Dovpo Top gear DNA250c 200w Mod
You want to know how fickle I actually am?..My interest in today’s device was piqued purely because it was called the ‘Top Gear’…which happens to be my favourite TV show of all time…or at least it was…before that bumbling buffoon in the above gif threw a wobbly and punched the producer over a fucking cold buffet, resulting in the whole team getting fired…I mean shit, I love a good buffet (you don’t say), but I don’t think I’d ruin my career over one…
You’re right…I probably would, but…I digress. That show OBVIOUSLY has absolutely fuck all to do with anything even remotely relevant to today (since when has that stopped you)…That’s a good point actually, and the vague promise of at least 2 out of the 3 biggest distractions in my life being mentioned in a vape review is enough make me meander off onto a path filled with selfish indulgence that will mean absolutely nada to anyone other than me (again…since when has that stopped you)…yet another good point, and actually…why isn’t there a TV show called 'Boobs, Buffets & Brum Brums??..I mean I’m no expert…in anything…but that shit would sell right?..Am I on to something there…?..Anyone??
See…I’m doing it again.
Best drive erratically straight into this review before I start posting boob gifs…
Oops…there it is…
So if you could all make sure your folding trays and seat backs are in their full upright position…
As we prepare to take off into a journey of absolute nonsense, cleverly disguised as some kind of informative vape review…or some shit…who the fuck knows…we can but hope…
Shall we…
Welcome back my furiously fluffy fast cats, back again with more of the same, except this time, maybe not so much, as the device I have for you today is not something I have seen for a while…ok it’s actually not that long, but in vape terms?..It could almost be considered nostalgic for me, which…admittedly, isn’t difficult to achieve, seeing as I can’t actually remember what I did yesterday thanks to my past being ever so slightly more dubious and checkered than a knock off chess board…‘Top Gear’ meant something completely different in those days…
However…one thing is for damn certain, I do remember receiving a device last year that I absolutely loved, and still do to this day. It had one of the best finishes I’ve ever seen, was designed by someone I very much respect, and was made by the same company that manufactures the device I am reviewing today, and that device was the…it was the…erm…you know…the…oooh tippy tonguey…theeeeeee
Topside Carbon!..Thank you for that, and you’ll see why that device is very much relevant to this review a little later…if it is, which it might not be, who the fuck really knows (shrugs)
SO…
Let’s get down to business, because on the surface, today’s device has the potential to be something really, actually quite special, and I for one was very excited when I saw it land on my doorstep, thanks to good old Mr Peng, and courtesy of the awesome company he works for, Dovpo, I present to you; The Dovpo Top Gear DNA250c Mod…please press play before you look at the images…it’ll make absolutely no sense at all to anyone who’s not English 
[audio mp3=“https://steampugs.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Top-Gear.mp3”][/audio]
Look familiar? It should, it shares more than a passing resemblance to the Dovpo Topside Carbon…
However, a more than mild resemblance, and a similar name, is pretty much all these things have in common. No sir…there ain’t no squonking to be found on this little number, just a straight out vape mod…with more than a few little tricks up it’s crushed carbon and resin sleeve…
The Lowdown
The Dovpo Top Gear is a 200w, dual 18650 device that is kept in check by arguably the ‘best in class’ chip…the DNA 250c. Now…that alone would get a vast swathe of vapers all up in a tizz, scrambling for their wallets and ignoring everything I write from here on in, so I could just stop now…but I won’t, mainly because there’s a lot that needs to be said here…but partly because I’ve been on furlough since March and I have little else to do on my Sunday ‘write days’…unlike my other days…when I’m incredibly ‘busy’…(ahem).
SO!..Let’s take a closer look, firstly, we may as well get this out of the way, the DNA250c chip by Evolve. If you’ve sought out this review because you want to know more about the Top Gear then this will undoubtedly come as no surprise. Every single time someone brings out a mod with this chip in it, there is always a noticeable ‘bustle’ in the vape community, especially from the Temp Control gang…as they adjust the crotch area of their neatly ‘ironed down the middle’ jeans so as to hide any visible over excitement…it is after all, the super model of the Mod chip world, coveted by just about everyone in the mass produced mod industry. And why?..Because the damned thing can change just about every single setting, and cover every combination of every permutation that you can possibly dream up in that fuzzy little geek noggin.
Me?..Oh it’s completely wasted on me, I’m a straight shooting high wattage/Voltage user who believes Temperature Control is a waste of mine, yours, my friends, and indeed…my dog’s time. No…I don’t care that you love it, I don’t give a shit if you think I should love it, and my dog is too busy licking her own lady garden after pissing on my…non…lady garden…to give a flying fuck about temperature control vaping, mainly because… she’s a dog/spawn of Satan…although she does seem quite intrigued by squonking…make of that what you will.
However…it’s not 100% completely wasted. I know the vast majority of you will be aware of the EScribe software and it’s capabilities with regards to DNA Chips, but on the off chance that there may well be a couple of you that haven’t a clue what I’m on about, in short…if you download the EScribe software to your computer, and then plug your mod into the same computer, you can use the EScribe software to alter every conceivable setting within your device…and I do mean everything, It is quite simply…nerd central. The DNA chips are a wealth of (to me) useless information…
I have no doubt at all that there is a posse of plume chuckers who keep pens in their shirt pockets…that almost faint at the prospect, but… do you know what I do with it?..I do this…
Because I’m a narcissistic arsehole.
But don’t let that confuse you and think that I don’t respect the DNA chips, because I absolutely do. Strip down the gargantuan amount of bells and whistles and what you are left with is quite simply one of…if not ‘the’…most accurate chips on the market, something which many people hold in high regard. I’d like to say I was one of those people, however…I have, over the years, taught myself, with countless hours of rigorous training, to come up with my own personal, fine tuned, method of finding my perfect ‘sweet spot’ with vaping…
Power is too high - Turn it down.
Power is too low - Turn it up.
Now that may seem a little convoluted to you, but I promise you, if you are willing to push yourself and really put in the effort in learning this method…it will serve you well…you can do it, I have faith in you.
But the goodies don’t stop at the chip, if you set your mind back to when the Topside Carbon was released, you may remember an accompanying video that was released showing just how much of a pain in the ass this funky looking material was too make…
Nope, it’s not a vinyl sticker, it is in fact a highly compressed mix of shredded carbon fiber and resin, and once again…Dovpo have released another video to show just what goes into making these highly durable coatings…as well as the rest of the damned thing. I have to say, from a completely non-nerd point of view…I find this fascinating…it’s like the best episode of ‘How it’s made’ ever…
Keep this video in mind when we come to the price.
Whatever this carbon material is actually called, I for one am a huge fan of it. It’s incredibly durable, doesn’t scratch off, doesn’t fade, and feels really really nice in the hand, plus…it also looks the part…
And with the Dovpo Top Gear being a tad undeniably ‘boxy’ …the smooth finish on the carbon is a welcome addition, it’s something I loved about the Topside, and I love it equally on the Top Gear.
Now, down the front we have the 0.96” Full Color TFT Screen as well as the usual array of ‘DNA’ buttons, up, down, and select, as well as the fire button and micro USB. It’s ever so slightly more complicated to navigate that a normal mod, but it won’t take you long to get your head around it.
The fire button however…is a slightly different issue for me, and we’ll come to why at the end of the review.
At the bottom of the Dovpo Top Gear we have something that has a had a bit of an overhaul…
And that’s the battery door. Owners of the Topside will no doubt pick up on this instantly, because this was the only real area that let the Topside down. It’s still made of the same material, Aluminum Alloy, and still operates in roughly the same way…
But take a look at just how heavy duty those clasps are. These wore out…or in some cases…snapped off completely on the Topside, but you’d have to treat this thing pretty violently for any such thing to happen here. The door is immensely chunky, a bit like myself, but unlike on me…it’s very welcome on the Top Gear. Absolutely zero chance of this door bowing, I’d even go as far as to say, that this is the heaviest duty battery door I have ever seen.
And I’m also a huge fan of the clear markings on the back of the Dovpo Top Gear’s battery door.
NOW THEN…here we go, getting to the nitty gritty now. There’s a very good reason that this is called the Dovpo Top Gear, and that reason is both innovative…and confusing, and it’s all up on the top…
It’s confusing, because it’s identical to the Topside knurled ‘knob’ that was the top cap for the refill bottle, however…this isn’t a squonker, so…what the fuck indeed…is it?
Well, this…is actually used to control the device in exactly the same way as the buttons on the front fascia, turn it on one way, and its the up button, turn it the other way…the down button, press it…and that’s the select button, and it’s incredibly clunky too, I’m imagining some kind of sprung ball bearing gearing mechanism is going on with it’s clunk…clunk…clunk…clunk…clunk as you turn it, and it’s stiff too, do I like it?..We’ll come to that, but Dovpo are so proud of it, that they centered the whole device around just this.
And finally, we have the 510 plate…
With a poorly golden bum hole for a center pin…I’m kidding, it’s a bit of juice that I didn’t notice was there when I took the picture, I had to go back and check though let me tell ya…a real WTF moment there…
It’s a nice 510 plate, externally bolted which I love, and Dovpo claim it’ll take up to a 26mm top, but I’ve actually been using it with a 28mm Sherman because I think I 'm really clever…and you know what?..it doesn’t look terrible…
The Specs
Parameters
Dovpo Top Gear DNA 250c
Size: 88.6mm x 54.2mm x 27mm
Material: Aluminum Alloy
Chipset: Evolv DNA250C
Output Voltage Range: 0.2v – 8.0v
Working Mode: Variable Wattage, Temperature Control, Replay
Display: 0.96” Full Color TFT Screen
Charging: Micro USB 5V/2A
Battery: 2 x 18650 cells (Not included)
Temperature control range: 200°F - 600°F/100°C - 300°C
Evolv DNA250C chipset for stable performance
Variable wattage, TC mode and Replay mode
Multiple protections to ensure a safe vape
Central 510 connection
CNC machined and carbon fiber covered
Capable of taking 26mm tanks without any overhang
Powerful, light and stylish.
In The Box
• 1 x Top Gear
• 1 x MicroUSB Cable
• 1 x User Manual
• 1 x Battery Usage Warning Card
Final Thoughts
My final thoughts on the Dovpo Top Gear Mod would be thus…
I’m not entirely sure what that means, but, I can’t not like it, as far as mass produced mods go…the Dovpo Top gear is a carbon coated sports car with a race tuned engine. It has a top of the line DNA chip that will have Kenneth the lab assistant dribbling down his temperature control parameters as he opens his EScribe software and programs it to show the local weather on it’s 0.96" full colour TFT screen…
It has one of the best coatings on the market and feels heavy duty enough to make me believe that it will literally run forever, plus the fact that finding a mod of this persuasion to look ‘acceptable’ with a 28mm top is…in my world…not to be sniffed at. And then there’s Dovpo’s impeccable machining, this is a luxury device, and both the look and the feel confirm that. But… for me…it comes with a couple of ‘quirks’
Firstly, and mainly, there’s the fire button…
Don’t get me wrong, it works perfectly well, it’s the feel of it that’s the problem. Now this may well be a personal preference, and is in no way meant to diminish what a beautifully made device this is, but this button to me feels like it’s set on a creaky fucking spring, there’s just so much movement in it that it prevents me from getting that ‘satisfying clickyness’ that I so crave from all my mods…and when I first opened the box and took it out to give it a squeeze, I believe an involuntary ‘Eew’ may have slipped from my lips…not a fan Dovpo. It’s like you know you need to push it, and indeed you also know that you are going to push it…
And secondly comes the conundrum of what the Dovpo Top Gear actually represents, is it innovation?..Well…not really, for a start it’s dual 18650 when…really…it could have quite easily been a dual 21700, which these days is kinda what people are after, and I can overlook the micro USB because I know that DNA 250c chips don’t cater for type C…but even all that…isn’t the main reason for my apparent confuddlement (?)…That would come from the Dovpo Top Gear’s ‘Top Gear’…I get the idea, I understand how the idea has come into being, this is Dovpo continuing the Topside family saga without it being the Topside. Yes, it looks strikingly similar, yet different enough to not be related, but…if the idea is to look like a Topside, but with an innovative top control, then why do we need the buttons on the front?..If you’re going to bring something new to the table then do exactly that, clean up the front of the mod by getting rid of the buttons and just have a screen and a (better) fire button?..Yes…I know, it’s a DNA board, so the buttons are already on it, this chip hasn’t been made especially for the Top Gear, and if the buttons are already there right on the board itself you might as well use them, but me?..I’d have blanked them off and gone for a cleaner look, and forced me to use this new form of control, because it does work, and it works really well…but because I have the buttons too, I haven’t used this dial since I tested it, I’m just too used to using the standard buttons. Given that the kind of person who would normally buy a DNA250c mod would undoubtedly be in the same boat…I would imagine they would too, which makes the dial a bit of an unneeded novelty in my opinion, and I don’t really want these doubts in my mind when I’m about to fork out the kind of money that a DNA250c Mod demands…but, I do love the look of it, I definitely love the feel of that carbon/resin finish, and it’s also available in a tasteful array of colours.
The Price
You can try and shop around by all means, I did a little bit but it seems the price on these is pretty set at around £135/$179. Yes, it’s pricey, but when you consider that the DNA250c chip on it’s own will set you back around £70/$90, and then watch the video I included to show just what goes into making one of these devices then…it’s actually a pretty fair price, and chances are…if you’re in the market for a device powered by one of these chips then you already know what to expect…it’s pretty much as simple as that, find the Dovpo Top Gear here…
Would I recommend one?..Yes of course, the quirks I found are not reason to shun it, It’s a DNA250c workhorse of a device that most of you will adore, but I just can’t help but feel it could have quite easily been that little bit better thought out.
NOW…here we are once again when I fill you in on the goings on behind the scenes in our little vape bubble, because believe me, it is ALL going on right now, and there are plenty of reasons for you to keep a close eye out in the coming weeks for some major developments…such as…
Steampugs , the site, which has now been in maintenance mode for over a month, is being overhauled and turned into an online store AND review site, It’ll have all the usual nonsense from me, plus a massive amount of Vape gear, e-liquids and a full CBD range for you to peruse at your leisure, all shipped from here in the UK, and we’re almost there, just getting our final ducks in a row before we launch, but when we do…we will be celebrating with the MOTHER OF ALL GIVEAWAYS , with the first prize currently valued at around £1600 worth of Hardware, e-liquid concentrates, Merch and e-liquid, one of these prizes is the full flavour line from Flavorah including mixing books…
On top of that we have a whole host of prizes that have been kindly and generously donated from the likes of Wotofo, Steam Crave, DIY Flavor Chaser, Decadent Vapours, Heavengifts, TECC, Sourcemore, Healthcabin , and who knows who else in the coming weeks, I cannot thank you all enough, you have all been incredibly generous, and it’s nice to see these kind of companies giving back to the community. Hopefully, we may have even more coming on board and getting involved in the coming weeks, so if anyone wants to get involved get in touch, AND…the draw of this, which will run for a month, will be done LIVE on our very own YouTube show, ‘The Vaping Community Forum Show’ which will be aired every Saturday night @ 6pm US EST / 11pm UK GMT , and will start with the first show in a couple of weeks…
so keep your eyes peeled, don’t worry, we will be constantly throwing out flyers and spamming the shit out of it before it drops.
THEN…there is of course our own line of e-liquid one-shots that have been lovingly created by us, the admin team over at Vaping Community , and are being sold over at DIY Flavor Chaser , The proceeds of which go towards the running of the Vaping Community Forum & VC Mixing Calculator.
The Vaping Community Forum is the love child of Grubby, Myself and Woftam, the three of us have worked tirelessly to bring people a forum that is both relaxed and offers a warm welcome to like minded vapers, The calculator is fast becoming one the most used mixing calculators in the world, and it’s not even finished yet, there is so much more to come with it, so by all means pop in to say hello, it’s totally free to join, there are no paywalls at any point of it, and we have a really friendly and knowledgeable member network, with some of the best mixers on the planet, as well as a real bunch of Vape experts from pretty much any category you could think of.
There…I think that’s it…you can go now, but I’d like to thank Peng for sending the Dovpo Top Gear to me for this review, the man’s a true legend.
Until next time…
Pugs.
appreciate that
thanks man, appreciate that.
