Hellvape Helheim RDTA Review – Including Build Guide – Better Than Its Brother?

For this review I have got my hands on the Hellvape Helheim RDTA. But don’t get it confused with its sibling of a similar name…

It’s been less than a month since I checked out the Hellvape Helheim S RDTA which in essence, is almost the same as what we’re looking at today.

The only main difference is that the Helheim S makes use of steel wire rods to saturate the cotton, whereas this little puppy relies wholly on cotton!

It’s not very often that a manufacturer releases basically two versions of a product at the same time. Usually a version is released, then following good or bad feedback, changes are made or an alternative is produced. But Hellvape have decided just to wack both out, at the same time and see how it goes.

It could be said that Hellvape are known for re-releasing products with minor changes, take their Dead Rabbit series for example. So it’s actually quite refreshing to see them release two products, with similarities, that will give the consumer the option on which style of RDTA they prefer.

Hellvape aren’t known for their RDTA’s so yeah… I was surprised they released two, at the same time.

What Can We Expect From the Hellvape Helheim RDTA?

The Helheim is a 25mm diameter atomiser and if you’re not familiar with the term RDTA (Rebuildable Dripping Tank atomiser) then it’s pretty simple to explain. It’s essentially an RDA, on top of a tank.

The idea being is that you get RDA performance and flavour, but without the need to drip or squonk. However – Hellvape have also included a squonk pin with the Helheim meaning this bad boy can be refilled on the go via a squonk bottle.

Furthermore, the tank has a 4.5ml capacity and has both side and bottom airflow for maximum adjustment. Very nice.

Let’s crack on and see how this performs!

In the Box

• Helheim RDTA
• Spare Glass
• 2 x Ni80 0.37Ω Coil
• 2 x Shoelace Cotton
• Coil Trimming Tool
• Accessory Bag
• User Manual

Specs and Features

• Height: 51.0mm
• Diameter: 25.0mm
• Dual or Single Coil Build Capacity
• 2ml/4.5ml e-liquid capacity
• Dual Bottom / Side adjustable airflow
• Squonk pin included
• 810 Drip-Tip
• Available Colours: Black | Gold | SS | Gunmetal | Blue

Hellvape Helheim RDTA – Design and Build Quality

I received the blue version of the Helheim RDTA which is clean and glossy. I’d almost describe it as an Electric Blue. Being 25mm in diameter, it sits nicely on the majority of devices, however height may be an issue, although not as tall as the ‘S’ variant, it’s still quite a tall tank.

Drip-Tip and Top-Cap

The top-cap is removed from the tank by simply turning the top cap anti-clockwise until the airflow is fully closed, and then lifting off. The 810 drip tip is also removable and thanks to the internal O-ring in the top-cap, you can happily use your own.

Inside the top-cap is a nice amount of doming along with 5 open slots on either side of the top-cap which is the entry point for your side airflow.

Lower Barrel

The second part to the barrel is held snugly into the deck thanks to two large rounded pegs which push into the deck.

This section also provides your bottom airflow, the airflow ring itself is removable and is held in place via O-Rings. Again this AFC has a stopper at fully open/closed. It also has a nice cut design to it for additional grip when adjusting.

Internally, the lower barrel has no doming as such due to the nature of this tank, however you will notice the two large pins that press snugly into the deck and effectively block the tank from leaking through the filling ports.

Deck

The deck could be described as a centred block with 4 terminals for either a single, or dual coil build. In the centre of the deck are 10 punched holes which provides bottom airflow to the coil(s)

Either side of the deck are two rounded holes in which the lower barrel fits into, this is also where you fill the tank from. Adjacent to the holes are two large wicking ports to allow you to place your cotton down into the tank.

E-Liquid Chamber

The 4.5ml capacity glass is removable and replaceable and cleverly enough, within the e-liquid chamber are two tiny holes near the top of the stem. This is where your e-liquid will pour out, if you decide to fit the squonk pin. Thus re-filling your tank. Very clever.

The Base

The 510 pin protrudes nicely from the base with peek insulator included. There is minimal print and branding and as previously mentioned, the standard 510 pin can easily be replaced with the squonk pin. Just be sure to keep a finger on the deck when replacing the pin, as it can all come apart if you’re not careful.

Aesthetics

Regardless of the height of this tank, it’s a nice looker! I’m actually quite pleased the capacity isn’t any larger than it is, because the short style glass suits this tank nicely. Plus with the dual adjustable airflow options and knurl on the top cap, it’s a slightly industrious looking atty.

One small thing to mention, I also picked up a black version of this tank, however the paint finish on that variant is poor and has mostly rubbed off. The blue has been perfect, so I imagine I’ve just been unlucky with the black variant, however I suggest if your paint is literally just rubbing off. Get in touch with Hellvape.

How Does The Hellvape Helheim RDTA Perform?

Building on the Helheim RDTA

The Helheim RDTA is primarily a Dual Coil rebuildable but the option to use as a single coil is also there, however wicking may be a little challenging in single coil – more on that later.

Building on the Helheim RDTA is simple enough, the included coil cutting tool recommends cutting the coil legs at 5mm to provide an optimum distance between bottom and side airflow when positioned.

Here’s how I built mine in Dual Coil mode.

• Unscrew the four flat headed grub screws, the screws themselves aren’t too small, and fairly chunky so I’ve had no problems with chewing the screws up or any issues with loosening/tightening the screws
• Once your coils are cut to length, install your coils and position over the bottom airflow, allowing a small gap between the coils to allow for air to flow from under both sides of the coils.

You may find you play around with the spacing to improve flavour or to set more to your preference, but where I have it set in these images, is where I have liked it most.

• Gently pulse your coils at a low wattage, allowing the coils to gradually glow, whilst gently strumming to coils which will remove any hot spots and allow the coil to glow evenly, from inside out.
• Once those coils are cool, it’s on to wicking.

Wicking The RTA

Going back to the Single Coil option, I found this a little tricky, and it’s mostly to do with the massive juice ports which you effectively have to lightly plug with cotton. By using a single coil you only use half the cotton which is basically not enough cotton to gently plug the ports. So each and every time I tried, I always ended up going back to a dual coil build.

Wicking isn’t difficult with this RDTA as there is plenty of room and the juice ports demand plenty of cotton. But here’s how I wicked the Helheim RDTA on multiple occasions for best wicking performance.

Once your cotton is threaded through the two coils, cut to length and rake the ends of the cotton fairly thin to help with that capillary action.

Tuck the cotton into the ports but ensure you are not stuffing the cotton in too tightly, as this will have a detrimental effect to e-liquid reaching the coils.

I found cutting my cotton a fair way past the deck, allowed a small amount of cotton to actually be sitting inside the tank section, this allowed for better wicking also.

Once cotton is in place, saturate the cotton as best you can

Don’t forget to fill the tank with e-liquid once you’ve fully saturated the cotton.

Flavour and Clouds

Much like the Helheim S RDTA, the Helheim comes with multiple airflow options, so I’ve done my very best to describe my experiences in multiple airflow adjustments.

Of course, much like the Steel Rod version, I’ve kept the tank filled with 80VG 20PG Code Red by Darkstar. Being so thick may cause problems with wicking – but that’s the idea of this test.

The dual coil setup I have installed are a set of Proper Coil Fused Claptons which in a pair, come out at 0.14Ω and I set the wattage to 90 watts throughout my testing.

Both Fully Open

With the airflow set fully open, the draw is very airy but not without a small amount of restriction. Considering this lack of restriction, this is not a loud draw and the flavour is a solid 7/10 if not a little on the cool side.

Side AFC Open Only

With only the Top Cap airflow open, the draw is surprisingly smooth. However the restriction is still fairly light. Flavour has improved slightly to a 7.5/10 and the warmth has increased ever so slightly. The slightly less airflow has also allowed more snap, crackle and pop from the coils too.

Bottom AFC Open Only

With only the bottom airflow wide open, and the top cap closed yhe restriction is a lot heavier than before and for me it’s a little too tight. It’s still a Direct Lung draw but I find it to be too tight for a comfortable DL. Warmth jumps massively to almost hot, but I feel the flavour drops to around a 6/10.

Also – The barrel of the RDA gets hot quite quick in this setting.

Both Half Open

Setting both half open isn’t a bad option at all. Allowing airflow to the underside of both coils and the sides of both coils makes for a nice smooth vape. Plenty of airflow, a loose DL draw but with a hint of restriction and still allowing for warmth and crackles to happen. A decent 8/10 for flavour in this setting.

My Preference

My personal preference has allowed for a little more airflow. Setting the side airflow (top cap) fully open, and the bottom airflow to half closed allows for the warmth to remain at a comfortable level whilst allowing a decent amount of airflow for a fairly airy direct lung draw. Pretty much how I like it. Flavour hits a solid 8.5/10 in this setting for me personally. But as always coil size, position and your own preferences play a big part in how you prefer your vape.

Wicking Performance

Much like the Helheim S RDTA, the Helheim does suffer slightly from the fact that gravity is actually a thing. And e-liquid doesn’t naturally travel upwards. Meaning some reliance of wicking is placed into your hands.

Firstly I found tucking the cotton slightly into the juice ports, so they’re just visible inside the tank, helps with wicking.

Now you could go HAM on this and tuck loads of cotton into the e-liquid chamber, right to the bottom of the tank. But what you have to consider is every time you vape, you effectively top the tank almost sideways, and this will allow e-liquid to touch the cotton and saturate the coil.

Generally speaking – for a normal, everyday vaper – the wicking keeps up. However chain vaping is another story as you will find vaping this constantly may be an issue. But I mean, who does that?

Considering my general dislike for RDTA’s (Cos gravity) – I’ve actually been fairly impressed with the wicking performance of this RDTA.

Pros

• Well-built and fits together well
• Easy to build
• Tolerances of parts is excellent
• Plenty of airflow options
• Nicely styled considering its height
• Very good flavour
• Squonk-able!

Cons

• Black version paint rubbed off.
• Its an RDTA – Wick & vape carefully

Hellvape Helheim RDTA – Final Review Verdict

I always have my doubts about RDTA’s for a number of reasons I’ve already mentioned in this review. However I love the idea, the fact you can expect RDA performance, from a tank. The one sacrifice you make is with how much you can trust your wicking and saturation of the coil.

Having said that, the Helheim RDTA does a good job of keeping up especially once you nail the wicking and I’ve been very impressed with the general performance of this RDTA. Flavour is very good and that’s mainly down to the massive amount of airflow options. Across the board, the airflow is smooth and can be perfectly tailored to your preferences.

The tank itself is very well made – we’ll give Hellvape the benefit of the doubt with the black version I received – let’s put that down as a ‘Sample Error’ – But the O-Ring tolerances and fitment of all parts is very very good.

Did you, or will you buy the Hellvape Helheim RDTA ? We would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!