Honest review time: The Themis Mesh RTA from Digiflavor

Here’s a look at a fairly new RTA “Themis Mesh” from Digiflavor. Mesh coils have been all the rage lately with a number of companies releasing mesh based coils or in some cases mesh based RDAs and RTAs. Digiflavor decided to enter the market with a new RTA aimed at tackling this new trend and allowing users to build their own mesh coils in a rebuildable tank atomizer. From what I understand it’s also available in a regular dual coil configuration as well but I received the mesh version so this review will center around that. I’ve actually been quite impressed with it so far and have been enjoying my time with it immensely. I even took it with me to the recent Canadian Vape Expo where it continued to perform like an absolute champ. Here are my honest thoughts on the Themis Mesh from Digiflavor.

Package contents:

Listed features and specs:

• Top filling design
• Postless design
• Compatible with both dual and single coil builds
• Capacity: 5ml
• Diameter: 2.5cm
• Thread: 510

Packaging and contents:

The Themis mesh tank comes packed in a nice cardboard box with a little window on the front so you can see the tank contained within. On the back it lists some basic information about the tank and the company but doesn’t include the list of contents of the box. Inside the kit you get the Themis Mesh RTA tank, an alternate drip tip, a spare glass, a user manual, a bag of spares and three bags of mesh. In the spares bag you get a few sets of orings in different colours, red, blue and clear as well as a 510 drip tip adapter and their handy dandy little T-shaped tool. For mesh the kit comes with one bag of KA1 or kanthal mesh, one bag of SS316L mesh and one bag of ni80 or nichrome mesh. The one thing missing to get started with this kit would be cotton but I’ve got enough of that already. The kit is well packaged and includes about everything you’d need so no complaints there.

The tank:

The Themis Mesh RTA is a stainless steel tank with a 25mm diameter base but the tank actually juts out to make the true diameter 27mm. It comes equipped with a wide bore short delrin drip tip but the kit also includes a more standard and considerably longer 810 delrin tip if the default one is too short for your liking. They also include a 510 drip tip adapter should you prefer to use your own tips. It’s a top airflow tank as well as top fill and uses a very short thread to attach the cap so just a quick twist and you’re ready to fill up. The airflow is directed down and in to the deck thanks to channels cut in to the top that meet up with perforated blades inside the deck. The airflow is adjustable via the airflow control ring which has stops at either end, no clicks but it’s actually quite firm so shouldn’t move around on you unless you want it to. The tank holds 5ml of liquid and includes a spare glass should you accidentally break yours.

On the bottom of the tank it’s got a non adjustable gold plated 510 center pin that is actually part of the removable deck. Just unscrew the bottom ring and pull the deck out much like the Aromamizer from Steamcrave. It does tend to make rebuilding and rewicking a bit of a messy task since the deck tends to get covered in juice but it’s pretty easy to use and if you’re used to removable decks then this will be old hat. The build quality on this thing is fantastic with nice smooth threads and some nice design elements tossed in for looks. It’s got Themis mesh stamped in to the metal around the base and also has T shaped cutouts within the tank that I think look nice. Nothing too flashy, just a nicely designed tank.

The deck:

The deck as mentioned is removable so to build on it you take it out of the tank and screw it directly on to a mod, it’s 510 threaded and it’s what actually protrudes from the bottom of the tank. The deck has a very interesting postless design where there are two slots cut in to the deck with little plates inside that open and close to bite down on your wire or mesh. It uses flat head grubs that are accessible from the outer edges and those little plates sort of clip on the the end of the grubs and work very much like a vise. It’ll work with regular wire, mesh and even most advanced builds so there’s a lot of freedom to build what you want. As mentioned above the air comes in from the top and is directed to the deck via two blades, one on either side of the deck that are perforated with three large holes each. It provides plenty of airflow to your coils but this tank is definitely not meant for mouth to lung vaping. It’s got two wick channels, one on each side where you tuck your cotton tails in once trimmed up.

Build, Wick and Performance:

Building on the deck is actually a breeze. Just unscrew the little clamps to open the post slots, slide the end of your mesh in and tighten it down then repeat on the other side. It comes with pre-cut strips of mesh but I found they are too long out of the bag and needed to cut them in half or so. I’d really recommend playing around with different lengths of the mesh to get the experience that suits you best, I ended up making the coil much smaller to help reduce juice consumption which is pretty insane with this mesh tank. Even with the 5ml capacity it seems like I’m constantly refilling it. I first started with the SS316L mesh but was constantly struggling trying to get it to work right, it often would taste burnt or feel like it was running dry. It wasn’t until I watched a video by another reviewer that I realized why. With both the SS316L and the Ni80 mesh the resistance will fluctuate as the metal heats and cools, once I switched to the kanthal mesh all of my issues pretty much went away. No more hot spots or burnt hits, just smooth insanely flavourful vapour. Wicking the tank can be a bit of a challenge since the edge of the mesh tends to grab the cotton but another reviewer suggested opening one of your clamps, taking the mesh out, placing the cotton underneath and then clamping the mesh back in over top. It actually works quite well and lets you get the maximum amount of cotton under that mesh which you’re going to need to keep from getting dry hits. As I mentioned this thing just rips through juice and if your cotton is too thick or your mesh coil too big it might struggle to keep up. I found my method of cutting my wicks on angles and just putting the very tips in works well and you really need it to be wicking well to keep up with the thirsty mesh coils.

Likes:

• Build quality
• Performance
• Ease of use
• Looks
• Amazing flavour and vapour
• Leak resistant
• Top fill
• Top airflow
• Incredible flavour and great vapour production
• 5ml capacity

Dislikes:

• Re-building/re-wicking can be messy
• SS and ni80 mesh fluctuates
• Learning curve
• Drinks juice

Overall:

I’ve been very impressed with the Themis Mesh so far and have been using it pretty much non-stop since it arrived. Yes there is a bit of a learning curve when it comes to building with mesh but for guys like me that’s half the fun. Once you get the hang of it it’s surprisingly easy to build and wick but getting it just right might take a few tries like it did for me. I definitely feel like this one would be better suited to more advanced builders who like to tinker with their builds to dial it in exactly how they like but would also be a fun starting point for folks just getting in to rebuildables.