Vandy Vape Pulse X BF Kit Review: A New Pulse RDA on an Updated Mod

Intro

The Pulse X BF Kit is the latest collaboration between Vandy Vape and YouΤube reviewer, Tony B. The Pulse line of products carries Tony’s signature and features products that focus on the squonking side of things. The Pulse 80W kit and Pulse BF kit were hugely popular with veterans and beginners alike. With their latest project, Vandy Vape and Tony B combine an innovative RDA with a more powerful and versatile mod.

The mod is an updated edition of the Pulse 80W squonk mod. It is rated for 90 watts and can use 18650, 20700 and 21700 batteries. The kit also includes the new Pulse X RDA with an X-shaped center post that allows you to install dual horizontal or vertical builds. The RDA is ideal for squonking, as it implements a design that delivers juice directly to your coils. Let’s find out if the Pulse X kit is a worthy addition to the Pulse line.

This kit was sent to me free of charge by MyVpro where it's currently available at a discounted price.

Price: $67.99 (at MyVpro)

Colors: G10 black, G10 red, frosted (5 combinations)

First impressions

The mod is comfortable to hold and works well when thumb or finger firing. The front and back panels are removable and come in several colors — Vandy Vape will soon be offering them in new materials as well. The sample I received came with frosted cyan panels with a matching 810 drip tip.

The kit includes the Pulse X RDA that is designed for dual coils and features an “X” shaped center post with four post holes. The X RDA uses a squonk-to-coil feature that that wets your wicks from the top and bottom before removing excess juice from the deck. The RDA includes both a clear comp cap with fixed airflow and a two-piece top cap that takes 810 style drip tips and has adjustable side airflow.

Pulse X RDA

The Pulse X RDA is a dual-coil RDA with a diameter of 24 mm. It is designed for squonking and features a direct-to-coil juice delivery system. This is not the first RDA to feed e-liquid to the top of the coils (the most recent that comes to mind is the Capstone RDA,) but I like how the Pulse X does it: the RDA delivers juice to not only the bottom of the deck but also to two downward facing holes directly over the coils. It’s designed to saturate your wicks from the top and bottom and means less time waiting for the juice to get carried upwards.

The build quality of the Pulse X is excellent. It feels solid and the machining is clean and detailed. The included two-piece top cap is stainless steel and painted black. The barrel section has two sets of airflow openings, each with two rows of three holes. Tabs on the build deck hold the barrel in place and ensure that the airflow holes are aimed at the coils. Adjusting the airflow is done by simply turning the top cap in either direction. This allows the airflow to be closed off hole by hole from either the top or the bottom.

The other top cap is frosted and has non-adjustable honeycomb style airflow. The twelve air holes on each side are less than 1 mm each and are angled to push air downward toward the base of the coils.

Pulse X mod

The Pulse X squonk mod is Vandy Vape’s latest single-battery bottom feeding mod. From the outside, it looks identical to the Pulse 80w, but on the inside, it has an updated Vandy Chip with Boost Mode that lets you take the X all the way up to 100 watts. To achieve that extra power, Vandy Vape designed the Pulse X mod to be compatible with 20700 and 21700 batteries.

The Pulse X mod feels very solid in the hand. The fire and +/- buttons are very responsive and have a nice clicky feel. The detachable side panels are held in place by strong magnets and snap tightly into place. It’s also worth noting that panels are interchangeable between the Pulse X and Pulse 80w mods.

The 8 mL squonk bottle has just the right amount of firmness. This means that it’s soft enough to easily squeeze and send juice to your RDA, but firm enough to bounce back and suck excess juice from the deck.

The menu and interface for the Pulse X are very simple and easy to navigate.

Operations

Main Menu

Settings Menu

If you have used the previous regulated Pulse mod, then you’ll know what to expect. But even if you haven’t, there are no major surprises here. The settings and functions of the Pulse X mod are very straightforward. Just give the included manual a quick read, and you’ll be ready to go.

Performance

Specs and features are fine and dandy but how does it perform? Very well. I’ve had the kit for a couple of weeks and have enjoyed using it. I already have the Pulse 80w, so I’m familiar with the mod, but having the extra battery options is a big plus. Speaking of batteries, the included X RDA is designed for dual coils and that extra battery capacity of 20700s and 21700s is most welcome when you’re using big chunky coils at low resistances – although I couldn’t help but think that a dual-coil deck is better suited for a dual-battery squonk mod.

The squonking system works flawlessly and does a great job of depositing juice onto the coils. Vandy Vape claims that all of the juice is sent to the top, but I found that it was pushed both out the top and bottom, which was even better in my opinion. Just make sure to give the squonk bottle a firm squeeze, otherwise most of the juice will end up on the deck instead of on your coils.

Building on the deck couldn’t have been more straightforward. The post holes are large enough for multi-strand Claptons and the deck screws grab the coil legs from an angle that helps prevent the coils from being twisted out of shape.

I used both horizontal and vertical coils with everything from simple round wire to fused Claptons. The mod fires rapidly and I noticed no delays, even with the more exotic builds I tried on it. My best results came with a pair of horizontally mounted stainless steel fused Claptons at a resistance of around 0.15 ohms. At 75 watts the flavor was spot on, and the vapor was thick and dense. The airflow with the stainless steel cap is slightly restricted at its most open setting, but it performed well even when halfway closed.

The frosted top cap is designed with cloud chasers in mind. The airflow was very open with very little restriction. I noticed that flavor suffered with the clear cap, but if blowing massive clouds is your style, then the frosted cap should be more than adequate.

Regarding temperature control, the Pulse X mod performs comparably, if not identically, to my Pulse 80w with the latest firmware update. I get reliable dry-hit protection and passable temperature performance. It won’t blow your mind with the way it handles TC, but it is much better than the Pulse 80w out of the box. If you are only vaping on TC then there are better options out there. But the temperature performance of the Pulse X will be fine for occasionally throwing a build on.

Pros / Cons

Verdict

This is the part where I say whether or not you should spend your hard-earned money on the Pulse X BF kit. The answer is “yes,” if you are looking for an affordable single battery, regulated squonk mod and a great performing RDA that was designed with squonking in mind. The answer is “maybe,” if you already own the Pulse 80w; the Pulse X mod will give you the extra wattage and battery life with its 2x700 compatibility, but other than that, it performs similarly to the Pulse 80w with its latest firmware update.

If you already have the Pulse 80w and don’t feel you need the extra options that come with the X mod, then I would still suggest giving the Pulse X RDA a go. It is an excellent performer and its dual-coil build deck makes it an ideal pair with dual-battery squonk mods like the Rage or the Basium.

What do you think of the Pulse X kit? Let me know in the comment section below.

Vandy Vape Pulse X