Discontinued The Grasshopper

I had a bowl with my Hopper this morning before heading out for work. I had it set on 3.5 for the first two draws which were delicious. I checked the bud after that, the top section was still green and moist. Next two draws were on 4. Clouds galore and flavor. But it wasn't overly hot and didn't make me cough but the clouds were just so dense it kind of started to fog up my room. Opened it up again to check, slightly brown on top, but it was also still moist. So two more hits on 4.5 and same result. Thick delicious clouds, my head was starting to feel fuzzy at this point. Checked the cap a final time, and I decided that it was brown enough. After emptying it, I think I could have gotten one more hit from it if I had wanted to.

The device wasn't hot at all. My draw was like this.

• Click wait for blue.
• Inhale for about 6 seconds or until I could feel the vapor getting much warmer.
• Click the button off.
• Inhale for about another 10ish seconds or until the vapor gets cold again.
• Exhale HUGE clouds full of flavor and punch to the face.

So 6 (possibly 7) amazing flavorful hits, nowhere near combusting, warm and milky thick clouds (in air and water), and the unit wasn't overly hot at any point during my session.

I get almost identical results from my Dynavaps when I hit them just right, but the hopper is faster and I think does more cooling than a dynavap does, so you can take bigger hits.

That's my analysis for now. I will keep pressure testing this unit throughout the 420 weekend to see if it starts to falter anywhere. So far, I'm on the moon.

361 days in RMA Purgatory and counting.

I wonder if the following applies to companies like Hopper

Lemon laws are American state laws that provide a remedy for purchasers of cars and other consumer goods in order to compensate for products that repeatedly fail to meet standards of quality and performance

Well just had a nice long conversation with someone claiming to be the boss at Hopper Labs . In case anyone hasn't figured this out, we don't mean crap to these people. My hopper has been there for almost a year. I showed my 3 other dead hoppers and batteries and they kindly offered to sell me more useless stuff . But I filed complaints with the CO AG and they actually want to help me. Wow .

Oh and they blocked me on Instagram because I was asking serious questions .And this was a private conversation not public .

Oh and one more thing, the person that blocked me claimed to be the new boss, stellar customer service!!

I think if you constantly bad mouth the hopper here the RMA time increases. Mine has worked like a pro for almost 5 months. Crafty, Sticky Brick, and VapCap all sit in the drawer. Hopper is Dope Gun.

Macicman said:

I think if you constantly bad mouth the hopper here the RMA time increases. Mine has worked like a pro for almost 5 months. Crafty, Sticky Brick, and VapCap all sit in the drawer. Hopper is Dope Gun.

Click to expand...

You know what, I believe you're right. Because that's just about how childish they are.

Macicman said:

I think if you constantly bad mouth the hopper here the RMA time increases.

Click to expand...

Interesting. And how do you think they link (fake) user names to their customers?

If they really are expending hundreds of man hours per month haunting various Forums and cross referencing them to units in RMA rather than using that effort/resource to chip away at the pile of dead and dying Hoppers belonging to someone else things are dark indeed.

Everyone gets opinions, I don't share this one. I suspect more traditional explanations like overwhelming return rate or inability (incompetence?) to deal with it. Not revenge.

OF

OF said:

Interesting. And how do you think they link (fake) user names to their customers?

If they really are expending hundreds of man hours per month haunting various Forums and cross referencing them to units in RMA rather than using that effort/resource to chip away at the pile of dead and dying Hoppers belonging to someone else things are dark indeed.

Everyone gets opinions, I don't share this one. I suspect more traditional explanations like overwhelming return rate or inability (incompetence?) to deal with it. Not revenge.

OF

Click to expand...

Agreed. Only in certain circumstances might they determine someone’s Username herein and associate it with their Hopper account or inquiry to HL. While they are hardly if ever post herein I doubt they read or lurk here however their backlog and lack of good customer service and marketing skills are still evident. I do think things are looking up if ever so slightly for them, however it’s taking a long time and many have lost patience.

SO I had been trying to order batteries with the 420 promo code for a couple of days and the whole PayPal transaction wouldn’t complete. I tried a few different ways, through my HL account and as a guest, on my personal computer and phone to no avail. Coincidentally I changed my email address (and PW) on my HL account prior to all order attempts, which I think is the issue. I emailed HL on Monday about the issue thinking there might’ve been an issue with their PayPal service and wondered how long it would be for a response. They replied yesterday, less than 24 hours (wow!) and stated there were no reports of PayPal issues - that’s good news. They initiated the order on their side and it finally hit my PayPal account where I completed the transaction. Strange! Be wary if you’ve changed the email address on your HL account recently as I think this could be problematic somehow with their web service.

So for orders and incoming revenue they’ll reply to inquiries quickly; for RMAs and such not so quickly as has been my experience with my RMA. Par for the course.

I was reluctant to buy more batteries but mine are getting long in tooth. Maybe it’ll be a miracle I get them and my RMA’d unit back the same time but I won’t hold my breath for that to happen.

Happy Humpday to all.

Small update. I've been running my new hopper hard since Monday when I got it. I think I've put some 20 bowls through it. I've been checking the battery in between sessions.

Heat Level: 3
Hits: ~10
Flavor: Amazing
Clouds: Huge
Effectiveness: [7]
Battery Drain: 15%

Heat Level 4:
Hits: ~8
Flavor: Amazing
Clouds: Huge
Effectiveness: [7]
Battery Drain: 17%

Heat Level 5:
Hits: ~5
Flavor: Good
Clouds: Epic room filling
Effectiveness: [8.5]
Battery Drain: 20%

So on high settings, I can get 5 bowls before charging. And honestly, I don't think I would get through 5 bowls in a single sitting unless I just wanted to get myself sick. So I think the battery life is more than enough to only need to be charged once a day.

In addition to this, there have been absolutely NO close calls with combustion. Even when it was the 'last hit' I could still run it through 5 and hit it without fear. The AVB comes out dark brown, but that's it.

There have been no heat issues, it loses heat very fast on the body and the back end doesn't really get, not at all like my previous units.

I will also say, and not trying to shill or anything, but the device feels completely different. It is like using a completely different vape from the previous Hoppers I have owned. I don't know if they are exaggerating on how much better the new hardware is.

mario said:

Small update. I've been running my new hopper hard since Monday when I got it. I think I've put some 20 bowls through it. I've been checking the battery in between sessions.

Heat Level: 3
Hits: ~10
Flavor: Amazing
Clouds: Huge
Effectiveness: [7]
Battery Drain: 15%

Heat Level 4:
Hits: ~8
Flavor: Amazing
Clouds: Huge
Effectiveness: [7]
Battery Drain: 17%

Heat Level 5:
Hits: ~5
Flavor: Good
Clouds: Epic room filling
Effectiveness: [8.5]
Battery Drain: 20%

So on high settings, I can get 5 bowls before charging. And honestly, I don't think I would get through 5 bowls in a single sitting unless I just wanted to get myself sick. So I think the battery life is more than enough to only need to be charged once a day.

In addition to this, there have been absolutely NO close calls with combustion. Even when it was the 'last hit' I could still run it through 5 and hit it without fear. The AVB comes out dark brown, but that's it.

There have been no heat issues, it loses heat very fast on the body and the back end doesn't really get, not at all like my previous units.

I will also say, and not trying to shill or anything, but the device feels completely different. It is like using a completely different vape from the previous Hoppers I have owned. I don't know if they are exaggerating on how much better the new hardware is.

Click to expand...

Great news and thanks for sharing. Are you using the native frontend or PFE, or through water or filtration? Any silicone tip involved?

Over the years I’ve hemmed & hawed whether to buy an additional unit, even recently to augment my Ti currently in RMA and to gently pacify VAS especially with lots of sales right now. But I’m reluctant to give HL more money except for batteries so I’ll stand pat.

That said I’m still not enjoying my loaner pre-order Ti as much as I used to. Perhaps the upgrades and new devices work better (great) but my investment and patience is minimal at this point. However I am happy for those with great recent experiences with their Hoppers. Truly unique when it works well.

I have been using it with the native front end with the silicone tip on it. I didn't want to dive in and buy a PFE if I wasn't sure if the unit was going to be solid. I told myself if it lasts a month without any trouble then I'll start thinking about accessories.

As it stands though, this thing is amazing. Anyone who has ever had a hopper that hits 'right' knows what I'm talking about. I can say that I have had 3 days of huge awesome hits and it has left me pretty dazed most of the time. So far I'm happy with the risk I took. I decided that this 420 I wanted to buy two things. Since I have all the dynavaps a person could need, and I have a Mighty, I figure I didn't need a lot more. I have found myself not really liking session vapes the way I used to. I like taking a hit every now and again or if I want to, hammer the whole thing back in one session, be it with my DVs or my Hopper. The mighty isn't getting much use the past few months.

That all being said, for 420 I decided on a Hopper and a Brilliant Cut Grinder. I think I made a good choice Besides, in all honesty, there hasn't really been any new devices since last year, so I don't think there is a reason to hold out for anything.

@mario if you would benefit from the PFE, you can have mine. I will not be using it and you are welcome to have it. My new Ti hopper performs very well at 3.5 and up. All 7 of the hoppers that I owned prior would not generate vapor worth anything until at least 4+ setting. I only have 1 new battery and I don't intend on running this new unit gently. I am looking at this whole reliability shitstorm with a fresh perspective, as if I never owned a hopper before. Soon to be a medical consumer, I just want the machine that delivers my medicine to work effectively. I have several options to fall back on should V5 start having ANY issues. I have $250 worth of batteries and a charger pending shipment. If you don't hear from me, then the device is doing what it was purchased for. I am more than comfortable with the FY thread if not.......Hope things start going our way fellow hop heads.

That's so kind of you! I'll message you in a moment so I can send you some money for shipping.

I was really upset with my last experience with the Hopper. Mine ran cold when I got it. So I bought a spare body thinking that I would send the original one in when the RMA stuff died down. I had to get 4 replacement bodies sent to me for that order. 4. None of them worked right. I finally gave up, sold it all off and called it a day.

But, with the news from them and their attempts to at least atone for the lapse in communication, I wanted to give it another try. Because I knew that there was nothing like a hopper. So I thought about it and did the same thing. I put all that stuff out of my head and pretended like it was starting all over. And so far I have only been impressed. I have pushed this thing hard this week. Draining the battery, charging up again, draining it again. 2.5 - 5 all work amazing and I haven't had any combustion. I get so many delicious hits that it's hard to believe that the bud can produce that much vapor. That is my experience RIGHT NOW. I know it could change, I know it could all blow up in my face again, but for now, I'm trying to remain open-minded, because I have yet to find a vape that I love as much as I do the Hopper.

Macicman said:

I think if you constantly bad mouth the hopper here the RMA time increases.

Click to expand...

OF said:

Interesting. And how do you think they link (fake) user names to their customers?

OF

Click to expand...

Thinking a bit more on this idea (holding those who 'bad mouth' HL's units in RMA for revenge) it suddenly made no sense at all. HL is not stupid. Perhaps incompetent as a company, but not stupid. They obviously can make some excellent units (from time to time?), and surely can test and identify those good units. If they really knew who their most vocal critics are, why wouldn't they immediately send them such a reliable unit to shut them up?

Attractive as the idea might be some, I'm not buying it. Not only is it likely not possible but logic says that if they knew where their biggest enemies lived they'd get them a 'quality' unit toot sweet.

OF

OF said:

Thinking a bit more on this idea (holding those who 'bad mouth' HL's units in RMA for revenge) it suddenly made no sense at all. HL is not stupid. Perhaps incompetent as a company, but not stupid. They obviously can make some excellent units (from time to time?), and surely can test and identify those good units. If they really knew who their most vocal critics are, why wouldn't they immediately send them such a reliable unit to shut them up?

Attractive as the idea might be some, I'm not buying it. Not only is it likely not possible but logic says that if they knew where their biggest enemies lived they'd get them a 'quality' unit toot sweet.

OF

Click to expand...

And the sad reality is that there are more people that think this is what they’re doing than you’d imagine. I mean seriously if you though they were doing people that way would you really want to keep supporting that company.

Also if they did that wouldn't everyone just start bad mouthing them until they got what they wanted? I feel like giving new units to people who are just slamming them on all social media would set a bad precedent

mario said:

Also if they did that wouldn't everyone just start bad mouthing them until they got what they wanted? I feel like giving new units to people who are just slamming them on all social media would set a bad precedent

Click to expand...

Agreed. A couple of 'I was the worst squeaky wheel I could be and they......' posts could seriously backfire, they'd have to keep it secret (if possible). First guy that says 'I emailed them every week for months and finally got......' will be seen as a clue to guys still waiting. But forget every week, let's try every day. And phone calls, who has their number?

All the more reason I think HL would not expend the energy to link gripers to their units in RMA. What would be the goal? Give them a cherry unit and risk what might happen, or 'punish' the owners and not expect them to continue 'bad mouthing' them?

Rather I think they just honestly got in over their heads, perhaps with someone else's money, and now have the proverbial tiger by the tail. With units in for failure to perform as advertised over a year now, there aren't a lot of graceful ways out. Even if you can afford to give away piles of new units.

They have problems........with hair on them. Many/most self made for whatever reason IMO. Sad, really. Good folks laid down hard earned money, many long before shipment, and aren't enjoying the tool they paid for.

It's 4/20, perhaps time to look for an alternative you can count on?

OF

mario said:

Also if they did that wouldn't everyone just start bad mouthing them until they got what they wanted? I feel like giving new units to people who are just slamming them on all social media would set a bad precedent

Click to expand...

I’d take a new unit now to replace my Ti currently in RMA-ville. I’ve read herein some stories that returned RMA units look and behave like Frankstein. Perhaps starting over with a new unit that works well is better than trying to repair them. I know it’s not cost-effective but perhaps they should consider this for some older units.

I want to believe they’re slowly righting the ship, I really do. I also want to believe they’ve determine the root cause (RCCA as I’ve come to know it professionally) of several issues so hopefully most of this is behind us. To be continued...

Maybe I’m thinking wrong here, but it seems to me that they would be better off just replacing RMAs rather than fix them. Seems like that taking them apart to replace all the inner workings, from what they told me the only original part will be the shell, it would make more sense to just manufacture new ones instead of wasting the time for disassembly and the re assembly. Then maybe take the old RMAs when they get ahead and then refurbish them for possible warranty exchanges in the future. Like I said maybe this is the wrong thinking, I don’t know.

Not only does Hopper Labs monitor the forums and punish people that talk shit by delaying their RMAs, each unit has a live "kill switch", that can be activated to cop-light the working unit of someone that has the gall to say anything unflattering aboust GHL. Watch your mouth .

MikeG7265 said:

Maybe I’m thinking wrong here, but it seems to me that they would be better off just replacing RMAs rather than fix them. Seems like that taking them apart to replace all the inner workings, from what they told me the only original part will be the shell, it would make more sense to just manufacture new ones instead of wasting the time for disassembly and the re assembly. Then maybe take the old RMAs when they get ahead and then refurbish them for possible warranty exchanges in the future. Like I said maybe this is the wrong thinking, I don’t know.

Click to expand...

Excellent point, from what I know I agree. In past jobs I've been in exactly this position, we verified the problem and replaced with new typically. Any units repaired out of warranty were done for a flat fee (we didn't want folks taking covers off and tinkering.....) and were sent through Production Test, Burn In and Final Inspection and packaging with the new units. Under similar conditions I'd recommend that policy, but HL hasn't asked my advice......

Think about it, Customer Service techs are going to be much slower building units than Production workers, and will get paid more per hour? Any time spent stripping units is a dead loss since you throw most of the parts out. Against a single part that costs how much to source from the guys making production units for you?

Not to mention the 'mine had less scratches than the one you sent me' issues. If you repair and return the unit in a timely manner, perhaps, but a year late?

At least they're still working on it. This is precisely the way many small businesses are brought to their knees and make their employees 'available to the industry'.

Fun to watch, if you've no skin in the game. Or at least more so.

OF

OF said:

Thinking a bit more on this idea (holding those who 'bad mouth' HL's units in RMA for revenge) it suddenly made no sense at all. HL is not stupid. Perhaps incompetent as a company, but not stupid. They obviously can make some excellent units (from time to time?), and surely can test and identify those good units. If they really knew who their most vocal critics are, why wouldn't they immediately send them such a reliable unit to shut them up?

Attractive as the idea might be some, I'm not buying it. Not only is it likely not possible but logic says that if they knew where their biggest enemies lived they'd get them a 'quality' unit toot sweet.

OF

Click to expand...

Brother, you have to consider the source of that comment. That's all I will say on it.

Baron23 said:

Brother, you have to consider the source of that comment. That's all I will say on it.

Click to expand...

Sorry, since I don't haunt here, I don't know the OP. I understand 'consider the source' is often an important point.

However, I think in general ideas should be considered on their own merit? Such a thought is no doubt not unique to the OP. It's not the OP, but the idea I was responding to.

OF

For those of you who reported "better" vapor production with newer units; in my experience the performance increase was related to the back end and not to the body.

The temp dial on the back end of my 2016 SS Hopper became "frozen" and would not turn any longer. HL sent me a replacement back end in December 2018, which I paired with the original 2016 SS body. I immediately noticed an increase in vapor production, to the point that I started using the Hopper at a whole temp level lower than I used to.

The 2016 SS body started showing "cop lights" last week, so I replaced it with a spare V5 SS body that I had purchased. I've experienced the same level of performance with the new body as I did with the 2016 body.

So for me the variable affecting performance was the back end and not the body.

That’s interesting. The dial on my new unit is smooth as butter now and there is no grinding. In fact there is a small gap and the two parts of the dial don’t even touch. I think there were a lot of improvements done to the back end as well as the body.

MikeG7265 said:

Maybe I’m thinking wrong here, but it seems to me that they would be better off just replacing RMAs rather than fix them. Seems like that taking them apart to replace all the inner workings, from what they told me the only original part will be the shell, it would make more sense to just manufacture new ones instead of wasting the time for disassembly and the re assembly. Then maybe take the old RMAs when they get ahead and then refurbish them for possible warranty exchanges in the future. Like I said maybe this is the wrong thinking, I don’t know.

Click to expand...

This really does make sense. Replace the bad units with new ones. Fix the broken ones at your leisure and sell as refurbished with 2-year warranty.