Hi there! TheOneVape_Review is back once again with a rta review - The Zeus X RTA by GeekVape. I have seen a lot of people asking how the flavor performance between the Zeus X as compared to the Kylin v2 and the Lotus RTA is like. In this review, I am going to share with you my experience between these 3 RTAs. Let's go below so I could share my experiences and thoughts with you on the Zeus X RTA.
INTRODUCTION
The Zeus X RTA which was made by GeekVape and was released 2 to 3 months back. It was a highly anticipated RTA as their previous versions of the Zeus line ( Zeus Single & Zeus Dual ) were very popular. The Zeus X, which I believe, will be the last and final version of the Zeus. Just a quick overview of the Zeus X - It has a 25 mm diameter base which holds 2 drop-in style elevated post-less build deck with 4 terminals to either fit a single coil or dual coil. The Zeus X has a top airflow design and it redirects the airflow using a removal airflow chamber. It holds a e-liquid capacity 3.5 ml for straight glass and 4.5 ml for bubble glass. For TPD version, it comes with both straight glass with a 2 ml e-liquid capacity. For those who owns a Zeus Dual, both the straight and bubble glass are compatible with the Zeus X.
SPECIFICATIONS & FEATURES
Diameter : 25 mm
Diameter ( with bubble glass ) : 29 mm
Height ( including drip tip and 510 connection ) : 47.8 mm
Height ( without drip tip and 510 connection ) : 39.1 mm
Direct Top To Side Airflow
Elevated Post-less Build Deck
Open Access To Trim Excess Wires
Detachable Inner Airflow Chamber
Easy Top Fill
Leak Resistant
Single / Dual Coil Compatible
COLOR OPTIONS
Color Options / Picture Credits : HeavenGifts
PACKAGING CONTENT
1 x Zeus X RTA
1 x Spare 3.5 ml Straight Glass
1 x 810 Ultem Drip Tip
2 x Agleted Cottons
2 x Ni80 Fused Clapton Coils ( 0.4 Ω )
1 x Tri-Tool
1 x Hex Wrench
1 x Spare Packs ( 4 x Hex Screws, 4 x Flat Head Screws, Lots Of O-Rings )
1 x User Manual
1 x Warranty Card
1 x Promotion Card
Packaging Content
Zeus X Components
Build Deck
Internal Airflow Chamber
Straight Glass / Bubble Glass
Chamber With Top Fill
Airflow Control Ring
Top Cap
Delrin Low Profile 810 Drip Tip / 810 Ultem Drip Tip
Zeus X Components
BUILD QUALITY
The Zeus X has a superb build quality when it first came out of the packaging; no scratches and defects were found. No machining oil can be found anywhere expect when you take out the drip tip, machining oils were found on the top cap where your drip tip sits. Build decks, internal airflow inserts and chimney were all very well machined and clean. The flat head screws are definitely of quality as it did not strip on me overtime. Threading and o-rings restrictions are all very smooth. The o-ring restriction holding the airflow control ring in place are loosely held in place and can be removed easily. When the top cap is on, the tension is perfect in my opinion, as it will not adjust on its own.
I have seen many people having issues with their chamber and airflow not connected in place, therefore causing leaking and flooding issues. But don't worry, there is a solution for it which can be found here.
BUILD DECK
The drop-in style elevated post-less build deck on the Zeus X has the same concept as the Drop and Dead Rabbit RDA, but just different in design. It has 4 terminals to perfectly fit dual coil or a large single coil which are tightened using flat head screws. If you're not a fan of flat heads, hex screws can be found inside the spare pack. The build deck is generally quite small in my opinion as it can fit only up to 6 wraps for a 3 mm coil but there is a lot of space for you to position the coils. There is a small cut out on the bottom of the build deck for easy access to trim the excess coils using a wire cutter. In my opinion, I think the hole is too small as my wire cutter can't fit into the cut out. It is only suitable for a smaller sized or angled wire cutter. I don't see the need of cutting the excess coils through the cutout as I leave my coil legs all the way touching the deck and it did not short on me. There is a protruding notch on each side of the deck to hold the airflow chamber in place when screwing the deck. You can either place the airflow chamber align it to the notch on the build deck first, or insert the airflow chamber into the chamber section and screw the base in afterwards. For me, personally, I will usually place the airflow chamber over the build deck before screwing in the base.
Zeus X Build Deck
AIRFLOW
On the Zeus Single and Zeus Dual, it is a 90° airflow whereby airflow will enter through the top airflow and go down at a 90° angle into the chamber. On the Zeus X, the top airflow is angled downwards at an angle just like on the Dead Rabbit and Serpent Elevate RTA. I believe the angled airflow is to provide a smoother airflow and a quieter vape because on my Zeus Single, the airflow is quite loud.
Instead of using their traditional way of directing the air from top to the side, GeekVape made something different but not so different. They used an internal airflow chamber to redirect the air instead and this idea can be found on the Solomon 3 and the Creed RTA. On the internal airflow chamber, there are 2 rows of airflow holes on each side and another row of airflow holes on the angled part of the chamber, just right above the 2 rows of airflow holes. There are 5 airflow holes on each side of the angled part of the chamber, 4 airflow holes right below the angled part of the chamber and 5 airflow holes on the last row. The internal airflow chamber not only redirects the air, but also to reduce the chamber to produce better flavor.
Internal Airflow Chamber
PLACEMENT OF COILS
The Zeus X build deck, like mentioned above, is not a big build deck as the maximum it can go the about 6 wraps for a 3 mm coil. I found the perfect height for me is at 6.5 mm for a 3 mm coil. The 3.5 mm coil at 6.5 mm leg length is a little too high for it. It is almost touching the airflow chamber and it won't sit flush on the deck. It did not show the short warning but I didn't want to take the chance so I decided to trim it down to 5.5 mm.
For 3 mm coil, I will pull both coils outwards, from the top view, half of the coil should be outside from the edge of the build deck. As for 3.5 mm coil, 1/3 of the coil should be outside from the edge of the build deck. Always remember to place the airflow chamber over the coils to check for shorts.
PERFORMANCE
WICKING
The Zeus X is one of the most cotton needing RTA. Unlike on the Kylin v2 and Lotus RTA, you literally don't have to thin out a lot of cotton on the Zeus X, in fact, you don't even need to thin it out. You have to thin the cotton out on a 3.5 mm coil because that's way too much cotton and it will choke the wicking channel, but make sure not to thin out too much. This RTA wicks pretty good, keeping it up well when chain vaping, and that also means zero dry hits.
Spit back and flooding depends on how much cotton is tucked into the wicking channel. I mentioned that a 3 mm coil doesn't need any thinning of cotton, but if you insert too little cotton into the coil or thin out too much cotton, it will cause flooding and massive spit backs. For my daily usage of the Zeus X, I haven't experience any flooding and spit backs except for the first time when I thin out too much cotton.
AIRFLOW
The airflow is very smooth all across the board. It is quite an airy vape when fully and 1/4 closed. It started to get restricted when it is half closed.
FLAVOR & VAPOR PRODUCTION
I had tried different diameter coils and they are mainly 3 mm and 3.5 mm. I did a side by side comparison between the Zeus X, Kylin v2, and Lotus RTA. Coiled used was 3mm , 5 wraps, quad core fused clapton. E-liquid used for testing was PB & Jam Strawberry. Let me share with you the results of them starting off with the Kylin v2:
Kylin v2 - I get a very sweet note of the strawberry and a not so strong peanut butter taste. To put it a simplier way, it is around 80% strawberry and 20% peanut butter.
Lotus RTA - I get a well balanced notes of the e-liquid, just a tad stronger notes for the peanut butter, about 55% peanut butter and 45% strawberry.
Zeus X - I could only taste a very mild strawberry and peanut butter and the notes were quite off. It didn't taste like the actual PB & Jam Strawberry and it felt like I was vaping on a different juice.
Overall, the Kylin v2 and Lotus RTA easily beat the Zeus X in terms of flavor for 3 mm coils. For a 3.5 mm coil ( which I didn't compare with the Kylin v2 & Lotus RTA afterwards ), the flavor had gotten worst, like it totally distorts the flavor. Vapor production wise, the Zeus X performs quite decent.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The Zeus X isn't a very impressive vape after all, just like how I wasn't impressed with the Zeus Single. It is not so beginner friendly because there is no benchmark to where you should cut the coil to get good flavor results. To put it in a simpler way, it is not as straight forward as other RTAs, for example, Serpent Elevate, where you cut the coils with the given length and you are good to go. But for the Zeus X, you have to play around with the coil placement to get the sweet spot you want.
GeekVape advertised the Zeus X as a leak-proof RTA, which in my opinion, is not leak-proof at all. Once you flood your deck and lay it sideways, it will still leak through the airflow. It is just minimizes the chance of leaking as compared to a bottom airflow.
What I like about the Zeus X is mainly of the looks. It is aesthetically pleasing to the eye and with the nice designs all around. To me, it looks pretty good and it looks quite professional with all the features, but it proved me otherwise. So to all of you who buy RTAs for the looks, don't do it. Looks can be deceiving. The 1/4 turn to remove top cap is pretty nice, just like the other Zeus version, and you won't have to waste so much time unscrewing the top cap just to refill. It would be nice to see if more companies are doing that for their RTAs. The fill port may not be the biggest for your bottle tip or glass tip to fit in, but they compensate it by lowering the fill ports to prevent juice from spilling out. I'd give it to them. Personally, I am not a fan of the low profile drip tip and I find them ugly, but the shape of the top cap makes the drip tip blends in well so it don't look as hideous as it should have been. But still, I don't use it because it is a pain in the ... to remove the drip it. I use the spare ultem drip tip that came in the spare pack. Always keep an eye on the o-ring located around the build deck as it comes off very easily.
Who do I think this RTA is for? To those who are a fan of the previous Zeus line, you might like this. Many of you are curious how the Zeus X is as compared to the Kylin v2 and Lotus RTA, the answer is pretty obvious. I would rather you stick to a bottom airflow than to get a leak resistant, top airflow RTA with a meh flavor on it.
Would I recommend this to people or buy one more for myself? No, the flavor itself is just pretty turn off.
Lowered Fill Ports
WHAT IS GOOD
- Well Built RTA ( for me at least )
- Aesthetically Pleasing
- 1/4 Turn Top Cap Design
- Coil & Cotton Provided
- Easy To Install Coils
- Spare Ultem Drip Tip Provided
- Decent Vapor Production
- Smooth Airflow
- Hex Screws Provided
- Good Wicking
- Zeus Dual Glass Compatible With Zeus X
WHAT ISN'T
- Flavor Isn't Good
- Difficult To Remove Low Profile Drip Tip
- O-Rings On Base Comes Off Easily
PRICE OF ZEUS X
ElementVape - $27.95
VaporDNA - $34.99
Urvapin - $32.99
Thank you for taking the time to read my review on the Zeus X RTA by GeekVape. This is TheOneVape_Review, signing off.
REVIEWER DISCLAIMER: I only type reviews during my free time so some products may take quite some time to be posted up. All products are used for 2 weeks or more.
PRODUCT DISCLAIMER: The Zeus X RTA was not sponsored by any companies or shops. This product that I reviewed was bought with my own money.
PICTURE DISCLAIMER: All pictures posted in my threads are purely taken by me and only me. Do not use without my acknowledgment or giving any credits.
