The Augvape Druga Narada Pro pod mod review and a lot of ‘improvements’ to the original.
As to if the changes have made a big difference we shall of course see.
Once again, there’s an RBA deck that can be bought separately and I shall of course be looking at that too.
OK, Augvape is a very established vape manufacturer and most if not all of its products are well received.
I’ve really enjoyed their mods – tanks and rebuildables, with standouts the awesome BTFC RDA [still my go to] – the Merlin Nano RTA – the Foxy Druga mod and I really am still enjoying the Mass Mod S2 mech squonker.
So a pretty good pedigree and given I wasn’t that keen on the original Narada Druga pod kit – let’s hope this one is a major improvement.
What Can We Expect From the Augvape Druga Narada Pro?
I’m hoping the changes have increased the flavour more than anything – I found the last version a little lacking in that department.
As you’ll see there’s certainly been some major tweaks – some might say total changes – and again as to if they’ve helped we’ll certainly see.
In a nutshell this is 30w max pod kit with airflow control – an LED screen and a wheel to roll through your options.
In the box are a DTL and MTL coil – the pod is now a side fill and an RBA kit can be bought separately.
OK, this pod mod vape was sent to me free of charge for the purpose of this review direct from Augvape – thank you – and as always my thoughts and opinions are not swayed by freebies.
BTW, and as I mentioned in the original Narada review – the name is a Hindu storyteller…
So let’s see what vaping story this one has to tell…
Inside the Box
- 1x Druga Narada Pro
- 1x 1 ohm Coil
- 1x 0.4 ohm Mesh Coil
- 1x USB Cable Lanyard
- 1x User Guide
Augvape Druga Narada Pro – Specs and Features
- 950mAh built in battery
- USB C Charging
- 80% charge in 25min
- 2ml Pod Capacity
- Sliding Adjustable Airflow
- Side Fill
- One Wheel Button Operation
- Top Mounted OLED Screen
- Upgradeable Firmware
Key Features
There’s been some major upgrades to the Augvape Druga Narada Pro – almost top to toe.
There’s now an LED screen and you cycle through your options using a wheel – reminiscent of the control on the Augvape VTEC 1.8.
The wheel also acts as the fire button and you can lock in your preferred wattage by clicking x3.
Augvape has kept it all very simple only displaying your wattage – battery level and resistance – so straightforward enough even for absolute beginners to vaping.
On the original you needed to remove the panels to get to the pod – now the pod snaps in and out from the side.
This now means you don’t need to dissemble the kit to get at the airflow, whilst it’s still on the pod – you can reach it whilst vaping buy pushing the little button up or down to suit.
You still need to remove the pod to fill which is not to much of a problem at all in the scheme of things.
It’s also a tad shorter and maybe not as heavy. Indeed the original Augvape Druga Narada was a solid piece of kit in the hand. The Pro is still sturdy but just somehow feels a little lighter – more on that in a moment.
Less Power
It’s a touch less powerful with a 950mAH battery maxing out at 30w and using the control wheel you can increase or decrease the wattage in 1w steps.
The Augvape Druga Narada Pro has USB-C fast charging and yeah I got it from flat to fully charged in just under half an hour – BTW, the lanyard acts as the cable as it did on the original.
Note: my review sample came with a bog standard cable…
OK, the pods are a 3.7ml or the 2ml TPD max – and the kit comes with x2 coils: 1.0 ohm MTL coil and the 0.4 ohm mesh coil for DTL.
Read more: Mouth To Lung (MTL) VS Direct To Lung (DTL) Vaping: What’s The Difference?
And to top it all off – there’s also an RBA deck which I shall also be looking at…a case of pass the supa-dupa magnifying microscope thing…
Augvape Druga Narada Pro – Quick Start Guide
- x5 clicks on and off
- Use wheel to scroll through wattage level
- Click x3 to lock wattage in
- Fill pod from side
- Remove coil via push and pull
- Sit pod with ‘lip’ pointing towards the device
- Vape!
Design and Build Quality
I’ve touched on the build quality and not sure why but the Augvape Druga Narada Pro doesn’t feel as solid in the hand or as well built to me.
It’s made from the same materials so it might just be my usual half assed opinion – but hey there it is…
The pods certainly don’t feel as ‘robust’ and the silicone stopper feels a little flimsy.
As for the airflow control – that too is a little stiff even after a lot of use from the pod, and if that works I’ll look at later.
Design wise – I much prefer the original which looked classy and screamed quality.
It could be that I received the grey and wood design – just looks a little tacky to me – the sticker is on firm enough – I just don’t like it.
Other options look a lot better – black and carbon and red and black.
So I’m a little underwhelmed at this point…so let’s see how the Augvape Druga Narada Pro pod kit vapes.
How Does the Augvape Druga Narada Pro Perform?
As I’ve already mentioned, there’s a DTL and MTL coil included as well as the RBA deck.
So let’s break it down to bite sized performance pieces.
How To Fill the Augvape Druga Narada Pro
The pod has a 3.7ml OR 2ml capacity depending on where you are in the world.
You fill by removing the silicone stopper – that simple!
Augvape Druga Narada Pro – 0.1ohm MTL Coil
I used my go to nic salt – Pachamama Sorbet – that stuff is liquid crack lol.
I began at a conservative 18w with the airflow pushed up fully – meaning wide open.
On a scale of 1:10 with 10 being the tightest, wide open and I’d place this at around a 7.5 – so reasonably loose and bang on my preferred style.
Not a huge difference half closed and once fully ‘shut off’ things really didn’t tighten up that much.
I’d pop this setting in the mid to high 7’s – a looseish MTL vape I guess.
Flavour wise it was OK – just short of good – though things improved after the second fill.
I found a happy medium at half open at 21w a touch over the max.
Not sure if ‘clouds’ are really a thing any more – but for a small device that MTL coil certainly pumped them out – impressive.
Augvape Druga Narada Pro – 0.4ohm DTL Coil
I thought I’d see if the Augvape Druga Narada Pro DTL coil could handle a 70/30 VG PG mix.
I used the Pachamama Fuji Apple Strawberry Nectarine – which if you haven’t tried it – you really should!
I let the juice sit on the coil for a good ten minutes – known as priming your coil – to let it all soak in.
No worries at all wicking and with the airflow wide open with 10 being as airy as it can get it was around a 9 – plenty of air!
Half closed and it was spot on my sweet spot – though again not much of a difference in airflow if I’m honest.
Flavour wise not bad – not amazing but slightly better than good and again the clouds were impressive.
BTW both coils are very noisy…
Augvape Druga Narada Pro – RBA Deck
If you read my review of the original you’ll remember I had an absolute nightmare building on it.
With my clumsiness and fading eyesight it was a real challenge to say the least – not just me either – many ‘proper’ reviewers struggled.
So is the RBA deck on the Augvape Druga Narada Pro any better..?
In a word…nope!
I seriously almost gave up…no joke…
On the original’s RBA deck you had a useful gadget that allowed it to sit on a 510 – a mod or build platform.
Not so here, and to make it even more fiddly – the deck pushes away from the pod very easily.
So it’s a case of fingers and thumbs literally.
The screws are cross-head and tiny – the gap to get the wire to bite is minuscule and for someone with terrible eye sight little or no dexterity and who can’t even change a plug…this was testing to say the least.
The worst part for me is the question was it worth all the fannying and frustrating around..??
Not really – lol – maybe a slight jump in flavour using a basic round wire coil at 1.1ohms.
Buy it by all means – but be prepared for angst in the bucket full!
*flashback and shudders*
Pros
- Pocket friendly
- LED screen
- Options wheel responsive
- Variable wattage
- Lock wattage feature
- MTL and DTl coils in box
- RBA option [no coils included]
- Good clouds
- Choice of colours
- Fast charging
Cons
- Not that much difference in the airflow
- Flavour is just OK
- Pods a little flimsy
- Design wise nowhere near as smart as the original
- Noisy!
Final Review Verdict
If I was luke warm on the original, I’m just tepid on the Augvape Druga Narada Pro.
I’ve worked with Augvape for a long time now and love pretty much all their products.
However the company’s journey into pod mods just doesn’t do it for me.
The new Augvape Druga Narada Pro just doesn’t light my fire at all.
The pod is cheap and clunky – the flavour is muted and don’t get me started on the bloody RBA deck…
Trust me, building on that is a nightmare and then some.
It’s so small I can barely see it and there’s no way of anchoring it anywhere – apart from the battery which makes getting at it harder still!
Not even worth the effort given the slightest bump in flavour.
Sadly, and as much as I love Augvape, they really need to drop this range IMHO – just doesn’t cut it…
