Vapaneezer Scrooge
Vendor
- Joined
- Dec 23, 2017
- Messages
- 6,128
I'm back for another forum only review, this time for Hellvape Vertex MTL RTA from Sourcemore.
https://www.sourcemore.com/hellvape-vertex-mtl-rta.html
$20.49 using coupon code: VERT
2021 has definitely been great for MTL kit, to the point that my expectations are certainly higher these days, plot spoiler but the Vertex exceeded my expectations and one of the easiest RTA's to setup and get vaping, after recently reviewing the epic Aspire Neeko RTA this was a welcome change of pace.
Unboxing
The Vertex packaging is in their customary Orange box (reminds me of an old PS2 game), nothing too fancy but very sturdy and posty proof, the contents surprised me as there's plenty to look at and everything you need to get a build done apart from the obvious tools you will need of your own.
1* Vertex MTL RTA (2ml)
1* 3.5ml Glass Tube
1* Chamber Extender
5* 0.6ohm A1 Prebuilt Coil
5* 1.0ohm A1 Prebuilt Coil
1* Accessories Bag
1* User Manual
I know they only cost pennies but it's nice to see 2 types of coils and 5 of each and some cotton but I especially liked the 2 capacity options which change the overall height.
The teardown held no surprises and strips into the traditional 5 piece (including drip tip) configuration, the threads felt a little coarse though and tightening up felt a bit iffy, more of a tension fit rather than screwing to a stop so you need to be careful as not to over-tighten, nothing too bad and I soon got used to it.
Changing the chimney to the 3.5ml caught me out and I felt rather silly once I sussed it out, I was wrestling with the provided tool to unscrew the retaining pin, I even put it in a rubber grip vice, it was too tight and I was f-ing & blinding until the penny dropped! The thread is left-hand so needs to be unscrewed clockwise, my stupidity was highlighted when I looked properly at the screw as it was clearly labelled with a directional arrow - oooops!
Fortunately I didn't damage it in my drongo moment and soon swapped it over.
With that done I move on to the build deck, I was happy to see a 2 post design, I find these less hassle than screw clamp designs but they do require a coil rod to make sure the coil retains its shape when straightening it out.
Before I lobbed a coil in I turned my attention to the airflow disc, this is just held in place with an O-ring which is firm enough to not pop out but easy to rotate with your fingernail or tool, I went straight for the smallest option as I wanted to see how tight I could get the draw.
Fitting and trimming the coil took no time at all and the coil placement was intuitive with plenty of clearance, wicking was pretty forgiving, I trimmed to the inside of the O-ring which turned out to be a pinch too short but it was still enough to tuck into the juice ports, my next build I opted for the usual 'trim to the outside diameter' and this also worked fine, overall the build was piss easy and quick.
Once I put it all back together I decided to go back to the 2ml option prior to filling it up, with my lesson learnt this took a few seconds this time around. Filling the Vertex was simple enough (are you seeing a pattern here?) by unscrewing the top-cap (counter-clockwise) reveals the good size fill ports, I squirted my juice into the gaping hole............ erm, no I won't follow that path!
Performance
This little bugger just works in every way, the flavour was amongst my best MTL setups, the airflow was fantastic and with the adjustable airflow ring I could fine tune it easily, it gives a proper tight MTL draw with tons of flavour and very smooth, it's one of those instant likes and I just couldn't fault the vape from it.
Both the included coils performed well in this tank in MTL configuration, recently I have been enjoying sub-ohm MTL coils around 0.8 Ohm but I also enjoyed the included 0.6 Ohm more than expected, I have some 5mg nic salts which I had left over as they are too weak for me, but the 0.6 Ohm coil was ideal for this, and for 6mg Manabush freebase juices, but my favourite was the 1.0 Ohm coil for a proper MTL vape.
With both airflow options fully open I was also able to vape RDL and I had no complaints in that area the draw wasn't too restrictive, flavour was still very good but for me this tank is a proper MTL one and that's the way I will use it.
The styling is quite contemporary which pretty much suited the majority of mods I tried it on, I love how it looked on my Kizoku Techmod and my ickle Artery Nugget, speaking of the Techmod, as I was taking off the Kizoku Limit MTL RTA it really reminded me of the performance of the Vertex as that also had a simplistic design yet performed superbly for MTL, I can't decide which one I prefer, flavour and draw is pretty much the same but the height of the Vertex in 2ml configuration makes it look better on an SBS mod (It also looked good on the Aspire MIXX).
Conclusion
The Vertex is one of those tanks that has simply nailed the standard formula, the airflow is smooth, the flavour is near perfect and the airflow options will suit most (if not all) MTL users, there's nothing game changing or innovative but that's not important as long as it performs as good as this.
Nothing is perfect and the Vertex is let down by the threading, apart from being a little raspy I also found the thread length a bit too short on the chimney-to-builddeck and found it fiddly putting it back together, it's not a deal breaker but a shame as if it hadn't been for this I don't think I would have had a single con for this tank...... anyway, where was I? I've lost my thread.
Pros
The Hellvape Vertex is simply a great little MTL RTA, simple to build, simple to fine tune and simple to fill, simply superb flavour, simply let down by its threading, if you can live with that then you will be rewarded with a great tank, it has already made 2 of my other favourite MTL RTA's redundant.
Score: 8.5/10
(would have been a 9.5 if the threading was better)
https://www.sourcemore.com/hellvape-vertex-mtl-rta.html
$20.49 using coupon code: VERT
2021 has definitely been great for MTL kit, to the point that my expectations are certainly higher these days, plot spoiler but the Vertex exceeded my expectations and one of the easiest RTA's to setup and get vaping, after recently reviewing the epic Aspire Neeko RTA this was a welcome change of pace.
Unboxing
The Vertex packaging is in their customary Orange box (reminds me of an old PS2 game), nothing too fancy but very sturdy and posty proof, the contents surprised me as there's plenty to look at and everything you need to get a build done apart from the obvious tools you will need of your own.
1* Vertex MTL RTA (2ml)
1* 3.5ml Glass Tube
1* Chamber Extender
5* 0.6ohm A1 Prebuilt Coil
5* 1.0ohm A1 Prebuilt Coil
1* Accessories Bag
1* User Manual
I know they only cost pennies but it's nice to see 2 types of coils and 5 of each and some cotton but I especially liked the 2 capacity options which change the overall height.
The teardown held no surprises and strips into the traditional 5 piece (including drip tip) configuration, the threads felt a little coarse though and tightening up felt a bit iffy, more of a tension fit rather than screwing to a stop so you need to be careful as not to over-tighten, nothing too bad and I soon got used to it.
Changing the chimney to the 3.5ml caught me out and I felt rather silly once I sussed it out, I was wrestling with the provided tool to unscrew the retaining pin, I even put it in a rubber grip vice, it was too tight and I was f-ing & blinding until the penny dropped! The thread is left-hand so needs to be unscrewed clockwise, my stupidity was highlighted when I looked properly at the screw as it was clearly labelled with a directional arrow - oooops!
Fortunately I didn't damage it in my drongo moment and soon swapped it over.
With that done I move on to the build deck, I was happy to see a 2 post design, I find these less hassle than screw clamp designs but they do require a coil rod to make sure the coil retains its shape when straightening it out.
Before I lobbed a coil in I turned my attention to the airflow disc, this is just held in place with an O-ring which is firm enough to not pop out but easy to rotate with your fingernail or tool, I went straight for the smallest option as I wanted to see how tight I could get the draw.
Fitting and trimming the coil took no time at all and the coil placement was intuitive with plenty of clearance, wicking was pretty forgiving, I trimmed to the inside of the O-ring which turned out to be a pinch too short but it was still enough to tuck into the juice ports, my next build I opted for the usual 'trim to the outside diameter' and this also worked fine, overall the build was piss easy and quick.
Once I put it all back together I decided to go back to the 2ml option prior to filling it up, with my lesson learnt this took a few seconds this time around. Filling the Vertex was simple enough (are you seeing a pattern here?) by unscrewing the top-cap (counter-clockwise) reveals the good size fill ports, I squirted my juice into the gaping hole............ erm, no I won't follow that path!
Performance
This little bugger just works in every way, the flavour was amongst my best MTL setups, the airflow was fantastic and with the adjustable airflow ring I could fine tune it easily, it gives a proper tight MTL draw with tons of flavour and very smooth, it's one of those instant likes and I just couldn't fault the vape from it.
Both the included coils performed well in this tank in MTL configuration, recently I have been enjoying sub-ohm MTL coils around 0.8 Ohm but I also enjoyed the included 0.6 Ohm more than expected, I have some 5mg nic salts which I had left over as they are too weak for me, but the 0.6 Ohm coil was ideal for this, and for 6mg Manabush freebase juices, but my favourite was the 1.0 Ohm coil for a proper MTL vape.
With both airflow options fully open I was also able to vape RDL and I had no complaints in that area the draw wasn't too restrictive, flavour was still very good but for me this tank is a proper MTL one and that's the way I will use it.
The styling is quite contemporary which pretty much suited the majority of mods I tried it on, I love how it looked on my Kizoku Techmod and my ickle Artery Nugget, speaking of the Techmod, as I was taking off the Kizoku Limit MTL RTA it really reminded me of the performance of the Vertex as that also had a simplistic design yet performed superbly for MTL, I can't decide which one I prefer, flavour and draw is pretty much the same but the height of the Vertex in 2ml configuration makes it look better on an SBS mod (It also looked good on the Aspire MIXX).
Conclusion
The Vertex is one of those tanks that has simply nailed the standard formula, the airflow is smooth, the flavour is near perfect and the airflow options will suit most (if not all) MTL users, there's nothing game changing or innovative but that's not important as long as it performs as good as this.
Nothing is perfect and the Vertex is let down by the threading, apart from being a little raspy I also found the thread length a bit too short on the chimney-to-builddeck and found it fiddly putting it back together, it's not a deal breaker but a shame as if it hadn't been for this I don't think I would have had a single con for this tank...... anyway, where was I? I've lost my thread.
Pros
- Very simple to setup and build.
- Superb airflow options (deck & AFC ring).
- Contemporary styling to suit most mods.
- 2 capacity options.
- Flavour is superb.
- Threading
The Hellvape Vertex is simply a great little MTL RTA, simple to build, simple to fine tune and simple to fill, simply superb flavour, simply let down by its threading, if you can live with that then you will be rewarded with a great tank, it has already made 2 of my other favourite MTL RTA's redundant.
Score: 8.5/10
(would have been a 9.5 if the threading was better)
