There's no question in my mind that VXL has done just what sm pointed out in his post. The company has bent over backwards to satisfy customers, especially early on, above and beyond the stated warranty coverage. I've known stonemonkey for four years, through thousands of posts on two different forums, as well as countless emails and other
communication. IMO his integrity is of the highest caliber. I've seen him hunt out and collect every good vape on the market, in search of the best. It's no surprise to me that he took all that experience and decided to combine the best features of other models, shoot for even better performance and vaping satisfaction, and design his dream vape. He's got a great team as partners, but he IS the driving force for the company. That also means that at some point it's his responsibility to uphold the rules and regs as stated by the company, just as we have to do here on the forum.
I think it sometimes gets lost that this model is for the vapor connoisseur. It's not another 'me too' vape with just an added wrinkle or two. It's expensive for sure, but nobody ever said that part of the cost was dedicated to making it bullet proof. If you want a high end model with no glass and a multi year warranty, there are options for that. There are many models that'll do the job, and some are fairly cheap as well as being proven designs. If you want a vape that bounces well and doesn't cost a lot, this one obviously shouldn't be considered. If you're clumsy and break things easily, this may not be the vape for you. But if you want the unique vaporizing experience that only the Cloud provides, and you're willing to accept the warranty conditions, and the admittedly high price (still not the most expensive model available though), then it SHOULD be a privilege to buy from a fellow vapor enthusiast, who also happens to be a great guy, instead of a faceless company backed by deep pocketed people who only care about the bottom line. If I can see and hear the person behind a company I buy from, then I want to like that person. Who wouldn't? Here we've got a great product designed by one of us, and he's a good guy. Customers will be dealt with fairly. I have no doubt of that. Certainly everyone won't feel that way. Everyone has their own perspective. But I suggest that we all appreciate what we've got with VXL- a great product turned out by someone who was just a forum member like the rest of us, looking for the perfect vape.
Sorry to sound like a cheerleader, but there's a lot to be happy about with this vape and company, but everyone should also keep the right perspective. It's not the perfect vape in every respect. There's a price to pay for glass-it's fragile. In this case it's also internal. There are no deep pockets (the big backing $ was offered and declined), so you have to expect occasional delays in production, warranty replacement, and expansion into fancier glass and international models. We can't go behind the scenes at VXL in order to better understand the issues and problems, so we have to take their word for it, and with this company I, for one, am perfectly comfortable with that. I'd also like to point out that we, as a forum, need VXL more than they need us. I'm going to do my best to make sure that sm doesn't feel like the forum is now more trouble than it's worth. For me, it wouldn't just be a case of losing a company presence, it would be like losing a friend. Call me biased. I admit it.
