Home Squonkers Kanger Dripbox 160 Review

Kanger Dripbox 160 Review

September 2, 2016

I’ve been an avid fan of Squonking for about 8 -9 months now so kits such as the Kanger Dripbox 160 are always of great interest.

Despite my squonking interest I have always been a bit taken back by the price of a lot of the equipment.

I suppose this is attributed to the fact that a high percentage of Squonking hardware is handmade and made in small batches, which is also why a lot of the hardware is also difficult to obtain, usually only through dedicated social media groups with oversubscribed waiting lists. That is changing month by month as brands realise there is a market.

Check out some of our best rated squonk mods for examples.

What Can We Expect From The Dripbox 160 Starter Kit by Kangertech

So, early 2016 from out of nowhere, Kanger released the Dripbox Starter kit. A pocket sized all-in-one squonk mod complete with a bottom fed RDA, the SubDrip. Kanger, in doing this, brought squonking to the masses, at a very affordable price.

Now roll the clock forward 4-5 months to roughly about now and Kanger’s latest addition to their Squonking catalogue, the Dripbox 160 TC Starter Kit.

A variable wattage, dual 18650 device featuring temperature control.

This kit was sent by Cacuq for the purposes of this review. As always our views are our own.

What’s In The Box

1 x Dripbox 160w TC kit
1 x Velocity Style RBA Prebuilt Kanthal Coil
1 x Velocity Style RBA Prebuilt Stainless Steel Coil
1 x Drip Box Coil
1 x Spare 7ml Squonk Bottle
1 x USB Charging Cable
Box of spares containing Extra coils, Allen Key, RBA Filter and Cotton

Features

Includes the Subdrip 160 RBA and Dripbox 160 Mod
Dimensions: 40mm x 50mm x 120mm high (Including Subdrip RDA)
22mm Diameter RDA
Bottom Feeding Design
Juice Delivery System
Temperature Control
Top-Fill Option
Variable Wattage Output: 7.0 to 160.0w in 0.1 increments
Temperature Control: Ni200 / Ti / SS / Ni-Chrome
Temperature Control Range: 100 – 315°C / 200 – 600°F
Resistance: 0.05 ohm or above for Ni/ Ti/ SS Wire
Resistance: 0.10 ohm or above for Ni-chrome Wire
7ml e-Liquid Capacity
Velocity Style Base for Rebuildable Coils
Use pre-built 0.2ohm drip coils or build your own
Subdrip 160 RDA – Stainless Steel Casing
Dripbox 160 – Zinc Alloy Casing
Requires (2) 18650 High Amp Batteries (Sold Separately)
Micro USB Charging Port
External charger recommended for faster charging speeds
Low Resistance Protection
Low Battery Warning Indicator
High Temperature Protection
Available colours – Black, white and Silver

Build Quality & Design

One of the first things you notice about the Dripbox 160 is that it’s a real solid piece of vaping hardware.

The outer casing is constructed from zinc alloy which gives the device a weighty feel, even without batteries installed.

Shape and size-wise, the mod is very similar in appearance to at least two other 5-sided devices currently on the market and it’s certainly not pocket friendly coming in at a whopping 40mm wide x 50mm deep and 120mm high including RDA.

However, it feels incredibly comfortable in the hand, either finger or thumb firing.

At the top of the device we have the Subdrip, a bottom fed RDA, which is almost identical to the original Subdrip on the first Dripbox, however there are some slight improvements.

The new Subdrip, along with the two large airflow ports, now also incorporates MTL (mouth to lung) vaping with the provision of a new airflow option on the RDA.

As found on a lot of atomizers, the deck of the Subdrip is Velocity styled and like the original RDA the entire deck can be either replace with a new pre-built one or if you prefer, like I do, you can rebuild the deck yourself.

The Subdrip connects to the Dripbox 160 via a standard 510 connection however the pin on the mod is fixed and not adjustable. So if you’re thinking of swapping out the RDA you will need to ensure the 510 pin on your chosen atomizer is of a compatible length.

Unlike the original Dripbox, which had no display and only one button, the Dripbox 160 has a fire and a “+” & “-“ button and now incorporates a large LCD display all located on the front of the mod.

To turn the mod on and off its five clicks of the fire button. The fire button is also used to cycle through the different types of coils the DRIPBOX 160 supports; Nickel 200, Titanium, Nichrome and Stainless Steel.

Three click of the fire button cycles from one coil type to the next with the final option being variable wattage. Wattage and temperature can be adjusted with the “+” or “-” buttons.

To switch between Fahrenheit and Celsius scroll through the lowest temperature of one scale to get to the other. Once you’ve scrolled to the maximum temperature of either scale you can no longer scroll with the “+” button.

Flip the LCD display 180° by holding in the “+” and “-” buttons simultaneously. You can lock the temperature and/or wattage settings by holding in all three buttons at the same time.

In TC mode the display shows battery meter, resistance of the attached coil, maximum wattage, selected temperature, type of coil and temperature scale. In variable wattage mode the LCD displays battery level, resistance, voltage and selected wattage.

A nice little feature included in the LCD is the ability to invert the display. This can be simply done by holding the “+” and Fire button simultaneously.

When a new coil is attached to the DRIPBOX 160 the display will prompt you to set the base resistance of the coil. It will display, “New Coil: Yes +/No -”.

If the coil is new and you don’t get that prompt, unscrew the Subdrip, hold the fire button until the display reads, “Check Atomizer,” and then reattach the Subdrip.

The Dripbox 160 is powered by two 18650 batteries (not included), Kanger recommend using batteries with a minimum rating of 30A. Batteries are installed through the hinged door at the base of the mod.

On-board charging can be done, if required but not recommended, by connecting the included charging cable to the micro USB port on the front of the Dripbox 160.

The 7 ml capacity of the squonk bottle will provide a good couple of hours of vaping, and Kanger included a spare with a stopper so you can take that one with you filled with additional eliquid.

How Does The Dripbox 160 Perform?

I had no major issues with the Dripbox 160. From filling the squonk bottle, changing batteries to vaping the device, the Dripbox performed really well.

Both Variable Wattage and Temperature Control preformed exactly as expected and both were relatively easy to setup & adjust to suit individual vaping styles.

My personal vaping style is normally direct lung however on very rare occasions I will jump over to MTL (Mouth To lung) particularly when squonking.

As the Subdrip now incorporates this as an airflow option I did experiment a little.

However I can’t really say that the RDA provided a satisfying experience as I found the MTL airflow more reminiscent of a slightly restricted direct lung vape.

In addition to this the wide bore driptip doesn’t really suit MTL vaping.

All things considered, with the Beard Vape e-liquid I was using, the sub drip was a good RDA for flavour. Yeah there’s room for improvement but there’s other factors to consider like the coils and type of build used!

It’s a good little beginner friendly RDA if your on a budget or want to give squonking a go without breaking the bank!

What I Liked

Overall, I really liked and enjoyed using the Dripbox 160. Its performance in VW and TC mode were flawless and provided a satisfying vaping experience.

Aesthetically, the Dripbox 160 is certainly different but it quickly grew on me. And for its shape and size the mod is very comfortable to hold and use.

What I Dislike

I was a little disappointed that the Dripbox 160 only had the same 7ml capacity Squonk bottle as the original Dripbox.

It would have been nice to see Kanger increase this, particularly as the device is capable of 160w and the pre-built coils are rated at about 0.3ohm. It’s gonna drink that juice!!

The menu display timing was another issue which I found a little frustrating.

It’s extremely short, staying on for literally a few second resulting in you having to continually press the fire button to read all the information on the display!

Or maybe I’m just a bit slow when it comes to reading!!

My biggest dislike of the Dripbox 160 was the battery “+” & “-“ symbols on the battery door!

They were so faint they were almost unreadable which really isn’t good at all. Kanger……sort it out!!

Final Review Verdict

Overall I enjoyed using the Dripbox 160 even though it did take me a little out of my comfort zone when it comes to vaping at high wattages with the pre-built coils, which I found needed a minimum of about 80watts to get a decent vape.