shortly after getting my eGo V V2 mega, then I started rebuilding my kanger coils and it was awesome and about a week or so after was eyeballing the RSST, and have been, just recently I bought 2 Aga t2s from the classifieds, got a great deal, and needed that glass. Some day I may get into bottom feed mods, but I predict that will be quite some time from now.

Any who, I feel that this post got away from me... lol...

P.S. if there are regulated bottom feeders, please don't tell me... I don't want to be eyeballing something else for a long time... lol... there is a reason at the b&m when the salesperson offered to let me try the provari, that i declined...