TimesVape Apex RDA Review: Hex-actly Flow-tastic!

Timesvape is a a USA based vaping brand, specialising in gear for cloud-chasers and they’re probably best known for their hard-hitting Mask RDA, which got some great feedback on YouTube.

They only have a handful of products listed on their site but I’m certain we’ll be seeing a lot more of them in future.

What Can We Expect From The Apex RDA by Timesvape?

The subject of my review today, the Timesvape APEX 25mm RDA designed in collaboration with popular Instagram vaper, Nick Adams, better known as Nickchrome80.

It features an exciting Hex post deck system, dual posts with 3 terminals each, which will allow you an extensive array of build options.

Ample terminals accommodate anything from small to beefy single, double, triple or even quadruple builds! Does all this make for a great flavour RDA? Let’s get to it…

What’s In The Box

• 1 x Apex RDA
• 3 x 810 Drip Tips
• 1 x 510 Adapter
• 1 x Squonk BF Pin
• 1 x Spare Parts
• 1 x Cleaning Cloth

Features

• 25 mm Diameter
• Stainless steel construction
• Gold plated BF pin
• Twin Cyclops airflow for single or dual coil
• Hex posts with M5 Kimi screw
• 810 PEI, Delrin and Resin drip tips
• PEEK insulator
• Innovative and versatile deck design
• 3.8 mm Juice well

Build Quality & Design

On opening the small but neat box packaging of the Apex RDA, I found a fairly simple looking SS RDA (there is a black option too), with a very pretty, marbled and thick, 810 resin drip tip, which is removable.

Also, two extra, quality drip tips are included, one a cross textured, black SS; one a yellow PEI.

A tapering barrel that features indentations on the taper toward the tip that, while they may look like knurling, don’t actually help you to get much of a grip on the top cap in order to tug it off, however, they do make twisting a little easier.

The top cap extends beneath the barrel and is beset with two huge, staggered cyclops slots either side.

When you twist the top cap, the staggered slots will align with parallel twin slots either side the barrel, so that you can either open bottom airflow, top airflow or both…interesting!

On either side of the barrel you’ll find branding engraved, a shark on the one side and the Apex logo on the other.

The SS barrel slides down over a thin, 4 mm base with the help of two medium sized but quality o-rings. The barrel is easy enough to pull on and off.

This is where the fun begins…

The 3.8 mm juice wells are round tired crescents bellow where your dual coils would lie and while they may be 3.8 mm at their deepest, I’d have liked to see a larger base and a more secure well. I’ve a feeling this is going to be a leaker when I over drip, which I almost always do, to be fair.

The posts are HEX posts and I like them! Dual posts, one gold plated and one SS, each has a massive terminal running through it horizontally, where you could accommodate even the largest coils.

That’s not all though, there are vertical terminals too, two at the top of each post…meaning you can arrange 1,2,3,4 coils, the choice is yours.

Each post features a large and accessible M5 KIMI screw and an allen key is included for that. This screw will shut off all terminals in the post simultaneously.

Your airflow slots sit so that one will lie just below a coil in a dual horizontal build and one above the coil. I like having these options but I’m predicting a lot of mess with this low slot and shallow well.

The base of the RDA is fitted with a gold plated BF pin for squonking on arrival, so watch out for that! A copper 510 is among the accessories and easy to install.

Accessories

I really like the inclusion of 3 very sweet drip tips, however I would have liked to see some coils included in the pack! A 510 adapter is included, allen keys, extra screws (4, which is ample) and, of course, you have a squonk pin that’s compatible with most any squonker and a nice, copper 510, which is obviously adjustable.

Oh…and the cleaning cloth is useful with all the leaking that goes on until you get the hang of that low airflow slot.

How Does The Timesvape APEX RDA Perform?

As is often the case with RDA’s, I needed to screw it into a mod so I could pull off the top cap. The problem was…there’s no way to get a grip on this top cap so that you can release it from the barrel, which I like to do when dripping.

In effect, the top cap can only really be twisted to adjust your airflow. You have to drip through the tip, which is fine but with these low, low bottom airflow slots and fairly shallow well, it’s not safe to drip blind when you’re using the bottom airflow. Juice everywhere!

This is a pity, considering the fact that I find the bottom airflow particularly effective. You just have to drip the perfect amount to avoid a ‘through the airflow’ spill. I definitely like the airflow versatility here though, because it gives you options on your coil placement and accommodates the high builds you might play with on the upper terminals.

A bigger base with a deep well that doesn’t slope up to the edges would have done the trick. Also, a top cap with grip enough to be slid off so that I can see when I drip would have been cool.

I really do love the versatility of this deck and got up to all kinds of shenanigans which definitely made for some awesome photos!

At the end of the day though, I found that I enjoyed a twin coil build and an open bottom airflow, closed upper, with a minimal wicking to avoid spillage…that’s when I got the most out of my flavour and really great vapour production. It all depends on your build though.

Another build I enjoyed but didn’t photograph was a diagonal single build on the upper terminals, which allowed be to use the bottom airflow and maintain a nice wicking without spillage.

I think the deck design, airflow and drip tips are the best things about this RDA…though the juice well causes problems with leaking when combined with the bottom airflow, if you aren’t careful!

I would have liked to have seen some form of insulation on the top cap, as much as I love these short, thick 810s, I found that, especially when I did this triple build and had the coils right next to the top cap, my lips kept coming in contact with that SS top cap, hot, ouch!

I ended up sticking to lower placed builds because of this heat issue. So as versatile as the deck is, other factors make it more sensible just to use those bottom terminals, a pity. That is, unless you’re using higher resistance coils that won’t require the type of wattage that mine did!

Coil Placements

• Unscrew the M5 Kimi screw on your posts, using the large allen key
• All the coils at once before tightening, since there’s only one screw per post
• Start with 2 horizontal bottom coils and add 2 horizontal on top if you want, or 1 on top with 2 below
• If you have a nice cloud chasing coil, place it in diagonally opposing upper terminals…this configuration allows for a very nice wicking arrangement and no leaking!

Ease of build

These big, quality M5 KIMI screws are very accessibly and easy to remove and place. As you can see from the photos, I had no problem fitting the biggest coils (although I didn’t have much wicking space), even on the upper terminals.

This deck is very, very easy to build on and I like everything about it, except the juice well.

What I Liked

I really like the included drip tips and innovative airflow design which accommodates the many builds that are possible here. I love the deck design and the fact that I only have two screws to deal with, even though I have 6 terminals!

What I Dislike

The juice well design and thin base mean that you’re likely to experience some leaking when you have your bottom airflow open, unless you’re very, very careful. The top cap gets very hot with high placed, low resistance coils and the short drip tip may see you burning your lips. The top cap is very difficult to remove.

Final Review Verdict

The TimesVape APEX RDA is a mixed bag, there’s good and theres bad there but one thing I can’t deny: I haven’t had this much fun on a deck in a while.

Great, versatile, very cool airflow options which accommodate the deck nicely but are slightly tarnished by the thin base and juice wells.

Nevertheless, I recommend this RDA for experienced vapers who want to mess around with crazy quadruple builds and the like…and who doesn’t?!

Pros

• Selection of quality drip tips
• Innovative airflow system
• Versatile build deck

Cons

• High builds cause heating of top cap and possible lip burning
• Thin base and shallow wells cause leaking through bottom airflow
• No grip for removal of top cap from barrel