So, here’s a thing…..Vandy Vape….. they’ve been in the Vaping news a lot recently!!
From releases of RTA’s, RDA’s, RTDA’s, and Vape Wire to name just a few items. We recently reviewed the Govad RDA here.
What Can We Expect From The Vandy Vape Pulse 22 BF RDA?
Today we’re going to be looking at another one of their products, the Vandy Vape Pulse 22 BF RDA, which is a collaboration with Tony B of the Vapor Trail YouTube Channel.
Yep, it’s the Pulse 22 BF RDA. Not just any old RDA, this little fella is predominantly a ‘Squonking’ RDA but can quickly & easily be converted to a standard dripping RDA.
Let’s get on and see how this performs..
What’s In The Box
- 1 x Pulse RDA
- 1 x 14mm Delrin drip tip
- 1 x Bag of Accessories
- Vandy Vape Tri-tool
- 2.0mm diameter Coil Rod
- 4 x O-rings
- 4 x Hex Screws
- Squonking 510 Pin
- 510 Drip tip adaptor
Features
- Rebuildable Squonking / Dripping RDA
- Material: Stainless Steel
- Single coil post-less deck
- Thread: 510
- Overall Diameter: 22mm
- Height 24.5mm Excluding Drip tip
- Ultem & Delrin Drip tips
- 510 Drip tip adaptor
- Available in Stainless Steel or Black finish
Build Quality & Design
So starting from the top of the Vandy Vape Pulse 22 RDA we have an 810 ‘Goon Style’ drip tip.
The RDA comes with the Ultem drip tip pre-installed and a Delrin alternative is provided in the Pulse packaging. Alternatively, the Pulse is supplied with a standard 510 drip tip adaptor so you can you your own preferred tips if you so wish.
Next up we have an Airflow Control Ring (AFC) which is constructed from stainless steel. The top connection for the drip tip houses a well-hidden o-ring, which is completely removable/replaceable.
On opposing sides of the AFC ring there are two sets of 3.0mm diameter air holes. The AFC ring is a little tight to start with but once you get some e-liquid onto those o-rings adjustment is relatively easy.
The Airflow Control Ring sits very snuggly onto the Airflow Cap and is secured into place by two o-rings. Like the AFC Ring, the Airflow Cap has two sets of opposing airflow holes, each of which measure 3.0mm at their widest and 4.0mm at their highest.
Inside the Airflow Cap the air holes extend into the chamber by means of four individual tube which direct the air onto the coil.
Just below the air tubes on the inside of the Airflow Cap we have a small lip running around the cap with two small protruding lugs, we will come back to these shortly.
The deck of the Pulse 22 is a gold plated post-less arrangement, which is nothing new in itself, there’s a lot of post-less RDA’s out there. But where it does differ is in the juice delivery compared to other Squonking RDA’s.
Just above the hollow centre pin, a small bridge has been formed on the deck. This bridge acts as a divider forcing the e-liquid rising up from the centre pin to split and run into the two juice wells.
This seems to work relatively well providing a good even distribution to each well and onto the cotton.
On the rim of the deck there are two indents which are used as a guide when lining up your coil. These indents also help when positioning the Airflow Cap back onto the deck.
Remember the two small protruding lugs on the Cap I mentioned earlier? Well, these sit into the indents and prevent the airflow tube on the Airflow Cap coming into contact with the coil. There’s a little bit of play in the indents, which allows a bit of repositioning of the Airflow Cap to align the airflow tube with the coil. Pretty neat!!
Finally, on the base of the deck we have our standard 510 threaded connection with protruding hollow centre pin or squonking pin.
As mentioned earlier, the Pulse 22 also comes with a standard centre pin, so if you prefer to use the Pulse as a dripper you have that option too.
How Does The Vandy Vape Pulse 22 BF RDA Perform?
The Vandy Vape Pulse 22 BF RDA is relatively easy to build on once you have established the correct length of the legs on the coil. If you aim to have the top of the coil level with the airflow tubes then you’ll most certainly reap the benefits of this little RDA.
The Phillips Head screws on the deck are a real bonus (well in my book they are) but you can always switch these out for the supplied grub/hex screws if you prefer.
Flavour & vapour production with my ejuice, Wick Liquor Contra, was very good although I would recommend a minimum of 3.0mm diameter for your coil and a decent amount of wattage (60-70watts) to make this RDA shine.
Check Out Our picks for the Best E Juice brands UK
What I Liked
One thing I did note and like about the Pulse 22 was that it’s almost impossible to over squonk e-liquid into the RDA as the airflow is positioned quite high on the atomizer.
In addition to this I had absolutely no leaking from the Pulse even while I had it laying on its side.
Also, the spares you receive in the packaging is pretty generous considering it includes the usual contents plus a very nice tri-tool and coiling rod.
What I Didn’t Like
The one and only gripe I have with the Pulse RDA is with the airflow holes on the Airflow Cap and the Airflow Control Ring! They don’t line up…..and that play havoc with my OCD.
The reason they don’t line up is because the hole in the AFC Ring are circular and the holes in the Airflow Cap are elliptical and as hard as you try they don’t completely line up!!
Probably not an issue for most vapers, so let call it a subjective con.
Final Review Verdict
The Pulse 22 BF is a very nice RDA from Vandy Vape & Tony B. Easy to build and use as either a squonking or dripping RDA but shame about the airflow holes.
Pros
- Aesthetically very nice
- Easy to build and use
- Very smooth airflow
- Good flavour and vapour production
- Virtually leak free
- Hard to over squonk e-liquid into the deck
Cons
- Airflow hole alignment (Subjective)
