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Vandy Vape Berserker Mini V1.5 Review | The Best MTL RTA for the Money!
Vandy Vape and Alex from VapersMD are back again with the updated Berserker Mini V1.5 MTL RTA. The original Berserker Mini was a really good RTA for a single coil and tight draw, but it had its flaws.
Now with the Berserker Mini V1.5, as with all V1.5s, the goal is to update the preexisting model and address design and/or performance issues without going through a full reboot. Did Vandy Vape and Alex fix the issues with the original model? Spoiler alert: if you use the first Berserker Mini, it’s time to retire it!
This product was sent to me free of charge by MyVpro for the purpose of this review.
Colors: Matte black, stainless steel, gun metal, rainbow
Price: $26.95
First impressions
The Berserker Mini V1.5 is an impressive MTL RTA. Although, it’s basically just a smaller version of the Berserker V1.5 MTL RTA 24 mm. If you have that one, there’s not much new here except the smaller size and capacity, slightly different drip tips, and a new and improved top cap design.
Like the full-size version, the V1.5 Mini now has a more rugged and industrial look than the original version which had an old-school Provari-type aesthetic. The teardrop indentations are still there, which help with gripping for disassembly, but the sloping top cap is replaced with a more practical and user-friendly design. While looks are subjective, I think this tank looks very good… especially in the matte black! It looks almost like tactical gear.
Build quality and design
The Berserker Mini RTA V1.5 is a 22 mm RTA that stands at 33.8 mm without the tip. It’s designed strictly for single coils and MTL vaping, from a super tight draw to a slightly looser one. It comes with a 2 mL glass tank and a 2.5 mL metal tank.
There are two 510 drip tips included, both of which are perfect for a tight draw: a heatsink extension with a screw-on nub tip in Ultem and Delrin, both with a narrow bore, and a large pawn-shaped Delrin tip with a slightly wider bore. If you want to use your own tips or even the tips from the original Berserker, I’ve been able to swap with no problem.
As stated, there’s a new and improved top cap from both the original and the Berserker V1.5 RTA (24 mm). The dual fill ports are still a generous size, but this new top cap screws on and off with just a quarter of a turn, and it has a removable white washer on the underside to aid against spit back. And speaking of removable, all the parts are easy to detach from one another without mistakenly unscrewing the wrong thing.
Build deck
The V1.5s (both the full size and the mini) have a more conical bell around the deck than the originals, but the actual build deck is largely unchanged. It’s a simple two-post design for single coils trapped under the screw heads. The screw heads are larger now, making it easier to trap thin single-gauge wire. Also, the screws are still long enough to be unscrewed above the posts without coming out. It’s a minor detail but it’s nice to not have to chase runaway screws that hit the floor!
Interestingly, Vandy Vape went again with two types of screws for the kit, flathead and Phillips (which are the spares). I’d prefer two sets of combo heads to give both types equal play. And hopefully I don’t lose the flatheads because I would not want to use the Phillip’s heads. But that’s just me.
Coil installation
Installing a build is simple: unscrew one head a little and insert one lead and trap it. Then unscrew the other head higher than its post and put in the other lead, then trap it. Even with a thin gauge single-strand wire, you won’t need to bend leads around the shank of the screw.
The max ID I could get installed for single-strand wire was 3 mm and 2.5 mm for multi-strand coils. Even 3 mm with single-strand wire may be pushing it because there’s not a lot of clearance between the screw heads and the coils. For anyone trying out this as their first rebuildable, stick with the included 2.5 mm fused Clapton coils in the beginning.
Wicking
The kidney-shaped wick ports are the same size as before, which are optimal for wicking 2.5 mm coils, but the juice feeds now have open-channels (no bottom). The original Berserker Mini had a floor in the bottom of the port with a small hole for the juice feed. Because it’s open now, there’s less concern about adequate juice flow. My wick tails are cut at a length of about 6-7 mm from the end of the coil (they could be longer if I wanted). Sealing the ports from flooding and leaking works out best with 2.5 mm to 3 mm coils (and maybe down to 2 mm).
Airflow
The airflow is adjustable via an airflow ring that stops on the turn. It has a nice tension to it and now you can remove the ring for cleaning. There are still five airflow settings: 1.0 mm, 1.2 mm, 1.4 mm, 1.6 mm, and 1.8 mm.
The airflow still comes in on one side, and is directed up to the middle of the coil. But as with the full-size Berserker RTA V1.5, the airflow to the coil is a small slot instead of the small hole of the original Berserkers. Theoretically, this should help with flavor. Its elongated shape allows your coil to get a good stream of air across the bottom instead of just its center.
Performance
Smooth, quiet, moist with no spitback, flavorful, and it has an amazing hit! Granted, the flavor is good in the context of MTL, but it’s a little better than the original (maybe due to the new bell, and the deck airflow slot). My favorite part of the performance is the actual hit. Berserker Mini V1.5 hits like a dream… and consistently, too!
I’ve had no gurgling or flooding (even when my tank has sat on its side for a few hours), and I’ve used 70 PG up to 50/50, with nicotine up to 50 mg/mL. The three builds I’ve tried:
- 0.6 ohm (spaced Kanthal): 4 wrap, 3 mm ID, 26-gauge
- 1.0 ohm (contact Kanthal): 8 wrap, 2.5 mm ID, 26-gauge
- 0.7 ohm (fused Clapton, NI80): 6 wrap; 2.5 mm ID (included coil)
My favorite builds depend on how much throat hit I want and which viscosity juice I am using (the thin PG juice isn’t as good on the Clapton). With all my builds, I keep the wattage between 9-15 watts. The airflow I use is normally on the smallest hole, no matter the juice or nicotine strength, and sometimes I close off the smallest hole in half. But I have also used it with the widest hole and it’s still comfortably an MTL, just of the looser variety. I prefer it tight!
In general, all my builds worked well, but the included 0.7-ohm fused Clapton seems to be best suited for typical nicotine salt liquids (which are generally 50/50). With the included coil, I get a nice blend of flavor, throat hit (with the right juice), heat, and vapor. My single-strand wire builds were more about testing and trying out some old-school builds, though they worked fine.
I strongly recommend the Berserker Mini V1.5 for fans of MTL RTAs. It ticks damn every box I would have for an atomizer in its class, and even goes beyond.
I’ve tried to find a con with the tank, but I couldn’t. Making up something to include one would be dishonest in trying to look honest! Sure, I would’ve preferred either an extra spare of flathead or combo head screws instead of Phillip’s heads, but is that really a con? This tank is too good in my eyes to be petty like that.
It’s a shame that more MTL vapers out there don’t use rebuildables. I think the Berserker Mini V1.5 MTL RTA would be a great tank for pod users out there tired of all the plastic! Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that the Berserker Mini V1.5 is the end-all-be-all of MTL vapes — I don’t see that ever happening with any one device. What I am saying is this is one hell of an MTL RTA for the price. I don’t think there’s currently a better option out there in the $30 range. Frankly, I think it could rival tanks that are much more expensive.
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