The Berserker range of rebuildables have on the whole been well received so can the new Vandy Vape BSKR V2 MTL RDA follow in those footsteps?
Once again it’s been designed in collaboration with YouTube vape reviewer Alex from VapersMD who appears to be a bit of a mouth to lung specialist.
In the past, we’ve seen the original Berserker MTL RDA which Jay enjoyed – the BSKR V1.5 Mini MTL RTA – which I quite liked, and the Berserker V1.5 MTL RTA which I found a tad lacking – so a bit of a mixed bag!
- Find out more about the differences between MTL and DTL vaping
What Can We Expect From the Vandy Vape Berserker V2 MTL RDA?
This is quite a small dripper width-wise at just 22mm but quite lengthy at 24mm.
The whole thing has had a major redesign and now features a dual-chamber and a single nonadjustable airflow port on the side. The air travels down through the chamber walls before hitting the bottom and pushing through the different sized inserts.
All sounds good – as to the reality and if the vape is any good we shall see.
OK, this was sent to me free of charge for the purpose of this review, as always my thoughts an opinions ain’t swayed by freebies.
Inside the Box
- 1 x BSKR V2 MTL RDA
- 1 x Accessory bag – inc x4 airflow inserts
- 1 x User Manual
- 2 x Drip Tip
Vandy Vape Berserker V2 MTL RDA Specs
- Length: 24mm
- Diameter: 22mm
- Capacity: 1.5ml
Key Features
This is obviously a single-coil 22mm diameter 1.5ml capacity MTL RDA that comes with x4 different sized airflow inserts.
And it’s the airflow that is a radical change from the original dripper. In this instance, Vandy Vape and Alex from VapersMD have given this one a complete overhaul creating a dual-chamber and a single unadjustable airflow port.
The air comes in from the side swirls down to your choice of airflow insert: 1.0 – 1.4 – 1.6 or 2mm – before hitting the coil from below.
The thinking behind this domed dual chamber is it will reduce condensation and evaporation so creating a cleaner sharper taste, as to if this is the case we shall see.
There’s also a choice of x3 drip tips and for the larger stainless steel ‘fin’ mouthpiece a choice of black or Ultem tip.
Vandy Vape says the overall design is also leak-proof – again something we’ll take a look at.
Design and Build Quality
Most of Vandy Vape’s products are well made and this one’s no exception.
The machining is good with no dinks or scratches and the flat head screws on the deck are smooth to tighten and un-tighten and seem sturdy enough.
The O rings on the drip tips are very tight but have been easier to swap once juiced up.
However, the ring on the chamber is a little loose – and getting looser – so easy enough to whip off to drip.
Talking about whipping the top off – there is a groove inside that once you spin the top a wee bit it bites and snaps down.
The airflow inserts can be swapped out without upsetting your build, making it a cinch to find your perfect vape without having to rebuild the whole thing, something I found annoying with the Augvape Merlin Nano RTA – the inserts on that one could only be changed by removing the coil and wick.
Design-wise you can tell straight away it’s part of the Berserker range with those bad-ass fins and there’s a refreshing lack of logos or other branding. That might be down to mine being a reviewers sample, however, the airflow port in the shape of a shield does look a little bit like a logo of sorts.
How Does the Vandy Vape Berserker V2 MTL RDA Perform?
I didn’t review the original, nor have I used it so this was all new to me. I have reviewed the Berserker RTAs and in general, they’ve been decent enough.
Many vapers say dripping is the purest form of vaping so I was expecting big things from this one.
So did I get the ‘perfect MTL vape’ they’ve promised?
Let’s break things down a little.
Building On the Vandy Vape BSKR V2 MTL RDA
There’s nothing innovative about the deck – we’ve seen this style many times before.
Popping in the coil is easy enough – the screws raise, slot in the tails, centre the coil over the airflow hole, screw down and snip – easy!
I had the coil positioned slightly and I mean slightly above the airflow hole.
This is an RDA so wicking is relatively simple – just make sure your legs are fluffy and cut to the deck.
Given this is quite a small deck area, I found leaving a tiny gap on both sides of the cotton legs gave room to drip juice into the chamber. By not doing that over-dripping meant e-liquid spilling out of the airflow ports!
Airflow Inserts
As I’ve said, there’s x4 and they can be swapped out whilst the build is intact.
I was going to break each one down, but look it ain’t rocket science!
The 1mm is tight and with 10 being super-tight I’d put this one at an 8.5 / 9.
The 1.4mm loosens up slightly to an 8 – the 1.6mm to a 7 and obviously the 2mm is the loosest vape at around a 6 and capable of a restricted lung hit.
Flavour and Clouds
Not that impressed if I’m honest, with the flavour that is – the clouds are fine.
I’ve had this for over 3 weeks now and have had x3 builds inside using different cotton.
I’ve both raised the coil and lowered it slightly and made x2 simple regular round wire coils at 1.0ohm and 1.2ohm respectively. Plus I’ve used all the airflow inserts for an overall taste test and to find my personal sweet spot.
Using the included Superfine MTL Fused Clapton Coils – Ni80 x6 wraps at 0.65ohms – at 17.7w the flavour was a little muted to say the least.
Bumped up to 21w and whilst things improved slightly, I’m afraid for me the flavour just wasn’t good enough.
Sadly it’s the same story with my basic homemade coils – flavour was/is pretty average and slightly metallic if that’s the right word and yeah I cleaned it before use!
I’m using a juice I know very well – Black Note Sonata, and even swapped it for the fruity Contra from Wick Liquor – a juice I adore. But nope, not even that tasty e-liquid helped getting the flavour zinging off my tongue.
Same story with the different airflow inserts. Whilst the 1mm and 1.4mm were OK, the x2 larger ones were too airy and simply washed the taste away.
I really didn’t find a sweet spot – the best vape I managed [and that’s saying something] was the 1.4mm airflow insert on the included coil at 19w using the fruit e-liquid. More best of a bad lot than anywhere near good if you catch my drift.
Oh dear…
Pros
- Easy to build and wick
- Choice of drip tips
- Choice of airflow inserts
- Good vapour
- Leak proof
Cons
- Muted flavour
Final Verdict
The only other MTL RDA I think I’ve reviewed is the GeekVape Ammit MTL which I bloody loved and am still using.
Sadly the Vandy Vape Berserker V2 MTL RDA – whilst definitely beating the former hands down in the looks department, can’t compete on the most important thing of all – flavour.
As I’ve said IMHO the flavour is not slightly muted – it’s muted full stop. Of course that could be my builds, however, I’ve been around long enough now to know a flavour machine when I get one in to review!
Not sure if it’s that unadjustable airflow forcing air through a dual-chamber before bouncing off the bottom to reach the coil – I mean other side airflows drippers have managed to keep the flavour, so why not this one?
That dual chamber is incredibly thick and quite high and yeah it does dome before having to travel up to a rather long drip tip – maybe that’s the key – too much travel?
I have tried the full plastic drip tip hoping that might get rid of the slightly odd metallic taste to no avail, so I’m a little stumped and disappointed.
Hey let me know in the comments below if you’ve used this and got good flavour – I’d be genuinely interested to know 😉
