# Voopoo Drag X3: nine years of the Drag range > The Voopoo Drag X3 placed in nine years of Drag history: what each generation brought, and what survived all the way through to this model. Every product listing describes the same device with the same figures, and none of them says where it came from. That is a shame, because the **Voopoo Drag X3** is the ninth chapter of a story that began in 2017, and almost every one of its characteristics is the direct heir of a decision taken a generation earlier. Read that way, the specification stops being a list and becomes a line of reasoning. ## The Voopoo Drag X3, last link in a nine year line The **Voopoo Drag X3** is a pod mod running on a single 18650 or 21700 cell, adjustable from 5 to 80 watts, driven by a 1.66 inch touchscreen. It uses PnP X pods, available in direct to lung or mouth to lung versions. It is not an isolated novelty. It occupies the position of third iteration of the X branch of a range that has run two parallel lines since 2020, and its design is explained almost entirely by what came before it. British reviewers tend to file it among external battery kits, a category that has thinned out considerably as built in cells took over. ## 2017, the Drag 1 and the bet on an in house chip The starting point is documented by the manufacturer itself. In a statement retracing the history of its mods, Voopoo says the Drag 1 came out in 2017 with a firing speed of 0.025 seconds, a record claimed at the time, and a SUPER mode reaching 157 watts thanks to its Gene chip. That choice is worth underlining, because it was not obvious. Developing your own electronics, rather than buying a board from a supplier, commits considerable fixed costs. It is that bet which gave the brand a recognisable technical identity, and the line of chips it produced still powers current models. ## The Drag 2 and automatic settings The rest of the main line, still according to the manufacturer's statement, unfolds in three steps, and each one solves a different problem. The Drag 2 arrived in 2019 with a FIT mode, presented as the product of analysing more than 1.1 million data points reported by Gene chips and of testing carried out on more than 160 tanks. The idea was to offer a suitable setting without the user having to hunt for their wattage. ## The Drag 3 and the atomisation platform The Drag 3 introduced the TPP atomisation platform and a SUPER mode pushed to 177 watts. The important word is platform: the brand stopped designing isolated tanks and started building a coil ecosystem shared between several devices. That shift matters more than any wattage figure. A coil shared across a family of devices stays in production far longer than one tied to a single model, which is the single most practical consideration for anyone buying hardware they intend to keep. ## The Drag 4 and the work on materials The Drag 4, released at the end of 2022, combines zinc alloy, leather, solid wood and natural resin, with a Uforce-L tank using top airflow and 5V/3A fast charging. Differentiation moved towards the object itself, once performance had stabilised. ## 2020, the birth of the X branch Alongside the boxes, a second line appeared in 2020 with the Drag X, a single cell format where device and pod form a compact whole. The Drag X Plus followed in 2021, widening the cell format. That split into two branches is the structural decision of the whole range. The numbered branch pursues power and depth of settings, the X branch pursues ease of use and reduced bulk. The **Voopoo Drag X3** belongs to the second. The Drag X2, announced on 19 December 2023, introduced the PnP X platform: pods with top airflow, with coils rated to last around 100 millilitres of liquid, offered in four values. That is the ecosystem the current model inherits. ## What the Voopoo Drag X3 specification owes to that heritage Read in the light of the eight preceding generations, the official characteristics explain themselves one by one. The maker quotes a zinc alloy and leather body, a 5 to 80 watt range, an output voltage of 3.2 to 4.2 volts, a resistance range of 0.1 to 3.0 ohms and 5V/2A charging. The dual cell format, 18650 or 21700, extends directly from the choice made on the Drag X Plus. It lets the user trade compactness against runtime without changing device, which remains rare in the pod mod market. The PnP X pods, in direct to lung or mouth to lung versions, show 5 millilitres in the international version and 2 millilitres in the British one. A 0.15 ohm coil is preinstalled and a second at 0.3 ohm is supplied, the platform covering values from 0.15 to 1.0 ohm. The recommended liquid sits between 50 and 70 per cent vegetable glycerine, and the manufacturer suggests keeping nicotine at or below 10 mg per millilitre on these coils. The capacity gap between the two versions is regulatory rather than commercial. British rules cap tanks and pods at 2 ml, nicotine containing refill bottles at 10 ml and nicotine strength at 20 mg/ml, with sales restricted to over 18s, which is why specifications diverge between sites. That combination has a practical consequence here. A 2 ml pod running a 0.15 ohm mesh coil empties quickly, so most British owners of this kind of kit pair it with a shortfill and a nic shot rather than with a high strength 10 ml bottle. The hardware did not force that habit, the capacity cap did. ## What this genealogy changes in daily use The most useful practical point appears on no specification sheet: the longevity of a coil ecosystem. A platform shared between several models and several generations has a far longer commercial life than a consumable specific to one device. That is the main argument in favour of hardware from an established range. The reasoning holds beyond this brand, as the history of [another long standing manufacturer](/uk/kangertech-brand-history/) shows, and it is the mirror image of the fully strippable philosophy behind [Vaperz Cloud](/uk/vaperz-cloud-brand/). The touchscreen invites the opposite remark. It simplifies navigation but adds a fragile part and a software layer, where earlier generations made do with three buttons. Every simplification of an interface is paid for somewhere. ## Frequently asked questions ### Should I use an 18650 or a 21700 cell? The 21700 offers greater capacity, therefore more runtime, at the cost of extra weight and bulk. The 18650 makes the device lighter and slimmer. No cell is supplied: it is bought separately from a specialist retailer. ### Are PnP X coils compatible with older PnP pods? No. PnP X is a distinct platform from the historic PnP range, with its own pod format. Check the exact marking on the packaging before buying any consumable. ### What does 50 to 70 per cent vegetable glycerine mean? It is the liquid ratio the coils of the platform were validated for. A thicker liquid feeds the wick poorly and risks a dry hit, while a very thin one encourages leaks. ### How long does a coil from this platform last? The maker quotes an order of magnitude of around one hundred millilitres of liquid for PnP X coils. Real life varies a great deal with the sugar content of the liquid and the wattage used. ### Why do some listings say 5 ml and others 2 ml? Because two versions of the same product exist. The version sold in the United Kingdom is capped at 2 ml by the rules here, while the international version keeps the original 5 ml. ## What to take from the Voopoo Drag X3 before buying Placed back in its line, the **Voopoo Drag X3** looks less like a novelty than a consolidation: the in house chip of 2017, the coil platform logic of the Drag 3, the dual cell format of the Drag X Plus and the PnP X ecosystem of 2023 all come together in it. That is precisely what makes it a legible choice, since each of those elements has already been proven on earlier generations. Looking at the history of a range remains the best way to tell a solid evolution from a change of colourway, and the same method applies to every [family of atomiser](/uk/vape-atomiser/) on a British shelf. Editorial content for adult readers only. Vaping is for over 18s in the United Kingdom. Nicotine containing e-liquids contain nicotine, a substance that causes addiction. This article is not a buying recommendation.