Hellvape Dead Rabbit RTA Review – Another Heathen Rabbit

Today we’ll be taking a look at the Hellvape Dead rabbit RTA, the companies latest collaboration with vaping reviewer, Heathen.

As its name suggests, this is almost a companion to original Dead Rabbit RDA with the same rabbit ear style posts and top angled airflow system. Available in a variety of colours, there’s one to suit everyone’s style.

Can the Hellvape Dead Rabbit RTA Do the Name Proud?

With the popularity of the Dead Rabbit RDA, there’s been a lot of buzz around this release.

Will it live up to the hype? Let’s find out to see if this will sit in the best RTA for cloud or flavour crowd.

Disclaimer: This was purchased by myself for the purpose of this review and all opinions are my own, based on my own experience and testing.

What’s in the Box?

• 1 x 25mm Dead Rabbit RTA
• 1 x Resin Black 810 Drip Tip
• 1 x Stainless Steel 510 Adapter
• 1 x Accessories Bag
• 1 x Dead Rabbit Sticker
• 1 x Instruction Manual

I did also receive a bubble glass, however, as this was the European version and had to comply with TPD, it was not “in the box”.

Specs

• 25mm RTA
• Unique ‘Rabbit Ear’ design
• Ample build space and generous post holes
• Adjustable top side diagonal airflow
• Single or dual coil configurations
• Gold plated positive post for better conductivity
• 2ml or 4.5ml juice capacity with optional bubble tank
• Two 810 drip tip options including a black resin and a white resin design
• Slotted or hex head post screw options
• Protruding 510 pin and peek insulation

Available colours – Gun Metal, Purple, Black, Rainbow, Stainless Steel, Blue and Gold.

Design and Build Quality

Design wise, I can’t deny that the Hellvape Dead Rabbit RTA is very pretty. The knurling on the top and bottom is not only functional but really adds to the overall look. I

also like the look of the Dead Rabbit logo and text on either side of the chamber. It’s not overbranded but that little logo certainly stands out.

The slide in top coil deck that we previously saw in the Dead Rabbit RDA is still an absolute delight to build on and I love the way the post screws preserve your build and don’t chew up your coils the way some similar styled posts do.

Cut your coil legs a little too long? Not a problem, just give them a trim once you’ve tightened up your screws.

I think 25mm is a perfect size for this RTA. Any less and you’d have trouble fitting the deck inside without restricting build size or juice capacity but if they’d gone much bigger than the overhang produced on many dual battery mods might have been off putting.

I do like the screw off top cap although the fill ports are at the base of a diagonal recess which can make fast filling a little tricky at times.

The threading is all smooth once lubed up with a bit of juice and the airflow is really easy to adjust, although maybe a little too easy.

Overall design and build quality are really good but how does it vape?

How Does the Hellvape Dead Rabbit RTA Perform?

Building

Building on the Dead Rabbit RTA is very easy. You have ample build space for bigger and more complex coils and the post hole capacity doesn’t disappoint either.

I have been cutting my legs to 4mm using the Coily tool and then just raising them and angling them out towards the airflow slightly once they’re secured in place. This seems to produce best flavour overall for me.

Wicking

I won’t lie, wicking the Dead Rabbit RTA was a bit of a pain in the bum for me to begin with. I was either getting zero flavour, dry hits or the complete opposite, a mouthful of toasty warm juice.

After quite a few attempts (and some choice language) I managed to nail it with the dam method.

Measuring the cotton to just reach the wick ports and no more and just gently fluffing the cotton before simply tucking the ends under to rest on top of the wick ports has given me the best performance so far.

Flavour From the Dead Rabbit RTA

Once you nail the coil position and wicking on this, the flavour really is decent.Personally, I don’t feel that top airflow will ever match up to a bottom or side fed atomiser in terms of flavour but when a tank can match up to it’s RDA predecessor in terms of flavour then you can’t really grumble can you?

Single Coil

I did try this briefly in single coil mode with a 4mm tri-core fused clapton and with the airflow closed down about half way, I managed to produce ok flavour and clouds. However it really didn’t shine for me in single coil mode and there are far better performing single coil RTAs on the market.

Dual Coil

This is where we really see the true potential of the Dead Rabbit RTA.

I tried a couple of different coil variations but settled with a pair of 3mm ni80 staples and really noticed a difference in overall performance. Coming in at .1 ohms and running around 95 watts with airflow fully open produced a wonderfully saturated, warm vape that cloud chasers wouldn’t have been disappointed by and also left me the perfect amount of cotton for wicking.

For me the Dead Rabbit performs at it’s best in dual coil mode and at relatively high wattage and if you take your time to play around with builds, coil position and wicking then you can get a really satisfying experience. Oh and it’s almost impossible to make it leak thanks to that top airflow!

Pros

• Decent flavour
• Good cloud production
• 4.5ml capacity with bubble glass
• Smooth airflow
• Good build quality
• Easy to build on
• Dual or single coil
• Leak proof
• Nice extra resin drip tip
• Good amount of spares including a choice of hex screws or flat heads

Cons

• Bubble glass must be purchased separately
• If you like to ‘purge’ when you vape then prepare for a face full of vapour due to the top angled airflow
• Can be very tricky to get wicking right
• Once wicking well it can be ‘thirsty’

Final Review Verdict

Although I did enjoy the Hellvape Dead Rabbit RTA, I feel there should be much more wiggle room when it comes to coil position and wicking style. I could only find one combination that really gave me decent flavour and cloud producing, everything else either produced dry hits and zero flavour or complete flooding of the deck.

That being said, once you find that sweet spot, the flavour really is decent. I do wonder however if half of the people purchasing this will give up before they find its full potential.

Would I replace it if I lost it tomorrow? Probably not. Personally I prefer bottom or side airflow for flavour and the ability to purge a little and heat up my coils before I start vaping.

The Hellvape Dead Rabbit RTA is a decent tank, didn’t blow my socks off but also didn’t completely disappoint me. With time and patience it can be a solid all round performer with relatively good flavour and not much worry about leaking.