Hot on the heels of the Turbo V2, Tobeco Technology Co. Ltd. also bring you the Turbine RDA. This RDA (Rebuildable Dripping Atomizer) derives it’s name from the top cap which is rather like a turbine in appearance. It is available in black, blue, green, gold and stainless steel finishes.
This four post design allows for single and dual coil builds meaning this product should appeal to most users.
The Turbine RDA features:
- Four post design
- 22mm diameter
- Deep juice well
- Aluminium detachable top heat sink
- Stainless Steel and Aluminium construction
- Silver plated contact pin
- Adjustable airflow control. Supports both single and dual coil builds
- Negative posts milled directly into the deck
- Delrin wide bore drip tip
The Turbine RDA Box Contains:
- 1x Turbine RDA
- Spare screws
- Spare O-rings
Presented in the new Tobeco black packaging this RDA is not exactly overflowing with extras but all things considered it doesn’t need to be.
The Turbine Is A Very Straightforward Looking RDA:
This RDA is of a typical size, it is very well machined with no noticeable issues. It is rather odd to look at with the turbine style top heat sink cap. On one side in rather large lettering is the Tobeco company name and logo.
I realise they are the manufacturer’s and can stick their name wherever they want, but it does look a little tacky to me and I would have preferred a more stylized logo, although I don’t want to get sidetracked nitpicking about it.
All of the various components are quite tough and rigid, however the airflow ring itself feels a little lightweight and may not be as durable. However it appears as if it is made of aluminium so I don’t think its a real concern.
The O-rings are very strong and hold the top cap extremely securely. I wouldn’t say its difficult to remove but its does require a little more force to pull off than most other RDA’s.
This RDA features a split central positive post and the negative posts are milled directly into the deck. The juice well is deep enough, not massively so but deeper than quite a few RDA’s.
The air slots are of the cyclops style design and are very large ensuring a large amount of airflow. As already stated they support both single and dual coil builds.
The screws are pretty good, I think the Turbo V2 ones are better but these are decent enough. When doing my first build they did end up snapping the wire so may be a little sharp but it is a possibility that I simply overtightened them.
The post holes are large enough to accommodate most typical builds and I had no issues fitting 24 AWG (0.5mm) wire through them.
The top turbine shaped aluminium heat sink can be unscrewed from the stainless steel top cap. I assume this is due to it being manufactured separately out of a different material and making it removable allows for cleaning if necessary.
The Turbine RDA was thankfully free of machine oil but I gave it a quick wash anyway.
How does the Turbine RDA perform?
This RDA performs really well and it actually surprised me because when I was initially building my coils it seemed very similar to most other drippers. It is very easy to build and work with and there is more than enough room in there for most typical builds.
I tested it with both a single 0.8 ohm coil made from 26AWG (0.4mm) wire. I also tested a dual coil build made from 24AWG (0.5mm) wire with a final resistance of 0.4 ohms. I wicked both builds with Japanese cotton.
In terms of flavour it is very good, far better than Tobeco’s Turbo V2. I used a variety of juice in this RDA and found them all to be very flavoursome. T-Juice Red Astaire, El Diablo’s Mambo and Manabush’s Coyote Coconut, all of them tasted exactly how they should and vaping them in this RDA was very enjoyable.
As a dual coil set up flavour is of course better but obviously the juice is drained far more quickly. This RDA really surprises me because it didn’t actually appear at first inspection to be a flavour chasing dripper but funnily enough it is. Even with a single coil and vaping at 50 watts it is quite full on in the taste department. A lot of RDA’s that have too much airflow tend to lose flavour like you’d expect and often with my preferred 6mg juice I don’t always get a throat hit but I consistently get one in the Turbine.
It is quite a noisy RDA, its no kazoo like the Turbo V1 before you get worried, but the way the juice spits and hits the interior of the chamber it really is quite a rattling, roaring sound. Perhaps this is also another reason for this RDA’s name.
I had no actual spit back issues and so far it hasn’t leaked. Clearly it will leak if you overfill or carry it around while it is full.
In terms of airflow it is very wide open but you can close down the air slots to suit. I actually prefer a very open draw and even with a single coil with one slot fully open it still remains very flavoursome.
Vapour production is excellent, its not the equivalent of a RDA with a chuff style cap but it does put out quite a lot of dense vapour.
The heat sink works as intended but the delrin drip tip is quite short so at high wattage it can get quite hot especially if you are know to chain vape like me.
Is The Turbine RDA Worth It?
This is a really good RDA. Its not a particularly striking or elegant design, in truth that shouldn’t matter but vaper’s and myself included can sometimes be quite judgmental about devices that don’t appeal visually. What this device does well are the essentials that any vaper would look for in a dripper.
The really impressive thing about this RDA though is the price. Considering how well this somewhat ugly little dripper works its a fantastic bargain.
When you consider some of the very expensive RDA’s out there that only have average performance at best then the Turbine really puts them to shame. What troubles me is a lot of people will skip this due to the looks and it would be unfair to dismiss a very good and worthy RDA.
Tobeco Turbine Verdict
A absolutely solid RDA that is a bargain in terms of price and performance. Don’t let the aesthetics put you off because its useful to a variety of users. It is forgiving for the novice, a useful flavour chasing device for others and puts out a reasonable amount of vapour that should keep most light cloud chasing fans happy.
It is perhaps less useful to an advanced RDA user who may crave additional extras and other options but to everyone else its going to be quite appealing. With the Turbine RDA, Tobeco have truly made a really great authentic product.
Pros:
- Well machined.
- A real bargain for an authentic product.
- Rather flavoursome.
- Good vapour production.
- Supports dual and single coil.
- Aluminium heat sink works as intended
- Novice friendly RDA, good for someone new to dripping.
Cons:
- Needs a cooler logo. Not really a con. Apologies Tobeco.
- Screws are decent enough but could be improved.
- Not especially elegant if that sort of thing bothers you.
- Delrin drip tip could be a little thicker and possibly longer because it does heat up.
