Convoy M21F 2500LM 4000-4500K LED Flashlight (Black)

[I_aint_Joe]

Introduction

I’m sure that a lot of people reading this review have heard of, or already own the Pulse AIO, it’s been pretty hard to avoid the hype behind this product.

I’m going to review the Pulse AIO from the perspective of a first time AIO user, because while I’ve used a few AIOs with rebuildable coil-heads, this is the first billet box style device that I’ve had my hands on.



More images are here

Product overview

The Pulse AIO is an 80w 21700/20700/18650 AIO device, that is compatible with ‘most’ boro tanks.

It comes with two tanks, the rebuildable Pulse Vessel RBA tank, and the Pulse Vessel VVC tank that is compatible with Vandy Vape’s range of VVC stock coils.

What do you get?

• Pulse AIO device
• Vessel RBA tank
• Vessel VVC tank
• 2×VVC stock coils
• 2×2.5mm 24g 0.4ohm round wire coils
• Coil cutting tool
• 18650 battery adapter
• Accessories + multi purpose tool
• Type-C USB cable

So, apart from the lack of cotton, it’s an extensive and impressive haul of goodies. The one thing that I did dislike was the supplied 510 drip-tip – it’s a really tight fit, too wide bore for my liking and ugly – no matter, the Pulse AIO takes standard 510 drip-tips, so I switched it out straight away.



First impressions

The device itself is larger than I was expecting, similar in size to the Pulse 2 squonk mod, which makes sense as they are both single 21700 devices.

It is an all plastic device, so it lacks the solidity of an all metal AIO – but it’s light, even with a full tank and 21700 battery, it doesn’t feel overly heavy.

The general build quality looks and feels good, apart from one issue – the rear door panel has a little movement, which leads to a slight creaking sound. This seems to be caused by a gap between the panel and the tank. I partially fixed this by cutting a small piece of foam that I placed in front of the tank, however this is only a partial fix, as it reduces the movement/creaking a lot, rather than removing it totally. Some users have reported their Pulse AIO panels to be movement/creak free, so maybe it’s just mine, or maybe it’s just this color version?

Next issue for me is with the ergonomics for left-handed vapers (such as myself), when using the device in my left hand, I often found myself partially covering the airflow with the palm of my hand. This isn’t a major issue, and I found myself adjusting my hand position naturally after a short time.

Apart from the above two issues, the Pulse AIO feels nice in the hand and very similar to other Vandy Vape devices – if you like mods like the Gaur 21 and Pulse 2, you’re going to like the feel of the Pulse AIO.



Pulse AIO

• The basics:

Removing the front panel reveals the Pulse’s up/down buttons, a small LCD screen and a USB charging port, while removing the rear panel gives you the battery compartment and access to the tank, removing the battery is much easier with both panels removed, there’s also a small cut-out that allows you to see juice levels from the front side of the mod (with the door panel removed).

The 510 pin is adjustable, to allow for certain bridges that might be a fraction shorter/taller to fit.

To secure or remove the tank, remove the drip-tip, and then unscrew the drip-tip connection which holds the tank in place.

• The chipset:

The 0.49 inch OLED screen doesn’t have room to display too much, so wattage (when in wattage mod), resistance, battery level and puff counter is all you’re going to get.

The modes on offer are wattage, voltage, bypass, temp control and smart mode. Through various button combinations you can flip the screen, turn the screen off, lock the up/down buttons, change modes, access the functions menu and re-read the coil resistance.

• Customization:

For those who want their AIO to look individual, there are a number of options purchasable from Vandy Vape – you can get a chipset cover, button and color coded screws as one pack, a fire button ring, and different door panels.

The Vessel VVC tank

To be honest, this was the part of the review that motivated me the least. When I have a brand new, fancy-pants AIO in my hands, using it as a pod-mod is not high on my list of priorities. However, I assume that’s exactly how some people will be using it, so each to their own.

The Pulse AIO comes with the VVC-30 0.3ohm and VVC-60 0.6ohm coil – to remove the coil, you’re supposed to use the supplied tool, but I pulled it out with my fingers. The tank has a built in airflow ring, and a capacity of 5ml.

These coils give a very standard mesh experience, with a slightly restricted draw, I enjoyed the 0.6ohm at around 20w and the 0.6ohm at 40w.

I feel that I’m being a little unfair about these coils, there’s nothing wrong with them at all – if that’s your thing, then you’ll enjoy them – it’s just that if I wanted to vape stock-coils (or these exact stock-coils), I’d just buy a pod system for half the price.





Vessel RBA Tank

As a polar-opposite, this is the part of the review that I was looking forward to the most.

• The design:

The Vessel RBA’s deck looks like a tiny version of the Kylin Mini V2, with four post holes and honeycomb half-pipe airflow surrounding the coil. The juice is gravity fed, with four small holes above the chamber, that allow juice to drip down and soak the cotton. In order to build on the RBA, you have to remove the airflow ring, which will allow you to put the RBA on a regular mod with a 510 connection.

• Coiling:

You will need to pre-cut your coil leads, but exactly how long depends on the width of your coil, as the post holes are quite far apart, considering the width of the airflow. I spaced my coils and got away with 4mm leads, if you don’t space them, you might need to leave 6mm for the leads.

• Wicking:

As a gravity fed design, the wicking technique while not difficult, is a little different. I cut my wicks longer than usual, fluffed them a lot, but didn’t thin them at all, and then just secured them in the slots on the deck, without stuffing them in. You want them to be sitting high and taking up as much space as possible. With the three builds that I’ve tried so far, I’ve had zero leaks and zero wicking issues.

• The problem:

The deck is held in place with a rectangular – O-ring, at least that’s the idea. The problem is that it’s far too loose. When the tank is secured inside the AIO, this isn’t an issue, neither is it an issue when putting the tank in – as long as you don’t fill it until it’s secured. The issue comes when you have it full of juice and you want to remove it, without dumping the juice everywhere.

• The solution:

1 - Remove the battery and slightly loosen the nut holding the tank in place. 2 - Turn the AIO upside down. 3 - Remove the nut completely. 4 - At this point, gravity will hold the base of the tank in place, and you can remove it without juice getting everywhere. This is far from perfect, but it’s what worked for me.




Builds

• 26g Fused Clapton 2.5mm 0.3ohms – this was a nice build, but even with the airflow fully open, it was the type of build that needed more power, but more power made it too hot. It was acceptable at 35w, but there were definitely better builds to come.
• 24g Ni80 round wire 2.5mm 0.4ohms – this was the coil that came with the kit, I usually go for 26g with round wire builds, but then again I only use round wire for MTL. Immediately, this build was an improvement – the flavor was good from 25w+ and became even better once I closed down the airflow a little.
• 30g superfine MTL clapton 2.5mm 0.55ohms – for me this is my ideal build for this RBA – I put an MTL drip-tip on the AIO, closed down the airflow a lot, and from 15-20w it’s excellent. It’s not an MTL draw, more like a very restricted DL. The flavor is spot on, even with juices that struggle in a lot of RTAs. With this build, I’m more than happy to use the Pulse AIO on a daily basis.

What could be improved?

• The door panel has too much movement/creaking – if I can fix this with a piece of foam, I’m sure Vandy Vape could have come up with an easier solution.
• The drip-tip is terrible. It’s ugly, badly fitting, too short, and the bore is too wide – thankfully others do fit.
• The Vessel RBA O-ring is far too loose. It’s not a deal-breaker, but it’s annoying and requires care when removing the tank.

Conclusion

The Pulse AIO doesn’t come without annoyances – but they all have solutions.

As a package, it offers very good value for money, especially when you consider that you’re getting the Vessel RBA as part of the deal, and that the Vessel RBA is quite good.

It is comparatively large when compared to other similar devices, but the trade off is that it’s 21700 compatible.

Overall, it’s a decent device and a good introduction to AIOs.

Disclaimer

The Vandy Vape Pulse AIO was provided for the purposes of this review by Sourcemore. They currently have the Pulse AIO in stock for $64.99, reduced from $94.99. However if you use the code PAIOK you can reduce the price by a further $9.00 to $56.99