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SightPic Picatiny MTL RTA Clone
I didn’t really need another mtl rta but got this unbranded clone of the SightPic Picatiny as I was curious about the coil clamps and it’s the most interesting of the few recent mtl rtas I’ve seen, plus it didn’t cost much. Having put a few builds through it, rewicked and used for a while this is what I made of it.
What’s in the box & Specs
A 22mm 3ml bottom fill 316SS atomiser with clear glass tank, narrow bore SS drip tip, spare glass/o-rings/base screws, 6 unmarked airflow pins, 2x0.8, 2x1, 2x1.4mm plus a blind pin. It arrived disassembled but well packaged in a round plastic box, it all fits together fine and while it won’t rival the OG the build quality and threading are decent. I like the plain understated design, the drip tip is nice though is a slightly loose fit, the only branding like the OG is on the base, height is 33mm without drip tip, 44mm with, weight is 53g.
Airflow, Coiling & Wicking
The tank is a push/pull fit to the deck held by o-rings, you can pull it off when upright with no worries of juice spillage. It will only refit one way, line up the 2 dots on the metal tank section inside the marks on the sides of the base, push down and it clicks on and is held securely.
The side push fit air pins are set relatively high up so good for a sbs mod and are easy to insert and change by just pulling the tank off the deck. It’s a pity there isn’t a 1.2mm set but you can mix and match them. The airflow hits the coil at an angle as opposed to straight on, I found the 1mm pins suited me best.
On to the main event, the clamps. Before fitting a coil it’s worth seeing how they work which is via an o-ring at the base of each clamp post that enables it to flex up and down. If you press on the open section of the post you can see how it will flex and trap a coil leg. You can remove the base from the deck to fully see how the clamp system works or to clean it. Having seen a review online it’s a bit of a faff to with quite a few parts under there so I didn’t bother. The advantage of clamps is there are no screws to lose or wear and tear on post screw threads though there will be on the clamp posts/o-rings.
No screws takes a bit of getting used to but once you do it is quite straightforward though the coil legs need to be long enough to get a good grip of. It takes a bit of patience and practice to begin with and to practice I fitted, removed and refitted a coil a few times until I’d got the hang of it. It is actually easier to do than describe how to but here goes. I fitted a 28g round wire 2.5mm id coil by resting a coil rod on the side ledges, hold firmly and pull the leg in line with the open side of the post and down until it is in the gap under the post and pull around under the cut out on the other side of the post and pull it up. When in place properly the post will flex back up and clamp the leg, there’s a slight click when it does, make sure it is before trimming the coil legs. I did it by hand but you could also use thin nosed pliers especially if your coil legs are on the short side. To remove a coil I pushed down on the open side of the clamp post and pulled each leg out with tweezers. The image below shows the post clamps with a coil fitted.
Wicking is as easy as it gets, just rest the wick on the two small ledges and cut flush to the outside, I had no issues with the coil moving when rewicking. The image below shows a wicked coil and the angle of the air pins.
The diagram below shows how the juice is fed to the ends of the wicks.
As it’s a flat deck and gravity fed I wondered if excess juice might collect on the deck but there’s been no sign of that so the juice flow works very well.
Filling, Draw & Flavour
To fill from the bottom flip upside down, hold the base, grip the narrow metal section of the tank above the air pins, (not the glass) and a few turns unscrews it and screws it back on. Due to the design as you can see in the image below it isn’t the widest of openings to fill or the easiest to see when it’s full but you soon get used to it.
It has a condensed, domed chimney with a smooth and quiet draw, it wicks very well with no leaking or gurgling. The flavour is on the soft side yet is full and rounded and is very nice indeed, I vaped Drakes and La Tabaccheria 50:50 NETs in it. The tank can get on the warm side but not overly so.
Final Thoughts
Innovation is always nice to see and while the clamps are a challenge to start with once you’ve got the hang of it they work fine. It’s a small, neat and nice looking rta, a bit like the Dvarw, that is easy to use with a very nice draw and flavour and wicking to match so my curiosity was rewarded.
I didn’t really need another mtl rta but got this unbranded clone of the SightPic Picatiny as I was curious about the coil clamps and it’s the most interesting of the few recent mtl rtas I’ve seen, plus it didn’t cost much. Having put a few builds through it, rewicked and used for a while this is what I made of it.
What’s in the box & Specs
A 22mm 3ml bottom fill 316SS atomiser with clear glass tank, narrow bore SS drip tip, spare glass/o-rings/base screws, 6 unmarked airflow pins, 2x0.8, 2x1, 2x1.4mm plus a blind pin. It arrived disassembled but well packaged in a round plastic box, it all fits together fine and while it won’t rival the OG the build quality and threading are decent. I like the plain understated design, the drip tip is nice though is a slightly loose fit, the only branding like the OG is on the base, height is 33mm without drip tip, 44mm with, weight is 53g.
Airflow, Coiling & Wicking
The tank is a push/pull fit to the deck held by o-rings, you can pull it off when upright with no worries of juice spillage. It will only refit one way, line up the 2 dots on the metal tank section inside the marks on the sides of the base, push down and it clicks on and is held securely.
The side push fit air pins are set relatively high up so good for a sbs mod and are easy to insert and change by just pulling the tank off the deck. It’s a pity there isn’t a 1.2mm set but you can mix and match them. The airflow hits the coil at an angle as opposed to straight on, I found the 1mm pins suited me best.
On to the main event, the clamps. Before fitting a coil it’s worth seeing how they work which is via an o-ring at the base of each clamp post that enables it to flex up and down. If you press on the open section of the post you can see how it will flex and trap a coil leg. You can remove the base from the deck to fully see how the clamp system works or to clean it. Having seen a review online it’s a bit of a faff to with quite a few parts under there so I didn’t bother. The advantage of clamps is there are no screws to lose or wear and tear on post screw threads though there will be on the clamp posts/o-rings.
No screws takes a bit of getting used to but once you do it is quite straightforward though the coil legs need to be long enough to get a good grip of. It takes a bit of patience and practice to begin with and to practice I fitted, removed and refitted a coil a few times until I’d got the hang of it. It is actually easier to do than describe how to but here goes. I fitted a 28g round wire 2.5mm id coil by resting a coil rod on the side ledges, hold firmly and pull the leg in line with the open side of the post and down until it is in the gap under the post and pull around under the cut out on the other side of the post and pull it up. When in place properly the post will flex back up and clamp the leg, there’s a slight click when it does, make sure it is before trimming the coil legs. I did it by hand but you could also use thin nosed pliers especially if your coil legs are on the short side. To remove a coil I pushed down on the open side of the clamp post and pulled each leg out with tweezers. The image below shows the post clamps with a coil fitted.
Wicking is as easy as it gets, just rest the wick on the two small ledges and cut flush to the outside, I had no issues with the coil moving when rewicking. The image below shows a wicked coil and the angle of the air pins.
The diagram below shows how the juice is fed to the ends of the wicks.
As it’s a flat deck and gravity fed I wondered if excess juice might collect on the deck but there’s been no sign of that so the juice flow works very well.
Filling, Draw & Flavour
To fill from the bottom flip upside down, hold the base, grip the narrow metal section of the tank above the air pins, (not the glass) and a few turns unscrews it and screws it back on. Due to the design as you can see in the image below it isn’t the widest of openings to fill or the easiest to see when it’s full but you soon get used to it.
It has a condensed, domed chimney with a smooth and quiet draw, it wicks very well with no leaking or gurgling. The flavour is on the soft side yet is full and rounded and is very nice indeed, I vaped Drakes and La Tabaccheria 50:50 NETs in it. The tank can get on the warm side but not overly so.
Final Thoughts
Innovation is always nice to see and while the clamps are a challenge to start with once you’ve got the hang of it they work fine. It’s a small, neat and nice looking rta, a bit like the Dvarw, that is easy to use with a very nice draw and flavour and wicking to match so my curiosity was rewarded.
