by Ed Rosenthal
VapirRise Review
It takes just a few minutes to set up the VapirRise for the first time. You’re going to want to plug the device in, grind up some herb, fill the steel herb chamber, snap it onto the steel valve, and affix one of the high-grade heat-resistant plastic tubes (the whip) to the end of the valve. For basic use, start with the whip. Set the temperature to 380°F (193°C), hit the heat button, and VapirRise’s ceramic heating element will warm up in less than a minute. The fan automatically runs at the 2 setting. When you hit your target temperature, slot the herb chamber into the top and stick the end of the straw in your mouth. VapirRise’s quiet little fan forces HEPA-filtered air through the heating element and herb chamber to vaporize the buds. VapirRise blows a soft, lightly scented vapor in your face, so it’s incredibly easy to sit back and puff away.
The VapirRise can be used with finely ground cannabis or concentrates.
Photo: Vapir
If you’re in a group, you’re going to want to quickly pass the whip to the next person while the fan is going, so as not to waste vapor. Unfortunately, if you want to turn off the fan while waiting to pass the whip, the heating element also turns off and the temperature starts falling. Turning the heat back up and the fan back on mid-session makes for a few weak hits until the unit gets going again at full temperature. That’s where the four-way hookah valve comes in. Slot that four-way splitter on, pack a thicker bowl, and turn the fan and heat up. The VapirRise becomes a vapor fountain for the whole party.
You can switch to a bag instead of the whip, but it requires fitting the bag to the valve. It’s sort of like affixing a turkey bag to a banana with a rubber band and a plastic clamp—it takes a few tries to make it look pretty.
Reloading the chamber requires an oven mitt or something else that is heat-proof, and you should never touch any of the steel along the vapor path, which gets very hot. The oil cup performed as advertised with waxes, oil, and shatter, but not as great with bubble hash.
Storz & Bickel Volcano Vaporizer
MSRP: $669.00, Digital with Easy Valve set; $539.00, Classic
Type: desktop; forced air
For use in: the home, medical facilities
Use with: flowers; or oils and waxes, with liquid pad
Heating element: aluminum alloy block
Storz & Bickel Volcano Vaporizer Description
The gold standard in desktop vaporizers is a legitimate medical-grade product manufactured in Tuttlingen, Germany, by medical devices maker Storz & Bickel, and it is featured in some hospitals, as well as many of the best dispensaries. The Volcano gets its name from its conical, brushed metal housing, which looks and feels solidly built at a hefty 3.5 pounds.
The Volcano is the king of forced-air desktop units. These types of vapes push air through the vaporization chamber, instead of requiring the user to suck. The herb chamber sockets into the top of the Volcano and terminates in a heat-resistant, food-grade balloon (like a turkey bag). You control the temperature by adjusting either the dial on the classic version, or setting the temperature with buttons on the digital version. Flick a side switch and the device heats up in as little as three minutes. A second switch turns on the air pump, which forces filtered, heated air through the herb chamber and into the bag, filling it in as little as 90 seconds. Turn off the air pump, disconnect the bag valve, slot on the mouthpiece, and gently inhale. A pressure-sensitive tip keeps the vapor in the bag and only opens when the mouthpiece is pressed to the lips.
Storz & Bickel Volcano Vaporizer Review
The Volcano intimidates and impresses everyone who first meets it. From the heft of the unit to the myriad accessories and components, it’s like unpacking alien technology. Thankfully, it’s very easy to master.
Volcano Vaporizer.
Photo: Volcano Vapesystems
Loading is easy enough. Use a grinder to finely grind up some herb, and load a thin ( to ½"), even layer of flowers into the bottom of the chamber. Next affix the valve and bag and switch the air pump on to fill it up. You can see the puffs of vapor dance as the bag quickly fills up. The vapor can sit in the bag for hours afterward, but is best consumed fresh.
The trickiest part of the Volcano is the bags, which need to be changed after about 125 sessions. Learning to affix them to the “Solid Valve” takes a few minutes. The manufacturer now sells an “Easy Valve” version with disposable valve-and-bag setup, so when your bag gets dirty, you just toss the whole thing and click on another one.
Volcano’s Solid Valve disassembles easily for washing in hot, soapy water, and then in alcohol. Just don’t lose track of any of the tiny valve nuts or screens, and follow the manual to reassemble.
The heating chamber gets hot, so use care when emptying spent herb and reloading the chamber. Never touch your fingers to the metal parts. Newer Volcanos come with a liquid pad for use with oils. Similar to a Brillo Pad, the liquid pad provides a nonfuming, metal matrix for the wax to run through and vaporize off of. Instead of placing flowers in the heating chamber you stick the liquid pad in, then some wax, and then the chamber’s screen. Note: Do not overload the pad with oil, or vaporize oil in the Volcano without the pad. Both will lead to a messy, gooey cleanup and potential malfunction.
You can readily adjust the vapor quality with the Volcano. Higher heat combined with a thick layer of top-shelf flowers will make for some thick, potent smoke. Lower heat with a small amount of low-potency herb is barely detectable as vapor. Either way, the effects can be profound. Thankfully, the Volcano shuts down automatically after 20 minutes of inattention. Vape bags are about as social as passing around a joint, yet the smoke-free, super-medical styling ensures that the device is used in some hospitals and treatment centers.
Storz & Bickel Plenty
MSRP: $349.00
Type: handheld, plug-in, whip-style
For use in: the home, medical facilities
Use with: raw flowers; or concentrates, with liquid pad
Heating element: 110V, odor-free, food-safe, double helix heat exchanger
Storz & Bickel Plenty Description
Basically a handheld Volcano, the Plenty “Hot Air Generator” delivers powerful medical-grade vape hits without hogging your coffee table with complicated valves and balloons. The size of a large glue gun, it comes with a 12-foot, three-prong cord you need to plug in. The Plenty weighs a pound and a half, and precision heats herb or hash to 266°F (130°C)–396°F (202°C). It features an analog temperature gauge, temperature dial, and on/off switch, as well as an auto-off release handle and temperature fuse to prevent overheating or accidents. The second major component is the herb chamber and stainless steel cooling coil. You draw on a mouthpiece attached to the end of the coil like sucking on a straw. It’s very effective, and easy to master.
The Plenty is a hefty, handheld home vape for medical applications.
Photo: David Downs
Storz & Bickel Plenty Review
The design of this thing shouts “German-made medical-grade engineering,” down to the quality seal on the box. There are actually very few pieces inside, which is nice. With the six-step, quick-start manual, you can be vaping in about five minutes. The first thing to do is get familiar with the herb chamber, which friction-fits to the cooling coil. Use the included grinder to finely grind up a half-gram of herb and fill the chamber completely and correctly. (The Plenty also comes with a “liquid pad” for vaping wax or smaller amounts of flowers.) Gently screw the chamber onto the cooling coil, and then onto the device body. Plug in and switch on Plenty, then grab the handle to release the auto-off. Set the orange dial to between 5 and 6 and the unit will heat up to around 390°F (199°C) in a few minutes. An orange control light lets you know it’s heating up. When the control light turns off with a “flick,” you’re at the desired temperature. Just grab the handle, stick the mouthpiece in your mouth, and inhale slowly and continually to about half your lung volume, then exhale.
The wide, shallow chamber exposes a huge amount of fl
ower surface area to heat, generating a devilishly thin, tasty, potent vapor that yielded an instant head change for this reviewer. Vapor quality depends on herb quality and quantity, grinding, and how high you set the temp. Because the cooling coil is steel, you cannot see how thick your draw is, so we took some unexpectedly huge hits off the Plenty.
This problem gets even bigger when using the liquid pad. It’s really easy to take a very big rip of vaped BHO. (Wax works best, super-runny oils do not.) It takes a session or three to really dial in the device, but it’s easy to clean and comes with a three-year warranty—perfect for health-conscious smokers looking for a high-quality, long-lasting (albeit imposing) device for use at home.
Magic Flight Launch Box
MSRP: $119.00
Type: handheld; draw
For use in: anywhere
Use with: flowers; or oils and waxes, with tray
Heating element: stainless steel coil, 2 AA NiMH batteries
Magic Flight Launch Box Description
A cult classic with a rabid online following, the San Diego, CA–made Magic Flight Launch Box is a portable, handheld flower vaporizer that can get a few people stoned on a single rechargeable AA NiMH battery (though it’s best to have backups for parties). The core of the MFLB is a small, light, maple wood block with a plexiglass, swivel-click cover. The cover slides away to reveal a wide cavity lined with a metal screen, where about a half-gram of herb goes. You push a special AA battery into a side port and hold it there to send current through the metal screen, vaporizing cannabinoids by direct conduction, convection, and infrared. Softly sipping the vapor results in astonishingly huge hits and effects, given the ruggedly simple technology involved.
The Magic Flight Launch Box is a quirky but highly effective portable flower vape. Beautiful and practical, these vaporizers are made with the hope that the world will benefit from the love put into each one.
Photo: Magic Flight
Purportedly developed with the hiker or camper in mind, the Magic Flight Launch Box seems to fit the outdoorsy lifestyle. It achieves elegance through being simple, effective, and natural. Inside its tin travel case, the smooth, light, maple wood block has a familiarity that’s lacking from more futuristic vaporizers. It’s approachable and friendly looking; it seems to invite you over to pick it up and play with it.
The batteries are “stripped” AAs, meaning the protective plastic “jacket” has been removed from the outside. Stamped with the MFLB logo on the bottom, the custom batteries are capped with black plastic. The caps are there to prevent accidental short circuits. On stripped batteries the entire outside surface is a negative contact. Without the safety cap, these batteries can short in your pocket when a key or coin bridges the tiny gap between the positive anode and the sidewall. Stripped batteries enable the MFLB to make a simple circuit just by inserting one all the way into the box. One reviewer considered the stripped batteries inconvenient at best and possibly a safety hazard. AA batteries are not manufactured for use in “stripped” form.
Magic Flight Launch Box Review
We loaded up our MFLB with some finely ground Jack Herer, inserted one battery, and got no results. The batteries come pre-charged but apparently can go flat as they sit on store shelves. We used the included recharging station on both and were disappointed to note that one battery appeared to be faulty, as its recharge light flashed red and green. It took four hours to fully charge the other battery, but then vaping was as easy as slotting the battery in, counting to five, and softly sipping on the straw. Light, white vapor streamed down the Pyrex and we exhaled a respectable hit. You shake and tap the MFLB to redistribute the herb in the chamber and cook it evenly. Each battery can run for about five straight minutes of vapor draw time. That can work out to one to three bowls, at anywhere from four to 12 draws per bowl, depending on skill. Suffice to say, two fully charged batteries can keep two people baked all day.
It takes seconds to master the art of loading, engaging, and drawing on the MFLB, so the device would be a fabulous unit for someone who’s using it once at night before bed. Conversely, the MFLB has the hard-core tokers covered with backup batteries ($7.50 for 2 stripped NiMH AAs), a power adapter for plug-in use, a whip, and a bubbler attachment. (Note: You can buy and strip AA NiMH batteries on your own, but make sure to get 2000 or 2700 mAh. MFLB recommends Maha Powerex 2700s.) MFLB has also made space for concentrates with a small wax tray that you can slot onto the metal screen for vaping oils, waxes, and the like.
One of the best, craziest parts about the MFLB is its “Lifetime Functional Warranty” for any damage or defect. That’s right. If you accidentally tear the screen or your dog uses the vape as a chew toy, these San Diego hippies will send you a new one. It’s crazy until you realize what’s carved on the bottom of MFLB, aside from a serial number: “Love is: that which enables choice; always stronger than fear. Always choose on the basis of love.”
It’s that positive, optimistic vibe that permeates the MFLB from design to marketing.
Vaped Micro V2 Deluxe/Luxury V2
MSRP: $99.99/$129.99
Type: vape pen
For use in: the home; on the go
Use with: wax (optimal), shatter, oil, or high-grade water extracts (less optimal)
Heating element: titanium coil, wick, battery
Vaped Micro V2 Deluxe/Luxury V2 Description
The award-winning, longtime Bay Area company Vaped has a flourishing line of miniaturized vaporizers for use with wax, other solvent concentrates, and high-grade water extracts. These battery-powered units are similar to their peers in that they pair with a heating element—which Vaped dubs a “skillet bowl”—as well as a mouthpiece. Vaped is also among the first to introduce a “globe” attachment, which is basically a skillet bowl surrounded by a see-through glass chamber that helps pool and cool vapor during use. The globe looks really cool, and is a party pleaser. Vaped’s kits also feature some pretty great accessories like a soft, zippered travel case with dabber, different mouthpieces, and even a lanyard so you don’t misplace the unit after it has gotten you totally ripped.
The Micro Vaped is an affordable, high-quality wax pen.
Photo: David Downs
Vaped Micro V2 Deluxe/Luxury V2 Review
Vaped immediately distinguishes itself in the crowded pen vape space with its faux-wood, zippered carrying cases. Inside, a dazzling array of interchangeable bits is easily sorted into batteries, “skillet bowls,” and mouthpieces. The “globe kit” comes with one globe and two custom-fitted skillet bowls. It takes seconds to learn how to assemble and use either the Micro V2 Deluxe or Luxury V2. First, fully charge the AA-sized batteries in under 30 minutes. A red LED light on the bottom of the Micro will turn off when it’s ready. The Luxury V2 has a tiny, LED battery meter at the bottom to tell you when it’s full. Screw on a skillet bowl (or a globe), load with wax (or another type of high-grade hash), and then screw on the mouthpiece. The device turns on or off with five quick clicks. Once it’s on, press and hold the button for five to 15 seconds while softly inhaling to get a massive rip. You can take about four before the skillet needs a reload, and the battery can go for a couple days.
People absolutely love the globe attachment, because you can watch the white, dense, hash vapor pool in the unit for a few seconds before you take a rip. The visual element is not only exciting; it helps people tightly titrate their dosage. But it’s also much less stealthy than the standard skillet bowl, and therein lies the tradeoff. Lower-profile, stealth devices have smaller heating elements and deliver smaller puffs. Bigger units are less stealthy, but can offer bigger hits or features like the globe. You clean the skillet bowl by emptying it out and swabbing it with alcohol-soaked cotton Q-tips. Replacement skillet bowls run $14.99 each or five for $49.99. The steel casing makes this a very, very durable pen vape.
Cloud
MSRP: $59.99
Type: vape pen
For use in: the home; on the go
Use with: wax (op
timal), shatter, oil, or high-grade water extracts (less optimal)
Heating element: battery, wick, coil
Cloud Description
State-of-the-art vaporizers are now as small as a common Bic pen, and the leader in the pen vape space is the company Cloud, whose line of tiny, handheld units for wax and hash have won countless major industry awards. Like many other devices of its miniature size, the Cloud assembles like a teeny, tiny totem pole. A lithium ion battery sits at the bottom. A heating element called an “atomizer” slots into the battery, and a mouthpiece slots onto the atomizer. One button on the front of the Cloud locks and unlocks the device, as well as controls its on/off function. A teensy, red LED on the bottom lights up when the device is charging, and it comes with a wall/USB charger. Using one of these things will blow your mind and change your life.
The Cloud is an award-winning micropen for concentrates like wax.
Photo: David Downs
Cloud Review
Clean, sharp, elegant, innocuous—those are just a few of the words that come to mind as we open up Cloud’s iPhone-like white box and hold the extremely lightweight White Cloud in our hands. It looks like a chic, slender tube of lipstick. No one, not even the police, suspects it delivers powerful, mind-altering hits of solvent hash vapor. First we charged the Cloud to full capacity in 30 minutes. After it’s charged, you unlock the device by clicking the Cloud button five times fast. It flashes twice to let you know it’s on. Then, you season the new atomizer by holding the Cloud button down for ten seconds. The heating element is a wire-wrapped wick running through the center of a tiny ceramic bowl. Electricity from the battery hits resistance in the coil, causing it to heat up, glow orange, and, of course, vaporize concentrates. Use the included dabber to insert some wax, equivalent to maybe two grains of rice, and make sure to cake it right on the coil. Wax on the edges of the bowl doesn’t vape well. Slot the mouthpiece on, hold the pen to your mouth, and softly sip from the tip while holding the Cloud button for 5–15 seconds. The Cloud delivers big, medium-bodied hits of hash equivalent to a 10-inch bongload. Used with good wax, the Cloud’s soft, light, flavorful vapor goes down smooth yet packs a wallop. The tiny chamber makes it best for a couple of quick personal hits on the go, but it’s also very easy to reload for party bowls. The powerful battery withstood three days of heavy use at a bachelor party on two charges. The atomizer lasts no longer than 90 days and costs $14.99 to replace. The Cloud opens up a whole new world of places to get stoned.