We might be a little late to the Bonza RDA party but given the designer – The Vaping Bogan and manufacturers Vandy Vape won big time in our 2017 EcigClick Awards – it really is better late than never!
OK for those of you who don’t know the Vaping Bogan he’s an Australian YouTube Vape reviewer known for turning the air bluer than The Vaping Postman – and I mean as blue as blue can get!
However this guy knows what he’s on about – even when it comes to beer which is unusual for an Australian to say the least…hehe…
So the Bonza RDA is yet another collaboration between a YouTube reviewer and Vandy Vape and this one can be used in both single and dual coil set up.
The Vaping Bogan has made no bones about the fact that he hasn’t re-invented the wheel – indeed he says himself he’s taken a bit of this and a piece of that from his favourite RDAs – tweaked them and created what I guess you could call a Frankenstein RDA 😉
OK so has the Vandy Vape Bonza RDA got what it takes to stand alongside the likes of the Mesh RDA – the Pulse and the Govad?
We shall see shortly!
As always my thoughts and opinions are my own.
BTW the word Bonza is Australianeze for: excellent; first-rate…something is good or well executed. Just in case you weren’t sure 🙂
So let’s see if this one has me throwing it or another shrimp on the barby…
Inside the Box
The Bonza RDA comes in a tough plastic box – that other reviewers describe these days as ‘clam shell’…
- 1 x Vandy Vape – Bonza RDA
- 1 x 16mm Delrin Drip Tip
- 1 x 17.5mm Ultem Drip Tip
- 1 x Accessory Bag
- 1 x User Manual
Bonza RDA Specs
- 25.5mm Height Without Drip Tip
- 24mm Diameter
- Clamp Style Dual Post Build Deck
- Bottom Feed – Squonk Ready
- 510 Squonking Pin
- Side Airflow
Key Features
As we can see this is a 24mm dual coil and single coil option RDA that out of the box is set in regular dripper mode.
There is a squonking 510 pin that is easy enough to swap out using the supplied tool and both protrude enough for your hybrids.
BTW the standard 510 pin is gold plated [as is the deck] and adjustable making it perfect for the mech users out there.
The Vaping Bogan is up front when he says this is a pinch of this and dash of that ideas taken from RDAs that he personally likes.
Though he has said he has tweaked a few things to make them his own – so cutting edge this isn’t but hey if it vapes well who cares!
OK back to the features and the deck is extremely deep at 7mm – in effect holding 2mm of juice – and the posts are dual clamp syle.
The base of the clamps has a form of knurling that does indeed grip the legs tightly – they ain’t going anywhere.
The airflow is straight outa the Drop RDA playbook but without the 6 pack effect and you have 15 bored holes that mirror either side.
I say mirrored – one side can be completely closed off in single coil mode and the other opened and shut to your preferred setting.
Design and Build Quality
Look this is a Vandy Vape product so the build quality is generally pretty good with their devices and the Bonza RDA is no exception.
The huge chunky flat head post screws were impossibly tight out of the box as were the good quality O rings – but nothing a bit of juice to lube them up didn’t sort out.
Design wise I was pleased to receive the gorgeous matt black version – and very very smart it looks too especially with the red and black resin drip tip.
There’s a distinct lack of Vandy Vape logos too which given they like to plaster that absolutely everywhere it gives the RDA a clean look.
The airflow holes look good as does the chain link style engraving on the top cap/airflow ring adjuster.
And I absolutely love the Jolly Roger skull and crossbones Vaping Bogan logo – very menacing that screams this is a badass RDA.
If there’s one little design niggle I have and that is the gold plated base of all colours of the RDA.
Bogan says this cuts down on any leakage and yes it does however had it been a less blingy colour it would IMHO lifted the design somewhat.
So looks and build are top notch so how is to build on and vape?
How Does the Vandy Vape Bonza RDA Perform?
First up the build deck.
Building on the Vandy Vape Bonza RDA deck is pretty straightforward – however and despite being a 24mm I did found it a little tight in there.
Particularly when snipping however pushing the coil high meant there was room – I really must buy one of those new Coily tools 😉
There’s staggered post holes and clamps move down smoothly and that little bit of knurling on the base really does mean your coil legs are not going anywhere.
The Bonza can take some big old coils too and I have popped a couple of builds in there – a fused Clapton 24ga/32ga and a pair of Taiji coils 28ga/32ga/22ga and still room for slightly larger ones.
The flathead screws are big buggers and you can swap them out for the Phillips should you prefer.
Single Coil Mode
I used one of the fused Claptons with a reading of 0.25ohm and as you might expect from an RDA wicking was relatively straightforward but again given the coils were 6 wraps getting as much cotton in there as I wanted was tight.
With one side fully open and the other closed off I was impressed with the flavour firstly and then as things warmed up – the clouds began to come…and come…
My go to squonking RDA is the blacked out Dead Rabbit SQ – a single coil – and I have to say the Bonza matched it in flavour and certainly beat it in clouds.
Dual Coil Mode
Oh my!
I very occasionally use the dual coil Drop RDA and Dead Rabbit for squonking and as a dripper – preferring day to day to stick with my single coil – I don’t use the latter much given I have the purple version 😉
However.
As soon as I lit up the Bonza my eyes widened like a kid at Christmas – the flavour was intense and then some with clouds just rolling in like a storm out to sea!
Let’s put it this way the cloud production off a few of these would blot out the view of the Sydney Opera house – wow indeed!
This is when the Bonza kicks into gear – two decent coils at 90watts and my go to e-liquid – an awesome vaping experience!
I was picking up flavours I’d only read about in the descriptions – wow this thing is a flavour machine.
Bonza RDA in Squonk Mode
The squonk action is very good indeed despite there being no juice flow channels as such.
One squonk and you’ll see the juice flooding the deck finding the point of least resistance.
I found leaving a little gap between the cotton tails helped it squonk and wick better – though trust me the well is deep enough for that juice to slosh and wick no worries.
And given this is side airflow as such – you really will have to over-squonk like a maniac to get any leaking.
Bonza RDA as a Straight up Dripper
No issues whatsoever in fact it’s a great dripper!
You can splodge it straight down the drip tip with no leaking through the side airflow or paint those coils and drip a couple of mls underneath that cotton and into the spacious juice well.
I had a dual coil in there reading of 0.12ohm and was able to take the Bonza to the giddy heights [for me at least] of 120watts and the vape was comfortably warm with amazing clouds and intense flavour.
Anything above that and I was noticing the top cap getting warm – but don’t they all?
So super smooth airflow – squonks well – drips well – a bit of a flavorsome cloud chucking beast in dual coil mode and a bad ass design…
What’s not to like performance wise!
Pros
- 24mm – will fit standard mods
- 7mm juice well – plenty of room
- Bad ass design
- Super smooth airflow
- Incredible flavour
- Stupendous clouds in both single and dual coil mode
- Superb clamp system with grippage!
- Choice of x3 drip tips included
- Great in squonk mode
- Pretty much leak proof used right
Cons
- That gold band on the base of the RDA detracts a little design wise
- Can get a little hot at high temperatures
Final Review Verdict
Fair dinkum mate I bloody love it…
Excuse my terrible accent – more like Crocodile Dundee actually lived in Scotland than Sydney – but I hope you get what I mean.
This is an absolute ripper of an RDA – and given I tend to use drippers pretty much solely in squonk mode – the Bonza has seriously made me rethink that!
Sure it squonks very well indeed but put some serious power through this and it’s a revelation!
Intense flavour – stupendous clouds – easy build deck and silky smooth airflow makes this an absolute must have in your vaping Arsenal – see what I did there and me being a Spurs fan lol 😉
So if I lost this on walkabout in the outback down-under would I buy the Vandy Vape Bonza RDA again?
No worries mate…and in a heartbeat.
I love Bonza, have it in rainbow colour, the Basic pron i think its a very, very smooth airflow, the Second, banging flavour, the third is a clouds, thats really cloudy badboy
The con i find only one, on a gold buildeck, the golden colour removing itself after long using, but anyway, this RDA is really great