VOOPOO DRAG 4 Kit Review: Test Results Are In

Product intro and specs

The VOOPOO DRAG 4 kit is the latest kit from VOOPOO. Most vapers know who they are by now, but they’ve been kinda hit or miss. They burst onto the vape scene with the original DRAG mod, which was widely popular and loved due to being an affordable and well-built device that worked well. The DRAG 2 follow up though was a disappointment, so they lost some goodwill over time but still have a fan base.

The DRAG 4 kit is now the latest in the line, so we’ll see if it lives up to the original. This is a fully-fledged dual-18650 mod and sub ohm tank kit—it’s nice to see a more advanced device come out instead of the pods and AIOs that have flooded the market, even though dual-battery mods aren’t as popular as they once were.

The DRAG 4 mod is rated for a 177-watt output and comes with wooden or resin battery panels and leather backing, while the tank in the kit is the UFORCE-L, which is the latest in the line of UFORCE tanks and uses the PNP coils. 

Price: $39.99 (at Element Vape)
Colors: Black & walnut, pale gold & walnut, gunmetal & rosewood, gunmetal & tropical orange, and more.

First impressions

The mod feels very well-built. It’s much more like the popular original than the DRAG 2. The battery door fits great, and the battery tray is practical and makes battery switching easy. Looks like they fixed the issues that plagued the DRAG 2. Also worth noting is that I was never a fan of the giant “DRAG” logo on the older versions. I found it tacky. This one dropped that and made it a small logo that looks much classier. Overall, I was pretty impressed with the mod itself.

Build quality and design

The mod features a large rectangular color screen that’s bright and easy to see and looks great. They don’t list a size, but it appears to be around one inch. It’s not a super small mod, but it’s a good size for a dual-18650 device. The 510 pin is great and gave me no issues with any atomizer, and the included tank fits nicely on it and looks great. The included tank, which is 25.5 mm in diameter, fits excellent on it and looks like it’s made for the mod. It looks like 26 mm is the largest you can go without an overhang.

The battery door is a magnetic plate which is pretty much the back half of the mod, and it pulls right off. It has both panels and the backplate on it. The magnets are strong, the plate fits perfectly, and there is a protective coating on the door with a battery warning on it.

There are six color options in total. Three that have resin panels and three that have wood panels. All six come with leather backing. For the resin options, they all have a gunmetal body. The options are ocean blue (blue resin mixed with blue leather,) forest green (green and black resin mix with black leather,) and tropical orange (orange and black resin with black leather). For the wood series, the bodies have different colors. There is pale gold with walnut, black and walnut, and gunmetal with rosewood. I got the black and walnut, and it looks sleek and classy. The wood panels look and feel great, and the leather is thick and soft. Judging from the pictures, I really like the forest green resin too.

Features and functions

For the power modes, you have RBA, Eco, and Smart. RBA is your standard power mode, so I’m not sure why they don’t just call it that. Eco is supposed to save battery life, but the only way to do that is to vape less or lower power output, so it doesn't make sense. And Smart just locks in a wattage range based on resistance, preventing you from overpowering or underpowering the coils by too much. Honestly, none of that is needed, in my opinion. It should just have the RBA mode, preheat options, and a watt curve mode.

For temp control mode, they offer Ni, Ti, SS316, and SS430, but Ni and Ti have really died down in vaping usage these days, so just SS316, SS430, and a custom TCR would have been fine. Still, it has the basics needed.

One of my favorite features is the lock slider right below the screen. You can slide it up and down. Down locks it, and up unlocks it. Via the menu, you can choose what it locks with the options. There are three in total: you can lock just the adjustment buttons (but can still fire,) completely lock the mod so it can't fire or be adjusted, or make it an on-off switch without having to do the five clicks. I like using it as a full lock to pocket the device without worries about it firing. Lock sliders are great and really should become a standard on mods, but for now, it’s a great feature that not many mods have.

Using the DRAG 4 mod

• Click the fire button five times to turn it on/off.
• Push up or down to adjust wattage or temp.
• Hold up and down to enter the menu.
• In TC mode, use fire and down to change from F to C.
• In TC mode, use fire and up to adjust watts (up to 80).

In the menu you can adjust the mode, program the lock slider, reset your puffs, and change the screen color. There are five options: classic, green, yellow, purple, and pink. The screen displays the wattage, a puff counter, a battery meter (individual with percentages which is nice,) resistance, puff timer, and voltage output.

Power mode performance

During my testing, the max achieved wattage was 189, so excellent rating at 177 watts. The amp limit I got was 40 with a 0.1-ohm coil, which is average for dual-18650 battery mods. The volt limit I got was 7.163, so there is no boost circuit which isn’t a requirement for dual battery mods (it is, however, a plus when it’s present.) In any case, the 8.4V listed is theoretical and won’t ever be reached, so the lack of a boost circuit doesn’t affect performance. Without a boost circuit, a 7.5V rating would have been more accurate. Overall though, it performs well in power (RBA) mode. It’s a pretty accurate mod, only being a few watts off in the ranges most people will use it.

The mod adjusts in full-watt increments. It scrolls fast, but it does not round-robin, which is no big deal. You can see the full test results below.

There is also no passthrough vaping, which is something that VOOPOO seem to be omitting on most of their devices. On a positive note, it shows individual battery percentages while charging, which is nice.

Temperature control performance

UFORCE-L tank rundown

It comes in three colors: black, gunmetal, and silver. I got the black which matches the frame of the mod in the kit. The drip tip is a standard wide-bore 810 drip tip. It does have a good 5.5 mL capacity, thanks to the included bubble tank. The fill method is the half-turn “switchblade” type as I call it, which is great. Excellent and easy to fill. The tank has some weight to it for sure and is well-built with good threading.

To replace the coil, you unscrew the base of the tank and pop the coil out. The coil does stick out enough you should be able to pull it out easily without the need for any tools. I had no issues doing it personally.

Based on included coils and airflow, this is a DL tank for the medium wattage range of about 40-80 watts. There are two coil options in the kit, but a total of eight are available right now (plus an RBA option.) The two coils included are the following:

• The PNP-TW15 0.15-ohm mesh coil (55-70 watts)
• The PNP-TW20 0.20-ohm mesh coil (40-55 watts)

Trying both coils, I was not impressed. Top airflow is known for not being very good for flavor (even ones routed to the bottom like this one) but mainly made for leak prevention. But I've tried a lot of top-airflow tanks, and this one has really weak flavor performance, in my opinion. The 0.15 ohm at 65 watts was the peak performance I got from this tank, and even at that, the flavor was muted and light.

Overall, it’s a well-built tank that looks nice and is easy to use, but the flavor just isn’t up to par—even for what it is.

Pros / Cons

Gallery

Verdict

Have you tried the DRAG 4 kit? How was your experience with it? Let me know in the comment section below.