Product intro and specs
The Vandy Vape Mesh V2 is the latest RDA from popular vape manufacturer Vandy Vape. Vandy Vape was established in 2017 and has since then become very popular. I’ve reviewed over twenty of their products over the past year or so. They are pretty much hit and miss overall, making some really good products and also some stuff that don’t quite hit the spot in my opinion. So let's see which side of the fence this falls on.
The Mesh V2 is the follow up to their original Mesh RDA and it is an RDA that’s made to be used with mesh coils for direct lung vaping. It’s 25 mm in diameter, features a postless clamp deck, and comes with a squonk pin.
This RDA was sent to me by MyVpro, where it’s currently available for a pre-order.
Price: $32.99 (at MyVpro)
Colors: Matte black, SS, gold, gunmetal, shiny blue, rainbow, frosted gray
Build quality and design
The build quality of the Mesh V2 is what I’ve come to expect from a Vandy Vape atomizer these days. It’s a well-built RDA. All the O-rings are good, and it’s easy to pop the top on and off. The post screws are fine, although they are Phillips, which isn’t my preference. My only complaint is that my RDA arrived with a stuck AFC ring, but after lubing up the O-ring it works good enough. It’s very similar to the Profile RDA except it uses a different clamp system—and I prefer the one on the Mesh V2 RDA. Branding is nice and simple, with just an “M” logo engraved on the one side of the top cap between the airflow slots. I have the SS one and it looks sleek.
There are a good number of accessories in the package, but it sadly only comes with one friction-fit resin 810 tip. The tip looks nice and I love the green one in color contrast with the SS, but I wish they would have included a second tip. It fits well though, and pretty much any 810 tip should work with this RDA. It also comes with a 510 tip adapter. There are plenty of spare O-rings, two spare post screws (spares are flathead, so you get both options), one spare spring, a solid positive pin and a squonk pin, a screwdriver and an Allen wrench. They also include a metal bar for shaping your mesh coil. There is a bag of two pieces of cotton and the coolest part of it is they have a pack of four mesh coils all different types—although as you will read in the performance section, they perform very similar to each other.
*Check the kit contents drop-down menu to see all included parts and extras
Build deck
I really like the deck of the Mesh V2 RDA. The design is very similar to the original Mesh RDA, but the clamps on the V2 are inside two slots, essentially making it postless. It makes it easy to insert the precut mesh strip into the slot and tighten it up. Overall, it’s an excellent deck that’s easy to build on, even for new builders.
Wicking on this one is super easy. It’s an RDA, so not much to worry about. But it is mesh, so note that you will need a ton of cotton. If you use organic pads, it takes a full pad to fill the coil properly. Unlike the original, the V2 comes with a spring-loaded block that’s similar to the one we saw on the Profile RDA. It doesn’t do much though, since the spring isn’t really strong enough to push up cotton. You want to make sure your cotton fits nice and snug. Then just cut and comb your wicks and drop them down in the channels.
Airflow
The Mesh V2 is technically a side airflow RDA but the holes are so high up that it’s pretty much a top airflow—similar to the airflow placement of the Dead Rabbit RDA. There is a little lip that angles the slot down on the inside, and while there is often debate in vaping on how air works, all the evidence says it doesn't work the way people think. According to my testing of many atomizers, the flavor of atties with an angled “top” airflow lacks compared to true side and/or bottom airflow ones.
There are twenty small honeycomb holes on each side of the chamber and the airflow is adjusted by turning the ribbed small top piece. The top cap locks into place with two tabs on the inside, allowing you to screw or unscrew it from a mod easily. The tabs are moving on a slot and you can fine tune the airflow to hit the middle of the coil even when it is closed down, which is often overlooked on many RDAs. Fully open it is a solid DL vape, not restricted but not super airy. Turning the air down doesn't offer as much restriction as one would think. The atomizer is not designed for a restricted vape and it’s best used wide open anyway. The airflow is not super smooth, but it’s not really turbulent either. It’s kind of in between.
Vandy Vape Mesh V2 performance
Performance wise, I used it as a mesh RDA like it’s marketed. I used all four included coils. They all vape pretty similar and all are used in the same 60-70 watt range. If I had to list them in order from best to worst, I’d go:
- SS316L M coil
- Ni80 M coil
- A1 M coil
- Dual M coil
I used 70/30 and 80/20 juices with 3 mg nicotine and used some simple flavors as well as more complex ones. I judge based off two factors, accuracy and intensity. Accuracy is the extend at which an atomizer allows you to taste all the flavors in a complex juice. Intensity is how strong of a flavor is provided. Now with mesh, flavor is always going to be a bit muted. It’s just the nature of mesh coils—even the best mesh attys can’t compare to a well-built single or dual coil atty. I’ve reviewed over 100 atomizers in the past couple of years, ranging from small MTL ones to 41 mm RTAs that need 150 watts minimum. Mesh always provides a cooler and more muted vape than using a nice coil like a fused Clapton.
With that said, the Mesh V2 has a little more muting and a little less intensity compared to the Profile. It’s basically a slightly worse performer in my opinion. It doesn't make it bad though, and if you are buying a mesh RDA, you probably aren't going for the best flavor anyway. As far as mesh goes, this is a solid performer, and many won’t notice much of a difference between this and the Profile. If you use simple, one flavor juices you’ll enjoy it, but if you are into more complex juices, you’ll be disappointed as you will be missing flavor notes. But, again, it’s not really the atomizer, but the limitations of mesh.
Like all RDAs these days, the Mesh V2 comes with a squonk pin. I used it both for dripping and squonking and it really works better as a squonker. There isn’t much of a juice well since you need to use a lot of cotton, so dripping on it will be very inconvenient—you’ll need to drip every couple of puffs. But as a squonker, it offered excellent over-squonk protection and squonked great for me.
Pros / Cons
Gallery
Verdict
Overall, Vandy Vape made a solid RDA here. The Mesh V2 is a worthy competitor of the Profile RDA and I think most mesh lovers would be happy with it. It is built well, the deck is easy to work on, and it is a solid performer when it comes to squonking. But if you are into flavor chasing, do yourself a favor and don’t waste time with mesh. I suggest going for a standard coil RDA instead.
Let me know what you think in the comments and thanks for reading!
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