Based on internet reaction, chances are you’ve already made up your mind about the Vandy Vape Pulse BF 80 Squonk Mod. Most experienced vapers are going to look at the Vandy Vape Pulse BF 80 and not give it a second look. And that apathy would be justified, because there’s nothing really unique or special about the mod, aside from some nice resin accents.

But to fans, the all-new Pulse represents the best regulated squonk technology around. Complete with the proprietary Vandy chipset (NOT the vaunted GENE chip as it was originally slated to have), the Pulse aims to bring top-tier accuracy and control to the otherwise basic squonk experience. And for the most part it delivers … with one glaring misstep.

But before we get too negative, let’s take a deeper look at this attention-getting bottom feeder, and see why there’s a lot more going on than just another boxy frame and single-battery format. For starters, our “Fantastic Blue” resin and black test model was built extremely well. Though the nature of the squonk format means there will always be an empty feel to the frame, the construction of the Pulse definitely feels more substantial than most Squonkers, regulated or not, and would likely survive drops without much worry.

One concern I had – and I seem to have it a lot with squonk mods – was the oddly ill-fitting battery door, which never quite sat flush on the Pulse. It wasn’t quite as bad as some, but I still worried whenever removing the Pulse from a snug pocket. I get that these doors need to be looser because of how many times you’ll be removing it. But isn’t that actually a case to make them stronger? Personal preference, to be sure. But worth mentioning for a mod in this price range.

Beyond the door, the inside of the Pulse mod is standard-issue stuff – a single battery slot (20700 or 18650), and a 8mL squonk bottle. Vandy Vape really should have considered including a second bottle, though. While it wasn’t hard to refill fairly quickly, but I would have appreciated another spare for my $85.

Feature Highlights of the Vandy Vape Pulse

The key selling point of the Vandy Vape Pulse BF 80 squonk mod is the seemingly new Vandy chipset, which is a legitimate, advanced board, capable of 80 watts, full temperature control, unique firing modes, bypass mode, firmware upgrades and more.

Users of mechanical Squonkers might be a little overwhelmed here, since this is a board capable of more than most in this category. But I’ve been very transparent about my preference for regulated, protected devices, and mods as interactive as Squonkers should have all the protections it can, to keep things safe.

Operating the Pulse mod was easy enough, with standard, linear vape mod controls – long/short presses of the fire key, simple monochrome display, etc. It’s nothing experienced vapers won’t recognize, and nothing new vapers won’t learn with relative ease. Thankfully, Vandy Vape’s instructions make things easier for all users to get acquainted.

I mentioned it earlier, but it warrants more discussion here. When first announced, the Pulse 80 was supposed to have the famed GENE chip, which is one of the most powerful, efficient boards not named DNA. This was an exciting proposition for squonk fans who wanted more advanced technology behind their bottom feeding devices, but alas, ‘twas not to be.

I don’t know all the details, nor would I detail them here anyway, but apparently there was an eleventh hour dispute that prevented the GENE board from being used in Vandy Vape’s latest device. Tony from Vapor Trails (who supposedly collaborated on this mod, as well) discusses this on his YouTube channel, so if you’re interested, click away – we’ll be here when you get back.

GENE or no GENE, the Pulse BF 80 features some amazing performance in wattage mode. Fast ramp-up time, steady climbing to 80 watts, and smooth filling of the bottom-feeding atomizer led to a positive experience with the Pulse mod. Since Squonkers are fairly simple devices, we weren’t expecting much in the way of surprises, but no one could expect such rapid ramping, even on my lowest resistance atomizers.

However, this didn’t carry over to temperature control, which was finicky when reading resistances, and even more difficult to lock in. It wasn’t a PERSISTENT problem, but more often than not I had to resort to the awkward TCR entry to make things right. I can’t imagine there are too many squonk fans using these modes, but it’s worth mentioning all the same.

Since this is a “youtube celebrity designed” mod, it only felt right to use a “celebrity designed” RDA – Vandy Vape’s own Iconic with BF pin (review here). Well, the Pulse connected like they were natural matches. The squeeze bottle worked beautifully, with enough flexibility for easy operation, but not so much that my RDA deck was easy to flood with liquid.

In turn, all of my other test RDAs sat flush on the Pulse mod without any overhang. It’s a nice wide platform, and all of my atomizers looked good on top of the mod.

One concern we had was battery life. Of course, as a single-battery mod, the Pulse isn’t going to set any records for battery duration. Even as a regulated mod, I only saw a few hours of steady performance before the power began to wane. Perhaps the GENE chip would have stepped up a bit more, but the Vandy chipset wasn’t nearly as efficient as the company claimed.

Perhaps most importantly, the Vandy Vape Pulse BF 80 is comfortable and easy to use. Despite a standard boxy shape, the curved edges kept things easy on the palm, while the squeeze bottle was a breeze to use, and leak-free to boot.

The Vandy Vape Pulse BF 80 regulated squonk mod was, for the most part, a pleasure to vape. The flavor and performance were stellar, with all of my BF RDAs, and the smooth, leak-free squonking was effortless in either hand. Maybe the TC left a lot to be desired, but again, I’m not sure how many of the company’s devout fans are going to mind. The Pulse is regulated, easily operated and fun to vape. These qualities might not be as headline-worthy as Vandy Vape’s fans seem to think, but squonk fans have an awful lot to like in the Pulse.

Score: B+