What’s up vapers!
SirRisc here with another gear review!
This Aspire Quad Flex Survival kit was sourced from Heavengifts!
Premise.
It’s been a while since I’ve had anything by Aspire in my hands.
In fact the last Aspire product I owned was the Atlantis, which I hated with a passion.
It spit back hot liquid, it didn’t have much flavor, several dud coilheads, the list goes on.
The Atlantis didn’t last long in my rotation, and I never even got around to reviewing it because it was so bad.
Now, a while back Heavengifts got the Quad Flex Survival kit in stock.
It claimed to be an RDTA, RDA, Squonk RDA and Nautilus in one kit.
Having rather fond memories of the original Nautilus (it was my first decent tank, as so many of you have had), I was curious if it was going to be on par with the Nautilus, or with the Atlantis.
In other words, I was curious whether or not it would suck.
So how did it do? Let’s have a look!
Specifications.
- 4-in-1 configuration (RDTA, RDA, Squonk RDA, Nautilus X)
- 2ml capacity for both RDTA and Nautilus X
- 22mm diameter
- Stainless steel and glass construction
- Dual coil Velocity styled deck
- 510 driptip adapter included
- Spare frosted glass included
- 1.8ohm Nautilus coilhead included
Packaging.
The Quad Flex comes in a black foldup box with silver letters and a silver depiction of the RDTA configuration on the front.
A bright orange Aspire logo is shown at the top left of the box.
On the back of the box is a short introduction to the Quad Flex, as well as a scratch n’ check sticker to check for authenticity.
Opening the box reveals the RDTA sitting on the left with a plethora of parts to the right of it.
On the foldup cover there is a chart with all the parts for you to puzzle with.
Every part has a designation which has been printed on a card covering the foam insert, all designations relate to the chart.
There is no usermanual of any sort besides the chart on top.
Performance.
Alright, let me spoil the review for you so you don’t have to read the whole thing if you don’t feel like it.
The Quad Flex isn’t great.
It’s a great concept and it could have been a great kit for people who want to start rebuilding but also want their trusty Nautilus, but it is badly executed.
The materials used feel flimsy and cheap, the flavor in anything but RDA configuration is muted, the lack of a decent usermanual is pure lazyness.
It compares more to the Atlantis than it does to the Nautilus in terms of quality.
So what can I tell you outside of that? Well, it does have one thing going for it; it’s fucking flexible.
You can configure it to be an RDTA with Genesis styled wicking, or you can use it as an RDA with side airflow, or as a squonking RDA with top airflow, or as a Nautilus X for that typical high resistance MTL vape.
Let’s start with the RDTA configuration.
It doesn’t require you to do much out-of-the-box since this is the standard configuration.
The tank itself sits at the bottom and you have a choice between clear glass or branded frosted glass.
The deck requires a piece with holes to feed your wick through, which you can run to the bottom like a Genesis or relying on tipping the tank if you keep your wicks short enough to just plug the holes.
I found that running the wicks all the way down was more conventient, but wicking speed was the same in both ways.
The deck itself is a Velocity styled one, meaning it has two posts with two holes each. It’s easy to build on despite the rather small size.
Having 2mm inner diameter coils works fine, but anything above that will get cramped. This definitely isn’t tank to put exotic builds in.
Then comes the other configuration, the RDA with side airflow.
This requires you to use a different base instead of the glass section and 510 section.
The deck remains the same, it just gets locked with a rubber gasket by the different base.
On the barrel you’ll have two airflow slots in the middle to provide plenty of air directly to the coils, but it’s thin and flimsy.
In fact, it’s so flimsy that it will actually bend if you put a bit of pressure on it. This also makes the barrel extremely hot when you have a couple of toots.
The widebore driptip is made from plastic and feels cheap, it mutes the flavor and using the 510 driptip adapter doesn’t really change that.
There are much better drippers out there for less money.
For the squonkers among us, there’s also an option to configure the kit into a squonking RDA with top airflow.
Though by just changing the positive pin, you could use this kit in both RDA configurations for squonking.
If you don’t know what squonking is, it’s essentially the same as dripping but with a bottle in the mod feeding liquid from the bottom through the 510.
The top airflow is a different barrel of course, and uses the same widebore driptip in its standard configuration.
Again the material is thin and flimsy, and heats up after a few toots.
The included positive pin is easy enough to replace, and works fine with most squonk mods.
The next configuration is the Nautilus X, a new iteration of the classic Nautilus. A V2 if you will.
It uses the same base as the RDTA, and can use both the clear and frosted glass, with a different topcap.
This is the part I was looking forward to most, because it was the first generation Nautilus that finally got me to quit smoking.
(You reading that, FDA? A product that helped me quit smoking! The audacity!)
The Nautilus has changed quite a bit since then though, but there are still some similar elements to it.
One of those elements is the tight airflow, another the resistance of the coilheads.
The tight airflow is made for MTL vaping, and no matter how hard you can suck you won’t be able to do a comfortable DTL.
The coilheads come in a blisterpack and their resistance is 1.8ohm. With all the subohming going on, one would forget that this was once the standard, or even further back this would have been considered low resistance.
This means the power you’ll need to fire these coils isn’t much, they do their best work between 12W and 16W in fact. (Batterylife for days, yo.)
In terms of flavor, the Nautilus does perform quite well. The vapor is warm and tastes alright, but it lacks definition just like the original Nautilus did.
So overall the Quad Flex isn’t really up to todays standards. It all feels cheap and fragile, which isn’t good if you’re going to be screwing things together often to reconfigure your setup.
If it wasn’t for the Nautilus X included, this kit would be very quick to move to my shitlist (Yes, I do keep a list of hardware to avoid.)
Aesthetics.
Considering the previous part of this review stating flimsy materials and plastic parts, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the look of it is in the same line.
The kit is available in two colors, silver (or stainless) and black. I got the silver one, which also comes with some parts in black.
No matter in which configuration you’re using the Quad Flex, it looks like a cheap starterkit.
The knurling and branding is done quite beautifully and isn’t over the top, but it doesn’t make up for the bad materials.
Using plastic for the topcap and driptips has been a bad choice and will mute any flavor, no matter how strong.
Pros and Cons.
Pro.
- 4-in-1 is a great concept
- Squonking pin included
- Nautilus X has taken me back down memory lane
Con.
- Looks and feels cheap
- Plastic topcap/driptips mute flavor
- Materials used are thin and prone to bending
- No instruction manual included
- Too expensive for a decent starter
In conclusion.
I love the concept of having four atomizers in one package but Aspire executed the concept badly.
The materials used aren’t up to snuff with todays standards and makes the kit feel cheaper than it really is.
Including a squonking pin is definitely a good thing but I wouldn’t put this kit on a good squonking mod.
If you’re looking for a cheap solution to start rebuilding, this might be a good thing to have. But if you’ve already got an RDA and a tank, just keep using those instead.
Aspire has, in my humble opinion, dropped the ball on this one.
In closing I would like to thank Heavengifts for sending out the Aspire Quad Flex Survival kit!
Thanks for reading, join me next time as I take a look at the Wismec Reuleaux RX2/3!
Need to reach me? Head over to my website.
Interested in what I vape daily? Check out my Instagram.
Want to know more about DIY? Head over to ELR.
#staycloudy !
SirRisc disappears in a cloud of strawberry peach scented vapor
DISCLAIMER: This review is based on personal opinions and is not intended as a promotion, endorsement or advertisement.
The publisher is not sponsored, affiliated or compensated in any way.
