Old School
Vape13man
Nice post.....The Grasshopper is still convection, but using an on demand heater with no problems of temperature stabilization. Technically, the Grasshopper is not a session vape whatsoever, however I still get some good mileage off it with 2 or 3 friends through a waterpipe. I prefer to use the Grasshopper through a waterpipe as well. In public, obviously I'm not going to carry some glass around with me, so it's the only time I really choose to use the Grasshopper without a waterpipe.
In terms of "sipper or ripper" the Grasshopper is still definitely a ripper. I find sipping often leads to the auto-shut off (doesn't detect the draw). I'm ambivalent on this. It's nice to sip the Air, sometimes I can rip it and not have the temperature drop. The Grasshopper, I have to rip it, but it always delivers.
I prefer the Air for vapor without a waterpipe, but every time I would still choose the Grasshopper over the Air (and Flowermate lol). The thing is, with the Grasshopper I can put in a little bit, turn it up to 2.2 and milk my D020 white, and clear it and milk it 3 or 4 times on a single hit. Turn of the button, get 1 or 2 more milked hits. If I'm not high enough, I will turn it up to 3.2 or 3.3 and do the same. The Grasshopper really is a cloud machine, but I think waterpipes really show it off.
The vapor to the Grasshopper is pretty hot, which is why I prefer to use it through waterpipes. But, having also used both the Air and Grasshopper in public, the Grasshopper is still more discreet, easier to manage, and fun as fuck. I mean come on, who doesn't like the idea of taking a nice 15 second hit, holding while you walk past a nice couple, and then cheese and exhale a giant white cloud that makes you feel like you just hit a boxmod.
With all of this said, I still can't decide on a favorite. My order is definitely GH, Air, FM, but I still love to use all of them. Tastewise, the Grasshopper and the Air... maybe the Air has slightly better for the first few, but the Grasshopper keeps it more even throughout. After 5 minutes of a session with the Air, I need to stir it, which really bugs me since the glass is hot, to maintain good quality tasting vapor.
I do still stir the Grasshopper. I think I overpack it, as I have a really bad scale that can't scale anything less than 2 grams. Ridiculous, but it is what it is. So, usually after 3 or 4 hits on 3 or 4 (lol) I will open up the mouthpiece and push the bits on the top down and stir it a bit. I think the Airpath for the Grasshopper can begin to vape uneven if over or significantly under filled.
Sorry for the tangent, I just kept writing things.
I would like to ask if you might be willing to experiment just a tiny bit for us or perhaps just myself..... In recognition of your statement "on demand heater with no problems of temperature stabilization" I feel this is the true essence... not to make light of the other awesome qualities, form factor, stealth, etc... but the heater and what it is capable of delivering or doing is what makes this vape stand out.....
So lets acknowledge that fact and adjust accordingly..... "rip or sip".... why not both....mix or combine the 2 methods.... I think we can all identify that the heater is capable of maintaining a steady temp no matter how hard the pull.... so if you wish to create a nice full hit but don't really wish to milk it {heavy extraction} but would prefer to create a full but not so heavy or saturated of an inhalation.... what I think many refer to as a session inhalation.... {more draws w/softer vapor}
So here is what I'd experiment with if I had a GH to play with...... my draw speed would be gentle for a few seconds just to get the chambered prewarmed or equalized closer to the vapor temp.... then I would begin to step up my draw speed to RIP speed but not for very long..... this will be the extraction time..... you will have to pin point best time line..... NOW for the mixing stage of our inhalation and I believe the GH has some amazing possibilities.... easiest being to simply click it off and continue drawing and mixing or you could return to a gentle softer pull...... I fond this idea very intriguing because we will still be getting heated air doing it this way.... therefore depending on user timing... the tailoring of our individual inhalations should be very easy to achieve.....
Maybe in the NOT so distant future GH2,3,4 or whatever they will be configurable.... each user could predefine how they'd like their inhalations to turn out...... then we wouldn't have to time ourselves or soften/harden inhale speeds...do it with temp control..dropping it slightly during the mixing stage of the inhalation..... wouldn't that be SOMETHING...!!