Steve K's Vaping World

Unlike e-cigarette reviews, it’s a lot harder to write long-form reviews about electronic cigarette accessories.  The Siam Mods carto punch is one such accessory.  It’s a simple device with a simple purpose.  The carto punch makes holes in cartomizers.

Who’s it For

People who prefer to punch their own holes in cartomizers for use in carto tanks and like a little style. You can get one at Atomic Vapors.

Siam Mods Carto Punch Design

There are a variety of ways to make holes in cartomizers from a hammer and nail or plumbing accessories to fairly expensive purpose-built gizmos. The Siam Mods cartomizer punch does the same thing, but looks good doing it.

Essentially, this punch sits in the middle of the pack.  It’s more elegant than using stuff you may have lying around the house and more expensive.  It is  less expensive than the other custom-built devices.

The design is decidedly simple.  It is simply an aluminum circle with two smaller holes on the top and side of the ring. The center of the ring is the perfect diameter for a cartomizer.

The small hole in the side of the ring is to attach a key chain so you don’t lose it.  The hole on the top is threaded for the spiked wing nut.

Operation is straight forward.  Insert your cartomizer into the center of the ring and set it to the desired position for your puncture.  Tighten the wing nut until it pierces the cartomizer and you’re done.

Ok, that’s probably over simplifying things.  One of the drawbacks of the Siam Mods carto punch is that it uses a generic wing nut.  Therefore, it is entirely possible to tighten it too much and punch the hole too deep, damaging the cartomizer.

Unlike the low-budget saddle valve, I didn’t notice any sort of distinct pop when the side of the cartomizer was punctured.  It takes a bit of trial and error to find the right depth.

One idea to help with that is after you figure out the correct depth, use a permanent marker to mark the exposed threads on the wing nut so you know when to stop.

The other thing that’s different from the saddle vale solution is that this doesn’t seem to overly dent the cartomizer and makes a small and clean hole.

The other thing to note is that unlike the trusty saddle valve, the point of the spike on the Siam Mods gizmo is made with hardened steel.  The spike may eventually dull as well.  It should be occasionally sharpened with a file to keep from denting cartomizers.

Some of the more expensive punches out there use a hardened spike that doesn’t need to be sharpened for less upkeep.

Too Long; Didn’t Read

The Siam Mods cartomizer punch is purpose-built to make holes in cartomizers for use in cartomizer tanks.  It functions roughly the same way as a saddle valve from the local hardware store.  The difference is this is much less bulky and looks downright nice.  Of course, you could always just buy your cartomizers with the holes already in them. Visit Atomic Vapors to find out more.

Pros:

• Stylish
• No extra bits hanging off or need to adjust with a screwdriver
• Less expensive than other purpose-built carto punches

Cons:

• Fairly expensive for a hunk of aluminum and a screw
• No depth limit to prevent overly deep punches
• Spike will likely need occasional sharpening.

Details:

Product name: Siam Mods Carto Punch
Available From: Atomic Vapors
Price: $14.99

Disclosure: I feature affiliate links for Atomic Vapors