The Thunderhead Artemis RDTA V1.5: The New and Improved Version

The original Thunderhead Creations Artemis RDTA was an excellent product, but one of its drawbacks was its use of steel wicking rods. In response, Artemis made version 1.5.

Is it an improvement, though?

Our vape testing team tried it, and their results are below.

Table of Contents

• A Quick Overview
• Is It an Improvement Over the Previous Model?
• Build and Design Rating
• Airflow: How Open Is It?
• How to use This RDTA
• Competing Products
• Final Thoughts

Thunderhead Artemis RDTA Review

Thunderhead’s Artemis 1.5 has all the marks of a Thunderhead product. The RDTA is affordable and the build quality is outstanding. In addition, this product is an improvement over the original model.

It is a 24mm rebuildable drip tip atomizer with 2 to 4ml capacity that uses a spring-loaded ceramic clamp to support single coil builds. It also has honeycomb airflow and is squonk compatible.

Thunder Head Creations Artemis RDTA VS V1.5 RDTA

There are several improvements in the new model worth mentioning. The primary difference is in the juice well. The original model used four stainless steel wicking to transport the liquid, whereas the Artemis 1.5 uses cotton wicking.

The problem with stainless steel wicking is that it is not as absorbent as cotton, resulting in some nasty hits during heavy use.

Vapor Production

This RDTA produces a lot of vaping, which is not surprising because it is an RDTA. However, it only has one coil, so it will not make as much vapor as the atomizers that support quad or triple builds. Still, it produces a respectable amount of clouds for a single coil build.

Inside the Package

Building Quality and Design

The Deck

The deck is straightforward. It consists of a ceramic clamp system in the middle with one screw on the side for securing the coil. Opposite the screw is the refilling slot.

Airflow

The airflow is phenomenal. It is honeycomb and very smooth and open so that the user can take deep, uninterrupted drags and blow massive clouds. The airflow is arguably the best reason to buy this RDTA.

There are 13 holes on either side. Some reviewers claim that the airflow is too open and could do with fewer holes.

The drags are indeed very open, but it was designed for direct-to-lung vaping.

Also, it is hard to see why anyone would complain about the airflow being too open. It is adjustable, and when closed, it provides solid restricted hits.

How to Use the Atomizer

This atomizer is very simple to use.

There are also 2 and 4ml glasses. To change glasses:

The airflow is adjusted by rotating the glass section back and forth. It opens and closes fully.

Wicking and Squonking

There is a particular way to wick this atomizer. Because of where the glass is located, some people may think the ends of the cotton should extend to the bottom. However, this is not the case. Instead, the ends should extend to the bottom o-ring.

The cotton will not go into the tank section if the ends are cut to the above length. But that is ok because they are not supposed to reach that deep. Instead, they should be barely visible behind the glass.

The cotton absorbs the liquids whenever the user lifts the vape. The juice is shaken around when this happens, and the cotton absorbs it. Clever, that.

The new Artemis is also squonk compatible, thanks to the bottom-fed connection. Two extra pins go into connection, one short and one long.

Use the short pin for the 2ml glass and the long for the 4ml. They are loosened and tightened with a flathead screwdriver.

How to Fill

There is a fill port on the side when the sleeve is pulled off. It is hard to tell if it is side or top fill because it is at a slight angle to the rest of the device. There is a gold plug that prevents leaking. Also, to put the atomizer back together, make sure that the plug and port are lined up, or else it will not close.

It is also possible to drip liquid through the drip tip. This method is more straightforward than taking the sleeve off and fiddling with the plug.

Additionally, it can be squonked, and all that requires is using one of the squonk pins mentioned above and a squonk compatible mod.

Competing Products

Thunderhead Creations Artemis RDTA V1.5 vs Vandy Vape Pyro V4 RDTA

The Pyro V4 RDTA has two primary advantages. First, it has a larger 5ml juice capacity and supports dual coil configurations.

As noted above, the Artemis V1.5’s juice capacity is 5ml, and it only supports single wire builds.

Finally, the Pyro V4 RDTA is slightly less expensive, costing $29.99. The Artemis V1.5 costs $39.99.

However, the Artemis V1.5 has slightly better airflow.

Thunderhead Creations Artemis RDTA V1.5 vs Hellvape Helheim S 25 mm RDTA

Both devices are excellent single coil builds with their respective pros and cons.

The Helheim S’s advantage is that it has a larger juice capacity and is slightly less expensive.

But the Artemis V1.5 performs much better when chain vaping. The Helheim S’s does not absorb the liquid fast enough to keep up with so many drags because it uses steel rods for wicking.

Pros&Cons

Final Thoughts

The Thunderhead Creations Artemis V1.5 RDTA has an outstanding build quality and has a straightforward build deck. Also, getting away from steel wicking ropes improves performance during chain vaping. Finally, the atomizer has excellent airflow and cloud production.

Some people may not like that the airflow is so open, but it can be tightened up with the airflow control ring.

Another thing people might not like is that it only supports single wire builds.

The only real con is the juice capacity because 4ml is not enough for atomizers like that. RDTAs get really hot and go through juice quickly, so 5 or 5.5ml would have been better.

In fact, Thunderhead Creations has already made these improvements with the Artemis 2 RDTA.

However, the Thunderhead Creations Artemis V1.5 is still a good atomizer that is cheaper than the latest model and worth considering.

If you have any thoughts about this RDTA, please let us know by commenting below.