Our Voopoo Drag Mini Platinum review takes an in-depth look at the compact but feature-packed mod. Can it compete with the larger Drag 2 and some of the other excellent compact mods on the market?
Is it worth picking up?
The Drag Mini Platinum does an excellent job of balancing small size with capability in terms of power and features. The mod looks great, performs as well as (or better than) most mods on the market and packs a sizeable battery into a fairly compact unit.
If you’re looking to save as much money as possible, the $79.99 price might be a bit of a sticking point, but if you want something that’s a step above the competition but still not ridiculously expensive, it’s a fantastic choice.
Full review
The Voopoo Drag 2 is one of the biggest-name dual battery mods on the market, but not everybody wants a huge device or something that takes separate batteries. But ordinarily, smaller and simpler devices lack some of the features and capabilities of their bigger siblings, whether it means reduced battery life or fewer of the bells and whistles that really make the flagship devices shine. The Voopoo Drag Mini Platinum isn’t like that, though: with a 4,400 mAh internal battery and basically the same feature-set as the larger mod, it’s a very tempting option for the $79.99 price tag. Granted, it doesn’t offer as huge a power output as the bigger device, but if 117 W is enough for you, is it worth it? This Voopoo Drag Mini Platinum review takes a look to find out.
What You Get
The Voopoo Drag Mini Platinum comes in a standard-style box, with a cardboard box surrounded by an outer sleeve which has a picture of the device and information about what’s inside printed on. The box itself has two layers, with the Drag Mini Platinum in the upper foam layer and the Uforce T2 Tank, a spare 0.13 ohm mesh coil (0.6 ohm coil pre-installed), a spare glass section for the tank and a USB charging cable split into sections in the bottom half. Overall this is a great selection for a starter kit – all you need to pick up is e-juice and you’re ready to vape.
Voopoo Drag Mini Platinum Review – The Design
Appearance
The Voopoo Drag Mini Platinum has a really cool look. The main striking thing from a visual perspective is the resin plate on one of the large faces of the mod, with a swirling, marbled effect that really adds some visual pop to the mod. You can choose between eight different colorings for this panel, with the Prussian blue of mine being pretty similar to the others aside from different palates (for example, Lava has a red-orange color scheme and the Lame has a green-yellow mix). The other large face has “Drag” printed on it in big, bold letters, and the front panel has a rectangular display screen, with the circular fire button above it and the USB port and two adjustment buttons below.
Overall, the Drag Mini Platinum looks great: it stands out from the crowd just enough and manages to keep things tasteful.
Display Screen
The display on the Voopoo Drag Mini Platinum is pretty much standard but it gets the job done well. The home screen shows your main setting on the right (e.g. the current wattage in wattage mode or the temperature in TC mode), with the coil resistance, operating voltage and puff timer to the left, and two battery life indicators (one for each internal cell) on the far left. The layout or the information displayed aren’t anything unusual, but it’s all presented clearly and effectively.
Adjustment and Firing Buttons
The fire button and adjustment buttons on the Drag Mini Platinum are circular, with the adjustment buttons below the screen and a larger fire button above it. The fire button is well-placed for your thumb when you’re holding the device, and big enough that it’s easy to push down without worrying too much about accuracy. The adjustment buttons are also well-positioned and separated enough that you won’t accidentally hit the wrong one, and all the buttons let out an audible click when you press.
Uforce T2 Tank
Like the bigger Drag 2, the Drag Mini Platinum comes with the Uforce T2 tank, which has a top-filling design and an impressive 5 ml juice capacity. The coils included with the kit are both single mesh coils (one 0.6 ohms pre-installed and a 0.13 ohm spare), and they screw into the base of the tank and connect up in the usual way. The top-filling system is really well-designed – you just push the top section in the position indicated by an arrow to reveal the fill hole. Overall, the tank works well and matches the style of the mod pretty well, you even get a drip tip that matches the resin plate on your mod. Of course, the Drag Mini Platinum has a 510 connection, so it will work with basically any tank or atomizer you have.
Overall
The design of the Drag Mini Platinum balances simplicity and style nicely, looking cool while still being straightforward enough to find your way around quickly and easily.
Voopoo Drag Mini Platinum Review – The Features
Variable Wattage Up to 117 W
The Drag Mini Platinum features variable wattage vaping up to an impressive 117 W. This is notably lower than the Drag 2’s 177 W, but that’s unlikely to be a big issue for most vapers. You adjust your settings in 1 W increments, and it scrolls more quickly if you hold the button down. This makes it really easy to change your setting, and it’s much better (in my view, at least) to have whole-watt increments than decimals to scroll through as well, because there is rarely (if ever) a need to be that accurate. Additionally, the device will estimate the best wattage for your tank when you connect it, which will at very least get you into the right range immediately. Overall the VW mode on the Drag Mini Platinum is really well done.
Temperature Control Vaping with Ni, SS and Ti
The Drag Mini Platinum has a full-featured TC mode, much like the Drag 2. It supports nickel, titanium and stainless steel coils, and covers the usual temperature range of 200 to 600 °F (100 to 315 °C). You can easily adjust your ramp-up wattage, and the device also lets you change the TCR value (just in case you find the responsiveness of the TC mode a little off) so you can really tailor everything to your preferences. In short, the TC mode does everything you need it to.
Memory Modes and Custom Curves
The Drag Mini Platinum also offers five “memory” modes (labeled M1 to M5) which allow you to store your most commonly-used settings, with the additional option to set a custom power curve. This means you can start your puff at 60 W, for example, and then decrease through to 45 W through the course of your draw, or equally you can have it increase or take any shape you want. The process of setting it up is a little time-consuming – you press the fire button four times to enter the adjustment menu, then you have to set the wattage (or temperature) for each of the time-slots to really create your own curve. The good thing, though, is that once it’s done you can enjoy your perfect vape any time.
FIT Mode
Like on the Drag 2, the Mini Platinum features FIT mode, which basically gives you a choice of a battery set (1), flavor set (2) or clouds set (3) that matches with your tank to give you the best performance in one of three areas. The mode works best with the included Uforce tank, but it also works with a wide selection of tanks from other manufacturers. For me personally I would prefer to control the settings manually, but if you’re new to vaping with mods this mode makes it really easy to get the sort of performance you want.
Safety Features
As you expect from any device these days, the Drag Mini Platinum includes all the usual safety features, including protections for: overcharging, over-discharging, short circuits, high temperatures, over current, balanced charging and a 10-second cutoff. This is all pretty standard but it’s good that they’re all included nonetheless.
Voopoo Drag Mini Platinum Review – In Use
Battery Life
The Voopoo Drag Mini Platinum comes with a 4,400 mAh internal battery, which is huge for an internal battery device, and well in line with what you’d expect from a dual-battery mod. The result is a device that can comfortably keep you vaping through the whole day, depending on how much you vape. As I write I’ve been vaping out of the house all day and it’s currently sitting at about half charge, although on more intensive days I’ve got through most of a charge. But for a fairly compact device it’s really impressive when it comes to battery life.
Charging is quick too – it takes about 2 hours to go from fully empty to fully charged, which is pretty good for such a big battery.
Performance – VW Mode
The Drag Mini Platinum performs excellently in VW mode. The device is impressively responsive, thanks to the GENE.FIT chipset, and the output is solid throughout the whole wattage range. There isn’t much more to say about this: it works just as it’s supposed to and you barely notice a delay between hitting the fire button and starting to get vapor. It’s a really strong performer.
Performance – TC Mode
The Mini Platinum also does really well in TC mode, especially if you’ve adjusted the ramp-up wattage to your liking first. The responsiveness of the chip is still great, and you don’t really notice a drop-off in output as you reach your chosen temperature. I only tested it with nickel, but the pre-set TCR worked well and so you’re unlikely to need to adjust it. Just like on the Drag 2, the TC on the Mini Platinum works perfectly.
The Uforce T2 Tank
The Uforce T2 tank included with the kit is a great tank, too. The two coils both put out impressive amounts of vapor and let the flavor of your juice come through cleanly. The top-filling system also works really well, you simply push the top cap off to the side in the direction indicated and drip your juice into the fill hole. Performance is great all-round, and in testing the coils lasted around a month before the taste faded or they started to leak a little from the air-holes. This is really good after daily use though, and you get two coils with the kit.
Comfort and Portability
The Drag Mini Platinum is a good option if you’re vaping out of the house a lot too. The “Mini” in the name probably gives you the wrong impression, though – this isn’t a compact device, it’s just smaller than the Drag 2. It’s more like the size of a single battery box mod but with the battery life of a dual battery one. Still, it fits comfortably in your hand and it’s easily small enough to slip into a pocket.
The device has the same boxy shape as the Drag 2, but the size makes it pretty comfortable to hold in your hand regardless, and the cut upper back corner is at the right position to rest a finger when you vape. It would be better in terms of comfort if the body was a little rounded, but it’s still pretty good even with the square sides.
Ease of Use
Any higher-end mod will have a bit of a learning curve if it’s your first mod or you’re brand new to vaping, but the Drag Mini Platinum manages to simplify things quite well. Changing mode just requires three quick presses of the fire button, and you’re unlikely to need to enter the deep menu unless you need to make some more in-depth changes (e.g. to the TCR value in TC mode). FIT mode is great if you want the best settings but don’t want to go through the trial-and-error process of finding them, and the wattage and temperature control modes are really easy to get to grips with.
The tank is also a huge help in this department. Changing coils is the same process as always – unscrew the base of the tank, remove the old coil and screw the new one in place before reconnecting everything. Additionally, filling is super-simple because of the top filling system.
Overall, even new vapers won’t have difficulty working with the Drag Mini Platinum.
Build Quality
The Mini Platinum is really well made. The mod feels solid and sturdy, and you can tell that care has been taken over the design. The body uses a tungsten alloy in addition to the resin plate, and everything is beautifully machined. The buttons don’t rattle and they’re firm enough to avoid accidental pressing while still easy to push down when you mean to. Overall there are no complaints in this area at all.