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shadybeep

Hello, This is my first review, and my first vaporiser, so it will both be a review of that, the herbalaire 2.1 vaporiser, and my thoughts on vaporising in general, having smoked other things for many many (too many) years.

I started out trying to find an alternative to smoking after a very long period of both loving and heavily smoking various substances, and finding it getting worse and worse each time i would have a smoke. Those nights I would shake off when i was a bit younger, where you would wake in the morning with a cough and smile changed into those where you would wake in the morning and cough and feel entirely not as good as you used to, when a roll up would make your chest tighten and make you more out of breath the next day. This COMPLETELY destroys much of the joys of imbibing herbs, and because I have a strong love for their effects, sought a solution.

Initially I tried eating the substances, but no matter what quantity I used, it never had quite the same effect. I do a lot of technical computer work, and I find the exceptionally cerebal level of some herbs to be a fantastic gift, allowing me to think laterally to an extent I cannot achieve without, and yet edible herbs never brought me to the same level of enjoyment, instead providing a low level, extremely long termed form of what can only be described as mongedness, where I could barely be bothered to do anything. What I was looking for, was what when younger we used to refer to as something similar to herb powers, and eating did not provide a similar experience whatsoever.

I had already looked up vaporisers previously, and read some reviews, and had the idea that if you didnt spend a relatively substantial amount on one you would be effectively wasting your money, so buying one was a last resort, but when i decided, I wanted to give it a proper chance, spending perhaps more than I otherwise would. I wanted one which would do both bag fills and direct draw fully expecting to only really use the direct draw method, because of my long love of smoking. I considered the volcano purely cause of the seeming consensus that its the king of vaporisers, but I couldnt really justify that much money on one having never experienced one ever. Eventually I settled on the hebalaire 2.1, it filling both the roles i wanted, and having a decent review on here already.

Before I mention the vaporiser itself, Id like too mention the extreme helpfulness of the herbalaire customer support, who noticed i was ordering internationally, and that i would be paying extra customs charges and shipping etc and gave me an excellent deal culminating in me actually buying two, and giving one to my friend. (Incidentally, thats probably the greatest gift you could ever give to a smoker in my opinion. ). They also replied quickly to emails etc, and ensured I recieved the right voltage device.

Well, then one day they turned up. I only had some really bad quality herbs at the time, because they had become almost unpleasant at this point. (The smoking, not the herbs themselves
I tried a small bit of the direct draw method, and then thought id try the bag, fully expecting to not enjoy it. (I never really liked bongs for example, I alwys thought it removed some of the joy of smoking). And wow, that was it. 10 Minutes later I had a massive grin on my face, the joy of having found what I was looking for, a smoke free method that was effective.
I assume the following is true for all vaporisers, but these are what I would consider the primary benefits:

Instantly increased lung health: I used to cough, i used to clear my throat, and now I dont. Having not ridden my bike for several months, I went back to my home town to find I, whilst not as strong from not riding regularly, was FAR fitter, and didnt get out of breath at all, and it was fantastic. Its actually what prompted me to write this review. Note: vaporising DOES make you cough sometimes. For the first week, it also gave me an incredibly dry throat. This passed, and the coughing is kindof a good thing, a bit of a tickle in your throat to know its doing something is always nice, plus it only happens on very packed loads.

Absolutely excellent effects: Forget those times you smoked and felt like laying around melting into furniture. This is that feeling you get on the best herbs you ever had, reduced paronoia, increased euphoria, and on ANY quality herb you try. (Although stronger depending on the source obviously)

Discretion: Virtually no lingering smell, immediate smell tasty and delicious, No longer bothers guests who may not smoke, nor leaves disgusting smoke stains or smells

To summaraise, i REALLY like vaporising. If you never tried it, please, give it a go, I dont think you will look back.

Onto the herbalaire: As I mentioned, this is my first vaporiser, so this will not be an entirely objective review, however it IS the opinions of someone who bought one having never used a vaporiser before, so may be just as useful.
To begin with, its very effective. Im not really convinced of the efficiency claims vs smoking (I actually still think smoking is a tad more effective, but isnt worth it on my lungs, and its only a SMALL amount, plus its not as clean or nice.) It is still strong though: First few times, expect to experience what it was like when you first started smoking again. Its that dramatic, It will have people who havent giggled for 20 years laughing.

I expected to only use the direct draw on the herbalaire, but one bag and I was hooked on that system. Its relatively quick, and powerful I do somewhat miss the appeal of smoking sometimes, but only as a supplement, not as a replacement, cause this is nicer. The motor is a bit noisy in a quiet room, but virtually silent in a noisy one, I dont think its annoyingly loud at all. The bags i got with it i replaced with normal oven bags after a while, simply tying them to the original nozzles with zip tags from the supermarket. They are a decent size, but as a previous review mentioned, they do take a little while to fill.

As for the vapor, If you put a lot in the herbaliare it makes the most delicious, milky thik vapour you will ever see, virtually smoke like in consistency. Put a little in, its less intense. Never is all the herb not entirely browned and crumbly.

The herbalaire is easily cleanable, has a nice 3 metre or so power cord and seems pretty robust. I got one for the UK, and Its a euro plug, but it easily fits in the majority of UK plugs with a bit of fiddling. The motor is a seperate power cord and plug, so you will need two sockets if you want to bag fill.

The only piece which i find hard to clean is the metal bowl the herb container sits in, but I am also mostly sure that is only dirty cause of people filling it wrong, and when i say dirty is the slightest of stains, im just a perfectionist

Im not sure how the temperature is, given my lack of experience with other vaporisers, but i always put it at top temperature (205ish C), and its never burned my herbs at all. I used to put it at about 180c and then up the temperature, but although it spread the vapors more evenly between two bags, it wasnt noticably tastier or different. I do wonder if there would be more left at a higher temperature, although given the previous reviews of the herbalaires efficiency it seems unlikely.

With regards to the direct draw, I tried it again recently. Directly off the herbalaire i find it gets a bit hot for my liking, but if I connect the air pump's tubing to the mouthpiece on the herbalaire and use it like a whip I get a nice mellow toke cooled nicely by the tube. I havent done this enough yet to really comment on it, but its definately tasty.

The herbalaire is obviously not portable due to its, but it is reasonably small and easy to carry around. This lack of portability can sometimes be a bit annoying when you are not at home, but its not entirely its fault

In summary, the herbalaire is my new best friend, and vaporising is wonderful. Im getting a vaporstar delivered tomorrow, a vapolution next week, and who knows what else, cause this has revolutionised smoking for me. Its as effective as smoke without the bad things, and in spite of my lack of experience with other vapes, I cant recommend the herbalaire enough.

Hopefully Ill be writing some comparison reviews with other vaporisers soon, but it is not at all because I am unhappy with the herbalaire, and more because I am so pleased with it I want to see if other vaporisers offer similar joys, especially portably or using a whip.
And thanks to the forums here, for helping me decide which vaporiser to buy initially

 

5drive

Glad you're enjoying the herbalAire. It's a great alternative to the Volcano with the added bonus of direct draw.

What's a "substantial amount" to you? A solid vape with top rate warranty is only $120. That's substantial to some and peanuts to others.

Yeah, their customer svc. is tops-above and beyond my expectations.

Not me. Depends on the person, which vape you're using, and how you hit it. HerbalAire won't give you any big surprise hits like a whip vape can. Coughing with herbie is pretty much due to dry throat once you get the hang of how much vapor you're dealing with in the bag.

Well, you do get all the compounds with smoke, but the problem is you get all the toxic compounds as well, and at a temp setting of 205C you're getting the most out of your vapor as well, including a strong dose of carbon monoxide and benzene. I never go past 185-190C and my remains are always nice and brown-fully cooked for THC extraction but shy of significant toxin release. If you associate the sleepy, couchlock feeling you get with smoke as part of the high, then yeah, smoking is more effective. Some choose to deal with the more energetic high from lower temp vaping and avoid toxic compounds. Some like the more 'heady high' of vapor. You certainly retain more THC with the vaping process vs. smoking.

Yeah it's harder to clean, but filling it wrong has nothing to do with staining. Vapor condensation happens no matter what you do. Everything in the vapor path gets a little residue. The heating chamber on mine is stained brown now, but as long as the airways are clear (18 holes in the chamber), it's no problem.

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beezleb878

Welcome to the world of Vaping and thank you for the review.

Maxwellv

If you have a regular glass slide bong, (not ground glass) you can:

• remove your bowl,
• take off the rubber ring on the bowl's stem,
• place the rubber ring on the Herbalaire bag's mouthpiece, (not the straw thing, the part attached to the bag)
• place the bag in the bong in place of the bowl and "push" on the bag while hitting the bong

I have found that taking lung busting hits in this fashion lets me take in a huge hit of vapor all at once which gives a nice "rush" I enjoy sometimes. I use the direct-draw a lot too.

Vape on.

5drive

Interesting. Can you post a pic of this setup?

 

Maxwellv

Sure, maybe not the best pictures, but it's a simple idea...

First, the bag is filled with vapor as normal.

The blue thing is the rubber ring I removed from the bowl of my bong. Then the bag's mouthpiece fits into the downstem, forming an acceptably tight seal.

I like to use just a little water in the bong and push on the bag while I'm hitting.

I also find I have to hold the bag in place by placing my index finger over the zip tie on the bag.

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popkornjoe

i just got my herbalAIRE 2.1 today and i have never used a vaporizer. I followed all the instruction but for some reason when i turn it on the led light just goes from red to off over and over...it is never a solid colout...i tried to get a bag out of it but i pretty much got nothing....and the herb looks like it is untouched...i waited over 8 minutes andthe light was still flashig on and off...if anyone could help me i owuld greatly appretiate it.

beezleb878

I have no experience with your vape but it seems like it may not be working properly if everything is set up correctly and the correct temps etc.

I am sure others can help you better.

5drive

HerbalAire comes up to the set temp in a couple of minutes and it's ready to go. After about 10 min. (I've never timed it) it shuts off-that's the blinking light. It's a safety feature-in case you forget to turn it off. When it's blinking you just turn it off and back on again and you're ready to go. Of course it may have to get back up to vaping temp. The LED will tell you when it's ready. You have another 10 min. or so before it times out again. An aggravating but useful feature. If the LED on yours isn't going from green (heating up) to amber (the set temp) and sometimes red (a little over the set temp) and staying at amber or red for 10 minutes, then you have a problem. Contact herbalAire-they have great customer svc.

beezleb878

Am I to understand that the herbal air shuts off every 10 minutes, is that right?