Odin 2 by Topbond

Some of you might recall that I was a beta tester for the original Odin and that I liked and recommended it. Apparently Topbond appreciated my feedback and so @Mike-Topbond contacted me recently and asked me to evaluate the Odin 2. I agreed, and here it is:

The most obvious differences at first glance are the longer tapered glass mouthpiece and the touch screen controls. Not quite as obvious is the elimination of plastic so the outer case is now all metal. Not obvious at all from that portrait is the smaller size. The Odin 2 is 85x50x20 mm (3.35x2.0x.8 in) and 167 g (5.9 oz) compared to the original at 89x57x25 mm (3.5x2.25x1 in) and 153 g (5.4 oz). I assume the added weight comes from the metal body. The Odin 2 has a 3200 mAh internal LG Li-ion battery compared to the Odin's 2500 mAh.

Another difference is that the Odin 2 uses a stainless steel oven compared to the ceramic used in the Odin.


Like the original, the mouthpiece screws onto the oven. To load, remove the MP and dump in your herb. It's a large chamber, holding ~.2 g when completely filled with medium grind and lightly tamped. I haven't yet experimented with a full chamber or a tightly packed load. For my testing so far, I've used my normal .07 g load, untamped.

My first draw on a new device is always cold and empty. With the Odin 2, this produced a faint unoffensive "new" taste that vanished immediately after the first load. Heating it to its max 220°C (428°F) unloaded didn't reveal any trace of offgassing when examined under a strong light, and did not affect the taste.

The range for the Odin 2 is 80°C-220°C (176°F-428°F), which is 10°C (18°F) lower at maximum than the original Odin (230°C or 446°F). Heatup is not bad at ~32 seconds to reach my preferred starting temperature of 160°C (320°F), and ~70 seconds to reach 220°C. The Odin 2 claims to be a convection vapourizer, so I checked this by heating a load at 220°C and watching with a strong light for the first wisp of vapour. This occurred 53 seconds after reaching temperature, which I consider more than long enough to call this a convection device.

Like the original, operation is pretty simple. Three taps on the touch screen turns it on, and you set the temperature using the + and - buttons. Pressing both + and - simultaneously flips from C to F.

I do have issues with this change. First, it is too easy to accidentally alter the temperature when using it. Second, it makes it difficult to use in the dark. You can't see the touch pad and have to feel for the bottom of it. Once on, it's pretty bright, so it's not exactly a stealth device in the dark.

There are two optional accessories for the Odin 2: a concentrate insert (which I don't have) and a water tool adapter, which I used for some of my tests with the Orbiter.


You can use the adapter with either 14 mm or 18 mm water tools. In order to evaluate vapour production, I like to use the Orbiter because it means I can see the vapour, and the restrictions in the system mean that I am getting a consistent draw. (The Odin 2 draw isn't completely unrestricted but it is pretty free flowing.) I did 30 second draws starting at 160°C and stepping up by 10°C until I reached 220°C.

At 160°C and 170°C I got good flavour. At about 15 seconds I could see thin but visible vapour. Every 10°C after that, the vapour got thicker and became visible sooner. At 220°C thick visible vapour starts almost immediately. The vapour production I saw compares quite well with vapour from other devices when using the same temperature.

As with all devices I've seen from Topbond, the build quality is quite good and the Odin 2 fits nicely in my hand. It does start to warm up if it's been on for a few minutes at high temperatures. but it never got uncomfortable to hold. After 5 minutes, the Odin 2 turns itself off to avoid overheating or wasting battery life.

In terms of performance, I like the Odin 2 just as I liked the Odin. Despite their outward similarities in appearance, the real difference is the switch to convection. The only negative aspect for me is the touch screen, which can be a nuisance until you learn not to touch it while in use.

Topband informs me that it will be available through Vaposhop within a month for $119 $129 US.* For that money, you get a convection device that produces well and gives much better flavour than a conduction vapourizer. It's worthy of your consideration.

* Edit: I gave the wrong price originally. Sorry about that.

How would you describe the flavor and heat intensity of the vapor without the use of The Orbiter?

TIA!

I've conducted my first test session and I'll get to the results, but first I must clarify something. Normally when testing a vapourizer I reserve my opinion until I've used it for a while. In this case, I'm making an exception, because I think a lot more experience with this device won't change my opinion much. So here you go.

If you draw gently, the Odin 2 is a really good convection vapourizer—but it has a major flaw: the touch screen. It's just too easy to touch the screen accidentally, and it can be confusing trying to figure out what happened. The most obvious and common problem is accidentally changing the temperature, but if you rub it the wrong way, you can easily flip it from C to F without noticing. At least, I can. In my opinion, it is still worth living with the touch screen in order to get a terrific convection device, but I can see many people getting frustrated with it.

Now a word about draw restriction. I consider the draw on the Odin 2 when empty to be slightly restricted, i.e. noticeable but not offensive. When you pull hard, you can still get a good flow going. I'm bringing this up because in my first session, I varied my draw to see if a pattern emerged, and indeed one did: the Odin 2 responds really well to a steady, gentle draw. The vapour is smooth and keeps its flavour quite well. If you pull hard, you get a slight increase in vapour density at the expense of harshness and flavour loss.

The length of the glass mouthpiece might lead you to conclude that the vapour stream will be hot, and if you pull hard, this is true. If you pull gently, however, the flow becomes remarkably smooth and much easier on the throat. My notes for hit 15, the final hit of the test, were:


220 is the temperature in °C, 4 is the vapour thickness on a scale of 1-4, 2 is the flavour on a scale of 1-5, and 20s is the draw length. This load was already done but I went for the high temperature hit to verify the pattern I saw in the previous 14 hits. Slow gentle draws were consistently smooth and cool no matter what the temperature setting. I was able to draw on what was already ABV for 20 seconds at 220°C without choking from harshness or gagging from taste.

The test consisted of 4 draws at 160°C, followed by two draws at every 10°C up to 210°C, and one final hit at 220°C. The first of the two draws was gentle, the second one was hard. Vapour production at each step was just what I would expect for the temperature, based on my experience with other temperature-controlled vapourizers. Even with a hard pull, I did not cough until I reached 180°C. Most draws were 15 seconds but for some of the smooth gentle hits I went longer, since I did not feel the sensation at the back of my throat that tells me to stop.

I checked the load every 2-3 hits throughout the test, and it baked perfectly evenly. At the end, it was an even dark brown, but to my surprise still didn't taste that bad. I should mention here that I happen to like exploring the flavour well past the point where many people would stop. I know that some of my friends would not have gone past 190°C based on the taste, but this is a subjective thing.

The battery started out fully charged (five bars) and was down to three bars after hit 15. I haven't done testing to evaluate the battery life, and this sort of test (15 hits over a short period) is probably not typical of how most people would use the Odin 2. Battery indicator displays are also notoriously inaccurate for Li-ion systems, so it's possible that the last three bars could mean another session and a half like this one, but they could also disappear in three or four more hits. I doubt the latter, but I've seen battery indicators that were that flaky in the past.

Other thoughts: the Odin 2 gets warm at the high end of its temperature range, but not hot or uncomfortable to touch. The mouthpiece screen needs to be brushed clear after use. It didn't clog or obstruct the draw, however, and it's obvious that you need to clean it when you remove it to dump the ABV. The oven chamber remained quite clean, but I've only put 3-4 loads through it so I can't say how long it will be before cleaning is necessary. It looks like swabbing with a Q-tip dipped in ISO is all that will be required.

The bottom line here is that this device performs really well as a temperature-controlled convection vapourizer, so well that I would still use it despite the touch screen issue. I've passed my opinion on to Topbond and @Mike-Topbond tells me that they will look into it. They have always corrected issues that I've drawn to their attention in the past, so I am hoping they will fix this problem before long. It's the only thing preventing the Odin 2 from being a top-notch vapourizer at a budget price.

@pakalolo, thanks for the thorough review, funny the other day I was on @Mike-Topbond website to see if any new devices were out, its been a while.I bought the first Odin when it hit the scene and loved it, still use it, surprisingly the battery holds well. Interesting about the touch screen, I can see how that can be a nuisance, and would also prefer a more tactile buttons temp. control over the touchscreen, the profile looks a bit slimmer than the Odin 1. these boxy units do hold a good amount of herb, and I am curious about the differences with the SS oven from the Ceramic.

Hey Guys,

I've gotten the chance to test the Odin 2 a few times, Mike sent one my way to try. Real nice guy and really seems like he wants to put out a great product and continuously improve.

I was told it was convection with the heater under the chamber, but when I load a bowl and heat it up, I see vapor production without drawing. It isn't a lot but it is there. Could be some radiative heat flowing upwards through the chamber producing vapor, or the heater is heating the chamber by being so close producing some vapor. Either way it is just something I noticed.

This is my first time using an Odin and I was actually pretty surprised. The vapor production was solid, even on the lower temps. It managed to hold flavor a decent way through the bowl, but not as long as some of my other more flavorful vapes. The taste never really got bad, it just got an ABV flavor that held through the remainder of the bowl. ABV is perfect every time, not a spec out of place. On the higher temps, this thing can milk a bubbler surprisingly well.

One drawback is the draw is very restricted. Mike says this is needed for the convection vape to work optimally. I gave a few thoughts about it so we will see where he goes with it.

I really like the mouthpiece and how simple the thing is to load. It is also quite small.

I find it funny Pak was mentioning the buttons and how he was pressing them by accident. When I first read this thread in early August I laughed to myself at the problem. Well, after using it myself I notice myself doing the same. You're not alone, Pak...multiple times I've found myself at like 280F.

Overall, I think this would be a great budget friendly vape. I need to do more testing, but there aren't many drawbacks to this vape other than the draw restriction and flavor dying a tad earlier than I am used to. The herb chamber is fairly large, which can be good or bad depending on the user.

Will report more later!

AJS said:

Hey Guys,

I've gotten the chance to test the Odin 2 a few times, Mike sent one my way to try. Real nice guy and really seems like he wants to put out a great product and continuously improve.

I was told it was convection with the heater under the chamber, but when I load a bowl and heat it up, I see vapor production without drawing. It isn't a lot but it is there. Could be some radiative heat flowing upwards through the chamber producing vapor, or the heater is heating the chamber by being so close producing some vapor. Either way it is just something I noticed.

This is my first time using an Odin and I was actually pretty surprised. The vapor production was solid, even on the lower temps. It managed to hold flavor a decent way through the bowl, but not as long as some of my other more flavorful vapes. The taste never really got bad, it just got an ABV flavor that held through the remainder of the bowl. ABV is perfect every time, not a spec out of place. On the higher temps, this thing can milk a bubbler surprisingly well.

One drawback is the draw is very restricted. Mike says this is needed for the convection vape to work optimally. I gave a few thoughts about it so we will see where he goes with it.

I really like the mouthpiece and how simple the thing is to load. It is also quite small.

I find it funny Pak was mentioning the buttons and how he was pressing them by accident. When I first read this thread in early August I laughed to myself at the problem. Well, after using it myself I notice myself doing the same. You're not alone, Pak...multiple times I've found myself at like 280F.

Overall, I think this would be a great budget friendly vape. I need to do more testing, but there aren't many drawbacks to this vape other than the draw restriction and flavor dying a tad earlier than I am used to. The herb chamber is fairly large, which can be good or bad depending on the user.

Will report more later!

Click to expand...

How long is it before you start to see vapour without drawing? My test with a new device is to load it and heat it while watching for vapour with a strong light. As I reported, in my original test it took 53 seconds before I saw vapour escape. This is so much at odds with your report that I repeated the test a few times. It turns out that depending on strain and whether the Odin has been heated up recently, this time can be a lot shorter, as little as 21 seconds after starting to heat up. I'd still classify this as primarily a convection design. The flavour and ABV have the characteristics I expect from convection.

Your observations on restriction probably reflect how our styles differ. I didn't find the restriction to be excessive at all, but I've used the MFLB for years. If you're coming from the wide open draw of the RBT devices, then I can see why you might call it "very restricted", but say it with me: you're pulling too hard. In my opinion, a large number of user complaints arise from pulling too hard, no matter which vapourizer is being used. The Odin responds really well to a slow gentle draw. Fighting the restriction can only lessen the experience.

pakalolo said:

How long is it before you start to see vapour without drawing?

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I believe I loaded the chamber then started preheating, and by the time it reached temp I saw vapor. I will need to double check this though.

pakalolo said:

If you're coming from the wide open draw of the RBT devices, then I can see why you might call it "very restricted"

Click to expand...

My unit feels more restrictive than an Arizer Air, VapMan, VapCap, and I consider all those pretty low airflow.

pakalolo said:

Fighting the restriction can only lessen the experience.

Click to expand...

Ha, this was basically my go to instructions for the Arizer Air. It's hard not to with water, but dry I manage to hold a pretty slow rate.

I really do enjoy the vape overall! Easy to use and good vapor production.

Hey all,

For anyone interested, I got a video out of the Odin 2:


Thanks!

AJS said:

Hey all,

For anyone interested, I got a video out of the Odin 2:

Thanks!

Click to expand...

Nice, thanks for the video. This is consistent with my experience, particularly with the ABV.

Since you reported seeing vapour escaping without drawing, I've been keeping a close eye on what happens when I just let it sit while heating. So far, I've yet to see any vapour escape. Another beta tester repeated my test of setting the Odin to max temp and watching for vapour, and his results exceeded mine: it timed out at 5 minutes without ever having visible vapour produced. I'm wondering why the discrepancy.

pakalolo said:

Nice, thanks for the video. This is consistent with my experience, particularly with the ABV.

Since you reported seeing vapour escaping without drawing, I've been keeping a close eye on what happens when I just let it sit while heating. So far, I've yet to see any vapour escape. Another beta tester repeated my test of setting the Odin to max temp and watching for vapour, and his results exceeded mine: it timed out at 5 minutes without ever having visible vapour produced. I'm wondering why the discrepancy.

Click to expand...

I wonder if my fine grind had particles fall through the bottom "screen" and land on the heater and produced vapor.

I will test again asap.

@AJS considering you ripped the O2 with water tool, curious how the mouthpiece handles dry around 185-190c./365-74f.
I know the first Odin's Mouth Piece got hot fairly quick, I have subsequently used it solely with a WPA considering the MP made it too uncomfortable to vape it dry after a session.
I am on the fence on that non tactile interface. Still Mike seemed to have stepped it up here with this unit.
Nice vid BTW, thanks

Helios said:

@AJS considering you ripped the O2 with water tool, curious how the mouthpiece handles around 185-190c./365-74f.
I know the first Odin's Mouth Piece got hot fairly quick, I have subsequently used it solely with a WPA considering the hot MP made it too uncomfortable to vape it dry.
I am on the fence on that non tactile interface. Still Mike seemed to have stepped it up here with this unit.
Nice vid BTW, thanks

Click to expand...

I will have to do another dry sesh to give you an accurate answer, but without paying attention to that specific detail, it was never bothersome enough to be noticed by me.

I'll pay closer attention next sesh when I'm able.

Thanks for the compliment on the vid, you're welcome

Helios said:

@AJS considering you ripped the O2 with water tool, curious how the mouthpiece handles dry around 185-190c./365-74f.
I know the first Odin's Mouth Piece got hot fairly quick, I have subsequently used it solely with a WPA considering the MP made it too uncomfortable to vape it dry after a session.
I am on the fence on that non tactile interface. Still Mike seemed to have stepped it up here with this unit.
Nice vid BTW, thanks

Click to expand...

At the top, the mouthpiece barely gets warm. At the bottom, the metal base gets hot enough that you don't want to keep your finger on it. This is after a 5 minute (timed out) session at 220°C. The unit itself gets fairly warm but not uncomfortable to hold.

@AJS: I have solved the mystery! Your theory is correct. My faith that the Odin 2 is a convection device is unshaken.

I tried loading the chamber with MFLB-style fine grind. Sure enough, I saw vapour before the Odin 2 hit 190°C. I then dumped the load and examined for any sign of vapourization. It was as green as when I loaded it. So the vapour must have come from the fine particles that fell through onto the heater. My first post photo of the chamber shows that the eight holes at the bottom are large enough to let that happen. I use a medium grind (actually finger crumble) in the Odin 2, and that's almost certainly why I never saw this before.

My fine grind load wasn't just to test the vapour theory. Your comments in the video about the even ABV got me wondering. I don't stir the Odin 2, so I thought that maybe a finer grind might turn up hot spots in the airflow—but it didn't. After 5 minutes at 220°C and I think 11 hits or maybe 12 or 10 who knows it was strong stuff the ABV from the Odin 2 was, as always, perfectly even.

pakalolo said:

@AJS: I have solved the mystery! Your theory is correct. My faith that the Odin 2 is a convection device is unshaken.

I tried loading the chamber with MFLB-style fine grind. Sure enough, I saw vapour before the Odin 2 hit 190°C. I then dumped the load and examined for any sign of vapourization. It was as green as when I loaded it. So the vapour must have come from the fine particles that fell through onto the heater. My first post photo of the chamber shows that the eight holes at the bottom are large enough to let that happen. I use a medium grind (actually finger crumble) in the Odin 2, and that's almost certainly why I never saw this before.

My fine grind load wasn't just to test the vapour theory. Your comments in the video about the even ABV got me wondering. I don't stir the Odin 2, so I thought that maybe a finer grind might turn up hot spots in the airflow—but it didn't. After 5 minutes at 220°C and I think 11 hits or maybe 12 or 10 who knows it was strong stuff the ABV from the Odin 2 was, as always, perfectly even.

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Woo! I will confirm as soon as I'm able (but I trust ya!). I will perform my test with chunky herb and look for any signs of vaporization. If none, I will be delighted to say its most certainly full convection. (This may affect flavor too...if I had herb falling through on the heater I'm able to assume flavor would die faster.)

With this recent development, it is impressive how quickly this vape produces vapor after drawing, nearly instantaneous like a conduction vape. My Grasshopper takes multiple seconds for vapor to start as well as my other convection vapes. Odin 2 is nearly as soon as you start drawing, for a convection vape I find this impressive.

And yes, a fine grind has always yielded great results with the Odin 2 in terms of even abv...it's difficult to make it perform poorly in my experience.

Woot! Good to see the discussion on the Odin 2. Thanks for your efforts on the device testing. @AJS @pakalolo Look forward to your discussion here as well. @IAmKrazy2 @Stu @ohmygodimsohigh .

Odin 2:

Features:
Full Metal material without plastic part
Long Glass mouthpiece for the cool vapor
Touch Screen to adjust the full range temperatures
3200mAh Samsung battery for long session time
Full Convection heating system for pure taste
Big Stainless steel chamber for loading more material
Isolated air path for the best vapor
Huge clouds and low draw resistance.
Charging time: 2--3hous
Heat up time: 20 s
Sessions: Up to 15 Sessions

Advanced Engineering; as a convection vape the heating element is below the herb chamber. This results in the herb having no direct contact with the heating element. Most vaporizers place the temperature sensor right next to the heating element. In the odin 2, the temperature sensor reads the temperature of the air, rather than the heating element, leading to more accurate readings.

Here is the Odin 2 internal structure :isolated air path

Please feel free to DM me with inquires or issues.

Thanks for the diagram, @Mike-Topbond. Could you elaborate on the airflow path? Does air spiral up around the sides?

I just tried using unground buds, and I'm happy to report that I got great results. After a 5 minute session consisting of 5 30 seconds hits at 190°C through my Orbiter, the buds (2x.04 g) were a nicely even medium brown. When crumbled, they were evenly brown throughout.

One more question, @Mike-Topbond: when will the Odin 2 be available?

pakalolo said:

One more question, @Mike-Topbond: when will the Odin 2 be available?

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while I have been leaning off battery powered units, there is a soft spot for the Odin2, bring it Mike!

I've been testing this unit for a while as well and it has a lot going for it. I'm not a fan of the touch buttons as has been mentioned already, but the unit performs quite well overall.

I ran some temp tests to determine if this vape is actually using convection during the draw and can confirm that there is indeed convection occurring during use. Here's a temp chart for anyone interested:

pakalolo said:

Could you elaborate on the airflow path? Does air spiral up around the sides?

Click to expand...

Yes, the air spiral up around the sides, here is the diagram:


We are speaking to some distributors for the Odin 2. I will keep you guys updated .

Hello FC

I am happy to be testing this one here too. It actually is at the house right now waiting for me, just happened to come on a day i will be in the office for about 14hrs. I should still have an hour or two to play with it later tonight before i hit the hay, and a lot of time to play and experiment with it this weekend.

Looking forward to providing everyone with some inital feedback after i give it a few runs.

Cheers ya'll.

@IAmKrazy2

Excited to hear your thoughts man.

how can the sensors measure the temp when you are not inhaling like example when is heating up to the set temp , how that temp that is set and research by the temp is measure to say that is ready if the airflow is not going that moment ?

Very exciting. I got a Odin 2 and Novae 2. I am charging them both up fully now prior to use. Not a lot of time to test tonight but i am sure ill run a ton of bowls through both this weekend. More to come.

an odin 1 hack -= load it and drop the dynavap (og glass version) right down in there without the heating cap on it. I got the idea by how the WPA fits for the Fury 2 ETC...

if odin 2 in same bowl size it could work in there... my Odin one died on me
not happy with that @ all especially after finding how my vapcap https://www.puffitup.com/VapCap-Original-DynaVap-p/dyna.vapcap-orig.htm fits perfectly with no tweaks needed.

looks like glass vapcap version may not be available anymore and I do not know iof another one of their vapes could fit on not... worth a try