Heya, All!
I've been reading this forum a lot (search first, ask questions later), and finally decided to register and put my two cents in when I saw this post.
I became a medical marijuana user about 18 months ago because of side effects of my HIV-meds. I've never looked back as far as cannabis use. (OK - I had some acquisition problems while traveling, but otherwise I haven't gone a day without when it was available. And I'm a legally registered medical user in Colorado. It's available.)
I used to be a heavy tobacco user, and I didn't want the lung damage I thought smoking would cause at first, so after way overdoing it on dispernsary quadruple-medicated brownies the first time I got high (not recommended - I now tell people to smoke or vape first if they weren't a recreational user already. Once I have my own production, I will bake, but I want to know how much is really in there, and that it wasn't covered in mold before you put it in!). I decided I needed a vaporizer. I wanted one in the $150-$200 range.
Being in a hurry, I asked for the best recommendation at what I have later realized is the worst local headshop. ($15.95 for a can of Vecor Butane - when it's $8 even across the street?? But, this is not a head shop review...) The guy at the shop told me the Iolite - hands down - or the Volcano. I really liked the look of the Iolite, but the butane scared me, and it was $100 more. (Had I just done my research, I could have gotten an Iolite for $175 then online... but I paid $130 for the Vapir...) He was the only SOMEWHEAT knowledgable person I've seen at that shop since on Vapes, but his knowledge only came from having used a buddy's. Mind you, I think they sell others that are good, but he should have twisted my arm into the Iolite. Well, I should have been patient and bought on on eBay.
At first, I was happy with the Vapir. Then I used it. I was told by the guy at the head shop that this was a "completely portable unit" and that I could "use it immediately, but should charge it overnight if I wanted to use it on batteries." This is not necessarily an anti-Vapir point, but I THOUGHT I was buying a portable vape! -1 for the Vapir. If I had known I had to plug it in, I would have sprung for the Iolite in the first place... (By the way, you can use the Vapir on the go - all you need is a car battery and an inverter. Convenient when I thought I would be able to charge it, go for a walk in the park, and have the whip hanging out of my bag like I was told I could... Gosh, if it could have done that, I would have been almost happy with it!
I brought it back to the head shop. No returns on used items. Glad he told me that when he said I could return it within 30 days with reciept. Shit - oh, well, at least it worked plugged in. For about 10 days or so, it gave consistant vape from the whip. It smelled and tasted REALLY, REALLY, REALLY badly of plastic.. I wonder how much of my vape in the early days was offgassing. The plastic smell never really went away...
Then the temperature started fluctuating. It started after 10 days of use. I would set it for 375 F (optimum without getting harsh), and it would sit at 275. Then, just as I wasn't paying attention, it would peak at 450 (over smoke, if not combustion temperature). This was VERY HARD on someone expecting much cooler VAPE.
SO I had to switch to the bags. And the bag attachment is a joke - the tube was always falling out of the vaporizer. It only fit right on the bags. I found that I had to sit with this vape for about 30 minutes while it filled my bags, THEN I could use them. Because the vape was putting smoke into the bags too (something I only suspected at the time, but am now pretty sure of), I really had to let it cool. It had a lot of visible "vapor", but I now think that was SMOKE! It was pretty hard on my lungs, but still more effective than a glass pipe. Initially. (I have yet to figure out a bong. I get the timing wrong or something, so I end up filling whatever friend's room with smoke and my lungs with cold air.) Then I went to order new bags because all of mine were sticky and worthless. $40 bucks? For a few plastic bags? So I had to do the packing tape and turkey bag routine... This vape was not designed for anything like that, but it worked better, if not well.
About 4 months ago, the heating unit on the Vapir One finally gave up the ghost. Before dying completely and not heating at all, it must have overhaeated while I wasn't looking. I had it in the bathroom of our RV (so I could run the exhaust tan), and I was cooking while it filled a big turkey bag. I smelled smoke, so I went to check, and the bag was melted and nasty smelling smoke was coming out of the unit. The tubing, which was fresh and not even softened by heat, had caught fire. At that point, the fan was also going, too. If this was a nebulizer I bought to use "traditional" meds, I would have sued the company. And likely won.
This is with daily use, but only filling bags twice a day.
After the Vapir One died, I saved my money, and I smoked. I actually found that at the end of my Vapir One's run, smoking with a $10 glass pipe was actually gentler on my lungs in the long run and much more effective!!
Then, some weeks back, I bought myself a birthday present on eBay. A brand new, 2010 Iolite. I like the look and design of the Launch Box, but honestly, I knew I would break the glass components. I'm a klutz. There is a reason I specifically said "$10 glass pipe". I once spent more. It lasted four days before I bumped the table it was on. Yet another reason I haven't mastered a bong. I won't spend the money on one because I know I'll break it! The heating process of the torch/burner heated vapes scares me a bit, too. When I'm literally trying not to throw up, I don't want to have to watch the temp guage or keep from burning myself (remember - KLUTZ!!!)
I LOVE MY IOLITE. The only time it has failed me was when we went into the mountains. 7000 feet - that's it, people. From now on, I will make sure to have an Altoids tin of pre-rolled small joints when I head for the hills. I hate using a pipe when traveling. Trying to hold two dog leashes, a bic, and a glass pipe is no fun (the only way I feel comfortable smoking is if I get away from the non-smokers, so I take the dogs for a walk.) I might try putting the Iolite against my skin to warm up at altitude. I have a butane lighter that works much better when it's warm... Maybe this would help, but I would like to see a flint-ignighted, adjustable butane flow version... Or, maybe something as simple as a pilot light you can light out of the wind with a Bic, then be able to use the vape once the catalytic heating unit is going? Butane isn't great at altitdude, but it will ignight with flint. Make it so that the piezo button not only activates the piezo, but, if a simple lever below or above it (perhaps covered so it isn't tripped by accident) also provides gas for the pilot? That might get you to 9000 feet, which is close to the absolute limit for butane expansion. (Just some suggestions, manufacturor rep, if you see this.) Ask anyone who has ever been dumb enough to buy a butane camp stove in Colorado, though, 9000 feet is really the limit. In other words, don't expect anything more than a foothills high on the iolite. I'm considering a launch box that I would only use when I can't use my Iolite. We'll see.
The Iolite works great with quality butane at 5280, but don't expect to take it to the ski slopes. But, for those rare occasions, I think I'll just roll me up some j's before we go! Oh, and stop by a Medical Marijuana Center for some Colorado Keef Kola!
I use Vector butane when I'm at home and Colibri butane on the road - both very good butanes, just Colibri comes in smaller cans. Power is also good, but I usually get the best deals on the Vector and Colibri. Once, I grabbed a can of Bernzomatic I had laying around for my butane soldering torch (that I actually use for electrical work! One has to wire one's lighting and ventillation, but that's for rollitup.org...). The Iolite sorta - kinda worked on the Bernzomatic butane. The vaporizer did its job on bad butane, but it spluttered just a little bit, was much harder to light, and had I had to be sure to wait until it was done firing to hit because of the smell of the exhaust. I never have to do that with good butane (though I do it by habbit because it firing reminds me to hit it...) I know my torch is getting Vector, Colibri, or Power from now on too.... especially since I can get Vector cheaper at the head shop than I can get Bernzomatic at the hardware store. I used to sometimes have to light the torch with a lighter rather than a piezo, but now I never do. I just don't know what to do with this can or Bernzomatic butane....
I usually fill the Iolite when I'm done with it and it's gone out - that way it's full for the next use. I also usually use it for at least 30 mins. Filling it definitely takes a learning curve. Of all the butane I've tried, the Colibri seems to fill easiest because of the valve and the tip. The valve on the one can of Power I bought would stick open, causing cold liquid butane to spray all over. Since that was only ONE can, I can't testify that this is a flaw, but since i can get Vetor cheaper, that's what I'm using. There is one adaptor tip that comes with the Vector that works well, but it's fatter than I'd like and I really have to be sitting at a table or desk to fill with Vector and not lose more butane than necessary. The head shop I go to also sells Fujima butane, which is the most expensive per fl. oz., but comes in a can just a little toller than a standard prescription bottle. I have a digital camera case that fits the iolite, a prescription-bottle sized space case (the one I use most is always in my pocket - about Carmex tin-sized), the Fujima butane, and a small, cheap metal pipe and two bics just in case. This all fits in a waist-belt case with a caribeaner on it that says "Lowepro", not "Weed". They sell nice cases for the Iolite at my local head shop, but they're overpriced and most make it obvious what's in there. I only use the Fujima butane when I'm out and about and I don't want to carry anything more than this little camera case, but I'm going to be away long enough that I know I might need butane. It says it's ultra-refined, and I haven't had any problems with it, but I would only buy it for the portability, not quality or cost.
I also highly recommend a good grinder. I have a grinder I got in Amsterdam for 5 euros that would cost me $20 here on eBay. If I had to replace it, I'd spend the $20, but because it says "Amsterdam XXX" on it, I keep it home and just grind an 1/8th at a time into space case pocket stash vials. You want something amazing (but don't do this if you have to leave the house) - vape pure keef in the iolite - about 1/3 full bowl. Fucking wow.
And - best thing for mister Klutz? I've dropped my Iolite twice. On concrete. I lost the weed that was in the bowl once. The other time, I put a tiny scratch in the plastic. When I'm not sitting down, I've learned to put a ponytail rubber-band around the unit to keep the bowl in place in case I accidentally grab it wrong, or it falls on the floor of the car, or whatever, but that's really my biggest complaint. A simple locking button similar to what used to be used on iPod sync cables (and still are on aftermarket cables) might work to keep the chamber in place in the next revision. In the mean time, a pack of black ponytail rubberbands (don't break, and don't look like crap) work very well, and cost me $4 at Walgreen's.
I have had the Iolite for six weeks and have not lit a pipe once. Seriously. The BEST thing about it is that, once it is up to temp, it has virtually no smell. The Vapir One seemed always to be blowing a fan over underheated meds or blowing smoke. Either way, the Vapir smelled. It does really take a good half hour to get all of the usable vape out of it, but if you're in a hurry, 10 minutes will do (and you can leave the stuff in the bowl, and relight it later and get some more use out of it!). I've used it in the car with non-smokers and not only does it not bother them, but the only time they can smell it is when I open my Space Case and load 'er up. I found the small pocket space case is perfect because it's shallow enough that I can just scoop the herb out of the bowl and NOT spill. It's small enough that if you're careful, you can use it walking down the street and no one really knows what you're doing (or if they do, it's because they know exactly what an iOlite is.) Stealth recommendation - don't get the tie die one. I've even put it in a plastic mug / bottle with a whip sticking out (you know - the ones they give out at fairs that come with a permanent straw you can never get clean even with a test tube brush? Replace the straw with a lenght of tubing.). As far as anyone knows, I'm sipping a drink. The big clouds of vapor can be a problem, but not in on cold Colorado winter mornings when you can see your breath anyway.
And, I'm serious about the effects (at least double the Vapir one at its BEST and no smoke to harm lungs). And the lack of smell. I live with two non-smokers. One is on parole, so the last thing I need is the house to smeel like weed. (Or to tempt him while he's still on paper with the smell. The garage, where my plants and my carbon scrubbers are is another thing... But, I was never comfortable using the Vapir One in the house. It just had too much smoke (even the display on the unit would vary 80 - 150 degrees from the setting. Assuming that reading's accurate, it's scary), or it would not get hot enough and you just got a strong plant smell thoughout the room before it heated again...
Simple. HIV took away my life. HIV meds gave my life back, but took away a lot of my quality of life. Weed gave my quality of life back (and then some - several times over), but banished me to the garage. The Iolite let me back into the house. I can actually vape at my desk. Like I am now. Or in the car. For that alone, I would pay full retail for it. But, I got it SHIPPED, in less than a week, for $150.
And, I know I've regained the $150 I paid on eBay for it in costs. Unfortunately, my first harvest won't be ready until X-Mas, so I'm paying full price. Because of economy (my partner lost his job, and as I said, my plants aren't ready), I had been having to ration myself to 1 1/2 oz of mid-shelf medical or above a month. While a little more would be nice for recreational use, and while I might want more ... Now, I can get away with less than that, and if I have that much, it's not being rationed as much, it's being actually enjoyed.
So, while I doubt it will be my only vape for long, the Iolite has been MUCH better value. It would have been if I paid full list for it. And, it came with a much better warranty. And, not to be racist, but I think the Irish do a better job than the Chinese...
I contacted Vapir three times about problems with mine when it was still in warranty, and they refused to respond until after the 90 day included warranty was up (not the 1 year printed so big on the box - you have to pay for that!) I hope not to have to do a warranty repair with the company that makes the Iolite (can't remember, and I've ranted too long to actually look it up), but I have had friends who have, and they have had no problems. You even get a new vapor chamber when you send it in, because that is one part that is near impossible to sterilize and they don't want it mailed. That's a $20 part on eBay. And, just to be sure there are no problems, they give you a new one if they have to fix your unit. One friend's piezo button broke (after she ran it over with a car), and I swear she got a whole new unit - not a scratch on it.
I would never recommend a Vapir One. Well, maybe to someone I didn't like who I wanted to die of plastic off-gassing.
