Uwell Rafale Tank Review
Today, we take a look at the much-anticipated sub-ohm tank from Uwell – the Rafale. Uwell is already a well-known vape tank manufacturer, mainly thanks to the success of their previous masterpiece, the Uwell Crown, which is widely praised for excellent build quality and superb flavor, therefore many vapers are hoping for the Rafale to be a true game-changer. But is it really so? Let’s take a look!
Uwell Rafale Tank Review
What’s in the Kit?
- 1 x Uwell Rafale tank
- 0.2ohm 316 stainless steel coil (pre-installed)
- 0.5ohm 316 stainless steel coil
- Extra o-rings
- Extra quartz glass tube
- Uwell sticker, user manual, authenticity code
Features & Specifications
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E-Liquid Capacity:,5ml
Height:,70mm (with drip tip)
Diameter:,24mm
Material:,Stainless steel
Tank/Tube Material:,Quartz glass
Wicking Material:,Japanese organic cotton
Drip Tip:,Non-removable
RBA:,Available separately
Average Price:,$35
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The contents of the Uwell Rafale kit
First Impression
First Look
The Uwell Rafale, which were kindly sent to us by FastTech.com for review purposes, came in surprisingly beautiful packaging – in a black tin container. This kit contains all the things necessary to get started, and then some, including an in-depth manual which covers all the main points on how to use the tank.
The tank itself is a beauty. Yes, you have probably heard that one already, but it seems like the vape manufacturers are paying more and more attention to the detail of their products. The airflow adjustment ring is as “clicky” and firm as it can get; the new top-fill system opens and closes without any hiccups; the coil fits in its place tightly and precisely. If this is not supreme build-quality, we don’t know what is.
The Rafale is 24mm in diameter, so it might be a bit wider than some people are used to, but it sure does not in any way affect its performance. The tank is available in two finishes – stainless steel or black.
First Vape
Let’s start out with the 0.5ohm coil. Silkily smooth and very clear flavor is the first thing that we noticed. A perfect vape at wattages from 60 to 65W. No need to go higher – we even managed to fire it up at 40-50 watts, and it produced some nice clouds. This coil didn’t give us a single dry hit, no spitback; it always fires effortlessly and always produces superb flavor.
The 0.2ohm coil does almost nothing at wattages up to 60 watts, and, to fully enjoy this coil, you should prepare by getting yourself a mod which can handle at least 80 watts. When fired at a wattage like that, it produces heaps of clouds – probably more than the majority of vapers can handle. We tried upping the wattage to around 100W-110W, and the results were still outstanding (or even overwhelming), while at 120W-130W it already gave some burnt hits, the vapor was getting quite hot and we also encountered some minor spit back. But let’s keep in mind that this is already past the recommended wattage for this coil, which is up to 120W. However, while it’s a true cloud machine, the flavor with this coil seemed a bit muted to us, especially in comparison to its 0.5ohm counterpart. Nevertheless, it offers an excellent vaping experience, and, despite our constant attempts to push it to the limits in the time span of one week, it still performs great.
What We Enjoyed About the Uwell Rafale
Superb flavor
When it comes to flavor, the Rafale certainly has not many rivals – except it’s predecessor, the much-praised Uwell Crown. At first, when we had just installed the coils, they didn’t give out much of anything, but with every hit and while gradually increasing the wattage, the flavor became simply fantastic, especially with the 0.5ohm coil. Same as with the Crown, the Rafale lets you taste those notes of your e-liquid which you previously had no idea of – it is that great.
Heaps of clouds & excellent airflow
If you’re into deep, satisfying lung hits, this is the tank for you. The huge airflow slots offer a surprisingly open draw, which, quite frankly, was a bit too much for me at first, so I had it partially closed. Take the 0.2ohm coil and fire it up at 90 watts, and you have a room full of almost impenetrable clouds. Also, thanks to the new “Anti Spit Back” feature, you really don’t need to worry about getting hot e-liquid in your mouth – as long as you don’t go crazy with the tank and fire it up at wattages higher than the recommended.
Build quality, design & packaging
Almost every vape product is characterized by surprising visuals. Nevertheless, the way how the Rafale tank is presented in the packaging, is way superior to anything we’ve seen before. The tank, some extra goodies like a replacement glass tube and extra o-rings, all come in a beautifully designed tin can.
As already mentioned above, the Rafale tank itself is also a true piece of art – it is safe to say that this is one of the most well-built tanks available on the market. The build quality is top-notch, and the same thing can be said about the coils – each of these is covered with a nice rubber cap, they have no manufacturing smears or oils on them, and are packaged as beautifully as the tank. Uwell surely have done a truly nice, clean and accurate job on this product.
The replacement coils are packaged as beautifully as the tank itself
What We Didn’t Enjoy About The Uwell Rafale
Top-fill system
After some long discussions, we finally decided that the top-fill system must be mentioned as a con of this tank, so in other words, we could say that this is the only engineering/design flaw of this product. Yes, most of the time it works just great – put the dripper of your e-juice bottle in one of the holes and voila, you’re set for a while. However, things are much different if you’re using glass drippers – if so, the top-fill becomes useless, as the holes are simply too small to do the job properly, and your e-liquid ends up flowing all over the place. The same goes to some plastic dripper bottles with bigger tips as well.
The top-fill holes of the Uwell Rafale tank
The top-fill feature might seem convenient, sure, but it really isn’t that great – after all, you always need to remember to close the airflow and rotate the drip tip before you can think about refilling the tank. And, finally, we also experienced some leaks while filling it, even with the airflow slot closed – while nothing major, it’s another aspect why we aren’t big fans of this feature.
However, we’d like to point out that you can always fill the tank up by unscrewing the bottom base, just like with any other bottom-filled tank. And, to be honest, I prefer this method.
Tank gets quite hot
As our vaping devices become more and more powerful, this is pretty much an expected thing, especially with such a mighty tank like the Rafale is. However, with the 0.2ohm coils, it gets really hot really fast – while chain-vaping it at around 90 watts, the outer shell of the tank becomes unbearably hot to touch. Surprisingly, the drip tip is not much affected by the heat, and so is the vapor itself, therefore this is not a deal-breaker – just make sure not to touch the tank with your fingers while getting the most out of it. And perhaps try to find something a bit more mundane if you’re anxious about your Rafale exploding. And, to be clear – it definitely won’t.
It’s worth mentioning that many vapers state that the heating issue is related to the chimney of the tank, or, more precisely, the anti spit back protection spiral. Some have found that removing this part of the tank results in less heating, as well as improved flavor. Although we haven’t done this modification, as we are very content with the overall performance of this tank, here’s a YouTube explaining how to do that.
Drip tip is non-removable
Due to the innovative top-fill system, there have been some sacrifices in this tank – it features a non-removable drip tip. It’s not much of an issue really, just that you’ll not be able to replace it with your favorite mouthpiece.
Final Thoughts
The Rafale is a surprising tank in almost every aspect, and it does its job to satisfy even the most demanding vapers perfectly. You get top-notch build quality, no leaks, 5 ml capacity, huuuge clouds, and, most importantly – excellent flavor. Also, it simply screams quality and durability. It’s an excellent package, what’s not to like? Well, there’s really just one major thing which is somewhat off with this tank – and it’s the top-fill system. And even that might seem convenient and well-designed for some users – just that we are certainly not in awe about this feature. Oh, and there’s no RBA in the kit, which is a bit disappointing. Other than that, the Rafale is well worth its money – simply because not many tanks can compete with what it has to offer.
Martin B.
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