Artrix Bony 510 Battery Review: A Catch 22 Of a Device

Design & Build Quality

When I think about what a typical 510 battery looks like, I think of a few different designs. Rectangularly shaped or tube shaped devices are mostly what comes to mind – a bone shaped device definitely does not!

This is a rather light device, but it’s a bit larger compared to what’s out there on the market. It’s 87.9mm tall, 40.9mm wide, and 22.5mm thick which is not humongous by any means, but certainly larger than many good 510 batteries that I’ve used. The 48g weight is great though and it feels nearly non-existent in my hand.

The Bony has an unconventional design to say the least, but I’m not completely against it. It has a mostly rectangular shape but with spheres on the corners. This gives the device a resemblance to a dog bone, albeit a pretty thick one.

It’s an unusual shape for a 510 battery. But since this is a concealed cartridge device that is meant to hide its true purpose, the strange design certainly helps to throw off any suspicions that it’s a THC vape. 

While it’s true that no one will suspect that you’re getting high with this little device, the unconventional bone shape is still sure to attract attention, especially in the gaudy gold color that Artrix offers.

If I saw someone just walking around with the Bony in their hand, I wouldn’t just brush it off. Instead, I would likely be curious to know exactly what that strange device is. So it’s sort of a double-edged sword; you might not be suspected of vaping, but anyone who sees the device will likely be curious as to what it really is.

The gold color is especially attention grabbing so it wouldn’t be my color choice. The silver color that Artrix offers looks much better in my opinion.

The outer shell of the Bony is removable and comes off in two pieces, front and back. This shell is made of plastic, which explains the “kids gold chain” sort of look. Funny enough, the Bony includes a golden chain that seems to be made of metal rather than plastic. There’s a lanyard anchor spot for the chain at the top of the Bony.

The shell being removable doesn’t serve much purpose at the moment but Artrix says that more designs for the shell are coming soon. I can only hope that some of them are more reserved than the reflective gold color; the Bony could look great with a darker, matte shell.

Besides looking great, a matte shell wouldn’t show fingerprints nearly as much as the reflective shell does. 

Getting Started

So how exactly do you use the Bony? This device has a concealed cartridge design which means that the 510 cartridge sits hidden inside of the body.

To install a cartridge, you pull the bottom of the Bony out and away. This bottom portion is pressure-fitted and magnetically attached so it’s securely attached but it’s still easy enough to remove it when you want to.

With the bottom piece of the device removed, you’ll see a familiar sight; a 510 connection. Cartridges simply screw onto this connection. Most 510 cartridges will be compatible with the Bony, provided that they have a 10.5mm to 14mm diameter. 

With the cartridge attached, reassemble the device by inserting the cartridge and bottom portion of the device into the Bony. It only attaches one way with the cartridge attached so there’s no way to mess this up. Ensure that the bottom portion is fully inserted and that there’s no gap between the two pieces once assembled.

Cartridges sit nicely and neatly inside of the Bony, with no movement at all. You can just barely see the mouthpiece of most cartridges through the mouthpiece of the Bony, but not enough of the cartridge shows for it to be instantly recognizable that this is a 510 battery.

Features & Functions

For being as lightweight as it is, the Bony has a good set of features for a 510 battery. Firstly, I like that it has three different voltage settings. A triangular shaped LED indicator on the front of the device lights up in one of three colors to indicate the output:

• Green: 2.4V
• Blue: 3.0V
• Purple: 3.6V

Switching between the voltage settings is accomplished by pressing the button on the side of the Bony three times

This device also has a pre-heat setting to help get the pulls going. Preheat mode can be activated by pressing the button twice. The LED indicator will begin to breathe to show that it’s working. The preheat can be cancelled by inhaling on the mouthpiece to draw.

Although it has a button, the Bony is draw-activated. It’s surprisingly easy to activate and doesn’t take much effort at all. The draw feels a little looser than I would like though.

As far as the battery capacity, this device has a 550mAh built-in battery. I’ve found that it’s been good for multiple days of use without needing a recharge but it really all depends on how much you use it. Overall though, the battery life is good and meets my expectations for a good 510 battery.

Last but not least, the Bony has multiple safety protections built-in, including 10s overtime protection, low voltage protection, short circuit protection, and overvoltage protection.

How does it vape?

I’ve been using a few different cartridges with the Bony like delta-8, live resin D8, and D9 cartridges. These have all been rather thick materials but the Bony has managed to get me a good vape out of all of them.

The preheat function is really what makes it work because without it, it would be much more difficult to get these thick carts started. The preheat mode does a good job of getting the cartridges going and ready for some pulls.

The draw activation on the Bony works well so I can’t complain about it. But since the cartridge sits recessed inside of the mouthpiece and it’s not a direct draw, the draw is airier than other 510 batteries where I have direct contact with the cartridge. The effects are still there, but the extra air detracts from the flavor and experience.

The voltage settings will all come down to personal preference. The one that you use will depend on what kind of effects you’re looking for.

The green output offers more mellow effects, good flavor, and a cooler draw. The blue output is a little warmer with more intense effects. The purple output is for the most dense draws possible from this device (which are pretty dense) and maximum effects from your material.

I liked using the blue output the most but I also used the purple when first starting with a cart for the day, just for that extra bit of power to get it going.

Verdict

The Bony is the most unconventional and strange-looking 510 battery that I’ve had the pleasure of using recently and I’m not totally sold on the design. Sure, it conceals the cartridge to make it less-obvious that it’s a vaping device, but the odd design is still sure to attract some attention. 

It’s a bit of a catch 22 that could have been totally avoided with less flashy and reflective color options. The good news is that the Bony has removable outer panels and Artrix says that different panel options are on the way – I can only hope that some of these options are non-reflective and dark.

Aside from the design, I like the Bony. It has a decent battery capacity, the three output levels offer some variety for the draw, and the draw activation works well. It delivers the type of performance that I look for in a good battery and I enjoyed using it for this review.

At $21.00 USD, it’s cheaper than most other batteries with similar performance and features, making the Bony a great value for the price. Just don’t expect to fly under the radar if you use it in public!