VooPoo DRAG 3 Review – Anything New With This One?

The VooPoo DRAG 3 arrived for review about a while ago and initially I was super excited, but after reviewing the DRAG X Plus, I’m not sure what to expect.

My proudest moment as a reviewer was being the first to get you the video review out for the Drag X and Drag S, and a year on the Drag X is still my favourite Pod Mod.

From then on VooPoo has brought out a series of mods, pod mods and kits that were based on the PnP Pod Tank.

To name a few:

• DRAG 2 Refresh Edition
• DRAG mini Refresh Edition
• DRAG Max
• DRAG X Plus
• Drag 3
• V.suit
• Argus
• Argus Pro
• Argus X
• Argus GT

All the above use the PnP Pod Tank or the newer version which is the TPP Pod Tank, so it’s been a pretty buy year for VooPoo.

VooPoo is a US vape company that’s been around since 2010 but it didn’t really enter the vaping industry until 2016 when they acquired Woody Vapes (A US e-cigarette brand).

Are you as excited as me yet? Lets take a look at the DRAG 3…

What To Expect From The VooPoo DRAG 3

The style and shape of the DRAG 3 is very typical of a DRAG mod, especially of late.

In fact the overall shape of the DRAG 3 is pretty much the same as DRAG MAX with an 510 connection differing between the 2.

That being said the DRAG Max was different to the other DRAG mods, but it was definitely an evolved, smoother version of the iconic design.

The DRAG 3 has the newest GENE.FAN 2.0 Chip, which has also been used in the VooPoo DRAG X Plus and the DRAG Max.

It is a dual 18650 Mod, with a max power output of 177W and has the ‘High Burst Super Mode’.

It has a 510 connector, so you can use any tank but it does come with the TPP Pod Tank.

The TPP pod tank is the TPP Pod and the 510 adapter, it’s important to know the adapter fits the PNP pods but the TPP pod does not fit the PNP coils.

UK Option
Rest Of the World Save 10% With Code ECC

Buy Now

Inside the Box

• 1x Drag 3 Mod
• 1x TPP Pod Tank (Pod and 510 Adapter)
• 1x TPP-DM1, 0.15ohm coil
• 1x TPP-DM2, 0.2ohm coil
• USB-C Cable
• User Manual

There are 3 types of package: Standard, US and TPD, all 3 contain the same except the TPD package has a 2ml Pod while the others have a 5.5ml, mine is 5.5ml.

DRAG 3 Specs

• Overall Size: 138mm x 27 x 52mm
• Mod size : 82mm x 25 x 52mm
• Pod Capacity: 5.5ml / 2.5ml TPD
• Coils: TPP coil range
• Fill style: Bottom Fill
• Material: Zinc Alloy, Leather & PTCG
• Power Output: 5-177w
• Input Voltage: 6.4~8.4V
• Resistance: 0.1~3.0ohms
• Battery: External Dual 18650
• Built in Charger: USB-C 5V/2A

DRAG 3 Plus Features

• Removable Mouth Piece
• VooPoo Pod Tank 510 Adapter Included
• Smart Mode
• RBA Mode
• High Burst Super Mode
• Dual User Interface
• 0.96″ TFT Colour Screen
• GENE.FAN 2.0 Chip
• Adjustable Airflow (On 510 Adapter)

Design and Build Quality

As I previously stated the DRAG 3 looks very similar to the DRAG MAX with the main visual difference being the connection type.

The kit comes in 5 different colours.

I was sent the Prussian Blue.

The VooPoo DRAG X Plus Mod

The base shape of the mod is rectangular with a rounded back, which I quite like.

Although the original DRAG mods were very popular, I used to think they were very ‘brick like’.

Around the sides and back of the mod is a leather patch. Unlike other devices of late this leather patch is more like a suede leather.

‘DRAG 3’ is stamped quite big into on side of the leather while the other side has a fairly small VooPoo logo Stamped in on the corner.

There is also a dog-tag like “DRAG” plaque protruding down from the top.

All in all it’s pretty well built and light in weight, but let’s take a closer look at its features…

VooPoo DRAG 3 Buttons

The fire button is a classic DRAG style fire button, located towards the top of the mod.

It’s completely round and measures at 11mm in diameter, it is raised by 2mm and indented in the middle, which comforts your thumb/finger brilliantly.

The ‘+’/’-‘ buttons are located under the screen towards the bottom of the mod. They are 5mm in diameter and are raised by about 1.5mm with the ‘+’ button located above the ‘-‘ button.

All the buttons are nicely place, not of them rattle and they are all nice to press.

The Voopoo DRAG 3 Screen

There are 2 different User Interfaces (screen layouts) you can use with the VooPoo DRAG 3.

The first is the ‘Iron Theme’. This is basically the portrait theme we are used to seeing with the battery indicator bars (one for each battery) in the top right and with the ‘DRAG’ logo in the top left.

Then quite big below that is the Wattage and the mode (S/R).

Below that is the puff counter, resistance, puff timer and a visual puff timer.

The other layout is the landscape ‘Core Theme’, this theme looks more futuristic, with the wattage in the center and the other information coming off of it.

The puff counter, lock icon and resistance are on the left. Then on the right is the time mode and voltage.

All in all the screen is great, it is easy to see and use.

Voopoo DRAG 3 Battery Door & Port

The battery door on the DRAG 3 is a sliding bottom door which has become quite common, especially on VooPoo Mods over the last year.

Although I like this style of battery door because it is easy to use and isn’t a major style implication, I do have durability concerns with it.

On single battery mods it isn’t usually that much of a problem because you only have 1 spring loaded battery connection pressing against it. However on a Dual battery mod, you now double that resistance.

This becomes a problem if the battery door bends too easy, although that shouldn’t be a problem here because the battery door is longer than it is wide, so it’s unlikely that it will bend and cause a loose connection.

However the other problem is the little latches that the door uses to hold closed.

The reality is even the most durable latches wear out, meaning the battery door doesn’t hold as strong as it used to, eventually rendering the device unusable.

The latches aren’t a snug fit from the get go.

With both batteries in, the battery door has a 1mm gap. You could argue that it’s a bad thing, but I think it’s probably a good thing, for the battery door to be shut with no gap at all, that would mean the latches would have to rub more and there for wear out faster.

All I can say is, after the 2-3 weeks that I have been using the DRAG 3 it’s no different from when I started, it’s still strong and not showing any weakness.

Also the battery door hinge is quiet small and while battery door is open it has a lot of ‘wobble’ which doesn’t give off a huge since of durability.

VooPoo Drag 3 510 connection

The VooPoo DRAG 3 has the same connection plate that the DRAG X Plus has.

It’s 20mm in diameter with 2 torx screws to hold it down. The mod can hold a 24.5mm tank without protruding over the side.

The Connection plate is 20mm (but the mod can comfortably fit a 26mm tank). It is held down by 2 screws, which I know, a few people will questions it’s durability for the long term.

Although it feels well placed and durable, I know a lot of people will be unhappy about the plate only having 2 screws, as it makes it easy to be dislodged when dropped.

TPP Pod Tank (Adapter Section)

The adapter section of a Pod Tank is like the base of a tank, except from the pod holds to it magnetically rather than via screw threads.

it has an adjustable airflow ring, which is sufficiently open for a nice airy DTL draw, but when it’s fully shut off it still lets in a bit too much airflow to provide a true MTL experience (which is OK because it wasn’t designed for MTL.

TPP Pod Tank (Pod Section)

The core design of the TPP pod is the same as the PnP pod, however it is a completely different pod.

My favourite thing about the TPP pod, that the PnP doesn’t have, is the removable mouth piece.

It’s not the only difference though, the TPP has a metal top and the coils are a lot bigger.

From the bottom of the pod, it’s almost identical to the PnP pod.

It has 3 magnets and a rubber fill port around the edge, with the coil placement in the middle.

The TPP coils are much bigger than the PnP coils, so by nature, the port is also much bigger.

Smart Mode vs RBA mode Vs Super Boost Mode

The DRAG 3 has 2 power modes, RBA and Smart, they both do what they say on the tin.

The Smart mode recommends a wattage you should be using depending on the resistance of the coil coil and it restricts the wattage in order to prevent you burning the coil too high and destroying the coil.

The RBA mode removes those smart features, so if you are using a different tank, the RBA pod or maybe you just want total control of the power, the RBA mode allows you to do so.

Super Boost Mode is only available when the coil resistance is between 0.1ohms and 0.3ohms.

The mod also has to be set to above 80w. This mode is supposed to bring “super fast firing” and “huge vapour”.

Using The VooPoo DRAG 3

Changing The Coil TPP Pod

• Remove the Pod from the base
• Holding it upside down, pull the coil out of the bottom of the pod
• push/insert new coil
• Fill the pod with e-liquid and leave for 5 minutes to allow the coil to soak

Filling The TPP Pod

• Remove the Pod from the base
• Holding it upside down, lift up the rubber seal
• Fill the pod through the newly exposed fill hole
• Reseal the fill hole.

DRAG X Plus Operation

• Turn On/Off = Fire button 5 times
• Change Mode (Smart/RBA)= Fire button 3 times.
• Enter Super mode= you must be using a coil with a resistance between 0.1-0.3ohms. The mod will automatically go to boost mode when you go over 80W.
• Clear Data (puff count)= press and hold Fire Button and ‘-‘ simultaneously
• Lock/Unlock Buttons = press and hold Fire Button and ‘+’ simultaneously
• Change Screen ‘theme’= press and hold ‘-‘ and ‘+’ simultaneously, use ‘-‘/’+’ to change and hold fire to select

How Does The Voopoo DRAG 3 Perform?

The last EcigClick review I did was the DRAG X Plus, which comes with the same Pod Tank and coils.

They wasn’t bad but I didn’t think they was as good as the PnP versions.

So this section of the review will be very interesting. Will the Coil/Pod system perform better on this mod? Maybe this time the coils I have are better quality…

Either way, to give the coils the best chance possible, I’m also using a different flavour. I’m going at both coils with the Rochford Project Lemon Tart which is mixed at 70VG/30PG and I’ve added a nicotine shot.

TPP-DM1 0.15ohm coil

This coil is recommended for 60-80w with a ‘best’ recommendation for 65-75W.

Way down at 50W, 15w below the best recommended wattage, it is pretty good, it’s prominent and almost fills the mouth.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not the best flavour but it’s definitely impressive for 15w below recommended. The cloud production is medium.

At the bottom of the ‘best recommended’ range 65W, it’s getting better. The cloud is more of a thick medium sized cloud and the flavour is almost flooding the mouth but It’s still leaving me wanting more.

75W is the top of the ‘Best’ range and the flavour has intensified, it’s now a lot deeper and the flavour is flooding the mouth. As a cloud chaser I’d like more cloud but it is nice and thick.

I have to say the same as I said in the Voopoo DRAG X Plus review, when using it though-out the day, the coil struggles to keep the flavour.

One puff can be incredible and the next can be quite underwhelming. Truth be told I spent at lot of the time using this coil at 80W and I was unimpressed most of the time.

PP-DM2 0.2ohm Coil

This coil is recommended for 40-60w with a ‘best’ recommendation for 50-55W.

35W is 5w below the recommended range and again it’s better than expected, providing a prominent but not flooding flavour with a small cloud.

43W is just above the bottom recommended wattage and it’s underwhelming, it provides a medium sized cloud and a bit of flavour.

At the bottom of the ‘best’ wattage range, at 50w, the flavour still just isn’t good enough, it is ample and it’s prominent but it’s not fulfilling.

It’s not giving a really prominent taste at the back of the mouth.

Things get a little better at 55W, the flavour spreads around the mouth nicely abut still not flooding the mouth.

Let’s breath the roof! With high hopes, I switched to RBA mode and set it to 65W and although the vapour production was nicely thick the flavour still wasn’t fantastic.

Again this coil did have moments in which it kicked out some amazing flavour, but it just couldn’t keep it up.

Voopoo Drag 3 Coil Summary

This has been my second run in with VooPoos TPP system and I have to say although it isn’t rubbish, in fact it is capable of great flavour but it’s no contender to the PnP system, in my opinion.

The TPP coils seem to have a while for the flavour to come through properly too.

If I was to compare the TPP coils with the PnP coils, give me PnP coils everyday.

Super Boost Mode

To try boost mode I just used the 0.15ohm coil and I wasn’t impressive.

To give it the benefit of doubt, I put my dual coiled HellVape Dead Rabbit V2 RTA on to the mode, set it to the same power output I usually use and ‘had a go’.

Super Boost Mode seems to just be ‘Hard’ mode, if you don’t know what that is, it’s a feature that mods used to come with.

Basically Soft/Smooth, would start off at a lower wattage and turn it, Normal would just fire normally, and Hard would start at a higher wattage and then turn it down.

Although it is great and I could definitely tell a difference…. I’m not quite sure I like the premise.

If, like me, you are using a 0.19ohm build and you want to fire at 135W (which is my average power setting for that build), I have a choice of Smart mode which restricts me to 60W or Super Boost and no in between.

It’s a good feature, but it think it would be better if once Super Boost had been activated you could choose to revert back to RBA mode.

Battery Life of The VooPoo DRAG 3

Battery life on a dual battery mod depends on what batteries and power you are using.

If you were to use 2x 3,000mAh 18650 batteries and you take 2 second puffs:

• At 75W you will get 444 puffs (A puff every other minute for 14 hours)
• At 40W you will get 832 puffs (A puff every other minute for 27 hours)

I always charge my batteries externally, but if you are looking for charging it without removing the battery, you have a 2A USB-C port, so with 2x 3000mAh batteries you’re looking at about 3 hours.

Does the TPP Pod Tank Leak?

With the VooPoo DRAG X Plus I got quite a bit of leakage from the pod/coil, however although it is the same pod and coils the leakage was a lot less, but it did still leak a bit.

Pros

• Looks and feels good
• Dual 18650 batteries
• 177W output (although i would rather 175 or 180 haha)
• Capable of great flavour
• 510 connection
• The 510 adapter is compatible with the PNP Pods
• Seems sturdy and durable

Cons

• Flavour production isn’t always consistent
• Potentially not life long battery door latches
• Potentially weak Connection Plate

Final Review Verdict

If I’m being completely honest, I wouldn’t upgrade from another VooPoo device.

In fact I can’t think of any of the VooPoo devices I would upgrade from.

Don’t get me wrong it’s an OK device, there isn’t really anything to complain about, but it just doesn’t offer anything extra, in my opinion.

The biggest thing it has to offer is the TPP pod tank, but I massively prefer the PnP range, however that is obviously subject to opinion

It is capable of great flavour and clouds? Yes but it isn’t consistent.

So…

As I asked on the DRAG X Plus review, Is it time to stop dragging out this line of vape kits?

Are you using or thinking of buying the Voopoo DRAG 3, or have you got one?

Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

UK Option
Rest Of the World Save 10% With Code ECC

Buy Now