What’s an RDA Vape and a Squonk Mod? An RBA Guide

I mentioned on a previous blog post that RDA atomizers will be a trend in 2020. But, what’s an RDA atomizer? RDA stands for rebuildable dripping atomizers and it’s a type of RBA or rebuildable atomizer. An RDA vape is ideal for cloud chasers and DIY enthusiasts.

It’s a popular option among experienced vapers as it requires a bit more knowledge about building your own coils and wicking materials. An RDA vape has some advantages that I will explain here (cloud production, e-juice flavors…) but also some downsides that you need to consider before choosing it as your vaping option.

What is an RDA Vape exactly?


An RDA atomizer or RDA vape is a type of rebuildable atomizers. RDA stands for rebuildable dripping atomizer.

An RDA atomizer or RDA vape is a type of rebuildable atomizers. RDA stands for rebuildable dripping atomizer which means that the vaper has to manually add vape juice onto the coils and wicking material. Usually, an RDA vape has a small e-liquid deposit (also called “well”) at the bottom. This small e-liquid deposit doesn’t have that much capacity, which means that the vaper needs to add e-juice quite often in order to prevent the wicks from getting dry.

To constantly add vape juice to wet the wicks and coils makes an RDA less convenient than a tank. However, many RDA atomizers are now set up with a vape juice deposit. These RDA vapes are called squonk mods.

An RDA atomizer is one of the original forms of rebuilding and it’s still very popular today as it is a great option to get an immense amount of flavor and vape clouds. When you want to vape it, you drip directly onto the coils and wicks. Despite still being a very popular alternative, RDA are also inconvenient as the vaper needs to add e-juice onto the coils every time the wicking material gets dry. In other words, the vaper needs to grab a vape juice bottle and drip onto the coils every four or five puffs, which means that the convenience factor is one of its downsides.

Nonetheless, there are some alternatives such as a squonk mod, which is an RDA atomizer that gets e-liquid from a squeezable bottle.

An RDA vape is definitely not fun when you’re on the go because every few hits you have to find your vape juice bottle and drip some e-juice onto the coils. It’s a bit of a hassle…

A Squonk Mod
A squonk mod is a more convenient RDA device where the RDA atomizer can be fed e-liquid from a squeezable bottle located inside the mod. This kind of RDA is becoming very popular. For instance, Aspire has recently launched the Aspire Quad-Flex Power Pack.


Aspire has recently launched the Aspire Quad-Flex Power Pack.

Another time of Rebuildable Atomizer: RTA
A Rebuildable Tank Atomizer is similar to a normal sub-ohm tank. However, instead of screwing in a coil, RTA have a build deck. Usually you install the coils at the bottom of the atomizers and a sleeve goes on the top of the build deck to create a sort of chamber. It gets fed with e-juice through the wick holes. RTA are definitely more convenient than RDAs. With an RTA you don’t have to constantly drip juice onto the coils whenever you have a vape. Nonetheless, RTAs have also some disadvantages. For instance, the wicks are what’s stopping your tank from leaking and if you don’t have your RTA wicked correctly then the e-juice might leak. Moreover, an RTA might not be able to keep up with wicking.

An Advanced RBA: a Rebuildable Dripping Tank Atomizer
A RDTA is a type of rebuildable atomizer with the build deck located on top of a tank. It looks like an RDA on top of a tank. In RDTAs, the wicking material is pushed down a set of wick holes that lead to an e-juice tank. In other words, as you vape it, the vape juice is absorbed by the wicks and then onto your coils. As the e-liquid is on the bottom of the atomizer, there’s no way for the e-juice to leak out. In conclusion, with an RDTA atomizer you essentially get the best of an RDA and an RTA.

RDA Vape: Conclusion
An RDA vape is a type of rebuildable atomizer. An RDA atomizer requires the vaper to constantly add vape juice onto the wicking material and coils. This makes RDAs ideal vapes for flavor production but also inconvenient as the vaper needs to add e-liquid every four of five puffs.

There are two alternatives to an RDA vape: a RDTA or Rebuildable Dripping Tank Atomizer and a Squonk Mod. Nonetheless, rebuildable atomizers are not suitable for beginners. Remember that if you use a RBA you need to know the basics of the Ohm’s law. RBA atomizers are ONLY suitable for vaping experts! If you want to vape an RBA, an RDA vape or a Squonk mod, be sure you fully understand Ohm’s law to avoid accidents.