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Vandy Vape Phobia V2 RDA: Side Airflow & Easy to Build

Dave Kriegel
October 18, 2018

Product intro

The Phobia V2 is a collaboration between Vandy Vape and Alex from VapersMD, a Moldovan YouTube vape reviewer you has also designed the products of the Berserker line. It’s based off the Phobia V1, with a similar build deck and a new side airflow system, but comes with side instead of bottom-airflow to prevent the leaking issues that occurred with the original.

The Vandy Vape Phobia V2 is a dripper that comes in three colors including black, rainbow and stainless steel. The RDA also comes with a jig to help you trim the leads of your coil perfectly for its postless deck. The Phobia V2 can accommodate both single and dual coil builds. It was sent for the purpose of this review by MyVpro.

Price: $26.95 (at MyVpro)

Colors: black, rainbow and steel

Specifications

  • Length: 25.2 mm
  • Diameter: 24 mm
  • Capacity: 1 mL
  • G.W: 130 g

Kit Content

  • Phobia II RDA
  • Accessory bag
  • User Manual
  • Drip Tip 810
  • PEI Drip Tip
  • Adapter 510
  • Coil Lead Guide

Build quality and design

Vandy Vape Phobia V2 RDA Review | Features & First Impressions

If you’re already familiar with the Pulse RDA, then you won’t be in shock. The build quality on the Phobia V2 is on par with what would expect from Vandy Vape. The tolerances are good, in fact possibly a bit better than my Pulse. For the price, it seems like a sound investment. It isn’t high-end by any means, but it’s worth the price. Especially since it comes with a bunch of goodies including two screwdrivers, a coil precision coil jig and a pair of exotic clapton coils.

The Phobia V2 has a different aesthetic from the V1. It uses a three-piece design with engraved lines and curves across the top cap. The RDA features the Phobia skull logo, with a subtle “II” engraved into it that’s hard to see. The atomizer is 24 mm in diameter and about 25 mm in height. The box includes a 510 drip tip adapter plus three 810 wide bore drip tips: one with a Twisted Messes style gear design, a clear PEI drip tip and a Pharaoh Mini style ULTEM “lifesaver” drip tip.

Build deck

Vandy Vape Phobia V2 RDA Review | Features & First Impressions

The Phobia V2 build deck is pretty much the same as the original Phobia. The main difference is that now there’s no bottom airflow system (it’s been replaced by the side airflow slots located on the top cap.) The deck has a notched design that locks together with the top cap for optimal airflow positioning. It also has beefy M4 grub screws that trap leads like a beast.

The deck holds about 1 mL of e-juice. It isn’t a huge juice well but since the coils are smack dab in the middle, you can easily drip through the wide bore top cap. This center position makes it ideal for squonking too, which can be done using the included squonk pin. When the top cap is placed on the device, it has a very condensed chamber, but the headroom allows you to fit bigger coils than you might expect. You can easily chuck in a fat dual coil setup with a 3 mm ID.

Coil installation / wicking

Vandy Vape Phobia V2 RDA Review | Features & First Impressions

Building on the Phobia V2 was actually super easy. I used the coil trimming jig, and plopped my coils in. I enjoyed using those grub screws with the included hex key. Trapping the leads was a piece of cake — they just slip right in there with ease. Then I was able to tighten the screws while barely holding the coils in place, which made the whole ordeal painless. I’m not the biggest fan of these new post-less decks, and I still think velocity style decks are the easiest for beginners. With that said, the Phobia V2 might help you overcome your fear of coil building.

Make sure the coils are as high as you can get them, sitting right in the center of the deck. You’ll want to place them so that you can see at least the top half of them peeking through the airflow slots, but just low enough to prevent spitback. It sounds tricky, but it was actually very easy to achieve this with the included coil jig. (Just make sure your leads are straight, place them in the holes and clip them.) You’ll also want to use thicker wire with this device, thinner round wire just isn’t going to cut it.

Wicking was a piece of cake. I cut the wicks flush with the sides of the device. You really don’t need any more than that, especially if you are using larger diameter coils with a big fat strip of cotton inside. Then just fluff it up and gently tuck the wicks into the juice ports. Nothing crazy. I didn’t have to cut the wicks at an angle or anything, wicking the Phobia 2 was as easy as they come.

Performance

Vandy Vape Phobia V2 RDA Review | Features & First Impressions

When I first built the Phobia V2, I had the coils positioned too low. I was about to send out a search warrant for the flavor, but then I decided to raise the coils. After that, it was producing much better flavor, but honestly not on par with some of the better drippers that have come out recently. It seems like the flavor production has been sacrificed a bit for its side-airflow design. They did their best to overcompensate with a reduced chamber and low profile drip tips. I tried a single coil, but the flavor was even less prominent than with a dual-coil build.

Chucking clouds is not an issue with this RDA, especially with a 0.15 ohm build. In squonk mode, it does a nice job sending excess e-juice back into the bottle without leaking out. There were no issues with wicking or dry/burnt hits at all. Overall the vapor production is strong, but the flavor just isn’t “in yo face!” as it is with other popular drippers like the Drop Dead or Pulse X RDA.

Airflow

Vandy Vape Phobia V2 RDA Review | Features & First Impressions

I’m not crazy about the airflow control system, but eventually I found my preferred setting. You can fully close off one of air slots at a time, partially close them off, or just rock it wide open. Adjusting the airflow can get tricky. You have to be in a well-lit area to see what you’re doing.

I personally enjoyed it with two or three of the air slots closed most of the way off, for a restrictive lung hit. The airflow is smooth but can get loud. I’m pretty sure you won’t need as much airflow as the Phobia V2 has to offer, but it’s nice to have it for those hot low-ohm builds.

Pros / Cons

  • Very easy to build on
  • Beefy hex screws
  • Well machined
  • Adjustable 510 pin
  • Squonk pin included
  • Notched deck design
  • Tons of airflow
  • Angled airflow design
  • Comes with goodies
  • Adjusting it is messy
  • Mediocre flavor
  • Loud airflow

Verdict

The Phobia V2 wasn’t just easy to build on, it was actually kinda fun. I appreciate the jig for cutting your leads to the perfect length – it comes in clutch. The performance was not bad and it did a great job producing some big clouds. The flavor was a bit muted, even with the perfect coil placement, it’s still not better than the original. At least this one doesn’t leak, but I did have to wipe it down a few times after playing with the top cap. Other than that, it was pretty solid.

I wasn’t blown away by this RDA, but it wasn’t terrible either. If you already own the Phobia, you don’t need to run out and buy it, unless you are dying for an updated version with side airflow. I’d also recommend it to somebody looking for a first dripper that is incredibly easy to build on.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, Dave has always had a passion for helping people quit smoking. As a former smoker himself, he knew how hard it could be. As soon as he learned about vaping, he instantly became obsessed with it and helped many people stop smoking. Vaping360 has given Dave a platform to do this on a much larger scale, by educating the public about the wonders of vaping. When Dave is not writing he is either listening to music, performing it, or cruising around on his Penny board.
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