To prevent repetition on aesthetics – the CoilArt Mage RTA V2 is identical to the stock coil version in look and build – please check out my previous review here.
What Can We Expect From The Coilart Mage V2 RTA?
As stated there, I’m a fan of the appearance and there’s no reason to say differently here, other than to comment that the V2 also comes in gun-metal grey. I think this colour slightly edges the black in terms of my preference but that’s entirely subjective.
But can it perform as well as the best RTA on the market? Let’s find out.
Disclaimer: I received the CoilArt Mage RTA V2 for the purpose of this review. All opinions are based on my own experience.
What’s in the box:
Let’s just dive straight in; the Mage V2 comes neatly packaged and includes;
- 1 x Coilart Mage RTA V2
- 1 x extra Bubble glass
- 1 x bag of spare parts
- User manual & Warranty
- Quality Certificate Card
Specs and features
- Height: 44mm
- Diameter: 24 mm
- Capacity with rubber seal removed: 3.5ml
- Capacity with bubble glass: 5.5ml
- Drip Tip: 810 & a 510 drip tip adaptor
- 24K gold plated stainless steel post-less deck for dual or single coil build
- 29 x 1mm diameter honey comb air holes
- Adjustable bottom airflow – triple slots
- Unscrew top fill
- Threading: gold-plated non-adjustable 510 pin
Available colours: black golden | black red | black rose golden |gun metal | golden | SS
Design and Build Quality
For all the reasons I liked the Mage subtank – the design, knurling, airflow and ease of refilling – I equally like the Mage RTA V2. There’s nothing further to add, it looks great and feels high quality.
Build Deck
I’m going to focus this review on the deck. It’s very similar in style to the Vandy Vape Kylin Mini with that honeycomb airflow. The Kylin was extremely easy to build on, so I had high hopes, but I was left very disappointed.
Personally, I found the Mage RTA V2 to be a bit of a nightmare.
Everything about it is fiddly, from trying to fit two coils in without them touching, to the poor-quality grub screws that stripped on the slightest impact and the difficulty in getting the coil legs to connect to the screws and stay in place. This tank is not for the faint-hearted, it requires patience, skill and time.
Perhaps if you’re a seasoned builder this tank doesn’t present the list of challengers that it will for others but I struggled with it immensely.
Let me break-down why:
The post screws hit the coil the wrong way. If you have a flat coil the screw pushes up against it and bends the coil all out of shape. This impacts on positioning. You get the coil in place but the stress that the screws put on the coil legs means that the coil will twist.
It’s extremely difficult to clamp down the coils correctly and even harder getting a second coil in the right position and preventing it from hitting the first.
On the CoilArt website it looks easy.
The reality is different!
There’s very little space for two coils, meaning you need the exact right number of wraps, and for the coils to be small in diameter. If you make your own coils maybe this is less of an issue, but if you buy pre-made coils you’ll have to be very particular about what you get.
Trying to get the coils in place and sit straight without touching anything is very difficult. These coils were only 2.5mm in diameter. 
How Does CoilArt Mage SubTank Perform?
If you nail the build stage exactly right this is a great vape. The vapour production is insane and the flavour superb from my Wick Liquor e-liquid.
The way the airflow hits the coils is perfect and the design of the chimney means the overall result is an incredibly smooth and flavourful warm vape.
I didn’t experience any leaking and refilling was a breeze. It’s a standout RTA and gives better flavour than others I’ve tried.
Pros:
- Affordable
- Easy to unscrew top fill due to grippy knurling
- Large juice holes
- Good e liquid capacity
- Looks good and nice build quality
- No leaks
- Bubble glass to increase capacity provided
Cons:
- Tricky to build – do not underestimate just how tricky!
- Recommend for advanced builders only
Final Verdict
This is a great looking RTA at an affordable price but I really can’t recommend it to anyone who doesn’t have the time, patience, and tools to get it up and running. This tank boils down to one question, is it worth the effort?
For you it might well be, for me it most certainly isn’t. Yes it edges on flavour but not enough for the sheer amount of frustration that goes into installing the coils and this is all down to the screw placement.
Had CoilArt taken a leaf out of the Vandy Vape Kylin Mini and designed the screws to come in from the ends rather than the sides it would have made coiling the tank so much easier and, as a result, this would have been a knock-out winner.
