CoilArt DPRO RDA Review: Drip Like a Pro

Today we take a look at CoilArt’s new DPRO (short for Drip like a PRO) RDA. This 24 mm atomizer utilizes a postless design, and features a gold-plated build deck. Side airflow is angled downwards through the extended channels, which creates a reduced inner chamber. And even though it’s postless, the DPRO comes with a bottom feeding pin, so it can be used on squonk mods. Currently available in three color finishes, with a further five on the way, the DPRO RDA is selling for around $30 online. The kit even comes with a couple of fused nichrome Claptons cut to size.

Let’s take the DPRO for a spin and see how it performs!

We received three samples of the DPRO, and they come with the top cap in different materials. The black edition features an anodized aluminum top cap. Stainless steel is as the name suggests. The ULTEM version boasts a single piece of molded ULTEM as the top cap. The build deck, 510 and squonking pins are gold-plated throughout.

On all three samples, machining is excellent. A set of double o-rings fitted on the base secure the top cap in position, above and below the terminal screws. The tolerances between the top cap and the base are ideal. Adjustments are easy to make, but nothing feels loose. The ULTEM has a little bit more friction to it than the metal top caps, and the bottom of the top cap feels a tad sharp, as if it wasn’t sanded down completely smooth.

Everything on the build deck is gold-plated – even the inner sections of the deck under the PEEK insulator on the positive terminal. Not surprisingly, this postless deck gives you a lot of space to work with. It has an inner diameter of 22 mm, with 12.3 mm space between the airflow ports for coil builds.

Those airflow ports extend 5 mm into the deck, which in combination with your build and plenty of cotton, should make for a significantly reduced inner chamber. The terminals are 2.5 mm wide, but I’ve been able to chuck a stapled staggered fused Clapton build in there just fine.

Dual Coil

To start off, I used the N80 fused Clapton wires that came with the DPRO. They came to 0.17 ohm in a dual coil build. Although the wire leads have been pre-cut, I find I get better results cutting a further 3 mm off the ends, for a total length of 9 mm.

The DPRO is very easy to build on – and in dual coil setup you don’t need to angle the coils much. I just gave them a slight nudge outwards.

The handmade CoilArt coils are a nice, thoughtful touch to the kit, especially with the complete specs included. However, ours had some persistent hot spots that needed to be pinched and pulsed at increasing wattages to completely resolve.

Single Coil

At first I was pretty skeptical that the DPRO would work well as a single coil atty. Even a chunky build could feel pretty lonely on that wide deck. I went with a 3mm ID stapled staggered fused Clapton from Runny Nose vapes, which came to 0.12 ohm.

Now although there is significantly more space between the airflow holes and the coils, this build works great. It was also easy to install – I used two terminals diagonal to each other and then twisted the coil so it sits dead center.

One thing to note is that the amount of cotton is critical – you don’t want to skimp on it! I wick as much as I can get away with and then fluff it out so that the cotton covers the sides of the deck. You’ll want to keep the spaces under and around the cotton free though, so that air hits it properly.

For a postless RDA, the DPRO has a shallow deck – only 3 mm deep. This makes regular redripping a necessity. But it also comes with a bottom feeding pin, so you can squonk on this atty too. This is a great feature for a postless RDA!

The squonk pin can be installed with the same hex key that is used to grub screws in place.

However, the base extends a further 7 mm south of the deck, and that real estate is taken up by the coil terminals. I can’t fault the construction of this atty, but more depth up top – or a higher lip – would have been nice.

As the airflow extenders are built into the deck itself, the DPRO RDA cleverly dispenses with the need for a moving AFC. As mentioned, the airflow ports extend 5 mm inward from the outer rim of the deck. They’re an oval-shaped 3.8 mm x 3 mm in diameter, and are angled downwards. Airflow hits the underside of the coils and bounces off the build deck.

The airflow is smooth, and non-turbulent. However, it’s not an airy draw – this is quite the restricted lung hit. Also, it’s worth mentioning that this RDA is dual-airflow only – whether single or dual coil.

The top cap on all models of the DPRO is a single, elegant curved piece. The CoilArt logo and branding is etched into the outer surface on the black and stainless versions, while the ULTEM sample is plain. The top cap is domed on the inside, and fits an 810 drip tip. There’s no 510 drip tip or adapter included, although you can fit an adapter in the opening.

One thing I really like about the top cap is the lack of any knurling. This is a simple, elegant solution that just works.

The wide bore drip tip is made from ULTEM, and bears the DPRO branding on the lip. For a wide bore tip, it’s on the thick side at 4.5 mm on the lip. The 8 mm opening at the top tapers down to 6 mm at the base. This reduces spit back but doesn’t eliminate it. It’s secured in place by a single, thicker silicon o-ring set into the top cap.

I like me a postless deck – the simplicity of it, no posts cluttering it, and plenty of space for whatever you want to chuck in there. On this score, the DPRO certainly satisfies. And while I like the stainless steel top cap, the all-ULTEM number is killer. The black sample is anodized aluminum, which will get hotter than the others.

The DPRO has no extra moving parts – just the top cap and the deck. It’s simplicity in itself. And there’s something elegant about that.

Whether I’m vaping on the DPRO in single-coil or dual-coil setups, my sweet spot has been 80 watts. At this wattage, with resistance between 0.12 and 0.17, I get a warm, dense, extremely flavorful vape. I like to vape it with the airflow closed just shy of halfway.

One thing you really do notice, especially with more cotton, is the reduction in the chamber. Airflow is uniformly smooth, although wide open, the DPRO has a little bit of whistle to it.

I would classify the DPRO as ideal for restricted lung hits. Make no mistake, this RDA doesn’t give you masses of airflow. Its real strengths lie elsewhere.

I notice that while neither top cap gets hot, the ULTEM performs excellently.

My only real con on the DPRO is how often you have to redrip. That’s partly down to the shallow deck, but will also vary depending on how much wicking you use, and obviously the build and wattage.

Taking the standard, non-adjustable 510 out and installing the bottom feeding pin is straightforward. I’ve enjoyed squonking on the DPRO, especially since when dripping, the tapering on the drip tip means e-liquid hits the rim just as often as the coils themselves. But squonk or not, you do have a shallow deck that needs feeding often.

I’ve played around with this RDA in single and dual coil setups. Dripped on it, and used it with a squonk mod. I don’t find a lot to fault in the DPRO. The build quality is excellent. The top cap fits snugly over the o-rings. The deck is flexible and offers you a lot of space to play with.

And while the deck may be wide, it’s still restricted. This chamber reduction is my favorite feature in this RDA. It makes for a very rich, dense, flavorful vape. Rest assured, it’s cloudy up in here too.

I do wish the DPRO had a slightly deeper deck. You can get over that problem with the squonk pin, but if you overdrip or overfeed, you’ll know about it. This is the only time I’ve had issues with spitback, especially with one chunky single coil in play.

Considering the restriction in the chamber, it would have been nice to include a 510 drip tip. I have no complaints about the included 810 one however.

Simply put, for a flavorful vape, this is my favorite postless RDA so far.