Tesla Punk 220W Vape Mod Review: A Flashing-Lights Mod

The Tesla Punk 220W is a dual-18650 box mod with a large, 0.96 OLED screen that also has a series of user-controlled RGB LED lights on its side. The Punk is a follow-up to the Steampunk Nano 120W mod, also from Tesla Cigs, and also features a steampunk aesthetic design.

The outer chassis is transparent and allows for a view of the sprockets, and cogwheels inside that are a part of the steampunk ethos. Overall, the Punk also has a four-button control configuration and features VW, TC, and three different custom draw modes.

Table of Contents

• What’s In the Box
• Tesla Punk 220W Review: A Closer Look
• Getting the Punk to Work
• How the Tesla Punk Box Mod Performs
• The Competition
• Tesla Punk 220W Specifications
• Pros and Cons
• The Last Word

What’s In the Box

The Tesla Punk 220W comes as a stand-alone device, so there is no vape tank included in the kit. There are four color options for the device, rainbow, brass, copper, and black. The latter three are the best options (the LED lights are all the color users need for their device), as they give the device a modern edge, but also a sturdy, durable feel.

Tesla Punk 220W Review: A Closer Look

The Tesla Punk 220W is a big boy. The first thing vapers will notice when they take it out of the box is its weight. It weighs a total of 370g, and that is with the two 18650 batteries inside. But even when it has no batteries in it, the Punk is hefty.

Its weight is probably due to its solid, all-zinc alloy construction, although there is more to the vape mod than just its build material. The measurements are not that irregular, and height-wise, the 220w box mod is much shorter than other devices in its class.

The Tesla Punk vape mod stands at 86mm (3.4 inches), and it measures 30mm across (1.2 inches), so it is 510 connection up top can hold any atomizer over 25mm in diameter, or maybe just under 27 or 28mm. Both sides of the box mod feature signature elements of the steampunk look.

The interior elements must also play a role in making the Punk so substantial. While the outer chassis is zinc alloy, the side panels are a transparent, smoky plastic that lets users see inside the mod. The cogwheels, metallic gears and the circuit board are all ornamental, but they gel very well with the vape mod’s overall look.

The faux machine parts inside create an astounding 3D effect. If the mechanical design elements were not enough, there are also LED lights on one side of the vape mod that can be programmed to flash in various ways, and which perfectly top off the Punk’s attention to design detail.

The Tesla Punk vape mod takes two batteries that are bottom-loaded. The battery door is a slide-off type, but it also features a lip-groove, and magnets to keep the door from accidentally sliding. The control panel side features the 0.96 inch OLED display, as well as the four-button controls. One of those buttons controls the LED lights, but the others – the fire button, and up/down buttons – have an exquisite feel to them, and are very responsive.

Getting the Punk to Work

If the Tesla Punk 220W is beefy and heavy to hold, it might also be because of all the vaping outputs it offers. The board on the Punk has all the standard fare, like variable wattage and temperature control, but the Punk also carries a power curve setting on its board so vapers can apply as much or as little wattage as they want.

There are also various taste settings like soft, normal, and hard, which can deliver higher, or reduced power to maximize flavor potential. These settings can also help maintain a pure and crystal-clear vapor.

The OLED screen displays all the necessary information, although it is a tight squeeze. Variables like coil resistance, ohms, voltage, and battery life all fight for space with things like the vaping mode and the wattage readout. Although everything is a little jumbled together, it is not that hard to navigate the display.

Users need just push the up/down buttons to move around their options and press the firing button to make a selection. Choosing the “mode” icon brings vapers into the flavor preferences of “hard,” “soft,” “norm,” and “user,” the last of which is the custom curve setting that lets them apply a customized power wave for their vape.

The fourth button on the control panel – right under the screen – controls the LED lights, but adjusting the lights should have been another feature in the menu, rather than needing one, whole button to choose the best style.

How the Tesla Punk Box Mod Performs

As the Tesla Punk 220W comes as a stand-alone mod, users have their choice of whatever size and style atomizer to attach to the spring-loaded 510 connection, up top. The connection is not centered and leans closer to one side of the mod, so even though above, 27mm was the widest diameter, in reality, the vape mod can take a 25mm at best, without any overhang.

The OLED, although quite small, is still a good gateway into the mod’s menu. The readouts are all compact, but users have an idea of what they are doing and where they are going with the display’s icons. Vapers scroll through the options and choose which they want to change.

The Punk’s flavor settings are geared toward increasing the flavor profile of any vape juice but, again, cloud-chasers may be disappointed by the lack of density and thickness to the clouds the Punk puts out. With that said, the customizable power curve setting works quite well on the Punk, as it can increase or decrease wattage levels to desired tastes.

Vaping in temperature control mode also offers a quality vaping experience as the box mod accurately and smoothly restrains itself when vaping at high temperatures. The 220W maximum power output is way more than what most vapers need, but the Punk can reach those levels, granted there is a very low resistance coil, 0.2ohm or 0.15ohm, for example, inside the tank.
The Tesla chip inside has outstanding speed, as changing the values of any variable is quite fast, and does not affect the mod’s handling or usability.

The Competition: Tesla Punk 220W vs. the SMOK X-Priv 225W vs. the Vaporesso Switcher

The SMOK X-Priv 225W

The X-Priv 225W is a dual-18650 vape mod with a 2 inch HD color screen on the front, and the removable battery bay door on the back. The box mod has a lateral, side-firing button that gives the device an ergonomic grip and simple operation.

There are two up/down buttons on the bottom edge of the screen to adjust any of the X-Priv’s vaping outputs. The X-Priv 225 also comes with the Prince TFV12 tank that can hold 8ml of e-liquid (2ml in TPD countries) and has two sub-ohm coils in the kit.

The Vaporesso Switcher

The Switcher box mod from Vaporesso features the newest Omni 2.6 board that offers users several, up-to-date vaping outputs, like a custom curve. The Switcher is a dual-18650 device that has a removable jacket around its zinc alloy build, which can be taken off and replaced with different-colored plates. The device stands at 89mm (3.5 inches) tall and has a spring-loaded 510 connection on the top.

It uses a four-button control configuration, with its main power button on the front. The Switcher comes with the NRG sub-ohm tank that can hold 5ml of e-liquid and uses two sub-ohm coils included in the kit.

Pros and Cons

The Last Word on the Tesla Punk 220W Box Mod

The Tesla Punk 220W is one of the more creatively designed mods out right now. Its aesthetic design stays true to the philosophy set forth by its creators, Tesla Cigs, and even to Tesla himself who is as much a paragon of steampunk as anyone else.

The faux cogs and gears inside the build of the Punk were an inspired idea. The success of the design elements also goes to show how much better it is to fully implement an idea instead of aiming for the middle like Tesla did with the Steampunk Nano that only had an industrial facade.

Of course, the appearance of the 220w box mod is only one aspect of its overall performance. With the Punk though, its look and, most importantly, its feel leave a little something to be desired. The vape mod weighs a lot, and therefore makes it less than portable, while also very pocket-unfriendly. Sure, it is sturdy and could hold up to a few dings, or falls, but when users have to carry it around, it makes for an uncomfortable load.

The functioning of the device did not disappoint, though. The screen was small but manageable, and making adjustments was very easy. The weight and heft of the vape mod are a pro and a con. It, no doubt, looks excellent, but the trade-off is getting a very weighty box mod that can’t be taken around easily. Oh, and it has LED lights, but keep them off.