Hardware Review: Haku Cruiser RDA by Haku Engineering

Hardware Review: Haku Cruiser RDA by Haku Engineering

This review has been a long time coming. Like many, I had my eyes on a HAKU RDA for a while and joined their facebook group in the hope that I’d be able to snatch one up, and I did! Fairly quickly too, I might add. I think I got in on my 3rd randomizer.

A week later, I was invoiced and paid.

A week or so after that, I received it in the mail, a hell of a lot quicker than I expected! I guess being an Australian has it’s advantages when you’re purchasing an Australian designed atomizer!

“Haku is a project that started as fun, for Steven to design an atomizer that was exactly what he was looking for. Haku was born in Australia, and after testing multiple machine shops for quality, it was decided that Steven would entrust his father in law in South Korea to handle the project. The plan then became let’s make awesome products at an affordable price that will be available for the masses.”

Anyway, I’ve been using the RDA pretty much every day for a few months, and finally gotten around to writing my thoughts on it. So without further ado…

Where to Buy

At the moment, you can only purchase a HAKU RDA through the HAKU Engineering Facebook group and waiting for a randomizer, however there have been whispers of it landing in stores soon.

Specifications and Features

  • 22mm diameter
  • Approx. 35mm height
  • Adjustable Angled airflow down to the coils 2.4mm x 4mm
  • Comes in 2 varieties (Cruiser & Phenom)
  • Full 316 stainless steel construction
  • Gold plated contacts and grub screws
  • Gold plated positive squonk pin
  • 510 threaded connection
  • Two posts (easy clamp system)
  • Bottom Feed capable (comes with the pin installed)
  • Delrin drip tip
  • Sandblasted top cap
  • Designed in Australia, manufactured in Korea

Product Includes:

  • 1x Haku Cruiser RDA
  • 1x Pack of spares (orings, and tools, non-bottom fed pin)

The Review

Let’s start by going from top to bottom…

The drip tip on the Haku Cruiser is a pretty generic black delrin 510 drip tip. I actually have another one that is identical, that I picked up in a pack a while ago.

It’s quite short and also narrow compared to a chuff cap, obviously included to enhance flavour, as this has been widely advertised as a flavour chasing RDA.

The fit is a little tight but some eliquid around the o-rings fixes that pretty quickly.

The top cap of the Haku is the same whether you receive the ‘Cruiser’ edition or the ‘Phenom’. It’s sandblasted 316 Stainless Steel, with a pretty simple design. It’s not a slam cap or restricted chamber cap, but the design with it’s flat top, limits the chamber in size and provides a unique airflow. Be aware that due to it’s restricted airflow, this top cap will get a little warm with low builds. So be prepared for that.

The airflow (one hole on each side) is adjustable by turning the top cap against the deck, and travels down on an angle to limit problems with leaking out of the airholes. A very similar concept to the original O-Atty.

I have noticed a slight whistle with the airflow 100% open. This is probably due to my coil or wick position, but closing the air down ever so slightly gets rid of it without any issues or ruining the airflow.

The chamber is quite large for what it is. Where the airflow meets in the middle, there is plenty of room to play around with larger coils or builds (approximately 9mm gap between airflow on either side). It’s made for a single coil, but I’ve seen others throw dual coils and other interesting builds in this without an issue.

The cap and deck fit snugly, in fact the clearances are spot on and the o-rings the perfect size, with the cap making a noticeable click when pushed down onto the deck once things have been lubricated a little with some VG.

Fitting coils is easy, as the HAKU has one closed wire clamp, and one open. This allows you to feed one end of your coil into the closed clamp, and swing the other around to slot into the open one. Tighten the allen screws down and away you go!

Quick tip, I’ve found that winding coils and fitting with the legs up seems to work the best for this RDA. Getting the coil nice and low seems to produce a much better flavour, avoids any whistling, and just generally makes the airflow feel better than with legs down.

As other reviewers have mentioned before, the deck does not have a lip. Meaning that the cap covers the entire deck and down to where it sits on your mod. If you’re o-rings aren’t great, this might introduce a slight condensation or leaking issue down the track, but so far, I’ve not experienced any issues at all. I do use it as a squonking atty though, so for those using it as a normal dripper, you might experience this more than I might, being that you probably remove the cap more often.
If it does happen, it should be easy to rectify, as brand new o-rings come in the supplied spares pack.

The hole in the squonk positive pin, is quite narrow. It might require a slightly heavier hand when squeezing your bottle in the colder months, and/or require you to hold the squeeze for a few seconds to get it going. It doesn’t seem to cause any issues in this warmer weather at the moment though!

This RDA also comes with a packet of spares, which refreshingly, actually comes with x2 allen keys. One that fits the post screws, but also one that fits the positive pin, for changing out the pins when needed. This is something that is normally not supplied, and HAKU engineering saved me a trip to the shed to find an appropriately sized allen key amongst all of my mess! Spare o-rings, and post screws as well as a normal RDA positive pin are also in the spares pack.

Coil installation

Coil installation is really simple, on the one side you feed the coil into the hole in the post/clamp and do it up. On the other, you simply slot it in and screw it down. No need to have 3 hands, and really not fiddly at all. This is probably one of the easier RDA’s that I’ve thrown a coil into.

Noise

Is it noisy? Not really. It has a very distinct whoosh, and you may sometimes pick up a little whistle, but closing your air down a touch, or moving your cotton around a little will usually fix it.

Airflow

The airflow is quite nice. It is a restricted draw, with the air coming in from a single hole in each side of the cap, travelling down on an angle (to minimise leaking) and down to hit the coils whilst meeting in the middle. The air can be adjusted by turning the top cap, going from completely closed to a fairly open yet restricted draw.

Because of the restricted air, and the way that the chamber promotes the air meeting in the middle, it sort of condenses the air and vapour, creating a much more flavoursome vape. The downside to this of course is that with little air flowing over the coil, it can get quite hot. I’ve noticed that with very low builds and on hot days, everything can get quite warm to the touch.
A nice large Peek or resin drip tip works well to keep the heat from burning your lips.

Flavour

Even though this is not a really small chamber RDA, the flavour from this is phenomenal. Given the correct coil position and airflow, you’ll get some really nice, thick and dense flavour. I’ve come to get used to the airflow and how this RDA behaves and now use it as one of my go to RDA’s for tasting and doing my eliquid reviews.

Drip tip

The drip tip that comes with the HAKU is quite small and uninteresting. It’s a small black delrin 510 drip tip. I’ve seen these drip tips supplied with other atomizers too. It’s not bad, but also nothing special. You might want to throw on a larger drip tip if you’re planning on putting some low builds in the HAKU.

Pros:

  • Sleek and quality look and feel
  • Easy to build on
  • Great restricted airflow
  • Fantastic flavour
  • Gold plated connections
  • Bottom feed capable

Cons:

  • Not really a con, but the packaging is quite basic
  • Quite a small hole in the squonk pin

Conclusion

This is a very good RDA in my opinion, it’s grown on me a lot, and has become one of my most used atomizers. I like that Haku Engineering have taken many of the better traits of other RDA’s and applied them here all in one package. They are sensible and useful additions, like the angled airflow, the one closed one open clamping for easy installation of coils. Being bottom feed capable out of the box is a big plus in my opinion too!

Where to Buy

At the moment, you can only purchase a HAKU RDA through the HAKU Engineering Facebook group and waiting for a randomizer, however there have been whispers of it landing in stores soon.

 

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Shane Presser
Shane Presser has been vaping since 2013, and has extensive experience with advanced equipment, coil builds and DIY mixing. He is the man behind VapersGarage, and also more recently Aussie Vape Stores, a resource to help vapers find their nearest Vape Shops, and eLiquid Vendors.

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