Apocalypse vs CSMNT vs Goon

So you’re thinking of buying an RDA but don’t want to spend the same amount of money you’d spend on a week’s supply of Cuban cigars, so you’re only thinking of buying one RDA. There are many to choose from but you see the same names posted online over and over again. Oftentimes, when it comes to flavor RDAs, the same names pop up again and again, the Apocalypse Gen 2, the CSMNT and the Goon. They pack a dense vape with flavor to boot. If you’re thinking they can’t all be that different as far as flavor is concerned you’d be mistaken. If you’re following that up with how can one measure flavor objectively and be able to tell the difference between RDAs, then that’s really easy to answer.

Many reviewers online try ready-made juices in the RDAs they review, so it also depends on the juice they’re trying out. Making your own juices has its benefits. You know what goes in the juice, so you can expect something specific when vaping.

The above RDAs have been tested with DIY juices I made, so I know exactly what to expect from them when vaping. For example, trying a very simple strawberry lemonade flavor I made, I can tell that all I get in an RTA is the sourness and undertone of lemonade, but by popping that juice in an RDA, I get the sweetness and aroma of the strawberry and a more intense flavor altogether. Therefore, trying more complicate juices (some with 10+ flavors in them), I know what I should be getting out.

All RDAs above have been tested with Nichrome Aliens and Kendo cotton. Kendo takes a while to break in, but holds more juice and takes a while longer till needing to be changed, as opposed to other brands. I don’t use Kendo in RTAs or RDTAs since it doesn’t get saturated as fast as Cotton Bacon, for example, but for RDAs it’s great.

Having to decide which of the 3 RDAs mentioned in the title is difficult, since I won’t be basing it on flavor alone, but also on how easy it is to build with them, airflow goodness, size and design of atomizer, and generic vaping experience.

I limited the choice between 3 side-airflow RDAs, but I’m actually going to add the Druga in there as an underrated gem.

When I first slapped some Aliens on my Apocalypse RDA, I immediately felt it was slightly better than my Goon, although it felt fairly similar to it. It uses the clamp system, like the Goon, so it was very easy to install the coils in. The atomizer itself is shorter than the Goon, in fact, it’s as short as the Goon 22mm, and the airflow was great even when wide-open, whereas the Goon always felt a bit too airy. The vaping experience felt better than the Goon, and the flavor it gave me was slightly better than the Goon. I could taste some background flavors I had used more prominently.

Then came the Druga. A relatively cheap RDA, with a very easy screw-clamp deck, great airflow and overall sleek design. It looks like the Goon 1.5 that came out later and costs ⅓ of the price. The flavor I get off this is just as good as with the Goon, although I sometimes get an even better flavor, but still consider the Apocalypse to be slightly better than both of them. I can even use it in single-coil mode if I so wished by slapping a coil right between the posts, lined up with the airflow holes, which would be great if I enjoyed single-coil vaping as much as I enjoy dual-coil vaping, but… I don’t.

And then came the CSMNT. The coils are placed right under the drip tip on a pedestal in the middle of the deck. The side-airflow runs through the atomizer, hits the wall, and up it goes, working almost like a bottom airflow RDA. I installed my coils with ease, took a drag and forgot all about the Apocalypse and the Goon 24 & 22 for a long time (hey, I still use my 2 Drugas occasionally!). The details of the juice were there, and I could focus on different ones with each drag. The airflow felt great in whatever setting I tried it, and the vaping experience was just stellar. My only problem with it was the flat top, which came into contact with my lips, so it didn’t feel as natural as with the above mentioned RDAs.

Now, in all honesty, I get more details out of the juice using the Goon 22. The Goon 22’s coils are right under your mouth, the airflow holes are right next to the coils, it has a smaller chamber and it’s as short as the Apocalypse. All this makes for a great flavor-chasing RDA. But there’s something about the CSMNT that makes me use it more, and that’s the overall vaping experience. The sleeve works as the juice well, too, so you can dump a lot of juice in there and vape on for longer than on the Goon 22.

To conclude, I get more flavor details out of the Goon 22 than out of the CSMNT, and I therefore consider it a better flavor RDA, but if I were to consider other factors under the “overall vaping experience” umbrella, I’d choose the CSMNT. The easiest on the lips is the Apocalypse, and the Druga is my little trooper, being as easy as a drunk college girl on orientation week. The Goon 24 covers a little bit of everything, and although it may sound like “jack of all trades, master of none”, it’s more like a master jack of all trades. It’s a great side-airflow RDA, but with so many newer options out there, I rarely use it anymore.

Flavorwise, I’d rank them like this:

1. Goon 22
2. CSMNT
3. Apocalypse Gen 2
4. Druga
5. Goon 24

Overall vaping experience, I’d rank them like this:

1. CSMNT
2. Goon 22
3. Apocalypse Gen 2
4. Druga (aluminium sleeve)
5. Druga (stainless steel sleeve)
6. Goon 24

Ease of build, I’d rank them like this:

1. CSMNT
2. Druga
3. Apocalypse Gen 2
4. Goon 24
5. Goon 22

And that about wraps it up. I hope this helps you out.