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Pizza Dave Delivers - A Squonk Mod Review - The Topside Dual by Dovpo and TVC

pizzadave80

Gold Contributor
Member For 4 Years
INTRODUCTION

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Hello Everyone and welcome to Pizza Dave’s Vape Reviews. Today I will be going over the Topside Dual by Dovpo and TVC. The original Topside was released last fall, and many of us know that this is easily one of the most popular squonkers released. What made it most popular was the top filling squonk system, combined with a rugged design and support for 21700 batteries. Personally, I have two of them, and they get used a ton and planned on getting one of these based on my positive experience of the original. Brian of the Vapor Chronicles knew a two-battery version had a market for it, so here we are, with a dual 18650 configuration of the Topside. Let’s dive in and see what it’s all about, and as always, I will have my final thoughts down at the bottom.

Disclaimer: This device was sent to me by HeavenGifts for review.
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WHAT YOU GET

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  • Dovpo Topside Dual 200w squonk mod
  • 10ml squonk bottle assembly
  • Spare 10ml squonk bottle assembly
  • USB charging cable
  • Spare parts
  • Paperwork

- Available in black, gunmetal, green, blue, purple, red, silver, and more colors to come.


STOCK SHOT
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PACKAGING
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UNBOXED
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MOD OVERVIEW


The Topside dual follows up the predecessor with a few small changes, and a few big ones. For starters, this is a dual 18650 device in lieu of a single 21700 (or 20700/18650). The body of course changes shape to make room for the two batteries and becomes a somewhat diamond shaped device. The face of the mod is slightly tweaked as well, with the button area looking a little different. Another change is the display, which now shows two batteries, and features an actual menu screen. One of the only remaining constants is the squonk bottle, which is interchangeable with the single battery version.


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OPERATION


This device overall is simple to pick up and use. It has a basic menu system, well laid out display, and keeps it simple with just a few button combos that you might want to use here and there.

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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 temp control modes, pressing the fire button and the up button together 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.


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HOW IT VAPES

This is the only section that really matters right? I said right away in my intro that I am a fan of the original Topside mods. I have been running two of them since last November and had only one issue with them. I had one squonk bottle that wouldn’t squonk due to the top portion not sealing right. Other than that, these mods still get used a lot. That being said, I went into this one with a bit of a positive attitude. One of the things I disliked about the original was the single battery meant that it wasn’t the greatest pairing for dual coil, large mass builds that I often like to enjoy in rdas. For these, I was an avid user of the Rage Box. After using the Topside dual, the Rage may be permanently parked. The shape of the mod fits my hands perfectly fine, and while it has some weight to it, it didn’t seem any worse than other two battery squonkers I have used in the past. The top fill method, which was an innovation in the original Topside, is still super convenient and fast to refill. No more messy refills are a plus for me. When it comes to power and battery life, the dual 18650, 200w operation works well. It doesn’t “feel” like it is quite at the power shown on the display, but not far behind what it should be. The power that it provides is maintained all the way through the battery cycle, and I found myself refilling the bottle a few times per set of batteries when running at 90w on most of my rdas. As for TC performance, I attempted to test the SS settings the way I normally do. I had my typical round-wire SS build on an RDA. When set to TC-SS, the output was very week and tapered off way too quick. I played with TCR a little and got it to ramp up and give the feel of the temperature setpoint, but then it didn’t taper off fast enough at the end and had I kept vaping it, I would have had a horrible dry hit. Seems to me like TC is not good on this one, which is a no go for many of my readers.


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PHOTO GALLERY

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pizzadave80

Gold Contributor
Member For 4 Years

FINAL THOUGHTS


I mentioned out of the gate that I am still an avid user of the original Topside. Entering this review, I had been using the single battery model for about 6 months, so when the dual battery version was coming out, needless to say I was a bit excited. I was still reverting back to using my Rage Box for rdas that I wanted to push harder for longer, as the single battery Topside just couldn’t hang all day. I can safely say that the Topside dual is going to be taking the Rage Box spot pretty easily. It feels ergonomic in my hand, not ungodly heavy for a dual battery squonker, and features the oh so pleasant top fill method. However, just because I like it, it may not be the best out there for you. Some of the largest cons that many may find is the size is a bit on the large side. Not bad when compared to other dual battery squonkers, but it is definitely more cumbersome than the original. Also, going off of feel, comparing to other mods I have, the wattage seems to be a touch under what the setpoint is and it doesn’t ramp up super-fast. It would be nice to have some preheat adjustment like many mods out there, but this is lacking in several settings that would be nice to see. One last con is the TC performance. I didn’t mess with it a ton, as it’s just not my vaping style, but I couldn’t get it to consistently control the output enough to be enjoyable. Other than these few cons, I found myself thoroughly enjoying this device. I have a few rdas that I like to push at 90-100w, and this hung in there all day for me without issues. I can safely say that this is a device that I will keep on using into the future and will be a go to dual battery squonker for me here on out.


OVEN TEST

If I this were to accidentally fall into my pizza oven would I go out and get another? Yes, that is until the new Yihi version is released.

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PROS


  • Top-fill squonk bottle
  • Bright display
  • Ease of use
  • Fits up to 28mm atomizers without overhang
  • 10ml squonk bottle
  • Compatible with original Topside squonk bottles
  • Ergonomic (Releaux-like) feel


CONS


  • Like many, dual battery squonkers are hefty to carry all day
  • TC performance is not good
  • Wattage feels to be a bit on the weaker side (turn it up higher than I normally would for optimal power)
  • Menu system is basic, and I would have liked to see a few more options


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Thank you all for reading and thank you to HeavenGifts for sending it my way for review. This has been out for a while, so it is available all over the place with a price of about $80-90.


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Pizza Dave – Delivering real reviews, with no extra toppings


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REVIEW CRITERIA: I use each item for about two weeks to ensure I have collected enough data to adequately write a review. I use the same e liquid in tanks or rdas throughout all my reviews to ensure that I am comparing apples to apples between all modern equipment. I do not post reviews until I feel confident that I have used it enough to give an educated review. The reason I started doing reviews was due to poor purchasing decisions in my vaping infancy about two years ago. Back then, I purchased several different pieces of hardware without really enjoying it and I hope my reviews can guide people into spending their hard-earned money more wisely than I did! ****Keep in mind that some items I receive may be pre-release and not in retail packaging. Quality may be less than the finished product and what is in the package may differ from the retail package as well.
 

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