Hardware Review: Vandy Vape Pulse BF Mod by Tony B

Hardware Review: Vandy Vape Pulse BF Mod by Tony B

Oh boy have I wanted to get my hands on one of these since they came out! With Christmas around the corner and tonnes of Reno’s happening at home, I’m on a bit of a buying ban, but e-Smoke have come to the rescue and generously sent one through for me to review. Thank-you to Fiona from e-Smoke, shipping was very quick and your customer service has been stellar!

The Pulse BF mechanical mod is the brain-child of well known reviewer, Tony B, in collaboration with Vandy Vape. It’s a great looking, cost effective bottom fed mechanical mod, which is quite rare for the niche. Most bottom fed mods will set you back a decent amount of coin, but Vandy Vape have made this one affordable, and therefore a lot more available to your every day vaper.

Discount/Special

You can pick this baby up pretty much anywhere, as it is quite popular at the moment. But I’ve got your back there.

e-Smoke have passed on a discount code for my readers to use which brings the price down considerably.
Using the code ‘ESBBPS‘ at e-Smoke’s Vandy Vape Pulse BF Mod page will bring the price down to only $26.59 USD with free shipping!

Specifications and Features

  • Size: 77mm X 50mm by 27mm
  • Accepts 18650/20700 battery
  • Locking power switch
  • Switch rated for 40amps
  • Spring-loaded 510
  • 8mL Food grade silicone bottle
  • Unregulated
  • Material: Nylon + ABS
  • Copper contacts (full mechanical)
  • Replaceable front and back panels

Product Includes:

  • 1xPulse BF BOX MOD
  • 1×18650 Battery Adaptor
  • Instruction Manual
  • Switch Spares (screw/post)

The Review

The reason that I’ve wanted to get my hands on one of these so badly is because of the unique features that Vandy Vape have brought to the table. Locking mechanical mods while not in use has always been an issue, as well as how do you make a mechanical box mod able to use more than one type of battery?

Vandy Vape have solved both of these issues in their own way.

The mechanical lock switch inside of the mod is something that I’ve not seen before. It’s an interesting way of tackling the problem, and quite sturdy. You swing the clip over to contact the switch terminal to enable, and swing it back away in order to disable the electrical current. Sounds like wear and tear might be an issue right? Well, actually it shouldn’t be. The swing tab is sprung so you need to push down on it (inwards) then swing it over, making a much tighter connection. Sure it will wear, but I can’t see it wearing much, if at all.

I’m also quite impressed with their battery sleeve. The Pulse BF is primarily a 20500 battery mod, but you can also use an 18650 battery by using their supplied battery sleeve.
The sleeve is made of soft silicone with a plated terminal at the base. 18650’s fit nice and snug, and the silicone to metal joint seems to be quite sturdy. It is something that could be a point of failure, but I think Vandy Vape have done quite a good job in getting their dimensions and sizing correct.

So what about the rest of the mod?

Let’s go over it from top to bottom.

The box

The box itself is a rugged nylon/abs mix, with a really nice finish and texture to it. Even with sweaty hands, you won’t lose grip of it. The size, whilst larger than I expected, actually fits in the hand really well, and is comfortable to hold. The rear curve helps it sit in your hand and gives a quality feel to it.

The doors fit extremely well, the magnets could have been completely left out, the doors would have still held together with friction. Having said that, the five small magnets on either side give some extra support and make sure the doors do not fall off!

510 Connection

The 510 connector, being approximately 20mm wide, (just smaller than a 22mm RDA) is sprung, so you’ll be able to use most of your RDA’s on it without having a gap between the atomizer and the mod.
It seems really well built, I have not experienced any leaks, not even a drop, which is a plus.
The positive pin and tube that the bottle tube attaches too is quite long, allowing the safety switch to screw onto it as well as providing more pin for the bottle tube to attach too, this gives a good seal, and also stops any air getting in and affecting the juice flow from bottle to RDA.

Current flow

The safety cut off is attached to the negative terminal via the squonk tube, and on the other end, when engaged, connects to the other button terminal allowing the closure of the circuit.

There is a positive wire going from the rear button terminal the copper plating that then runs to the lower battery terminal (positive). You can actually see the copper plating by removing the back cover, a channel has been provided for it to run through the mod isolating it from everything else.

The button

The button itself is another innovation. It looks similar to a mitec switch but it’s not. Vandy Vape are calling it a smart switch, and that it is rated to 40 amps which is quite impressive. It is chrome plated, quite large and has a very soft feel to its action. Not clicky at all. In fact this throws me a little, as I find I have to push down quite a way on it for it to make a good connection, otherwise the vape can waver a little bit. Despite that, I really like the size of it, it’s easy to find when not looking, and won’t fire unless you intend it to, even in your pocket.

Battery terminals

The battery terminals are all copper, and batteries seem to fit in there quite snug. They have raised sections to better fit your battery and prevent tearing of your battery wraps.

Squonk bottle

The silicone bottle that is provided holds a large 8mls of liquid and comes with a well fitting clear hose to attach to the inlet tube for the 510. The distance that the tube sits over the inlet tube is about 1.5cm giving plenty of grab and preventing any air from getting in even as the tube begins to wear. The silicone bottle is a super soft, only a light touch is needed to send juice up to the 510, some will love it, some will hate it, personally I quite like the really soft silicone. While you may need to wait a few seconds after you’ve squeezed it for the rda to drain and the bottle to fill out again, it’s a big plus in regard to how hard you have to push on the bottle. Gone are the days of needing to have a tradies thumb to get your juice up there!

Pros:

  • Lightweight
  • Great build quality
  • Nice finish and feel in the hand
  • Spring loaded 510
  • Safety Lock-out switch
  • Nice smooth button
  • 20700 capable, also has sleeve for 18650
  • Fitment of doors is perfect

Cons:

  • A little bulkier than expected
  • Using 18650s with the sleeve can be annoying when changing out batteries
  • Bulky lock out switch (have to remove door to use)
  • Need to push the switch in quite far to avoid is losing connection during a vape.

Conclusion

All in all, this is a nice solid bottom fed mod. It’s affordable, reliable, looks great, and its quite innovative on several levels.
I can see this helping those who have always wanted to try squonking, to get in on the ground floor with a bulletproof entry level device such as this.

I’ve been using this myself for the last few weeks, and have actually put away my regulated SVA, in favour of using this as a carry mod to take out and about with me all day. The larger bottle gives me ample juice to vape when away from the house, and taking one spare battery with me is an easy feat.

Well done Vandy Vape, and Tony B, for a job well done on this one!

Don’t forget guys, e-Smoke have passed on a discount code for my readers to use which brings the price down considerably.
Using the code ‘ESBBPS‘ at e-Smoke’s Vandy Vape Pulse BF Mod page will bring the price down to only $26.59 USD with free shipping!

 

 

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Shane Presser
Shane Presser has been vaping since 2013, and has extensive experience with advanced equipment, coil builds and DIY mixing. He is the man behind VapersGarage, and also more recently Aussie Vape Stores, a resource to help vapers find their nearest Vape Shops, and eLiquid Vendors.

2 Comments

  1. Avatar
    Dmember February 12, 2018

    How come nobody….and I do mean nobody, even the manufacturer, ever tells us which end of the battery to put the battery adapter on? Pos or Neg?

    • Avatar
      Australian eJuice Reviews February 12, 2018

      To be honest, I’ve never really given this much thought.

      I just assumed it would work either end and that it would be up to the user’s preference. (it is just a metal extension after all)
      In retrospect, the metal contact on the sleeve does look to be a little too wide to connect with standard 18650 negative ends.

      I put the sleeve on the positive end of my battery (positive down) and it works for me.

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