OBS Cheetah RDA – Review
OBS Technology have been turning some heads lately with their new offerings in the atomizer market. The most popular would be the Engine by OBS, which gained quick popularity due to it’s performance and accessibility to a variety of different models. Recently OBS released the Cheetah RDA which is a 22mm Rebuildable Dripping Atomizer. It is the only straight up RDA that the company have offered to date. It has been getting some good feedback around the traps and gaining some well sought after attention. I’d like to thank GearBest for providing the OBS Cheetah RDA for the purposes of this article.
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In the box
- 1x OBS Cheetah RDA
- 1x RDA Accessory Series Bag
- 1x 510 Drip tip adapter
Out of the box
I would have to say that the Cheetah RDA came in the smallest box I’ve ever seen an RDA arrive in. Clean, simple and straight to the point – without any extra unnecessary bulk on this one. Being an RDA, there is no glass to worry about, so there is nothing that can get damaged in transit. Due to the current trend of bigger atomizers, it’s been a while since I laid my eyes on a 22mm RDA – so obviously it looked very compact. Picking up the Cheetah RDA, I found it to feel of quality build construction.
The machining was of top notch, with no remains of machine oil or loose metal filings to be seen. A quick rinse in warm water and I could tell this puppy was ready for action. The threads are nice and smooth, without being sharp and the o-rings provide perfect tolerance. As with most o-rings they perform a little better when exposed to some e-liquid.
The stainless steel construction looks superb with the OBS branding on one side and a cheetah like engraving on the other. The RDA has a small form factor and sleek profile coming in at only 37.6mm in height.
Being a top airflow design makes for a clean looking atty, with the only knurling being on the top adjustable section. The POM drip tip looks quality and feels to be the right size to fit comfortably to my lips. It does come with a 510 adapter, so you can run your favorite drip tip on this atty if you so choose to do so. The airflow is easy to adjust when required, but holds enough tolerance to not move out of place when you don’t want it to.
The Cheetah RDA breaks down into 3 main parts for ease of building, cleaning and general maintenance. When apart the base is separate which exposes the velocity style deck and I can see that it will be easy to build on without anything getting in the way of installing my coils. The chamber section is quite ingenious in it’s design. Not only does it provide the chamber itself, but it houses the airflow channels and mechanism.
It kind of acts as the airflow director and a spit back guard at the same time – very efficient use of design here. The airflow inlet directs the flow of air to the bottom, top and side of each coil creating a recycling type effect within the atomizer. The top cap competes the adjustable part of the airflow and also houses the drip tip nice and snug. There are knurled sections above the 4 airflow slots to adjust the airflow to your desired position. This runs freely the whole way around, which leaves you with a fully customizable airflow setting without being locked in to any grooves or preset locators.
The base and chamber section each have locators on them, so it’s impossible to fully push the chamber down onto the base without the airflow slots being perfectly lined up over your coils. This is definitely a pro fro me, as it’s something I don’t have to think about when I’m ready to put the chamber on before taking a hit. The airflow will be lined up all the time every time. The benefit of a top airflow RDA is that it theoretically should not leak, nor suffer from condensation at the base. This seems like it could be the perfect pocket friendly RDA, with the promise of no leaks and with such a small profile in your pocket.
Usage
Installing coils on the Cheetah RDA is a cinch as when it is broken down, the deck is totally exposed. This provides tonnes of room to install those coils on the velocity style deck and get them lined up and sitting just the way you want them. There is plenty of room in this RDA to go for large builds, if you so desire. And to help in that area, OBS market the Cheetah RDA to have 30% reduction in temperature.
I’m not entirely sure where they base the 30% standard from, but supposedly this stems from having a reduced contact area between the base and chamber sections. Being a velocity style deck, there isn’t any learning curve on this RDA than there is on any others – in terms of building that is.
Nothing out of the ordinary when it comes to wicking. I just cut my wick to size for the bottom of the deck and tucked both sides in like normal after giving it a good fluff. I found that wicking RDAs can be overthought, as long as it fits snug in the coil and reaches down to the base of the reservoir – your usually pretty good. Keep it simple to start with and address any problems if and when they arise.
When your build is complete, check the position of the locators both on the base and in the chamber. You will need to line these up to ensure the chamber seals correctly and that the airflow slots are aligned directly above the coils. It’s also a good idea to check your coils again, after the chamber is installed, to ensure you are not shorting out on the top or sides of the chamber section.
Dripping can be done through the drip tip, which makes it easier and quicker than taking off the whole chamber each time, which also can be done if you like. If you choose to drip through the drip tip, then make sure you aim for the direct center of the base. The Cheetah has a deep reservoir, however it is not shared by each side. Each side of the reservoir has it’s own area, so by dripping directly down the middle, you will ensure an even saturation on both sides.
The airflow adjustment on the Cheetah is easy and efficient. To adjust it, simply grip the top cap, where the knurling is conveniently located, and twist to your liking. You will be able to see the airflow getting restricted through the airflow hole closest to you. The airflow will be mirrored across all four airflow holes due to it’s symmetrical design.
The Cheetah is most definitely a pocket friendly RDA. With it’s extremely low profile and 22mm diameter, there is certainly no problem with it taking up any excess bulk in your pocket or vape kit. Another benefit of the Cheetah being pocket friendly is that it has top airflow, this helps minimize leaks other RDAs suffer from due to side airflow and condensation on the bottom.
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Performance
Some of the builds I tried in the Cheetah RDA ranged from twisted spaced coils, to standard micro coils to Stainless claptons. I found each coil to perform as it should do in this RDA, there was no surprises here. What I believe to be the standout feature is the airflow design and flavor that I got from this thing. The way that the chamber is designed and how the airflow circulates around the coils really steps up the flavor concentration for me.
There is no way I would get as good of a flavor running a standard micro coil build in a different 22mm RDA. When you step up to heavier coils that usually dissipate more heat, I find that the Cheetah sucks some of that residual heat up and you can either vape a bit hotter from your device or close off the airflow a little more than you would. It takes a lot for this thing to heat up to the point where it is uncomfortable to vape.
The drip tip feels great and coupled with the heat dispersion of this RDA – I think they are onto a winner. I hate getting my lips burned by RDAs that heat up really quickly or surprise you in the middle of a toke by getting uncomfortably hot. The anti spit-back guard and design of the top of the chamber section help to avoid getting juice in your mouth or on your tongue. It’s not fool proof, as when you over drip or your wick is a little loose, that will contribute to spitting.
Getting back to taste, the Cheetah is on par with some of my favorite RDAs when it comes down to taste. And with most RDAs you get a drop in flavor when you open up the airflow to gain more vapor production. This is still the case with the Cheetah, all though not as big of a scale in comparison. The recycling airflow concept of this RDA, I think, is where it shines. Getting maximum air flow around those coils enables you a more comfortable experience and gives you the flexibility to vape for longer or ramp up the temperature a little more than you normally would get to.
While I wouldn’t call this a cloud machine, the ability to throw some clouds still holds true. The airflow adjustment can be made quickly and without any effort at all. You can dial in your sweet spot and adjust it depending on your mood. I would say that it comfortably handles a restricted lung hit all the way through to a fairly wide draw. It’s not the airiest RDA I have ever used, but certainly is enough for my liking. Airflow is always a subjective topic, but I believe this would satisfy the majority of people out there in the vapershere.
The Cheetah RDA certainly looks good and at home on every mod I tried it on top of. I didn’t experience any mis-reading or ohm jumping while using the RDA. And I can vouch that TC mode was more than adequate and operated as it should have on this atty.
Pros
- Compact, easy to use RDA
- Great flavor
- Unique airflow design
Cons
- Hard to find any!
Specifications
- Made from 304 stainless steel
- Measurements: 22mm x 37.6mm
- Weight: 128g
- Large velocity style deck
- Large terminals on dual posts
- New effective airflow circulation system
- Drip directly from drip tip
- Top airflow
- POM Drip Tip
Wrap Up
Based purely on price alone, the Cheetah RDA from OBS is a no-brainer. You get an easy to use, good looking and great performing RDA. But the best thing, about this atty, is that it out-performs a lot of rivals often found in the more expensive bracket. Due to the fact that this RDA ticks a lot of boxes and I couldn’t find any cons with it, I highly recommend this to anyone who is interested in giving it a go.
It’s definitely not going to let you down for the price it costs you. So if this is something that has sparked your attention, by all means do not hesitate and pick one up while you can. I hope this has helped you in your quest for your next new RDA! If it has, or you have and questions or queries – please let us know in the comments down below. We always love hearing from you here at Vaping Cheap.
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