Druga RDA by Augvape Reviewed | Innovative Deck Clamp System

The Augvape Druga RDA features the first ever CSS (Clamp Snag System) which the company says makes for ‘easy peasy’ building.

As the most ‘fingers and thumbs’ reviewer among us I was obviously the one to put the Druga RDA through its paces – if I can build on it anyone can.

The Augvape Druga RDA

Designed by Indonesia’s Mike House Vapes [no not the American YouTube reviewer] it’s a dual post design and comes with a squonk pin.

From what I can gather Druga is Polish for ‘second’ or even two o’clock on some translation sites – so will the Druga land a place on my best RDA for Flavour and Clouds list? Or am I going to call time out on it?

Let’s take a closer look.

The Druga RDA was sent to me free of charge by Augvape and as always my views and thoughts are my own.

Inside the Box

It’s not so much a box as it’s a tube with everything neatly packed away.

Inside you’ll find:

• One Augvape Druga RDA
• One Hex Key
• One ULTEM Drip Tip
• One Delrin Drip Tip
• Squonk pin
• 510 adapter
• Spare O rings

Augvape Druga RDA Features

• 24mm Diameter
• Deep Juice Well
• Superior 304 Stainless Steel Construction
• 24K Gold-Plated Two-Post Build Deck
• Clamp Snag System (CSS) Design
• Coil Leads Secured via Top Post Mechanism
• PEEK Insulators
• Dual Slotted Side Airflow Control
• ULTEM Widebore Top Cap
• Delrin Widebore Drip Tip
• SS Squonk-Ready 510 Pin
• Gold-Plated 510 Connection

Key Features

First up has to be the never seen before [or at least that’s what Augvape says] CSS (Clamp Snag System).

As you can see from the image this is basically a fancy name for open topped post holes with screws that can be hand tightened and then ‘clamped down’ using a flat head screwdriver.

Strangely you don’t get a ‘little blue screwdriver’ with the kit – instead Augvape has added a hex key which is pretty much redundant – a nice way of saying as much use as a chocolate fire guard.

I’ll talk about those flat head screws later.

It’s 24mm in diameter meaning it doesn’t get lost on larger mods and looks very nice on the smaller ones.

Height wise it’s compact – or chunky was my first reaction and both of the drip tips are extremely low profile – the ULTEM being especially shallow – so it does look quite stubby.

It’s dual Cyclops side air flow which can be adjusted easily once the RDA has been used a few times and has become juiced up.

The post holes are a little over 2mm wide – which sounds quite large – however you might struggle getting larger builds in there as you’ll see when I come to talk about performance.

And it’s a dual coil only – so bare that in mind.

The addition of the squonking pin means it’s ‘squonk friendly’ – sadly I’m yet to enter that side of vaping so wasn’t able to test it out.

Design and Build Quality

I’ve had a couple of Augvape products and have been impressed with the overall build quality and indeed design and the Druga RDA is no different.

Build wise everything is nicely machined and the RDA was extremely clean straight out of the box.

Design wise I may have described it as ‘stubby’ but I think it’s a real looker – especially with the ULTEM drip-tip.

It’s refreshingly ‘un-fussy’ with just the Augvape logo etched on the side and given it’s only available in stainless steel at the time of this review – the logo is very low profile which adds to its looks.

I read somewhere the top cap was a little sharp around the edges however on mine the edges were smooth to the touch.

To look at the Druga is definitely up there with the higher priced RDA’s – however how does it build – wick and vape?

How Does the Augvape Druga RDA Perform?

OK first up let’s look at this ‘innovative’ Clamp Snag System (CSS) and how I found it as a relative newcomer to building RDAs.

The Augvape Druga Deck

My first impression on looking at the clamp style deck was ‘this does indeed look ‘easy peasy’.

However looks can be deceiving.

I was using 23mm ribbon twist pre-made coils and getting the first one in was a doddle.

However after numerous attempts getting the second one in I had to revert to using two jigs to hold one in place whilst maneuvering the other into position.

Trust me I swore a lot as there was barely any room in there to get the coils positioned how I wanted them.

Each time I tried to screw down one side – even just enough to give me wiggle room – everything shifted.

Eventually I just went with the flow and then had to spend an inordinate amount of time moving the coils into position with a jig and tweezers [hence the shabby looking build].

I know many of the more experienced builders out there will raise their eyebrows at that – however given this is described as ‘easy peasy’ by Augvape you’d think a relative newbie to building such as myself would indeed find it easy.

Another issue I found was snipping the coil legs.

Given they are sharing the smallish post hole there’s barely any room to snip – and yeah I did manage to snip off a perfectly positioned coil lol.

Now this might be just me and my clumsy hands but I have built on half a dozen other style decks and never had this issue.
Once on the ohm reader I found it took me an absolute age to get those coils synchronized.

The ribbon twists took a lot of scraping and pinching – and when I tried a pair of gorgeous fused claptons later on I had the same issue.

Again it could be my build [probably] but again I have never had this amount of hassle before on other decks.

Vaping on the Druga RDA

I had absolutely no issues with wicking.

There’s a generous juice well and I was able to use plenty of Cotton Bacon soaked in 12 Monkeys e juice.

I was reading out at 0.35ohms and at 50 watts the flavour was OKish however the clouds were excellent.

Things kicked into life at 75 watts and the flavour was very good with superb cloud production.

At 75watts with the airflow wide open the vape was smooth and luke warm – obviously half closed and things heated up a little with just a touch more flavour.

I dripped juice straight down the drip tip and also by whipping the top off with no spillage or leaking.

Despite using the Druga RDA for a week now I’m still finding the top cap stiff to get off – there’s no knurling to grip to – so I tend to drip straight down the mouthpiece which really isn’t an issue so long as I have my reading glasses on.

What I Like

First up the design is definitely to my taste – it’s uncluttered and nicely ‘stubby’ looking on a good on a variety of box mods.

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Sadly I don’t have a stainless steel [only brushed] device to get that ‘matchy matchiness’ but I reckon it would look very smart on one.

The flavour is very good – a mix I guess of the RDA’s height [not much gap between coils and your mouth] – the dome shaped top cap and maybe even the dual Cyclops side airflow.

Despite not being a ‘squonker’ I’m pleased they’ve added a squonk pin for those of you that are and also the addition of the 510 adapter means you can technically add your own custom drip tip.

What I Don’t Like

It has to be the CSS [clamp snag system].

It looks easy peasy but – and hey this just might be me – but I found it a sod to build on!

Maybe if those post holes were a tad wider I’d find it a lot easier.

I’d be interested to see what other Augvape Druga users say about the system!

I also think the ULTEM drip tip is way way too low profile.

There’s barely any room to get your lips around it however even after chain vaping I got very little heat from the stainless steel – so again it’s down to a matter of taste and if you can get your drip tip to fit.

Final Review Verdict

It’s going to be one of those ‘almost a great piece of kit’ reviews I’m afraid.

The Augvape Druga RDA looks very smart with superb flavour and truly wondrous cloud production.

However for me the ‘easy peasy’ build deck was anything but – and not just the small post holes.

The actual thumb screws are flat head and I’ve already mentioned there’s a useless hex key included in the kit.

The flat heads are super soft and extremely shallow meaning it won’t take much pressure to shear them – and given I am not a real man [no toolbox] I struggled to find anything I could use that fitted.

If you can get a good build on there without all the drama [I’m such a drama Queen lol] then it’s a solid piece of kit that I wouldn’t hesitate in recommending.

For me the effort of getting those coils in there spoiled the overall experience – and yeah I had half a dozen builds to get into the groove so to speak!

The Druga is in touching distance of being a superb RDA – and given its name could be translated as ‘second’ in Polish – let’s hope the Druga 2 – should there be one – is genuinely ‘easy peasy’ to build on.

Pros

• Decent flavour
• Great cloud production
• Smart design
• Squonk pin
• 510 adapter
• Very quiet smooth vape
• Reasonably priced

Cons

• Narrow post holes
• Shallow flathead thumbscrews
• Dual coil only
• Included ULTEM drip tip extremely low profile
• No screwdriver!!!