Hosehead Vapes Hardware Review!

Good day, Eh!

Today I was sent a device for the purpose of this review. From Cthulhu mod, the Hastur Mini MTL RTA.

The Hastur Mini is a mouth to lung style RTA, there is no RDL or DL hit here. this is straight up MtL. Now if we were to go back in time to 2014, we would see a device like this as extremely common place. The most popular among all was probably the Svoemesto Kayfun series. Highly sought after, extremely expensive, and one of the most painful experiences to build on. The Kayfun was king in its time. Well fast forward to mid 2018, and we are in full swing with high MG salt nic. MtL devices are popular again, and while pod systems serve a purpose. Some want the days back of rebuildables with battery life for days, or weeks even. Enter the Hastur Mini, A modern take on a classic device, updated just a little bit to provide comforts like top filling (and a design rarely seen before in this regard) and very few parts.

Included in the box are a couple of very welcome accessories. first you have two drip tips a 2mm stainless steel long tip, and a 1.7mm delrin short tip. I personally like the look of the stainless tip more, However prefer the feel of the delrin tip in practice. Next you have two glass in the box. Normally this isnt all that exciting as tanks have been coming with replacement glass forever now. What is exciting is one of the glass is frosted, while the installed glass is clear. I like the customiseability of having the frosted option of real glass (not pmma or acrylic). Going back to a 22mm RTA may seem completely backwards, especially one with only 2ml capacity. However, because the RTA is MTL only (with 3 airflow options, 0.8mm, 1.2mm, 1.4mm) that capacity is completely justified. 2ml will last a significantly longer amount of time than any 2ml subohm style RTA or tank. It also has the added benefit of being only 22mm. meaning a wide slew of devices from the past few years can pair extremely well with it. You can find high end devices that are low wattage and extremely affordable now, pair with the Hastur mini, and rock a beautiful setup for less than some new subohm kits would run you on the market today. I’ve been using mine with a Vaporshark Vaporflask DNA 40 and a Vaporflask Stout 26650 mod. Some of my favourite form factor mods of all time, and being 22mm the Hastur mini sits perfecly flush with them.

Now lets get into the top filling mechanism. Its not revolutionary. However it is an extremely recent Innovation brought to market by QP Design and their Fatality RTA. Being threadless and using pressure of the stainless steel topcap and fill cap to stay in place, Makes filling easier than anything else on the market. I like this style a little bit more than the Fatality, as there is no stops. so you can spin the fill cap either way to pop it off. And one added benefit of having threadless means no leaking after refilling. I havn’t had a single drop come out of the airflow or seep out of the tank in any way in the few weeks I’ve been testing the device.

One of the most important components in an RTA is the build deck. Unfortunately this is where the hastur lacks a little bit. Because of the general gauges of coils used in MTL vaping, it doesnt lead itself to using lead capture systems present in most other rebuildables. Luckily the deck was designed with capture tabs beside the screws, so I was able to use a 26 gauge round wire kanthal build with relative ease. Any larger and you will be fighting with the deck to capture the lead. and smaller will likely require extreme patience in building. The upside is, MTL coils also tend to last much longer timewise over sub ohm coils. Being able to easily access the deck without draining the liquid is a huge bonus. Also having the deck raised with the bottom being juice inlets (very reminiscent of Steamcraves Aromamizer series) also limits possible juice leaking. And I think gives the tank a very unique and interesting look. I like it.

Performance wise, I’ve been blown away as well. I have not had a single dry hit. Flavor is as good as or better than every other MTL device I have used, or have in my own repertoire. And for reference, I have been using a 9 wrap, 26g kanthal round wire build on a 2mm bit. it ohms out to .91 and at 20w it is an absolute treat to vape on.

Overall, the Chtulhu brought out of a fantastic device. Performing exactly how an MTL RTA should, but providing most of the features we require now. Updated for the times quite a bit however with the threadless fill system, and deck accessibility we require. The Hastur Mini looks great on many devices, old and new. Even comparing to one of the holy grails of MTL vaping, the Billet Box, the Hastur mini out performs it in every way in my opinion. The only downside is the deck screws being the same system as the Kayfun and other very old atomisers, However until something is developed that can capture small leads better, I don’t know how you can get an easier build deck than with this device. But this is still a minor con in my books, as its only really dealt with once each build, after that, the device works flawlessly.