Augvape Merlin Mini RTA Review
In this review, we will be covering the new Augvape Merlin Mini RTA. The original Merlin RTA by Augvape was fairly popular due to its excellent performance for a single coil RTA. This new version is a bit different offering a much smaller design, and a slightly larger diameter. Smaller RTAs have become extremely popular as of late since there are tons of smaller devices being released.
Firstly, I want to thank Gearbest for sending me this product for the purposes of this review. I will go over my first impressions, building and wicking, its performance, pros and cons, and conclude with telling you whether or not I recommend this RTA!
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Out of the Box
When I first received the Augvape Merlin Mini RTA, I noticed the different packaging in comparison to the original Merlin RTA. The packaging of the Merlin Mini is very similar to Uwell packaging, where the product comes in a tube shaped box, and is well protected, which is surely a good thing.
What I noticed first about the Merlin Mini RTA was the size. Of course, this is to be expected since it is a “mini”, but it still is something worth noting. Even though it is quite small in height, the overall diameter of this RTA is 24mm. This can be seen as a con, especially if you want to put it on a smaller device, and with a diameter of 24mm, it might have some overhang on certain smaller devices. Of course, this is a subjective con, and I personally do not mind it.
Included with the Augvape Merlin Mini RTA you receive both a single and dual coil deck, a replacement glass tank section, a bag of spare parts, 2 different airflow inserts and a user manual. The included single and dual coil decks is definitely a huge pro!
This RTA does include a wide bore delrin 510 drip tip, so you can use your own preferred 510 drip tips if preferred! This is another huge pro, as I know many vapers love using their own favorite drip tips. However, the included drip tip seemed comfortable to use due to its design.
The Augvape Merlin Mini RTA does have a 2ml e-liquid capacity, which can be seen as a con, but it is to be expected since it is quite small. However, I do think since it does have an overall base diameter of 24mm, it would hold a bit more e-liquid, but sadly this was not the case. It does feature a top fill design, so filling this tank would be easy.
In addition, this RTA features fully adjustable bottom airflow, and includes different airflow plugs, so you can cut down the airflow which is great for mouth to lung. One is already pre-installed in the single coil deck. This is definitely a pro, since you can use this RTA for both direct lung and mouth to lung vaping!
The Augvape Merlin Mini did come relatively clean out of the box as well. There was hardly any noticeable machine oil, so this is definitely a pro in my opinion. One rinse with soap and warm water, and this RTA was good to go!
Overall, my first impressions of the Augvape Merlin Mini RTA were all positive! The build quality was solid, especially for the price point. The inclusion of both a single coil and dual coil deck is a huge pro, and allows it to fit multiple vaping styles. Not to mention, the included airflow inserts or plugs allow you to get a much more restricted lung draw or mouth to lung draw if preferred.
Building & Wicking
Like stated previously, the Augvape Merlin Mini includes both a single coil and dual coil build deck. The dual coil build deck features a 2 post velocity styled design, so installing coils on this RTA is extremely easy. Like mentioned in our previous RTA reviews, a velocity styled build deck just makes the entire process of building that much easier. In addition, you can easily center your coil builds with this style build deck.
I do want to mention that both build decks are not large by any means, so you are a bit restricted in regards to what kind of builds you can fit in this RTA. You can easily fit normal Clapton coils, or smaller Fused Clapton coils with no issues, but anything larger you might run into issues.
The single coil build deck features a 2 post deck design as well, except for a single coil only. This deck is also very easy to build on, and beginners will have little to no issues working with either build deck, so this is a huge pro for this RTA.
Wicking is relatively the same for both build decks, since they are quite similar in design in regards to how they are supposed to be wicked. I found the best way to wick this RTA with either build deck is to fluff out your cotton, and lay them into the wicking ports. Be sure that your cotton or wicking material is completely covering the wicking holes.
If you do not completely cover them, then you might run into flooding or even leaking. I personally did not encounter any of these issues when wicking this way. Also, make sure you do not over stuff the cotton into the wicking channels as this may lead to dry hit issues, but honestly the wicking process for this RTA is extremely easy.
Overall, building and wicking the Augvape Merlin Mini RTA is easy. If you’re a beginner you won’t have much trouble with this RTA, and if you’re an experienced vaper RTA, then you definitely won’t have any issues!
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Performance
The overall performance of the Augvape Merlin Mini RTA is excellent! My preferred coil build for the dual coil build deck was a dual Clapton build (24GA Kanthal/36GA Kanthal). The resistance of this build was around 0.3 ohm, and the wattage I would vape this build was between 40w and 55w.
With this specific coil build in the dual coil build deck, I got a warm and satisfying vape experience every single time. I do want to mention with this specific build, it is a bit warmer than standard dual coils builds such as normal 24GA kanthal or NiChrome. So if you do like warmer vapes like I do, then this is a build I highly recommend for this RTA. The drip tip never got hot either when chain vaping, since it is delrin. However, the tank itself would get slightly warm, but not too hot, so not really a con.
I did try other builds such as 24GA Kanthal, and this RTA performed great as well. I just prefer Clapton builds over normal round wire builds. However, regardless of the build, I still got a satisfying vape experience.
I would typically vape this RTA with the airflow wide open. It does have a decent amount of airflow, but not extremely airy by any means. With the airflow wide open, you do get a slight restriction, which is what I prefer for any atomizer I use. With the airflow closed about half way, it does increase the flavor a bit, and it is much more restricted, but with my preferred coil build, it was just a bit too hot for my liking. However, with the airflow wide open, you still get incredible flavor out of this RTA. In addition, the vapor production is not lacking by any means either!
This tank can go e-liquid pretty quickly, especially considering it only has a 2ml e-liquid capacity. This of course can vary depending on your build and wattage, but for me and the build I preferred, I found that I was filling this tank pretty often. I didn’t mind it too much since the flavor was excellent, and the vape experience was certainly enjoyable.
Thankfully, this RTA does feature a top fill design, but there are times where I could not grip the top fill correctly to open it. This didn’t happen too often for me to consider it a con, but it is still worth mentioning. I think if this tank had some sort of knurling where you would unscrew to fill this tank, it would certainly help resolve this issue completely. Also, I would recommend not over tightening the top cap after you fill it, so you are less likely to run into any issues with the top fill.
The drip tip was very comfortable to use, and I did not find myself wanting to change it to another 510 drip tip.
With the single coil build deck, my preferred build was a single Clapton Coil. The resistance of this build was about 0.55 ohm, and I would prefer to vape this build between 30w and 40w. The flavor was also very good with the single coil build deck, and it did not plow through e-liquid as fast as the dual coil build deck.
With this specific coil build in the single coil build deck, I would also leave the airflow wide open. You can a nice restriction as well, and the flavor is excellent. The vapor production is not as great as the dual coil build deck, but still pretty solid overall.
Also, with either build deck, it kept up extremely well with chain vaping. I never even got a hint of a dry hit, which is definitely a pro. Once you wick this RTA just like how I did, it’ll keep up with no issues.
I did try out a higher resistance build with the inserts or plugs installed to see how this RTA would perform with mouth to lung vaping. I can definitely say with the smaller diameter insert, it is a very nice mouth to lung vape. Honestly, I much prefer direct lung vaping, but if I wanted to mouth to lung vape, I can certainly rely on this RTA.
I do want to mention that I did run into issues with the single coil build deck. For some reason, I would get a short randomly, or check atomizer. It didn’t matter what device I would attach this RTA to, I would still run into this issue. To resolve this issue, just make sure that the single coil build deck is screwed down tightly and making proper connection. I’m not too sure if this is a known problem, or if this issue is only present with my specific unit I received.
Something else worth mentioning is that this tank is supposed to have juice flow control, but it seems that regardless of where the juice flow control is positioned, it still has e-liquid feed to your wicks. I never had any leaking issues and never bothered closing it when filling, but still something worth mentioning.
Thankfully, I much preferred the dual coil build deck, so it wasn’t a huge issue for me, but this is still a major con as I’m not sure as to why this issue would occur randomly, and some vapers may want to primarily use this tank with the single coil deck option.
Overall, the performance of the Augvape Merlin Mini RTA was fantastic with the exception of the issues I was running into with the single coil build deck. The flavor was phenomenal, and the vapor product was solid for such a small RTA.
Pros
- Excellent build quality
- Compatible with 510 Drip Tips
- Includes Comfortable Wide Bore Delrin 510 Drip Tip
- Incredible flavor
- Includes both single and dual coil build decks
- Includes Airflow inserts/plugs
- Can be used for Direct Lung and Mouth to Lung Vaping
- Easy to build and wick (both build decks)
Cons
- Can go through e-liquid quickly
- Connection issues with single coil build deck
- 24mm Diameter (subjective)
- Does not really have juice flow control
- Top fill design could have some sort of knurling
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Augvape Merlin Mini RTA is a solid performing RTA! The flavor and vapor production is excellent, and the fact that this RTA includes 2 different build decks as well as the inserts for tighter draws is just a huge pro.
As shown in the pros and cons section, there really isn’t any major cons I found for this tank. The only major issue I ran into was the connection issues with the single coil build deck. I’m not sure why this issue would occur, but making sure everything is properly installed would probably resolve this issue. If you do have this issue with the Merlin Mini RTA, make sure to leave us a comment below and let us know your experiences!
Even though I did encounter this issue, the sheer performance of this RTA completely outweighs it. The flavor was simply incredible. In addition, what’s great about this RTA is that I can use it for mouth to lung vaping or direct lung vaping which is just a huge pro overall, and can’t be said for many RTAs on the market today.
If you’re in the market for a versatile RTA that is compact and will provide you with excellent flavor for an affordable price, then the Augvape Merlin Mini RTA is an atomizer I highly recommend!
I hope this review helps you with choosing the best atomizer to fit your vaping needs! If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them down below! Thanks for reading!
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Product Features:
- 24mm Diameter
- 2ml E-Liquid Capacity
- Top Fill Design
- Includes Single Coil and Dual Coil Build Decks
- PEEK Insulator
- Includes 2 Airflow Inserts/Plugs
- Fully Adjustable Bottom Airflow
- Delrin Wide Bore 510 Drip Tip
- Compatible with 510 Drip Tips
- Gold Plated Brass 510 Connection
- Includes Replacement Glass Tank Section
- Includes Bag of Spares