On the issue of having to press hard - maybe the thin plate behind the firing button needs re-bending so it makes a firm contact with the 510. I did have the same 'hard press' issue and re-bending the internal plate did resolve it.
I know what you mean about the pulse voltage drop - obsessive cleaning of contacts and retightenig the internal switch does help but I've always found the Athena to be a much better performer.
The only other budget single 18650 squonks I can think of are the Advken CP and the Wotofo Stentorian Ram - but I haven't seen any of them for sale in years, The Advken was made from incredibly cheap and nasty plastic but actually performed well, The Stentorian Ram actually looked good, but mine had abysmal voltage drop that was worse than the Pulse. I doubt if you'll be able to find either now though - and the Athena is still the better option.
The only other option I can think of is to wade through 2Fdeal, 3F and 3aVapes listings to see if you can find a cloned 'high end' 18650 squonk - if you can find one nowadays you'll be playing Russian Roulette with the quality though,
It's a bit shit, but if your current Athenas can't be fixed easily I still think another Athena is the best easily available option you have - if you can get a year out of a 20 quid mod that's still about as cheap as it gets.
