Honest review time: The Reload X from Reload Vapor

If you follow my reviews you know that I pretty much exclusively use Saddlehorse Blues coils for my reviews and flavour testing. If you’re not familiar with them, they’re a husband and wife run company out of Alberta who produce some of the finest hand made coils in all of Canada. They also sell some quality hardware, all carefully selected by Shane and Brandy the incredible duo behind the company. Recently they reached out about a review of a new RDA that they are carrying which knowing their eye for quality I was more then happy to accept. The RDA is made by a company called Reload Vapor out of the US, some of you may have heard of them before thanks to their popular Reload RTA which hit the markets just last year. I’ve been putting it through it’s paces over the past week or so and have gotten to know it pretty well. Here are my honest thoughts on the Reload X RDA from Reload Vapor care of Saddlehorse Blues.

Package contents:

Listed features:

• Anti-Leakage Dual Adjustable Top-Down Bottom Air flow
• 24mm Diameter
• 30mm Tall Including Drip Tip
• Signature Reload Pattern On Top
• 24K Gold Plated Screws for Maximum Conductivity
• 810ULTEM Drip Tip
• Postless Quad Terminal Style Build Deck
• Builder Friendly
• 304 SS Construction For Both Black And Stainless Steel
• Peek Insulator
• 24K Gold Plated Positive Post Engraved With LOGO
• Squonk Ready
• Serial Number On The Side Of The Deck
• 4.5mm Juice Well
• Deep Engraved Triangle Logo On The Bottom
• 2 Color Options: Black & Stainless Steel
• Vacuum Plating for Black

Packaging and contents:

The Reload X RDA comes packed in a nice metal tin with the company logo on the top and the name of the company along the bottom. A little sticker with an ‘X’ on it indicates it’s the Reload X RDA. Inside the flip open tin the RDA is safely packed in a sponge lining along with what has to be the nicest Allen driver I’ve received with any kit. It’s labeled Reload and is built like a screwdriver but with an Allen key tip. Underneath the sponge is the bag of extras which includes another standard looking Allen key, four grub screws, a standard gold plated 510 pin and four black orings. One thing noticeably absent from the kit are any cotton or coils, luckily it was sent over by Saddlehorse Blues and they were kind enough to toss in some of their impeccable coils so I was good to go. While it doesn’t include everything you need to get started most people should already have cotton and coils if they’re purchasing an RDA so to me it’s not a big issue. Also I’m never really sure what the included coils are made of and I usually avoid them anyway.

The Reload X RDA:

The Reload X RDA at first glance is a fairly nondescript 24mm diameter top-down bottom airflow dual coil RDA. It’s made of 304 stainless steel and stands about 30mm tall including the drip tip. The included 810 drip tip is wide bore, made of ultem and is very comfortable on the lips. There isn’t a 510 drip tip adapter included in the kit so it’ll be 810 only with this RDA. On the very top of the Reload X just below the drip tip it bears the signature Reload pattern, the same pattern we saw on the top of the Reload RTA but not quite as deeply engraved. It looks great and adds some nice style to the RDA but it will probably limit the tips you can use on it.

Just down from the top is the top airflow inlets, one on each side. It has an airflow control ring that you can turn to adjust with stops at either end. I found at full open it gave exactly the kind of vape I like a lightly restricted direct lung hit but it was a bit loud until I closed it down just a hair. After closing it down a bit it really quieted down but it’s still a fairly swooshy airflow. The AFC ring is quite tight so once you’ve set it in place it should stay there. The top cap locks to the base by lining up the airflow slots with the airflow channels on the base. I found it was quite tight and sometimes gave me a bit of trouble when trying to line things up. Once it got juiced up it was a lot easier but it’s still a fairly tight fitting cap. Around the barrel there aren’t any logos or designs which adds to that subtle nondescript look. It’s available in two colours, stainless steel and a vacuum plated black. I got the black version and I think it looks slick.

On the very bottom of the RDA it’s got a stamped in triangular pattern which to me is somewhat similar to the Limitless Triangle logo but with quite a bit more detail to it. It adds a nice bit of style to the otherwise plain RDA. Aside from that triangular pattern the underside is void of any other markings, no serial, logo or CE markings to be found. It comes with a squonk pin pre-installed but the kit also includes a regular 510 pin if squonking isn’t your thing.

The Deck:

The deck on this thing is practically a work of art. It’s essentially a four terminal bottom airflow deck but the airflow is fed in from the top, down through the sides and up underneath the coils. Which means it’s going to be very leak resistant especially if you’re using it as a squonk atomizer. It’s also postless and the post holes sit on either side of the bottom airflow slots. They’re a bit far apart so small coils will have to stretch to span them but it also means it should accommodate some pretty wide coils. The positive post side of the deck is all 24K gold plated with the Reload Vapor logo engraved into it. It looks gorgeous especially in contrast to the rest of the deck which is coated in black. Even the grub screws are all gold plated to help with conductivity but also to continue the beautiful black and gold motif. On the exterior edge of the deck it’s got Reload X along with the serial number stamped on in white.

The juice well is listed as 4.5mm deep which is nice and deep and works great for both squonking and dripping. Because the four posts are offset on each side it leave a nice little trough up the middle which makes it really easy to drip down the top cap or to see your juice come up when squonking. Even if you do manage to over-squonk or over drip the Top-Down Bottom Air flow will help protect against leaking and in my time using it I haven’t once had any issues with juice coming out the airflow or anywhere else for that matter.

Build, Wick and Performance:

Building on this thing is pretty straightforward. Because it is postless you do need to cut your leads in advance and compared to some other postless decks I found you need to cut your leads fairly short on the Reload X. But once you figure out the length you need it’s just a matter of dropping them in the slots, tightening your leads and adjusting your coils. I tipped mine inwards a bit so they sit directly over the airflow slots and although I needed to spread out my leads a little bit everything went in pretty easily. Wicking is also straightforward, just run your cotton through your coils and trim it so your cotton reaches the deck. Then just tuck the ends down in to the wells and you’re pretty much all set. Performance-wise this thing produces some fantastic flavour and vapour but ultimately that will depend on the build you are using. With the dual fused claptons I tossed in from Saddlehorse Blues I was more then satisfied with what the Reload X was able to produce and have been enjoying it in both squonk and dripper mode. I suppose you could technically build this thing as single coil but it’s essentially made to be used in dual coil mode.

Likes:

• Build quality
• Subtle looks
• Finish
• Airflow adjustment
• Leak resistance
• Deep-well
• Ease of use
• Great flavour and vapour with right build

Dislikes:

• Cap is tight/ hard to align
• Airflow a bit loud
• Not all tips will fit/match well
• Post holes a bit far apart
• A bit pricy

Overall:

I’ve got to say I’m quite enjoying my experience with the Reload X. It works really well as both a squonk atomizer and a dripper, it’s easy to build on, the flavour and vapour from it are great and it just feels really well made. Sure it’s not the most exciting looking RDA out there but I personally appreciate it’s fairly subdued look as it matches with a lot of my existing gear. To me though it’s more about performance than appearance and this thing is no slouch, sure it’s a bit on the expensive side of things but if you’re looking for a well made, solid performing RDA the Reload X might be just what you are looking for. So huge thanks to Shane and Brandy for setting me up with this modest looking beast!!