Mr. Gweilo 420
Dude
I rarely stir with my Z and Vapefiend have stock I have the Z on top of a Paranormal and it is definitely for home use but I rate it and the GH as different but equally good.
yeah, I bet with the right pack and technique it can do pretty good things.I rarely stir with my Z and Vapefiend have stock I have the Z on top of a Paranormal and it is definitely for home use but I rate it and the GH as different but equally good.
They are definitely different though. I like the GH through water and for the Z I use a 4 inch glass line roasting tube from Alan. I don't like using 510 style vapes though water. Too much fumbling about for me.yeah, I bet with the right pack and technique it can do pretty good things.
I need to get a new mod to properly use my 510 devices, when they're dialled in they can be pretty awesome. Just always have had something go wrong
I bet with the right pack and technique it can do pretty good things.
Hopper Labs has been in the wackiest of states since it was created.both Sublimator and Grasshopper are in wacky states right now
Splinter Z was nowhere near a grasshopper replacement for me.if you don't mind stirring and a certain learning curve while using it, the Splinter Z which I recently bought is growing on me.
I guess, but I'd consider it good or above average crowd funding project - most are really bad. Look at Loto Labs, that's a fair comparison. But yeah, crowd funding is by default kinda wacky, but kinda cool too.Hopper Labs has been in the wackiest of states since it was created.
Splinter Z was nowhere near a grasshopper replacement for me.
Edit: Received an email about a 20$ off Ti code...no word on my warranty request though of course.
I guess, but I'd consider it good or above average crowd funding project - most are really bad.
yeah they have been. They have been playing with millions of dollars.They've been a hugely successful crowd funding project... the funding part, that is.
Today, I see one of the worst developments in the past few years for the 'Labs.
It's the batteries, folks. I fear the jig is up this time.
Originally $7 US each, over the past year they've gone to $12, then $14 recently. (I just saw an 18650, more than double the capacity, for $8).
Yesterday, HL website said batteries, "currently unavailable".
TODAY, site says,
Temporarily Out Of Stock will ship in 2-4 months.
Maybe no batteries available = peeps won't use Hoppers = Hoppers won't fail = NO MORE RMA's ?!?!?!
Genius!
I didn't mind the increase to $12, , maybe not even the $14, though frankly I think they should have gone for the bigger margins elsewhere in their product line.They said they were buying batteries at $5USD a piece, and selling them for $7 was a gesture to the customer. I think they should have always had bigger margins. You need some control over the scale, making more off less would have been better for them.
They always have super slow shipping times from China, batteries have to travel by sea, they probably only ship large qty's at once to save on costs, and they'd owe so many for on-hold orders, like mine which is almost here.
Nice to see you.FYI they are in the process of moving. A new space in Boulder, the building they were in is getting redeveloped so they’re moving to a new spot in Boulder.
Yeah, I wouldn't have minded a simple notification before the price increase, or even before they started moving.. that's interesting. Seems like pretty unfortunate timing to be moving.I didn't mind the increase to $12, , maybe not even the $14, though frankly I think they should have gone for the bigger margins elsewhere in their product line.
This is just looking like they either A. Planned it this way, a bait and switch gambit or, B. Have sold out on the 'righteously priced' batteries thing.
The part that puts this over the top for me is the (un-) availability. This is not a 'slow boat from China' shipping issue. It's obviously a cash-flow issue. Maybe they didn't bring in enough bucks yet on those pie-in-the-sky chargers to pay for a load of batteries...
Despite my recent cynicism I do still wish them eventual success with the product, since I own 5 of them and 4 are currently not working. ahem...
Soo... are they moving to a larger or smaller space?FYI they are in the process of moving. A new space in Boulder, the building they were in is getting redeveloped so they’re moving to a new spot in Boulder.
Unless their tech is totally fundamentally flawed
yeah you might be right.Unfortunately, I have always believed this to be the case. The choice to make this design without wires was the lynch pin. From a manufacturing standpoint, far too complicated with too little room for error.
They've had a lot of time to fix the fundamental problems, none of which they have. (IMO, what's actually different in v5 parts?) They may have improved their failure rate some, but it's still no where near acceptable.
Any day now they can give up this useless fight and start over with the same heater in a minimally larger form factor FTW!
Any day now they can give up this useless fight and start over with the same heater in a minimally larger form factor FTW!
Yesterday, HL website said batteries, "currently unavailable".
TODAY, site says,
Temporarily Out Of Stock will ship in 2-4 months.
And, to be quite honest, they've committed to this project, they're all in. So, I feel like it's all good. I mean, it's not great but for the consumer it is, eventually. That eventually has panned out into a long amount of time, but on the other end of the hopper is a tiny team working around the clock trying to service a ridiculous backlog.
Unfortunately, I have always believed this to be the case. The choice to make this design without wires was the lynch pin. From a manufacturing standpoint, far too complicated with too little room for error.
They've had a lot of time to fix the fundamental problems, none of which they have. (IMO, what's actually different in v5 parts?) They may have improved their failure rate some, but it's still no where near acceptable.
Any day now they can give up this useless fight and start over with the same heater in a minimally larger form factor FTW!
They definitely are. 2015 was early days. I got 3 months out of a Jan ’16 Vapefiend unit, and 3 months from a August '16 arrival. One of the three from that order did work for over 2 years - but it was running hot for its last several months, which made it one heck of a hopper.I don't believe for a second the average hopper is any more reliable today that it was in 2015.
It's all random. There's no consistency. This unit has been warrantied 6 times since 2018 and has never once worked absolutely perfectly for more than a day or so. Back in 2015 I had units that lasted until I sold them. There is no consistency whatsoever with hopper reliability and it doesn't matter what you do or how you treat them. Just go through the recent pages and pages of people STILL having the exact same problems they did when the hopper launched. I've been following HL since the kickstarter in ~2013. I had one of the first non kickstarter hoppers sold and never has there been a time where people weren't consistently complaining that their hoppers are dying over and over and over. If it seems to have died down very recently it's because people like me finally got tired of talking about the hopper and sending it in every other week for fixes. This thread is consistently on the 2nd+ page when I go hunting for it because people are fed up with HL and their shoddy products.They definitely are. 2015 was early days. I got 3 months out of a Jan ’16 Vapefiend unit, and 3 months from a August '16 arrival. One of the three from that order did work for over 2 years - but it was running hot for its last several months, which made it one heck of a hopper.
All units arrived since then have been cooler, but have worked consistently. One from late ’17 and two from early '18.
Totally anecdotal, but each arrival has been noticeably different by the things I listed above.
People having problems most typically have a mixed and matched device. It'll be interesting to see how my RMAs compare when they arrive with some new batteries next week.
Things aren't drastically different, but things were worse in 2015 save for the RMA turnover (which would just break in a shorter time frame, consistently).
Most people are claiming their RMA finally got back.. and then nothing. Maybe they've had no trouble? By late '17 RMAs were lasting weeks most commonly
Yes I popped in and said hello a few days ago too. They told me things are so groovy that they are relocating to under a bridge.FYI they are in the process of moving. A new space in Boulder, the building they were in is getting redeveloped so they’re moving to a new spot in Boulder.
If I'm reading your recent posts correctly, these Hoppers had been sent to HL in late 2017 and are coming back to you now? So, that's about a 14 month tun around. And maybe some batteries in there that are currently out of stock?I never heard back anything from a few emails and RMA messages over Dec/Jan, but I got thrown an email with tracking details for one of my 2 RMA's, and I later discovered an order is marked as shipped with the same tracking. I guess I might get both RMAs back with some batteries, not sure.
Well something is on board for delivery today. At least one RMA and I guess an order, it's been just shy of 13 months for the RMA turn around.If I'm reading your recent posts correctly, these Hoppers had been sent to HL in late 2017 and are coming back to you now? So, that's about a 14 month tun around. And maybe some batteries in there that are currently out of stock?
At least we have a gauge for the RMA timing. And I may be waiting til fall '19 and beyond! My original "time capsule" analogy continues to apply.