Hi Vaping Community, In this review i take a look at the Artemis MTL RTA from Cthulhu Mod. The Artemis MTL RTA was supplied free of charge for the purpose of this review by Joshua from Cthulhu Mod.
https://www.cthulhumod.com/artemis-mtl-rta/
Introduction
Cthulhu Mod was the first manufacturer i came across that bridged that gap with some of their early RDA’s and RTA’s between mainstream and High End while keeping prices reasonable, of course now Thunderhead Creations and BP Mods are very similar with both Dovpo and Aspire with their Manufacture collaborations also upping their game in this regard!
Cthulhu Mod despite recently releasing a couple of Mods are rebuildable specialists and here we have their latest MTL RTA The Artemis. With a unique look and clever way of inserting airflow pins which allows swapping out while not disturbing your build this has a very interesting design. With adjustable AFC also having 5 settings and 4 different bore size airflow pins plus the option of no airflow pin gives 25 different airflow settings ranging from tight MTL to loose MTL, and even sketchy RDL. Also coming with alternative matching smoked tube and 510 drip tip and packaged in a useful deep tin with screw lid let’s check out The Artemis MTL RTA from Cthulhu Mod!
In The Box
Contents:
Artemis MTL RTA
1.0mm, 1.4mm, 1.8mm, 2.0mm air pins
Alternative 510 smoked drip tip
Alternative Smoked Poly Carbonate tube section
Spare O-rings & Post screws
Legendary Blue handled Screwdriver
Manual
Aesthetics
I have always liked how Cthulhu Mod package their products, at one time they use to come in flip lid boxes with cushioned lining and a hemp like material on the outside with a nice badge and cord with tassel to finish it off! Nowadays we have more toned down packaging as they instead come in useful deep tins. Here we have a deep round tin with screw lid and on opening my eyes met a high end looking RTA, spare smoked tube and spare smoked drip tip in their own compartments within the foam inner lining! I received the Stainless Silver version which comes with a Stainless Steel very long narrow bore MTL 510 drip tip and frosted Poly carbonate tube, the option is Stainless Steel or Black.
Up top we have the top-cap which goes inwards before protruding out again, when removing you will see the actual practical top-cap ends with an O-ring seal and then we get that protruding extension almost giving it a double top-cap look, a very unique aesthetic look which gets added to further with that pre-installed long narrow drip tip!
We then have an upper Stainless Steel sleeve followed by narrow frosted tube. Below the tube we have a further Stainless Steel section followed by an airflow control ring with aggressive fine knurling.
Moving to the underside of the base we have the usual etched safety marks and branding then although the 510 pin can be removed when the base is separated from the deck when the tank is screwed together it’s fixed so can’t be adjusted, it’s gold plated and protrudes slightly!
The Artemis has a SS304 construction, all threading and tolerances are spot on! The build quality and looks are much more in common with my high end rebuildable atomizers than most of my mainstream rebuildables but it comes at a very affordable price!
Artemis MTL RTA Specs and Features:
Diameter: 22 mm / 0.86 in
Height: 35 mm / 1.37 in (without drip tip)
Weight: 53g
High Quality 304 Stainless Steel Machining
Poly Carbonate tank tube
Air Flow Ring: 0.8mm, 1.2mm, 1.6mm, 2.0mm, 2.7mm
Air Pin under Coil: 1.0mm, 1.4mm, 1.8mm, 2.0mm (without air pin: 2.7)
Capacity: 2.4 ml
5*5=25 accurate air flow setting.
Changing Air Flow Pin under Coil without Damaging the Coil
Design for Tight MTL and Loose MTL Vapers
Asymmetric Posts for Easy Coil Building
New Dome Shape Chimney for Better Flavour and Throat Hit
Colours: Stainless Silver, Black
What You Receive?
You receive the 22mm in diameter Artemis RTA with pre-installed Stainless Steel long narrow 510 drip tip, narrow frosted Poly Carbonate tube section and one of the airflow pins also fixed in position.
You also get a smoked lower profile 510 alternative drip tip, matching smoked Poly Carbonate tube, 3 more airflow pins with different internal bores, Spare post screws, O-rings and of course both paperwork and the famous Blue Philips screwdriver!
It’s Various Parts
The Artemiis consists of a 510 fitting drip tip followed by a unique looking top-cap. We then have a one piece 304 Stainless Steel section that consists of the upper sleeve, fill ports, air pipe and chamber which has really nice machined inner doming!
We then have the frosted tube section followed by base section which consists of the GTA style deck section and removable base with airflow control ring! The base section unscrews from the deck to allow the airflow pins to be swapped out but this will be covered in another section. With the top-cap removed we have 3 thin spokes and then large fill ports between, very similar to the Mercedes Benz badge so nearly entirely filling area which i like because it means any nozzle or glass dropper will be suitable.
The top-cap both simultaneously screws to the inner of the outer sleeve section and central air pipe before the seal completes with a thick O-ring. Going back to the Poly Carbonate tube which can be removed by simply putting a finger or thumb in the chamber and then using another finger or thumb on the outside of the tube just pinch and out it pops, putting back in place whether it be the frosted or alternative smoked tube is just the case of press fitting into place.
I like the way the tube just gets precision fitted into place both to the upper sleeve and base sections as it doesn’t rely on either threading and/or O-rings for it’s seal so no need to worry about an O-ring wearing, snapping or moving out of perfect position and no worries about threading between metal and Poly Carbonate which can be dodgy!
As well as the long narrow Stainless Steel drip tip and frosted tube you can fit the alternative drip tip and/or smoked tube or with it being a 510 standard drip tip fitting use another drip tip if you prefer!
The Airflow Pins
You receive 4 airflow pins which have different sized bores, one of which is pre-installed but i didn’t take notice of which one was pre-installed and also you have to use your own eye to differentiate the different sized bores as there is no marked sizes on the pins themselves which is a rare con for the RTA!
Fitting The Airflow Pin
The Airflow pin is the upper section of the 510 pin which is hollowed out to a specific bore and air can enter through a cut-out section to the side, this allows for direct bottom airflow that travels from the standard AFC through the side of the pin and up through the hollow directed at the underside of your installed coil.
But rather than unscrewing the 510 pin from underneath the base and struggling not to disturb your build as the positive section of the deck at this stage would be unsecure here we have the lower base section which includes the AFC and positive pin that unscrews from a solid GTA deck section which has a fixed positive post! To unscrew you need to turn counter clockwise but once tightened back in position the AFC moves with such a nice tolerance there is no issues with the two parts unscrewing while altering airflow settings!
When unscrewing the deck from the chamber you need to make sure you hold the base section by the metal section above the AFC so you don’t unscrew the lower base section from the deck rather than the deck from the chamber, also when putting onto a mod don’t overtighten or again with that reverse threaded lower base section you could go too far and start undoing the lower section of the base from the deck. It just has a short learning curve until you get use to what’s what and where to hold when securing the deck etc, i got the knack just while messing around taking photos for the review so by the time it even came to doing a build it wasn’t an issue so although it needs mentioning it’s not a deal breaker!
When the lower base section is unscrewed from the deck you will see the airflow pin is the top extension to the 510 pin although there is positive contact without the airflow pin being installed so no pin installed gives 5 of the 25 airflow options but for me which will be explained later an airflow pin really needs installing! The airflow pin just unscrews from the 510 positive pin which allows you to screw on any of the 4 different airflow pins, the different bore sizes are 1.0mm, 1.4mm, 1.8mm and 2.0mm, as mentioned you have to use your eye to choose which pin is which because no size is marked on the pins themselves, with no airflow pin installed the hollow underneath where the coil will be positioned is 2.7mm!
The Airflow control ring has 5 settings which are again different sized openings for airflow to travel to the pin, they are 0.8mm, 1.2mm, 1.6mm, 2.0mm and 2.7mm!
The Deck And Build
The Artemis has a GTA style deck with asymmetric posts which have post screws with Philip heads, I would prefer hex heads but in my opinion Philips are the next best type! I only came across one issue which i only became aware of because it happened to me so once you know it’s not really a problem! When unscrewing the first post screw to fit a MTL fused Clapton it popped out, they are quite short post screws, once i was aware in future i just unscrewed enough to fit my leads and not a problem but worth a mention!
We have opened top posts with walls either side and central post screws so you simply unscrew your post screw to allow your lead to slide underneath and then when fastening down your screw head acts as a clamp and those walls stops the lead popping out while securing! Once fixed in position just use a coiling rod or fit for purpose tool to move your coil into the best position and then snip your access leads!
I did two builds, a simple round wire and the pictured fused clapton which needed either half a wrap adding or losing to have my leads facing opposite directions. I went for losing half a wrap and must admit it’s not the prettiest, i don’t think i would score high for either artistic impression or technical merit but it gave great results when vaping which is all that counts! Once your coil is secured in position just give it a few pulses strumming any possible hotspots out and burning off any residue left from manufacture!
Wicking is a doddle, very forgiving! I just fed my cotton through and cut quite short then simply after a fluff up teased into the wicking channels without pushing down, gravity will take care of that once the cotton is saturated! Then just prime, fire and admire your work even if it looks like one of my builds, actually the build was very easy once you are aware that the post screws are quite short!
How It Vapes And Thoughts!
First we have the reversed threaded lower base section which unscrews from the deck but once you get use to where the tank needs holding when unscrewing, screwing tight and not to overtighten on a mod it’s not an issue and quite a short learning curve is needed to figure it out!
Also not having the sizes marked on the airflow pins is another minor con but i found my own sight was a good enough judge of which was which and also the design allows the pins to be swapped out not really on the fly as you need to remove from the mod and unscrew the lower base section but without disturbing your build which is a pro!
The short post screws also need a mention but no big deal and also no coil/coils or cotton is provided which for me is a con as i believe all rebuildable tanks should come with everything that is needed to do at least one build. The only other issue is using this as a RDL tank with no airflow pin fitted which is perfectly possible but the issue is this has really impressively smooth airflow with one of the airflow pins installed but with no airflow pin it becomes a choppy ride so i have to disagree with the 25 different airflow options and recommend only using with an airflow pin installed so 20 options in total.
After that it’s pros all the way and some big pros. I actually found this that good with both my builds i picked the brains of a forum mate who has had this a while to make sure my builds were not a fluke and i wasn’t missing something but apparently not this is one cracking MTL RTA which should be involved in the same discussion as the Pioneer, Glaz Mini, Intake etc, it’s right up there!
Those 20 airflow options using a pin gives draws from as tight as anyone i know would need right up to a very loose MTL and silky smooth across the board, but as mentioned if you want that very restricted RDL which some people actually do buy MTL tanks for it means not using a pin and for me it’s a very turbulent vape!
Apart from the odd sizzle or crackle from the coil the tank is silent, the AFC tolerance is spot on and the threading on the top-cap smooth, it’s also a big pro that you can fill using any type of nozzle or dropper with those wide open fill ports! The build is easy and it wicks like a dream giving a really awesome saturated vape while not showing any signs of flooding even after a fill and i have had zero (i mean zero) leaking! I used a 2.5ID coil for both my two builds but a 3.0ID will also fit no problem.
I love the long narrow Stainless Steal drip tip it’s one i would also use on other MTL RTA’s but a bonus you get an alternative smoked drip tip and it’s a standard 510 fitting so you can use one of your own if you prefer! I also like that a smoked tube is also included so if you do prefer the smoked drip tip you can matchy matchy or you might just prefer the smoked tube look! When it comes to flavour this is top drawer, i wouldn’t say it gives better than my other favourites but it’s a match for anything!
Big shout out to George Batareykin who designed the Artemis MTL RTA, he did a great job!
Likes
Excellent build quality
SS304 Construction
Tolerances, threading and machining spot on
Nicely machined domed chamber
Unique looking
Long narrow Stainless Steel Drip tip (really like a lot)
Alternative Smoked Drip Tip Included
Standard 510 drop tip fitting (use your own if you prefer)
Smoked Tube Included
4 Different Airflow pins included giving 20 airflow options (5 more options with no pin but see cons)
Tight MTL right through to loose MTL
When Using Airflow Pin airflow silky smooth across the board
Silent apart from the crackle of your coil
Easy build and forgiving wicking
No flooding or leaking (even after a fill)
Gives saturated vape with top drawer flavour!
Can swap out Airflow Pins without disturbing your build
Cons
Learning curve to get use to reversed threaded lower base section
Short post screws (once aware not a problem)
No size markings on Airflow Pins
Very turbulent when using without airflow pin so 20 not 25 setting choices recommended
No coil/coils or cotton included
I would once again like to thank Joshua from Cthulhu Mod for supplying the Artemis MTL RTA for the purpose of this review, thanks for reading and stay safe!
https://www.cthulhumod.com/artemis-mtl-rta/
