I must begin with apologizing for disappearing from the forums for the last couple of weeks and not reporting in about my NEW ARIZER SOLO that arrived about three weeks back. As you must guess, I have been blown out of my skull for the entire duration that I speak of, thanks to this crazy device! The Solo has been a paradigm shift for me and have not touched a joint since I first received the shipment!
I got it from Fever (Amazing Electronics) and their service was top notch. Since my shipping route is quite complex as I got the vape delivered to my US address from Canada which then got delivered top me in India, I was worried about damages while shipping, but the packaging was great. I was also worried about expensive shipping of the glass stems if and when I broke them, so Fever was kind enough to send me an additional stem (3, including the 2 that come by default) for free!
Moving on to the review of the vape itself, The solo is an awesome device! The best vape I have tried. The vapor from it is flawless (at the beginning at least) and the clouds nearly look as dense as smoke but are not for sure. But that hasn't stopped me from already disliking a few things about it. I guess I'll put them down in pro / con style lists below.
What I love about the Solo:
1. The vapor quality - The vapor from my solo is like nothing I have ever tasted before. Not by a long shot. The Herbal Aire was my everyday vape before the solo. Sure the HA is capable of producing denser clouds, but at the cost of being harsh to the throat and throwing me into coughing fits everyday. Also I used to direct draw with the HA so the vapor would be hot. The vapor from the Solo is cool, and absolutely delicious especially during the first few hits. I never knew before the Solo that my weed tasted so good! However, I have noticed that the taste dramatically drops across the session and the last few hits from a bowl are not that tasty.
2. Efficiency - The Solo is super efficient. Though not as much as my HA I guess, as the ABV from my HA has been much darker brown than that from the Solo, however, the fact that the Solo fits in a much smaller load compared to the HA, makes the Solo as efficient in terms of conserving herbs. I have not tried re-vaping the ABV from the Solo in my HA, but from the looks of it, I don't think I would extract much from the ABV after its been trough the Solo. The amount a vapor the Solo extracts from a tiny load is unbelievable and absolutely satisfactory.
3. Ease of use - As others have said before, The Solo is probably the easiest to use vape out there and due to its limited Airflow, and its ergonomic form, its easy for a first timer to hit the Solo rightly. This is also an advantage for veteran vapers out there, as using the vape is an absolute no-brainer. Within just 2 days, it felt like the task of loading, firing it up and hitting became almost a subconscious activity that I was comfortable to perform anywhere, even while driving.
4. Easy to clean - I hate using dirty smoking / vamping equipment and am a compulsive cleaner. One of my key criteria to a good vape is that it must be easy to clean. The Solo is again, the easiest to clean vape I have used. The awesome design of the vape assures that the only thing that gets dirty is the glass stem. The base / main device is spotless after very heavy usage over the last three weeks. While studying the design the of device before I purchased, I had expected the ceramic bowl that holds the glass stem to become dirty as there is no mesh holding the herbs into the glass once you have inverted the glass bowl side of the stem into the ceramic bowl. I was wrong. The amazing airflow design ensures that all the material stays in the stem. The only time the user needs to be careful is while inserting or removing the glass stem. The glass itself gets dirty very fast and due to the fact that its clear glass, you can see the resign all the time, forcing you to clean it up ASAP. Cleaning the glass is easier than cleaning the parts of any of my other vapes. I have tried various techniques to clean it, including popping the stem into a glass full of water and boiling it in the microwave, or using rubbing alcohol to clean it. All of the techniques worked with varying degrees of success, and when boiled and then cleaned with iso, the stem becomes nearly spotless, baring some of the brown stain at the bowl end of the stem. A lot of people have said that the mouthpiece should have had an ergonomic shape to make it more comfortable on the lips, but I think keeping the cross section circular is great for cleaning as you can just take a paper napkin, twist it into a rope like form and shove it into the stem using twisting actions. This lets you clean the stem from the inside. I also tried using hand sanitizing wipes instead of regular paper and that cleans the stem perfectly as well. A very easy portable way to clean the thing. Just cary a couple of wet wipes and you are set for a long trip!
5. Well thought out design (almost) - The design of the device is great when looked at a few aspects. What I love the most of this device is that there is nearly no way you could accidentally burn yourself. Even after a set of 2 or 3 continuous sessions, the bowl end of the glass stem is the hottest part when removed, and still is cool enough to not cause a blister even if you touch it just after removing it. The stem cools down extremely fast and in about 30 seconds, the entire glass is just warm and not hot anymore. The main device does not get hot at all! The cap on the bowl of the main device seems to be heat resistant, so it can be replaced as soon as you are done vaping and there is no way to injure yourself with the heat of the vaporizer. While vamping the mouthpiece end of the glass is never hot and always easy on the lips. It is evident that Arizer has spend a LOT of time thinking, designing and perfecting the air path of the Solo. From first impressions, the device didn't seem as advanced and well thought out as it really is. You only realize these advantages after some time of usage. I used to think all the advocates of glass over do their case for glass, but after using the Solo I now realize why they are such ardent fans of glass. I am quite sure that the pure glass vapor path and the ceramic hot air path have a lot to contribute towards the awesome delicious vapor that this baby produces. Initially i hated the restricted Airflow, but now I realize that it is such by design. A device with a non restricted airflow like the HA would need far more peer to constantly maintain the temperature at the desired level as fast airflow would cool the heater more rapidly than desired.
The build quality of the device is also top notch, but a few parts (like the buttons and the aluminum threading) could have been better.
What I dislike:
1. Not being able to charge while vaping - Phones, computers, chargeable drill machines, all charge while being used. Its not a minor capability. Its a natural requirement. You need an appliance to work right now, irrespective if the fact that it has been charged or not. This is the biggest issue I have with the Solo. I cary a large number of gadgets on me daily, and am used to charging rituals, however over the last 3 weeks, I have found myself stuck with a depleted battery just when I felt like hitting the Solo, especially in the car. I am going to order the car charger and the direct driving power adaptor, but carrying 2 adaptors for one device daily is crazy! Arizer needs to understand that charging while using is the most natural behavior of the user and they need to get their heads together to fix this. I don't care how difficult the electronic design is for this (as I understand that the current draw from the batteries are huge) but if the Vapir NO2 and a power drill can do it, why can't the Solo? The battery life is great and that helps most of the times, but it still doesn't last me the entire day if I am sharing (which is most often the case). If Arizer ever releases a v2 and fixes this issue, I would buy the new version instantly!
2. Inconsistency of the fit of the glass stems: I have 3 of them, 1 fits in absolutely loosely, so much that it wobbles when tilted from one side to the other and freely spins around. One is so tight that I am worried I will break it while inserting it! And the third one fits somewhere in between the two, its just about right. I am obviously using this one the most. Like a lot of users have said here, I too do not like the fact that the stem spins around and is a lose fit into the device. I would have liked it if there was some kind of lock in or clamping happening once the stem is inserted. For example, If I am using it while driving and spot a cop, i can't just throw it in the back seat flat, I have to put it into the cup holder to ensure its vertical. Essentially you have to treat the device as if you are holding a hot beverage and be careful about where you keep it. This is not the case with the Vapir NO2 for example, where the herbs are filled and then locked shut. This issue with the Solo strongly reduces its portability.
3. No easy preload- It is impossible to preload and keep in the bag, so using it in the movies is difficult, unless you can figure out a cap for the stems ( like the MFLB battery caps that were recommended) and pre fill a couple of stems.
4. The power connector location - This is the part where Arizer did something really stupid just to save costs IMO. The power connector socket is at the base plate, so it is impossible to stand the device up when a power source is connected to it. This may not affect the default usage pattern too much but if you have to source the direct drive adaptor that lets you vapre directly by plugging it in and bypassing the battery, then the bottom connector would become a serious impediment. The combination of the facts that you have to hold you device upright all the time and that the connector is at the baseplate, put together just pisses me off! What were they thinking? Was it so difficult to cut out a hole in the aluminum body in the side? IMO this will be one issue that Arizer will be forced to fix in the future versions. Its an unacceptable flaw in design that causes a lot of inconvenience.
5. Could have had better UI - Isn't the Solo supposed to be the new and advanced blue eyed boy of the vape world? When why does it have such a primitive UI? Its Audio beep is propbaly the worst sounding one that I have heard from any of my devices. Yeah now I am nitpicking, but thats what reviews are for
I know the sound can be turned off, but the beep is helpful when the autoshut timer hits and turns the device off. I wonder why it couldn't beep when the desired temperature is hit the first time, that would be super helpful. Also the heating indicator is not really friendly to use, as it also is the 'charge depleted' indicator when it shines steadily. A few times I have been left sucking at the cold vape wondering whats going wrong, only to realize that the charge has depleted completely and hence the device is actually not heating, even though I can still use the up down buttons to set the temperature. Another required improvement to the indicators is that the 7 LED lights that indicate charge level or heat levels should have a white background. This minor tweak could do away with the huge inconvenience of not being able to see which is the current set level in the dark as you cannot see the lights that are turned off in the dark and hence don't realize if the 3rd light is on or if its the 4th thats on. With a white background around the LEDs, and since a turned off LED would be dark in color, it would be easy to figure out the level of the currently glowing LED. However, I would have preferred a better UI, preferably an LCD display.
6. Needs a carrying case - Arizer must design a good case for this baby ASAP as that would make the device truly portable. I have seen the ones being sold by rockwize and wasn't really impressed. Due to its ergonomic issues of having a loose glass stem, as I said earlier, the portability of the vape is compromised. If there was a carrying case that let you easily and safely store the device and preloaded stems somehow, a lot of the portability problems could be alleviated. I am still looking for the best fit case for the Solo. If I don't find one, I am thinking of going to a bag maker and getting one custom made. I have a couple of compact designs for the case in mind and will share it with everyone here if I get it made.
Tips for use:
1. Use a bowl shaped mesh in the stem to ensure you don't get particles in your mouth. I use the Vapir meshes from my old Oxygen Mini and have ordered NO2 screens as they are bowl shaped and would fit well. This has been recommend time and again to improve Airflow, though I haven't encountered a huge difference between the airflow with or without the mesh. Ofcourse without the mesh I have a lot of particles hitting my mouth which the mesh prevents.
2. Resist the urge to pack the herbs. This vape makes you realize the less is more principle. A loosely packed well grounded herbs produce much denser clouds than a tightly packed bowl. A tightly packed and completely full bowl also produces un-evenly vaped ABV. Grinding is good, but I don't feel its strictly required. Even when I just fluff up the herbs and put it in, (just like my HA) I get good vapor, but I am certain that grinding the herbs produce thicker clouds.
3. Charge often! I don't think I need to explain this
4. 'Walk' the setting from low (2 or 3) to high (6 or 7) across you session. A high initial setting will give you a huge burst of cloud in the first few hits but it also potentially throws you into a coughing fit. settings 2 or 3 in the initial phase gives the most tasty vapor in my experience.
So there you have it, this is my review of the Arizer Solo after 3 weeks of rigorous use. I see I have pointed out more dislikes than likes, but I like all the fundamental and most important aspects of the vape, while my dislikes are nitpicky (baring the charging while vaping issue). The Solo has made me realize how much better a portable is to a desktop vape. So much so that most of my my future vape investments would be towards portables. I have looked hard for comparative reviews of the Solo and the No2 and not found a user who actively uses both. I know a lot of you Vapir haters would say that the 2 won't even compare but I have still decided to go ahead with the No2 as well and its already on its way. The charging while vaping feature, locking in of the herbs and correct placement of the charger socket means that most of my gripes with the Solo don't exist with the No2. I am sure the vapor may not taste as good as the Solo, but I still feel the need to pit the 2 against each other. For now though, the Solo is the PERFECT vape for my needs. Maybe the Firefly (
http://thefirefly.com/ ) could dethrone the Solo sometime in the future, but for now, it is the vape that I would first recommend to anyone who asks me about buying one.
I actually fell asleep in the chair after my christening session yesterday, which is unusual for me and I'm typically vaping all day everyday. A nice load of higher temp cbns that I don't normally extract, I think
), before going back to be to sleep it off so I can do some work this afternoon.
(sorry quick pics on the move with the cell...)
Just gave to a friend here at the moment...he's been shacking it for 2 mn; not a sound nor a vibration in it...
with the dual screen method, and I'm going to ponder putting a third screen in the actual chamber like FL suggested.
