What’s up vapers!
SirRisc here with another gear review!
On todays testbed is an RDA by the lovely folks at TeslaCig, the Clapton RDA!
This Tesla Clapton RDA was sourced from Gearbest.com!
Premise.
Tesla is a brand I’ve always kept an eye on but never really paid much attention to.
However strange that may sound, I never considered them to be contenders in the bigger scheme of the vaping market.
Though they have some very nice gear in their portfolio, they’ve never really done anything spectacular in my eyes.
That is, until I got a hold of the Tesla Nano 60W which I reviewed a while back.
Sure, the temperature control wasn’t great. But in wattage mode the mod is really one of the easier ones to carry around, and the trigger button on top is pretty awesome.
A small mod with a big LiPo battery, 60W of power, and most importantly the ability to fit a 24mm atomizer without overhang.
And that’s where the Clapton RDA comes into play.
A 24mm RDA to fit on top of the mod? Yes please!
Let’s have a look!
Specifications.
- 24mm diameter
- Glass and stainless steel barrel
- 3 post design
- Bottom airflow holes
- Wide bore topcap
- Fixed 510 centerpin
Packaging.
The Tesla Clapton RDA comes in a plastic box similar to the Tesla Nano 60W I reviewed a couple of weeks ago.
Though this one doesn’t have the screwy thing to hold the device, it does have a foam insert that holds both the RDA and the spare barrel in place quite well.
The insert lifts out despite there being no ribbon to pull, underneath you’ll find a couple of accessories like a square of Japanese cotton (unpacked so I’m not sure if you should be using it), and a bag of spare o-rings and a set of tiny clapton coils.
In terms of usermanual you get a small bifold piece of paper with illustrations of the RDA and its parts.
Performance.
Being a 24mm diameter RDA you’d expect the Tesla Clapton RDA to have plenty of room for clapton coils, right?
Well, it doesn’t. In fact the deck is quite cramped because of the bottom airflow which sits just below the space where your coils will be seated.
The fact that it feels rather claustrofobic with bigger coils isn’t exactly dealbreaker for me personally, but it does limit the use of the RDA for said bigger builds (eg the ones with a 3mm inner diameter and around 7 wraps).
There’s another factor that further reinforces this cramped feel, that factor being the postholes.
Last week I talked about the posts on the Cthulhumod Shuriken being such an innovative design, and being able to install pretty much anything I could throw at it.
And just before the weekend I turned into a little kid when I finally received the package containing a (secondhand, but authentic) Dotmod Petri V2 which has a dual post design that takes big gauges of claptons.
And then there the Tesla “CLAPTON” RDA which honestly doesn’t take claptons all that well…
Don’t get me wrong, the postholes can take thicker gauges of round wires which includes claptons.
But when you try and fit a fused or staggered fused clapton, the postholes just don’t suffice.
Combining the glass chamber and some of the more beautiful looking builds is what would make this RDA stand out, so it is a bit of a dissapointment in that regard.
Despite these issues, there are positive points to this RDA… like the glass chamber!
I know a lot of people will immediately say that it really doesn’t bring anything good to a dripper to have a glass chamber, but I disagree.
While it may fog up quite a bit, the chamber is usually too moist for the condensation to remain on the glass.
That means that when you fire the coils up you’ll actually see vapor being formed, and when your wicks turn brown you’ll also know…
Another positive thing about the Tesla Clapton RDA is the spitback protection in the topcap.
It’s quite a big piece of the topcap, which coincidently gets hot as fuck, and is removeable.
The holes in the piece are quite big but not big enough to allow for dripping through the topcap, hence if you want to drip without removing the topcap you’ll have to remove the spitback protection.
All in all it’s a nice addition, but it does come with a price…
The airflow, which is fed through 4 holes in the deck and two holes on the side of the base, is not adjustable.
This really didn’t pose any issues for me because it’s measured quite well.
The holes are big enough to allow for deeper lung inhales and since the air hits the coils from below, the flavor is quite good.
That’s one of the things that did surprise me about the Tesla Clapton RDA, the flavor is great…
Aesthetics.
Whether or not you’re a fan of the glass chamber is up to you, but I quite like the view of my coils and wicks.
The machining on the deck and topcap is well done, though there were a few burs on the posts when I first unpackaged the RDA.
The airflow holes are done well, but take up a lot of room on the deck which limits the space you’re able to use for coils.
With the stainless steel chamber on the RDA, it gets heavy. In fact, it was so damn heavy I switched back after about an hour.
Overall the Tesla Clapton RDA isn’t exactly a looker, but it’s not ugly either.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and all that jazz… 
Pros and Cons.
Pro.
- 24mm
- Glass chamber
- Nice and swooshy airflow
- Spitback protection
Con.
- Topcap gets hot as fuck
- Rather small deck for a 24mm diameter RDA
- Non-adjustable airflow
- Postholes aren’t suited for wider gauges
- Lots of machining coolant out of the box
In conclusion.
The Tesla Clapton RDA isn’t what I expect from an RDA that is made for clapton coils. And while the general performance may be alright, it’s not knocking me on my ass like the Shuriken or the Petri does.
The base is there but it needs refinement, and only then it could be a good dripper. If Tesla were to use a similar post design to the Velocity or Shuriken, it would do a lot more for me.
It’s a bit unfortunate because being a 24mm RDA I had high hopes for it to be better.
Overall I’d say look elsewhere if you’re looking for a dripper specifically for clapton coils, something like the Shuriken would be a much better option.
In closing I would like to thank Gearbest.com for sending out the Tesla Clapton RDA!
Thanks for reading, join me next time as I take a look at a flavorchaser; the SteamCrave Aromamizer RDTA V2!
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#staycloudy !
SirRisc disappears in a cloud of fruit loops cereal 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.