Being a massive fan of the original I was very interested in reviewing the new Kaees Solomon 2 RTA.
The former was a dual coiler with bottom airflow and the option of popping just one in – whilst the Solomon 2 is specifically made for single coils.
So Has Kaees Improved On The Original, Awesome Solomon RTA?
It’s a 24mm top fill and top airflow design and the designers have pretty much started from scratch as there’s more than a few changes compared to the previous Solomon RTA which I absolutely adored.
Kaees have been around for a little over a year now and have on the whole had their small stable of devices well received including the Aladdin RDA which got a thumbs up from our Michelle .
So has the Solomon 2 RTA got this Leo roaring with pleasure or growling with grumpiness and is it indeed fit to be called the king of the vapes?
Let’s take a closer look.
This was sent to me free of charge for the purpose of this review and as always my thoughts and opinions are my own.
Inside the Box
The usual no nonsense but perfectly functional orange box with a few goodies but no cotton and just one coil:
- 1x Solomon 2 RTA
- 1x Spare Glass Tube 3.5ml
- 1x Clapton coil
- 1x 510 Derlin Tip
- 1x 510 Drip Tip Adapter
- 1x 810 Drip Tip
- 1x Screwdriver
- 1x User Manual
- 1x Spare Parts
Kaees Solomon RTA 2 Specs
- Height: 46mm
- Outside Diameter: 24mm
- Capacity: 5ml (3.5ml extra glass tube included)
- Type: Single coil RTA
- Drip tip: 810 (510 drip tip included)
- Material: Food grade 304 steel
- Thread: 510 thread
- Top adjustable airflow control
- Leak proof design
- 24K Gold plated deck
Note: filling is a doddle simply unscrew top cap!
Key Features
This is a leak proof single coil adjustable top airflow RTA with a raised Genesis style gold plated deck.
It features a staggered two post deck with ‘open ended’ post holes making for as simple a build as you could wish for.
It’s an easy top fill – simply unscrew the cap and fill via the two comparatively small kidney shaped ports using either the 5ml bubble glass or the 3.5ml spare glass tank.
Design and Build Quality
There’s some major design changes from the original Kaees Solomon RTA which I’ll get onto in a moment so first build quality.
Overall it’s not bad at all with decent enough threads and a nice resistance to the airflow control.
However the inside of the barrel chamber is a little ragged to look at not that you can see it whilst vaping!
OK onto the design and first up what’s that gold band all about???
Obviously it’s for adjusting the airflow – but a gold band on black you can kind of get away with – kind of – but it’s the same colour on the stainless steel version – a bit of an eyesore IMHO.
The most obvious change in design is making this a single coil RTA – the previous being specifically a dual with the option of a single and of course switching from bottom to top airflow.
The design of the deck is actually very good indeed and it is one of the easiest to build and wick on I’ve ever used – one of the best RTA’s for beginners to building especially with those open post holes.
The chamber is flat and I mean extremely flat not a sign of even the slightest bit of doming which isn’t going to help the flavour particularly as this is both top airflow and a single coil.
Indeed the size of the airflow hole in the barrel is huge and it needs to be given the raised airflow arm – or air blade as they call it – on the deck has to slot in when you’re putting it all back together.
Incidentally the two air slots on that ‘blade’ are massive as well – there’s an awful lot of air going onto that single coil.
Kaees has also changed the Solomon logo – gone is the outline of a lions eyes – nose and mouth replaced with a lions head wearing a crown.
As to whether this justifies being the king of the vapes given it’s a single coil RTA jungle out there let’s look at now.
How Does the Kaees Solomon 2 RTA Perform?
As I’ve already stated – building and wicking on this is as simple as it gets so no issues there whatsoever.
Popping the deck back into the chamber can be tricky if you don’t line up the airflow arm with the hole at the top and it can take a little bit of wiggling until it connects with a satisfying click.
I began with the included coil reading at 0.23ohms leaving the cotton tails fluffed and barely through the juice ports – another case of less is more.
50W
Airflow wide open at 50w and as you might expect from a single coil with this much air the flavour was a little washed out and it was a very cool vape.
67W
Half closed at 67w and things got a little better with a slightly better flavour and denser clouds.
75W
Bumped up to 75w and the first hint of a burning taste – so using the coil out of the box at higher wattage even with the airflow wide open is a no no on my build anyway.
Trying a Different Build In the Solomon 2 RTA
Popping in an Alien coil reading 0.14ohms at 75w – again airflow half open – and things got a lot better with a much warmer vape – better flavour and great clouds.
I managed to get that build up to 87w before things got a little burnt tasting and found my sweet spot at 77w.
BTW I ran a fill using the 3.5ml capacity glass and it made little if any difference to the flavour.
So based on that for me the Kaees Solomon 2 RTA is a bit of a let-down compared to the original which I absolutely loved and still use to this day.
Why they’ve gone with a single coil set-up with that much airflow – especially from the top – is a bit of a mystery to me.
Unless you close it almost fully off the flavour is simply washed away no matter what build I’ve put in it and that really saddens me given the original absolutely popped the flavour.
Pros
- Easy build deck
- Wicks well
- Decent build quality
- Choice of drip tips
- Good clouds
- Choice of silver or black
Cons
- Huge amount of air
- Hard work to get right build and flavour
- That hideous gold band
- Quite noisy
Final Review Verdict
It’s a bit like the ‘difficult second album’ pop singers are faced with in the case of this RTA I’m afraid – a case of never quite as good as the breakthrough release…
The original Solomon RTA was bloody brilliant however Kaees has taken a backward step IMHO in both performance and design.
By design I don’t just mean that awful gold band – but the fact it’s so full of air it almost floats and it’s a single coil for goodness sake!
Those two negatives alone mean instinct tells you unless you really fiddle about with builds and airflow settings the vape isn’t going to flavourful.
Maybe even the slightest bit of doming in the barrel might have lifted the taste a wee bit but trust me its flatter than a flat earthers map.
And why they’ve gone for top airflow instead of sticking with the original’s bottom feed is a weird one.
Maybe they’re looking as the key feature of this being leak proof?
Personally in this case and given most builders are getting better the risk of over wicking leading to leakage is a small sacrifice to the flavour Gods?
It’s such a shame because the deck is solid and a breeze [more air?!?] to build on and apart from that awful gold band it looks pretty sweet too.
I know this is only vaping but I’m very disappointed with this one as I was hoping the designers would have not only gone for another dual coiler – but kept the bottom airflow and improved on the original which is an outstanding RTA.
Yes I know some and I say some single coil RTAs are absolute flavour machines – I use the Geekvape Ammit 25mm RTA for instance which for a big tank gives great flavour – though it is bottom airflow…says it all really…
A closer match in comparison would be the original Geekvape Zeus RTA again a big single coil tank with top airflow but easily beating this one in the flavour stakes and that’s hardly a flavour machine!
Sadly the Kaees Solomon 2 RTA is nowhere near good enough to make it into my top ten let alone rotation.
Damn shame…
