The Best Temperature Control (TC) Box Mods You Can (Still) Buy in 2024

Dovpo made their name with affordable mods, but they decided to go all out for their latest creation. They collaborated with Vaperz Cloud and the popular YouTube reviewer The Vaping Bogan to bring us one of the best TC mods currently on the market.

The secret sauce for its practically perfect TC is Evolv’s latest DNA chip, the DNA250C. Together with YiHi‘s offerings, DNA chips are considered the very definition of TC. After all, it was their creator, Evolv, who brought TC to the world of vaping. Thus, there’s no point talking about this device’s TC capabilities, for they’re simply the best you can get – although the same applies to most other devices equipped with the same board.

Where Dovpo’s Odin DNA 250C differs is in its form factor – it’s a behemoth. Although relatively compact for what it is, it relies on two 21700 cells as its power source. Being larger and heavier than 18650s, they add to both its size and weight. If you want a vape mod with perfect TC, but that will also get you through the day, this is the one to get.

An unofficial sequel to Lost Vape’s hugely successful Paranormal, the Centaurus could easily be mistaken for its ancestor. It shares the same form factor, design, chip, and, by extension, the same characteristics. The Centaurus is another two-cell DNA250C device, and as such, it offers genre-defining TC performance. The simple way to put it is that thanks to its Evolv-made board, this is another one of those rare mods where you won’t have to deal with burnt hits, charred wicks, and cough your way back to normal breathing.

In other mods, this means dialing in the settings for each coil yourself. Making sure the resistance of the atomizer you use reads correctly, and fooling around with the Wattage, striving to smoothen the power delivery manually. With the DNA250C board and its much-touted Replay feature, you only have to vape until “it feels perfect.” Then, “memorize it” with a press of a button, and the Centaurus will do the rest automatically in the future to replicate the same experience.

Easy-peasy.

YiHi’s chips remain at the very top as far as TC goes, but nowadays, you won’t find them in many third-party mods. Most large companies invest in their own tech, and the few ones that don’t usually go with the much more popular DNA chips. That is until they earn enough to, in turn, invest in their own tech.

This has left YiHi almost the sole creators of premium mods with their tech. Mods like YiHi’s SX Mini G-Class. In a class of its own, the SX Mini G-Class is a premium device on the same level as Dovpo’s Odin and Lost Vape’s Centaurus, with similar functionality and specs but a wholly different design and navigation system. If you want top-level TC capabilities, but for whatever reason you like neither the Odin nor the Centaurus, you need the SX Mini G-Class in your life. If you can afford its similarly premium price.

Can a mass-produced mod that costs up to six times less than The Holy Triad at the top of our list match their TC capabilities? Nope, let’s be realists; nothing matches Evolv’s and YiHi’s chips. At the same time, though, nothing has a right to come so close to matching them for such an affordable price!

Allow us to stress the point you might have missed: GeekVape’s Solo, the most popular single-cell member in their Aegis family of products, comes scarily close to DNA and YiHi levels of TC mastery, at a fraction of their price. As in, you could buy almost all color variants of the Aegis Solo, and it would still cost you less than a Centaurus or an SX Mini G-Class!

As a bonus track, the Aegis Solo shares the same characteristics as the rest of the Aegis family: it’s water-proof, dust-proof, and shock-proof.

You saw the SX Mini G-Class up close, or even better, you held and used it, and now you’re in love. You need one. You can’t forget how it felt inside your hand, its ergonomics, its easy-to-use menu, and, most of all, its unmatchable performance in TC. If it weren’t for those bills and taxes, you’d already have bought one. Alas, you’ll have to settle for a mass-produced shoddy eLeaf product, right? Well, nope.

First of all, eLeaf’s products aren’t as shoddy as some people say they are – but that’s a whole different story. Secondly, there’s always the option of Vsticking’s VK530. Initially sold for close to double its current price, it also uses a YiHi chip, achieving similar TC results to its premium brethren.

Admittedly, the VK530 uses cheaper materials and the cut-down YiHi SX530 chip compared to YiHi’s G-Class to keep costs low. Still, it’s the closest you can get and has similar TC chops. You might need to spend some time tweaking the TCR and power levels manually to achieve comparable results, but it’s doable. And that’s more than most other mods could even dream of achieving.

Yes, it’s an old mod – has it been three years already? Yes, it’s boxier than most people would like, and if you don’t have large hands, you might need both to hold it. Yes, it also has a large and obnoxious “DRAG” on one of its sides. So what if it uses strange TCR values nobody but Voopoo understands? Its TC performance is so good, people were calling it “a DNA-killer” at the time of release. Of course, it wasn’t, but like the Aegis Solo, you’d never expect such a good TC experience for such a low price.

Please note, though, that since it’s an old mod, stock has started running out. Newer models officially replace it, so grab one while you can still find them. Also, keep in mind that it’s best for standard coils, not big-mass monstrosities, since it has a Power cap in TC mode at around 75W.

When Vaporesso‘s Gen hit the stores, many hailed it as the best mod of 2024. The last in a string of hits for Vaporesso, Gen came after success stories like the Revenger and Luxe. Those mods already had adequate TC capabilities but with a tendency to “overshoot,” to “throw more power at the coil” when you pressed the fire button, with some inconsistencies on top. The Gen’s AXON Chip promised to fix all that.

Many believe that it did, but the resident TC expert of Reddit’s Electronic Cigarette group, AussieGeekVaper, has proved their point through tests. From our perspective, and after extensive use of not one but two Gens, bought months apart, we believe the truth is somewhere in the middle.

Vaporesso’s Gen can offer a stable TC experience, but it seems like it hasn’t fully solved its ancestors’ problems. Its measured signals are somewhat erratic and seem “off.” Still, the perceived vaping experience in TC modes is more than satisfactory. Use its automatic “Smart TC” mode or set it at full power, and it may offer an inconsistent TC experience. Set it on manual and dial the power down, though, and it’s smooth sailing.

Innokin were known for their internal battery mods. Then, in early 2020, they did the last thing anyone would expect: they released a modern mod that used two removable 18650s as its power source. And the world rejoiced.

The Proton looked terrific and felt even better. It’s still one of the smallest and lightest 2×18650 mods. It’s also beautiful to look at and has a gorgeous full-color screen. However, it doesn’t fully take advantage of neither the available space nor its colors. It’s also unbelievably user-friendly. It has a well-thought-out menu that’s navigated through a joystick and comes with an easy-to-comprehend manual and simple-to-understand instructions printed on its screen protector!

Then came AussieGeekVaper’s extensive tests that proved that Proton is somewhat “meh” in TC. Especially if you’re using large, complex coils and don’t take the time to play with its settings – both TCR and Wattage. If you do invest the time, though, and “that’s the way you like to vape” (translation: primarily MtL), it might become your favorite TC mod.

If the Aegis Solo’s TC chops felt like a surprise, wait until you see what eLeaf’s little wonder can pull off!

The iStick Pico might not share the same “X-proof” features as the Solo, and be prone to water, dust, and shock damage. Its owners who haven’t tried bathing it, throwing it at a wall, or taking it to Sahara, though, vouch it can take a beating compared to alternatives. For many, it’s been their daily beater mod for years. Few, though, have tried it with TC. Who’d have thought a mod costing up to ten times less than an SX Mini G-Class could have similar performance?

Okay, emphasis on the “similar,” and with a caveat: to show its true colors, you’ll have to flash ArcticFox – an unofficial third-party firmware – on its chip. This will void your warranty but, at the same time, will offer you functionality equivalent to Evolv’s and YiHi’s PC suites. You’ll be able to monitor the device from your computer. To tweak its settings and create profiles for your different atomizers. To customize your mod to function, perform, and up to a point, look as you like it (since you can also upload custom logos). All while enjoying the smoothest TC vape you can get for the price of two packs of cigarettes and a lighter.