A huge thanks out to King from SteamCrave for sending this out for the purposes of this review. Any time something is billed as “The BEST Single Coil RTA”, and it’s from SteamCrave, I get interested. Let’s get into this one, and see if this Restricted DTL (possibly MTL) is built as it’s billed.
Use Code: CVD2019
Steam Crave Meson 25mm RTA Features:
- Diameter: 25mm
- Juice Well: N/A
- Fill System: Threaded Top Fill
- Build Deck: Postless Build Deck
- Coil Configuration: Single Coil Configuration
- Coil Fastening: Side Secured via Hex Screws
- Glass Capacity: 5mL Glass Capacity
- Bubble Glass Capacity: 6mL Capacity
- PCTG Tube Capacity: N/A
- Airflow: Top-to-Bottom Airflow Control
- Tank Material: Stainless Steel
- Drip Tip: 810 Drip Tip
- Connection: 810 Drip Tip
- Contact Pin: Gold-Plated
What’s Included:
- 1 Meson RTA
- 1 6mL Bubble Glass
- 1 Spare Parts Bag
- 1 Allen Key
- 1 Steam Crave Sticker
- 1 User Manual
Compared to many of my SteamCraves in the hoard, this one had a somewhat different config …
Lot’s to get into, so let’s get INTO it !!!
Most of you are familiar with the SteamCrave Red and Black boxes …
The Meson RTA, 5ml straight, 6ml bubble, T tool, and extras …
Manual and sticker …
Great stash of spare o-rings, and grubs, but NO coils …
Comparison of the 5ml straight glass (installed), and 6ml bubble glass …
The Mighty Meson RTA Beast …
Just enough branding so you didn’t forget what your were using …
Nice 810 tip, with the typical beefy o-ring in the cap for a snug fit …
A closeup of the dual airflow slots (one on each side), and smart knurling on the top cap …
Closeup of the airflow ring removed, and o-ring …
Dual generous fill ports, top cap o-ring, and FULL screw on cap with NO quarter turn spin offs to come off in your pocket !!!
This is where SOME people may get stuck. You need to un-thread the chimney with a small coin to remove the top section, OR, read the instructions LOL …
Here’s another look at the chimney section, and the (retaining) airflow base that secured it …
Some closeups to better show how the airflow will be directed at the coil, with the airflow base …
Be advised that not only is the deck keyed, so is the airflow base. Properly aligned, and seated …
Flipping to the bottom cap, with the 510 pin, and markings …
With GREAT knurling for super easy removal …
Embedded o-ring, and “cap in a cap” design (including 510 post o-ring) …
A closeup of the juice flow ports from the tank, and into the bottom of the keyed deck …
SteamCrave spec’d out a 2.5mm I.D. coil (not included), but did state a 3.0mm I.D. would fit …
I didn’t have any 2.5mm I.D. coils handy, so I rolled up a 4 wrap, triple core Ni80 clapton. Notice the square-ish juice wells …
Side shot …
And one more look at the juice wells …
Above in the manual SteamCrave suggested to “Have enough cotton to dangle the cotton in the juice wells by a few mm”. I went slightly longer …
They also recommended thinning, and fluffing before inserting (dangling LOL), into the juice wells …
I like that they also recommended juicing the coil while pulsing, to fully saturate the inside of the coil/wick to prevent burning the center of the wick. Great tip …
Sauced, with all strands located in the wells …
Aligned the keyed tabs and inserted the deck, ready for filling. For the initial testing, I decided to use a great mix from our one and own @Hippy_Vapes. His Strawberry Milkshake is/was a GREAT mix …
BEFORE FILLING, I wanted to alert you guys for a few things to watch OUT for beforehand. First, make sure you have the keyed airflow base correctly aligned, IN the slots. Here is an example of a MIS-alignment …
Also, check your o-rings, as I had one “jump the track” after cleaning the tank, and re-assembling …
“Fill’ er Up !!!” I tested specifically running a 70v/30p/3mg mix, and between 45-60 watts …
Ready for testing the “Best Single Coil RTA” …
Testing / Usage:
Once I realized you needed a coin to remove the chimney, AND, that the airflow base that retained it, was also keyed, most/much of the fiddling was out of the way with this one. Minor learning curve, but only minor at best. The deck was small, but big enough for hassle free loading. My first attempt at a 5 wrap triple core felt a little wide, so after culling that back to a 4 wrap, it snugged up nicely. Honestly this was SOO good with the 2.5mm I.D. coil, I didn’t bother to change it. The Meson looked, felt, and acted like a top shelf tank, and quite frankly, it’s what many of us have come to expect from SteamCrave. NO LEAKS !!! Did I say this already ?? With no juiceflow regulation, and airflow only, would that be a Pro or Con ??
Pros:
- Stunningly rich, accurate, and saturated flavor. May even be the BEST I’ve had from a single coiler
- Very good machining, o-rings, and overall design
- Say GOOD BYE to the quarter turn top release, aka. the “Pocket Dumper”, this has a full threaded top, my fav.
- Looked great
- Keyed deck, AND, airflow base for idiot proof coil/airflow alignment
- Easy airflow adjustment with stops at both extremes
- Fairly quiet airflow (but not silent)
- LEAK PROOF (laid it on it’s side for 20 minutes, NO leaks, seeps, drips, drops, nothing
Cons:
- NO included coils
- No juiceflow adjustment(s)
- Can be a little fiddly to get airflow base into keyed slots (not that bad)
- Single Coil (Is this a con ??)
- O-rings may jump the track after cleaning, double check before assembly
- With no juiceflow controls leaking (or lack thereof), and/or wicking controlled by amount of cotton
- Restricted airflow (but DUH, that’s what it’s billed as). Con ??
Conclusion:
I’ve got a LOT of thoughts, BUT, I’ll try to TRIM them down for you guys. OK, flavor on this, may JUST be the BEST I’ve ever had from a Single Coiler, and that’s a big deal. My typical experience has been that single coilers work, and some work well, but in comparison to dual coilers, they’ve always seemed to fall short. NOT with this one. The flavor was rich, saturated, and plentiful. I really enjoyed @Hippy_Vapes Strawberry Milkshake in this RTA, and the Meson accurately produced the rich creaminess, and the strawberries with ease. I did test some of my heavier Custard/Bakeries, and again, the Meson just didn’t care what I threw at it, it just worked. As mentioned, the whole “use a coin” thing was a brief snag (I shoulda read the instructions first), and correctly aligning the airflow base INTO the keyway was new for me, but NOT a big deal. The o-ring that jumped the tracks MIGHT have been from my vigorous warm/hot water cleaning before testing, so that MIGHT have been on me. BUT, it happened, and I showed you guys what to look out for, none the less.
Wick, wick, WICKING is, and was the name of the game here, and for me, it was a non-issue, as I’ve been doing that for years with my SteamCrave RDTA v.1. Pack it too full, you’ll get dry hits, bad wicking. Too little, possible flooding, leaking, etc., but following SC’s instructions worked out great. One trick (just like on my RDTA v.1), is if you DO get some “not” wicking, you just turn OFF the airflow, take a drag or two, and bubble your way back to wicking. All in, even WITH the minor learning curve, and user error (hehe), this was an impressive showing from SteamCrave, and it did exactly what it claimed to do. While Restricted DTL may not be for everyone or a replacement for EVERY wide open cloud chucker, the full bore restriction was still restricted, but open enough that I didn’t miss a beat DTL’ing like I normally do. I think that the restriction, actually ADDED to the dense flavor this thing was chucking. My take on the Meson, is a VERY good flavor chucking, restricted DTL’er with a small footprint, and no leaking, that you could easily carry in a pocket, and I cannot do that, with most of my current DTL cloud chuckers. Minor compromises for a flavorful pocket rocket.
Wait, what’s that about a “Leak Test” ?? !!!
Drink it in baby. almost 20 minutes on it’s side, ON my vape lab HP. Can you do that with YOUR DTL’er ??
If you like or would like to try a RDTL (Restricted Direct To Lung), and love great flavor, AND, you don’t like leaks, you should probably try this one out. I think I’m going to order a couple more. Thanks again out to King from SteamCrave for sending this flavor chucker out, for this review.
Use Code: CVD2019
Don’t forget to show Hippy Vapes some love, and check out his excellent Strawberry Milkshake.
Colors:
Thanks for spending some of YOUR valuable time in checking out this review, and hopefully it’s helped better showcase, this NEW Meson RTA from SteamCrave.
Bonus:
S.D.
