Home iJoy iJoy Captain PD1865 and 5S RDTA Kit Reviewed

iJoy Captain PD1865 and 5S RDTA Kit Reviewed

July 20, 2017

The iJoy Captain PD1865 follows swiftly on from the release of the iJoy Captain PD270. The latter heralded a new direction in how we power our mods with of course the inclusion of those large fat 20700 batteries.

iJoy did of course include two of those beasts with the mod and also an 18650 adaptor.

Captain-PD1865-with-RDTA-5S I’m guessing they decided to cash in on the mods popularity with if you like a ‘mini version’ – the PD1865 taking a couple of the more familiar 18650 batteries – sadly not included in the kit this time!

So, in shrinking the size and power has the Captain now become a Petty Officer?

And has the new and allegedly simpler to use 5S RDTA had me sailing through calm waters or choppy seas?

Let’s say hello sailor and pipe this review aboard the good ship EcigClick and take a closer look – with incidentally far less really – really bad metaphors…

As always my thoughts and opinions are my own.

Inside the Box

1pc IJOY CAPTAIN PD1865 BOX MOD 225W
1pc IJOY RDTA 5S
1pc Tool Pack (coils, cotton, o-rings, screws, screwdriver)
1pc USB Cable
1pc Manual
1pc Warranty Card

Captain PD1865 Mod Specs

Dimensions: 84.4 mm x 44 mm x 30 mm
2x External 18650 Batteries (not included)
Wattage Range: 5W to 225 W
Temperature Control: Ni | Ti | SS | M1 | M2
Temperature Control Range: 149° C – 316° C | 300° F – 600° F
TCR function for M1 | M2 settings
Resistance range: 0.05 – 3.0 ohm
Display: OLED 0.96 inch
Thread: 510 thread
Micro USB charging port
Firmware upgradeable
Available colours: Black – Gun Metal – Rainbow

RDTA 5S Specs

Height: 35.5 mm | 42.5 mm (inc. drip tip)
Diameter: 24 mm
Thread: 510
Capacity: 2.6 mL
Gold-plated velocity style build deck
Central top fill port
Airflow channels: 6 mm x 3 mm
Post holes: 2.5 mm x 2.5 mm
ULTEM drip tip outer diameter: 18.5 mm
ULTEM drip tip inner diameter: 10 mm
Available colours: Stainless – Black – Rainbow – Gun Metal – White – Orange – Purple

Key Features

First up the iJoy Captain PD1865 mod and the most obvious thing about this and the PD 270 is the batteries that power it.

This mod is powered by X2 18650 batteries making it slightly smaller in height and width and slightly less powerful maxing out at 225watts rather than the 234watts from its larger counterpart.

Not a huge difference in size or power and unlike the PD 270 iJoy haven’t added any batteries either!

You can read Laura’s superb review of the PD270 HERE if you’re looking for comparisons.

OK so despite its slightly smaller size the PD1865 can apparently handle 30mm attys without any overhang – the largest I have is 25mm and there’s plenty of room and everything I’ve popped on top fits flush.

You can choose what your pair the mod with in kit form from either the 5S RDTA – the Captain Tank or the Wondervape RDA.

5s rdta

As you can see I received the iJoy RDTA 5s version – more on the RDTA in a mo.

Apart from size the mod is pretty much identical inwards and outwards to the original with a full temp control suite and an oversized fire button.

There’s a nifty power setting mode similar to the Smok mods with Hard – Normal – Soft and User defined which works very well indeed when using more exotic coils – which brings me nicely to the new RDTA5S.

iJoy RDTA 5S Key Features

I never got round to buying the previous version of this tank – particularly after I saw a lot of folks saying it was ‘over-engineered’.

Given I struggle to change a plug the thought of a tough tank to build on put me off – however iJoy believes this version is considerably easier for building – more on that later.

deck

As to capacity and trust me I have looked around the net but cannot find an EU friendly 2ml version only the 2.6ml which is a bit of a bummer.

However according to some folks the tank only holds 2ml of e-liquid the rest being put down to what’s on the cotton!

Not sure if this will be released in the EU as the kit is still on pre-order at the time of writing so keep an eye out on social media and of course on here!

OK, the deck is gold plated velocity style that is slightly raised and suitable for dual coil builds only.

The post holes are a 2.5mm wide with cross-head screws and I was able to get a couple of larger coils in with a bit of a squeeze.

Wicking and Filling the RDTA 5s

There are generous wicking ports with grooves cut into the side of the deck that allow you to trail your legs neatly – a feature that can be a little fiddly.

There’s the tiniest – and I mean tiniest fill port in the dead centre of the deck – which also has two tiny air pressure release holes to avoid bubbles.

There’s a lot of airflow options as well – some might say a bewildering amount – with bottom top and side which you can fiddle about with to get your own preferred setting.

As to how the 5S performs we’ll get onto later.

Captain PD1865 Quick Start

Very simple mod to operate.

X5 clicks of the fire button to turn on and off
X3 clicks gets you into the menu

Captain PD1865 Design and Build Quality

Straight out of the box and one of the banes of my life was oh so apparent – peeling stickers.

The Captain PD1865 is a stunning looking mod however the carbon fibre stickers were loose pretty much everywhere and looked in some places as if they’d been trimmed a little too long and so were not fitting flush.

I can tell you now I spend an inordinate amount of time pressing them down but and particularly in this warmer weather they pop back up all the time – not good for anyone with the slightest OCD.

However, close to 3 weeks of use and with my constant thumb pressure they are settling down somewhat but I feel them whenever I’m handling the mod so pressing them back down has almost become second nature!

It’s certainly a well built and extremely comfortable to hold chassis and not at all on the heavy side.

The battery door is snug and feels dependable but there’s no venting I can see.

The up and down buttons are simple and do the job well enough and I absolutely love the oversized fire button which makes this ideal for trigger fingers – thumbs and even palm firers!

Design wise this is a showstopper and has had more than a few ooos and aaahs when I’ve taken it out and about.

I have to say the 5S looks fantastic on board – so lets talk about the RDTA.

iJoy RDTA 5S Build and Design Quality

First impression was this is an awesome looking tank and that opinion hasn’t changed – it’s a looker even with the ULTEM drip tip!

I’m not so impressed with the rather bright 5S and iJoy logos on the side – I received the black version and it does stand out a little too much.

As to over-engineering this version?

It’s a yes and no from me.

I can’t comment on the previous version however there does seem to be a lot of ‘buggering about’ with this RDTA.

There are three ‘sleeves’ to remove to get to the tank and deck – there is a click and lock method [fiddly] that allows you to take the whole thing off to get at your deck but even so it can be a chore taking everything apart.

The deck is a cinch to build on though – nothing special at all really – and has I’ve mentioned the wicking holes are generous.

There are grooves that you lay your cotton legs into to guide them towards the glass tank section and you need to thin and fluff them out a bit to get the best result – I found snipping them off level with the end of the grooves wicked best.

One thing I will say is this RDTA wicks extremely well and after 2 or 3 different builds I have had no leakage during use.

HOWEVER.

I have had far far too many leaks from the 5s RDTA – big ones too – whilst filling this up!

The fill hole is on the base of the deck and is tiny.

You need a really thin nozzle to not only get past the posts but also to create an airtight seal when filling.

Had iJoy raised the fill port and widened it slightly [or put it somewhere else] things would have been a whole lot easier and far less messy.

Even with the two air holes in the deck you constantly get an air bubble over the fill hole if your nozzle is even slightly too wide which adds to the flooding – yes even those bloody 10ml bottles!

Out and about I began using this as a dripper and have managed to squirt e-liquid into the tank at the gap between it and the deck – but I really shouldn’t have to do that if that hole had been even 1ml wider.

How Does the Captain PD1865 and RDTA 5s Perform?

I have no issues with the mod at all, in fact I bloody love it and as a dual 18650 mod it’s definitely up there as one of my favourites ever – yeah even with the peeling stickers lol!

The 5S on the other hand is one of those that I really truly want to enjoy but it has so many little niggles it annoys me!

airflow

First up the sheer amount of airflow options and trust me 3 weeks of endlessly spinning the options and I still haven’t found my optimum setting.

Much of that is due to how freely they spin – so after a couple of blasts they move seemingly of their own accord screwing up your setting!

Muted Flavour Off 3 Different Builds

I would say with all of them open it isn’t that much of an airy vape either though flavour is dimmed.

Speaking of flavour and I have to say I’m not that impressed if I’m honest.

Using my current go to e-liquid flavour on a 0.19ohm build using the claptons supplied vaping on Muji cotton and at 87watts the flavour was OK but not great.

I’ve also used x2 micro coils at 0.30hms and a couple of 0.20 aliens and again flavour was muted to say the least.

Vapor wise things looked up a bit particularly with the airflow as wide open as I could get it – but again nothing special.

So for me it’s a great mod let down by the RDTA 5s.

What I Like

If it’s looks that’s important to you them paired up these two look great together.

I have absolutely no issues with the mod at all – it works very well though if it actually hits 225watts is open to debate – what I can say is that on Hard setting it fired up those big alien coils very well indeed.

captain mod design — logo is fingerprint magnet!

What I Don’t Like

Obviously the glue on the stickers could have been stronger and I have no doubt if you snag them they will tear.

I have to say the RDTA 5s is a bit of a let-down.

Sure it looks good – its easy to build and wick but filling is a pain in the proverbial and will leave you with sticky fingers more often than not especially if your nozzle is too big 😉

Flavour wise its just OK – vapour wise its just OK – so for me it’s a bit of a Meh!