It smelled like machinery oil or something. I think it was coming off of the outside of the inner casing, but I'm not sure about that. It was noticeable for a day or so.... or I was too stoned to notice anymore.
I see why people love this thing so much now.
If this bad smell/taste goes away, this thing will be damn near perfect.
Fantastic job, VX!
The bad smell/taste already seems to be dissipating. I'm leaving it on max for awhile. Going to wash my ELB and mouthpiece again, too.
So my initial impressions, this thing is fabulous. My SSV seems like work compared to the Cloud.
With my SSV I would occasionally combust trying to get the absolute most out of my bud. That doesn't seem like it's going to be an issue with the Cloud. The PHS is incredible and not a gimmick, and is the best thing about the Cloud, IMO. With the SSV, you have to learn how to use it, and develop skill with how you hit it. The Cloud is so easy to use. If you can't properly use the Cloud, then you're either brain-dead or one of Stu's friends (
http://tinyurl.com/arxddlb).
With my SSV I was always having to pay attention to how slow or fast, hard or soft I was hitting it, and I was always looking at my whip to make sure I wasn't combusting, which really takes away from the relaxing part of vaping; not to mention all the stirring, stirring, stirring, stirring, stirring. With the Cloud I can turn my brain off and just vape.
And the ABV gets dark, dark brown, evenly all over, without even stirring! Fantastic! I actually don't see why you would ever really need to stir it, unless you don't grind up your herb finely. It seems just taking it out and shaking it would suffice, and has. I'm also not questioning whether or not I got my herb completely vaped or not. Every time I have dumped my ELB it has been dark dark dark brown. Me likey. I'm so glad I don't have to stir anymore. With the SSV I was stirring every hit, and my bud never vaped evenly, consistently, or completely. That's not an issue with the Cloud.
I also love how short and direct the passage is from the chamber to your mouth. Shorter passage way means less time and area for your vapor to lose potency from the goodies attaching their selves to the walls of whatever apparatus you're using to inhale from, in my case the VX glass mouthpiece.
I'm actually pissed I didn't get one sooner. This is what I was originally looking for in a vape - all glass passage (well, except the ELB), versatility, a system that prevented accidental combustion, direct draw, a vaporizer that would evenly vape the bud all over and consistently to a dark, dark brown, and something else that I just now forgot about.
The PHS is the best thing about it though, IMHO.
Looks like my SSV is getting benched.
Okay, I'm too high to write anymore. Each sentence is taking an absurd amount of time to complete.
If this bad taste/smell goes away, then my Cloud will be damn close to perfection.
Only other vaporizer I could see being better then this would be one that worked like a bubble machine. One you could put as little or as much herb as you would like and then it would produce bubbles filled with super thick dense vapor. So you could put like a quarter in there and make an entire room fill up with vapor bubbles. And the bubbles were magical and never popped. Any time you would want a hit, you would just grab a bubble, put it up to your mouth, and inhale. The bubbles also kept the vapor magically fresh no matter how long they floated in the air. And the bubbles would do dances around the room, and bump into each other. Then you could turn off the lights and set up some different colored lasers in your room that were timed to the rhythm of whatever song you were playing. Yeah, that vaporizer would be badass.
Edit: @ Old School
I was in the same boat as you, really wanting a Cloud, but hesitant to pull the trigger because it was a brand new product, company, and they have had some reliability issues with some of their units and their manufacturers, along with their current new trouble/problems.
But these guys are clearly making a vape for the vape connoisseur which, ironically enough, makes it perfect for the average schmo. It seems they actually care about what they do. This gotta be the most versatile vape. You can hold it, put a wand-like mouth piece on it, or a bong, or actually attach it to a completely different vaping tool, upside down, side ways, up right. And the coolest thing is all that is easy to do. There's nothing complex or difficult about it. There is literally no learning curve to this thing.
But if you're anything like me, if you wait, once you eventually do get it, you're going to be pissed you wasted all that time, which, in your head, is going to correlate to you thinking you wasted bud, or at least it does for me. My SSV didn't get my bud nearly this dark brown, and when it did, I really had to work for it, and I was always concerned whether or not I was extracting all the goodness. With the Cloud, I have peace of mind, and that's the best thing about it. That and the PHS.
Main thing is you want a backup vape, which it looks like you have.
Okay, so now I have my main driver (Cloud) and my backup desktop unit (SSV), now I just need a portable one, which I think is going to be the Ascent if it out performs the Solo.
or your first decision. Of course he was using it in the context of when you're taking multiple choice tests, but it applies to everyday life. You gotta look at the bright side of life, though, and at least I got to try a whip vape and see what all the hub-bub was about.
(I'm only referring to myself, BTW)
