INTRODUCTION
Hello everyone and welcome to another review. This is Pizza Dave and today I will be going over the Topside Lite Kit by Dovpo. This is the latest device from Dovpo and came out at the same time as the SQ Topside and Odin were also released. Needless to say, that’s a lot to pump out at the same time. This device is a single 21700, squonk mod, similar to the OG Topside, but with an added twist. For starters, thanks to a mostly plastic body, it is much much lighter. Secondly, the squonk bottle is enclosed in a section about half the size of the mod, and it comes off completely for battery installation. Lastly, this half section can stay off, and a cover goes on, making this a slim, tall single 21700 mod. Sooooo yeah, it is interesting, and if I am being honest, I thought this was a real dumb idea when I saw it was coming out. Let’s find out if I still feel the same way!
DISCLAIMER: This device was sent to my by Dovpo for review.
___________________________________________________________________________________
WHAT YOU GET
Available in Black, Red, and Gunmetal
STOCK SHOT
PACKAGING
UNBOXED
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Measurements: 97.5mm x 58mm x 28.2mm
Battery: Single 21700, 20700, or 18650 w/ adapter
Power Range: 5-90w
Capacity: 10mL squonk bottle
Other features: Topside top fill bottle.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
Like I said in my intro, I really didn’t go into this with high expectations. Surprisingly enough, I found that there was quite a bit about this that was actually damn good. The lighter weight is the first thing that jumps out over the original. It is much more pocket friendly, as it won’t sag your pants down like the OG would. The next thing that jumps out is that about half the mod pops right off for battery insertion or complete removal. It is held on magnetically and is quite solid. It has a satisfying amount of magnetic tension and I have no worries about this popping off during normal use. Sure, if you drop it, it will fly off, but just don’t drop it. The last big change is with the top fill itself. This time around, it has a threaded cap with an o-ring, more like the top of a tank instead of the older design with the spring loaded thingy with two plugs. The opening isn’t as large, but it doesn’t pose a refill problem. The ergonomics is about the same as the single battery topside, which I don’t find to be a problem either. So yeah, that’s the Lite in a nutshell.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
OPERATION
The chipset that is in the Topside Lite is the same as what came in the Topside Dual. That being said, I am copy and pasting my operation segment from the Dual review.
BUTTON COMBOS
Five clicks of the fire button will turn it on and off. Three clicks of the fire button will lock the fire button. Pressing the up and down buttons together will lock and unlock the adjustment keys. When in TC modes, pressing the fire button and up button will allow you to adjust the preheat wattage. Pressing the fire button and down button together will enter the menu system.
MENU SYSTEM
The menu system isn’t full blown or anything, but rather has a few selections of operation and misc. information.
That’s about it. I wish there was a little more to offer in the menu. It would be nice to adjust the screen brightness and screen timeouts, but this one is kept basic as was the original.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
USEAGE
As far as actual usage goes, this vapes quite similar to the original Topside. In wattage mode, it performs right where I thought it would. Ya press the button, it ramps up in good time, and provides a solid power output to the atomizer. I ran mine at 80w with the dual coil Variant and had no issues with how they paired up (other than battery life). I did some small testing in TC and it performed about the same as the Topside Dual, but that is no surprise because the board seems the same. Me, being a wattage vapor, didn’t mind this, but that would be a deal breaker for quite a few of my readers. As far as the overall design, I don’t have many issues with what they did here. The dark tinted clear plastic is a scratch magnet, and if this goes in and out of an abrasive pocket, it will show scratches. Replacement bottles include the entire housing for a decent price, so at least there’s that. The bottle itself can be removed for cleaning if you must, and kind of in a similar fashion as the old topsides slide in housing. Remove a couple of screws, take it apart, and pull it out. It isn’t terrible to do, but I just rinsed mine with the entire plastic still on. The mod, if you choose to do so can be a single battery device. All you have to do is pop the squonk section off, grab the little squonk tube thing and unscrew it. Once that comes out, the cover is magnetically held into place. Boom, done, and it makes this a slim, tall, comfortable single battery 21700 mod.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
VARIANT RDA
I want to just take a quick look at this rda. Yes, this is essentially a Drop V2. The deck is about the same, but the air flow is altered a little. Instead of a T-shape on the side, this one just has two vertical rows, which are adjustable by row starting at the top in a little odd fashion. As you close it down, the top can be 1 or two holes. Keep turning and the 2nd row down can be close one hole at a time also. Keep turning and both the 3rd and 4th rows close off one hole at a time. Keep going and all left holes will be blocked, as well as the bottom row, but the top three rows have the right side open. Yeah, if you really run it that restricted the vape isn’t that great, but it just closes down kind of funny. I ran mine with the top row off. The only other thing that is a bit different about this rda is the pin. There is a cap built into the pin, which can be unscrewed from the top, thus opening it up for squonking, Tighten this down, and it is now a regular dripper. It works pretty damn good, with a restricted flow of liquid during squonking, but it is one less part to keep track of.
I don’t really need to get into detail about the build deck, but it doesn’t get much easier to build and wick on it. It has ample room for beefy coils, and they are not hard to install. Wicking is also easy, as long as you leave them just a hair off the bottom so they keep up to the power you are pumping through them. They worked on the drop and they work on the variant.
So with these few changes, how does it vape? In short, it vapes real good. The air flow is nice and smooth, and the flavor is spot on. It is a damn good rda, that I really enjoy. The little pin thing for squonk / non-squonk is not my jam, because I don’t like how it restricts squonking a little, but it is functional and kind of neat. One thing that is a pro, and a cheap one, is the drip tip. It is a conical shape, and very comfortable on my lips, and it also looks nice to boot.
It’s a good rda, even if sold on its own, but it is a nice addition to this kit.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
PHOTO GALLERY
Hello everyone and welcome to another review. This is Pizza Dave and today I will be going over the Topside Lite Kit by Dovpo. This is the latest device from Dovpo and came out at the same time as the SQ Topside and Odin were also released. Needless to say, that’s a lot to pump out at the same time. This device is a single 21700, squonk mod, similar to the OG Topside, but with an added twist. For starters, thanks to a mostly plastic body, it is much much lighter. Secondly, the squonk bottle is enclosed in a section about half the size of the mod, and it comes off completely for battery installation. Lastly, this half section can stay off, and a cover goes on, making this a slim, tall single 21700 mod. Sooooo yeah, it is interesting, and if I am being honest, I thought this was a real dumb idea when I saw it was coming out. Let’s find out if I still feel the same way!
DISCLAIMER: This device was sent to my by Dovpo for review.
___________________________________________________________________________________
WHAT YOU GET
- 1 Topside Lite Mod
- 1 Variant RDA
- 1 Tri-tool
- 1 Bag of spare parts
- Battery cover
- Spare squonk tubes (more on that later)
- Micro USB cable
- Paperwork
Available in Black, Red, and Gunmetal
STOCK SHOT
PACKAGING
UNBOXED
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Measurements: 97.5mm x 58mm x 28.2mm
Battery: Single 21700, 20700, or 18650 w/ adapter
Power Range: 5-90w
Capacity: 10mL squonk bottle
Other features: Topside top fill bottle.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
Like I said in my intro, I really didn’t go into this with high expectations. Surprisingly enough, I found that there was quite a bit about this that was actually damn good. The lighter weight is the first thing that jumps out over the original. It is much more pocket friendly, as it won’t sag your pants down like the OG would. The next thing that jumps out is that about half the mod pops right off for battery insertion or complete removal. It is held on magnetically and is quite solid. It has a satisfying amount of magnetic tension and I have no worries about this popping off during normal use. Sure, if you drop it, it will fly off, but just don’t drop it. The last big change is with the top fill itself. This time around, it has a threaded cap with an o-ring, more like the top of a tank instead of the older design with the spring loaded thingy with two plugs. The opening isn’t as large, but it doesn’t pose a refill problem. The ergonomics is about the same as the single battery topside, which I don’t find to be a problem either. So yeah, that’s the Lite in a nutshell.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
OPERATION
The chipset that is in the Topside Lite is the same as what came in the Topside Dual. That being said, I am copy and pasting my operation segment from the Dual review.
BUTTON COMBOS
Five clicks of the fire button will turn it on and off. Three clicks of the fire button will lock the fire button. Pressing the up and down buttons together will lock and unlock the adjustment keys. When in TC modes, pressing the fire button and up button will allow you to adjust the preheat wattage. Pressing the fire button and down button together will enter the menu system.
MENU SYSTEM
The menu system isn’t full blown or anything, but rather has a few selections of operation and misc. information.
- Power mode
- Voltage mode
- TC for Ni
- TC for Ti
- TC for SS
- TC with TCR adjustment
- Bypass mode
- Stats – Shows the amount of puffs taken and the total vaping time on the device.
- Exit
That’s about it. I wish there was a little more to offer in the menu. It would be nice to adjust the screen brightness and screen timeouts, but this one is kept basic as was the original.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
USEAGE
As far as actual usage goes, this vapes quite similar to the original Topside. In wattage mode, it performs right where I thought it would. Ya press the button, it ramps up in good time, and provides a solid power output to the atomizer. I ran mine at 80w with the dual coil Variant and had no issues with how they paired up (other than battery life). I did some small testing in TC and it performed about the same as the Topside Dual, but that is no surprise because the board seems the same. Me, being a wattage vapor, didn’t mind this, but that would be a deal breaker for quite a few of my readers. As far as the overall design, I don’t have many issues with what they did here. The dark tinted clear plastic is a scratch magnet, and if this goes in and out of an abrasive pocket, it will show scratches. Replacement bottles include the entire housing for a decent price, so at least there’s that. The bottle itself can be removed for cleaning if you must, and kind of in a similar fashion as the old topsides slide in housing. Remove a couple of screws, take it apart, and pull it out. It isn’t terrible to do, but I just rinsed mine with the entire plastic still on. The mod, if you choose to do so can be a single battery device. All you have to do is pop the squonk section off, grab the little squonk tube thing and unscrew it. Once that comes out, the cover is magnetically held into place. Boom, done, and it makes this a slim, tall, comfortable single battery 21700 mod.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
VARIANT RDA
I want to just take a quick look at this rda. Yes, this is essentially a Drop V2. The deck is about the same, but the air flow is altered a little. Instead of a T-shape on the side, this one just has two vertical rows, which are adjustable by row starting at the top in a little odd fashion. As you close it down, the top can be 1 or two holes. Keep turning and the 2nd row down can be close one hole at a time also. Keep turning and both the 3rd and 4th rows close off one hole at a time. Keep going and all left holes will be blocked, as well as the bottom row, but the top three rows have the right side open. Yeah, if you really run it that restricted the vape isn’t that great, but it just closes down kind of funny. I ran mine with the top row off. The only other thing that is a bit different about this rda is the pin. There is a cap built into the pin, which can be unscrewed from the top, thus opening it up for squonking, Tighten this down, and it is now a regular dripper. It works pretty damn good, with a restricted flow of liquid during squonking, but it is one less part to keep track of.
I don’t really need to get into detail about the build deck, but it doesn’t get much easier to build and wick on it. It has ample room for beefy coils, and they are not hard to install. Wicking is also easy, as long as you leave them just a hair off the bottom so they keep up to the power you are pumping through them. They worked on the drop and they work on the variant.
So with these few changes, how does it vape? In short, it vapes real good. The air flow is nice and smooth, and the flavor is spot on. It is a damn good rda, that I really enjoy. The little pin thing for squonk / non-squonk is not my jam, because I don’t like how it restricts squonking a little, but it is functional and kind of neat. One thing that is a pro, and a cheap one, is the drip tip. It is a conical shape, and very comfortable on my lips, and it also looks nice to boot.
It’s a good rda, even if sold on its own, but it is a nice addition to this kit.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
PHOTO GALLERY