Buzzby

I've had my VripTech gear for a couple of months now and I never felt like it really lived up to the reputation. I bought it for the engineering and the concept. I bought it because owners talked it up online. I bought it because of stonemonkey55's videos. I bought it because it sounded like the nearest thing to a perfect delivery system (until we get THC pumps or gene-modified THC-producing organ implants, made to our own design).

I thought that it didn't get hot enough and hacked the upper temp limiter. It worked better. It was excellent, and I said so. Now I know that I didn't know what I was talking about. Now I know that my VHW never worked right. Why? Because I got my replacement VHW today.

My original one was one of a batch that had a defect that caused the heating element to fuse to the some of the inner glass, breaking it. When I described the problem, VripTech's head honcho told me that they knew exactly what it was and that they'd ship me out a replacement. I was to send back the defective one when the new one arrived. Due to some miscommunication, it's taken several weeks for the replacement to get here.

Even with the inner glass broken, the VHW still worked. Not nearly as well, but it still did a fine job until it tragically died one stormy night. I've been VripLess for a couple of weeks, during which I regained a fondness for my old Vapor Warez gear. It's so nice to have backups!

I figured that my dissatisfaction was a combination of buying hype and poor technique on my part. Wrong! The damned thing never worked right - but I would have been happy with one just like it because I didn't know any better.

Now. Let me tell you about the replacement unit. It lives up to everything I thought I was going to get and more! On the old one, I had to crank it up to maximum to get real action. On the new one, I had to turn it down from 3/4 because it was too hot. On the old one, the heating element ran a lot of the time, like it was having trouble keeping up. The new one has a much longer "off" cycle than the the old one, like it's not working very hard. It draws very easily, like any bong. With the controlled constant airflow, you can make the vapor as thick or as thin as you like by adjusting the temp dial or controlling the speed of the draw. The faster you draw, the thicker it gets.

On my Vapor Warez. the faster you draw the thinner it gets, because the heating element can't keep up. So you crank up the temperature into the zone where it can overheat the weed. This works to some extent, if you draw really fast. If you draw too slowly the weed can ignite. That really sucks. On VHW #2, you dial in the right temperature and that's exactly what you get. If that temperature is below the ignition point of your weed, it can't set it on fire. You can, basically, dial in the exact color you want your AVB to be and it won't cook it any hotter than your request. No charring.

Well, not unless you really try. I imagine if you turned this puppy all the way up you could do some charring, but why would you want to? I'm thinking of adjusting the upper temp limiter to a lower temperature, so it can't happen at all. I'll have to experiment.

As you may have guessed, I've been up all night experimenting with my new toy. I'm just overwhelmed by how good it is! It extracts as much as you might want very quickly, or very slowly if you prefer. It extracts very evenly and thoroughly. I may re-vape the AVB in the jar from VHW #1's efforts. I bet there's a lot of goodness it missed that the new one could easily extract.

So that's my tale of highly satisfied dissatisfaction and the ultimate redemption of a man's dream of the ultimate cannabis vapor delivery system. I'll stick by it - probably. I'm so fuckin' high and I've been rambling on forever and I have no idea whether what makes sense to me will make sense to anyone else. Sometimes it feels like someone else ("Buzzby") takes over while the real "I" sits there and watches the words rattle off onto the screen. I'll have to come back after I get some sleep and see how stoned I was. This may be my longest post to date. It's certainly the longest post I've ever made while this high.

I'd like to hear from someone who has had a great experience with a VHW but thinks that there's something out there that's more than marginally better... I know there are other vapes that work in similar ways, but are any of them really major improvements?

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stonemonkey55

Buzzby, I am very happy to hear about your experiences with the VHW, both good and bad. Your post reminded me of the first couple of nights I had my VHW. I was composing emails and papers about the effectiveness of the extraction, the taste of the sacred herb, and the all glass delivery mechanism.

One of the things that you picked up on that seems to not get talked about much in regards to the VHW is how steady it holds its temperature no matter how fast or soft that you inhale. I also feel that it more evenly "cooks" your herbs with no "hot spots" in the center of the bowl where most of the concentration of the heat/air occurs.

As my vapor journey continues, I have yet to find something "better" than the VHW for MY PERSONAL needs. There are plenty of vaporizers that are easier to use, more stealthy, and/or more durable but when it comes to the vapor quality/taste, for me, this is the top dog. Obviously, there are plenty of areas for improvement (smaller, more ergo, cordless!) but just like you, I am also in a state of contentness when tasting the ultra pure, water filtered, ice conditioned vapor from the Vrip set up.

Keep me updated on your journey, your posts are always a good read! Take care

Buzzby

Because most other vapes can't produce an adequate volume of air at the right temperature, we set them for a higher temperature and count on the dilution of that heated air to do the vaping. As a result, we get burned or nearly-burned spots in the middle of the bowl while it's still green on the edges. Because of the high-capacity heating element, the super-sensitive thermostat, and all of the baffling and engineered vortex rotation, the VHW spreads the heated air evenly over the surface of the bowl.

My biggest problem with the current configuration is how delicate it is. I need to find a place to keep it while in use that doesn't threaten it's continued existence. I'm extremely careful with it. I worry when my friends, who are less motivated to keep it intact, handle it. I have one very accident-prone friend who will never get his hands on it.

stevebeast

I bought mine for the same reasons the only difference is it took me a little longer and worked so well i needed another one for the crowds. it looks delicate but i am surprised i havent broken one, my vhw has been dropped and banged. I even had one that was hot dropped into a cup of coffee and it didnt crack. I would'nt say that it isnt fragile but i dont worry any more than i do passing my glass waterpipe that i know will break if dropped.
Try using a mike stand that appears to be the safest place to put it. If you do use a cup make sure its different than the ones you are drinking out of or you may be cleaning coffee out of it.