Vandy Vape Pulse BF 80W- A Tony B Project
The Pulse BF 80W is the newest regulated offering after the Original Pulse BF Mechanical Squonk Mod, and was the result of collaboration between Vandy Vape and Tony B. I won’t get into the specifics, but the Pulse 80W was originally to have the Gene Chip, and now utilizes a proprietary Vandy Vape Chip. Having not regularly used a Squonk device myself, this was an exciting venture. The Pulse BF 80W was provided to me by Vandy Vape for the purpose of this review. I am actually glad I gave myself some time to really use the Pulse 80W before reviewing, because I was able to really see the performance with the original as well as the newest Firmware. The results are really encouraging.
Box Contents
1 x Pulse BF 80W Mod
1 x 8ml Squonk Bottle
1 x QC USB Cable
1 x 18650 Battery Adapter
1 x 30ml Silicone Refilling Bottle (optional)
Aesthetics and Design
Besides being totally customizable, the Pulse BF 80W is similar in size and design to the Mechanical version. The side panels are interchangeable (although not with the panels from the Mech version) and come in a variety of styles and colors. The body of the mod is mainly comprised of Nylon and ABS Plastic, which is heat resistant, lightweight, and very durable. It is important to note, some of the better qualities of ABS include impact resistance and toughness. Because ABS Plastic is amorphous, it has no true melting point.
The panels on the Pulse come in different designs, mine being the Full Black Carbon Fiber. The panels have a slightly rubberized, smooth feel to them, not at all slick or slippery. It has a gold plated, spring loaded 510 connector, and can fit Atomizers up to 25mm with no overhang. The top and bottom of the mod have a different texture than the panels, instead of a rubberized, smooth surface, they are slightly rough. The branding appears along the outer edge, grooved into the body. It is minimal, and not at all tacky or boisterous. There is also a small Pulse design next to the bottle on the inner edge of the body.
The 0.91” OLED screen and buttons are absolute perfection. The firing button itself doesn’t protrude much, but it doesn’t need to. It has a very decent and satisfying click. I have grown to enjoy the texture on these types of buttons, the swirling pattern that makes a zippy noise when you run your nails along it. Of course that doesn’t matter to anyone but me, but I still enjoy the heck out of it. The screen brightness is intense, to say the least. You could see it outside, or maybe down the road, possibly from space. No, I can’t test that theory, don’t ask me to.
Inside of the mod is an 8ml Food-Grade Silicone Squonk bottle. Now, one thing some may not like is this is a proprietary bottle, but extras can be purchased at a very affordable price. I have to say, I really like the darker bottle vs. the clear plastic options of some other squonk devices. This may limit visibility, but it fits the overall design so much better. The knurling on the bottle makes taking the top off easy-peasy. The bottle and battery can easily be accessed from the front panel, and the battery can pushed out via the back panel. The panel magnets are nice and strong, and the panels sit nice and flush except for a tiny spot at the bottom, which is barely noticeable. This bottom edge protrudes slightly more on the resin panel options, but on the Carbon Fiber it is very minimal.
The whole overall feel of the Pulse BF 80W is lightweight and durable. It feels like a very decent, quality mod. Throughout using it, I never got the sense that it was cheaply made, or even rushed. I loved that it is customizable, but the performance is where the Pulse really shines.
Features
- Powered By Single High Amp 18650/20700 Battery (Sold Separately)
- Powered by Vandy Chipset
- Output Mode: VW / VV / TC-Ni / TC-Ti / TC-SS / BYPASS / TC Curve
- Wattage Range: 5W - 80W (1 Watt Increments)
- Input Voltage Range: 3.2V - 4.2V
- 0.91" OLED Screen
- Tactile Firing Button
- Interchangeable Dual Magnetic Battery Panels
- Gold Plated Battery Contacts
- Torx Screw Secured Stainless Steel 510 Connector
- Spring Loaded Gold Plated 510 Pin
- Leak Proof 510 Connector
- O-Ring Secured (3 O-Ring Anti-Leak System)
- Micro USB Rechargeable
- Firmware Upgradeable
- Protections: Short Circuit, Over-Current, Over-Heat, Low Battery, Open Circuit
Updated Firmware
There are already a bunch of reviews for the Pulse BF 80W, so what I wanted to do a little differently was to showcase this mod after the newest update. Vandy Vape seemed to listen to a whole host of consumer concerns, because their newest Firmware greatly improves the functionality of the Pulse. One of the main concerns was the devices Temp Control. It simply didn’t function up to par, sometimes brightly glowing a SS coil, and fluctuating when heating a coil. Another concern was navigating the menu, 3 presses of the firing button to change modes. Safe to say, it got a little tiring. I wanted to highlight the some of the changes the Vandy Vape introduced into Firmware Version 0.0.6. The Firmware is available for MAC OS as well as Windows.
Firmware 0.0.6 Improvements
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Simplified Mode Switching: Instead of pressing the firing button 3 times to navigate between each mode, the modes can be accessed by pressing the firing button 3 times, and using the +/- buttons to navigate modes.
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No Lift Shift: No need to remove the atomizer when adding a new build. After burning in Power mode, simply press +/- twice at the same time and select new coil.
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Boost Power: In Power mode, press and hold the +/- keys to enter the secondary menu. Select N-H to move to Boost mode (H). In Boost mode, pressing the fire button 4 times will allow you to enter ‘Knock Force’. You can either change back to (N) Normal Mode, or hold the firing button to exit to the Main Screen.
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Plug-In Switch Function: Gives you the ability to remove modes from the Main Menu. You can also adjust the Sleep Time function, therefore waking the mod sooner to hit evenly instead of having the power weaken after a certain period of time of non-use.
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You can now lock the function buttons and still be able to fire the mod.
Temp Control has been refined in the latest update, and instead of peaking after priming the coil and slowly going down, before the update it would seem to go back up slightly. It has evened out after the update, peaking and then getting cooler as it should, with no second rise in temperature. I was actually an avid Temp Control user before, and I found on its standard SS setting, it was much warmer than what I what used to. On average, I would use anywhere from 380-420 degrees. The update has balanced that out tremendously, and Temp Control is now performing as it should.
Click for Updated Tests and Performace Graphs
Functionality and Thoughts
So, I may have initially made a mess when I first filled the bottle. I accidentally popped the top off instead of unscrewing the knurled cap, I can admit that. Total mess, liquid everywhere. After filling it correctly, it was a cinch getting it onto the pin. As long as you do it gently and somewhat slowly, it won’t push any up through the tube before attaching. Performance on the Pulse 80W is superb. It hits hard and fast, and the firing delay is almost nonexistent. At 0.5ohms, the firing delay achieved 129ms at 80 watts. In fact, the performance with the Vandy Vape Chip exceeded performance regarding the delay than the Gene Chip. That is pretty impressive.
The Output power of the Pulse is slightly overpowered, and in testing has exceeded the target output power across the board. Battery life has increased ever so slightly after the latest Firmware as well, although it is negligible in terms of most of our hit times being so different. I honestly wasn’t sure that I could fully enjoy a Squonk device, but I have thoroughly enjoyed using the Pulse 80W. If I could change one thing, it would have to be the use of 20700 and 18650 as being the only battery options. I would have loved to see a 21700 option as well. I feel this would have improved battery life, especially for those of us running dual coils on the Pulse 80W.
As for leaking, I have encountered none. It has not pooled around the 510, or gotten into the body of the mod at all. The O-rings used to prevent any leaking have worked really well, and have kept everything nice and clean. As long as Vandy Vape worked on the Chip now used in the Pulse BF 80W, its performance and quality is evident. I almost think it was a blessing in disguise that they had to go with Vandy Chip, as some aspects outperform the Gene Chip. Would I buy this? I sure would, and if you enjoy squonking, I say go for it. The improvements that come with the new firmware are major, and positively affect the overall performance of the Pulse BF 80W. It is a fantastic mod, and the reduced price is another reason why this mod is certainly worth looking into. Thanks for the read!
. Using what they had for pictures was a blast.
But it does make the pictures look great.