Voopoo Drag Max 177W 160W Kit Review

Boy do I have something cool for you today!

Voopoo have been on a rampage this year, releasing their new, Argus GT, Drag, Drag S and Drag X devices, not to mention the few smaller PODs they’ve released like the Argus Air.

Every single one of them have brought something new to the table, showing Voopoo as a company that not only produces quality products, but their willingness to go the extra mile and invest in a bit of R&D as well.

This new release is exciting, it’s exciting because not only is a dual battery device, but it also uses Voopoo’s famous PnP PODs and coils! Talk about versatility!

The Drag Max Special Edition kit was sent to me directly by Voopoo for the purposes of this review. Thanks for your continued support guys!

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First Impressions – Rundown

I didn’t even know this package was on it’s way, and you can only guess my reaction when I opened the package to reveal the full Voopoo PnP suite in one box! As you can see, there is a lot of stuff in this Special Edition pack.

You get the standard Drag Max kit all boxed up, inside the Special Edition Kit, which also includes Voopoo’s 4.5ml Pod, their MTL Pod, new RBA Pod, and pretty much their entire range of PnP coils, including the MTL RBA coil, + accesories like coils, cotton, and tools for the RBA.
Apparently Voopoo are only releasing 1000 of these special edition kits, so you might just have enough time to be able to snag one!

Anyway, this presentation is beautiful, with a full colour image on the front, and everything presented wonderfully in the foam inserts.

The Main Body

The main body of the Drag Max banks on the lightweight feel of the Argus GT whilst utilising the original Voopoo round POD connection, a little bit of a hybrid, taking aspects from both the Argus GT and the Drag S/X devices.

Built from a light zinc-alloy frame, the Drag Max, is a classy beast with familiar Voopoo embossed leather as well as some new reflective inserts in the sides. The shape is quite boxy, but without sharp corners, instead Voopoo have delicately chamfered those sharp corners on one side with the padded leather offering quite a nice hand feel.

Up top, you have a recess for the round POD’s just like the Drag S/X with the unique ring connection point. The top of the device also features the very same airflow adjustment, which is smooth and with a nice amount of resistance to it allowing you to dial in whatever airflow level you desire, right down to a loose MTL draw.

On the front, a nice big round chamfered fire button that sits a little proud of the mod, so you can easily feel for it, a large colour screen, two smaller wattage control buttons, and a USB Type-C charging/update port.

The bottom of the device sees the Argus GT’s battery bay revisited with it’s swing and slide door keeping those batteries nice and secure.

Power & Battery

As I mentioned before, the Drag Max carries over the battery bay from the Argus GT with it’s slide and swing design, which works really well. It keeps the batteries really secure and doesn’t swing open unexpectedly.

The same battery terminals are also here, as well as that tiny tab that holds the battery bay door from loosening. If you read my Argus GT review, you’ll know that I marked this as a negative, and likely also do so here. That small tab really needs to be made a little larger for longevity, as I can see it getting quite worn over time. I’m actually surprised that Voopoo didn’t address this.

There’s also a USB Type-C charge port which works well in an emergency, the balanced charging works, but you wouldn’t normally charge your batteries in the device anyway right? So it’s really more for software updates.
One thing to mention, is that there is no pass-through charging. You can’t vape on the device while it is charging, a small con.

The Accessories

Impressively, Voopoo have included all 3 of their PnP tanks in this special edition kit. You’re regular 4.5ml Pod, MTL Pod and the new RBA Pod. They all share a similar shape, as I’m sure you’ve seen before, same filling method, and all have the drip tip built in. Not removeable. I’ll run through them separately below…

The PODs

The two POD’s (4.5ml/MTL) have a similar base, strong magnets, fill method and both made from super tough PCTG plastic, that is able to withstand drops. They are also sealed in a special way, so that there is no real seam at the bottom, limiting seepage, so that you’re setup can stay nice and dry on the outside.
This was a huge thing when these PODs came out, and Voopoo really nailed this.

Because Voopoo have made these PODs to a standard size you can switch these out between devices. Voopoo’s Drag S, Drag X, POD Tank, and Drag Max all use the same PODs.

The 4.5ml Pod is for your larger or lower resistance PnP coils and designed for a restricted Direct Lung inhale, which it does wonderfully, and the MTL is shorter, with a little less eliquid capacity, and a narrower drip tip, to better cater to the MTL crowd. You won’t get a really tight MTL draw from this one, but Voopoo have done a great job on their MTL coils shrinking the airflow into them as well as providing a tighter coil and wicking to minimise the airflow that gets in there. With the airflow all the way shut, you can expect to get a similar vape to their Argus Air POD device. A little looser than a caliburn, but tighter than any of the DTL coils.

The RBA

This is a very welcome addition to the Voopoo family, the option to build your own coils, and on a decent sized RBA deck to boot!
This two post deck gives you heaps of room and really does work well with the wicking keeping up quite well too! There are 2 decent sized wicking channels that feed down to the base, as well as some ‘large enough’ post holes so you can at least get a clapton coil in there!
The flavour from it is amazing just like the POD’s, you’ll get a nice dense and rich flavour coming through, with plenty of vapour.

Covering the base and creating an RDTA styled enclosure is a clear bell cap, presumably made from the same PCTG material that the PODs are made from, that simply screws down onto the deck nice and cleanly.

Building on the deck is effortless, put your coil legs through the post holes, tighten down the hex screws, glow your coils and wick. I made sure to have my wicks sit just inside the wicking ports and have had no issues over a few builds with wicking, if anything it wicks almost too well, vaporising all of the juice in the tank quite quickly!

As good as this little tank is, there are a few negatives.

1) It only has a 2ml capacity. I’ve found myself filling this up quite a lot and find myself having to carry around a bottle of juice just in case I empty it while out and about.

2) Furthering this point, filling the RBA is not as simple and clean as filling the POD’s. The deck of the RBA sits just below the fill port, where your e-liquid nozzle will hit it and restrict the flow into the tank. This results in overspill unless you fill your tank very very slowly.

3) The posts for the RBA are pressed in. Well the negative is anyway. How do I know? I managed to pop it out by accident while adjusting my coil. A pair of vice grips fixed that up, but I’m not confident that it will hold for many more coil changes in the future. Perhaps screw in posts might have been a better option. But as a precaution, be careful and don’t manipulate your coil too much once it’s fixed into position.

The Coils

I love PnP coils, and getting them all in one kit like this has been awesome, I get to try all of them out to see how they go. You have the full gammit of coils from their 1.2ohm MTL coil right through to the 0.15ohm heavy hitter DTL coil. I won’t go into detail here as of course of the ones that I’ve tried, they have all performed excellently, with fantastic flavour, and longevity. I haven’t managed to get through them all yet!

It is also neat that Voopoo included the MTL RBA coil in the pack too. This is another one that I haven’t had the chance to try yet, but will very soon. It gives POD users the option to build their own coils without having to keep purchasing pre-made PnP coils if they do not wish to. Brilliant addition Voopoo, thankyou!

Usage & Operation

The Voopoo Drag Max uses Voopoo’s new Gene Fan 2.0 chipset, which features instant fire, a more consistent output, and more intelligent options.
When you put your POD into the device, the Gene Fan chipset’s ‘Smart Mode’ detects it’s resistance range and adjusts your wattage for the perfect vape, as well as giving you a maximum power setting, so that you do not burn out your coil going too high. A brilliant and welcome addition. And of course you can also still switch to RBA mode if you really want to go higher.

The new Gene Fan chipset also ships with 2 different screens, the ‘Iron’ and the ‘Core’ theme. Each designed to be used in different orientations with a brilliant display that shows all of your information very intuitively.

One thing that is missing from the features of the chip is a Wattage Lock. I’m noticing that a lot of devices these days simply do not have this option.
I’m going to call that a con, because it really should be on every device.

If you’re looking for some of the button combinations and menu options from the Gene Fan you can find so below.

• 5 clicks of the fire button will turn the device on and off.
• 3 clicks of the fire button will switch between Smart and RBA mode
• Up button will scroll wattage Up
• Down button will scroll wattage down
• Press and hold Up/Down buttons to choose between two display options
• Fire and Up button will lock/unlock all buttons
• Fire and Down button will reset Puff Count
• Pressing and hold all three buttons will display Chipset ID

Pros:

• Great hand feel and quality
• Excellent flavour from all coils and PODs
• Brilliant screen with easy to read information + 2 different displays
• Takes all PnP coils
• Takes all PnP PODs (can swap with other devices Drag S/X)
• Lightweight yet sturdy
• Caters to different vaping styles
• USB Type-C Port

Cons:

• Battery door may wear over time
• RBA base hard to fill and only 2ml capacity
• No pass through charging
• No Wattage Lock

Where to Buy:

You can purchase the Voopoo Drag Max Standard Edition on presale right now for $65 USD. This is likely to start shipping to stores all over the globe shortly, so keep an eye on your favourite store’s new product announcements.

Conclusion

All in all, I’m quite impressed with the Drag Max. Even if you’re just picking up the standard kit without all of the optional accessories it really does get you some pretty good bang for your buck.

Some might ask why you’d buy a dual battery device in order to run PODs? Battery capacity and not having to change batteries out often is a great reason. I’ll be honest and mention that I very much get a full day of use out of this without even needing to look down at my battery levels and that really is liberating, not having that extra thing to worry about before stepping out the door.
While it is a twin battery setup, this device is really lightweight so won’t weigh you down and comfortable to carry around with you. Did I mention that it also looks super impressive too!!

Sure there are some cons, nothing can be perfect, but I think Voopoo are doing some really great things at the moment with these PnP Pods, and I can see them using them for a few more devices yet!

If you’re in the market for a POD device, or even want something that has a little bit of flexibility so that you can play around with builds whilst still having the security of being able to simply pop a POD on if you blow a coil, I highly recommend the Voopoo Drag Max. It’s an excellent device, simple to use, and just gets the job done…. and in style!

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.