MiniVAP Vaporizer

I.b.vaping said:

Hey Vapst do you have the new model? Didn't think you could use the decarb kit with the new model with glass inside!?

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Sadly not .
Whish to have one in my hand to compare with my older one.

I.b.vaping said:

Thanks for the honesty sid, to be honest every vaporizer I've bought I've initially been disappointed with! But like with most it takes a little time to see what work best for the you, just out of interest though, does anyone here own both a minivap and volcano? What's your thoughts?...

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I think you can combine both very well together, MV for the first tasty run and the Volcano afterwards to get the ABV darker and take everything out of the herbs ^^.
At the end I like or love the MV more then the Volcano. The taste is untouchable for me.

Sid said:

As much as I can see what VF is saying, as I've been concerned that I'm coming across as being negative here, but I'm honestly not a negative guy, I'm just giving my honest opinion of the MV, in the hope that it gives people proper expectations of what they'll get, I also think it helps the manufacturers get valuable feedback which they can use to improve their product/service, it's not about bashing them or just having a pointless moan.

As said, don't be put off, buy from VF as he gives great service, just don't expect it to knock the socks off your other vapes in every way, sure it'll be better in some if not most ways, but not necessarily in every way!

So far, I think in terms of taste the Solo is better, but the MV certainly uses less and gets you more wrecked!

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Hey Sid,

I am a bit confused. I have the silver with black lining (received in mid December straight from Hermes. I remember sticks stating that the glass lining were not out yet. I am not sure which one I have but I am still enjoying it more than my mighty.

mixchu69 said:

Hey Sid,

I am a bit confused. I have the silver with black lining (received in mid December straight from Hermes. I remember sticks stating that the glass lining were not out yet. I am not sure which one I have but I am still enjoying it more than my mighty.

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I expect you have the glass lining, there's a photo with the two side by side a few pages back, I also have a silver with black lining and glass core, received direct from Hermes in December.

However, as long as you're enjoying it, I suppose it doesn't really matter

Sid said:

I expect you have the glass lining, there's a photo with the two side by side a few pages back, I also have a silver with black lining and glass core, received direct from Hermes in December.

However, as long as you're enjoying it, I suppose it doesn't really matter

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Mine looks like the one on the left, the older model.

mixchu69 said:

Mine looks like the one on the left, the older model.

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Really? Well there we are! It seems like it's been pot luck (excuse the pun) for people ordering MV's in the last month or so, and it seems you got lucky!

I.b.vaping said:

Didn't think you could use the decarb kit with the new model with glass inside!?

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My decarb kit doesn't fit in the glass core.

I'm glad to hear VN likes the taste of the glass better. More opinions is good! I get the feeling when talking to Hermes that they have gotten good feedback on the glass core from others. I may be the only one who prefers the original. While VN's comment about us finding fault can be very true, that's not the case in this thread. I really like the sober tone in this thread!

I still think the most important thing for people to think through when buying this vape is the path you hook it up to. The stock options keep the experience at the floor level, imo, whereas getting better mouthpieces or bubblers in there makes it a top notch experience!

mixchu69 said:

so you find your current setup to give you the best flavor? I am going to buy a vapor brothers whip and try some different mouthpieces from different vaporizers and see what works for me. What is the mouthpiece you are using?

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Absolutely, with the new whip I get huge, nicely cooled clouds with a very pure flavor on every draw, no matter how big or small the draw. Initially I was ok with the flexione+ with plastic mouthpiece attached, but after a month of that I decided it was too short for my liking, and unless I pulled only small draws the heat and dryness of the clouds would mess with my throat and degrade the flavor. Now I'm quite happy, and no matter how long I draw or how big the cloud I get it is very cool and delicious. (like below room temperature - something about the herbalizer whip is really cooling)

I got this one, with the stainless steel mouthpiece which has a great mouthfeel imo: http://www.vapornation.com/herbalizer-whip-system.html

Sid said:

I was expecting a 'taste sensation' from my MV when it really isn't that, the hit and clouds from it are fantastic but the flavor certainly isn't. As for full or portable, I went for the portable, the battery life is pretty good.

@OnCloud8 ~ when did you buy your MV? Do you know if it's one of the newer versions? I only ask as mine's the newer version, it's silver but the trim around where the battery meets the vape and the basket surround at the top of the vape are black on mine whereas they look white on yours!

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Mine is the teflon core one, for sure. Purchased in mid Dec from Vapornation. The teflon lining is actually something that initially attracted me to the MV, because I've had an Arizer extreme Q for years and broken so many glass parts, I was looking for something with more durable construction. Keeping an eye on the glass core development with interest, but very happy with mine now that I got the longer whip hooked up.

I had a similar experience with the taste being a bit off sometimes before I got the new, longer whip. Sometimes it was delicious and sometimes it was harsh and a bit sour on exhale. The longer whip makes a huge difference. Really, for $20 it's an easily justified upgrade after spending the cash on such an expensive vape in the first place.

Thanks @OnCloud8, that's really encouraging, I've looked and can't see any UK distributors for the whip you've bought, and it looks ideal, I think my next step really needs to be a new whip and then a water tool.

Sid said:

Really? Well there we are! It seems like it's been pot luck (excuse the pun) for people ordering MV's in the last month or so, and it seems you got lucky!

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Maybe I'm wrong, but that's what it looks like. I will take a picture and load it up (not tech savvie so might take some time).

Regarding the criticism of this thread, I think it does not bash. Everyone posts their experience with different configurations. Those who are having trouble, everyone is trying to help. I stated it previously, but this thread has a family feel where everyone wants to help us newbs get the best experience from our mv. I really like Minnbobber pictorial on 132 of this thread.

I personally would not like a thread that just says it's good, I like it, etc. without detailed explanation. you can make the minivap as simple or complicated as you make it.

Sid said:

Thanks @OnCloud8, that's really encouraging, I've looked and can't see any UK distributors for the whip you've bought, and it looks ideal, I think my next step really needs to be a new whip and then a water tool.

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It's a fairly small, light item, I would think you could probably get it from a US website without paying too much in shipping. I used to buy records from the UK fairly regularly and shipping was never too expensive, I would think this would be similar to that.

I don't actually have a Herbie or know much about the company, but maybe there is an authorized UK distributer that could get it for you also?

OnCloud8 said:

It's a fairly small, light item, I would think you could probably get it from a US website without paying too much in shipping. I used to buy records from the UK fairly regularly and shipping was never too expensive, I would think this would be similar to that.

I don't actually have a Herbie or know much about the company, but maybe there is an authorized UK distributer that could get it for you also?

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Cheapest is over $40 for delivery! I can't find any distributors in the UK but will keep looking around, I'm assuming that essentially all I need is something with 14mm diameter?

Thanks to everyone who gave me some advice, just to let everyone know I've just ordered a full kit black minivap and it'll be here tomorrow!! Can't wait! Will post a review and let you know how I get on

stickstones said:

Now the thinking is that the glass would taste more pure, but my unit doesn't. It gets a slight spent taste almost immediately. The difference was so noticeable that I asked Jorge if my temps were wrong...almost like it were calibrated too high and I was cooking at higher temps.

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Just thinking out loud here... is it possible the glass is creating some conduction, rather than pure convection even though the temps are the same? I think that's what happens on my Cloud EVO, which is why the taste suffers slightly by comparison.

Tbh, I'd probably prefer teflon to glass, if only because of durability concerns. Cracked glass bamboos seem to be the number one reason for returns of Cloud EVOs.

I have my MiniVAP! Went for the full kit, adaptor and battery

I will have more questions... Starting with: how do folks use this with two of you? One long draw and pass, working up through the temps as it stops producing decent vapour on each one?

And thanks so much to the vapefiend, I swung by his warehouse today to pick it up in person, met him and his staff, great bunch of people and so, so helpful. If you're in the UK, this is who you should be buying your vapes from!

bigmouth said:

is it possible the glass is creating some conduction, rather than pure convection even though the temps are the same?

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Not with this unit. The glass never comes into contact with my load. You can pack it directly into the chamber, but I never do...always use the baskets.

bigmouth said:

Tbh, I'd probably prefer teflon to glass, if only because of durability concerns. Cracked glass bamboos seem to be the number one reason for returns of Cloud EVOs.

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No doubt the teflon will be less prone to breakage, but this unit is designed so differently from the Evo that I don't think it is similar. The Evo has the glass sticking out of both ends, whereas the MV has the glass all contained inside the unit. It would take a catastrophic internal hit to move things enough to break it, imo.

As for taste of the glass, I seem to be alone here without anyone to confirm, so I won't bother to post about it anymore until someone else has an opinion here. Please don't ever rely on my opinion alone for anything...take the buddhist approach!

stickstones said:

Not with this unit. The glass never comes into contact with my load. You can pack it directly into the chamber, but I never do...always use the baskets.

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But does the glass come in contact with the metal basket? I ask because the Cloud EVO uses baskets, too, but some conduction nevertheless seems to occur once the bamboo heats up fully. I wonder if something similar could be happening here.

stickstones said:

No doubt the teflon will be less prone to breakage, but this unit is designed so differently from the Evo that I don't think it is similar. The Evo has the glass sticking out of both ends, whereas the MV has the glass all contained inside the unit. It would take a catastrophic internal hit to move things enough to break it, imo.

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True, but many bamboo breaks seem to occur inside the EVO. Mine supposedly broke simply because the heater was wrapped too tightly around the glass. No catastrophic hit required. Sheer speculation, as I have no idea how the glass is used in the MV, but I am concerned the use of glass could create unanticipated manufacturing issues.

I.b.vaping said:

Thanks to everyone who gave me some advice, just to let everyone know I've just ordered a full kit black minivap and it'll be here tomorrow!! Can't wait! Will post a review and let you know how I get on

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Nice one! I'm sure you'll enjoy it!

stonevape said:

I have my MiniVAP! Went for the full kit, adaptor and battery

I will have more questions... Starting with: how do folks use this with two of you? One long draw and pass, working up through the temps as it stops producing decent vapour on each one?

And thanks so much to the vapefiend, I swung by his warehouse today to pick it up in person, met him and his staff, great bunch of people and so, so helpful. If you're in the UK, this is who you should be buying your vapes from!

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Agreed, wish I lived near London! Got to wait until tomorrow

@bigmouth - The basket does not come into contact with the glass. There is a little distance between the glass and the top of the chamber where the basket sits.

As to the innards, they are completely different. Those internal bamboo breaks were due to a manufacturing error that was pretty quickly eliminated. The error is specific to the design of the Evo, and the MV has a different design. The Evo has its heater wrapped around the outside of the glass air path. The MV has the heater and exchanger inside the glass tube air path. So nothing is stressing the glass except heat, and Hermes says the boro-silicate glass can withstand higher temps than the previous design.

Now, I'm not going to sit here and tell you the glass won't break. But i will tell you it will take a different type of fuck up to break this thing than the Evo. You would either have to throw it fairly hard or stick something in the chamber and bash the sides to get a break.

If anyone in the UK knows where I can get a whip that'll fit the MV I'd be grateful for a link, I've just tried a few baskets with a glass mouthpiece from my Davinci Ascent on the end of the flexicone and it was a HUGE improvement, amazing the difference that a piece of glass tubing a few inches long can make!

Good to see more people moving in on the minivap
Check out my solution to the dry vapor dilemma guys


My favorite is the first one. The extra length cools down the vapor and I get to see the vapor dance and swirl...

Sid said:

If anyone in the UK knows where I can get a whip that'll fit the MV I'd be grateful for a link, I've just tried a few baskets with a glass mouthpiece from my Davinci Ascent on the end of the flexicone and it was a HUGE improvement, amazing the difference that a piece of glass tubing a few inches long can make!

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Not quite what you're after but when I was down at the Vapefiend's warehouse today I asked what I could fit my Pinnacle Pro hydrotube to the MV with and got the Magic Flight whip with 14mm adaptor set in wood at one end, and glass 'female to female' connector piece at the other. Connector slots into the existing MV whip to join them together, adaptor goes into water tube.

But then we just tried using the glass adaptor piece itself, without the water tube - wow. Cool air, bigger hits, and a long enough whip that the MV lies on the sofa between us and we just pass the mouthpiece.

just got off the phone with Vapornation. My return was approved and I will receive a replacement. I was told that they are still waiting on the new shipment from Hermes, which, they have been promised, will not suffer from the heating issues that unfortunately plagued many units this past fall. they are hoping to receive the shipment by the end of the month. it sounded like they expect that this shipment will have the new glass liners, but they won't know for sure until they get their hands on them.

stonevape said:

I have my MiniVAP! Went for the full kit, adaptor and battery

I will have more questions... Starting with: how do folks use this with two of you? One long draw and pass, working up through the temps as it stops producing decent vapour on each one?

And thanks so much to the vapefiend, I swung by his warehouse today to pick it up in person, met him and his staff, great bunch of people and so, so helpful. If you're in the UK, this is who you should be buying your vapes from!

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I was lurking here since long time and was eager to buy one every fucking single nights, and finally decided to buy one last night but Stickstones review popped up and his word is valuable to me, so even I literately live 6 miles away from his ware house, I sadly still waiting for more feeedbacks from users with new glass core.

I am so jealous that you ordered one today and you are already enjoying it with you on you couch!

Reading these posts, it seems like the consensus is longer tubing with a glass mouthpiece is making the minivap more enjoyable.