Multi-brand X MAX STARRY

Dazza78

Active Member
My 28 month old Gen II Summit is falling apart a bit and I am needing to have a back up. The Spirit looks pretty good after watching this review a few times, but I would like to try an IQ or just stay cheap with a Summit Plus.
Vapefiend will currently ship the Spirit to America for $124.
Dazza78 could you try it with .05. I know .3 fills it, but I don't use that much at a time and wonder how the Spirit is at a very small amount. The Summit has been and still is pretty amazing.
Wish it was as tough as Vapium says it is.

We should start another thread for the Spirit.
I will give it a go for you but that really is a sprinkle really a conduction vape likes to be filled for best performance
 
Dazza78,
  • Like
Reactions: sNc

Sungodv

Well-Known Member
Thanks Daz please let me know, but I have to say my Summit does it very well w/.05. In the right light you can see the clouds even after two small sessions
 
Sungodv,

Mr Tree

Member
bought this a few weeks ago as a replacement/upgrade to my Storm Vaporizer Pen. very satisfied.

the taste is nice - i'm lucky to get good stuff. i'm not a big taste person in general, but it's noticeable and nice.

portability - fantastic. even changing battery on the fly - much easier and less conspicuous than what i was previously using.

i live in a lovely small town here so take my baby or dog out for long walks - 3x 10 minute sessions going from 195 to 200 to 205 (celsius). mind you, i find the high to be a "just to take the edge off" kinda vibe - don't really get battered from it. i don't think one chamber gets much past 3x 10mins, but i might be wrong (it's happened before). and reloading on the fly would be a bit more fiddly.

i'm glad for the tips here like taking out the little screen in the mouthpiece (seems redundant) and putting a screen over the chamber (between the herb and the mouthpiece).

pretty easy to clean, though i'm not very fussy - the chamber could already probably do with a bit more of a scrub, my fat fingers struggle to get in properly. but otherwise i just wrap all the bits in vapefiend's helpful iso wipes for a few minutes, and they come out alright :D

i really liked my Storm Pen, but i prefer this. i think you can rip a bit more on the mouthpiece so it "feels" better like that. i don't get clouds much, even if just "breathing" in rather than ripping - i mean, in the cold here i've got some nice clouds, but not at home or even today (bit warmer).

pretty easy for packing - i have to be stealthy at home, wife doesn't approve, but generally can get it all sorted within 5mins when her back's turned :D (better than wrapping a joint!)

can't think of much else, but will come back if i do. must say, of course, that vapefiend's support and service is fantastic!

it's not amazing but it's pretty great. it enhances my life. i was reluctant to spend too much, so a mid-range option was better, and this seems a great mid-range option.
 

joekool469

New Member
So... either I got a bad unit or I’m super sensitive to taste.

Bought a Starry POTV, it’s my first ever vape. I did a few burn offs at max temp, and then did a dry pull and it tasted like burnt plastic and ozone.

I then did 20-30 more 10 minute burn off sessions cooling off in between.

It tastes just as bad. I mean this thing is disgusting and I wouldn’t dream of trying to mask the nastiness with herb.

I went out to a local head shop in Portland and bought a Pax3... did the burn offs and took a dry hit. Slight hint of something but no taste at all, so that’s what I’m keeping and I’m sending the starry back.

I’ve emailed topgreen and potv but the consensus is it’s fucked.

I guess my concern here is that all of them are this way and people don’t realize it or they have terrible quality control, not sure what’s worse. Anyway I opted to just return it but figured I would caution others before they pack it up with herb and smoke.
 

His_Highness

In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king
I've got 2 - early unbranded and branded and neither had taste or smell issues.

Frustrating for sure. POTV take care of ya? I've always had great customer service from POTV and they have a no questions asked refund policy for used items up to 14 days and 30 days for unopened items. Plus they usually do something extra if you allow them to help.
 
Last edited:

Jimmyweaese

Well-Known Member
So... either I got a bad unit or I’m super sensitive to taste.

Bought a Starry POTV, it’s my first ever vape. I did a few burn offs at max temp, and then did a dry pull and it tasted like burnt plastic and ozone.

I then did 20-30 more 10 minute burn off sessions cooling off in between.

It tastes just as bad. I mean this thing is disgusting and I wouldn’t dream of trying to mask the nastiness with herb.

I went out to a local head shop in Portland and bought a Pax3... did the burn offs and took a dry hit. Slight hint of something but no taste at all, so that’s what I’m keeping and I’m sending the starry back.

I’ve emailed topgreen and potv but the consensus is it’s fucked.

I guess my concern here is that all of them are this way and people don’t realize it or they have terrible quality control, not sure what’s worse. Anyway I opted to just return it but figured I would caution others before they pack it up with herb and smoke.
Mine had smell for a bit. But didn't last. I think starry hearts higher then displayed,I could be wrong. I will say mine at least has much stronger smell then my flowermates. But not bad enough for me to not use the starry.

Generally start around ~370-375 and temp step to ~405. I can get a few more flavor hits if I start lower.

This vape would benefit tremendously from programming like the DaVinci smart paths, but you can't have it all for $100

I paid a 100. Hard to go wrong.



As far as I can tell the version I got from PIU is identical to the POTV version except for the branding.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

PPN

Volute of Vapor
So... either I got a bad unit or I’m super sensitive to taste.

Bought a Starry POTV, it’s my first ever vape. I did a few burn offs at max temp, and then did a dry pull and it tasted like burnt plastic and ozone.

I then did 20-30 more 10 minute burn off sessions cooling off in between.

It tastes just as bad. I mean this thing is disgusting and I wouldn’t dream of trying to mask the nastiness with herb.

I went out to a local head shop in Portland and bought a Pax3... did the burn offs and took a dry hit. Slight hint of something but no taste at all, so that’s what I’m keeping and I’m sending the starry back.

I’ve emailed topgreen and potv but the consensus is it’s fucked.

I guess my concern here is that all of them are this way and people don’t realize it or they have terrible quality control, not sure what’s worse. Anyway I opted to just return it but figured I would caution others before they pack it up with herb and smoke.
Yes there is some very sensitive guys when it comes to taste/smell. Although, ime, this vape didn't come with a very bad taste but there is a classic initial "new car" taste/smell which disappear quickly. Most of the bad taste might come from the uncured silicon and/or the packaging.

In another hand higher t° of the Starry is pretty high (240C°) and I personnaly never used it at this temp more than 3-4mn, if you done 20-30 max temp burn-offs I'm afraid you overheated something. Keep in mind t° higher than 210°C are not safe for prolonged use (maybe that's the reason a lot of vapes don't offers so high t°).

In my experience a 5mn burn off at 210°-220 is enough if you don't see any fumes and it's classic for a lot of vaporizers (even more famous brands) to need a few session to get ride of this new taste.... or go to a vape which don't use silicon at all... but i'm surprised you didn't got the same experience with the Pax3 (which was pretty similar on this topic.... imo), so, maybe your Starry was trully defective (it might happens!). I enjoy my Pax3 too but I find the Starry to produce bigger clouds used at 390-210, taste is pretty similar but i prefer the concentrâtes attachment which comes with the starry which is pretty effective (especially cause the higher t°). And replacable batteries.... all in all I prefer the Starry but enjoy your Pax3, it's not a bad call!
 

latulipe999

Well-Known Member
@PPN

I often read you about people more sensitive than others to smells.

On the other hand I do not hear you say that maybe if you do not feel these unpleasant odors it would come from the fact that you are totally desensitized or honed. Is this possible ?

( Smokers find all the super tastes of their precious terpenes in their joints or pipes, as pure as they are. At the time I too. Now that I am freed from all these tars, gaz and other microparticles, I can not find any more than a terrible taste of carbon and ash when I risk taking a puff. )

I think for myself that vaporizers that smell so much use materials not recommendable.

I also think that the first-user vaporizer who buy these devices and are disappointed. Are not disappointed only with this vaporizer, but with the vaporization in general.

I therefore find counterproductive and dangerous the promotion of vaporizers of such poor quality.

You can find me extremist, but I would be very sad to learn in the more or less near future that you have caught cancer of silicone/plastic or robot fart, trying to escape cancer from combustion ...

Can we talk about passive degassing of plastics and other low quality silicones ?

From my nose TopGreenTech products are all stinky. xmax, starry, and the worst it is vital.

I deconseil the use of these vaporizer to get high and even less to do herbal medicine.
 
Last edited:

PPN

Volute of Vapor
On the other hand I do not hear you say that maybe if you do not feel these unpleasant odors it would come from the fact that you are totally desensitized or honed. Is this possible ?
I never told that, sorry.

The Vital is a piece of crap and one of the worst vape I tested, I agree!

Although a lot of beginners are not ready to spend a lot of cash for recreationnal use and some of my friends started with the X-Max, liked it and now they continue to vaporize but they bought a better device. If I only recommanded the +200€ vaporizer they gave up before to start. Habitually I recommand butane vaporizers as a first vape but they prefer battery powered (and replacable) vapes.

I agree with all you said about chemicals/unpleasant odor link and prefer to use a not stinky vape... for my taste the Starry only stink (slightly) while new and heating doesn't make it worst but better and the new Fog was not carrying any unpleasant odor at all. At least there is some progress, imo TopGreen isn't one of the worst Chinese manufacturer (my Flowermate experience was worst).
 

MrMonss

Well-Known Member
Odors and sensitivities always have a relative share..
But I do not think that PPN is the most neutral/objective advice on TopGreen products either.
I stopped using my Starry since a combustion inside, and the difficulty of cleaning.
I think it must have been a hair (hopefully) inside de chamber, but now my bowl is dead.
Let's say it's still a good device to know whether or not you can hang with the vape.
And that he is very discreet.
 

Jimmyweaese

Well-Known Member
Mine had smell for a bit. But didn't last. I think starry hearts higher then displayed,I could be wrong. I will say mine at least has much stronger smell then my flowermates. But not bad enough for me to not use the starry.
All I need in a vape is for it to heat appropriately and last.
Programming or apps etc is ridiculous . At least for me. Turn the damn vape on and use is all I want
 

PPN

Volute of Vapor
But I do not think that PPN is the most neutral/objective advice on TopGreen products either.
!!!! Did you read my reviews about all the TopGreen products I tested? They are not fanboy reviews and I posted a lot of negatives things, as well for the positives ones. The X-Max was one of my first portable vape to test and maybe I wasn't experienced enough. I never claimed to be an "expert" but only a vapor fan who enjoy to have a lot of différents vape signature in my arsenal. For me, the Starry does the trick despite the taste is quickly done like in most conduction vaporizers.
I stopped using my Starry since a combustion inside
Did you used it for flowers at max temp? never combusted with mine but , yes, it can give you a near black abv.
and the difficulty of cleaning
Yes, mentionned in my initial review. Not a really hard job although, it's done in a few minutes.
that's what I find damaging
I don't know where you live but I'm living in an especially clean environment which helps me to smell/taste chemicals since out of contexte.... even with my desensitized nose. Thanks for your efforts, but, please, keep this sort of opinion for yourself. I find damaging you broke the "be nice " rule instead to post your opinion on the vaporizer... hi put a tulip in your rifle!
 

MrMonss

Well-Known Member
Hi guys,

!!!! Did you read my reviews about all the TopGreen products I tested? They are not fanboy reviews and I posted a lot of negatives things, as well for the positives ones.

I just wanted to say that it is quite difficult to be really objective/neutral/distanced when the brand offers you its products for free to test them, kind of the eternal conflict of interest..

Did you used it for flowers at max temp? never combusted with mine but , yes, it can give you a near black abv.

Yep, was using it at max temp with flowers.. BUT i was drunk, maybe something came with in my bowl, don't know, but the black parts of the bowl do not leave, even after multiple iso clean and burnout, the taste was horrible at the moment, that's how I realized something was wrong.

More generally I think that plastic Vapes, with batteries, cables, different materials will soon be obsolete.
Much simpler models, completely removable/cleanable, in noble materials are already on the market, the future is theirs (it's just my opinion), like many big consumers I tend to paranoid. I now prefer simple objects, materials such as wood, glass or titanium.
 

StonerSloth

cui bono?
More generally I think that plastic Vapes, with batteries, cables, different materials will soon be obsolete.
Much simpler models, completely removable/cleanable, in noble materials are already on the market, the future is theirs (it's just my opinion), like many big consumers I tend to paranoid. I now prefer simple objects, materials such as wood, glass or titanium.


In all fairness, the Starry has very little 'plastic' in its construction. It does use silicone seals, as many many vapes do - and it is certainly not the best tasting vape out there - but it's not because of 'plastic.' It's probably because of heat tape.


But more interestingly - simple vapes made from 'noble' materials like wood, glass, and titanium, have existed long before electronic vapes. If your theory was true, we would have all settled on glass tubes and light bulbs decades ago and this entire industry would have never developed.
 

latulipe999

Well-Known Member
I don't know where you live but I'm living in an especially clean environment which helps me to smell/taste chemicals since out of contexte.... even with my desensitized nose. Thanks for your efforts, but, please, keep this sort of opinion for yourself. I find damaging you broke the "be nice " rule instead to post your opinion on the vaporizer... hi put a tulip in your rifle!

It seems important to clarify something.

it was not a personal attack, or a desire to break the rules. I just wanted to expose my point of view on this story of people more sensitive than others to certain smells. awkwardly can be

I used the word "desensitized".

I will take the example of the violet : This flower has the particularity of being able to be felt only once. It makes the olfactory receptor sleep and you cant smell the odor again.

We know that somes plastics, silicones or adhesive tape glue can be dangerous and can potentialy do the same kind of "desensitization".
And I do not even talk about the fouling associated with combustion, even passive, or other environmental factors that can also hide tastes and odors.

So,

OK there are people who are more sensitive than others, but there are also lot of "desensitized" people.
 
latulipe999,

His_Highness

In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king
I saw that there was some mention of @PPN and the possibility that his views were influenced. I also saw that there was some understanding words added to soften the "mention".

I completely disagree with the notion that @PPN is or was influenced. I was concerned about what might have been a unfavorable personal experience with a vape so I PM'd @PPN for his view point in case I was out of line. Not only did he not keep it private but he posted his agreement about my experience with the vape in the thread itself and left my name out of it.
 

PPN

Volute of Vapor
Picked this vape up because of the great reviews for the price, I didn't need the vape. Today I retired this vape because of persistent toxic smells and tastes. Tastes of something very dangerous and unhealthy is gassing off. For hell's sake if you taste robot ass like I have for two weeks of owning any vape please just throw it away. Do not sell it to another poor soul just chuck the cheap thing as it is better for everyone this way.

xmax starry you are going into the trash

:rip:
Sorry about your experience, mine is a Spirit which is the rebrand of Vapefiend, maybe they have a better quality control... could you try to tear it to try to locate the source of the bad taste?
Thanks @His_Highness , even if i get most of my reviewed vapes for free I try to not let me influenced and manufacturers understand that. As a probe Topgreen didn't stopped to send me testing/review units even after I stated the Vital was one of the worst vape ever made (and I got issues with their bad V-one wax pen which work but is too high in t° and seems to offgass like a lot of cheap attys). With most manufacturers I agree a bad review is not well accepted at all.

I just added the fact I'm still smoking some tiny joints in my signature cause some peoples was thinking I'm misleading people who think I totally f"ed combustion... To be honnest all the guys I know around me who are vaporizers owners still combust... more or less except the ones who get a medical issue. Reasons are différents for everybody.
 
Last edited:

His_Highness

In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king
Picked this vape up because of the great reviews for the price, I didn't need the vape. Today I retired this vape because of persistent toxic smells and tastes. Tastes of something very dangerous and unhealthy is gassing off. For hell's sake if you taste robot ass like I have for two weeks of owning any vape please just throw it away. Do not sell it to another poor soul just chuck the cheap thing as it is better for everyone this way.

xmax starry you are going into the trash

:rip:

Not denying your experience in the least and if I did experience something like that I'd do the same as you. As @PPN asked maybe you could check for the source of the issue?

I've got three of these and none had any taste or smell issues after the initial burn-off that I give to all my new vapes. I got one early on before they were being sold, another after they were being sold and another when it was re-branded for POTV. I never considered these to be daily drivers (they get dirty quicker than any of my other vapes and I'm lazy) but did use them exclusively for a couple weeks when I first got them.

They are my out and about vape and are still in my rotation. Just about every conduction vape I have with a similar form factor is modded by removing the filter parts and placing a stainless steel screen on top of the oven to make cleaning easier and to enhance draw factors and the Starry is no different. Maybe the reason I didn't experience any taste or smell issues is due to the mod but I don't think so.
 
His_Highness,

stickstones

Vapor concierge
I have been vaping since about 2005 and I have never had a vape taste this foul.

I know when something is bad and not right. The xmax starry is not a good vape and I recommend to everyone using one to stop using it and get rid of it. It is not worth any potential health risk at all especially considering most vapes do not share this odor/taste problem the xmax starry has.

I have yet to see a mass produced Chinese vape that didn't have some units that smelled bad. It's usually not throughout the whole batch. I have no doubt some Starry's smell bad, but I've tested four of them, each from a different batch, and none of them bothered me at all. To suggest all Starry's have a smell problem is inaccurate..most don't.
 
Last edited:

stickstones

Vapor concierge
I disagree that the Starry has problems or should be avoided. It's a mass manufactured vape from China and some of them are going to smell just like all the others...Flowermate, Boundless, Xmax, etc. Pick a vape and you'll find someone in a thread here complaining about smell. Apparently it's your turn. I have access to better industry stats than just reading forums, and there is nothing out of line with the return rate on the Starry, and very few of those returns relate to smell.
 

Jimmyweaese

Well-Known Member
I never told that, sorry.

The Vital is a piece of crap and one of the worst vape I tested, I agree!

Although a lot of beginners are not ready to spend a lot of cash for recreationnal use and some of my friends started with the X-Max, liked it and now they continue to vaporize but they bought a better device. If I only recommanded the +200€ vaporizer they gave up before to start. Habitually I recommand butane vaporizers as a first vape but they prefer battery powered (and replacable) vapes.

I agree with all you said about chemicals/unpleasant odor link and prefer to use a not stinky vape... for my taste the Starry only stink (slightly) while new and heating doesn't make it worst but better and the new Fog was not carrying any unpleasant odor at all. At least there is some progress, imo TopGreen isn't one of the worst Chinese manufacturer (my Flowermate experience was worst).
My flowermates have been like this. One only slight smell,and just a few burn offs and done,,smell gone. Another FM took long time to get rid of smell. But it was stubborn and took long time to burn off. Also I had super customer service with this vape. I had sent my very first FM into them to see if something could be fixed on it. Almost exactly to one yr date,,,that charging pin on bottom loosened up so not able to charge. Anyway it was unfixable. So I bought another FM. V5os. Super happy with how it worked,also the price was super fair. Any way they offered me a used vape. ,a offer I couldn't refuse. Had bad smell like I said ,,took quite awhile before I used it due to smell. But anyway after that it was fine. Another reason for low price was turn sequence was funky. And this vape is,w ass not a fan of cool,cold temps. It doesn't work unless it's in a warm environment. It won't work. But when warm ,it works 100& fine. Being in a cold ass state, in a cold house,the f was not a fan.
But winding down FM customer service sold me basically a 2 for 1 deal on 2 fm's v5os's.
My first FM was my first ever portable vape. And frankly couldn't be happier.
My first ever tabletop vape was the Vapolution 2. And ever since,its been fc for me,and have never been happier.
Vaporizing still blows my mind since 2012.
Sorry way long.

I only speak from my personal, hands on experience. I do not believe in defending vapes or vape companies over the truth of experience. When I take a look at a vape I always will do it from a critical perspective. Honesty is the best policy and that is how I will continue to share.
Yep. I bought a x maxx when on sale. $100 on sale. Dont use as much as fm,, but still am quite happy with it. A nice little vape. For $100. A bargain. I mean for f sake it's more then a fair price.

!!!! Did you read my reviews about all the TopGreen products I tested? They are not fanboy reviews and I posted a lot of negatives things, as well for the positives ones. The X-Max was one of my first portable vape to test and maybe I wasn't experienced enough. I never claimed to be an "expert" but only a vapor fan who enjoy to have a lot of différents vape signature in my arsenal. For me, the Starry does the trick despite the taste is quickly done like in most conduction vaporizers.

Did you used it for flowers at max temp? never combusted with mine but , yes, it can give you a near black abv.

Yes, mentionned in my initial review. Not a really hard job although, it's done in a few minutes.

I don't know where you live but I'm living in an especially clean environment which helps me to smell/taste chemicals since out of contexte.... even with my desensitized nose. Thanks for your efforts, but, please, keep this sort of opinion for yourself. I find damaging you broke the "be nice " rule instead to post your opinion on the vaporizer... hi put a tulip in your rifle!
I have never vaped at the very high temps. I have absolutely no reason to. I'm not even close to want to combust. That's exactly why I vape. No combustion.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Chiron

Well-Known Member
Hi folks,

I gotta say that if I had read all of this thread before ordering my Starry last week, I would not have ordered it and ordered a Vaponic+ instead:) At least it is not the first version, LOL. This morning before I picked it up I was actually considering returning it without opening it. But WTH, I decided to plunge in and try it out. I found an interesting concept on this thread, that burning it off at a max temperature without letting it cool down might be making things worse. So I started slowly, 5 minutes at a time, at 185C for a burn-off and then gradually increased temperature and duration a bit. After a more than a few dry runs at 10 minutes, the obnoxious taste/odour has lessened noticeably so I am cautiously optimistic at this point. After some more runs now, some going up over 200C for a few minutes here and there, I am pretty confident it is working out well. But man, I feel sorry for folks who unpackage and fill 'er up like I might have done. This is my first vape - I have a 2018 VapCap M on the way too, mostly for hash....

The biggest disappointment so far is that the four 18650 cells that I already own do not fit. I have now learned the difference between button-top and flat-top batteries. I briefly considered modifying the metal c0ntact in the battery compartment cap to allow it, but I guess there will now be less chance that my mountain bike light won't be ready to go:).

I've also learned to take vids from resellers with a grain of salt!

Other than the possibility of a health hazard, it looks great and was just what I wanted! :)

Glen
 
Last edited:

Chiron

Well-Known Member
Hi Raf,

Today I did a last burn off for ten minutes with fresh sinus and mouth:) Ran it at different temps up to 215C and I could barely smell the oven if I removed the mouthpiece (and not a horrible odour), so it seems fine at this point.

Cheers!
Glen
 
Top Bottom