Vapefly Brunhilde RTA Review – A German 103 Design Team Collaboration

The Vapefly Brunhilde RTA, WOW… This is one very tall RTA that’s got a fair bit of weight to it. It was designed by the German 103 Team, I’ve got to say it has some very interesting features to it.

Based in China, Vapefly have been bringing us some really interesting toppers just lately including the Pixie RDA, Galaxies MTL RTA and the Core RTA. All of which have been a pleasure to use.

Just in case you were wondering… “Brunhilde or Brunhilda is a powerful female figure from Germanic heroic legend”.

So what are my thoughts on the Brunhilde RTA? Am I going to love it? Or will it be simply too much for average vaper? Let’s find out with our up and close look.

This product was sent to us for the purpose of review, by Vapefly. As always my thoughts and views are my own after a considerable testing period.

Check Out The Brunhilde RTA In Action

In The Box

• Vapefly Brunhilde RTA
• 510 drip tip adaptor
• Spare screws and O-rings
• 1xAllen key
• 1xFirebolt Cotton
• 2×0.35Ω coils Ka and N80 mix
• Spare glass
• Spare parts
• 1xStainless steel rope
• User manual

Features

• Size: 25.2×65.5mm
• Material: Stainless Steel
• Dual coil deck
• Capacity: 8ml (Standard) / 2ml (EU)
• Stainless steel wire wicking system
• Top mounted build deck
• Glass protector SS frame
• Side refilling port
• Top airflow inlet

Design and Build Quality

The Vapefly Brunhilde RTA comes in a card box with a paper over sleeve.When I first opened the box I had to laugh; this thing is ridiculously tall around the size of an 18650 battery, my first thought was why have Vapefly sent me a torpedo LOL! Strictly speaking this isn’t an RTA it’s like an RDTA but more along the lines of the old style genesis tanks of years ago where the build deck sits above the tank full of liquid, and the coil was held by a SS rope.

The whole tank however has been manufactured very well, with a very high build quality and design.

The tank is made of stainless steel, Pyrex and resin and is quite heavy, the tank is 25mm in diameter and is an amazing 65.5mm in height. Apparently this size of tank is all the rage in Germany.

The Brunhilde RTA disassembles into 10 parts (including the 4 bits of SS rope).

Deck and Connection Pin

The Build Deck posts are of the velocity style with wide wire slots and side hatch screws.Between the posts is the internal airflow structure, looking into the well you will see 4 holes.In an RDTA these are where you would normally place your cottontails. However, the designers have been clever and have included SS rope that acts like a reservoir rather than a wick.

Please see my guide on how to build and wick this RTA further down the post.Looking at exterior of the deck you will notice 2 O’rings for the barrel to sit on, there is a small liquid intake valve with 3 small marks under it to help locate the fill port. Plus a larger airflow (AF) hole that feeds the internal AF.Turning the deck upside down you will see a shaft that has the 510 gold plated connection pin (the pin does stick out enough to be used on a hybrid connection). The SS threads at the base are well turned.Inside the bottom of the deck you will see the same 4 holes that will hold the SS rope also the exit hole for the fill port, a black O’ring sit on the inside to cushion the Pyrex tank.

Barrel / Airflow

The barrel has 8x1mm AF holes to each side.The barrel is rather plain with a groove around the middle of the barrel ending in a V under the internal AF hole.When in place this AF hole if spun will reveal the fill port. You have different graduated stages to the AF cap fully on, top row off, graduated off, and completely off. The AF cap is decorated with heat fins and punch hole pattern.There is an O’ring inside the AF cap for a firm fit andthe 810 mouthpiece also has an embedded O’ring.

Inside the cap there is a bit of doming so any condensation will drop back to your cotton.

Pyrex Tanks / Cage / Base

The RTA comes with 2x8ml Pyrex tanks, if you’re in the EU you will get the 2ml version that comes with a silicone plug.

The cage has a winged decoration on it, the centre design is similar to a roman helmet with cheek guards and a spike on top of the helmet.

The cage has 8 little viewing windows so you can see what level your liquid is. The base of the cage has the normal info and includes a unique serial number. The 510 thread is screwed into the bottom of the base from inside.

Looking into the cage you will note an O’ring is situated at the bottom.

Don’t take this ring out or you will suffer from leaks, also once removed you will find it hard to replace trust me there isn’t much room to maneuver.

Mouthpiece / Drip Tip

The Drip tip is made of a colourful resin, you only get the one with the kit but they do include an adaptor ring for a 510 mouthpiece. Looking at the resin drip tip the shaft has been chamfered slightly for a better fit.

How Does The Vapefly Brunhilde RTA Perform?

For this example I have placed a pair spaced 22g Kanthal 0.13Ω coils into the deck, I’m using firebolt cotton supplied by Vapefly and have filled the tank with Passion fruit by Fruct Cyder. I popped the Brunhilde on my SMOK Mag Grip.

Basic Guide to Coiling/Wicking The Brunhilde RTA

1. Coil the RTA as you would normally

2. Insert your cotton cut the tails short enough to touch the ropes, fluff the cotton and tuck the tails so they are touching the tops of the SS rope.

3. Fill the tank and dampen your cotton to get things started

4. Reassemble the tank and screw onto your mod

5. At this point I leave the tank alone for a few minutes, so the SS rope can soak for a while.

6. Set both airflow’s to your desired position – enjoy the Brunhilde RTA

Flavour and Vapour

I normally enjoy vaping between 60/80w, but with the Brunhilde RTA I found that I had to whack the wattage up to 90/100w to get the warmth I like.

The flavour is OK not as stellar as say the Core RTA from the same design team!

However the vapour production was phenomenal it didn’t take me long to fill my small office, a full 8ml tank of vape juice at 90w will last me around 15 minutes of constant vaping.

Airflow, fill port and wicking

I have been vaping the Vapefly Brunhilde RTA with the AF wide open!

It definitely could do with a bit more airflow for higher wattage. I wouldn’t say it’s tight just not as loose as I’d like. So in that respect I feel that they could have made the AF a little more wide by increasing the 1mm side holes to around 1.3mm.

The RTA does get incredibly hot if you attempt to chain vape, being that the RTA is made of SS it does cool fairly quickly.

Fill Port Pain

There is no getting away from this! The fill port, it’s a pain in the butt lol.

The fill hole is very small and not all plastic needle nose bottles will fit. My experience with filling this beast was to twist the barrel until the fill port is visible, keep the bottle horizontal to the table as any slip will result in liquid squirting out.

SS Ropes

As I said earlier the SS ropes act like a reservoir. OK, so we all tilt our devices to some degree to vape and this does helps the rope to wick the cotton, however, I have found that I had to turn the tank upside down on occasions to wet the cotton especially when the tank became half to almost empty.

Of course if you really wanted to, you could replace the SS rope with cotton, but I have a feeling that the air would lock around the cotton resulting in dry hits much like we used to get with tanks like the ijoy limitless.

Other Notes

I had a few problems finding a mod to place the Brunhilde on so it would look right hence my choice of the Mag Grip, I am quite comfortable placing the tank on a hybrid mech like my Vgod Pro Mech because the pin sticks out enough.

I had a fit off the funnies and tried the tank on some of the smaller mods in my collection:

Artery Nugget Rx Mini And the COV Mini Volt Yeah I know… Ridiculous looking with loads of overhang LOL.

To give you an idea of the size of this RTA here is a pic with it up against a few other tanks.

Pros

• Great design
• Good quality
• Good flavour
• Very good vapour production
• Good looking
• Easy to coil and wick

Cons

• Airflow could be better for higher wattage vaping
• SS rope reservoir fails as the liquid level drops
• Such a large size might be a sticking point with some

Final Review Verdict

The Vapefly Brunhilde RTA is an interesting, albeit, overly tall tank.

It borrows a lot of ideas we have seen in the past – most notably the use of SS rope as a reservoir. While this type of tank maybe popular in Germany I can’t see it catching on here in the UK in any great way.

I would say that it would suit the more experienced hobbyist vapers out there as it’s not an everyday tank in my book.

So would I buy the Vapefly Brunhilde RTA again should it be lost or damaged? “No” I wouldn’t.

Have you used the Brunhilde RTA? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.