I have to say, I’ve never been more aware of the differences between modern American and Chinese culture than I was when I learned about the Vandy Vape Revolver RTA. Because in this current social and political climate, there’s no way any right-minded company would name a vape product after a handgun, right? Nor should they. (ed note* Perhaps they named it after The Beatles Album “Revolver”?)

I see where Vandy Vape was coming from – the key feature of this 25mm RTA is a rotating airflow tube that gives you the option to choose from three multidirectional airflow settings. In that sense, yes, the feature DOES look like the barrel of a revolver. But it also looks like a clothes dryer… a rock tumbler… a carnival ride… anything would have been better than “Revolver.” Connecting a somewhat controversial item with a VERY controversial item makes no sense at all for the advancement of the vape industry. Rant over.

Names aside, Vandy Vape might be on to something with this unique airflow design. It’s not there YET, but the three settings available on this rotating barrel DO offer some interesting experiences. However, the graphic that describes the airflow is misleading, since the “honeycomb” setting with multiple holes is depicted as the most “open” of the three, when it’s actually the most restrictive. It’s not quite a mouth to lung (MTL) experience, but it’s a snug lung draw that emphasizes flavor and warmth over clouds.

The other two settings are broader and less concentrated on the single-coil guillotine-style build deck, which means more abundant vapor, but less intense flavor overall.

Visually, the Revolver is standard-issue for modern tanks, in that it hits all the usual requirements – adjustable cyclops airflow ring, top-fill ports, wide-bore 810 Delrin drip-tips and optional “bulb” glass section that expands the stock 3mL capacity to a more reasonable 5mL. (It doesn’t actually make much of a difference since the Revolver is as thirsty a single-coil RTA as I’ve seen in a long while.)

The build deck is an absolute pleasure to work with. Though we’ve seen designs like this before, none are as secure and confident as this one, and even newcomers will have their coils placed and positioned in no time flat.

The revolving tube airflow control is certainly the selling point of this RTA, and – not to be redundant – but this could potentially change the game for vapers who want to have different experiences. If I’m heading away for a weekend and don’t want to pack a load of tanks, a versatile option that offers MTL, restricted lung and direct lung hits would certainly be a welcome companion.

Unfortunately, the Revolver RTA doesn’t quite differentiate the experience enough, since two of the three settings are too similar to identify on their own, while the more-restricted honeycomb design is still too wide open to offer a meaningful MTL vape. Especially with the wide-bore tips that don’t lend themselves to MTL use and are FAR too difficult to remove without a vise grip.

But don’t take that as a hard criticism – Vandy Vape should continue to work on this concept (and the name) to fine tune it for a wider range of users. I imagine the next iteration will be something special. If anything should change about the format, it’s the current screwdriver adjustment design. I’d much prefer to try different airflow settings without having to take the tank apart each time.

(Call it a hunch, but I imagine Vandy Vape is already working on it.)

Vaping the Vandy Vape Revolver RTA was enjoyable, with only a handful of negatives happening along the way. As I mentioned, building and wicking on this user-friendly deck was a pleasure – almost to the point where it seemed TOO easy, and I began tinkering further, thinking there was no way it could be positioned that simply. But it was, and it is.

Once built and wicked, the Revolver’s screwdriver-controlled airflow was next. I realized the wide-open “three-slot” setting best suited the design of the tank, and the way I intended to vape the RTA. If there were “half-steps” in between each of these levels, it might make things more customizable – again, I fully expect Vandy Vape to be on top of this the next time around.

Where the Revolver struggles a bit is with its juice flow, not the airflow. Though there are ample ports to move e-liquid through to the coil (with juice consumption to prove it) the Revolver RTA is still prone to dry hits when chain vaping. No matter how tightly or loosely I wicked the coil, or how fluffed and combed my cotton was, steady vaping caused the RTA to occasionally scorch on me. Nothing tragic, and likely something I wouldn’t have seen as much outside of a testing environment, but still worth noting.

In 2018, RTAs are practically free of dry hits, so it was surprising that a tank with the cloud potential of the Revolver RTA would use juice faster than it could wick it. But, when taking reasonable pauses between draws, the tank quickly caught up and resumed its flavorful, foggy goodness.

One final observation was the top-fill cap, which is easily removed, but always coated in condensation and stray e-liquid. I loved how easy it was to fill the Revolver RTA but hated that I almost always ended up with excess moisture on my fingers, just from opening the tank.

I wanted to LOVE the Vandy Vape Revolver, simply because the design concept had a ton of potential. But they’re going to have to accept a solid “like.” Even looking past the ridiculous, attention-grabbing name, the Revolver’s excessive juice consumption, odd dry hits and strange condensation on the cap cost it a few knocks on the final score.

But if you can look past the shortcomings above, the Revolver is a rock-solid RTA, in a vape market that needs more of them. Let’s hope for a (renamed) round two in the very near future.

Score: B