INTRODUCTION
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Hello everyone Pizza Dave here, delivering a review of the Paradox RDA by Vandy Vape. The Paradox is a 24mm, single coil rda, which features a screw head clamping system and a side air flow system they are calling annular air flow. This is a collaboration between Vandy Vape and DB Reviews. Let’s see how this thing vapes and I will see you down at the bottom for my final thoughts.
Disclaimer: This device was sent to me by Vandy Vape for review.
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WHAT YOU GET
Available in Black and Stainless Steel
STOCK SHOT
REVIEW PACKAGING
UNBOXED
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BUILD DECK AND WICKING
The deck of the Paradox is relatively simple. Instead of post holes or clamps, this RDA utilizes the screw heads themselves to hold the coils in place. This system works well with most builds, but I found it worked best with flatter builds. Some round wire builds roll when the screws are being tightened, but the flat builds stay put. It is not difficult to build on, but it has some cons. The first con is having faith in the strength of the screw heads. I don’t usually over-torque screws, but I could see some people bending the heads if they try to jam a beefy coil under the heads. The other con is the space on the outside of the deck. You must snip the leads very close to the heads to avoid short circuits and the design doesn’t make it the easiest to do so. I found it best to hold the coil over the screws and snip them first. It isn’t hard to build on, but just requires care to avoid shorts or damage down the road. Wicking this one doesn’t involve rocket science, as it’s a basic snip and tuck RDA, leaving the wicking just long enough to reach the bottom of the well.
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AIR FLOW
I think the air flow on this RDA is the star of the show. Vandy Vape advertises this as “annular airflow”, where the air flow comes in the sides through two holes and meets in the middle right at the base/side of the coil. It is definitely not for people who like a ton of air flow. I ran it with the air flow wide open and provides a silky smooth, restricted lung hit. It doesn’t close down to be MTL, but it is dangerously close. I love how smooth the air flow is on this one. I think the biggest contributor to this smoothness is how well rounded the air flow ports are. This is one of the smoothest draws I have experienced off a rda and it makes for a great vape.
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HOW IT VAPES / SQUONKS
The combination of smooth air flow and a small chamber (for 24mm) makes for a flavorful vape experience. This is a flavor chasing rda, and not a cloud chucker. The juice well is satisfactory for dripping or squonking as well. I chose to squonk mine full time and found that it is difficult to get it to leak. If overs quonked there is a slight gurgle when you first hit it, but It doesn’t easily leak out the air flow unless you are really trying to do so. The top cap is not very tall, so one can expect a little bit of spit back depending on the coil and wicking within.
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PHOTO GALLERY
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FINAL THOUGHTS
Overall, the Paradox performs in the top tier of single coil rdas I have run this year. The flavor is on point, the air flow is silky smooth, and it is difficult to make it leak. I attempted to make it leak via squonking and had the coil mostly submerged in liquid and it still didn’t leak out the air flow even though it was above the air flow inlets. The only con I can find with this is the build deck. The screws worry me a bit as they seem rather cheap and are not heat treated from the looks of them. The coils work best when snipped first, so it takes a little bit of messing around to get them set. Round wire builds tend to roll around a bit and it almost takes three hands to hold it down, hold the coil in place, and tighten down. Those small cons are overshadowed by the flavorful, smooth vape this one provides. I also give them props on design. I love the deep cuts on the top cap and like the logo that is etched in as well. If you are a flavor chaser and not a cloud chaser I give it a solid Pizza Dave stamp of approval.
OVEN TEST
If this were to accidentally go into the pizza oven would I go out and get another? Yes. It ranks right up there with my Recurve, which up until this point was one of my favorite RDAs of 2018.
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PROS
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CONS
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Thank you everyone for reading my review and thank you to Vandy Vape for sending it my way for review. If you want to pick one up for yourself, I am finding it online for about $30.
Pizza Dave – delivering real reviews with no extra toppings
REVIEW CRITERIA: I use each item extensively for about two weeks to ensure I have collected enough data to adequately write a review. I use the same e liquid in tanks or rdas throughout all my reviews to ensure that I am comparing apples to apples between all modern equipment. I do not post reviews until I feel confident that I have used all products enough to give an educated review. The reason I started doing reviews was due to poor purchasing decisions in my vaping infancy about two years ago. Back then, I purchased several different pieces of hardware without really enjoying them and I hope my reviews can guide people into spending their hard-earned money more wisely than I did! ****Keep in mind that some items I receive may be pre-release and not in retail packaging. Quality may be less than the finished product and what is in the package may differ from the retail package as well.
______________________________________________________________________________
Hello everyone Pizza Dave here, delivering a review of the Paradox RDA by Vandy Vape. The Paradox is a 24mm, single coil rda, which features a screw head clamping system and a side air flow system they are calling annular air flow. This is a collaboration between Vandy Vape and DB Reviews. Let’s see how this thing vapes and I will see you down at the bottom for my final thoughts.
Disclaimer: This device was sent to me by Vandy Vape for review.
______________________________________________________________________________
WHAT YOU GET
- 1 Vandy Vape Paradox RDA
- 1 BF Pin
- 1 Regular Pin
- 1 Ultem 810 drip tip
- 1 Delrin 810 checkered drip tip
- 1 510 Delrin/Stainless drip tip
- 1 510 Drip Tip Adapter
- 1 Spare parts bag
- 1 Set of .2-ohm fused Clapton coils
- 1 Allen Key
- 1 Screwdriver
Available in Black and Stainless Steel
STOCK SHOT
REVIEW PACKAGING
UNBOXED
______________________________________________________________________________
BUILD DECK AND WICKING
The deck of the Paradox is relatively simple. Instead of post holes or clamps, this RDA utilizes the screw heads themselves to hold the coils in place. This system works well with most builds, but I found it worked best with flatter builds. Some round wire builds roll when the screws are being tightened, but the flat builds stay put. It is not difficult to build on, but it has some cons. The first con is having faith in the strength of the screw heads. I don’t usually over-torque screws, but I could see some people bending the heads if they try to jam a beefy coil under the heads. The other con is the space on the outside of the deck. You must snip the leads very close to the heads to avoid short circuits and the design doesn’t make it the easiest to do so. I found it best to hold the coil over the screws and snip them first. It isn’t hard to build on, but just requires care to avoid shorts or damage down the road. Wicking this one doesn’t involve rocket science, as it’s a basic snip and tuck RDA, leaving the wicking just long enough to reach the bottom of the well.
______________________________________________________________________________
AIR FLOW
I think the air flow on this RDA is the star of the show. Vandy Vape advertises this as “annular airflow”, where the air flow comes in the sides through two holes and meets in the middle right at the base/side of the coil. It is definitely not for people who like a ton of air flow. I ran it with the air flow wide open and provides a silky smooth, restricted lung hit. It doesn’t close down to be MTL, but it is dangerously close. I love how smooth the air flow is on this one. I think the biggest contributor to this smoothness is how well rounded the air flow ports are. This is one of the smoothest draws I have experienced off a rda and it makes for a great vape.
______________________________________________________________________________
HOW IT VAPES / SQUONKS
The combination of smooth air flow and a small chamber (for 24mm) makes for a flavorful vape experience. This is a flavor chasing rda, and not a cloud chucker. The juice well is satisfactory for dripping or squonking as well. I chose to squonk mine full time and found that it is difficult to get it to leak. If overs quonked there is a slight gurgle when you first hit it, but It doesn’t easily leak out the air flow unless you are really trying to do so. The top cap is not very tall, so one can expect a little bit of spit back depending on the coil and wicking within.
______________________________________________________________________________
PHOTO GALLERY
______________________________________________________________________________
FINAL THOUGHTS
Overall, the Paradox performs in the top tier of single coil rdas I have run this year. The flavor is on point, the air flow is silky smooth, and it is difficult to make it leak. I attempted to make it leak via squonking and had the coil mostly submerged in liquid and it still didn’t leak out the air flow even though it was above the air flow inlets. The only con I can find with this is the build deck. The screws worry me a bit as they seem rather cheap and are not heat treated from the looks of them. The coils work best when snipped first, so it takes a little bit of messing around to get them set. Round wire builds tend to roll around a bit and it almost takes three hands to hold it down, hold the coil in place, and tighten down. Those small cons are overshadowed by the flavorful, smooth vape this one provides. I also give them props on design. I love the deep cuts on the top cap and like the logo that is etched in as well. If you are a flavor chaser and not a cloud chaser I give it a solid Pizza Dave stamp of approval.
OVEN TEST
If this were to accidentally go into the pizza oven would I go out and get another? Yes. It ranks right up there with my Recurve, which up until this point was one of my favorite RDAs of 2018.
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PROS
- Looks great
- Flavor is excellent
- Air flow is super smooth
- Juice well is a good depth
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CONS
- Build deck seems kind of cheap
- Pre-cutting works best or it is easy to short to the top cap
- Top screws hold the coil, so some builds just don’t install easily.
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Thank you everyone for reading my review and thank you to Vandy Vape for sending it my way for review. If you want to pick one up for yourself, I am finding it online for about $30.
Pizza Dave – delivering real reviews with no extra toppings
REVIEW CRITERIA: I use each item extensively for about two weeks to ensure I have collected enough data to adequately write a review. I use the same e liquid in tanks or rdas throughout all my reviews to ensure that I am comparing apples to apples between all modern equipment. I do not post reviews until I feel confident that I have used all products enough to give an educated review. The reason I started doing reviews was due to poor purchasing decisions in my vaping infancy about two years ago. Back then, I purchased several different pieces of hardware without really enjoying them and I hope my reviews can guide people into spending their hard-earned money more wisely than I did! ****Keep in mind that some items I receive may be pre-release and not in retail packaging. Quality may be less than the finished product and what is in the package may differ from the retail package as well.