Yeah I've been following this since 2015 with keen interest. Back then I was wanting to design an induction based vaporiser, but didn't really know what I was doing. I had just started to quit smoking and the Arizer EQ was my daily driver. I was impressed by that thing, and similar to Matt, Trevor and Conrad, could see it's flaws and wanted something without any issue that was tailored more to my usage which is basically 100% heavy combustion bong replacement. I knew of the Sublimator back then but it was so expensive I could never justify it. Some Aussie guys in WA who make the OZenail were prototyping some similar gear, but I was stuck down here in Tassie fighting tobacco addiction by myself. I kept studying and toking and sketching and trying to figure something out, it's so hard down here to this day to do anything in this industry especially solo, and innovation is a random thing from the ethos. I knew of the GH from when it was being crowd funded but the general consensus was that everything they said it would do was straight up bullshit and impossible (not far from the truth as it turns out, but also ZenPen weren't lying either, the concept really delivered). After a long time, people actually started to receive Grasshoppers (rare to get anything out of Indiegogo!) The Vaporizer Wizard got one and made a video proving that the concept was for real and the naysayers were just pessimistic (but righteously).
I considered all the concepts I had seen or come up with and the difficulty of trying to squeeze basically a stove top into a small vape. And I watched that video of a production hopper, and just realised that the Grasshopper had completely outdone itself and shamed my ideas. It hit the nail on the head, the size and functionality will never be repeated until someone with real money and magic shares this interest and the marketeering is less risky and more assured of return of investment. Once the banks are on board I guess.
HL have been more transparent than any other company I've ever dealt with. I've never really felt left in the dark and they have disclosed perhaps more than I would to simple customers from my experiences with product design and production - but being crowd funded is definitely different to the norm. All the info and the chronology are consistent with unfortunate awesomeness. Great things simply take time.
This fire caused the first 'HL goss' to reach me via SMS (my friend was probably in your same RMA batch). It was a shaky aftermath since the notice, and I wasn't sure what to think.
Trevor's quick run down here put it in perspective, initially it really seemed worse, like that could be it for the hopper, but these people have obtained an amazing idea. They deserve their monopoly and should be proud of what they have achieved so far. I've never got the sense of accomplishment from anyone badmouthing them - lots of great insight and not to badmouth anyone, but it is incredible that HL still exists and the only reason is because they are like us. Enthusiasts who just don't know where to stop. And they just shouldn't stop. Their passion is awesome and inspiring. What they have created is so cool.
This is a product, this is a throwaway tech item that has been designed with that in mind with an attempt to mitigate that reality, this is a product that has improved my health, my lifestyle, and actually my overall happiness due to its simple delivery of sacred medicine. I think it's a huge deal and I'm getting a little tired of being the odd one out. We all just want the hiccups to stop, hopefully in 2020 HL can catch a break. The hopper was practically ahead of its time, but if I'm sure of one thing, it's that slowly time is catching up, and as it does, the benefit of a device like this becomes more and more relevant.
Being on the forefront of HL processes can be frustrating as it's still early adoption (it's not early adoption when an iteration is consistently produced and it sounds like V6 was due out next month, things were and are still developing - this is how they set up shop and how they are situated in the hardware industry). They've had many known faults being shipped, it goes like this - you need to make sales to get funds, you need to have funds to fix repetitive issues, and you need a damn lot of sales and funds and time to fix the Grasshopper as it was released initially. They've been addressing things one at a time to some extent, it's all that was possible, and so only more recently have they been selling something that isn't knowingly going to break in an ordinary service period. Owning a long lasting hopper is end game, and is worth the wait.
I've only had one toke out of many thousand from the hopper I didn't enjoy - moldy buds! Gross! (Not my stash, new city, neighbours got it from some seedy Bikie).
Those other times are plentiful and beyond brilliant though. If I take enough days off and put some A grade in it can pretty much bring me to tears it's so good. Business as usual isn't bad either, I just don't find myself crying unless it stops working - but last time I faced that was Nov 2017 and 2 years without a problem is all I wanted from the GH over the Mighty. How lame is it that the Crafty+ doesn't even have user swappable batteries. People get annoyed at their hoppers failing and not meeting their outlandish expectations. I get annoyed at shit like the MV1, 15 second timer, 60USD custom batteries which take a day to charge, and an App removed from the appstore due to petty violations. Not to mention the dyed siloxane.
At least you'll be next in line for a properly powerful ultra portable
@eideal852
No one else is making that happen, that's the worst aspect of this saga IMO. The innovations is done, it doesn't require much thinking to build on that. But let's talk about cells without consideration of power and wind metal around a rod. Let's watch every product release completely neglect insulation and the dynamic at hand.
If I was limited to that level of development I would still be smoking without any doubt (or perhaps have some custom solutions). I need power and I need it immediately and that's exactly what I have every evening and day off. As soon as everyone has that, there is nothing left to do but enjoy strains and get red eyed.
