Honest review time: The Profile 1.5 RDA from Wotofo

About one year ago I reviewed an innovative mesh RDA from Wotofo. It was called the Profile and it stood out for one reason in particular. It had a spring-loaded push block located directly under the coil that would keep tension on your cotton preventing the dreaded cotton collapse. Cotton collapse if you’re not familiar with it is when your cotton shrinks away from your coil after repeated use which may in turn lead to hotspots. It’s really only a concern with mesh coils but for a long time it was practically unavoidable, that was until the Profile RDA came along. Fast forward a whole year and Wotofo has released an update to the popular mesh RDA. It’s called the Profile 1.5 and it’s pretty much an iterative update to the original with only a few minor updates which is probably why they named it the 1.5 instead of 2. Here are my honest thoughts on the Profile 1.5 RDA from Wotofo.

Package contents:

1 xProfile 1.5 RDA
1 xUser manual
1 xExtra drip tip
1 xBending tool
1 xAccessory bag
1 xAllen key
1 xPhilips head screwdriver
3 xThick Xfiber Cotton strip
1 xnexMesh CHILL A1 0.15ohm
1 xnexMesh TURBO A1 0.13ohm
1 xnexMesh EXTREME A1 0.16ohm

Listed features and specs:

RDA Type:Mesh RDA
RDA body diameter:24mm
Build deck diameter:22.5mm
Coil configuration:Single mesh coil
Wattage range:60-80W
Recommended Wattage:70-75W
Overall height: 33.1mm(With drip tip and 510)
Threading:510
Body material:Stainless steel
Juice feeding method:Drip/Squonk
Insulator material:German PEEK

Packaging and contents:

The profile 1.5 RDA kit comes packed in Wotofos iconic black and green packaging. I appreciate that it’s immediately recognizable and it stands out in a crowd but it absolutely wreaks havoc on my camera. In the kit you get the Profile 1.5 RDA which comes equipped with a low profile 810 Goon style resin drip tip. The kit also includes an even shorted one if you like to keep things low-pro. Also included in the kit are a user manual, a bending tool for your mesh, a Philips head screwdriver, an allen key, a bag containing three pieces of their Xfiber cotton strips, an accessory bag containing the alternate drip tip as well as a set of spare o-rings as well as replacement screws. It doesn’t come with an non-squonk pin but instead includes a little plug screw that screws into the pre-installed squonk pin. Lastly the kit includes three different types of nexMesh coils which I’ll explain in greated detail below. All in all a very well stocked kit but to be fair it’s something I’ve come to expect from Wotofo.

The Profile 1.5 RDA:

The Profile 1.5 RDA really hasn’t changed a whole lot from the original and what has changed simply improves on the original design. It’s still made from stainless steel and feels really solid and well made. It’s still fairly compact at about 22mm tall not including the drip tip or 510 with a diameter of 24mm. The top cap looks similar also with only a bit more tapering and a slightly different airflow system. On the Profile 1.5 it now has two rows of five holes which you can close off in a number of ways. You can run it full open with all 10 holes, you can close off just the top row or you can adjust both top and bottom rows together for what Wotofo calls flexible airflow. It’s very similar to the original but the airflow holes are bigger and it now has fewer of them. To adjust the airflow you simply turn the upper portion of the top cap and it opens or closes them to your liking. Inside the cap it’s now slightly concave at the top to help concentrate flavour unlike the original which had more of an awkward taper. It’s also a bit thinner so heat retention isn’t as much of an issue.

Popping off the cap we see the new and improved build deck. It’s now considerably bigger with an overall diameter of 22.5mm so there’s a bit more room to build and it can accommodate larger width mesh coils. The overall design however has remained the same and it still uses two screws one on either side to tighten the clamps that hold your mesh coil in place. Another improvement over the original is the ceramic push block that puts tension on your cotton. It’s now got grooves cut into it to help with wicking. The idea being it’ll now let more juice in underneath the cotton to help saturate it between puffs.

Aside from these two significant improvements the only other thing that’s really changed with the Profile 1.5 is the mesh coils that come with it. It now comes with three different types of nexMesh coils which Wotofo referes to as CHILL, TURBO and EXTREME. All three are made with A1 Kanthal which to me is the best choice for mesh since it’s resistance stays the most stable under load. The CHILL coil is rated 0.15ohm, the TURBO is 0.13ohm and the EXTREME is 0.16ohm. All three have the recommended wattage range of 60-80W and all three perform well in that range. The main difference between the three meshes are the size and density of the holes in the mesh. CHILL and TURBO use foil based mesh as in a strip of foil with numerous holes punched through it while EXTREME is a more traditional type of woven mesh. CHILL promises a mellow laid-back type of experience, TURBO promises heightened flavour and thicker vapour while EXTREME offers the rowdiest experience with considerably warmer flavour and heavy vapour production.

Build, wick and Performance:

One of the great things about the original Profile 1.5 RDA was how convenient it was to build on. Simply loosen the two main clamp screws place one end of the mesh in and tighten it down, then gently bend the coil over into the other clamp and tighten it down. You can use the included coil bending tool to give it a more rounded shape but even with your screwdriver alone it’s easy enough to install and get it into the right shape. Wicking it is also fairly straightforward and my best tip with the Profile series is to use more cotton than you thick you’ll need. You really want to pack it in but not so tight the juice can’t flow. For some folks it might take a couple tries to get it just right but once you do it’s a very simple job to perform.

As to performance, I found the Profile 1.5 to pull slightly ahead of the original thanks in part to the new nexMesh coils it comes with, the concave cap and improved airflow. The coils are now wider so they have greater surface area which translates to better flavour. Going through the three different coils they perform basically how they are described. The CHILL coil running around 65W was actually my favorite of the three as I tend to prefer a more mellow vape experience but second up was the TURBO. It was sort of the Goldilocks coil of the three not too hot, not too chill, really solid flavour and overall great performance around 70-75W. Lastly was the EXTREME which at 75-80W gave a thick warm vape but it’s a bit too much for my personal tastes at least for all day vaping. It also works well for both dripping and squonking but I feel it leans a bit more towards squonking with it’s thirst for juice.

Overall:

As a fan of the original Profile I pretty much knew what to expect with the profile1.5 RDA. While it’s not a complete re-invention I really appreciate the little improvements it does bring. If you’re a fan of mesh coils and enjoy building your own then the Profile 1.5 RDA easily gets a recommendation from me. I think this one will be a good option for both new and seasoned vapers looking for an easy to manage mesh coil RDA with great flavour and solid overall performance. Also if you enjoyed the original I think the 1.5 offers just enough to make it a worth while upgrade.

How it adds up
Solid constructionEase of useAestheticsLow-pro 810 drip tipsFlexible airflowSpring loaded push block
None so far
8.5Overall
Presentation8
Build Quality8.5
Performance9