For this week’s journey into vaping history, we’re taking a look at the Psyclone Mods Hadaly. This slammed 22mm RDA was released at the tail end of 2016, to great critical acclaim. The success of this atty built a great platform for Psyclone’s subsequent releases but does it still hold up in 2020?
By the time the Hadaly came out, I was well on my way to being a “flavour chaser” and was a bit of a purist, solely interested in single coil atomisers that would maximise flavour, with a restricted draw. The Hadaly was immediately hyped to record highs and I just had to get my hands on one.
Looking at the machining quality today, it still holds up. Psyclone Mods products are made in China but their business model focuses on smaller batches, which allows for greater quality control. The deck and stock top cap on mine still look fantastic, a slight step above your average mainstream release. The clamp system does look a bit battered, but I think we can blame that on my less than delicate treatment over the course of 2-3 years.
The Hadaly was the first single coil RDA to use a clamp system, as far as I know. This design does seem somewhat outdated these days, since there’s not that much space around each clamp and at times they struggle to get a good purchase on coil leads. Nevertheless, it’s still a functional deck, if a little fiddly. This atomiser was intended for round wire and small-medium exotic coils and for these builds, it works well.
The Hadaly RDA is a great example of how important coil positioning can be. Since the airflow is so low on the deck, you need to place your coils in such a way that air jets toward the bottom of the coil. I find that pushing your build as low as you can before you hit the outer barrel with your coiling rod is the best way to go about this. If you place your build much higher, it can result in reduced flavour and a high-pitched whistle.
On to the airflow. It’s incredibly low on the deck and is made up of four slots, with two on each side of the coil, pointing inwards. When built correctly, this creates a smooth, semi-restricted draw with brilliant flavour. I build my Hadaly with a 5-wrap 0.3Ohm Fused Clapton and find this to be about perfect.
The Hadaly is a little too open for my preference, which is a true RDL, found in atomisers like the Haku Venna and 5A’s Basic 1.1. Many people prefer a bit more air than myself though, so I can see the appeal. In any case, the flavour production of this RDA was top tier at the time of release and is still among the best today. I think it’s edged out by more restricted atomisers but this is a personal preference.
The only thing about the Hadaly that really annoyed me at the time of release was its tendency to leak when squonking. I installed the squonk pin again for this Retro Vaping and yes, it’s just as I remember. Since the airflow sits so low, any e-liquid that makes its way to the edge of the deck is liable to flow out the side of the atomiser, so a very light touch is needed when squonking. This isn’t a deal-breaker but it is something to be aware of.
In summary, the Hadaly is rightly well regarded as one of the most influential RDAs of the last few years. It still competes in terms of flavour production, is relatively easy to build and looks the part on a wide variety of mods due to its minimal design. Pretty much all of the quirks of this atomiser have been eliminated in Psyclone’s more recent products, especially the Citadel. If you missed the boat with the Hadaly but want a semi-restricted 22mm flavour banger, I wholeheartedly recommend you go and pick one of those up.
