Multi-brand Vivant Alternate

[blackstone]

I feel like this vape could finally be the $100 vape king. Weecke Fenix couldn't, Boundless CF couldn't hang with nicer units, neither could the Odin. Chinese Vape Gods... are our prayers finally answered???

Looks good alright I would like to try it, and when a new release ticks a few new boxes it also gives great hope of later seeing the answers to this from other vape companies,
or this companies next offerings will obviously be another step up again.
But yeah this one look's to be worth a whirl.
It will be interesting if this can be got in EU by April 20, it might put a spin on those waiting for a CFV or Swiftpro on sale!

They mentioned heating element is ceramic and oven is ss. Really wanna to try it out. My cfx had a plastic taste due to the plastic tape they wrap around heating chamber. Don't know if it's faulty but it still offgasses with empty bowl

I'd nearly prefer to be able to see the ceramic, just a little pet worry I had about excess transport vibration or heat/cooling cycles and any chipping or dust but maybe I'm being over the top. Or you might catch or see any dust in the ABV.
It's quite possible the ceramic is of no risk and/or out of the airpath anyway.

Josh at ViVant was an absolute pleasure to talk to. I feel 100% comfortable with their customer service.

I love the fact that any upgrade or change to the firmware will be able to be done from your own home on your computer from their website.
No need to send the unit in if you already have it, just update it!

It comes with a SONY VTC4 which is a 2500mAh 30amp drain battery. Through testing I found the best results with an LG HG2 3000mAh 20amp drain battery. It heated up within 2 seconds of the sony an I got 1-2 more sessions.

@djchexxx I don't have any 10 or 15 amp drain but I just did a test for you with a SAMSUNG ICR18650-30B 3000mAh 6amp drain.

It took 1:42 to reach 356°F. I left it on for 60 seconds.
The battery got very warm and red 87% on the unit.
As the battery cools down it is now at 95%

I don't think I would feel comfortable using the 6 amp battery, but a 15 or possibly even 10 amp....maybe... might not get as hot.

The HG2 is 20amp and feels no warmer than the 30 amp sony when warming up or when in use.

Yeah thanks for giving your thoughts @Vape Dr.
That's a helpful amount of info to keep us excited!
Just one little question, how long roughly does it take to reach vaping temp. with the supplied Sony battery? I cant see it here or on the site ATM
I'd watch those videos again but I didn't enjoy some of them and I think they might have edited out the heat up part anyway!

 

[Vape Dr.]

@blackstone I'm sorry I should have mentioned that.
It depends on the ambient room temperature but going to 356F which is a great temp to start at takes around 1:20-1:22 probably less in warmer climates

If I temp step from 350-360-370-380F having a 4 minute session I got at least 4-5 good draws per temp and the HG2 is at 87%

 

[blackstone]

@blackstone I'm sorry I should have mentioned that.
It depends on the ambient room temperature but going to 356F which is a great temp to start at takes around 1:20-1:22 probably less in warmer climates

If I temp step from 350-360-370-380F having a 4 minute session I got at least 4-5 good draws per temp and the HG2 is at 87%

Thanks very much for updating! I think it was the only thing you forgot to mention haha.
That's a respectable time, I think my mighty did a similar run in 1:17 after 10 months of use, and the Craftys are stepping over 2 mins apparently.
And if it starts to get sluggish you can just replace and recycle this battery.
Also I think smaller bowl is a plus, and it doesn't bother me that SB capsules don't fit it.
I'm not afraid to use that bowl!!

PS, @Vape Dr. the last two mods you posted I had done already! this bottle cap screen I did on my Mighty it's farking great. (that's a giant empty step in the vivant CU alright!?)
And the screen in the CFV wood ring, I had made a bamboo ring with screen like that for my Mighty also but it scorched like shit at times with the conduction! I could imagine your CFV mod tasting better!
Great minds think alike I say anyway! Well done!

 

[radiant34]

Looks good alright I would like to try it, and when a new release ticks a few new boxes it also gives great hope of later seeing the answers to this from other vape companies,
or this companies next offerings will obviously be another step up again.
But yeah this one look's to be worth a whirl.
It will be interesting if this can be got in EU by April 20, it might put a spin on those waiting for a CFV or Swiftpro on sale!



I'd nearly prefer to be able to see the ceramic, just a little pet worry I had about excess transport vibration or heat/cooling cycles and any chipping or dust but maybe I'm being over the top. Or you might catch or see any dust in the ABV.
It's quite possible the ceramic is of no risk and/or out of the airpath anyway.



Yeah thanks for giving your thoughts @Vape Dr.
That's a helpful amount of info to keep us excited!
Just one little question, how long roughly does it take to reach vaping temp. with the supplied Sony battery? I cant see it here or on the site ATM
I'd watch those videos again but I didn't enjoy some of them and I think they might have edited out the heat up part anyway!

I agree with you, i do like the mightys ss heating element

 

[sickmanfraud]

@blackstone I'm sorry I should have mentioned that.
It depends on the ambient room temperature but going to 356F which is a great temp to start at takes around 1:20-1:22 probably less in warmer climates

If I temp step from 350-360-370-380F having a 4 minute session I got at least 4-5 good draws per temp and the HG2 is at 87%

IIRC you have a Wekke Fenix and a Vivant alternate. Which are you happier with? If you could buy one and only one of those 2 which would it be?

 

[dparks818]

The Alternate looks really interesting to me, especially with it being a hybrid heating system at the price point its being sold at. The only problem I have with ordering one right now is the fact that I dont know how the lifetime of the unit. Also the name is pretty dumb, it feels like you are using an alternate method of smoking when you say it lol

 

[Vape Dr.]

IIRC you have a Wekke Fenix and a Vivant alternate. Which are you happier with? If you could buy one and only one of those 2 which would it be?

@sickmanfraud

The Fenix took a bit of modding to get it to where I personally like it.

The stock Alternate tastes great and has more vapor.

Battery life is similar but the Alternate has swappable batteries plus USB charging.
Fenix has many great preset temps but the Alternate has 1° temp selection and a digital display with battery meter.
Fenix has more conduction, the Alternate is a hybrid with more convection.
Fenix has more draw restriction and the stock mouth piece is annoying, Alternate has a very nice MP.
The airflow switch on the Alternate is brilliant!

I have been pretty impressed with the Alternates performance and customer service so far.

I would not hesitate to grab the Alternate first.

Just my

 

[djchexxx]

@sickmanfraud

The Fenix took a bit of modding to get it to where I personally like it.

The stock Alternate tastes great and has more vapor.

Battery life is similar but the Alternate has swappable batteries plus USB charging.
Fenix has many great preset temps but the Alternate has 1° temp selection and a digital display with battery meter.
Fenix has more conduction, the Alternate is a hybrid with more convection.
Fenix has more draw restriction and the stock mouth piece is annoying, Alternate has a very nice MP.
The airflow switch on the Alternate is brilliant!

I have been pretty impressed with the Alternates performance and customer service so far.

I would not hesitate to grab the Alternate first.

Just my

How much can the bowl hold? How is it with microdosing?

 

[Lookatmeglow]

@sickmanfraud

The Fenix took a bit of modding to get it to where I personally like it.

The stock Alternate tastes great and has more vapor.

Battery life is similar but the Alternate has swappable batteries plus USB charging.
Fenix has many great preset temps but the Alternate has 1° temp selection and a digital display with battery meter.
Fenix has more conduction, the Alternate is a hybrid with more convection.
Fenix has more draw restriction and the stock mouth piece is annoying, Alternate has a very nice MP.
The airflow switch on the Alternate is brilliant!

I have been pretty impressed with the Alternates performance and customer service so far.

I would not hesitate to grab the Alternate first.

Just my

You know Doc, that might be exactly what you ordered

But seriously, the alternate is one that I think with some minor tweaks, could be a grear vaporizer. I haven't used one, but if they changed the session length and backed it with a longer warranty, this could be one of the top sub $150 units. Just my opinion though.

 

[Vape Dr.]

Hello all!

Some good news for you.

The Alternate is now backed by a 2 year warranty!

Must be purchased from ViVant or an authorized seller like @PuffItUp

Here is a link to the new warranty information:
https://vivant.com/pages/faq

Hopefully I'll be back soon with some good news about the timer!

 

[Lookatmeglow]

We can only hope! Keep the good news a comin @Vape Dr.!

I can wait

 

[djchexxx]

Holy crap! I was expecting a 1 year but coming in with the 2 year?! They went above and beyond!

 

[Vivant]

Hi @Lookatmeglow , just wanted to share some good news with you and the community here. We are in the works of our final testing phases to make sure everything is good to go so we can release our firmware upgrade which will allow the user to set their own safety timer preference directly on-board the device. The preference options will be in increments of 1 min up to a max of 5 min for each session.

Thank you to everyone for your opinions, feedback and advice so far.. We are listening as it is our goal to create products that is affordable and to your liking and needs. Please know we are here any time to answer any questions.

 

[Lookatmeglow]

Hi @Lookatmeglow , just wanted to share some good news with you and the community here. We are in the works of our final testing phases to make sure everything is good to go so we can release our firmware upgrade which will allow the user to set their own safety timer preference directly on-board the device. The preference options will be in increments of 1 min up to a max of 5 min for each session.

Thank you to everyone for your opinions, feedback and advice so far.. We are listening as it is our goal to create products that is affordable and to your liking and needs. Please know we are here any time to answer any questions.

Some of the best news I have heard all day! Thank you for being responsive and open to ideas. I look forward to firmware update, and will more than likely be purchasing an alternate. There was a lot about your product I liked and have heard some very positive and promising things so far.

If you don't mind me asking, what was the original idea behind the one minute safety timer? I'm not trying to come off as derisive, but more inquisitive. Do you know if you will be offering a glass mouthpiece in the future as well as a water pipe adapter?

 

[Vivant]

We were worried that people would accidentally leave the device on without a shut off timer, and of course didn't want the device to get to hot. For us, the one min timer with option to reset made sense. We have quickly found that our initial thought was wrong, and we needed to test everything again to make sure the firmware upgrade isn't going to cause any new issues before we released it to everyone else.

As far as glass attachments go..... I would love to give you a resounding yes! but I'm not 100% sure if we will for the Alternate. We for sure have a lot of fun projects in the works across the board, so you will see glass and quartz options in the future.

 

[danald2000]

Rip crafty

 

[sickmanfraud]

@Vape Dr. , How is the battery life? How many bowls or sessions before changing the battery?

I know the session timer is being changed. How does this replaceable battery fare against a CFV? I realize the CFV is almost twice the price of the Alternate, but how do they compare?

 

[mestizo]

@Vivant , I found a few sellers offering the vaporizer minus the battery, at a lower price than advertised by the authorized sellers like Puffitup, I own several batteries and If I can avoid buying more that will be good.
Are the firmware upgrades going to be available to those units bought from an unauthorized seller?
To be honest, I don't even know if any of those sellers are authorized, or not, I didn't inquired, I figure if they are selling it lower than advertised they probably are not.

 

[Vape Dr.]

Comparison of the ViVant Alternate and the Boundless CFV.


Battery life:
The CFV heats up twice as fast and uses (2) non swappable 18350 batteries running in series at 7.4V.
The Alternate uses (1) user swappable 18650 battery running at 3.7V.
The battery lives are roughly equal, maybe an edge to the Alternate depending on the mAh rating of the battery you swap in. With both units you can easily get 5 chambers or more depending on your set temperature.

Charging:
CFV charges via micro USB on the side.
Alternate charges via USB on the side or with a stand alone charger.

Chamber:
Both Alternate and CFV chambers are roughly the same size.
The Alternate has more conduction being a hybrid (closer to 50/50 like craft/mighty) than the CFV.

Display screen:
Both the CFV and Alternate screens display flip 180°
The CFV has a digital display screen on the side that is adjustable in 1° increments.
The Alternate has a digital display on the bottom also adjustable in 1° increments and also has a stealth option

Alert:
The CFV alerts you its up to temp with a bowl of noodles on the display.
The Alternate has an audible alert with 5 settings.

Cooling chamber:
The CFV does not have one. The top does not cool the vapor. It is more of a chamber lid.
The Alternate has a cooling chamber the vapor flows through and when the mouth piece is closed it makes it air tight (or dam close to it).

Build:
The CFV is well made but still has that cheap "hollow" feel to it.
The Alternate has a much more solid and durable feel to it.

Vapor:
The CFV can be very smooth with the wooden rings (a little harsher with the quartz ring IMO).
The Alternate is also very smooth. The cooling chamber does a nice job of "cooling" the vapor.

Taste:
They both taste great to me.
The Alternate I can start at 347°F and get great taste with nice vapor (partly because it's a hybrid)
The CFV I have to start much higher around 370°F (because it's full convection) for same results.

Efficiency:
Both units are pretty efficient IMO.

Airflow:
CFV is pretty restrictive IMO.
Alternate can be adjusted from wide open to shut at any time, even while vaping. I love the air flow switch!

Portability:
The CFV and Alternate are the same height. The alternate is roughly 3/8" narrower from the side. Both units feel good in the pocket.

Stealth:
I'll give that one to the Alternate. Not only because it's smaller but when you close the mouth piece and airflow switch there is little to no smell which is "stealthy" in my book.

Warranty:
CFV is covered by a 2 year warranty
Alternate also covered by a 2 year warranty

Cleaning:
The CFVs coating will "pickle" and come off if you soak the chamber top in ISO.
The Alternates cooling chamber can be dropped in ISO with no harm to the coating.

The CFV has gaps under the edges that hold the chamber lid on were if your not careful your herb will fall into the unit. This part seals when the chamber lid is on.
The Alternate is sealed off completely on top and no herb will make its way inside.

Both are great units.
I enjoy them both.
They both have an edge over each other in different departments.

That being said, I am liking the Alternate more and more each day I use it

Hello @mestizo my friend!

I believe your warranty will be fine as long as you don't buy it from DHGate or Ebay.
You can't go wrong with @PuffItUp Randy is the man!

The firmware for the Alternate will be updateable through the ViVant website in the near future.

I know it says it on the box, but I'm not sure if they even sell the unit without the battery but it's a 2100mAh SONY VTC4 battery FWIW.

 

[mestizo]

Hello @Vape Dr. , Thank you for taking the time and answer all the questions my friend, that was a really good comparison of both, because the CFV is the other vape I have my eyes on, I'm glad you are reviewing them and giving us feedback on both. I know I can't never go wrong buying from Randy and that's probably the route I'm going to take.

 

[sickmanfraud]

Randy at puffitup said is a great vape.

For the price it seems a great value also.

 

[Vivant]

@Vivant , I found a few sellers offering the vaporizer minus the battery, at a lower price than advertised by the authorized sellers like Puffitup, I own several batteries and If I can avoid buying more that will be good.
Are the firmware upgrades going to be available to those units bought from an unauthorized seller?
To be honest, I don't even know if any of those sellers are authorized, or not, I didn't inquired, I figure if they are selling it lower than advertised they probably are not.

Hello Mestizo,

We only warranty devices directly here in Tustin, CA that are purchased directly from one of our Authorized Sellers so please make sure you ask them where your warranty would be taken care of.
Other sellers might have bought it directly from our headquarters in China. Those devices get taken care of directly through them, we do NOT cover these warranties with our inventory here.

As for the firmware upgrades, Yes, the upgrade is made available for the device itself so the battery option won't effect that.

Just as a piece of advice, Please remember to calculate all your costs and fees when you purchase from other sources as well.

Yes, Randy is an Authorized Seller of our products.

Thank you!! Hope everyone has a great week =)

 

[Just Justin]

As a Crafty owner, a Fenix and CFV previous owner (sold those), Id say the Alternate is just about a Crafty killer and I prefer the Alternate over the Fenix and CFV any day.
The Fenix didn't taste nearly as good, didn't have full temp control or a removable battery and has a cheap mouthpiece.
The CFv was better than the Fenix but not as good as the Alternate imo. I liked the changeable chamber rings in the CFV but they really didn't make much of a difference and it had a restricted draw, weaker vapor, internal battery, cheaper mouthpiece etc.
The Crafty may still have slightly better vapor production and taste but it's so close and everything wrong about the Crafty is right with the Alternate. The Crafty needed full temp controls/lcd on the device, a removable battery and a better/stronger body and with those things, it would be the greatest vape imo.
The Alternate has all that the Crafty is missing and it costs way less. It still has the plastic body, about the same battery life as the Crafty and they are basically the same size, Alternate is slightly smaller. If your looking at a Crafty, consider the Alternate first. I love them both but I was begging for a Crafty with those features and the Alternate delivered. I'm still doing a lot of testing but so far so good!

Has anyone done anymore battery testing? I'm looking another good battery to get for the Alternate and I know the LG was mentioned but I was wondering if there were any others that would also be good or better?

@Vivant do you have plans for any dosing capsules? Perhaps glass mouthpieces/ glass concentrate cups? Love your vape!

 

[Vivant]

We have a ton of exciting products in the works. We are going around to all of the shows and listening to what you guys want out of our products. We have something in the realm of everything you asked about in some sort of testing or design process. Just can't give away too much just yet. Thank you for your Support!

 

[Vape Dr.]

@Just Justin! How have you been my friend! Glad to see you here!

I tried using the Alternate with these batteries:
Sony VTC4
Sony VTC5
Sony VTC6
Samsung 25R
Samsung 30Q
LG HE2
LG HE4
LG HG2

I find the HG2 heated up within 2 seconds of the stock VTC4 but I was also capable of more sessions (VTC4=2100mAh HG2=3000mAh) with the HG2 FWIW.

I like the HG2s personally.
Hope that helps