Uwell Rafale Tank Review

Uwell Rafale Sub Ohm Tank – MyVaporStore – $28.95

Uwell Rafale Replacement Coils – Pack of 4 – $10.95

The Uwell Rafale Tank is the sub-ohm tank I was most looking forward to reviewing. From it’s impressive packaging (see photos) to it’s fine engineering and precise construction I held out hope that this just might be the Best Tank Ever. I’ll let you know near the end of this review whether or not it turned out to be the BTE.

The Uwell Rafale is constructed from 304-quality stainless steel. It is one beautifully crafted sub-ohm tank that was definitely hard to resist. But, that’s Uwell for you, this company makes some dead-serious products, and that includes its two sub-ohm tanks. Spinfuel has reviewed the Uwell Crown recently and found it to be a magnificent tank in its own right, and the Rafale could be considered even better in some ways. The Rafale may not be have as much of an ‘industrialized design’, but it’s elegance and sophistication (for a vape tank anyway) surpasses the Crown tank.

In addition to the food grade stainless steel construction, the Rafale sub-ohm tank also features a fused quartz glass tank with a resounding capacity of 5ml for your e-juice. Fused Quartz glass is stronger than the standard, or what’s commonly called “Pyrex” (although no tank I know of actually uses the brand Pyrex) glass, and it is also more durable than other glass used in vape tanks.  It should be noted here that although the Rafale holds 5mL, 1mL more than the Uwell Crown, and is actually slightly shorter in height, it is a 24mm diameter tank, so in many setups the Rafale will extend past the device. I don’t have any issues with this, but I have a feeling some people will want to make an issue out of it.

Like many tanks on the market today, the Uwell Rafale is a top-fill tank. However, it can be filled easily by the top-filling option, or if you prefer it can be filled with the bottom-fill option. Personally, if I have the chance of refilling my tank without having to remove it from my battery, that’s exactly what I’m going to do.

The Uwell Rafale introduces a new airflow control ring that gives you the utmost control over customizing the airflow to fit your preference. Like “airy” draws for the best vapor production, and heat reduction of the vapor, that set the airflow to allow maximum air input. If you prefer a tighter draw, for maximum flavor from your juice or if you vape with a mouth-to-lung style, the Uwell Rafale airflow will make you a happy camper.

The Rafale introduces a new feature that their user base has been requesting for some time now, an anti “spit-back” system, that seems to work for a bit more than half the users I’ve heard from. Some of resorted to removing the spit-back plate while others believe it is a huge leap forward in preventing bits of piping hot ejuice from blistering the tip of the tongue. In “my impressions” below I’ll tell you about my experience with the spit-back system.

Uwell has a lot of confidence in its Anti Spit Back System that it has filed a patent on it. Uwell claims it “vastly reduces the amount of e-juice spit back” that you could experience while vaping. Most of the time this spit-back can be reduced or eliminated from any tank, but I’m happy that for vapers that need this technology it’s being produced.

The wide-bore drip tip (mouthpiece) is to be expected with a tank like the Rafale, so Uwell built the Rafale to for maximize vapor production with its own wide-bore drip tip. Uwell makes a point to mention that should you want to use your favorite drip tip rather than the wide-bore one, you can. Any good 510 drip tip should work, though I’ve not checked more than half a dozen, but so far so good.

Obviously, the external design and material is only half the battle. Without superior coil heads the Rafale wouldn’t be the tank it is. We’ve seen massive improvements in coil head design and manufacture this past several months and Uwell is right there in the thick of it. The coil heads for the Uwell Crown are marvelous things, but with the Rafale Uwell produced an even better coil head.

The Rafale uses Japanese Organic Cotton and SS316 wire in its superb coil heads. If you opt for Temperature Control Uwell provides a coil head made with NI200 (pure nickel), otherwise the 316 Stainless Steel wire coil head is meant to be used in variable wattage mode. Although, I cannot see why these SS316’s couldn’t be used in TC mode with eLeaf and Joyetech devices that adapt to SS coils in TC mode. Later in the review I’ll discuss my experience with both coil types.

The Uwell Rafale comes with a pre-installed 0.2ohm dual parallel coil that is rated up to 120 watts. Can you actually vape at 120-watts with it?  Well, I sure haven’t.

It might be worth mentioning here that when you see coil heads with a wide range of wattage, say 20-80w, it will depend on various elements that will determine whether or not you can actually enjoy the tank at 20 watts or 120 watts, or anywhere in between.

These ‘elements’ include the PG/VG ratio of the eliquid, the flavoring and even the flavoring ‘brand’, the amount of charge left in the batteries. But most importantly, the construction of the airflow system, the “build” type, and the eliquid port holes that make the most difference.

I’ve found that some coil heads rated at 0.5-ohms, for instance a single coil Kanthal wire, horizontal build with an average amount of cotton and an airflow system that doesn’t come from the bottom up, or is otherwise not capable of keeping the coils/vapor cool, can begin to ramp up and produce vapor at 20 watts.

But, these other coils, ones that are rated the same 0.5-ohms or lower, that are built using a vertical build dual coils, provide plenty of organic cotton wrapped around the coils, along with an airflow system that keeps the wire/vapor cool, and provide more than enough eliquid ‘ports’ (holes on the side of the coil head) to keep the wire/cotton well saturated, can be pushed to much higher wattages without scorching the cotton or vaporizing the eliquid so quickly as to produce a dry hit. After all, organic cotton is organic cotton and wire is wire, so what makes certain tanks and coil heads perform so drastically different is in how these components are constructed.

With respect to coil heads in both the Uwell Crown and Rafale, these construction methods allow for truly intense flavor and vapor production at very high wattages. The downside to coil heads and tanks that are built to produce at such severe wattage also drain battery power and vaporize e-juice much quicker than lower-wattage built coil heads.

If you do prefer to vape on lower wattage settings with your Rafale, the tank comes with a 0.5ohm coil that is rated for excellent vaping at between 30-70 watts. This lower wattage ‘performance’ is earned by the specific build type, and the physical construction of the coil head. (see photos)

Uwell has also produced a Ni200 (pure nickel) coil for the Rafale. Temperature Control users will find the experience with these coil heads are on par with the best of the best.

The Uwell Rafale also has an optional RBA deck that allows you to build your own coils, priced at $9.95, this deck is an excellent addition to this remarkable tank.

My Experience and Impression of the Uwell Rafale

If the Rafale has a competitor on the sub-ohm playing field it is the Uwell Crown. Although some users consider the Rafale the successor to the Crown, it is not. Both tanks are available now, and will continue to be available; for good reason.
The Uwell Crown is built like a tank and it will definitely last decades with normal use. The Crown is also a fantastic performer with flavor and vapor. It’s top-fill design is simple and elegant, and it’s wide-bore drip tip is certainly tall enough. But what the Crown lacks the Rafale makes up for; grace.

I love the Uwell Crown and I find myself using it more and more, despite the fact that it does not fit my definition of an all-day-tank. The Uwell Rafale, while being 2mm wider, is the graceful sub-ohm tank in the Uwell family. Its lines are elegant, smooth, defined. It’s condom-coated non-removable drip tip is wide, but shorter and more comfortable to use.

Using the Dual Parallel Coil 0.2-ohm coil head, my 200w WISMEC Reuleaux RX, and Vape Dudes MaxVG Private Stock Chai Latte eliquid I can report the following.

I believed that the Uwell Crown had managed to reach the magical ceiling on vapor production. In fact, I began to imagine that the next level in vapor production was producing solid blocks of vapor, so thick you could actually cut if with a knife. The Uwell Rafale bests the Crown vapor production by about 10-15%, compared with the same eliquid.

The flavor produced by the Uwell Crown was about as good as it could possibly be, equal to the Horizon Arctic V8 with its V4 coil heads. Once again, the Uwell Rafale was every bit as good at finding every flavor atom and placing them directly on your tongue. Chai Latte was a pure as could be, as expected.

Unlike some vapers that can vape a coil head rated at 120-watts at 120-watts, the most I was able to push the Rafale was 81.5 watts. Anything more than that produced vapor that was a tad too warm. That said, because it IS stainless steel wire inside the coil head and I was using the Reuleaux by WISMEC, vaping in TC mode was identical to the Crown, nice toasty and flavorful vapor at 540 f.

The 0.5-ohm coil head performed nearly as well as the 0.2-ohm BVDC, but with less power needed. You would need to pay careful attention to witness any change in performance, but the flavor, which was excellent, was just a tiny bit less “full”.

The Ni200 Rafale coil head gave me a very different vape experience. I’m becoming a bigger fan of Nickel coils these days and I was not disappointed with the Rafale Nickel coil head.

Rated at an ultra low 0.1-ohm, I used the tank with my eLeaf iStick TC100W. Setting the wattage to 45w I ramped up the temperature to 580 degrees with wonderful results. The flavor was full, deep, and all-encompassing, while the vapor was heavy and very warm. I did have a great vape, but in the end I preferred the Dual Parallel Vertical build coil head, despite its ‘resource heavy’ characteristics. Like the Crown expect to use a lot of eliquid with this particular coil head.

 

Recommendation: If you love the Uwell Crown for flavor and vapor then you’ll love the Rafale as well. This is a magnificent tank, just be aware that the width will prevent a flush fit on many mods. You’ll need a high wattage mod that provides for at least 30 amps, and if you’re limited to 40-60 watts on your mod then hold off until you can upgrade to 100W+.

Unfortunately, the Uwell Rafale Sub-Ohm Tank is available only in stainless steel color, aka, silver. Here’s hoping Uwell will come out with a black tank soon.

Is the Uwell Rafale “The Best Ever”? – As of February 25^th… Yes, it is.

Grade: A+

John Manzione

 Features and Specs:

• Dimensions: 2-3/4″ x 7/8″ (from the threads to the tip of the drip tip)
• 304 Food Grade Stainless Steel Construction
• Top Fill and Bottom Fill Design
• Optional Rebuildable Vertical RBA Head – Sold Separately and not reviewed here.
• Patented ASP (Anti Spit Back Protection)
• 2 Adjustable Airflow Holes
• Stainless Steel Wide Bore condom coated 510 Drip Tip
• Fused Quartz Glass Tank
• 5mL Tank Capacity
• Japanese Organic Cotton
• 510 Threaded SS Connection
• Maximum Wattage: 120W
• 24mm Diameter – Expect overhang on some devices

Features – Coil Heads

• Available in 0.1Ω, 0.2Ω, 0.5Ω.
• 0.2Ω and 0.5Ω coils are made with Stainless Steel Wire SUS316 (for Regular Wattage Mode)
• 0.1Ω coil is made with Ni200 (Nickel) Wire (for Temperature Control Mode ONLY)
• Uses 100% organic Japanese cotton
• Only meant for use with an Uwell Rafale Subtank
• Gold Plated Contact Pin