Vandy Vape Berserker MTL RDA Review: Options Galore

Vandy Vape Berserker MTL RDA review

The Vandy Vape Berserker is an 18-mm single-coil mouth-to-lung RDA. It is designed by Alex from VapersMD, who also designed the two RTA’s that carry the Berserker name. It has a curvy, retro look and features an elaborate airflow system that uses removable airflow inserts to provide a wide variety of airflow choices. The Berserker RDA comes in the usual Vandy Vape color configurations and is priced at a typically competitive Vandy Vape price.

Colors: stainless, black, gold, rainbow
Price: $25-35

Build quality and design

Everything is super tight out of the box — the O-rings, the screws, the drip tip. Well, actually the drip tip is threaded. But when you pull on it, it sure is tight! I won't say how long it took me to figure that one out. The tightness of the O-rings goes away after the first disassembly. They're very good O-rings and the parts all fit together quite well. The machining and design are top notch for an RDA in this price range — or even for one in a much higher price range. It even comes with two beauty rings, a 22 mm and a 24 mm one.

I recently called the Vapefly Galaxies an RDA “made for squonking”. Well, the Vandy Vape Berserker is that and then some. Dripping through the tiny mouth-piece is challenging and the airflow is placed right under the coil, which means that any extra drops will end up flooding the airflow inserts. It is in squonk mode that the Berserker RDA really shines, and that is what makes it a worthy successor to the 18-mm RDA classics.

One thing about this device, be sure to keep the box and inserts. Unless you are a very organized person, it will be easy to misplace parts. Save yourself the headache and keep it all as it came.

Build deck

The build deck is very similar to the Berserker RTA’s, if not exactly the same. Two Phillips head screws are used to trap the wire with the help of the conveniently placed walls. Trapping thin round wire takes some getting used to but once you figure it out you’ll be able to do it in a matter of seconds. The small build deck will not let you go crazy with builds; round wire with a 3-mm diameter, or some superfine Claptons with a 2.5 mm diameter will be the upper limit of what you can work with.

Overall it is a very simple and intuitive deck that is also forgiving except for one thing: take care to remove the airflow insert when placing your coil if you are planning on dry burning it. The heat produced by dry burning might end up melting the Peek insert, an issue that Alex from VapersMD mentioned on YouTube. The provided coil placement tool will be very useful for lowering your coil but, again, make sure your coil is not touching the airflow rod.

The Berserker RDA has a lot of space for cotton, and a deep juice well. Be careful not to over-squonk because you might end up reaching the entry point of the airflow insert and flooding it. Everything else is properly sealed so this is essentially the only way you could make this RDA leak in squonk mode.

Airflow

The airflow can be modified in two ways. The first step is choosing your favorite airflow insert out of the six included in the box, four single hole ones ranging from 1.2 mm to 2 mm, one with three 1-mm holes, and one with a 3 mm-wide/0.5 mm-tall thin-line airflow. The rods are only open on one side and are placed under the coil through two large holes on the side of the atomizer’s base. On top of that, there are six airflow holes on the top cap, ranging from 0.8 mm to 2 mm. The top-cap airflow will then guide the air to the airflow insert opening, essentially making the Berserker a bottom airflow RDA with side airflow adjustability.

The airflow inserts really do affect the vape, but it will take tinkering with your builds to figure out what's best. There are so many factors coupled with so many options, it would be impossible to explain all that each can do. That said, I did try most of the combinations and settled for the second smallest airflow insert coupled with either of the middle airflow holes. The largest single airflow insert as well as the one with the three small holes were too loose for my liking. The thin line airflow insert felt a bit counter-intuitive due to the orientation of the line being perpendicular to the coil direction, but it did work just fine.

Performance

Vaping on the included Ni80 fused Claptons was not exactly my style so I switched quickly to my usual round wire builds. This way I had a familiar, flavorful vape which was also cooler than the one I got from the supplied coils. This is personal preference though, and I am pretty sure that the included tiny “exotic” coils will be appreciated by many of the Berserker’s owners.

Word was that the Berserker is not a “true” MTL atty. I would have been the first to say it if I found it to be too loose, but fortunately this is not the case. I found the Berserker’s options perfect for every kind of MTL, from a rather tight to a looser one. Emulating the very tight draw of the Berserker RTA series would have been a challenging task for any RDA due to a number of structural factors. But the Berserker RDA with a 3-mm coil on the tightest insert with any of the smaller airflow holes open came closer than I expected.

Likes

Dislikes

Verdict

All in all, I found the Berserker RDA to be a very reliable and high performing squonking MTL RDA. A tiny chamber, flawless squonking, on-point flavor, a deep juice well and a smooth overall experience combine to make you feel like a vape connoisseur without breaking the bank.

The Berserker is less build-dependent than the Vapefly Galaxies and has a smaller chamber which helps with flavor. Its design provides a “juicier” vape and has a smoother and more defined throat hit than the Galaxies. But with these two being the only affordable squonking MTL RDA’s to come out for a while, and with both of them performing at a comparable level, your decision will come down to two things: price and looks.

The Berserker costs about $10 more than the Galaxies. If you find its form and size as sexy as I do and are willing to pay the extra bucks, the Berserker MTL RDA might just be the one for you. It’s replaced the Galaxies in my everyday rotation.

What are your thoughts on the Vandy Vape Berserker MTL RDA? Let us know in the comment section below.

Vandy Vape Berserker MTL RDA