It’s a bit of a mouthful, but here’s the Dovpo X Signature Mods Clutch mech mod review!
American YouTube vape reviewer Mike Vapes collaborates with Dovpo and Signature Tips/Mods to create this very trendy looking mech mod!
Last year (2019) I would say Dovpo was my favorite manufacturer. Not only are they responsible for the Topside 90w and Topside Dual, which quite frankly are some of the most popular mainstream and best squonk mods on the market. But last year they upped their game!
Mostly joining forces with vape reviewers, they produced the Topside Lite, Odin DNA250C and 200w Dual 21700 mod with Sam, the Vaping Bogan, who also put his stamp on the Blotto RTA.
And then to finish the year off they managed to pull in Signature Tips / Mods to make the Topside SQ, the Mono SQ DNA75C and finally, the Clutch mech mod.
Signature Tips mods are pretty much best known for their unique shape, style and build quality. Their SQ mods look similar in shape and style to the Clutch mod, with a box shape and unique curves on one end, making their mods an ideal finger firer with your fingers nestling between the groves on one end of the box.
Before we get into this review, I really want to stress this is a MECHANICAL Mod, meaning there is no regulation or safety features.
Quite simply meaning there is more risk, as opposed to using a typical regulated device. If you don’t understand what I mean by mechanical mod, then I strongly suggest you go and do some research before carrying on with this review, or picking up this product.
Read more:
- Mechanical V Regulated – A Guide To Vape Mods
- Electrickery – A Guide to Volts, Ohms and Resistence in Ecigs
Watch Mike Vapes Introduction Video
Dovpo Signature Mods Clutch – This is a Mechanical Mod!
With all ‘mech mods’ – I strongly suggest you look into a number of things before you delve into the world of mechs, beginning with looking into battery safety, ensuring your batteries are high quality and well looked after.
Once you’re done with that, brush up on Ohms Law [see link above] to ensure that the build you put on a mechanical mod isn’t going to destroy your batteries – which trust me, is not a nice experience.
What Can We Expect From the Dovpo Signature Mods Clutch?
The Dovpo Signature Mods Clutch is a single 21700 mechanical mod, made from solid billet aluminium and is beautifully finished.
If you know much about any of the names involved in the creation of the Clutch mod, you’ll be aware that quality is generally very high, and at a glance, that quality of the Clutch follows suit.
With that quality in mind, I’m expecting the Clutch to hit fairly hard considering it can take a single 21700 battery and looking at the internals, solid silver contacts and a Hybrid 510 connection.
Watch the Flatcap Vaper’s Hands On Video Review and Tutorial
Right, let’s Crack On and see what this is all about…
Inside the Box
- 1 x Clutch Mod
- 1 x Screwdriver
- 2 x Spare Screws
- 1 x QC Certificate
- 1 x Info card
- 1 x Battery Safety Card
I’ve said this before about mechanical mods, as much as we hope that people who use mech mods know what they’re doing, I really think they should include some additional information and maybe some helpful links for battery safety and Ohms Law Calculators etc.
Dovpo Signature Mods Clutch – Specs and Features
Clutch Mod
- Height: 79.5mm
- Width: 35mm
- Depth: 27mm
- Battery: 21700 (Possibility to use 18650 with an Adaptor)
- Solid Silver Contact Points
- Unique Fire Button Locking System
- Solid Billet Aluminium Construction
- Hybrid 510 Connection
Design and Build Quality
The Clutch is made from an anodized solid aluminium, meaning its lightweight but still has a fair amount of strength to it, along with fairly good heat dissipation properties. However, the features of the Clutch mod come to life once you take the 2 panels off the device.
Removing the battery door, which is held in place by 4 small, yet strong magnets, you expose all the internals to the device.
There is a nice amount of insulation material around the inside, to protect your battery against shorting onto the device. And the silver contact strip, that links the fire button to the negative terminal at the base of the device, is nicely insulated. That can also be removed to adjust the strip – more on this later.
Looking inside the device, you notice a small protruding pin which if you remove the rear battery cover, allows you to lock the fire button on and off – very smart indeed and perfectly hidden behind the rear battery door.
At the base of the device is the usual manufacturers information, along with an anodized serial number.
Up top is the hybrid 510 connection, hybrid simply means that your chosen RDA or RTA will screw directly onto the positive pin of the battery, meaning there is less of a volt drop between contacts- ideal to help create a hard hitting mech mod.
One thing to keep in mind with hybrid connections used in this manner, and a battery that fits in from the side and not from the base like the typical mechanical tube mod, you need to ensure the battery is installed first, before screwing onto your dripper or tank.
Following on from this, even with your RDA/RTA installed, you may notice a slight amount of battery wobble, this can be remedied and I will leave a small tutorial about this, nearer the end of the review.
Dovpo Signature Mods Clutch – In The Hand
I must admit this is the first time I’ve had the opportunity to hold, and use a Signature Tips mod, or any device of this kind of style. And I’m impressed with its feel in the hand, yet I feel a little let down at the same time.
Yes the curved ridges on one end allow your index finger to be placed perfectly on the fire button, with the following fingers resting on the indents of the next 2 curves. However the Clutch is very small, meaning you’re left with still a lot of your hand with nowhere to go.
This isn’t an uncomfortable mod by any means, and its impressive how they’ve kept it so small. But personally, after using the Clutch for a while now, I feel I would prefer a device of this style with more width, possibly like the Topside SQ, meaning that extra width fills up more of your palm.
The fit, feel and finish of the Clutch is excellent, it has a beautiful anodized finish which feels high quality and during my time I’ve not noticed any scratches or damage and due to its finish, its not much of a fingerprint magnet either – top notch!
With regards to what you could fit on the Clutch – anything over 26mm and you’re going to have to deal with over-hang.
But for a lightweight compact Mech Mod,I doubt you’re planning on fitting anything too big on top.
How Does the Dovpo Signature Mods Clutch Perform?
I’ve probably used no more than 5 different mechanical tube mods in my 5 or so years of vaping. Somehow I’ve avoided the temptation so far to go deep into the ‘mech’ world. But what I can say, is that the Clutch mod hits harder than any of the mechanical mods I use.
Considering its size, and single battery capability, it hits real hard and punchy.
Obviously you’ll have a lot to consider when using the Clutch mechanical mod. Which RDA/RTA to use, battery type and performance, and most importantly the resistance of the build you are vaping on.
Get all these right and you will thoroughly enjoy the performance of the Clutch.
It’s an absolute banger.
Putting the Dovpo Signature Mods Clutch Under Pressure
Seeing as the Clutch enjoys to hit me hard, I decided to put the Clutch under a little bit of pressure.
Fitting a dual fused clapton built in my Kaees Alexander RDA, reading at 0.10Ω which erm… A little borderline, but that depends who you speak to.
I wanted to test the durability of the Clutch and how quickly it builds up heat. And considering the silver contact points, will this metal cope well enough with a serious amount of heat and battery draw?
During my cautious testing, the Clutch did very well. After a brief inspection of the contacts, everything seemed as it was before the test.
Yes the Clutch got fairly hot, but not seriously hot, the aluminium body did well to spread and dissipate the heat.
Battery Wobble with the Dovpo Signature Mods Clutch
If like me, you fit your chosen 21700 battery, then screw down your RDA, you may or may not experience a little battery wobble.
Fortunately there is a way to stop this from happening.
As much as a 21700 of any type should be pretty much exactly the same size, there are minor differences, and the same goes for the 510 pin on your dripper or tank.
With that in mind, if you have a little wobble, you don’t want it. A loose fitted battery can cause overheating, sparks, hot spots and much worse.
To remove this issue, remove the battery and the small printed cover that protects the metal link strip from the button to the negative end of the battery, and using a small set of pliers, gently bend the end of the strip down.
It’ll only need a minor adjustment, but make sure the adjustment is square and straight across the whole strip, and you’re good to go!
Mech Mod Safety
If you’ve never owned or used an unregulated device like a mechanical mod of any description, its important to understand the dangers of it.
What we’re dealing with are batteries that have a huge discharge current, capable of putting out high current.
Now remember, the current is the flow of electricity. The discharge current on the Samsung 30T is 35Amps, which is a little more than the usual socket circuit in your home.
And generally, people are using between 30 and 70 Amps at any one time in their home.
So if you’re looking at picking up a ‘mech mod’ – First thing I suggest would be to spend some time understanding how it all works, as in, why everyone suggests you understand Ohms Law and why battery safety is important.
In simple terms, if you had a water pipe with a cap on the end, and put water through the pipe, eventually the pressure will build up so much, that either the cap would fly off, or the pipe would crack and water would go everywhere.
Same rules apply to batteries, and the build you install in your RDA/RTA – the only difference is, the cap on a battery can explode and cause more than just a flooded garden.
A regulated device limits the output to a safe level of the device, and will also protect you from a short circuit and overheating along with a number of other potentially dangerous events.
But none of that safety protection is there with a mechanical mod.
I also suggest you look up Battery Mooch on YouTube or check out his Facebook page.
He’s basically the Guru when it comes to batteries, safety and what batteries work best for which mod.
He also openly calls out manufacturers for stating wrong ratings on batteries.
Pros
- A uniquely styled Mech Mod
- Very well built
- Excellent Internals
- Clever fire button lock system
- Top notch paint finish
Cons
- A little small to fill a mans hand
- No regulation or protection may be a con to some
- Battery wobble but fairly easy to adjust with tools
Final Review Verdict
I’ve really enjoyed using the Clutch.
As much as its a little small, that doesn’t mean its not fun to use.
It’s a hard hit, fantastic build quality and finish make it a lovely every day mod. If you’re experienced with mechanical mods, I’m pretty sure you may have already hovered the mouse over the ‘Add To Basket’ button on the Clutch.
If I wasn’t lucky enough to be sent it to review, I probably would have picked it up by now anyway.
If mechanical mods aren’t your cup of tea, but you like the style of the Clutch, you may want to take a look at the Dovpo Signature Mods Mono SQ DNA75C, which is pretty simply the same kind of device, but with all the protective features of a regulated device.
Have you bought the Dovpo Signature Mods Clutch – or thinking of buying it?
Let us know in the comments below.
