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Voopoo DRAG S & X Review: More Mods than Pods
Product intro and specs
Voopoo is rocking the pod mod waters once again, with two new installments in the DRAG line of successful vape mods. The DRAG S and DRAG X are two pod-style AIOs that take the same PnP coils as the Vinci line and, in many ways, seem to be direct successors to the Vinci and the Vinci X respectively.
Both devices are equipped with the GENE-TT chipset, take 4.5 mL pods, and charge through a USB Type-C port. The S has a 2600 mAh internal battery, while the X takes an 18650—which makes it feel more like a mod, especially since a 510 adapter is in the works according to Voopoo.
I usually need around two weeks of daily use before I start working on a review, but for these two I had to make an exception. I’ve been using them non-stop for a week and they are already my go-to setups for DL vaping. Keep reading to find out what impressed me about the DRAG X and S.
Both devices are equipped with the GENE-TT chipset, take 4.5 mL pods, and charge through a USB Type-C port. The S has a 2600 mAh internal battery, while the X takes an 18650—which makes it feel more like a mod, especially since a 510 adapter is in the works according to Voopoo.
I usually need around two weeks of daily use before I start working on a review, but for these two I had to make an exception. I’ve been using them non-stop for a week and they are already my go-to setups for DL vaping. Keep reading to find out what impressed me about the DRAG X and S.
Price: Drag X ($42.95) / Drag S ($46.95) Here
Colors: Classic, carbon fiber, retro, mashup, chestnut, marsala, galaxy blue
Colors: Classic, carbon fiber, retro, mashup, chestnut, marsala, galaxy blue
Specifications
- Name: DRAG S / DRAG X
- Dimensions: DRAG S (87 mm x 33 mm x 28 mm) / DRAG X (95 mm x 32.5 mm x 28 mm)
- Material: Alloy and leather
- Output power: DRAG S (5-60 watts) / DRAG X (5-80 watts)
- Output voltage: 3.2-4.2 volts
- Resistance: 0.1-3.0 ohms
- Battery: DRAG S (2600 mAh internal) / DRAG X (single 18650)
- Pod capacity: 4.5 mL
- Material: PCTG
Kit contents
- 1 x Device
- 1 x PnP pod
- 2 x Coils (DRAG S: 0.2 ohm and 0.3 ohm / DRAG X: 0.15 ohm and 0.3 ohm)
- 1 x Type-C cable
- 1 x User manual
Build quality and design
Let’s start with aesthetics: both these kits are stunning! I received the Mashup and Retro editions, and I honestly can’t even find one thing to fault them from a design perspective. From the leather textures and details, to the fabric texture of the “mashup” edition and its original Aegis vibes, the DRAG X and S are some of the best looking and most well-built devices I have held in a long time. I’m not 100% sure that Voopoo uses real leather on them, but it sure looks realistic to me.
Maybe some won’t love the large DRAG branding up front, but it blends better than it does on the mods. And after all, that’s one of the things the DRAG line is known for. The screen is large, colorful, and bright and wattage is visible even under direct sunlight. The transparent PCTG material used on the pods is a great fit for the mod and kinda looks like one of those sexy aftermarket transparent RDA caps. Seriously, even the airflow adjustment system looks awesome—and unlike the Vincis, the airflow is fully adjustable on the DRAGs. Color me impressed!
Both devices are a bit smaller than their equivalents in the Vinci line, and have a better hand feel due to their rounded shape. At 95 mm x 32.5 mm x 28 mm, the Drag X is 8 mm taller than the DRAG S, and a bit taller than your average 18650 mod. And with their shape and reduced width, the form factor is great on both devices. As for weight, the DRAG S at around 150 grams is significantly heavier than the original Vinci, while the 165 grams of the DRAG X are close to the 175 grams of the Vinci X. Outside of size and weight, the only difference between the X and the S is that the X has a battery cap. It feels high quality, opens easily, and clicks in place securely.
The pods come with a much better plug than the flimsy one that came with the Vinci pods, and the magnets are super strong. Plus, the built-in mouthpiece is rounded this time around, and feels just like one of these large 510s made for DL vaping. All in all, the DRAGs pass the build quality and design test with flying colors.
Getting started
The GENE.TT chipset feels like an updated GENE.AI chip with one main addition. There’s a score ranking mode taking up around half of the screen, which calculates some type of a score every time you take a puff and adds it to a cumulative score. It seems to be granting you some medals depending on your level or something along these lines. Bottom line is, well, that the score mode is useless in my opinion. I wish they kept all that screen space for something more useful. But that’s hardly a deal breaker.
Other than that, you get your wattage, voltage, resistance, and a battery meter on the screen. Operations are fairly straightforward.
- Five clicks of the power button turn the device on and off.
- Three clicks of the fire button to change between “smart” and “RBA” mode on the X (the S allows you to swap between button press and auto-draw mode too).
- Press up or down to adjust the wattage.
- Pressing up and down together enters the PUFF interface (keep fire pressed for 2 seconds to exit).
- Clicking fire while in the puff interface shows chipset info.
- Pressing fire and down together resets your daily puff number.
- Pressing fire and up together locks the device (you can’t fire it or change wattage when locked).
- Pressing all three buttons at the same time enters the clock interface (keep fire pressed for 2 seconds to exit).
Excluding the scoring mode, which doesn’t allow any interaction anyway, the rest is very similar to the Vinci line. The puff counter shows the number of puffs for the last 14 days and all key combos are basically the same. And similar to the Vincis, both the X and the S will go to standby mode if left unused for a while, and you will need to press fire to wake them up. Fortunately, it takes 30 minutes to enter standby mode for the DRAGs, so that shouldn’t be an issue too often.
The pods are bottom-filled, and the filling port is large enough to use even with droppers. To replace the coil, all you need to do is pull the old one out and push the new one in. Both devices will auto-set the wattage once the pod is in place.
The S can be used both in auto-draw and button mode, while the X doesn’t support auto-draw. That’s a recurring theme (the Vinci X also didn’t support auto-draw) and I am guessing that it is some kind of a limitation that comes with external batteries. In any case, I don’t care about auto-draw in a device like this, so I personally don’t mind at all. Finally, both devices are firmware updateable but note that according to Voopoo, “the side of Type-C data line marked with a triangle shall face downwards”.
Performance
Both devices come with a 0.3-ohm coil (check here for more info) while the DRAG X also packs a 0.15-ohm mesh coil rated for 60-80 watts, and the DRAG S a 0.2-ohm mesh coil rated for 40-60 watts. These new coils have an interesting design, with the wick holes being significantly cut down—in fact, I wasn’t sure that the holes are exposed enough to allow proper wicking. I tested both coils with 70/30 and 80/20 3 mg juices and found that they kept up without a struggle.
The 0.15-ohm coil produces excellent flavor and impressive clouds at 60-65 watts with the airflow around ¾ open. I strongly recommend only using 25-amp batteries like the VTC5As, and not going over 70 watts when using this coil. I actually don’t see any reason to even go over 65 watts, as it performs impressively at that wattage. The only downside of this coil is that it may heat up the mouthpiece at times, especially when chain vaping on it. This was more of an issue with a fresh coil, and it is a small price to pay for a coil that performs at such a high level.
As for the 0.2-ohm coil, again, flavor is excellent. It is not as cloudy as the 0.15-ohm coil, but it’s not far from it. It is noticeably cooler, but not enough to warrant raising nicotine levels. Closing the airflow halfway warms it up and helps with flavor, but also heats up the mouthpiece. I settled with the airflow 2/3 open and I find it to be a great vape overall.
I don’t know how they managed to do that, but I don’t think I’ve seen the contacts of a pod mod being so dry before. Some barely visible droplets and that’s about it! As for coil life, I have been trying both of these at the same time and I can’t give you a specific number (I lost count!). But I can ensure you that they are lasting for long, as I have filled the pods at least five times each (probably closer to seven times) and while they look black enough to warrant replacement, they are still vaping just fine.
An interesting thing I noticed, is that the 0.15-ohm coil vapes really well in the 40-60 watt range. It’s a close call, but I think I actually prefer it to the 0.2-ohm coil even in this range. Which is great because you’ll be saving even more battery this way. But regardless of performance, I’d suggest getting a second pod and some 0.6-ohm coils to go with it for when you’re out and about. The 0.6-ohm coil may not be as flavorful as those two, but you will be getting a lot more life out of the battery with it and its 20-28 watt rating. You can read more about this coil here.
I couldn’t try these kits for MTL due to not having any 1.0-ohm coils left, but it seems that the new airflow system will probably not allow tight MTL vaping. I did wish they came with an RBA head in the box, but it’s fine if it keeps the price lower. I also think that they need to redesign the existing RBA head—I’ve tried it on the Vinci Air and the Navi and it is a real hassle to build, mainly due to the tiny hex screws and the weird angle of the wick ports.
Finally, Voopoo says that a 510 adapter is coming, which will allow the X and S to be used with your own tanks. A 24 mm sub ohm tank would be a perfect fit on top of these mods, and I’d also really love to use them with an MTL tank for the added battery life.
Battery life and charging
Battery life on the DRAG X will obviously be dependent on your 18650, but I got around one and a half pod with my VTC5A using it at 60-65 watts. On the DRAG S with the 0.2-ohm coil, I got close to two pods (appx. 8 mL) on a charge at 50 watts. As for charging speed, I only tested the DRAG S—I recommend charging 18650s on an external charger. I timed a full charge at 1 hour 20 minutes, which is pretty fast considering the 2600 mAh battery that’s in it. Even if the battery capacity rating is a bit inflated, the 2-amp charging seems legit.
Both devices charge through USB Type-C ports, and none of them support pass-thru. Not a big issue for me, especially considering how fast I can get a full charge on the DRAG S.
As a side note, the DRAG X keeps the puffs on the counter when removing the battery, which is great, but it erases the time—which can be pretty annoying because it asks you to re-set it every time. It’s just one prolonged click of the fire button to exit the time setting menu, so if you don’t mind using a watch or your phone for the time, it’s not a big deal. Hopefully they can fix that with a firmware update.
Pros / Cons
- (+) Excellent build quality
- (+) Great looks
- (+) Leather parts are a nice touch
- (+) Large transparent pods
- (+) Large filling port (and a good plug)
- (+) Strong magnets
- (+) Large and bright color screen
- (+) Fully adjustable airflow
- (+) No leaking whatsoever
- (+) Easy to operate
- (+) Great flavor and vapor production on both coils
- (+) 0.15-ohm coil can be used at lower wattages
- (+) Good life on both coils
- (+) Many coils to choose from (including lower wattage options)
- (+) 510 adapter is in the works
- (+) DRAG X takes and 18650 battery
- (+) Good capacity on the DRAG S (2600 mAh)
- (+) USB Type-C charging port
- (+) DRAG S charges pretty fast (1 hour 20 minutes)
- (-) Scoring feature doesn’t seem useful (and takes up half of the screen)
- (-) DRAG X resets the time when you swap batteries
- (-) No pass-thru vaping
- (-) Some may not love the “DRAG” logo
- (-) Mouthpiece may get hot at times
Gallery
Verdict
If you are not sure which of these devices is a better fit for your needs, I’ll sum it up for you. The DRAG X is a bit taller, doesn’t have auto-draw mode, takes an 18650 battery, and fires 20 watts higher (although I suggest not going that high anyway). It will also keep asking you to set the time every time you replace the battery. Other than that, they are practically the same device.
Outside of the minor time setting inconvenience, the only thing I’d change here is that I’d remove this weird puff score feature and use the screen space for something useful. From a build quality and design perspective, the DRAG pod mod line excels. The Vincis were already great devices, but the DRAGs are better in every perspective. The new coils are rocking, full airflow adjustability is great, and overall aesthetics and build quality make the DRAG S and X my favorite pod mods on the market right now.
I do appreciate the smaller form factor, so out of the two I have been using the S more. But if you want your device to last the test of time, then using the X with replaceable 18650s might be the best option. All in all, that’s an impressive product line, and I can easily recommend it to anyone looking for a semi-portable direct-lung setup.
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Article Author: Spyros Papamichail
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