For me the main distinction here is rda vs rta, the squonking component is just a more convenient juice delivery method, albeit an important one. In my case it's RDAs pretty much exclusively nowadays (not sure why some have concerns about needing massive build decks? Mine are all single coil.). I have and really tried to like RTAs (they're all I ran for a long time) as they can be very convenient but even with the best two I have (Serpent SMM and Ammit 25) the flavour is very muted compared to RDAs, admittedly I don't use crap RDAs (what's the point?) but I don't use crap or mediocre RTAs either, there's loads of both. The Serpent comes out on top for me in almost every case to such an extent that after some testing that's robust enough for my needs (since it focusses on the juice I use and the way I vape) the Ammit got washed and boxed up yesterday, now out of rotation. The other thing I find with tanks with some juices is that the tank heating and cooling can cook out and congeal the juice too much, especially if left overnight, one of the reasons (apart from the height) that I never fitted the 5ml tank to the Ammit. RTAs are also very fickle with builds I find, coil height, wick length and wick density and it makes a significant difference to performance. RDA, 4 wrap alien in (or micro coil), done. I can build and wick a Recurve in about 2 minutes, not so with my RTAs.
When I compare initially I run 4 of my fave juices at wattages that will achieve roughly the same heat flux (80, 100, 120 & 150) and with builds that are both identical (rarely works out well as, for instance, I find claptons better in tanks whereas I use aliens on RDAs - again it's about using what I need to get the flavours I want) and the RDAs consistently beat the tanks on any juice. I also find that tanks do much better with straight fruits and minty / menthol juice (the latter don't appeal to me at all) and are very muted with dessert / cream / custard / bakery juices to such an extent that the flavour can be non existent. For many, a heat flux of 80 will be way too low but some of the real delicate juices I use (white chocolate / vanilla) get murdered at high heat. I also stress to chums that I use a vape instead of shisha so prefer a really cool vape, the power / wattages that some chums use (with the heat flux up at 350!) would kill me I think LOL!
My testing is highly subjective and focussed on my needs but, if they pass the initial screening I then run 10-12 different builds on each atty with each tank rated across 5-6 juice types. I then decide whether it stays in rotation, can't be bothered wasting time building for attys that can't deliver. Like I say, I only do the complex testing with attys that pass the initial test, hence the Serpent stays in rotation for banana flavours and a superb pineapple / rum juice I use here. Too much time on my hands but it works for me, is conducted leisurely over time, all at 120 heat flux. It's better for me than just trying to remember random build performance plus I like to give any atty I've bought / tried a fair crack of the whip. I do little testing now as the RDAs I have / buy I know are going to perform well, and with what build. The KRMA passed in about 30 minutes. It's helped several others as well, I just send them the relevant simple spreadsheet but of course, it's based on my needs, may not work for them.
For folks worried about using heavy coils in an RDA I find they are better using a mod that has a VW curve so you can hit the coil with a 0.5 second blast (20 - 50% up on the desired vape wattage depending on the coil) then tone the curve down to the desired wattage, my chums use TC a lot but I prefer VW curve. Anyone getting an overly hot vape and throat hit with an RDA I'd suggest is using the wrong build and / or wrong power. Some friends were also worried about knowing when to drip on an RDA and regularly over dripped for fear of getting a dry hit. After a short while you get to know how much dripping / squonking an atty needs. The Recurve for instance I find once vaped until the flavour suddenly drops (two hits later and it's dry hit and that lovely mech / cotton taste) needs around 8-12, it just becomes instinctive, not needing much thought.
I found I in the early days I succumbed to quite a bit of the hype from reviews around some of these RTAs (RDAs too I guess - in all honesty I dislike the Drop) but a lot of the reviews are nothing more than infomercials with nothing but gushing praise using a different form of words with just about every bloody atty! I'm very very dubious about this 'reviewer glowing praise' now. I actually met one reviewer I quite like at a vape expo and asked him to stick a build into particular tank I'd just bought that HE'D reviewed with gushing praise. Crap! And I mean total crap. I guess it depends what the reference point is. A tank delivering moderate to reasonable flavour is miles better than a tank delivering none I guess. I've truly tried to like and use my tanks but compared to something as simple as a Recurve it's just night and day.
For the small investment of $20, if anyone thinks they are committed to tanks and have found their nirvana, I'd really REALLY suggest just buying and trying a Recurve or a Nudge 22. Absolute piece of cake to build, single coil, really economical on juice and batteries and the flavour is just awesome. If you find you really like it you can then just switch to the squonk pin and stick it on a squonk mod for convenience, or just continue to use it as a drip. I know dozens of folks here who were tank / clearo die hards, every one has switched after trying single coil RDAs. Visited another buddy of mine not long back who was pretty annoyed at having spent $50 on a bunch of DIY juice that he thought was crap, to such and extent he was going to bin it. He uses (used) exclusively OBS Nano and Engine tanks, both pretty good in the flavour department. Put his juice into a fresh build on my RDA and bang! Folks that are thinking about buying and who ask me I let them try an RDA on a squonk, I then let them try the best build I can get on the Serpent. They have all opted for RDA / squonk combo. It seems that many folks come in to vaping and progress towards squonk RDAs, it all looks so much easier with clearos and reg mods. I did the same. If only I knew then what I know now, but luckily I didn't waste too much getting here. But of course that's just what I like. Everyone is different
I'm not saying try an RDA in any way smugglishly, but if you've never tried one it might just be worth a punt. I went through clearo / sub-ohm pre made coil tanks (Melo 3, iJust S, Nautilus Mini), through crap tanks, mediocre and good tanks, single and dual coil, dual coil RDAs, RDTAs and down to single coil RDAs finally ending up with single coil RDA squonking. Thankfully I didn't buy all of these as I have a buddy who is fanatical about this stuff (I dread to think what his vaping budget is!), so was able to short cut to what I enjoy the most. But I got to try and build all manner of the "Yeah they nailed it with this one" Mike Vapes, and others, talked up RTAs (my chum squonks only but collects, seemingly, everything!!) only to find they were a bit meh. I'm no expert on building by any means but have been through hundreds of builds with these tanks and RDAs and my chum seems to be able to tell instinctively what will work, and we just can't match RDA flavour (admittedly not crap RDAs, no point) with even the best tanks.
Squonking is the perfect extra step for me, it's not about the size of the bottle vs a tank, it's about getting the RDA experience with convenience. I still keep the Serpent SMM in rotation, mostly with an NiCr 80 coil for banana (and some mango juices) but otherwise it's RDAs all the time. It's not expensive these days either, as cheap or even cheaper than some regulated mod / tank combos, Pulse 80 mod with a Recurve or Nudge 22, $60. The 22 RDAs are small enough to be used on something like a Pico iStick 75 too. I bought one to use with the Nautilus Mini and was quite sad to see it drop out of use, perfect with the small RDAs though and such a small rig.
Sent from my balcony with a cup of java, newly arrived KRMA RDA on a Pulse 80 with Magnus (Malaysian Almond Magnum) juice. OMG! Perfect breakfast LOL.
When I compare initially I run 4 of my fave juices at wattages that will achieve roughly the same heat flux (80, 100, 120 & 150) and with builds that are both identical (rarely works out well as, for instance, I find claptons better in tanks whereas I use aliens on RDAs - again it's about using what I need to get the flavours I want) and the RDAs consistently beat the tanks on any juice. I also find that tanks do much better with straight fruits and minty / menthol juice (the latter don't appeal to me at all) and are very muted with dessert / cream / custard / bakery juices to such an extent that the flavour can be non existent. For many, a heat flux of 80 will be way too low but some of the real delicate juices I use (white chocolate / vanilla) get murdered at high heat. I also stress to chums that I use a vape instead of shisha so prefer a really cool vape, the power / wattages that some chums use (with the heat flux up at 350!) would kill me I think LOL!
My testing is highly subjective and focussed on my needs but, if they pass the initial screening I then run 10-12 different builds on each atty with each tank rated across 5-6 juice types. I then decide whether it stays in rotation, can't be bothered wasting time building for attys that can't deliver. Like I say, I only do the complex testing with attys that pass the initial test, hence the Serpent stays in rotation for banana flavours and a superb pineapple / rum juice I use here. Too much time on my hands but it works for me, is conducted leisurely over time, all at 120 heat flux. It's better for me than just trying to remember random build performance plus I like to give any atty I've bought / tried a fair crack of the whip. I do little testing now as the RDAs I have / buy I know are going to perform well, and with what build. The KRMA passed in about 30 minutes. It's helped several others as well, I just send them the relevant simple spreadsheet but of course, it's based on my needs, may not work for them.
For folks worried about using heavy coils in an RDA I find they are better using a mod that has a VW curve so you can hit the coil with a 0.5 second blast (20 - 50% up on the desired vape wattage depending on the coil) then tone the curve down to the desired wattage, my chums use TC a lot but I prefer VW curve. Anyone getting an overly hot vape and throat hit with an RDA I'd suggest is using the wrong build and / or wrong power. Some friends were also worried about knowing when to drip on an RDA and regularly over dripped for fear of getting a dry hit. After a short while you get to know how much dripping / squonking an atty needs. The Recurve for instance I find once vaped until the flavour suddenly drops (two hits later and it's dry hit and that lovely mech / cotton taste) needs around 8-12, it just becomes instinctive, not needing much thought.
I found I in the early days I succumbed to quite a bit of the hype from reviews around some of these RTAs (RDAs too I guess - in all honesty I dislike the Drop) but a lot of the reviews are nothing more than infomercials with nothing but gushing praise using a different form of words with just about every bloody atty! I'm very very dubious about this 'reviewer glowing praise' now. I actually met one reviewer I quite like at a vape expo and asked him to stick a build into particular tank I'd just bought that HE'D reviewed with gushing praise. Crap! And I mean total crap. I guess it depends what the reference point is. A tank delivering moderate to reasonable flavour is miles better than a tank delivering none I guess. I've truly tried to like and use my tanks but compared to something as simple as a Recurve it's just night and day.
For the small investment of $20, if anyone thinks they are committed to tanks and have found their nirvana, I'd really REALLY suggest just buying and trying a Recurve or a Nudge 22. Absolute piece of cake to build, single coil, really economical on juice and batteries and the flavour is just awesome. If you find you really like it you can then just switch to the squonk pin and stick it on a squonk mod for convenience, or just continue to use it as a drip. I know dozens of folks here who were tank / clearo die hards, every one has switched after trying single coil RDAs. Visited another buddy of mine not long back who was pretty annoyed at having spent $50 on a bunch of DIY juice that he thought was crap, to such and extent he was going to bin it. He uses (used) exclusively OBS Nano and Engine tanks, both pretty good in the flavour department. Put his juice into a fresh build on my RDA and bang! Folks that are thinking about buying and who ask me I let them try an RDA on a squonk, I then let them try the best build I can get on the Serpent. They have all opted for RDA / squonk combo. It seems that many folks come in to vaping and progress towards squonk RDAs, it all looks so much easier with clearos and reg mods. I did the same. If only I knew then what I know now, but luckily I didn't waste too much getting here. But of course that's just what I like. Everyone is different
I'm not saying try an RDA in any way smugglishly, but if you've never tried one it might just be worth a punt. I went through clearo / sub-ohm pre made coil tanks (Melo 3, iJust S, Nautilus Mini), through crap tanks, mediocre and good tanks, single and dual coil, dual coil RDAs, RDTAs and down to single coil RDAs finally ending up with single coil RDA squonking. Thankfully I didn't buy all of these as I have a buddy who is fanatical about this stuff (I dread to think what his vaping budget is!), so was able to short cut to what I enjoy the most. But I got to try and build all manner of the "Yeah they nailed it with this one" Mike Vapes, and others, talked up RTAs (my chum squonks only but collects, seemingly, everything!!) only to find they were a bit meh. I'm no expert on building by any means but have been through hundreds of builds with these tanks and RDAs and my chum seems to be able to tell instinctively what will work, and we just can't match RDA flavour (admittedly not crap RDAs, no point) with even the best tanks.
Squonking is the perfect extra step for me, it's not about the size of the bottle vs a tank, it's about getting the RDA experience with convenience. I still keep the Serpent SMM in rotation, mostly with an NiCr 80 coil for banana (and some mango juices) but otherwise it's RDAs all the time. It's not expensive these days either, as cheap or even cheaper than some regulated mod / tank combos, Pulse 80 mod with a Recurve or Nudge 22, $60. The 22 RDAs are small enough to be used on something like a Pico iStick 75 too. I bought one to use with the Nautilus Mini and was quite sad to see it drop out of use, perfect with the small RDAs though and such a small rig.
Sent from my balcony with a cup of java, newly arrived KRMA RDA on a Pulse 80 with Magnus (Malaysian Almond Magnum) juice. OMG! Perfect breakfast LOL.
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