Our Quad Flex Survival Kit review takes a look at the four-in-one atomizer, which offers an RDA, RDTA, squonker RDA and the Nautilus X in one easy-to-use package. But is it worth $50?
Is it worth picking up?
The Quad Flex Survival Kit from Aspire is vaping tour-de-force in one compact package. Whether you want a simple, top-filling mouth-to-lung vape, an RDA, something to use with your squonker mod or an RDTA device, you can set it up to suit your tastes. Aspire calls it a game changer, and it’s hard to disagree.
If I could only buy one atomizer, this would be it. It might not be the best RDA on the market, and the Nautilus X’s tight draw might not be to everyone’s tastes, but it’s a versatile setup that does everything really well. It’s a “survival kit” because if you can’t take tons of devices with you, you can bring everything you’ll need in one compact package. It’s definitely one to pick up.
Full review
Aspire is a huge name in the vaping industry, with legendary tanks like the Atlantis basically changing the vaping game, the Nautilus being a staple for mouth-to-lung vapers, and plenty of excellent vape mods and other atomizers filling their line-up. The Quad Flex is among the newest Aspire creations, and it’s definitely something special. It’s four atomizers in one. The kit includes a top-deck RDTA, a standard RDA, a squonker RDA (where e-juice is fed up to the deck through the 510 connection) and the Nautilus X, all in one package. This versatility makes the kit a very tempting option for vapers in need of a new atomizer, and for anybody who likes both RDAs and direct-to-lung devices and the occasional mouth-to-lung vape. So is the kit worth picking up? Is it worth the $50 price tag? We take a look for our Aspire Quad Flex Survival Kit review.
Note: The Quad Flex Survival Kit was sent to us for the purposes of this review by Heaven Gifts. As always, this has no bearing on the review and what follows is a completely honest appraisal of the device.
What You Get
The Aspire Quad Flex 4-in-1 atomizer survival kit comes in a simple black box, which opens up like a chest to reveal the RDTA version of the tank assembled and several compartments for different parts inside. It’s basically an RDTA with an Ikea-like, assemble-it-yourself collection of components next to it. It’s a little overwhelming, but the device comes with everything you need to put together four different atomizers, so it’s really to be expected. You also get a 510 drip tip adapter, a frosted Pyrex tank section, a little bag of spare O-rings and grub screws and a sheet of Japanese organic cotton. It’s a very efficient little box of gear, to say the least.
The Design
Appearance
The appearance of the Quad Flex atomizer kit obviously depends on the specific atomizer you have assembled, but in all arrangements, it looks really cool. The RDTA has a formidable appearance, with the metallic top section supported by a glass tube with a thin chimney running up the center. The top cap looks great, with “Quad Flex” written on in script and a short, fat drip tip. There are also arrows on the top cap and bottom section indicating where to connect them.
The upper section of the RDTA is the RDA, so that also looks really cool. The squonker is very similar but with a different top cap featuring airflow slots at the top rather than towards the bottom at the level of the coils. Finally, the Nautilus X has a no-nonsense appearance, largely taken up by the glass tube, with a thin top and bottom cap. Everything looks great, all in all, regardless of the setup you’re using.
Four Atomizers in One Design
The design elements of the Quad Flex are definitely the most interesting thing about the kit, though. The interplay of different parts is what holds the whole package together.
RDTA to RDA
The rebuildable dripping tank atomizer has a two-post, Velocity-style deck, with four holes in the bottom which you feed your wicks through and into the glass tank. To turn this into an RDA, you simply unscrew the upper section from the central chimney. This leaves you with an RDA with four holes in the bottom. The change is completed by screwing on an extra bottom cap to close these gaps.
RDTA to Nautilus X
To turn it into the Nautilus, the bottom section of the tank is used with a new chimney, which is actually the Nautilus coil. Then the top cap for the Nautilus is added to complete the change. This is a really simple process too, and you can have the Nautilus and the RDA (or the squonker RDA) assembled at the same time.
RDA to Squonker RDA
The Quad Flex RDA is really easy to turn into the squonker. All you have to do is replace the top cap and change the 510 connection pin for the alternative one in the kit, which has a hole through the center so you can get juice up into the deck.
Quad Flex Survival Kit Instructions
This seems like a lot to take in. You may be expecting a chunky instruction manual alongside the Aspire Quad Flex Survival Kit to guide you through the process, but it doesn’t have one. In fact, everything you really need to know is conveyed through four pictures on the inside of the box and a labeling system for the various components. You have to study it for a little while before you know what you’re doing, but it definitely manages to get all of the information you need into a very compact and still user-friendly format.
Airflow Control Rings
Aside from all this, every device you can make out of the Quad Flex atomizer kit comes with adjustable airflow. The RDTA and RDA have an interior black plastic ring you can rotate to cover or reveal the airflow slot, and the squonker cap has a similar system with a rotating outer metallic ring. Finally, the Nautilus X has an airflow ring at the base of the mouthpiece. Most of these can be adjusted to suit mouth to lung or direct to lung draws, but the Nautilus X is a solely mouth-to-lung device.
Overall, the appearance of the various incarnations of the Aspire Quad Flex atomizer is excellent, and the design is borderline genius. It’s a very handy little kit that can pretty much give you whatever sort of vape you want with minimal messing around.
The RDTA and RDA Deck: Ease of Rebuilding
When it comes to using the Quad Flex Survival Kit in practice, the main thing you’ll need to do is build some coils. Thanks to the Velocity-style deck, this process is about as easy as it gets. You simply unscrew the grub screws, wrap your coils and insert them through the post-holes, which are comfortably big enough for Clapton wire, thicker wire gauges or other wire types. Then you tighten down the screws and your coil is ready. There’s plenty of space on the deck, too, so you don’t feel cramped when you’re building.
The wicking ports for the RDTA are well-positioned, so your wicks go down into them naturally without issues. The RDTA can easily be set up to work more like an auto-dripper – so you cut the wicks short and simply invert the tank to soak the wicks. You can also set it up with the wicks dropping into the tank so it works more like a top-deck RTA.
Overall, the design of the Quad Flex makes the rebuilding process pain-free, and while it will still be challenging for a beginner vaper, if you have experience with making coils, you’ll be able to get set up without issues.
Aspire Quad Flex Survival Kit Review: In Use
So the design and building process are both big plus-points for the Quad Flex 4-in-1 atomizer, but what about in day-to-day use? This part of our Aspire Quad Flex Kit review takes a look at performance, ease of use and any issues that may come up in use.
Changing to a New Atomizer
Although we spoke about this in the design section, reconfiguring the Quad Flex so you can use it as a different type of atomizer is one of the main things you’ll have to do on a day to day basis. For the most part, this is pretty simple, and you’ll definitely get the hang of it after a few attempts. You’ll have it set up after a few minutes of unscrewing, putting the parts back in place and screwing new ones in.
On the whole, the system works excellently. As you may expect, it’s not exactly as easy to use as a standard, single-layout atomizer. However, when you consider what the Quad Flex can do, it’s pretty impressive.
Nautilus X Coils – Performance
If you’re using the Quad Flex as a Nautilus X, the performance comes down to the pre-built 1.8 ohm coil included with the device. This is rated for between 12 and 16 W, and serves as the tank’s chimney in the same way as the coils on the Aspire Cleito do.
The Nautilus X coil works well across the recommended range, putting out a satisfying amount of vapor at 12 to 13 W. Things improve up to 15 W, and at 16 W the performance is still excellent unless you have a high-VG juice, at which point you might start to experience some loss of flavor. You can go a little above this without problems (especially on lower-VG juices), but the vapor may start getting too hot for you and the flavor will start to diminish.
RDTA and RDAs – Performance
Your specific build will have the biggest influence on your performance in the rebuildable modes, but on the whole, the performance is as exceptional as you’d expect. In RDTA mode, the device performs as well as a dripper, and I didn’t run into issues with either short wicks or longer wicks that hung down into the tank.
The RDA is excellent in it’s own right. The performance is hard to fault, and dripping is easy because you can remove the drip tip and very top section so you can drip without taking off the whole top cap. The squonker RDA has a single-piece top cap, but since it’s bottom-fed this doesn’t cause an issue when it comes to dripping.
Refilling the Aspire Quad Flex Tanks
For the tank setups of the Quad Flex, refilling is pretty easy. For the Nautilus X, you simply unscrew the top cap section and fill up like you would on any top-filling tank. This is as easy as it really can be, and is perfect for beginners.
For RDTA setups, it’s a little bit more difficult, but the core process is basically the same. The only difference is that you have to remove the whole upper deck – which just unscrews – rather than just the top cap. This gives you access to the main tank, and from this point filling up is easy.
Does the Aspire Quad Flex Leak?
Leaking from the Aspire Quad Flex Survival Kit is basically a non-issue. The Nautilus X is the best option for leak-free vaping, but this is only because the nature of RDAs and RDTAs – with e-juice soaked into a wick right next to an open airflow slot – means that leaking is a common issue regardless of your device.
On the whole, though, I had no issues with leaking during testing aside from what you’d expect from any dripping atomizer.
The Benefits of Versatility
The “Flex” in the name Quad Flex hits at the key advantage of vaping with the device. For example, I drip at home, but since you shouldn’t drip and drive, this means I have to sort out a vape tank before I head out on the road. With the Quad Flex in RDA mode, though, I don’t have to take a step down in performance when I’m getting in the car. Instead, you just fill the tank section, remove the base for the RDA and then screw the tank onto the RDA deck and you’re good to go.
The Quad Flex is also perfect for vapers who like an occasional mouth-to-lung vape but still prioritize clouds sometimes. You can even turn it into a standalone Nautilus X and RDA, so with one purchase you get something for both ways you vape. You could buy two atomizers, of course, but getting it all in one package is a big benefit for the Quad Flex.
Build Quality
With so many parts, the Quad Flex could be completely undermined by lax manufacturing practices. Thankfully, the atomizer and all its components are excellently made. All the parts screw together tightly, the O-rings holding the tank and upper section of the top cap together do so snugly, and all the parts fit together flush. Aspire has done a stand-up job on the build quality front.