Vandy Vape Simple EX MTL Squonk Kit Review | There’s A First Time for Everything!

The Vandy Vape Simple EX Squonk Kit is from one of those brands that just gets more and more popular with every release.

They’re moving up in the world, let’s put it that way. As one of the most prolific RTA and RBA designers and manufacturers in the vaping industry, the brand is a household name for most coil building fanatics.

With products like the Bonza RDA and Mesh RTA, along with masterpieces like the Kylin and Kylin Mini RTA, Vandy Vape is a brand that really is at the innovative edge of the industry, cultivating winning designS that even if they aren’t perfect, manage to set trends in the vaping world.

Will The Vandy Vape Simple EX Live upto the hype?

I believe the product under review here, the Simple EX, portable (with an onboard battery) MTL (and restricted DL) squonker to be just such a product. I mean…did you just read that description?

This product was sent for the purposes of review. As always my views are my own.

What’s In The Box

• Simple EX Squonk Mod and RDA
• USB cable
• Stainless steel top cap for RDA
• PC drip tip
• Delrin drip tip
• Manual
• Spare parts bag
• 2x superfine MTL fused clapton coil

Features

• Size: 58.5x42x24mm (Mod), 25.8x21mm (RDA)
• Battery: internal 850mAh
• Output: voltage – variable – 3.3V, 3.6V, 3.9V, 4.2V, 4.5V
• Output power: up to 20W
• Squonk bottle capacity: 4ml
• OLED Screen
• PC and stainless top caps
• Designed for Nic Salt e-liquid
• Leak-proof 510 connector
• Single coil RDA deck
• Bottom adjustable airflow 

Build Quality & Design

Simple EX Mod

Opening up the big, blue, Vandy Vape box package, I’m surprised to find the tiniest little squonk mod inside that I’ve ever seen. The space inside the box is taken up by the accessories, extra cap and two drip tips, arranged in a foam display block.

The little Vandy Vape Simple EX is basically a small rectangular cube, which has been rounded on the one side, to match up with the rounded contour of the little, 4 ml, silicon squonk bottle, accessible through an opening that takes up roughly the whole bottom half of that side of the mod.

The opposite side of the mod is home to all the controls, the screen and fire button.

The fire button looks like a switch, as its raised at the bottom and has a horizontalrectangular frame.

The screen panel wraps around the edges of the control panel and two smaller switch style buttons, lie next to each other under the screen and within the screen panel.

Buttons are all super clicky.

There’s a micro-USB port below the adjustment buttons.

There are 8 small ventilation holes at the base of the mod, for the 850 mAh on board battery, which takes up all the space on the screen side, where the squonk bottle isn’t.

There is a large, Simple EX brand cast into the top of the mod, which seems to be made of zinc alloy and plastic.

I received the green and black version and the removable bottle panel and comp cap are a crazy neon green. The colour combos are all highly effective and the overall effect on this tiny little squonker is cute as a button.

The removable panel, which covers and frames your squonk bottle once its filled and put in place, has irregular, jagged edging,  which, because the panel is in a contrasting colour, creates a sharp, modern aesthetic.

The panel stays in place with the help of one large magnet, placed above the bottle on the mod side.

The bottle itself is top quality, with a stainless steel cap, which unscrews and has grip for easy open and close, and a silicon body that’s neither two soft nor too hard.

A deep, tightly spring loaded bf connection sits in the middle of a 20mm SS tank seating atop the mod.

All adjustments are done in Voltage only and the screen displays only voltage and battery levels.

RDA

The tiny 20 mm wide RDA features a thick base with 2 beefy o-rings which keep the top cap in place.

The airflow is adjusted by means of a single hole in the cap, which will expose one of six graded holes on the RDA base.

These holes open up below the single coil placement on the RDA’S deep, 9mm-deep welled, single coil deck.

Two large screw heads are visible from the top, set diagonally across from each other on the deck’s dual posts.

There are 2 more raised sections like posts, which, I imagine, are there to hinder the installation of coils that are too large for this tiny, higher resistance, nic salt device, as well as to channel airflow.

The PC top cap has a very tight fit and I recommend you remove one of the o-rings or lubricate them well, before fitting it.

Since my third fitting of this cap, I’m still unable to remove it, even jamming a tool inside and pressing down from the top is ineffective and I will be forced to break the PC cap off when it comes time to rebuild or fit the SS cap again.

Luckily I have it set on the most open airflow setting, which I prefer as I can use it for restricted DL, since I am unable to even adjust the airflow, so tight is the top cap!

How Does The Vandy Vape Simple EX Squonker Perform?

I find that the buttons are all responsive and work well. I do have an issue with the screen however, as the tinted screen cover makes the readings impossible to see in daylight or bright lights.

The device provides some very satisfying Mouth to Lung (MTL) vape, what with the near microscopic airflow on the lower settings and the addition of that extended MTL drip tip accessory.

When using nic-salts, for which this device is recommended…. I would suggest you pay attention to Vandy Vape’s listed nic-salt settings.

Reason being that if you vape, say, a 60mg nic salt at 4.5 volts on a low airflow setting, the juice will overheat, making the throat hit almost unbearably harsh.

As someone who loves a bit of restricted DL, I truly appreciate the addition of a larger, DL setting, albeit very restricted, I find myself using this one most of the time.

The tightness of the PC cap is a big issue so be cautious of this before usage, take off the cap and lubricate the o-rings, as it stands, I’m probably going to have to break my PC cap off with a hammer.

One thing is for sure, the tiny airflow holes, combined with the tightness of both top caps makes for a leak free device, however its a catch 22, as I would like to be able to easily adjust my airflow and actually get my cap off as well! I’m referring only to the PC cap here.

The SS cap and selection of drip tips are just perfect and all in all, before the added convenience of a squonk feature, this device provides some really decent, restricted MTL.

As far as portability goes, I’d have liked to see a bottle cover or a closed panel included for transport, as the squonk bottle, especially if you want to transport the Simple EX in your pocket or bag, tends to get squeezed during transit.

What I do now is I simply fill the bottle on arrival at my destination, instead of risking a bag or pocket full of juice.

Flavour and Cloud

Cloud is not massive, as the resistances are fairly high. However I enjoyed outstanding flavour when testing on my homemade coils and the included Ni80 coils.

I must just reiterate, be careful of using high volume nic salts on a higher voltage with a lower airflow setting, as these settings heat the juices, causing the nic throat hit to be far greater than you’d expect.

How To Fill

• Remove the coloured side panel
• Remove the squonk bottle from its seating
• Open up the SS lid
• Fill 3/4 of the way
• Replace the lid
• Feed the bottle’s tube onto the mod connection
• Ensure the bottle is correctly seated
• Replace the panel

Ease of build

The deck of this 20mm RDA is extremely small and the size of the included claptons and, indeed, any coil small enough to fit this deck, are too tiny to be readily available at your local vape shop.

For this reason, I decided to build my own coil, so that I could see how easy things would be in future, for users who have used up the included captions and need to make their own way.

Using 24 Ga Kanthal wire I created a 6 wraps coil on a 20 coiling tool (the smallest size in most coiling kits).

My coil came out at 1.2 Ohms, the same resistance as the ni80 included, fused claptons, so I was pretty pleased about that.

Installation was relatively easy, though it’s very much necessary to hold the coil in place with a tool while tightening, as the leads have a tendency to slip sideways, given the unique deck design.

How To Operate the Menu System

• 5 Clicks on or off
• + or – to adjust voltage
• Fire to vape

Battery Life

I found my preferred setting for the device to be the full, 4.5 volt setting, with the DL airflow option and at most, clocked 4 hours.

When used for mid level MTL at a 3.9 volt setting, this time increases to 5 hours.

Pros

• Compact and convenient
• Outstanding, restricted MTL
• Can also be used for very restricted DL
• Easy build
• Excellent flavour
• MTL enhancing accessories provided

Cons

• High nic juices become harsh when used with the tiniest airflow holes and higher voltages
• Comp cap gets hopelessly stuck unless you remove or lubricate the o-rings.
• Tends accidentally squeeze when transported in a bag or pocket, causing leakage
• Screen is extremely dim with the tinted cover

Final Review Verdict

While issues like the tight comp cap and a tendency to harshen the throat hit when not used with the prescribed settings might make you trepidatious…I have to say that I wouldn’t part ways with my Vandy Vape Simple EX for all the world. This nifty little MTL squonker is in a class of its own and comes highly recommended for avid MTLers who have the wherewithal to watch their settings.

And..

Would I buy the Vandy Vape Simple EX kit if I lost/broke the device? Definitely.

Have you used this kit? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.