Dead Rabbit RDA by Heathen and Hellvape - a review

Waine

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I saw a lot of hype over this RDA (BF) on You Tube and on the web. In fact, there were so many good things said about it that I had to try it out for myself. Here is my review:

The branding

First off — the brand. I don’t care for the name of this RDA or the names of the creators. I know the term: “Dead Rabbit” is supposed to be from the way the posts look — like rabbit ears, but a real dead rabbit’s ears would have sagged, not stood upright. So we have “Death”, “Hell” and a “Heathen” all wrapped together in one interesting package. Personally I don’t like to align myself with anything to do with “Death, Hell and Heathens.” Fortunately, the performance of this RDA compensates for the terrible logo and branding. Having said that, many may enjoy the perceived “wicked—cool” names associated with this.

Drip tips

The purple / pink 810 tip that I got with the Stainless Steel version is a gross colour, but an awesome bargain resin tip. To buy a decent resin tip will set you back about R160 to R220. Effectively you can knock this off the total price. The other included black plastic 810 drip tip is OK, a bit short for my liking though. The differing reddish colours of the resin “Goon style” drip tips are random by purchase. I cannot help thinking my pinkish tip reminds me being on the wrong end of oral sex. But I try not to think too hard while I suck on it. I also tried the 510 adapter which I really like with the black knurled pattern. Personally, the resin tip gives the best performance.

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Knurled AFC

The knurling in the Air Flow Control is a really a nice quality touch making AF adjustment a pleasure. The black matches nicely with the knurled 510 drip tip adapter.

Top cap

The top piece is well constructed and beefy — conical in shape. Very impressive and effective

Air flow

The downward angled airflow holes are large enough, providing ample airflow directly on the coils. In fact, so much air flow that I have to close it a bit, but rather too much than too restrictive. This is another great feature.

Posts

The “rabbit ear” post design is simply brilliant. You can throw almost any plain or fancy thick coils at these ears, and the bunny will eat it up! Amazing design. Forget about the so called feature which allows you to trim the leads under your posts after inserting. You will only achieve this with a very slim pair of designer pliers.

Having said that, the posts do indeed “take the guesswork out of trimming” the leads to the correct size. Seriously, it is dead easy to coil and wick this RDA - a huge plus indeed.

Wicking

Your wicks will be a bit longer than the usual RDA wick length. This is due to the longish 4 individual posts and final position of the coils. However, if you keep the cotton to just tickling the base of the juice well, the wicks will work like a charm - guaranteed!

Over dripping / over squonking

Here is a massive feature which I really enjoy. The airflow hole is positioned on top, near the drip tip, and the barrel covers the build in such a way that it is difficult to over drip, or squonk too much. I am using it in squonk mode, and I usually over squonk or over drip in my RDA’s. But if you do this, it’s OK, as the double O-rings on the base and the construction of the RDA will prevent leaks. The men from “Hell” did a fantastic job in this regard.

Overall construction and quality

The RDA is thoughtfully constructed, has great machining and appealing looks. I don’t enjoy the smallish pre installed four tiny flat head screws, which are not bad at all, so I swapped these out for the spare large grub screws which secure your leads more effectively.

The Vape

I started with a very standard build. Kanthal, 24 Ga, 3mm ID, 7 wraps giving me 0.35 Ohms. From my first puff I was amazed at the smooth, voluminous vapour production and above average flavour. I vaped it at 40 Watts on the HiCigar, VT inbox squonk mod and to be honest, I see no need to use any exotic coils to try to enhance the vape, unless you want to have fun. I was on the hunt for a really nice, effective squonking RDA, and I have found this, and much more with this wicked dead bunny.

Will I recommend?

Absolutely 100%! There is no doubt that the Dead Rabbit is a “killer” RDA, for normal dripping as well as squonking. It is so good that I seriously intend getting another one (in black) as I believe I have almost found my squonking Nirvana. My other 6 squonking RDA’s pale in comparison to this! Even my beloved Pulse 24 by Vandy Vape and Tony B, is no match to the Rabbit.

Despite the awful names associated with this RDA, I have resolved that I can live with the devilish branding as the overall performance, quality, vape and flavour production makes up for this fantastic unit. I must say: the “value for money” aspect is a massive plus.

I score this an honest, solid: 8/10.

In my opinion, this is one of those clever, wonder RDA’s that just works so well, making the heathens a strong contender for the top RDA of 2017.





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Thanx for yet another great writeup Waine.
I might just have to get one of these.


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Thanx for yet another great writeup Waine.
I might just have to get one of these.


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Nice review. This was another very hyped atty

Can I see a pic of your build deck and wicks
 
Thanx for yet another great writeup Waine.
I might just have to get one of these.


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@GerritVisagie You won’t be disappointed. Are you a also a squonking man? I’m not sure if it works great because I am in squank mode, or what, but heck, it’s got a lot going for it.


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I actually started with a squonker but ended up on the rda train.
Squonking hasn't grabbed me as I change flavours like every two drips.
But as soon as I find the right squonk mod, I'll try it again.


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Has anybody tried using the Dead Rabbit RDA with a single coil ?

How was the vape compared to other single coil RDA's ?

@KZOR how would you rate this RDA against the OG Goon?
 
Got a sweet gold Dead Rabbit from @Throat Punch and as always efficient and on time! :b1:

I figured it's a dual coil RDA so duals it will be... I popped it on top of the PhantOhm... it's look really big on the little R2D2 but no overlap. I can see how it would be really difficult to over squonk and the vape is warm with 2 Bubble Wrap Claptons but the flavour is excellent. I'm glad I bought this... thanks for the heads up @Waine!
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Got a sweet gold Dead Rabbit from @Throat Punch and as always efficient and on time! :b1:

I figured it's a dual coil RDA so duals it will be... I popped it on top of the PhantOhm... it's look really big on the little R2D2 but no overlap. I can see how it would be really difficult to over squonk and the vape is warm with 2 Bubble Wrap Claptons but the flavour is excellent. I'm glad I bought this... thanks for the heads up @Waine!
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@RobFisher

Pleasure Rob.


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I'm also curious as @Clouds4Days asked, has anyone done a single coil build yet?
I did a single fused clapton, flavour wasn't great and it spat at me, I'm back to dual coils, each one neatly tucked away under the little afdakkie where they can do their thing without hurting anyone :)
 
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