Da One Tech: Barrel 2 Pod Reviewed

Today, I’ve got something from a relatively unknown manufacturer. I love doing these, there are so many cool, smaller companies doing great things, that don’t really get any exposure to mainstream vapers.

Anyway, today’s review is of a product from a company called Da One Tech, they’ve been around since 2012, and they’ve got quite a good range of products so far. Most of their products are POD style devices widely ranging from stick style Pods to box shaped, and even hybrids, like the device I’ll be looking at today!

Let’s take a look at the Da One Tech – Barrel 2!!

Big thanks goes to ‘Da One Tech‘ for sending this directly through to me for review!

Photos

General Info

The Barrel 2 by Da One Tech is a relatively small sized POD device, with a tonne of features. Maxing out at 40 Watts of power, the Barrel 2 carries a 2ml e-liquid capacity, a 1500mah internal battery, adjustable airflow, a wide range of suitable coils, with auto coil detection to make sure you’re running at the correct wattage to make those coils last.

Besides the usual specs, Da One Tech have also implemented a range of unique design features that I’ve not seen before. A dust proof magnetic cap to make sure dirt and dust stay out of your precious device, an simple slide and fill system, a vibration alert that vibrates every 20 puffs to remind you of how much you’re vaping, a super tough scratch proof coating, and a tonne of safety features built into the chip, to make sure your vaping experience is as safe as possible.

The Body

The body of the device measures in at about 114 x 28 x 21mm, which is a great size, really comfortable to hold and easily pocketable. It’s super lightweight, made from an alluminium alloy and coated with a super scratch resistant Anodic Oxide coating.

From top to bottom, you’ve got your usual POD recess, it’s not a simple recess however, more of a sleeve since the fill port of the POD is exposed at the front, it has a magnetic ring connection with 3 connector pins.
On either side of the body, you’ll find 3 airflow slots, to allow air into the adjustable airflow chamber. Adjusted by spinning your coil around inside the POD.

One the front face, you’ll find a fire button, small display, up and down wattage buttons, and a Micro USB port for charging the 1500mah internal battery.

The PODs & Coils

The PODS for the Barrel 2 are quite an interesting design. They’re held into the device via magnets, but that really is the only thing you’ll note is similar to any other POD you may have seen.

Da One Tech like to do things differently, and they haven’t disappointed here (well, mostly). The Barrel 2 comes with its own new coil, the 0.3 Ohm Mesh Kanthal coil, with adapter built in. The previous coils for the first Barrel also fit these pods, but you have to use the adapter provided.

The coils simply push home, and have quite a snug fit ensuring no unintended leakage. That’s nothing we havent seen before, but it is interesting how they’ve done their airflow. The POD has airflow slots built into it, as do the coils, and to adjust your airflow, you simply turn the coil in place so that the cyclops style airslots line up. (Or don’t line up whichever you prefer)

Another neat feature is the slide fill port on the front of the POD, you simply slide the plastic piece down, and then insert your bottle nozzle into the fill port against the small plastic anti-leak insert and fill away. When you’re done, slide the plastic piece back up again and you’re finished. No silicone plugs here!

Up top you have your drip tip, which is a bit of a proprietary shape and size, it has a female connection with the POD, which is a little disappointing, I would have liked to have seen a standard 510 drip tip here, so that you’re not forced into purchasing special drip tips in order to customise.

Probably the most interesting part of the drip tip is the dust-proof cover. This is a magnetic plastic cover that sits over the drip tip, and when removed can be placed on the bottom fo the device for storage so that it doesn’t get in the way. A simple solution for those who might work in dirty environments and a great way to keep the cap close by without getting lost.

• 0.3 Ohm Mesh Kanthal
  This coil is my favourite of the bunch, it’s the go to coil for those wanting to do a direct to lung vape, and is the coil that will give you the most Wattage. Compared to other POD systems, the vape can still be a little ‘weak’ but all in all, running at 30 Watts, I get some great flavour, and a satisfying vape, nothing on the same level as a Voopoo PnP coil or a Vaporesso GTX coil however.
  
• 1.2 Ohm Kanthal
  I think this is where the Barrel 2 shines, with Mouth to Lung Vaping. The 1.2 Ohm coil will give you some great flavour, with the airflow dialled right down for a Mouth to Lung Vape. Due to the higher resistance of the coil, you’ll also get longer battery life, and you’ll be filling your POD less often.

Airflow

We’ve seen this type of airflow before, only on a few devices though, so it’s still a little new. You’ll notice that both the POD and the coils have airflow slots in them. Simply spin your coil around in the POD and you’ll be adjusting your airflow depending on how both of those cyclops airflow holes line up. Super simple and a great solution. You will need to take your POD out to adjust the airflow, but I don’t see that as an issue, most of us will only adjust the airflow once or twice to our own preference and then leave it be.

On the flip side, you won’t be accidentally adjusting your airflow when putting this in your pocket, which is always a good thing!

You can get quite a range of airflow out of the Barrel 2, but I do note, you won’t get a very loose Direct to lung draw, it starts out as a restricted DTL on the largest 0.3ohm coil, and get’s down to a nice tight MTL. But no super open airflow for Direct to lung vapers unfortunately.

Battery

The battery in the Barrel 2 is a 1500mah internal battery. In all honesty, I’ve been a little disappointed here, the battery does not last that long when running the device at 25 watts, and I seem to have to recharge a few times per day. Throw in the fact that this uses a micro USB port with no fast charge, and it becomes a little bit of a chore.

Filling

Filling the Barrel 2 is an interesting experience. Instead of a rubber or silicone stopper, the fill port for the POD is on the front face hidden behind a plastic sliding panel. Behind this panel is a rectangular hole with an insert that is in place to limit any back pressure, or e-liquid coming back out the hole while you fill it.

All you’ve got to do is push your e-liquid bottle nozzle in so that the little tab pushes into the hole slightly, and begin filling. When you’re done, remove the nozzle, and slide the plastic slider back up. No mess no fuss.

This system does work quite well. Probably not quite as well as Da One Tech had hoped but it does work. I’ve noticed that a little e-liquid does still find it’s way on the outside of the fill port, and under the sliding panel (which is also quite difficult to slide at times), creating a little bit of seepage. This is not really an issue though, as once the slider is closed, you can just clean up with a tissue and you won’t get any more seepage from that point on.

Kudos to Da One Tech for doing something a little different.

Limited Edition Pack

I received the Barrel 2 with a Limited edition pack included also, which contained a Lanyard, Leather Case, additional coils, and an extra POD. I won’t go into too much detail on this since, its not part of the retail pack.
The leather case is pretty cool, and protects the entire device all the while allowing you to still use it while in it’s sleeve. It’s quality made, as is the Lanyard that comes with it.

Da One Tech also give you a few extra different coils in the pack too, I found it great to be able to try all of these different coils, which are designed for use with some of Da One Tech’s other devices, but still compatible with the Barrel 2 by using the adapter provided.

Any Leaks?

No, no leakage per-se. I have noticed some seepage from the airflow, which tends to stay around the inside of the POD recess. It doesn’t seem to build up so that’s a good thing, this is a bottom airflow coil, so you will get some seepage if you’re not using it and leave it sitting.

Usage

The operation of the Barrel 2 is quite simple and intuitive, it has a pretty basic wattage only mode, that allows you to move your desired wattage up and down, and that is about it.

The screen is a super simple digital screen, in one colour, displaying, battery level, wattage, puff counter and coil resistance. That is all.
I love that it’s straight up simple variable wattage. Very easy for a new vaper to use.
Here are the button combinations available:

• On/Off: Click fire button x5 times
• Unlock : Click fire button x3 times
• Change wattage: First unlock then use up/down buttons
• Clear Puff Counter: Fire + Up (or) Fire + Down button simultaneously.
  
  

Pros:

• Great size and feels comfortable
• Anti scratch coating
• Clever filling method
• Clever dust-proof cap
• Good selection of coils
• Adjustable airflow
• Simple to use menu system
• Accessories are great
• Flavour is excellent, as is coil life

Cons:

• Micro USB charge port (needs USB Type C)
• Fill port slider is difficult to slide at times
• Proprietary drip tip (this should be generic 510)
• Vape can be a little lack lustre at times
• Battery drains quickly
  

Where to Buy:

You can purchase the Barrel 2 directly from the Da One Tech online store (there are 2 different ones depending on which country you reside) You’ll be able to pick the retail version for approx $49 USD.

Conclusion

All in all, I’ve been quite impressed by the Barrel 2. It’s not perfect, and of course will come with it’s own niggles, but “Da One Tech” have broken away from the mainstream and in doing so, created something quite unique.

There are a few things that I didn’t like, hopefully Da One Tech take them into consideration with any future designs. I hate the proprietary drip tip. It’s limiting, and I cannot use any of my existing drip tips on it.
I also do not like that it only comes with a Micro USB port. This means ‘no fast charging’, which I think in this day and age, is a simple necessity.
Considering that the battery drains quite quickly in the Barrel 2 when using the 0.3ohm coil, I had hoped for some type of fast charge on this.

However, there are also a few things that I love. I love the erganomic form factor of this device, it’s really comfortable in the hand, and light enough to throw into your jeans pocket, and forget that it’s there.
The fill port is interesting, and pretty unique with it’s sliding door to reveal the fill port, and the back-pressure restrictor works pretty well.
The airflow is pretty straight forward, it’s a simple solution to getting some adjustable airflow happening.

Nice work guys!

Shane Presser

Shane Presser has been vaping since 2013, and has extensive experience with advanced equipment, coil builds and DIY mixing. He is the man behind VapersGarage, and also more recently Aussie Vape Stores, a resource to help vapers find their nearest Vape Shops, and eLiquid Vendors.