With so many new technological advancements being made (or at least attempted) in the vaping industry, I have to admit that it’s a little difficult to get excited about an unregulated, mechanical squonk mod. But the asMODus Pumper-18 caught my attention early and maintains it to this very day.

And to be honest, I don’t know why. On one hand, the simple, no-nonsense format has a certain “appeal” to me. Simplicity is the best way to get people integrated, right? But, as a modern vaper, there’s also some comfort to be had in seeing what a vape mod is doing, and why it’s doing it, to keep things safe and understandable.

The asMODus Pumper-18 doesn’t offer that. Instead, it’s an unregulated, mechanical mod, made from some nicely polished stabilized wood, and a steampunk aesthetic. It’s all flawlessly done, with an aluminum alloy frame that offsets the stab-wood with nice contrasting tones. To make a comparison, the overall look of the Pumper-18 is very similar to the unregulated asMODus Luna – another semi-protected, stab-wood mech box.

There are two versions of the Pumper – an “18” and “21” format. The “18” stands for “single 18650 battery” while the “21” means “single 21700” battery, respectively. No matter which version you opt for, you’re going to get the same functions and features.

In short, the asMODus Pumper-18 is a beautifully done mech squonker that wants to be noticed, without resorting to the usual colors and bright screens to do so. It’s stunning, but at the same time, it’s nothing we haven’t seen before… save for one key addition…

On the Pumper-18 “standout” feature is the narrow cutout along the side of the Pumper-18, which gives users access to the unique pump handle. The actual mechanism itself is fairly complex, the Pumper-18 frame hides and protects it from any drops or dings.

While the end of the bottle/pump mechanism sticks out enough to allow for good presses, I can imagine it being a problem for some. There just isn’t enough surface area to gain a comfortable grip. My finger slid off the pump handle on more than one occasion, leading to awkward fills, and even some air in the BF tube leading to my RDA.

In my time with the mod, I wasn’t entirely thrilled with the tactile feel of the pump handle, either. Depending on how much juice was in the included 7mL squonk bottle, the throw was either too rigid, feeling like it was about to snap if I pumped too hard. But with less juice in the chamber, it suddenly became too loose, feeling like it wasn’t moving liquid to my coils.

The one thing it never felt was “just right.” Though it was successful in delivering juice to my BF RDAs, it never gave enough tactile response to let you know it was working correctly. As a result, I often removed the RDA top cap, to make sure I had adequate liquid in the cotton. I didn’t mind at first, but it soon became an annoyance.

The other notable feature highlight is actually a detriment – the odd placement of the recessed fire key. It’s placed on the long side of the box, away from the RDA side, rather than in a traditional trigger position. As it was with the Luna, I found this positioning to be awkward and erratic, making the Pumper-18 an annoying box to fire. Maybe it’s personal preference, but I just don’t see the logic of positioning the fire button there when there is so much other real estate on this frame.

Vaping the asMODus Pumper-18 was a predictable, solid experience. By that, I mean it worked well enough, and with a good amount of battery charge, offered smooth ramping, potent draws. At no point did the mod misfire or stutter, even on low-resistance builds that pushed the battery to its limit. Though I have no idea how much power output I had from the Pumper-18, I could tell it was cranking some decent power to the coils.

But the battery life is key. As a single-18650 mech mod, you simply aren’t going to get much lifespan from a single cell. Though direct voltage devices have improved in their battery efficiency performance, they simply don’t offer enough lifespan to justify bringing them on a day trip. Within two hours of putting in a fresh 18650, I noticed rapidly weakening hits until the built-in protections stopped the mod from firing until I swapped.

I’m curious to see if the 21700 version offers a better experience, but no matter which version you choose, the Pumper-18 wants to put out more power than the single-battery format will allow. I hope a company will find a way to improve this format to allow for more power, without having to resort to oversized, cumbersome devices.

Using a wide range of bottom-feeding RDAs, I pushed a number of different coils on the Pumper-18, and all worked well enough with the unique pump mechanism. It wasn’t flawless, because of the odd feel of the pump itself. But when push came to shove, the coils received juice without much concern. Just be wary of over-pumping when the bottle gets low, since the loose feel might make you think there isn’t much happening in the tube.

Though the Pumper-18 certainly handled ultra-low resistance builds with ease, to maximize battery life, I found the best experiences came with coils reading 0.25-0.5 ohms. This allowed for satisfying, lung-filling draws without putting too much stress on the battery to ramp. The result? Plenty of flavorful vapor, and smooth power delivery.

If only the mod was more comfortable to use. Between small surface area on the pump, and awkward placement of the button, the Pumper-18 never felt like an effortless device, and frustrated me often, even when the actual vaping was good.

I wanted to love the Pumper-18, simply because of a unique design, and gorgeous look. However, while there are improvements needed in squonk mod technology, this odd pump handle isn’t the answer, nor is it necessary. There might be a great idea that comes from this design and format, but I don’t think the Pumper-18 is going to be looked back upon as a mod that changed the game.

C+

The AsMODus Pump-18 is Available Now at Element Vape