VooPoo Drag 4 Kit
Simon got his hands on the new VooPoo Drag 4 kit, and it was love at first sight!
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by Si Davies
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Supplied by VooPoo for review
https://www.voopoo.com/drag-series/drag-4.html
$65.99 (VooPoo direct price)
What do we have here then? Another update to the classic DRAG series, I am still very happy with the Drag 3, but will the Drag 4 manage to beat that? It does indeed and for several great differences, I give it a damn good thrashing to find out how well it vapes.
- Size: 52.4*25.4*89mm
- Material: Leather + Zinc Alloy + Resin/Leather + Zinc Alloy + Walnut
- Battery: Double 18650 Batteries (Not included)
- Output Power: 5-177W
- Output Voltage: 3.2-8.4V
- Resistance range: 0.05-3.0Ω
- Charging voltage: 5V/3A
- Uforce L Tank Capacity 4ml/5.5ml (2ml TPD)
- Multi-Purpose Locking Switch
- Leak-proof Top Airflow
- New PnP TW series Coils with improved lifespan
Unboxing
VooPoo always manage to offer great packaging and often bring something new along, the Drag 4 kit’s box is quite clever in the way it replicates the mods' style, the outer sleeve has that wood effect of the battery cover and the main box matches the silver of the main body, even before you open it all up you get the impression something special is inside – top marks to VooPoo for making the unboxing part of the enjoyment.
Once you open up the box, you are presented with the Drag 4 mod and the Uforce L tank along with a welcome 5.5ml bubble glass section. A small detail I liked was that they opted to fit the straight glass as standard, to me it looks nicer and matches the kit better too.
Underneath the mod are the two PnP TW series coils (0.2ohm and 0.15ohm) in separate tear open bags, and underneath the blown plastic tray is another bag containing the manual, a ribbon style USB-C charging cable, and spare seals, there’s no surprises but it is a very complete kit.
First Impressions and Overview
My immediate reaction when I first picked up the mod was that it felt very serious, if that makes sense, as in it felt like the most professional looking kit that VooPoo have produced so far. It has a classical style but they have still managed to finish it off with some nice touches to give it a VooPoo feel to it still, the solidness reminded me of the original Drag but without that loud ‘DRAG’ plastered on it.
I just think it oozes class, the main zinc alloy body has a stepped edge all around which makes the simple shape look more interesting without looking busy, the battery cover brings the most style, and VooPoo have done something quite interesting there as there is a mixture of real wood and leather.
The wood panels appear to be high end automotive quality and feel very smooth to the touch, and the leather padding contrasts quite well, I could see why VooPoo opted for this section to be leather as it makes it feel more comfortable in the hand. Had it been a harder material, then the whole thing would have felt much too hard and sharp. A smaller detail I really liked was the ‘DRAG 4’ badge inset into the wood panel, I’m not one for branding but that tiny badge actually adds to the quality look to it and is a far cry from the earlier Drag series kits.
Unless I’m mistaken, the Drag 4 is VooPoo’s first C-Frame dual battery mod where the battery cover slides off rather than having a battery door and fall out batteries, for reasons I can’t quite explain, I just prefer this style and inevitably reminds me of Lost Vape who defined that look. Changing the batteries was simple enough and the orientation is clearly marked, the springs aren’t too stiff and won’t dent your cells like some battery contacts do, the ribbon makes it easy to remove them.
The fit of that cover is as perfect as it can be, it slides on effortlessly and snaps into place magnetically. I couldn’t see where the magnets were but they do the job well as the cover stays in place firmly and is unlikely to fall off in your bag or pocket.
Weight-wise, it comes in at 344g with a full 4ml tank which is quite heavy and is a far cry from the Drag 3 which focussed on keeping the weight down. If, like me, you prefer solid, weighty mods, then this feels solid and substantial and only adds to the overall quality feel of this kit, I liked the weight and it’s certainly not the heaviest kit I own.
Popping the new Uforce L tank onto it finishes off the look and adds to the overall style, I mean just look at it! Isn’t she a beauty? The preinstalled 4ml straight glass is just right and keeps a streamlined look to it, I never felt compelled to put the 5.5ml bubble glass onto it as it would just look so wrong, I can suffer that 1.5ml less for the sake of the looks, but at least VooPoo gave you that option.
As many of you will know, coming up with a new tank style is pretty hard these days so it’s tricky to come up with something that looks different, VooPoo have managed this with the UFORCE L tank. For a stock-coil tank, I think it looks superb. Better still; it is top airflow which makes it pretty leak-resistant. Then there’s the base design which has grooves to act as a heat-sync .
The machining and detailing manage to suit the mod with a kind of stepped edge look, I just found it really interesting to look at, to me that’s quite important in a tanks design, and this one is already one of my favourites.
Another thing I like is that it strips down easily which makes it simpler to clean and maintain, the glass seals aren’t too tight so I didn’t have that ‘crocodile wrestling’ frustration removing it. There was only one slight thing I thought could be better: the 810 drip-tip is quite plain. It’s not a bad shape and wouldn’t have bothered me had it not been for VooPoo’s gorgeous drip-tip on the latest Argus kit which had a metal rim at the base, you might notice I swapped it over on some photos.
I was surprised to see that VooPoo went with the PnP coil fitting, they are quite small coils for a tank of this size, but VooPoo have matched it up with their new latest PnP TW series coils which proved to be a smart choice (more on that in ‘Performance’).
- PnP TW15 0.15ohms 55-70watts
- PnP TW20 0.2ohms 40-55watts
They are a contradiction to everything I believed in mesh stock coils; small, thin cotton walled, and restrictive wicking ports. These usually suit single battery pods for lower powered RDL/DL vaping which is why I was surprised to see them in this dual battery kit, I was to be proven wrong when it got to ‘Performance’ as the PnP TW15 gave me the best DL vape I have experienced from PnP coils, so don’t let this put you off.
Filling the tank was a simple affair, the top-cap unscrews a third of a turn counter-clockwise, the knurled edge makes it easy to grip and unscrew. There are two kidney shaped fill ports which accept standard short-fill bottle tips, the second port prevented any airlocks and the seal helps prevent over-filling.
The airflow control proved to be another one of VooPoo’s best yet, top-airflow is ideal to prevent leaking. Usually any excess e-liquid follows the path of least resistance and escapes through airflow inlets, normally at the base, and pisses all over your hands and mod, top-airflow offers a tougher path for juice to escape, and in general use you won’t experience any leaks.
As for the actual airflow control, the vented slits and three sided inlets provided one of the airiest and least noisy draws I have experienced, usually top-airflow gives a more turbulent airflow, but not on this little bugger.
The end result makes the Uforce L not only VooPoo’s best yet, but also one of my favourite stock coil tanks to date, and using the newer TW series coils was a big part to that.
Controls
VooPoo have gone back to providing TC (Temperature Control) options which I am very happy about, it will make the DRAG 4 mod more attractive to DIY users with RTAs and RDAs, it would have been a crime against vapanity had VooPoo omitted this function.
The Gene 2.0 chipset is still very easy to use for new vapers and the basic functions will be all you need to know when using a stock coil tank.
- 5 x Fire = Turns device On/Off
- Press & hold Up/Down buttons = Enters main menu:
- MODE: Selects power mode (SMART/RBA/ECO/TC)
- SMART – Automatically sets the wattage to the coils resistance and limits the maximum wattage to 80watts.
- RBA – Un-restricts the maximum wattage (177watts Max)
- ECO – Power saving mode, provides a lower powered vape to prolong battery life)
- TC – Temperature control:
- Ni 200
- Ti
- SS316
- SS430
- SWITCH: Select the options for the locking switch
- PUFF RESET: Resets PUFF the magic DRAGon
- ABOUT: A bunch of serial numbers and bumf you don’t need to look at
- COLOUR: Whoop! VooPoo actually spelled it correctly – sod those yanks and their lazy spelling! – Anyway, you can cycle through assorted color schemes (couldn’t resist it, sorry)
- EXIT: I dunno, I was too scared to select it!
- MODE: Selects power mode (SMART/RBA/ECO/TC)
That’s pretty much it as far as the main modes go, but that ‘SWITCH’ function gets interesting, that little switch above the Up/Down buttons is a multipurpose locking switch;
- Full Lock – Locks all buttons including fire (most useful mode for in and out of your pocket)
- Power On/Off – Do I need to tell you? But it saves having to do the 5 x Fire
- Wattage – locks the Up/Down buttons (still fires)
It’s great to have those options available, usually I would just use the locking wattage option, but I ended up finding the full lock handier for when I was out and about, no more pocket firing for me!
Do you like 2 Amps fast charging? Well how about 3 Amps then? The Drag 4 has proper fast charging available for those that have a charger, otherwise it will still charge with older chargers but slower, but using the 5V/3A is great when time is an important factor. Personally I think it’s just a bit too much and I prefer to charge my batteries in a slower dedicated charger at 2 Amps max, I did try out using a 3 Amp charger and it was obviously pretty quick. I thought the mod would get quite hot but the metal battery cover absorbed the heat quite well, it’s your call which way you charge it, but I wouldn’t leave it unattended.
Compared to DRAG 3
As you can see from the below photo, the Drag 4 is radically different from the Drag 3. One of the main differences is the weight as the Drag 3 focussed on small size and light weight which it achieved admirably. It is still one of my favourite mods but there was a major flaw for DIY users as the chipsets was extremely limited, no TC options at all, in fact the only options you had were the scheme (two choices), Smart or RBA, and puff reset. While this made it perfect for beginners, VooPoo alienated most experienced users.
The mod aside, the Drag 3 was bundled with the PnP pod/tank which was also targeted at beginners and had the age old leaking/bed wetting issue.
The Drag 4 with Uforce L tank kit is so much better and for so many reasons; looks will be subjective and both look great, but the Drag 4 just looks more grown-up and classy. The controls are more expansive which makes it more attractive for new or experienced users, but there’s so much more; the locking switch, C-Frame, 3A fast charging, subtle branding, and then there’s its crowning glory; that Uforce L tank which looks the mutts nuts and was to prove a beast in performance.
I still love the Drag 3 and slamming a new Uforce L tank onto it will give it an up to date refresh as you will get exactly the same vape quality from it.
Performance
Onto what proved to be my favourite part, perhaps I had lower expectations than normal but I got an immediate wow factor from the vape quality and I had just left it to do its own ‘SMART’ thing, 60 watts using the 0.15ohm PnP TW15 coil, it was almost a perfect vape as is; wonderful flavour, warm but not hot, and that airflow! Damn this thing is super airy when wide open, I had to close it off to almost half-way to suit my preferences (I find I get a warmer vape at lower wattage by closing it off a little).
I’ve started a new paragraph for the vapour production as it took me by surprise, for such a small coil and at relatively low wattage, it belched out some impressive clouds. I was proper loving the vape I was getting from this Drag 4 kit and in no time my house had zero visibility so I had to take it outdoors for even more impressive clouds in the colder air. In the seclusion of my garden, I was having childish fun creating a fog layer on the grass.
Moving onto the less power hungry PnP TW20 coil was still very good but inevitably not as good as the TW15, perhaps I should have started with this one and built up, it still kicked ass compared to other PnP coils I had tried and a great option for when you need to reduce the vapour production or require an even longer battery life.
Battery life was excellent and made VooPoo’s choice of using these PnP coils more obvious, since I was only using 60 watts, the thing lasted me the best part of two days of moderate use. A heavy user should still be able to trust it for a working day and evening with the option of ECO mode should it fall short.
The vape quality sealed the deal for me, the Drag 4 and Uforce L tank kit won me over all-round, I enjoyed using and looking at the kit, it felt good in the hand and I knew I was going to get a proper full on DL vape each time. The coil lifespan proved to be as good as VooPoo had promised, I was into 35ml before I noticed any drop-off in flavour, and I never had anything close to a burning taste or a dreaded dry-hit.
What I wasn’t expecting was the Drag 4 kit to make my Argus GT II kit seem less, I loved that kit and vape, but the Drag 4’s flavour and draw felt better. Obviously I could just whack the Uforce L tank onto the Argus GT II and all is well again, but I love the look of that tank. Saying that, the top airflow is also better, sod it, I can see another Uforce L tank going into my shopping cart real soon (maybe two as my Drag 3 wants one too).
Conclusion
I think you can tell by now that I just love the Drag 4/Uforce L kit, it really feels that VooPoo have matured into a serious player in the vape market, they dump all over their competition for build and design these days, the hardware is classy and high quality, as is the actual vape and with the improved coils. I’ve always loved VooPoo’s designs, even if some are on the louder side, but I think the Drag 4 is the classiest kit yet and should deservedly win over more experienced vapers.
I’m approaching the Pros and Cons and I’m really struggling to attempt at finding any flaws or even subjective niggles, it simply has no Cons which isn’t all that rare these days, but more unusually I cannot find any niggles, VooPoo have ticked all my boxes and some. At the cruellest extreme you could say there is a lack of innovation, but I prefer the refinement over novelty ideas. I mostly MTL vape indoors due to the sticky residue of cloud lobbing, but the Drag 4 keeps ‘Drag’ging me outdoors as I can’t get enough of it.
Pros
- Classy and stylish use of wood
- C-Frame battery enclosure
- Controls are simple but expansive (trying to start with the letter C)
- Comfortable
- Coils are superb for flavour, vapour production and lifespan
- Cute…. Erm okay I am struggling with C’s already!
- CUforce tank is VooPoo’s finest to date
- CLeak-resistant
- Clocking switch
- Clearner friendly
- C (USB) fast charging at 3 Amps
- Celsius reducing heat-sync base (proud of that one as I thought I had run out)
- Criminally good value
- Clean looking control screen
- Cut above the rest
- C…… Okay I will stop there!
Cons
- Clearly there are none
Final Thoughts and Score
In this age of pods, more pods, and pod/mods, it has been a genuine treat to get hold of a proper vape kit such as this. Not only was it a welcome change, it was also one of the finest DL vapes I have had in a long while. The flavour from those new TW coils will make it my benchmark when I review short-fill e-liquids, that surely tells a lot. For around 60 quid, I would feel I got quite the bargain.
Score: 9.5/10 – Drag-On
Si Davies
Reviewer at POTVMy background is Engineering and Professional Photography. Mostly from POTV users knowledge I learned so much about pretty much all styles of vaping and equipment, Cloud Chasing, Squonking, Mouth To Lung, Direct To Lung, Pods, Mechs, Rebuild-able tanks and atomisers etc, and have experience with many many devices and atomisers, it's become a hobby and enjoy trying out the latest gear. I like to think my reviews are plain speaking and informative without getting too technical, if I have to resort to reading the manual then I don't consider it user friendly!
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