Discontinued The Firefly Vaporizer

I was really excited about this, but after seeing that video I think I'm done with it.

For real desktop I have the Extreme Q, for "at home" portable I have the Solo. I was hoping this would be a real portable, but...no. It looks way more like an early 2000s cell-phone than I was hoping--I thought i'd be thinner and lighter. 278 grams...the Note 2 is only 180 grams! Then, the cleaning and eh battery life? I think my hopes were just too high.

I still don't think a real portable that does everything I want exists yet because of limitations in current battery tech...unless the Grasshopper hype is legitimate. No big deal, though. Still love the Solo!

If the firefly is heavy because it's a heat sink, then doesn't it have to be part conduction? It can't be all convection if it utilizes a heat sink can it? Maybe it can, wtf do I know about thermodynamics. I guess the heat sink could be where the heat comes from when it, er, convects.

And the heavier the better so it has a good heat reserve. This is an interesting design, I want to try this one. I like the fact that there's no temps to select, and that it seems strictly for flowers. No small parts to lose and simple to operate on the go works well for me. And I like the stand-alone charger.

A heat sink is for heat dissipation. I believe a heat sink may use conduction to dissipate the heat but not sure.. Still not the conduction you might be thinking.

A heat sink can be used for dissipation if it has cooling fins. I believe that the heat sink on the firefly is for the opposite, to preserve thermal mass. A lot of the weight is also from the battery.

so I just went down and held it. these are my impressions without having used it.

- the packaging is nice...just like the Ascent and Pax
- it is big, but it is also self contained when loaded.
- it has a very solid build feel and looks classy. artistry was considered in the design
- the magnetic lid feels like it will never come off accidentally
- the weight is not due to the battery. I took out the battery and it was surprisingly small and light. I thought it would be two 1350's (or something similar) packed into a proprietary shell, but it's not. the weight is due to the rest of the vape
- it won't be as stealth as the PNPro or Pax, but it is definitely portable
- the bowl appears to have about the same volume as a Solo stem


What got me most excited was when I turned it on and let it heat up until the bowl glowed. I stuck my finger in there and it was room temperature to the touch! The bottom of the bowl gets hot, but there is a screen as a gap so the herb won't touch it. So I am pretty confident this will have the highest convection to conduction ratio of any portable I have seen.

I have a feeling this vape will be popular. However, this is all based on impressions without use.

grokit said:

A heat sink can be used for dissipation if it has cooling fins. I believe that the heat sink on the firefly is for the opposite, to preserve thermal mass. A lot of the weight is also from the battery.

Click to expand...

Mine just arrived. More later...busy now...


Battery is not that big. Most of the weight is from the metal body, not the batt, as far as I can tell.

When I was little I always wanted fireflies year 'round. Still do.

Just got my tracking number, but I'm not gonna open it.

I'm putting a bow on it and sticking it under the tree, for me...

This way, even if the evo is late I will have something to open on the day.

grokit said:

... but I'm not gonna open it.

Click to expand...

More strength than I, no doubt!

Some quick initial first impressions after one session....

1. Learning curve not all that steep. Vapecritic overplays this i think. Fill, cover, hold in button....that's really it. when you let go, how long you hold, all that's part of the curve but it doesn't take long to get big hits.

2. Hits...got big clouds, small invisible tasties, and all the grades in between. Again, just a matter of holding/releasing the heat button and your draw.

3. Vapor quality....excellent. Clouds taste more toasted than smaller hits, natch. The smaller hits taste great. Frankly maybe not quite up to Solo level, but if Solo is a 10, this is an 8. (Put the VB2 at 5, say.)

4. Size. It's heavy, i guess. nothing that would prevent you from taking it somewhere. It's eminently portable. Feels solid and quite elegant. Don't worry about the magnetic lid coming off...it's not all that easy to pry off. can't imagine it coming off in your pocket.

5. It does seem a tad messy. Material comes out and the lid and top inside surface have bits of material on them right away. easy to clean, though, it appears. (no idea how to replace the screen though...if anyone has any wisdom on that, let it roll.) EDIT: Found the screen replacement info in the cleaning guide PDF linked from the Firefly site.

6. Heat...thing gets warm, but not really hot. I was touching the shiny metal surface of the inside top, right about the heater, within 15 or 20 seconds of letting off the heat button...and it seemed coolish. So the heat dissipates right quick.

7. Battery life...no idea yet. More later when i get a handle on it. Basically did five or six draws and had to stop, so we'll see where the batt goes from there. EDIT: Yep, batt life isn't great. Died on me at the beginning of second bowl, maybe 20-ish long draws total. (To be fair i was leaning on the heat button pretty hard much of the time.) It does fully recharge in like 40 minutes so i'm gonna try to catch it at the 30 minute mark so it doesn't top off and see how long that charge lasts me.

Overall, fast, short learning curve, excellent functionality, a little messy so far but no big deal. More later, looking forward to hearing other impressions. But i'm very happy i got it, after one hour. (Too soon?)

mitchgo61 said:

Some quick initial first impressions after one session....

1. Learning curve not all that steep. Vapecritic overplays this i think. Fill, cover, hold in button....that's really it. when you let go, how long you hold, all that's part of the curve but it doesn't take long to get big hits.

2. Hits...got big clouds, small invisible tasties, and all the grades in between. Again, just a matter of holding/releasing the heat button and your draw.

3. Vapor quality....excellent. Clouds taste more toasted than smaller hits, natch. The smaller hits taste great. Frankly maybe not quite up to Solo level, but if Solo is a 10, this is an 8. (Put the VB2 at 5, say.)

4. Size. It's heavy, i guess. nothing that would prevent you from taking it somewhere. It's eminently portable. Feels solid and quite elegant. Don't worry about the magnetic lid coming off...it's not all that easy to pry off. can't imagine it coming off in your pocket.

5. It does seem a tad messy. Material comes out and the lid and top inside surface have bits of material on them right away. easy to clean, though, it appears. (no idea how to replace the screen though...if anyone has any wisdom on that, let it roll.)

6. Heat...thing gets warm, but not really hot. I was touching the shiny metal surface of the inside top, right about the heater, within 15 or 20 seconds of letting off the heat button...and it seemed coolish. So the heat dissipates right quick.

7. Battery life...no idea yet. More later when i get a handle on it. Basically did five or six draws and had to stop, so we'll see where the batt goes from there.

Overall, fast, short learning curve, excellent functionality, a little messy so far but no big deal. More later, looking forward to hearing other impressions. But i'm very happy i got it, after one hour. (Too soon?)

Click to expand...

On the VapeCritic Review, he says a small modification would be to put a screen on top of the bowl, so less mess on the lid. Also do you have to stir the bowl constantly every few hits that the VapeCritic mentions in his review? How would you rate the vapor production or clouds compared to the Solo? Thanks for the thorough review. Much appreciated.

Looper said:

On the VapeCritic Review, he says a small modification would be to put a screen on top of the bowl, so less mess on the lid. Also do you have to stir the bowl constantly every few hits that the VapeCritic mentions in his review? How would you rate the vapor production or clouds compared to the Solo? Thanks for the thorough review. Much appreciated.

Click to expand...

I'm in the process of playing with a few top screens to see what size works. I tried a spare one that came with the unit but it's a little small, and dislodged on the first hit. I'm sure i can find a size that will lay on top and minimize any mess. EDIT: a 3/4 inch screen placed on top of the bowl seems to work. It stays in place nicely thanks to the seal made by the magnetic lid and it keeps all the material in the bowl, which is a huge improvement. FF should consider adding an attached upper screen to future versions. Easy way to solve the mess issue.

I don't think you'd really have to stir every three hits if you could keep it a bit neater. it's not toasting the material unevenly like a conduction vape would, as far as i can tell.

I seem to be able to get clouds easily (just hold the button down longer). I think the flavor of hits that size is about a notch below the Solo. Quite good, but not as good as the Solo. May be a matter of learning curve again to get the best possible heat/draw combo.

mitchgo61 said:

I'm in the process of playing with a few top screens to see what size works. I tried a spare one that came with the unit but it's a little small, and dislodged on the first hit. I'm sure i can find a size that will lay on top and minimize any mess. EDIT: a 3/4 inch screen placed on top of the bowl seems to work. It stays in place nicely thanks to the seal made by the magnetic lid and it keeps all the material in the bowl, which is a huge improvement. FF should consider adding an attached upper screen to future versions. Easy way to solve the mess issue.

I don't think you'd really have to stir every three hits if you could keep it a bit neater. it's not toasting the material unevenly like a conduction vape would, as far as i can tell.

I seem to be able to get clouds easily (just hold the button down longer). I think the flavor of hits that size is about a notch below the Solo. Quite good, but not as good as the Solo. May be a matter of learning curve again to get the best possible heat/draw combo.

Click to expand...

I imagine the size of the grind comes into play as far as how messy the Fly gets, also how well it produces vapor? MFLB finishing grind or just the bigger Spacecase size grind...?

Musicslv said:

I imagine the size of the grind comes into play as far as how messy the Fly gets, also how well it produces vapor? MFLB finishing grind or just the bigger Spacecase size grind...?

Click to expand...

Yes, absolutely. And the use of a top screen basically solved 95% of the mess problem, quite easily. My second session otherwise was less successful...i found myself right on the edge of combustion a couple times. I thought I wasn't leaning on the button more than my first session, but there's definitely a technique to applying heat, not unlike the MFLB. It's definitely worth knowing that this thing WILL combust if you are too enthusiastic with the heat button.

So far my initial impressions are verified! The Firefly is a Lotus with a battery and equally elegant... If nothing else comes till then, and I am pretty sure the Grasshopper will be weaker than this, I am already saving money for this beauty! Bye bye Solo as well!

Then only a Herbie will be missing from the ultimate set up...

mitchgo61 said:

Yes, absolutely. And the use of a top screen basically solved 95% of the mess problem, quite easily. My second session otherwise was less successful...i found myself right on the edge of combustion a couple times. I thought I wasn't leaning on the button more than my first session, but there's definitely a technique to applying heat, not unlike the MFLB. It's definitely worth knowing that this thing WILL combust if you are too enthusiastic with the heat button.

Click to expand...

When you say edge of combustion, what do you mean exactly? How dark was the ABV? I am having trouble understanding how combustion could occur in this vape, so I'm really curious. Do you think that maybe the inclusion of the screen had something to do with it? Thanks.

harley said:

When you say edge of combustion, what do you mean exactly? How dark was the ABV? I am having trouble understanding how combustion could occur in this vape, so I'm really curious. Do you think that maybe the inclusion of the screen had something to do with it? Thanks.

Click to expand...

Like dark dark brown on a very quick stroll to black. The hit was very dense and tasted not burned like smoke, but super close. I too wouldn't have thought you could combust if this thing really tops out at 400F. I, too, considered that the addition of the top screen may have caused this...since it's the only variable i changed, other than the actual material, i guess it's possible. I'm not sure how that could have made it that much hotter..perhaps the addition of metal on top of the material which gets heated caused some unintended conduction or something. I"m sure someone here smarter than I on these things has an opinion.

i'm doing round three without the top screen to see what happens. pity, it was an easy fix to the mess issue, but not worth losing control of the heating.

Gizmodo just posted a review. I'm getting very interested about this one. I may have to give myself a birthday/xmas present.

Mines on its way. Hopefully have it early next week.

69$ for international shipping and only 110Vs? The cost goes up to 370$ including a spare battery and charger... Not my time yet...

I like this one too,battery life would be the only downside for me, it could be smaller but i can live with that. Anyway i guess this won't be in europe ? And don't you guys thing this vape would be even more beautiful if the mouth piece was the same system like the Pax ?

I'd love for a pax owner to compare runtime. A simple "three bowls in the pax, two in the firefly" would be good enough for me.

Considering selling my pax for this honestly. I'm a huge fan of convection over conduction.

k0udek said:

And don't you guys thing this vape would be even more beautiful if the mouth piece was the same system like the Pax ?

Click to expand...

Yes and no. The mouthpiece is the only part of the pax to ever give me an issue.

looking at runtime of the battery, I'm glad I snagged up the external charger and extra battery with my order.
I like to keep going untill there's no more vapor left, sometimes 20 draws just isn't enough to do it.

Can this thing be used while charging? Sorry if it has been mentioned, I haven't noticed yet... Does it have a plug charger? or do you have to remove the battery and charge it separately?