VooPoo Drag 4 Kit w/ New Uforce-L Tank
Welcome back to another Z-Lee review. Today we'll be taking a look at VooPoo's newest release, the Drag 4 kit featuring the Uforce-L tank. There are quite a few updates to this kit from the previous Drag releases that set it apart in a good way. There are some concerns about the accuracy of the specs however, which I'll cover down below.
I want to thank @VOOPOO_Official for giving me the opportunity to review the new Drag 4 kit, and as always, I will remain fair and honest with the information I am putting out throughout this critique.
A more complete and interactive experience can be found on VooPoo's site here.
Let's do it, shall we?
(most pictures can be clicked on for easier viewing/reading)
The Standard (& US) Packaging Includes:
◆ Drag 4 Mod
◆ Uforce-L Tank (4 mL straight glass pre-installed)
◆ Spare Bubble Glass (5.5 mL - 2 mL glass available for TPD)
◆ PnP-TW15 Coil (0.15 ohm)
◆ PnP-TW20 Coil (0.2 ohm)
◆ Pack of Spare O-Rings
◆ USB Type-C Cable (~1 foot)
◆ User Manual
Available Colors Are:
◆ Gunmetal & Ocean Blue (Resin Series)
◆ Gunmetal & Forest Green (Resin Series)
◆ Gunmetal & Tropical Orange (Resin Series)
◆ Pale Gold & Walnut (Wood Series)
◆ Black & Walnut (Wood Series)
◆ Gunmetal & Rosewood (Wood Series)
The common materials shared between the Resin and Wood Series' are leather and zinc-alloy. I was told that the wood and resin used are "solid wood" and a "natural resin". It's also stated that each removeable C-frame battery cover is unique in design. I wish I'd have received two different covers to verify that - if that is the case, that's pretty awesome.
Features Include:
◆ Top Air Inlet Leakage-Proof
◆ Dual-in-One PnP Coils
◆ Eco Mode
◆ 5V/3A Charging Speeds (2.1A tested)
◆ Multifunction Quick Switch Lock (QS)
◆ New TC Mode
◆ Compatibility with all PnP Coils
I wasn't particularly happy to see this. If you're an avid vaper at or around 60W, you know as well as I do that you cannot get 650+ puffs from a dual 18650 mod - maybe at 10 or 15W. I don't even see this happening with a dual 21700 DNA mod that boasts the highest battery efficiency currently on the market. Also the advertised charge rate is 3A, but I clocked it at 2.1A. While I'm not using state-of-the-art equipment, the performance I was getting is closer to 2A than 3A. I'll talk about this later in the review, and why I feel like reliable and truthful specs are important.
Like the Drag mods of the past, the wattage range only goes up to the peculiar 177W. My guess is that this is due to a limitation in the chip capping the amp draw. This isn't a bad thing at all for a couple of reasons. Very few people vape at that high of wattage, and reducing the amp draw limit helps to keep the batteries and mod internals from heating up quite as much prolonging the life of both components.
Testing & Observations:
First off, as a disclaimer, I received a sample package. It is very much a possibility that you receive or experience something differently from what you see in this review. I like that both coils come sealed so that we have the option to pick which coil we start with. More often than not, a coil comes pre-installed and I sort of feel forced to use it in fear of losing the already unwrapped coil to the nether. There really isn't a lot to this kit, but everything except the batteries and juice are here making this a decent starter kit right out of the box.
The Uforce-L Tank:
I presume the "L" in the Uforce-L tank is short for Leakage-proof. If you're familiar with the previous iterations of the Uforce tank, they've all been bottom airflow. As you can see, they've changed that up with the Uforce-L which I applaud. This tank has in fact been very good about not leaking, and I'm going to guess that's for more reasons than one. The first and biggest reason in my opinion is the new PnP coil which looks to be assembled extraordinarily better than the older PnP coils (pictures further down). Bottom airflow tanks do just fine with leaking if the coil seals very well, but when they don't you end up with a bottom airflow mess. Likewise in a top airflow tank, if the coil leaks, you're going to get a slurpy and gurgly vape because the airflow still goes through the same area, it just starts at the top and flows downward before flowing back up through the coil. I think the combination of the airflow and better quality coils makes this one of the better VooPoo tanks I've used to date.
The second vape setup I bought as a kit was the Drag Mini back in 2018. That kit came with the Uforce T2 tank which a lot of people raved about at the time, but I just wasn't all that impressed with it. I ended up going with the Freemax Mesh Pro tank and never regretted it. The Uforce-L from the few weeks I've tested it is leaps and bounds better than the T2.
The bottom cap has two brass-plated negative contacts and a single positive connector in the middle, all spring-loaded. It should be noted that if you put this tank in storage with the expectation that you will likely be pulling it back out again, be sure not to leave a coil inserted with the bottom cap screwed in tightly - those pins will get stuck. This applies to all tanks/pods with spring-loaded contacts. The bottom side of the tank (top right picture) sports 3 big kidney-shaped airflow holes to sufficiently pass air coming in through the 3 airflow inlets toward the top of the tank. There are no tricks to popping in a coil, simply drop one in (prime it if you wish) and press it in until you cannot see any part of the bottom O-ring on the coil.
Moving onto the second row of pictures, the left picture illustrates the removal of the glass tank. Be careful when doing so, the bottom O-ring around the coil housing will cause a bit of resistance for the bubble glass, and a lot of resistance for the straight glass as you remove it. The top of the tank is completely covered by a big rubber seal. There are two possible refill holes that you can choose from, the other serving as an air release when refilling. This has proved to be a great system and helps in preventing your nozzle from backflowing caused by air trying to escape the same hole that's being filled.
The next 3 pictures in the 3rd and 4th row show the airflow ring containing 3 airflow inlets evenly spaced around the cap that line up with 3 downward-slanted openings in the upper portion of the chamber. The inlets in the airflow control ring are "vented" and have no stopper - the airflow ring can be spun around indefinitely and it can also be removed while cleaning.
The drip tip is a removeable 810 and sports two of its own O-rings. The bottom side of the top cap has a small O-ring around it (not pictured) that you should take note of. If this O-ring ends up missing, you can expect your tank to leak.
The PnP-TW Coils:
If you're familiar with previous PnP coils, you'll notice the improvement in design and assembly. The O-ring sealing the bottom of the coil actually sits somewhat flush with the coil! There are a few indicators letting you know which coils are of the TW variant; the first tell tale indicator are the purple O-rings, and the second would be the writing on the side of the coil. PnP-TW coils come in 0.15, 0.2, and 0.3 ohm resistances as indicated by their names - TW15, TW20, and TW30. The TW15 has a wattage recommendation of 55-70W, the TW20 has a wattage recommendation of 40-55W, and the TW30 recommends 28-36W. It would be nice if the coils had the material they're made of listed on the side. Even on their website, I don't see any mention of coil metals.
The juice ports of the PnP coils look to be mistakenly offset, but I can assure you that they'll have absolutely no problem soaking up enough juice to keep the wick wet given you're staying within the recommended wattage range for each coil.
As I mentioned above, simply press the coil into the coil housing until you cannot see the O-ring and you should be fine.
I received the Pale Gold Walnut colorway for the review and I'm a bit torn by the aesthetic. The zinc-alloy constructon is quite solid for a VooPoo product and I believe this is their first attempt at a C-frame battery cover for a dual battery mod which was done quite well. The look however, I'm just not a fan of. The wood and leather (pleather?) combo reminds me of an old "woody" Plymouth Caravan, or Jeep Wagoneer. I'm super glad they moved away from that fad for a reason, lol. I'm not going to factor this into the overall rating because some of you might like this combo. The resin designs also look great from the looks of it. Also remember that all of the C-frames sport unique designs - they're all one-of-a-kind which is pretty neat.
On the front of the mod is where pretty much everything can be found. The fire button, UI, QS lock, up and down directional buttons, and the USB Type-C port. On the back of the mod is where you'll find a small VOOPOO logo centered on a cushiony leather strip and DRAG 4 plaquered just around the side. The only thing on the entire mod that's a fingerprint magnet is the fire button.
The top of the Drag 4 has a polished 510 plate with a spring-loaded brass-plated 510 pin. I was unable to get the 510 plate out, and am hoping it's fastened into the zinc-alloy frame instead of being press-fit.
The battery sled is spacious, making the use of external batteries a breeze; especially with the ribbon. The battery orientation indicators are pretty easy to see, but I suppose in poor lighting it might be more difficult to spot them. The top battery contacts are spring-loaded but are not nearly as stiff as I'm used to seeing in other mods.
For a dual 18650 mod, it's a tad on the heavier side. I'd take this over an aluminum chassis any day of the week and twice on Sunday. After hearing too many horror stories, I don't trust screws fastened down into aluminum. Pick your poison, to each their own.
The UI:
The Drag 4 is quite simple to operate and has more or less everything you'd want in a mod. We've seen the same GENE.TT 2.0 chip in several recent VooPoo devices. It does include Temp Control for Nickel 200, Titanium, Stainless Steel 316 and Stainless Steel 430 however, I do not have enough experience with TC to evaluate it for a review. The wattage controls in power mode scroll in full watt increments, accelerating after you hold it down for 2-3 seconds. It does not round-robin between the lowest and highest wattages.
The UI functions are as follows:
◆ To turn the mod on/off: 5x clicks of the fire button
◆ To fully lock the device: 3x clicks of the fire button (the QS lock can also be set to do this)
◆ To access the main menu: Hold the up and down directional buttons for ~2 seconds
▶ MAIN MENU:
● MODE - Firing Modes
► SMART - User-friendly mode to help new users
► RBA - Full 5 to 177W range
► ECO - Reduces the power output by 10%
► TC - Ni 200, Ti, SS316, SS430 (Down + fire = ℃/℉; Up + fire = change wattage)
● SWITCH - Choose how the QS lock behaves (illustration above)
► Lock entire mod
► Power off the entire mod
► Lock the wattage controls (can still fire)
● PUFF RESET - Hmmm...
● ABOUT - Chip ID & Level Code?
● COLOR - Illustrations above
► CLASSIC
► GREEN
► PINK
► PURPLE
► YELLOW
Overall I think the colors are a bit drab for my liking, but otherwise a pretty decent mod. The button layout with the QS lock on top always has me pressing the QS lock as the up key. I think the organization would have been better if the lock was in the middle of the directional buttons, or at the bottom.
+ + Pros + +
→ Uforce-L Tank
◆ Well Built/Durable
◆ Quarter-turn Top Cap
◆ No Leaks
◆ Great Flavor
◆ Easy to Refill
◆ Top Airflow
◆ Tight RDL to Almost Full Open DL
◆ Big Tank (5.5 mL Bubble Glass)
◆ Much Improved PnP Coils
◆ Long Lasting PnP-TW Coils
◆ Removeable 810 Drip Tip
◆ USB Type-C Port
→ Drag 4 Mod
◆ Well Built
◆ Tank Sits Flush on Mod
◆ UI is Easy to Understand
◆ Good Power Output
◆ Fast Firing
◆ Dual Battery (18650)
◆ Batteries are Very Easy to Remove
◆ Can Choose What QS Lock Switch Does
- - Cons - -
→ Uforce-L Tank
◆ It's a Bit Tall
→ Drag 4 Mod
◆ QS Lock Switch is in a Funky Spot
◆ Charge Port Charges at 2.1A Max
◆ Eco Mode Seems Like a Waste (You can simply reduce the wattage if need be)
◆ You Will Not Be Getting 650+ Puffs in a Single Discharge (Unless you're using like 10-15W)
◆ Charging via USB Type-C Doesn't Quite Seem to Charge Evenly (I don't recommend charging batteries internally)
+ - Preferential Considerations - +
→ Uforce-L Tank
◆ Top Seal is Difficult to Clean
◆ Tank Extends Out A Tad Past The Edges of the Mod
→ Drag 4 Mod
◆ Zinc-alloy (It's a bit weighty)
◆ C-frame Battery Cover
◆ Wood Series is Lack Luster
◆ UI Color Choices Are a Bit Drab
◆ No Pass-through Vaping
Overall Rating:
8.5-9
(A solid choice for an RDL/DL vaper)
And that's all folks. I hope I've informed you well enough about the new VooPoo Drag 4 Kit to aid in any decision-making you may be making. Admittedly, I've not been a fan of many VooPoo products put out in the last 2 or so years (my original Drag Mini was great) for many reasons ranging from cheap materials/assembly, to straight out false advertisement. There's a reason people like Mooch are important in our community, and that's because he verifies the validity of the advertised specs and openly shares that with the community. For mods and kits, it's less about the safety factor, and more about getting what you pay for instead of embellished specs. There's a lot of respect out there for companies that are honest with what their products can do reliably, and I'm all about sharing that info given the chance to review it.
Thank you for taking the time to sit through another review.
Happy Holidays and Happy Vape Hoarding!
Purple
