We love the Serpent Mini and when the Alto was announced we were stoked. At first glance it looks like a more compact, more elegant version of the original, on second glance you’ll notice some big changes on the airflow and build deck. Now is this change good?
The Alto is elegant, the smaller new top cap design and use of dual o-rings on the top work well with the new cooling fins at the base of the drip tip. Wotofo has abandoned their beefy stainless drip tip in place for a bit too wide of a bore delrin tip. It’s a clean little package. This atty is definitely going after a more restricted flavourful vape. The new build deck is a major departure and adds indirect airflow from behind the coil as well as a new dual airflow from below. This new post design is easy to use, it would have been nice to see staggered wire lead holes. The Alto looks very similar to its predecessor but there are many slight difference that just don’t add up to an atty that is as good. The Chimney is a bit more squared off, the juice ports are staggered back towards the posts, and the airflow comes in through an AFC that is only on one side of the base.
Flavour is quite good when everything is set just right. That’s the problem, it’s hard to get consistent performance out of the Alto. The airflow isn’t tight enough to be a true MTL atty and yet it’s tighter than the original. When things are going right it’s a nice, dense flavourful vape. It’s one of those attys that shows moments of brilliance, these are the ones that can cause major frustration. It’s such a nice looking, tight little package, you want to love it. We are having a hard time understanding what Wotofo was aiming at with the Alto, we think it was to tailor to a more MTL crowd, but the specs are off (it has an identity crisis, more airflow based on the deck design would be a benefit). The Airflow is smooth and relatively quite. You can however feel its one sided nature.
Building is easy, the post design works well. Placing the coil is a little counter intuitive however. You would think you should align your coil to the airflow, but really you want to align to the juice ports. So get your coil in tight to the posts and have the back and bottom airflow peeking out from the side of the coil (basically the coil sits just below the post tops and half way across the bottom airflow). Wicking seems to be the biggest downfall of the Alto. It reminds us of older RTAs (UD Goblin V1 & V2) when a wick haircut was mandatory to get it wicking properly. That holds true for the Alto, your wick needs to be just so, half way down the channels (not touching the base) and just dense enough to stop leaking while not stifling juice flow. We consider ourselves pretty accomplished builders and we have had a very hard time getting a consistent vape. As for our favourite build, it’s not the gorgeous Definitive Clapton pictured, it’s a simple 6 wrap, spaced, 25awg, 2.5mm, at 0.5-0.6 Ohms run at 25-30W. Again, when it’s wicking right it’s a great vape.
Capacity is up 0.5ml from the original, which is a big deal for the reduction in overall size. It last a decent amount of time (couple of hours). And because it isn’t a wicking champ it’s suited to a more relaxed vaper (not a chain vaper like us) and this makes the juice last even longer.
We were so stoked and thought the Alto was a V2 of our beloved Serpent Mini. It isn’t and is suited to a vaping style that isn’t us. If you like to have the occasional toot it might be right up your ally, but if you want puff away the day, it’s not for you. The performance is good, the flavour is pretty great, it’s just not the original (which is still in our top favs). Build quality, included extras, and packaging are all great and to be expected by Wotofo at this point. Listen it’s a good atty for a very particular vaper. Now we wait for the upcoming Serpent RDTA…
Good job, nice honest review. Is there a chance you could review the Exo Rta from iJoy? From what I saw in the pictures the base seems interesting and could give a nice flavor. And yes it looks similar to the Ammit.
Hey Youlee,
The Exo is on the list, reviwing soon. Totally agree.
I just ordered a gorgeous gold edition Wotofo Serpent mini to go on my gold Disrupter. It’s gonna look so sweet! I can’t wait to try it. But I digress.
I hope you guys review the Spirals tank by Smok, as it’s an interesting little thing and I’d like to see your indepth review on it. It comes also with an RBA but I’m excited for my serpent mini because the Spirals started me wanting to build, but the deck is so tiddly and tiny. I think they will be very similar in terms of vape quality however. Still, glad I saw this and didn’t get to being dissapointed that I bought a Serpent instead of this! Which is a shame because I am liking the heat dissipation fins below the drip tip. Thanks for the reviews!
You won’t be disappointed. If we get our hands on the tank we’ll review for sure. Thanks for checking out the site. Vape on!
I got both Serpent Mini and Serpent Alto. I’ve tried many coils : 26 awg kanthal simple build 5 wrap, twisted 26awg 5 wrap, 26/34 ni80 clapton, 2×28/36 ni80 fused clapton. ID is 2mm and 2.5mm. Still cant get any flavor. What was the wrongs? Could anyone help me?
Hey Shin… Let’s see what we can do…
For the Serpent Mini, you want a 3mm coil at about 0.3-0.5 Ohms. For the Alto, don’t go above 2.5mm and try to get in around 0.5-0.7 Ohms. Coil placement is alway key, getting the coil centred with the airflow and slightly above is good. Wicking should be saturated, if your wicks are dry you are using too much cotton. It’s hard to really see what you are doing wrong without a visual. If you are still having trouble send us some pics of your builds. Good luck!
Going to pick up my Serpent RDTA in a few minutes actually and after reading this review of the Alto I’m happy I went with the RDTA instead of the Alto.
I do think the Alto is more of a V2 of the original Serpent RTA not the mini. My original Serpent just called it quits on me about a week ago. One of the posts finally stripped out and can no longer be tightened. I did love that RTA.
I also have a serpent mini 25MM which I love. Had the 22mm as well but I gave it away to a friend.
Big fan of the Wotofo Serpent line and hoping they add an RDA at some point.
Thanks for the reviews!
Hey Mark!
Hope you love the RDTA, we think it’s pretty great. Get a nice fine wire (28/38 or smaller) clapton in there! Vape on!
Hi, I just purchased a Serpent Alto tank. I tried coiling a couple of times and the liquid just leaks out of the airflow even though i closed the airflow when filling from the top. Do you experience such? If not, are there any tips you could provide to me to stop the tank from leaking when filling. Thank you
Hey Lim,
It is definitely a wicking issue, most likely not enough cotton. Please follow the pictures in the review and try again. Good luck!