Volcano Vaporizer is it worth the price?

That makes sense, hazy, but I would say to each his own. I think log vapes can be very beautiful and undoubtedly effective, but I'm thrown by the long warm-up times and lack of temperature control. And, while it may be weird to suck out of a bag, I don't see anything more natural about using a whip; and I find whips and glass get smelly and stained. I'm not knocking your preferences, just saying that they're not my priorities. If the Volcano makes a good newbie vape, part of the reason is that it's super easy to use, and there's nothing wrong with that; and it does have a nice high end as well. No vape is perfect, no vape is right for everyone; for many, newbies and veterans, the Volcano is reasonable choice.
When evaluating a vape, I would simply ask: how well does it do what it purports to do? I would not ask: why doesn't it do something else?

Ahum, if you're not in to logs that's ok of course, but just so you know the HI warms up in 5 minutes and comes with a variable voltage controller for an extra 15 us$.

I do have trouble calling something so expensive a 'reasonable' choice though, I can think of several 'more reasonable' choices for that kind of money.


But, since those have already been mentioned before in this thread; I'm out, good luck & have fun

Ratm22 said:

hmm no dislike option, so I'll need you to elaborate, before ranting.

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Pretty simple really. I just don't think it is worth the price, as the op asked. If it were $300 I'd probably own one by now. But I have used one and I don't see the $600+ appeal. For the price of a Volcano you could get an Extreme, an HI and a really good portable or some nice glass to go with the other two vapes. Then you've got bags covered (although not as well, imo) and a whole lot of other options that I find better than the Volcano. Or you could get on the Cloud waiting list and get an Extreme for now. The possibilities for spending $600+ bucks on vaporizing are endless, unless you dump it all into a Volcano.

I bought my Volcano new 5 and a half years ago, and it cost me £210 delivered.

I could sell it second hand tomorrow on ebay and get back at least that.

I might even make money on it in direct terms!!! (not accounting for 5 years of economic inflation however, so maybe not quite an investment ).

So I'd still say it was a pretty good value. 5 years use for virtually no cost.

No doubt, if we were dealing with stocks, the Volcano would be a blue chipper.

hazy said:

I consider the Volcano a newbie vape. It's what you see smokers on other forums recommending to people who want to get into vaporizing, most likely because it's the only vape they've heard of. All that stuff about temperatures and different compounds, etc - do any experienced vaporists really care about this? I thought I did when I got my herbalaire, but the novelty wears off quickly and I eventually found myself keeping the temperature dial maxed out anyway.

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I care about temperature and different compounds because it's was makes herb so much better. I love the different taste you can get from herb when vaping at different temperatures which you just can't get when vaping at high temps or smoking. Sometimes I just want the high to come on slow while I experience the taste, sit back and relax, so I start off low and slowly raise the temperature. But having a good accurate and stable temperature is needed when doing this so I don't have to figure everything out myself in order to keep everything I'm vaping fresh and not get over heated and become stale. Sometimes I want a powerful hit all at once without caring about keeping the lower essential oils intact and not burned and so I raise the temperature real high to boil everything at once but because I still don't want to burn plant matter I need good temperature stability and accuracy which a lot of vaporizer don't give. They may be cheap but I don't want to buy something because it's cheap, it breaks down or I can't do all these things I mentioned with it. Don't get me wrong if you are happy with just getting high and getting taste all at once more power to you but for me and people like me I want to have a whole bunch of choice to choose from. I remember before good vaporizers came out I would just sit and smell my herb or inhale it in the joint before smoking it just because I wanted to experience the flavors before they went up in flames and even when I got a vaporizer I couldn't get to the small volatile essential oils because there was no temperature adjustment and the ones that did have them wasn't accurate and now I can do this so there are people in the world who do want to use the temperature adjustment for different reasons.

stickstones said:

Pretty simple really. I just don't think it is worth the price, as the op asked. If it were $300 I'd probably own one by now. But I have used one and I don't see the $600+ appeal. For the price of a Volcano you could get an Extreme, an HI and a really good portable or some nice glass to go with the other two vapes. Then you've got bags covered (although not as well, imo) and a whole lot of other options that I find better than the Volcano. Or you could get on the Cloud waiting list and get an Extreme for now. The possibilities for spending $600+ bucks on vaporizing are endless, unless you dump it all into a Volcano.

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Well I broke my extreme and am in the process of resurrecting it. Going cost me more time than money to fix might not even be worth it. I spent 300 when it first came out so that vape is in purgatory at the moment. If I would have bought a volcano instead, most likely I would still have a working volcano.

Selecting a new vape for the first time is a scary process. One could easy spend a lot of money and get nothing in return.

Claiming that the volcano is not worth the price, by saying you could buy other vapes instead just doesn't hold up. Each vaporizer has its own set of traits, benefits and pitfalls. None which rival the volcano in its entirety. Hence why it is so pricey. If some company would just follow the same features and make it for less than the volcano. I would pick it up instantly and then say yes the volcano is over priced.

Are there any owners that wish they didn't purchase the device? If you found out that the device did not meet your needs, were you able to sell it? Without loosing too much money. If so sounds like its totally worth it and you wouldn't be risking being a guinea pig!

For me, a Volcano wouldn't be worth it even if it was half the price, for I simply don't like using a vape that uses bags as a delivery system.

On another note, who in hell froze my kitty?

Ratm22 said:

Well I broke my extreme and am in the process of resurrecting it. Going cost me more time than money to fix might not even be worth it. I spent 300 when it first came out so that vape is in purgatory at the moment. If I would have bought a volcano instead, most likely I would still have a working volcano.

Claiming that the volcano is not worth the price, by saying you could buy other vapes instead just doesn't hold up. Each vaporizer has its own set of traits, benefits and pitfalls. None which rival the volcano in its entirety. Hence why it is so pricey. If some company would just follow the same features and make it for less than the volcano. I would pick it up instantly and then say yes the volcano is over priced.

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I bought my E when it was newly released and $300 also. I wouldn't do it again at that price, but the Q at under $200 is crazy cheap, imo, for what you get. I think the only reason the Volcano is so great is the easy valve system. And they have that sucker patented. I really enjoyed my Ion when it worked, but even their valve system wasn't as convenient as the Volcano. I was really disappointed when the Ion company got shut down because someone finally came up with a cost effective bag vape with a valve system.

And I don't see how your bolded statement holds up. The whole point of this forum is to discuss the options available for vaporizing, and price is always a component. I appraise real estate for a living and there is an entire system and philosophy built around what the market will pay for certain features and differences, and how to compare them. My stating that the Volcano is not worth the price because of the other options the market has available is absolutely valid. When it was the only vape on the market (for the most part) it was worth it. But after so many other options have come out, and almost every one of them cheaper than the Volcano, it is no longer worth the price. Why else would the OP ask the question if there weren't other vapes to buy instead?

I don't mind paying extra for something that is high quality. I've had my Volcano for 5+ years now. Works perfect still. If it ever broke, I'd buy another one. Yes, you could save and go with a cheaper unit. Maybe you'll get a good one that will work well and last for a long time. However, with the Volcano you KNOW you are getting a very high quality German made vaporizer with a proven track record of reliability.

Plus, I personally like that S&B pays for studies on the unit, so I get to read how it works at various temps, protocols of use, etc. To me, its well worth it.

Interestingly, the OP asked two questions, and in doing so conflated two very different issues. In the subject line, he (she?) asked, "is it worth the price?"; but in the actual post he asked, "is it effective?" The second question seems easily answered: yes. If you put the cost aside, the Volcano admirably does what it attempts to do, and that's more than most vapes can say. The first question is much more complicated and demands establishing criteria, including effectiveness, durability, resale value, aesthetics, and of course the market. It would not be difficult to argue as an economist that the Volcano is a good deal, as Wat Tyler pointed out about the resale value. The example of appraising real estate is apt, in a couple ways. First, if I love my house and it's doing everything I want, I don't really care how others appraise it; it has value to me. Second, in appraising a house a significant part of the evaluation must include consideration of the market. In an obvious sense it seems that the market has determined the value of the Volcano as being very high, since it apparently continues to sell well at steep prices. It would be irrelevant to say that people don't know better when they're buying the thing, and irrelevant to say that people *should* be making different decisions about their purchases; the appraised value generally doesn't judge people's taste or knowledge, it just determines their buying habits. (I also think it's pretty condescending to think that Volcano buyers are noobs or clueless, as some have done.) ... By the way, I'm actually not invested in defending the Cano, and I'm certainly not critical of other vapes. I'm more interested in the way that people conflate purchase price with value. Think how many people, happy with their trusty $5 pipes that have lasted years, wonder why the hell anyone would pay $300 (let alone $540+) to get medicated.

Yes you can get medicated for less, but vapes are not created equal.
I am not looking to save money by simply getting 3 lesser vapes and try to some how achieve what the volcano does in one unit. It is not equivalent.

Whips are nice, but bags just allow for so much more freedom.

I know others have a smaller vapo budget. And the thought of spending 600 dollars on paraphernalia seems about intelligent as getting gold teeth. But there is more than just bling to a volcano.

My priorities vastly differ from most people. As Spending $600 on a tv to me would drive me up the wall. Where as on a vaporizer that I use daily, I really don't know if there is a limit on how much I will pay.

So I welcome all suggestions on what vape will out perform my current volcano. Because 4 vaporizers is just simply not enough

headdoctor said:

it's pretty condescending to think that Volcano buyers are noobs or clueless

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Sorry to have caused any offence, I was simply stating what I have observed. If, after trying some of the better quality vapes, a person still prefers a Volcano then I respect that decision.

Ratm22 said:

So I welcome all suggestions on what vape will out perform my current volcano

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Get in line for a HI

I once used a Volcano for a month straight (all day every day). Great for parties, since there's absolutely no learning curve to a bag of vapour. But there's no way I'd buy one, unless I had money to burn - way too expensive for what it does.

hazy said:

Sorry to have caused any offence, I was simply stating what I have observed. If, after trying some of the better quality vapes, a person still prefers a Volcano then I respect that decision.

Get in line for a HI

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Thanks, hazy, no offense taken at all. I like swapping opinions, and take none of it personally. And you make plenty of great points.

Not really excited for analog vapes, as you don't choose which chem you get. They are very affordable, but don't achieve what I want to intake.

The cloud looks sick but how long and its definitely not very share able or bag-able or something you want your drunk friend hitting. The bowl looks very uncanny to the extreme and that was small.

Is that one that uses infrared, out yet it. looked like it could crush.

I still am in search of the perfect vape, but for the time being I will have to rely on this volcano to hold me over.

Ratm22 said:

Is that one that uses infrared, out yet it. looked like it could crush.

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The oracle? yes it is!

Accurate temperature technology is very expensive. And the germans are known to make the best stuff in the world. The volcano is fabricated by the germans. I haven't come across anything that was built by germans that broke or ever let me down.

I've owned three German cars, and now two German vaporizers. I have to agree with the above. Quality all...

A relative of mine was schooled in Germany, and worked for a German pharmaceutical company for many years. He always comments on the strict quality control in German manufacturing.. It really is a cultural thing. You don't run into too much low quality German stuff. When they make something over there, they usually make it to last.

No the Volcano is not worth it. I remember years ago when it was basically the only other vape out there besides the poorly made vapes that you still see around, but now there are tons of vapes and they've gone way down in price and you don't have to have a bag vape or a volcano in order to have a highly effective vaporizer.

I never bought a Volcano because of the price and because you're paying for a heating element and a bag.

"Worth it" is an opinion. There is no yes or no, only yes or no for that buyer. Obviously for me, its a resounding YES. Others may not place the same value on what I do.

Mine cost £200 and I use it all the time (way more than my DBV). So yes it was worth it. I love choosing those temps and love the vapor to air ratio, even though I sometimes dig those thick rips my DBV gives me. As i'm an athlete, the volcano is the only vape I have used that gives me little lung problem, as soon as I step up to the DBV my lungs will hurt when I ride, guaranteed (water filtered or not). Cant wait for the cloud.

GreenLeaf said:

I never bought a Volcano because of the price and because you're paying for a heating element and a bag.

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You are also paying for the warranty. And storz-bickel has been around for a lot longer than some of these other companies. My friend broke his volcano (albeit an early one) like 3 or 4 times, he kept leaving it on and the heating element would go out. Every time, they fixed it free of charge he just paid the shipping. Just my 2 cents

ripebuds said:

Mine cost £200 and I use it all the time (way more than my DBV). So yes it was worth it. I love choosing those temps and love the vapor to air ratio, even though I sometimes dig those thick rips my DBV gives me. As i'm an athlete, the volcano is the only vape I have used that gives me little lung problem, as soon as I step up to the DBV my lungs will hurt when I ride, guaranteed (water filtered or not). Cant wait for the cloud.

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I would imagine that is due to the density of vapor produced via a 12 L/min pump, vs your lung power. if you pull air more quickly and are still able to get the air up to temperature then you are going to extract a thicker cloud of vapor. this is the main difference between direct draw (air path restrictions are an issue, but lets overlook that for now) over forced air.

you should find moisture conditioning helps (this can even be done with the volcano too), but maybe try taking smaller rips of direct draw systems too. that would bring the concentration of vapor back down too.

You are also paying for the warranty.

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A few years ago my herbalAire failed after cleaning the heating chamber with a cotton swab soaked in alcohol. I must have been high because I didn't turn it upside down while cleaning, and turned it on directly after cleaning. So when it didn't start heating up, or show any signs of life, my brain finally switched on and I realized I probably killed it. When I contacted herbalAire cust. svc., they told me to ship the dead unit back, and to let them know when I shipped it. They immediately shipped a brand new kit, which arrived before the dead one had even made it out of the US. Hard to beat that kind of service. The company has also increased the warranty period over the years, to the current 3 yr. coverage.

Although I agree that 'worth it or not' is subjective and depends on the buyer's views, if you want to go strictly with the S&B brand, and get both bag delivery and whip hits, the cost is almost $900 for a 'cano Classic and the new Plenty. You can get the same functions with a herbalAire (or Extreme) and the cost is only about $155-170. I've used the herbalAire for years and had only the one problem, which was most likely my own fault.