Aspire Rhea 200w Box Mod Review – High Powered and Shockproof

Designed for the tough rugged outdoors type, the Aspire Rhea box mod just had to be reviewed by someone of that ilk…however, they could only find me 😉

OK, this is a 200w dual 18650 box mod that is shockproof but NOT waterproof…

It’s yet another release from a company that seems to have gone into warp speed of late with release after release of vape gear and all in ultra quick succession.

In the last couple of months we’ve reviewed the: Aspire Tekno Pod Kit – Aspire Paradox mod – VROD sub ohm kit – the impressive Favostix pod kit and my personal favourite and daily go to, the Aspire Prime X AIO.

Pretty much all of Aspire releases are received well including the very latest, let’s hope the Rhea matches up.

What Can We Expect From the Aspire Rhea Box Mod?

High power and toughness is I guess key here.

Aspire has certainly ticked the first box at 200w, as for its durability we shall see.

The Rhea offers a number of vaping options in the by now familiar Aspire menu including all the usual – bypass – wattage – temp control etc.

OK, let’s see how this chunky monkey of a vape mod vapes.

For the record this was sent to me free of charge from the lovely folks over at UK Aspire Vendor – thanks – and as always freebies in no way impact on my thoughts or indeed opinions.

Incidentally, Rhea can mean the Goddess of fertility and motherhood…so is this mod destined to become the MOAM..?

[mother of all mods…do try and keep up!]

Inside the Box

• Aspire Rhea 200W mod
• Type C USB Cable
• User manual

Aspire Rhea 200W Box Mod Specs

• Size: 89x47x38
• Battery: 2×18650 (not included)
• Display: 0.96in colour TFT screen
• Output: 1-200W (0.5-9V)
• User modes: VW, VV, TC, TCR, CPS, Bypass
• Type C USB charging – 2A charge rate
• Shockproof
• Temperature control limits: 200-600°F / 100-315°C
• Resistance range: 0.1-3.5ohm
• Compatible with atomisers of 28mm or less
• ASP chipset

Key Features

It’s important to note, the Aspire Rhea is a shockproof mod and NOT waterproof!

The latter is very important as I was about to dunk it in a bowl of water…until I read a little deeper into it!

OK…as soon as you pick the mod up you can tell it will take more than a few knocks – heavy in the hand too with x2 18650 batteries inside.

It reminds me very much of a rubberized heavy old torch my dad used to have – drop that and it bounced like a wonder ball, cracking the concrete as it went.

As I’ve just stated, the Aspire Rhea is powered by dual 18650 batteries maxing out at 200w.

It features all the modes you’ll probably ever need including temp control, bypass and TCR.

It’s a big boy width wise too and can take up to 28mm tanks and re-buildables – so plenty of room for your favourite.

It comes in a number of colour combos, 3 with a pleather detail and two others with Alcantara detailing.

I’m pretty sure genuine Alcantara is an expensive and toughish suede like material – as to if this is the ‘real deal’ who knows.

As you can see, once again I received the ‘Retro‘ Brown version…pretty sure Aspire is trying to tell me something lol.

Design and Build Quality

Apparently the inspiration for the design of the Aspire Rhea comes from the Japanese military science fiction series called Gundam…

Yeah I had to Google it – comic books are not really my forte…apart from the Dandy and Beano back in the day…before I moved to Victor and nowadays Viz 😉

Anyway, the Gundam are apparently giant robots or Generation Unsubdued Nuclear Drive Assault Modules…so there’s that if you’re a big vaping anime fanboy or girl…

Does it look like a robot?

Not really…think an updated chunkier design similar to the Wismec Reuleaux RX GEN3 but covered in tough rubber with a front face lift and you’ll get an idea.

It’s triangular, but very comfortable in the hand, especially with those padded patches, but as I’ve already stated, very heavy. Not one for your pocket and certainly way to heavy for me to carry in my rucksack on my hiking trips.

The addition of the mode button is also a nice touch and all the buttons have a nice resistance, but still a satisfying clicky throw to them.

Aspire Rhea Build Quality

One word – solid.

Though saying that mine does have a couple of issues – it keeps shutting down.

It’s happened when moving the tank slightly, dropping it on its side or whenever it feels like it…and at least once every couple of days.

I’m going to give it the benefit of doubt and say mine, as you can see, is a pre-retail release sample, but I can only review what’s in front of me.

I shall be feeding my findings back to Aspire in case it’s a major issue – I highly doubt it – but hey I’m here to help 😉

OK…

As for the rest of the build quality – as we’ve come to expect from Aspire it’s first rate.

The Aspire Rhea is as solid a piece of vaping kit you could find – industrial is the word that springs to mind.

That rubber exo-skeleton [get me being all sci fi] certainly protects the mod from any knocks or drops – speaking of which, avoid dropping it on your toes or you’ll be hospitalized.

However, the rubber is a bloody fluff magnet as you can probably see from the photos – trust me I cleaned it!

The battery door is latch style with a tough spring, however you really need to push the batteries up to get it to shut – it seems solid enough, once you shut it, you just need to apply pressure to get it to click into place.

Aspire Rhea Quick Start Guide

• x5 clicks of the fire button on and off
• Click mode button to get into menu
• Use mode button to select sub menu: Mode – Screen Colour – Brightness
• Scroll using up and down buttons
• Use mode button to select

How Does the Aspire Rhea Box Mod Perform?

In a word…very well indeed…OK, that’s 3 words but yeah this one performs well.

To be honest apart from the annoying shut down I’ve experienced I’ve nothing more to add.

There’s just enough options not to confuse even the brand new vaper, with the mode button a welcome inclusion to the by now well known Aspire menu.

I’ve had no issues swapping modes or colours and it’s definitely fast firing.

I’ve also matched the wattage against the DNA250c chip and I’m sure the purist will find it maybe a tad under-powered – to be honest I barely noticed any difference at 100w.

So, it’s a solid build and solid performer…

Just a pity it wasn’t waterproof as well as shock proof…

I’d also expect to see a pod mod version of this – definitely a kit I’d be interested in to take out hiking as I dropped my beloved Aspire Prime X AIO this week and chipped it to bits.

It says something as to how much I love that kit as it was the first one I’ve ever damaged that I was genuinely upset about 😉

Pros

• Shockproof
• Solid build
• Futuristic design
• Mode button
• Easy to navigate menu
• Plenty of options
• Fast firer
• Decent battery life

Cons

• Very heavy with batteries inserted
• NOT waterproof – hardly a con but you get my drift
• Mine shuts down randomly – could be just my sample version
• Could have been a 21700 or 20700 option maybe

Aspire Rhea – Final Review Verdict

Skip my annoying pre-retail version shut down issues, and the Aspire Rhea is a cracking vape mod.

If you’re looking for a tough bugger that will not only take the knocks but dish them out, this one’s for you.

It’s actually very comfortable in the hand and if you like those triangular styles you’ll love this one – heavy though!

Aspire are pushing this one as ideal for rugged manly types [like me] that love the mountains and stuff…

Given most hikers are always fretting about weight they carry, sadly this one is almost as heavy as my full rucksack…

And given it’s outdoorsy marketing, I’m surprised Aspire hasn’t waterproofed it – maybe they’re saving that for the Rhea 2 or Rhea X…watch this space lol.

And just like the recently reviewed Aspire VROD kit – 21700 and 20700 batteries would lift this one even higher in vapers estimation.

There’s really not a lot of cons if I’m honest…

If you’re on the hunt for a solidly built high powered workhorse that can literally take a daily beating – this one should be high on your list.

Is the Aspire Rhea box mod on your shopping or vaping wish list?

Let me know your thoughts and opinions in the comments below.