Augvape and Mike Vapes Intake Dual RTA Review: Restricted Goodness

Augvape and Mike Vapes are teaming up once again. The Intake Dual is the dual-coil version of the original Intake RTA and, as was the case with the original, it is meant for fans of a restricted lung hit.

The Intake Dual is a 26 mm RTA at the base that comes with a straight glass and bubble tank. They’re listed respectively as 4.2 mL and 5.8 mL. While this RTA looks almost identical to the first one but slightly larger, what’s new in the Intake Dual is the airflow system and deck. This version doesn’t have bottom-fed airflow; the air comes in from the top and gets redirected to the bottom-side of the two coils via two elongated chutes in the deck. And the deck has been changed to a postless style platform.

Price: $31.95 (at MyVpro)
Colors: silver, gunmetal, black, rainbow

The Intake Dual is a well-made RTA with quality O-rings and very little evidence of the machining process. I received the rainbow version (insert sad emoji). The gunmetal looks great with a matte finish, and the black version has a tactical look being all black, including the chimney—it’s the only color that has the black chimney.

The Intake Dual is a 26 mm (at the base) RTA that stands about 46 mm off a mod including the 810-drip tip that’s reminiscent of the Recurve tip, but shorter. There’s only one included, but t’s a super nice tip. It’s short with a Ming-esque curve and a 3.5 mm wall. The bore is a fairly wide funnel that starts out at a little over 6 mm leading out from the chimney and ends a bit over 11 mm.

It’s a straightforward RTA that’s easy to use. The top cap only requires a quarter turn to be tightened or unscrewed, and it has the same deep indentations for easy-gripping as the original Intake. But because it slants inwards, it’s not as easy as I would prefer to get a firm grip on it. It’s a tradeoff for aesthetics. Under the top cap are two large kidney shaped fill ports that measure about 4 mm x 12 mm. You won’t have any issue filling up this tank quickly.

In Mike’s tutorial about the Intake, he showed that he was able to get more liquid into both tanks. The straight glass is supposed to hold 4.2 mL and the bubble glass is supposed to fit 5.8 mL. I tested this myself and was able to fit about 5 mL for the straight glass and about 6.5 mL for the bubble glass. Mike was able to fit more, but I also thoroughly soaked my cotton before filling and it looks like Mike juiced up with a lot less. Either way, he said the reason for the lower capacity rating is due to recommendations for leaving space, but as he said, it’s not so necessary for top-fed RTAs. Whatever the case, the tank holds a lot of liquid!

*Check the kit contents drop-down menu to see all included parts and extras

A postless style deck with tiny, side hex-head grub screws. When building, make sure not to unscrew them all the way so that they fall out; they’re really small. Augvape does include spares, but you are not going to want to be handling those.

Building

Due to the deck having side chutes that redirect the top-fed airflow to the sides of the coils, it’s slightly cramped when dropping in coils. It’s not a big deal if you use a coil rod, but if you don’t, it’s not going to go as smoothly as it should.

That said, there’s ample room in the deck for decent sized coils, particularly if you want to build it with a single-coil. It can safely house a 4 mm single coil. I’ve only used it with dual coils though. The two included are dual-core fused Claptons. What I like about the deck is that after you trap your leads, a slight twist of the coil to straighten it out will have it aligned optimally. No muss no fuss. It’s also got perfect spacing. With two 2.5 mm Claptons, there’s about 1 mm from the airflow chutes and about 1 mm between the two coils.

Just drop in the coils while on a coil rod, trap them on the side, then straighten them out. You’re going to need to use an Allen key to tighten the hex-head grub screws, but don’t tighten too aggressively and risk stripping them. I think it would be best to use a hex driver since they have a lower risk of stripping hex screws.

Wicking

Augvape includes a little coil-leg cutting tool that is set to 6 mm. Mike said that’s his preferred length, though you could get away with cutting them shorter. I went with 6 mm since that’s what the mastermind behind this RTA likes.

Wicking is simple. There are two large side wick ports that both coils cotton tails will share. I cut my wicks to about 9 mm which allows them to hang in the port just enough without touching the bottom.

The juice feeds are two little slots that are sufficient to feed the cotton with thick juice, and they’re not so wide that you’ll flood your deck. Altogether, it’s a quality deck that’s easy to use for anyone with a lick of experience building on an RTA.

The Airflow of the Intake Dual is restricted lung hit when it’s wide open. It’s smooth and not very loud at all. It’s fairly tight though. This is going to come down to preference. I would prefer the max airflow to be a little bit more open than this, but this is for those that like a tight lung draws. I don’t need a lot more airflow than what it currently has, but I do wish it had a tad more. Although I haven’t used it with a single coil yet, Mike points out in his tutorial that the airflow will be a little less restricted with single coil.

To adjust the airflow, simply turn the airflow ring located under the top cap. The ring is a bit stiff, although it sure beats it being too loose. Because the top cap tightens down onto the airflow ring, depending on how tightly you screw down the top cap, you may make the ring stiffer to turn. It’s not a huge deal, just something I wanted to point out.

Overall, I like the airflow system. It’s technically a top-fed airflow, but it’s redirected from the top down two chutes along the sides of the deck that hit the coil from the side. If you are using the recommended 6 mm legs of your coils, the air will hit them around the bottom half.

Aside from me wishing I could have a slight increase in max airflow (maybe about 10%-15% more), the Intake Dual is a flavorful RTA. I’m using Dinner Lady Strawberry Macaroon with 3 mg at about 65 watts and it tastes above average from how I know this juice should taste–but I’d stop short of saying its way above average. Maybe if there was just a little bit more airflow, I’d be able to get way above average flavor because I’d be able to crank up the wattage a bit more.

The Intake RTA passes the flavor test, but where is excels is the smoothness of its draw. I was afraid that the top-to-side airflow design would create a fair bit of turbulence, but the airflow is surprisingly smooth. And it’s also a relatively quiet RTA as far as dual-coil, DL, top-airflow RTAs go.

Also worth mentioning; I haven’t had any leaking. But that should be apparent due to the leak-resistant nature of top-fed airflow atomizers. I’ve had no turbulence with the airflow, and the only time I had any issues with spitting was in the first couple rips after my build. That was likely due to me overjuicing my coils though.

This is a good RTA. It’s easy to build, wick, and to have your coils lined up and spaced optimally. The fit and finish is done well, with my only real complaint being the airflow control ring being a bit tight. Although I wish that there was a little bit more airflow, which is most definitively subjective, I have nothing bad to say about this RTA. Assuming you’re fine with postless decks and dual coils (or a large ID single coil), as well as a restricted lung hit that’s more tight than loose, the Intake Dual is a solid choice.

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