I received this Iconic RDA free of charge from Sourcemore 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
It comes in the new plastic casing where the RDA sits on top in a cutout and below that the two 810 Doc tips resides together with the goodie bag containing all kinds of good stuff.
The RDA
Now the time has come to yet another collaboration between a youtube reviewer and a manufacturer of RDA’s. It is the Iconic, Mike Vapes updated version of the Icon that came out last year I think it was. And as with many other collaborations Vandy Vape is behind this one as well.
I got the flat black RDA sent to me and on my flat black tubes you get a really nice murdered out look. This isn’t a 3-piece RDA as many of the other RDA’s on the market today, it is a 2-piece RDA where the deck is one piece and the top cap is the other.
It has 2 kinds of airflow, one is the bottom airflow and the other is the side airflow and when you are trying to adjust the airflow you are adjusting both types simultaneously. This means that you can’t turn one off and only use the other. They are connected for good or bad.
The overall machining on this RDA is like the other RDA’s coming from Vandy Vape, really really good, I just can’t find anything to complain about.
The deck is made out of Stainless Steel and has spring loaded clamps, not Goon style, it is more like the deck on the Bonza which is based on the Cheetah if anything. It got a 7 mm deep juice well and that should be enough to hold quite a lot of juice. The tubes that make the bottom airflow takes up a fair amount of space making the juice well a bit cramped but in all fairness you still got room for the cotton.
And how is it to build on you might ask… Well it takes a little bit of fiddling to be honest but when you get the hang of it, it is easy enough. Everything sits tight and snug once you have tightened the phillips screws and clamps down.
My biggest gripe with any RDA’s is the o-rings but on this one they work as intended and the top cap sits really snug which pleases me a lot. It is the same thing with the o-ring that holds the drip tip, the attached drip tips all sit really good on it.
The Iconic and Vandy Vape engravings on the top cap are both nicely done, I do however think that it would look nicer on the Stainless since I believe the contrast between the engraving and the Stainless will make them pop a bit more.
How is this one to vape on you might wonder… Well what can I say… It is a nice RDA for sure and the airflow is smooth and it doesn’t whistle or make any strange noise. It is easy enough to adjust the airflow but personally I would have liked the opportunity to adjust the bottom and side airflow independent from each other. As it is right now that isn’t possible at all and if you adjust one you affect the other.
I have been using it with the bottom airflow closed off until you can see half the airflow tubes and that means the side airflow has been closed off somewhat as well. At this setting I have gotten the most out of it, at least as far as I am concerned. Fully open this RDA is airy like nothing else.
Another thing to be cautious with is to drip to fast into this one. Ok it is no problem what so ever to drip through the drip tip but if you drip too quick you might get a leakage through the bottom airflow on your hands since the juice can and will travel from the post to the coils and then down into the airflow tubes. This can be avoided somewhat by positioning the coils far from the post and over the bottom airflow tubes.
It does perform better with the squonk pin mounted because then the juice comes from down under and doesn’t get into the bottom airflow tubes that easy, and since the squonk pin is elevated around 1 mm from the deck it therefore holds a fair amount of juice in the well.
How does Mike Vapes collaboration with Vandy Vape compare to the other YouTube reviewer RDA’s we have seen? The ones I have tried is Brians Drop, Bogans Bonza, Daniels Aura and Heathens Dead Rabbit and compared to those the Iconic doesn’t quite measure up to get on the first place and my rating on it is that it might be dead last between the ones tested.
Assessment
It is a nicely built RDA and it get flavor… but both the side and bottom airflow does mute the flavor somewhat in it. In my mind I am sure it would have benefitted from having only side or bottom airflow to give you as a user a better flavor experience. As it is now it is more of a half/half if anything, half clouds and half flavor.
And since i’m not into clouds and prefer all flavor in my RDA’s this one isn’t really something for me.
Can I recommend it to others?
If you are after a well built RDA that Mike Vapes have made in collaboration with Vandy Vape and if you like clouds more than flavor I surely can recommend it.
Pros
Build quality
7mm juice well
Squonk ready
Hybrid safe
3 x 810 drip tips
Smooth airflow
O-rings
Cons
Both bottom and side airflow
Can leak if dripping to fast into it
A bit muted on flavor
Parameters
Width: 24mm
Height: 33mm
Silver, Gold, Flat Black, 7 color
Package includes
1 x Iconic RDA
1 x Resin 810 drip tip
2 x 810 Doc tips
2 x Allen key
1 x Blue screwdriver
1 x 510 adapter
1 x Squonk pin
4 x O-rings
2 x Springs for the clamps
2 x Grub screws
1 x Manual
You will find it here
Iconic RDA for $39.99 at the time i wrote the review.
Thanks for reading this far and Vape on!
Norseman
Really appreciate hearing that, makes me believe i really did a good job on this one.
