Ok, I admit the title of this RBA review is just a little bit awkward and wordy. Mostly comes from the fact this is a clone of a rebuildable dripping atomizer from Paradigm called the Magma. They’ve wisely started calling the device the Lava instead of the Magma. Infinite is the maker and does a number of different clones (I have a review for the Panzer mod coming later this week). So now that I’ve explained the title, let’s get into the review.
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Disclosure: I received this product for review from Mt. Baker Vapor. This review contains affiliate links.
About the Original Magma RBA
This clone by Infinite apes the design from a shop called Paradigm Modz. Like many companies that build high-end vaping mods, they don’t have their own site, but rather interact with the public via their Facebook page. The product is available through select retailers and runs around $115. Availability tends to be limited like most small-run luxury gear.
Infinite Lava RDA Review
The model I received for review from MBV was actually a direct 1:1 clone of the Magma complete with logos and branding. The version they currently have for sale is now called the Lava and has none of the branding of the original.
This is a move I applaud.
Personally, I still dislike when cloners copy not only the design of a product but also logos and stuff. It’s completely unnecessary and depending on the trademark status of the original may even be flat-out counterfeiting. Of course, you can read more about the ethics of clones in the piece I wrote a while ago (feel free to add your thoughts there.)
Now that I’ve got that off my chest, how about an actual review? The Lava is a three-piece design. The top and bottom are milled stainless steel, while a center band is made of brass. The band has a series of different sized holes that run along the side.
You’re no doubt familiar with the concept, turning the band increases or decreases the airflow by blocking part of the intake ports on the base of the atomizer. There are two holes on the base, one on either side.
Rather than going straight into the chamber, the holes actually make a 90 degree turn and go up to the top of the very thick sidewalls in the base of the atty.
This design minimizes e-liquid oozing out the air holes while maintaining a very deep juice well. The well is sort of dog bone shaped with round areas under each of the two posts.
That’s correct, there’s no center post for easy dual coil building, just the more traditional two-post design. Of course you can still build dual coils, or a bigger single coil without worrying about a middle post getting under foot.
The RBA comes with a pair of pre-built coils. I used them at first, but they were middling at best. I ended up building a simple single coil .5 ohm setup with organic cotton and got great results. Simple is good in my book.
Speaking of simple, there are also no gaskets in the design. The band just slips over the base and then the top screws in. It doesn’t get much simpler than that.
Naturally, performance is going to depend entirely over what you build into the Lava RDA. I tend to skip that part in these reviews since there’s not a lot of context to help out.
I can still talk a little about using the atty of course. Like any RDA, there’s going to be leaks. It’s one of the reasons I’m not a huge RDA fan. The other being I prefer the set and forget nature of RBAs and tanks.
What I did notice is when I built longer wicks that at least half filled the massive drip well in this device, it did take the leaking down to a minimum. Overfilling, or setting your rig on its side is still going to make a mess. Not so much under normal use, however.
As a result, I think this big dog-bone shaped drip well is a good idea.
In general, this is a pretty serviceable design and a solidly built RBA. You can grab one for yourself at Mt. Baker Vapor.
