Here’s my take on the Merlin RDTA by AugVape. For the record Augvape sent a Sample and then one Production one if I were to do a write up on my opinion. Why did they select me, hell I don’t know for I sure in the hell won’t skew my opinion of it for my integrity isn’t for sale 
What I do is I will take a device through the wringers before I post my opinions. I hate it one someone just gets a device and puts their first build in, vapes for a day or in a lot of cases less then posts a review. For the Merlin RDTA I’ve beat the .... out of it, put a few different builds, vaped on it for a few weeks and here are my thoughts of it.
The skinny, from their website
Their advertised spec’s
– 304 SS
Decent quality construction, no complaints here. I’ve been pleased with Augvape in the past with the machining and they haven’t let me down, it’s good.
– Diameter:24mm
Yep, fits perfect on my 24mm tubes
– Capacity:3.5ml
Would have been nice to be 4ml, but with the easy fill no real big deal. It’s enough
– Height:48.5mm
Not too tall, nice fit
– Derlin Top Cap And Drip Tip
Works very well, wasn’t sure if I’d like it for it is a bit odd. In my opinion though it looks nice on it and it is very comfortable to Vape on. I have a few Lawless Drip Tips that IMO are the best you can get and the ones on the Merlin RDTA come in second. It provides a very nice and comfortable Vape
– Peek Insulator
Zero issues here and I’ve been running a hot build the last week or so.
– Borosilicate Glass Tube
Nice, works well, no issues with cracking or chipping. I’ve dropped my mod a few times and she’s held up well. I do absolutely loath and despise plastic Tanks, especially on some obscenely priced gear from other Company’s so it's nice to see Augvape hasn't cheaped out with plastic.
– Elegant Hollowed-out Logo
Nice, very tasteful and really, really love how they put the logo in the tank itself, looks sexy and classy
– Easy to wick and refill
Yep, very easy, very easy for sure. I love how you just drip down the center. I have found that with some Unicorn bottle’s I get a bit of back wash while filling if I get impatient and squeeze to hard. With some other’s no issue and also no issue what so ever with glass dripper’s. It’s very easy to fill and I really love it.
Other points
This is a damn good well built RDTA with excellent flavor, room for and designed for fatty coils. While I HATE Phillips heads even more than I do Slot screws it’s very easy and cheap to correct. It’s very easy to use with the fill method along with being a great performer it’s a great daily driver. I do believe that they should have named it something else rather than the Merlin.
The Merlin line has been for a more reserved and even MTL Vaper, those Vaper’s will be very disappointed. But if you’re a lung hitter that likes a good flavorful Vape this will be perfect for you.
Recommended?
Yep if you’re a lung hitter, MTL or a tight DTL Vaper like the base Merlin fan’s not so much. But for me I do both (mostly DTL) and I've liked it enough to get two other’s, one for the FDA Apocalypse Stash and another in another color. She’s been my daily driver for a few weeks since she’s a great performer and sexy one at that!
Pictures being posted below
What I do is I will take a device through the wringers before I post my opinions. I hate it one someone just gets a device and puts their first build in, vapes for a day or in a lot of cases less then posts a review. For the Merlin RDTA I’ve beat the .... out of it, put a few different builds, vaped on it for a few weeks and here are my thoughts of it.
The skinny, from their website
- 304 SS
- Diameter:24mm
- Capacity:3.5ml
- Height:48.5mm
- Derlin Top Cap And Drip Tip
- Peek Insulator
- Borosilicate Glass Tube
- Elegant Hollowed-out Logo
- Easy to wick and refill
Their advertised spec’s
– 304 SS
Decent quality construction, no complaints here. I’ve been pleased with Augvape in the past with the machining and they haven’t let me down, it’s good.
– Diameter:24mm
Yep, fits perfect on my 24mm tubes
– Capacity:3.5ml
Would have been nice to be 4ml, but with the easy fill no real big deal. It’s enough
– Height:48.5mm
Not too tall, nice fit
– Derlin Top Cap And Drip Tip
Works very well, wasn’t sure if I’d like it for it is a bit odd. In my opinion though it looks nice on it and it is very comfortable to Vape on. I have a few Lawless Drip Tips that IMO are the best you can get and the ones on the Merlin RDTA come in second. It provides a very nice and comfortable Vape
– Peek Insulator
Zero issues here and I’ve been running a hot build the last week or so.
– Borosilicate Glass Tube
Nice, works well, no issues with cracking or chipping. I’ve dropped my mod a few times and she’s held up well. I do absolutely loath and despise plastic Tanks, especially on some obscenely priced gear from other Company’s so it's nice to see Augvape hasn't cheaped out with plastic.
– Elegant Hollowed-out Logo
Nice, very tasteful and really, really love how they put the logo in the tank itself, looks sexy and classy
– Easy to wick and refill
Yep, very easy, very easy for sure. I love how you just drip down the center. I have found that with some Unicorn bottle’s I get a bit of back wash while filling if I get impatient and squeeze to hard. With some other’s no issue and also no issue what so ever with glass dripper’s. It’s very easy to fill and I really love it.
Other points
- The o-rings are good, no issues with leaking and the tolerance around the deck is excellent once o-rings are lubed.
- It’s a two post deck with two HUGE post holes. You can fit some massive builds in here, I mean some real fat coils. The screws are 4mm flat tip screws but this is where IMO they screwed the pooch. On the Sample they had hex screws, perfect. No stripping, you get a good solid bite on those fatty coils you can pop in. Then with the released version they went with Phillips …… WTF? They haven’t stripped yet and you can’t get a good solid bite on the wire like you can with some good Hex grub screws. Is this a deal killer? Nope, I didn’t have hex grubs that size in my stash so I just went on eBay and ordered some Brass (they’ll look nice on the gold plated deck) hex screws, 50 count M4x5 for under $5. Also I would have preferred a Velocity or a postless deck instead of just a 2 hole deck. I can build on them but not a huge fan. Not a deal killer, but just not thrilled with them.
- 510 pin is IMO too short, good on most mod’s but too short for a Hybrid.
- Wick Holes are large and excellent. For fatty coils you’ll need a healthy amount of cotton and the holes are excellent. Large and very easy to wick, damn easy. I’ve put a 0.45 build in on my series mod, that’s around 145+W and she handled it fine, no dry hits at all. Also no issues with leaking, none.
- The airflow, they opened up quite a bit from the Sample, this is a major plus. The deck is geared towards nice fat coils and the airflow opened up is perfect for it. This is a cloud chucker and the airflow is adjustable, another major plus. Then with bottom airflow this has a lot of flavor.
This is a damn good well built RDTA with excellent flavor, room for and designed for fatty coils. While I HATE Phillips heads even more than I do Slot screws it’s very easy and cheap to correct. It’s very easy to use with the fill method along with being a great performer it’s a great daily driver. I do believe that they should have named it something else rather than the Merlin.
The Merlin line has been for a more reserved and even MTL Vaper, those Vaper’s will be very disappointed. But if you’re a lung hitter that likes a good flavorful Vape this will be perfect for you.
Recommended?
Yep if you’re a lung hitter, MTL or a tight DTL Vaper like the base Merlin fan’s not so much. But for me I do both (mostly DTL) and I've liked it enough to get two other’s, one for the FDA Apocalypse Stash and another in another color. She’s been my daily driver for a few weeks since she’s a great performer and sexy one at that!
Pictures being posted below
