I received this Phobia V2 RDA free of charge directly from Vandy Vape for the purpose of this review. Regardless of this, it will not color my opinion on this review in any way, shape or form.
Packaging
This came in a sample box that had a sticker on it that says «solely for trial-production» and it does also say «sample» several places on it. So the retail package is going to be something we have seen from Vandy Vape before. I will despite that show the box it came in.
The RDA
It is a 24 mm 3-piece RDA made in collaboration between Vandy Vape and Alex Vapers MD, it is the second Phobia they have made together, and I will tell you guys if it is an improvement over the original or not.
The Phobia is, as always when something comes from Vandy Vape, really well built and the machining is impeccable. I can’t find any tool marks or other marks or flaws on it. It is just a really nice RDA.
It has kinda the same post idea as the original, but in this case the airflow has been moved away from the post design and instead been incorporated into the barrel itself. It still has the big ass screws we recognize from before, and as before it is really easy to build.
The hardest part when you build it, is to figure out how long the legs need to be. But since the package comes with the Coil leg cutting tool Vandy Vape has developed, that as well is a breeze since Vandy Vape have marked up the tool with which holes you should use with the Phobia.
Since the posts are integrated with the deck it does also steal some of the space for cotton and liquid. With a depth of 5 mm the juice well isn’t that deep either, so it is kinda limited in that part. But it can still hold a fair amount of liquid when you are dripping. If you use the BF-pin it really doesn’t matter at all, since you are just one press away from saturating that cotton.
The upper part of the barrel has three standing cyclops shaped air holes on each side of it, and each one measures 2x4 mm so it can let a lot of air into the chamber wide open. On one side it has the newly designed Phobia logo and that’s it.
The lower part of the barrel has a decorative line going on all round it on the outside. On the part that ends up inside, you have the airflow openings and this part is made to reduce the chamber size in order to improve on flavor. At least that is how I see it.
It is an airy RDA no doubt, and wide open it is a cloud machine. But when I dial it down and go for flavor, I kinda need to dial it down a lot for it to get close to that restriction I look for to get the most flavor out of it. The airflow itself is actually really smooth and I haven’t managed to get any noise out of it.
It uses 810 drip tips and I have tried a few of mine and they all fit nicely on it. This one comes with an Ultem tip that I thought at first would be really unpleasant to use considering how low it is, and how low and hot I build. But this wide and really low drip tip has been surprisingly pleasant to use and I haven’t had any close encounters where my lips would have been burnt.
It keeps the top part cool and it does protect your lips. It does also come with two other 810 drip tips, a frosted regular sized one and a black one, with what I would say is a cog design to the lower part of it. The O-rings do work nice and I would say that they holds everything nice and snug in place.
One thing I have experienced however, is that when I drip with it I can get some liquid sweating going on between the two parts of the barrel, and since that part only got one O-ring, the sweating becomes more evident. Some liquid getting out through the airflow is also something I experienced. Not much like it would leak, just sweating if anything.
Now when I have been using this one for a while and also compared it with the original, I must say that the V2 is a clear improvement over the V1. With the V1 I had issues with leaking through the airflow, but since the airflow has been modified that’s no longer an issue. When it comes to flavor I’m still undecided, but it is good, really good even.
Assessment
With the Phobia 1 in mind I was a bit sceptic at first but I must say that I have had a really nice experience with the Phobia V2. It is well built and it does look kinda dope with that wide and low drip tip. It is easy peasy to build and wick and it most importantly delivers on flavor. I have managed to get really good flavor out of it and the only regrettable thing is that Vandy Vape only sent me the black one, since one in SS would fit some of my vaping gear.
Can I recommend it to others?
If you are looking for a nice looking RDA that is easy to build and use, this might be one for you. It is well made and the price I have seen on it is fair.
Pros
Machining
Good flavor
Hybrid safe
Squonk ready
O-rings
Easy to build
Looks
Cons
Some sweating going on between the upper and lower part of the barrel and the airflow openings
A bit shallow juice well
Parameters
Width: 24 mm
Height: 25.2 mm without the drip tip
Matte Black, SS, Gun Metal, Rainbow
Package includes
1 x Phobia V2 RDA
1 x Frosted Delrin 810 drip tip
1 x Black 810 drip tip
1 x 510 drip tip adapter
1 x Coil leg cutting tool
4 x Spare post screw
1 x Squonk pin
1 x Set of Ni80 Triple Fused Claptons
1 x Phillips screwdriver
1 x Flathead screwdriver
1 x Allen key
Spare O-rings
You will find it here
Phobia V2 RDA
Thanks for reading this far and Vape on!
Norseman
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