Here’s a look at a very interesting and very beautiful new RTA called the Eugene Growl RTA from a company called AFK Studio. It’s one of the most decadent looking atomizers I’ve ever had the privilege of using. It’s a high-end rebuildable tank atomizer that comes with two different build decks and is made of Damascus steel for an ultra-premium look and feel. It didn’t take long for this one to win me over.
Here are my honest thoughts on the Eugene Growl RTA from AFK Studio.
Eugene Growl RTA Packaging List:
- 1 x EUGENE Growl RTA
- 1 x Replacement Build Deck
- 1 x User Manual
- Spare Parts
Eugene Growl RTA Features and Specs:
- Size: 24 x 40 mm
- Type: Single Coil/Dual Coil
- Capacity: 3.5 ml
- Material: SS316L/Damascus Steel
- Thread: 510 thread
- Damascus steel construction
- Switchable between single coil/dual coil deck
- Unique wrinkle pattern
- Adjustable bottom airflow
Packaging and Contents:
The kit comes packed in quite possibly the biggest box I’ve seen on a vaping product. It might seem a bit overkill at first but once you open it up you are treated to a beautifully displayed RTA that comes packed in its own display case. Yes, that’s right. It comes in one of those clam shell display cases that are often used for coins or other such valuables. It’s beautifully presented and I almost didn’t want to open the package. It looked so nice.
In the kit you get the Eugene Growl RTA, a spare glass tank, a steel 810 drip tip, an alternate build deck, the display stand and a bag of extras. In the bag of extras you get an Allen key, two spare grub screws, a few spare o-rings as well an alternate 510 pin with insulator. It’s one of the most elaborate kits I’ve seen yet although it doesn’t really include a whole lot of extras. It also doesn’t include any cotton or coils so you’ll need to supply your own to get started.
The Tank:
The Eugene Growl RTA is a 24mm diameter 40mm tall rebuildable tank atomizer that’s made of SS316L Damascus steel. I don’t believe the entire tank is made of Damascus. Just the top cap, the drip tip and the AFC ring have the Damascus pattern on it. The AFC ring, however, does not look to be actual Damascus but just patterned to look like it.
The included 810 drip tip which does have that Damascus pattern is very low profile but nicely rounded so it’s comfortable on the lips. So far I haven’t had any issues with heat transfer despite it being made of metal and being so short so I’ve kept with it.
Just below the drip tip is the top fill cap which is also very low profile and one of my few complaints about the tank. It’s so short and tight that at times it’s difficult to remove it from the tank. A few times I’ve gone to unscrew it and the whole tank unscrewed. Once it got juiced up nicely it hasn’t been much of an issue but it’s something that needs to be called out especially right out of the box.
The tank holds a comfortable 3.5ml of liquid thanks to the clear glass tank and also includes a spare glass tank should anything happen to the one that comes installed. Inside the tank the chimney is stamped with the initials AFK and appears to be gold plated or gold coloured as well.
Below the tank around the base is the airflow control ring or AFC which allows you to adjust the airflow to the two bottom cyclops style airflow slots. It slides around nice and smooth with stops at either end but is a bit on the loose side. However once installed on your mod, it doesn’t tend to move around on its own.
The draw is fairly restricted and at full open gives a somewhat restricted direct lung hit. It’s not really built for mouth to lung as the draw is just too loose and since they only include a wide bore 810 and no 510 drip tip or drip tip adapter I don’t think it was meant to handle MTL vaping.
On the very bottom of the tank, it’s got an image of a skeletal hand, the name of the design studio AFK, a serial number and the name Eugene. The gold plated 510 center pin is non-adjustable and needs to be changed depending on the deck you are using. The 510 does protrude a bit though and should probably be safe to use on a hybrid.
The Decks:
As mentioned above the Eugene Growl RTA comes with two different decks. It comes with a dual coil postless bottom airflow deck installed and a single coil bottom airflow deck as a spare. Both decks appear to be silver plated as they’re both really shiny with a silver colour to them.
The machining and finish on both decks is flawless much like the rest of the tank. The dual coil deck is similar to the deck on the Petri RTA or the Blitz RTA so should be familiar to anyone who’s used a postless RTA in the past. The single coil deck , however, is reminiscent of the Serpent SMM single coil RTA with its dual raised posts which allow you to insert your coil in either orientation.
Like I mentioned above when swapping decks you’ll need to also swap the 510 pins as the decks are seated slightly differently so one of the pins is slightly longer. Airflow for both decks comes from the bottom and are fed by the bottom airflow of the tank. Both of these deck styles are pretty much proven at this point and I don’t have any real complaints about either of them.
Build, Wick and Performance:
Both deck styles are a joy to work on and AFK Studio made the right choice by including these two well proven decks. The dual coil deck requires you to pre-cut your leads and then drop your coils in to the post holes, tighten the grubs on the sides and then wick it pretty much like the Petri RTA.
The wicking does take a bit of getting used to with this style of deck but anyone familiar with the Petri will be right at home. The single coil deck on the other hand is extremely easy to use. Just slide your leads in to either set of post slots and tighten down the grubs.
It leaves plenty of space to trim off your leads and wicking it is just a matter of running your cotton through your coil, cutting the wicks so they meet the bottom of the deck and then just popping the wicks in to the two little wick channels. It’s essentially like a GTA style deck or Genesis Style Atomizer and really couldn’t get much easier.
Performance wise rebuildables will always depend on your ability to build and wick but if you know what you are doing then the Growl is a great little RTA to work on. To test it out I build the dual coil deck with dual fused claptons and the single coil deck with a three core alien.
Both flavor and vapor production from it were fantastic and although I did find it got a little bit warm using the dual coil deck it was somewhat expected. I personally prefer single coil vaping and after switching to the single coil deck have pretty much stuck with it as it’s been giving me exactly the performance I was hoping for from it.
Eugene Growl RTA Cons and Pros
Pros:
- Looks
- Build quality
- Damascus pattern
- High-end appearance(gold/silver)
- Multiple build decks
- Small chamber
- Ease of use
- Beautifully presented(display case)
- Great flavour and vapour depending on build
Cons:
- Need to swap 510 pins when changing decks
- Top fill cap can be hard to remove
- No MTL options
- AFC a bit loose
Eugene Growl RTA Video
Overall
The Eugene Growl RTA has quickly become one of my new favorite tanks. Not only is it a pleasure to work on it’s one of the most beautiful tanks I’ve ever had the pleasure of owning. From top to bottom this tank just oozes sexiness and not only is it beautifully packaged but it’s beautifully designed and immaculately presented.
The build quality is top-notch and I’m just amazed I haven’t heard more about this tank or this company. Obviously this will be more for the seasoned vapers who are comfortable with building and not so much the beginners but pretty much anyone would do well to have this beauty in their collection!!
Chris Sisson
After 26 years of smoking I made the switch to vaping and never looked back. Now with over 5 years of vaping experience and 4 years of reviews under my belt I’m a passionate and experienced vaper who loves to give back to the community.
