RDA Buyer paralysis

[Fattlestar]

Never built a coil, or used a mech. I've read about them extensively and watched some building tutorials and examined battery safety. I know what mech I'm going to get (SXK Stingray X) but I cannot seem to decide on an rda to top it with. I need something that will be easy for a beginner to build (single coil airflow option) and have room to grow a little. I also need a clone that can be bargain hunted down below 20$. I am having a really hard time making a decision. These are the rda's I've looked at:

Magma - I like the look of the Magmas with the copper airflow ring. I hear a lot of people have excess leaking issues.
Plume Veil - I like the look of this one too, deck looks easy to build on, lots of airflow options. I have read about issues with the delrin cap melting though.
Legion - This thing looks awesome on a Stingray X, the only reason I have looked into it. Seems to be for cloud chasing though, and while I like clouds, I prefer flavor. Still, if someone suggests this, I'll buy into it because the look of it is better than any other I've seen with the mod I'm going to use.
Veritas - Lots of good reviews on these, but also seems complicated to build, maybe not so good for a beginner.

I've scanned over what seem like hundreds of RDA's though, and there is so much conflicting info that it is becoming impossible to make a decision. Are there some good options out there that I haven't looked into?

 

[KGB7]

Mutation X Clone is very popular and easy to work with, and it an handle bigger and more complicated coil builds.
There is also Tobh Clone.

 

[Robert Dupre]

I would say the mutation x v2 the top cap is made so you can close off one entire side of airflow for a single coil build and has split center post to make adding a second coil easy if you already had one in there. For an authentic you can pick it up for around 30-40.

 

[Fattlestar]

I would say the mutation x v2 the top cap is made so you can close off one entire side of airflow for a single coil build and has split center post to make adding a second coil easy if you already had one in there. For an authentic you can pick it up for around 30-40.

Thanks for the suggestions!

I'll look into Mutations and the Tobh. I won't be buying an authentic - I've never dripped or wrapped a coil, and I don't know if it is "for me" yet, if you know what I mean. I'm looking to try inexpensive routes to start with, and if I like it, I'll step up later on.

 

[Joe13]

I began with the most dead-simple dripper I could find, the IGO-L: $5.36 *SALE* IGO-L Rebuildable Stainless Steel Dripping Atomizer - double heating wires / 1.6ohm at FastTech - Worldwide Free Shipping

Two posts (one postive, the other negative), and a single air hole. IMHO, this config removes virtually all of the other variables, besides the quality of your coil builds and wicking.

They're so incredibly cheap, it's even worth it to get two, so you can do back-to-back tests of builds where you change one thing and see what effect it has on clouds and flavor.

In the RDA department, I have a Magma, Plume Veil, Origen, Mutation X v2, and a few others which slip my mind. I honestly love them all - each has its own little quirks.

But when learning, I do think it's important to minimize factors that are out of your control. IMHO, if you can't get the IGO-L to work and work well, chances are that the other more advanced drippers will give you issues.

 

[readeuler]

I'll vote for Magma + Plume Veil, and also recommend that you not stress too hard about it, you'll almost certainly be picking up some more

I'm filling out my collection starting with classics - Magma, Plume Veil, Tobh, Stillare (and trident) and a tugboat for the miss, so far.

Both the magma and plume veil tend to be on the leakier side, the magma uncontrollably so due to condensation, IMO. For the plume veil I just stuffed some wick in the neg post airholes, and it's way better.

They're both nice decks to build on, and offer a good spread - magma for a tighter draw and great flavor, PV for a looser draw and nice clouds (but still good flavor, IMO).

I did melt my delrin on the PV, which made me quite mad. Now I've got a chuff-enuff style topcap, and love it (about a dollar each on Fasttech, sold as Tobh 2-in-1 driptip + topcap, if memory serves).

The combo runs a little over $25 on Fasttech, which isn't bad. Oh, and the magma has a super long 510 pin, typically. Shouldn't be a big deal, but potentially annoying.

 

[Fattlestar]

I began with the most dead-simple dripper I could find, the IGO-L: $5.36 *SALE* IGO-L Rebuildable Stainless Steel Dripping Atomizer - double heating wires / 1.6ohm at FastTech - Worldwide Free Shipping

Two posts (one postive, the other negative), and a single air hole. IMHO, this config removes virtually all of the other variables, besides the quality of your coil builds and wicking.

They're so incredibly cheap, it's even worth it to get two, so you can do back-to-back tests of builds where you change one thing and see what effect it has on clouds and flavor.

In the RDA department, I have a Magma, Plume Veil, Origen, Mutation X v2, and a few others which slip my mind. I honestly love them all - each has its own little quirks.

But when learning, I do think it's important to minimize factors that are out of your control. IMHO, if you can't get the IGO-L to work and work well, chances are that the other more advanced drippers will give you issues.

Hard to argue with that kind of sensibility. And the price is right. I hate the way it looks and it isn't 22mm (issues!) but I think you may have picked the right one to start with.

 

[Robert Dupre]

Well thats the thing about the mutation x as an authentic its pretty close in price as some of the clones you will be looking at but the will better chance at good quality control than what a clone would be

 

[Joe13]

Hard to argue with that kind of sensibility. And the price is right. I hate the way it looks and it isn't 22mm (issues!) but I think you may have picked the right one to start with.

Oh, it's fugly. I don't ever take it out of the workshop. I'd be embarrassed if my friends saw me with it.

 

[KGB7]

Personally i find an RDA pain in the toosh because i have to drip constantly as i chain vape when i vape. This why i switched to RTA.

But chepo RDA is great for practicing making coils.

 

[wshanncap]

My favorite RDA so far is the Plume Veil. Although mine did melt the so-called Delrin insulator. I had to make a metal washer for it. But the Veritas is an excellent choice for flavor and not hard to build. It looks like a challenge if you have never built a vertical coil. But a vertical coil is the same as a horizontal coil but with an extra half wrap and stood upright. The Veritas is actually quite easy to build in single or dual coil mode.

 

[vapero]

this is just my opinion
my plume veil is really leaky so I hate it!, I like the veritas pot it isn't the easiest to build nor the best in any way.
my top choices would be the quasar (seally simple to build, amazing vapor and flavor) and the origen v2 (a bit harder to build but has great vapor and flavor plus holds a lot of juice)

from the ones you have seen I would definitely get the magma (even though I don't like the design, but seems the easier and better)

 

[Kaiser Bob]

I'll second the Quasar. I've collected a number of RDAs besides the Quasar (IGO-L, W6, Tobh, Zenith v2, Veritas, Origen, Geyser) and if I were to rate by ease of build, flavor and vapor I'd put the Quasar at #1. I rotate through most of those attys besides the IGO W6 and everytime I come back to the Quasar I think 'Damn this is a good RDA' and it was my 2nd RDA purchase.

 

[JD1]

There seems to be a kazillion new rda's on the market with new ones arriving every day lol. I have the Veritas and love it but those small nuts on the center post can be a bit fiddly.

I'd suggest going to FT, search and take a look at the following.

Side draw. Jam, Tiger. Reason: side air looks to be as good on these as the more expensive ones with side air.

Top draw. Rogue, Manta. Reason: top air should be very leak resistant.

Even if you don't order from FT you can get some ideas about what's available. If you do order from FT, I'd suggest the extra buck or two for tracking with China Post.

 

[VapinWolf]

I got my wife the mutation x v2 when an authentic was about $25. Now a month later I am jealous of her single could plumes and cheapest I can find is $30.

 

[Fattlestar]

Just an update, I did end up buying an IGO-L (listed as authentic but who knows, and I didn't buy from fasttech because I wanted it sooner rather than later). If all goes well, I'll invest in one of the others. Thanks for all the suggestions!

 

[Train2]

The IGO stuff usually is "authentic" - who's gonna clone a product that already is so cheap?

Just an update, I did end up buying an IGO-L (listed as authentic but who knows, and I didn't buy from fasttech because I wanted it sooner rather than later). If all goes well, I'll invest in one of the others. Thanks for all the suggestions!

 

[Fattlestar]

The IGO stuff usually is "authentic" - who's gonna clone a product that already is so cheap?

The Fasttech Igo-L is a clone, not authentic. I'm sure it works fine though, and I'm fine with clones - I just wanted to remark that the one I actually got is supposed to be authentic, where earlier I had mentioned that I wasn't going to buy authentic anything.

You would be surprised how cheap an item can be and still be cloned.

 

[anendeloflorien]

I was kind of in the same boat as the OP not too long ago and wound up going with the IGO-L. Honestly, it's as simple as an RDA can come and just works, nice deep well for juice (mine hardly ever leaks), puts out great flavor IMO, and it's cheap as dirt! I did modify the top cap a bit (drilled out the air hole to 5/64) just to increase the air flow but that's not really necessary. Only thing about the IGO-L that drives me bonkers is the screws, I really wish it had post holes like my TOBH though, it's not bad for the initial build but if you want to adjust anything after you've trimmed the legs it's next to impossible.

 

[Fattlestar]

I was kind of in the same boat as the OP not too long ago and wound up going with the IGO-L. Honestly, it's as simple as an RDA can come and just works, nice deep well for juice (mine hardly ever leaks), puts out great flavor IMO, and it's cheap as dirt! I did modify the top cap a bit (drilled out the air hole to 5/64) just to increase the air flow but that's not really necessary. Only thing about the IGO-L that drives me bonkers is the screws, I really wish it had post holes like my TOBH though, it's not bad for the initial build but if you want to adjust anything after you've trimmed the legs it's next to impossible.

I noticed the lack of post holes, which will probably be a little annoying but still workable. I also ended up grabbing an IGO-W4 as they were really low priced, so I'll have a three post to work with as well (and apparently the top caps on those two are interchangeable)