Dovpo Topside Lite From New Vaping
The team over at NewVaping.com very kindly sent over the Topside Lite Kit for the purpose of this review.
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Topside Lite Introduction.
Brian over at The Vapor Chronicles has been a busy boy, and has taking the ‘Topside’ concept of super easy top fill Squonking, to as many devices as he can, with the aim of opening up the Squonk style of vaping to as many people as possible.
The original Topside design started with the Topside single, which ran off a single 21700 battery, he then developed the Topside Dual, and the high end Topside, The Carbon, which both run of a pair of 18650. The latest addition to the Topside family is the Topside Lite. Running of a single 21700, or 18650 in the provided adapter. The
Lite version not only has the trademarked top filling Squonk bottle, but also the ability to transform into a standard 21700 mod, with the simple swapping out of the Squonk system, for the provided battery cover.
What’s in the box.
The Topside Lite, can be either purchased as a standalone mod, or in a kit which comes with Variant RDA. I was sent the mod on its own.
- Dovpo Topside Lite mod
- Dovpo Variant RDA
- Squonk battery cover
- Plain battery cover
- Battery adaptor sleeve
- Accessory pack
- USB cable
- User manual
And comes in a choice of either Red/Black, Silver/Black and Solid Black.
Dovpo Topside Lite Spec.
- Material Polycarbonate and PCTG
- Size 97.5mm x 58mm x 28.2mm
- Power range 5W – 90W
- Temperature range 100 – 315 deg C / 200 – 600 deg F
- Display 0.96 OLED
- Input Voltage 3.2V – 4.2V
- Output Voltage 0.8V – 8.5V
- Resistance 0.08ohm – 3.5ohm
- Charging Micro USB 5V / 1A
- Gold plated spring loaded 510 pin
- Silicon bottle with a 10ml juice capacity
Whereas the original Topside Singe and Dual was machined out of Zinc Alloy, Aluminium and Stainless Steele, the latest addition is made out of a much lighter material, and composed out of PCTG – polycarbonate , hence the name Topside Lite. The body of the device seems to have a almost soft touch to it, with a slight rubberised coating. And during the winter months, is not so cold to the touch. But due to its plastic construction, I’m not sure how hard wearing it will be should it be dropped.
The Lite Body.
Although the Topside Lite is made out of plastic, it in know way means that it feels cheap or tacky, the polycarbonate body is thick and tough, and has a really sturdy feel to it. With none of the normal plastic flex. And feels really solid in the hand,
The top section which hoses the 510 connection, is manufactured out of a separate piece of PCTG. With a very sturdy stainless steel 510 connection which looks like it has been press fitted during the manufacturing stage, and has side notches, which ensure that there won’t be any unwanted turning or movement.
The top of the device and encased 510 is held in place with four grub screws.
The front face of the device houses a nicely size fire button, which sits neatly in a raised ring, to prevent any excess juice from getting in behind the button.
The 0.96 OLED display, is bright and well laid out, with all of the relevant device information, the display is easily read both inside and out. To help maintain battery life, after 15s of inactivity the screen will turn off, and then 3 minutes of inactivity the device will power down completely.
As normal, 5 rapid clicks of the fire button will turn the Topside Lite on.
and as expected, further five clicks will switch the device off.
The device can be controlled via the fire button, combined with the two well placed function buttons, which are located beneath the screen, and the strangely located grill, which I can only imagine, is used as venting, or to keep the chip cool, it maybe it’s just for looks.
The Menu Functions
As with all of the a Topside devices, the menu system is super easy to use.
- To enter the menu hold the fire and – button at the same time.
- Use the + button to scroll through options.
- Press the fire button to enter the sub menu.
Once in the submenu, you are given the option to change the following parameters:
- Power
- Bypass
- Temp Nichrome, Temp Titanium and Temp Stainless Steel
- TCR
- Stats
- Exit
To lock the Dovpo Topside Lite function buttons, press + and – together. Repeat the process to unlock. The locking will only prevent the menu buttons from being pressed, to stop you from accidentally turning the wattage up to high, but still allows you to fire the device.
While the device is in locked mode press the + button rapidly three times to enter stealth mode. The screen is disabled but the device can still be used.
A further three clicks of the + button will take you out of stealth mode.
If you want to disable the fire button, but without shutting the device down completely , to prevent it firing accidentally, you can disable it by pressing it three times in rapid succession. Repeating the process will enable it once again.
USB Socket & Charging.
The Topside Lite comes with a micro USB socket on the left hand side of the device, which can be used for charging, and software updates, as with all mods with removable batteries,
I would always recommend removing the batteries, and charging them in an external charger, and only use it if you get caught short, and need to give your batteries a quick boast. As you do tend to find the when charging the batteries with the internal charger, the charge in the batteries never seem to hold as well, and personally I don’t think it does your batteries any good. I did also find the when I tried the Internal charger, connecting it to the supplied USB cable, the body of the device did start to warm up, becoming warm to the touch. So I would sticking to using your external charger.
🔋 Recommended Batteries
The Topside Lite was sent to me including a pair of GOLISI S35 IMR 21700 Li-ion batteries, which are available over at Newvaping.com. For only £18.99 for a pair. I would always recommend purchasing batteries from a trusted source. These GOLISI 21700 pair up perfectly with the Topside Lite, and allows for a full day of Vaping.
Golisi S35 21700s Li-ion Battery
The Golisi S35 21700 is a high performance 3750mAh rechargeable lithium battery with 40A high constant current applications. The IMR 21700 battery can be recharged for more than 800 times and is enough to run various high drain devices. Compared to traditional batteries, it is more powerful, safer and economic to use. Best choice for your Topside Lite.
Battery Parameters
- Size: 21 x 70mm
- Model: 21700
- Capacity: 3750mAh
- Constant Current: 40A
- Nominal Voltage: 3.7V
- Charging cut-off voltage: 4.20±0.05V
- Internal resistance: 30mΩ
- Safety protection: Based on UL1642 standard, no leaking or explosion in extreme tests of over charging, short circuit, over discharging, high temperature
- Standard charging current: cc/cv(<=3A)
- Fully charged time: down to 2 hours(by using Golisi charger
- Cycle times: >800
- Operate temperature: Charging(0-45℃), Discharging(-20-60℃)
- Storage Temperature: Room temperature, dry place
Battery Tray.
The battery tray, features a solid brass contact at the base, and a firmly sprung brass top connector, which holds the battery firmly in place.
At the back of the tray, you have an embossed + and - , it would have been nice if they had been in a different colour, to help them stand out a bit more.
Just above to battery tray is a small rubberised pin, which has a threaded base, to allow it to be removed, for when you transform it into a standard mod. The rubberised finish, ensures that it makes a perfect seal, when the squonk section is connected.. it would have been nice if there had been a threaded hole somewhere else on the device or in the squonk section, that I could screw it into, when not in use, as it is super small, and you just know you will end up losing it if you not carefull. Perhaps at behind the battery.
The squonk Section.
The squonk section of the device, is made out of clear smoked plastic, which fits to the main body section, like a glove. It nice that they have kept this section clear, which means you can show off, your style, and your battery wraps. Allowing you to add a bit more personality to your lite.
Before I got hold of the Topside Lite, I was a little worried about the fact that you had to remove the whole squonk section, every time you wanted to change out your battery, and how it would fair over time, as you are effectively breaking the seal between the squonk bottle and the 510 connection, each time, and had vision of juice leakage etc. The fears were unfounded, as the level of engineering that has gone into designing and machined this device is staggering. Brian and the team at DoVPo seem to thrive on the challenge, the male rubberised pin that sticks out of the body of the mod, that feeds the 510 connection, fits perfectly into the cleverly designed valve, the is located at the top of the squonk section.
The magic happens when you separate the squonk section from the body of the mod, as the rubberised pin pulls out of the hole, the valve closes off behind it, preventing any juice from leaking out, and maintaining the pressure in the squonk bottle. The magnets either side, apply just enough pressure to hold the pin in place and the valve open. When connected together, there is very little to none, movement between to the two sections.
The squonk section, is held firmly in place by a single larger magnet at the base of the device, and two smaller magnets at the top, either side of the rubberised connector pin.
The white translucent rubber squonk bottle, has the perfect amount of flex, to give you just enough resistance when squonking, and as with the original Topside bottle, it features an embossed T, which makes the perfect fold point, when pressing.
The actual squonk bottle can be removed if required, by simply unscrewing the two screws at the top. Unlike the rest of the Topside’s, the squonk bottles are not interchangeable. And will only fit the lite. And the kit doesn’t come with a spare bottle, so take care of it.
The juice level can be easily seen through the bottle, and when filling you need to be carefull not to overfill, to prevent overflow when replacing the cap.
Unlike the cap on the original Topside, and Dual, there are no rubber bungs underneath the cap, needing to be aligned. And the cap simply screws back down into the fill hole. The threading is silky smooth, and seems to align itself every time, with no real need to try and align the threads.
As with the Topside Dual, and the High-end Carbon, the squonk cap can be secured to the magnet at the base on the mod, whilst filling up with juice. Again just a really nice touch, and shows the attention to detail that has been put into the a Topside Range.
The Lite Conversion.
The USP of the Topside Lite, is the ability for it to transform from a Squonker, to a standard Mod, allowing you to drip, or vape on your favourite RTA. And means that you are effectively getting two devices for the price of one. Both devices looking as complete and stylish as the other.
The conversion simply requires you to unscrew the small rubberised connector pin, (and put it somewhere safe, or no more squonking) and snap the cool looking battery cover in place, and swop the atomiser out for your favourite dropper or tank.
I must say, I really like the look of the Lite in non-squonk mode, and makes a really solid 21700 mod.
The Topside Lite performance
As with the other Topside’s I was super impressed with the performance of the device, the chip seems to perform faultlessly every time, with very little ramp up time, and plenty of power for most vapors, and most build. I do tend to find that you get a better experience with smaller builds, but each to there own.. the performance of the device is constant for the first 3/4 of the battery charge, and when you get down to the last two bars of the battery, the performance seems to drop right off, and you get quite a muted vape. So that’s the time to switch out the 21700 for a fresh battery.
I have also noticed that the device can take a little time to wake up, when it has been a sleep, it’s like you press the fire button, and it is unresponsive, and then the next press it fires right up.
Due to the Topside Lite’s onstruction, and the fact that you have the PCTG – polycarbonate body section, sitting against the plastic squonk section, you can get a small amount of plastic on plastic creeking, as the squonk section twists very slightly in the palm of your hand. Any movement is only very slight, considering that it is only held on by magnets.
Apart from the creeking, the only other issue with the build, is how the fire button sits, as it has a slight amount of lateral movement, if you run your thumb up it, as you fiddle with it, but this is being hyper critical, of what is an amazing mod, that has been manufactured to a very high standard.
Pros
- Very clever design design, giving two mods for the price of one.
- Light in the hand, due to PCTG polycarbonate material
- Extremely easy to switch between standard and squonk mode
- Very tight seal with No leaking
- Easy to read screen
- Clear plastic sides to show off your battery wraps.
Cons
- Fire button slight rattle.
- Nowhere to store the connector pin. Easy to lose.
- Plastic prone to smashing if dropped.
Final thoughts.
Super impressed with the Topside Lite, and a great addition to the growing Topside family, amazingly clever design. With a really high end feel to it. Brian has outdone himself with the Topside lite, and I feel in designing it the way he has, it has hopefully opened up squonking to the wider Vaping community, and it will appeal to vapors who have yet tried squonking, and may not of wanted to buy a Squonker, in case they didn’t get on with, whereas with the Topside Lite, they are getting a fantastic 21709 mod, that they can use as a Squonker when they wish to.
I really do think that Brian at The Vapor Chronicles, and the design team at DovPo have transformed Squonking, and made it an every day set up for so many vapors. Before using the Topside devices, squonking for me was always a little bit messy, and always used to leak a bit. Whereas the whole Topside range are just so well made, and highly engineered, it just shows with good design, and the right idea, any amazing devices can be made, that really do take Vaping and squonking especially to a whole new level, in my humble opinion.
