Looking for a portable, healthy, durable vaporizer for concentrates. Price and stealth not an issue.

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sbj

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I'm looking for a high quality, healthy vaporizer that I can use with wax/shatter/oil. I don't want to vape in my house, so I think I will need a portable vaporizer. Stealth/odor is not an issue, so I don't care how it looks. I'm currently using a MFLB with the concentrates tray and a power adapter. I live in Seattle, so I will not be able to keep MFLB plugged in outside with the rain coming here soon. I usually vape once or twice when I get off work and usually a lot more(4 to 7 times a day) on the weekend. This would primarily be used for solo use. Price is not really an issue, I just want something that will last and is healthy. An added bonus would be if I can vape hash with it, but this is not necessary if it limits my options. I'm considering the Omnicron V2, Persei, Vaporbrothers' Dabbler, and the Cera. Any input or direction would be appreciated.
 
sbj,

dime

Well-Known Member
I am wondering the same.

My chief concern is finding a vaporizer that actually vaporizes -- and does not burn -- like the shitty units do.
 
dime,

max

Out to lunch
Every vaporizer with a thread here on FC vaporizes, and very few get any votes for being anywhere close to shitty. This isn't your thread though, so don't post unless you've got a suggestion for the OP.
 

Caligula

Maximus
@sbj @dime

UP Tech Persei w/ the Hercules SR71 attachment. Best portable vape ever in my opinion. No wicks, no coils, no rubber or silicone. Only stainless steel and ceramic. On top of that it's built like a tank.

Plus it does everything from flowers to oil to scissor hash like a boss. Want to toss in a dab? It'll do that. Want to cram in 1 gram of wax for extended use on the go? It'll do that too. Plus you can reclaim everything that isn't vaped. Everything. Try that with any other vape and let me know how it goes.
 
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nopartofme

Over the falls, in a barrel
@sbj

UP Tech Persei w/ the Hercules SR71 attachment. Best portable vape ever in my opinion. No wicks, no coils, no rubber or silicone. Only stainless steel and ceramic. On top of that it's built like a tank.

Plus it does everything from flowers to oil to scissor hash like a boss. Want to toss in a dab? It'll do that. Want to cram in 1 gram of wax for extended use on the go? It'll do that too. Plus you can reclaim everything that isn't vaped. Everything. Try that with any other vape and let me know how it goes.
Cera can handle that too :tup:

I'd love to get my hands on the SR71 to see just how well it does herbs. Well enough for someone who mostly uses oil doing flower once in a while maybe, but how about someone using flower 90% of the time like OP?

Edit: Oops got my Ask FC threads mixed up, wrong OP.
 
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Caligula

Maximus
@nopartofme
I've yet to load straight herb into mine. What I have done however is to put flowers on top of the "oil coil" (a dense metal mesh that holds your concentrate until it's heated). Basically with that I'm vaping concentrate which then passes through the herb which also gets vaped. The end result is amazing taste and a wicked high.

Also not to knock the Cera on performance, but I have reservations about the fact that it looks like a giant dildo, lol. I can easily unscrew the Hercules from my Persi and carry both in the same pocket without attracting attention... another bonus I suppose.
 

wallpaper

Member
I think the #1 priority with any vape should be health, and the cera seems to have that locked down the best, imo. There is talk of a cera mini, which sounds like it could be promising. Thermovape seems pretty on point.
 
wallpaper,

sbj

New Member
@sbj @dime

UP Tech Persei w/ the Hercules SR71 attachment. Best portable vape ever in my opinion. No wicks, no coils, no rubber or silicone. Only stainless steel and ceramic. On top of that it's built like a tank.

Plus it does everything from flowers to oil to scissor hash like a boss. Want to toss in a dab? It'll do that. Want to cram in 1 gram of wax for extended use on the go? It'll do that too. Plus you can reclaim everything that isn't vaped. Everything. Try that with any other vape and let me know how it goes.

Thanks, I didn't realize the Persei could do small hits/dabs. I was leaning towards the vaporbrothers dabbler because it didn't require a full cartridge and I like to use different types of concentrates(sativa, indica, mixes) throughout the day. The fact that the persei can vape hash is an added bonus. Gonna have to research the persei more...

Cera can handle that too :tup:

I'd love to get my hands on the SR71 to see just how well it does herbs. Well enough for someone who mostly uses oil doing flower once in a while maybe, but how about someone using flower 90% of the time like OP?

Edit: Oops got my Ask FC threads mixed up, wrong OP.


I'm still researching the Cera. After reading about 20 pages of the main thread on this site and checking some other sites, I have a few concerns. My main concern is that I've read that the Cera gets too hot and is almost unusable. I've also read that the Cera's shape makes it rollable/breakable, the switch placement is awkward, the LL cartridge doesn't work well, and it's overpriced for what it does. I'm still trying to work through the main Cera thread, so bear with me if I'm wrong.
 
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Caligula

Maximus
Also remember I'm suggesting the Persei with the new (v2) Hercules SR71 attachment. The standard Persei carts can only do concentrates and in .5 to 1g increments. Of course even with the added cost of that attachment, it's still quite a bit less than the total cost of some other units.

And that's another thing. The Persei is completely modular and has a plethora of different attachments and carts. Plus a simple adapter will allow you to use carts and attachments meant of other brand units as well. It's like the Dremel of portable vapes.
 
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sbj

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Also remember I'm suggesting the Persei with the new (v2) Hercules SR71 attachment. The standard Persei carts can only do concentrates and in .5 to 1g increments. Of course even with the added cost of that attachment, it's still quite a bit less than the total cost of some other units.

And that's another thing. The Persei is completely modular and has a plethora of different attachments and carts. Plus a simple adapter will allow you to use carts and attachments meant of other brand units as well. It's like the Dremel of portable vapes.

Looks like they are out of stock of the hercules. I've read a lot of good things about the Persei on reddit. You heard/tried the bubbler attachment? With the hercules attachment the Persei would be about the same price as the Cera. Besides the looks/portability of the Cera, what are your thoughts on the Cera?
 

Caligula

Maximus
Everyone has been jumping on the Hercules train. I'm sure UP Tech needs to restock after the run on their initial batch. Calling them or emailing should solve that mystery pretty quickly @THC SCIENTIFIC

That being said, I'm honestly not the person to answer questions about the Cera. I haven't owned one, I've only used my friend's. It works well for what it's meant to do, just like most of the high end units... but that's really all I can say about it. Of course as you know ,using someone else's vape once in a while is very different from living with one on a daily basis. No unit is prefect, and they all have their quirks and drawbacks.

In any regard, from my limited experience with the Cera, I can say I prefer the versatility of the Persei. Add in the aesthetics aspect and portability of the Persei, and you know why I own what I own.

As for the bubbler... which one are you talking about? The Nibbler attachments or the whole bubbler rig? I can tell you the Nibbler X is a worth while attachment to get. As for the bubbler, I haven't used it. I use a whip style attachment to draw hits from my bong. check out YouTube vids of the Hercules and Persei from @BLAZING OG
 
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nopartofme

Over the falls, in a barrel
I'm still researching the Cera. After reading about 20 pages of the main thread on this site and checking some other sites, I have a few concerns. My main concern is that I've read that the Cera gets too hot and is almost unusable. I've also read that the Cera's shape makes it rollable/breakable, the switch placement is awkward, the LL cartridge doesn't work well, and it's overpriced for what it does. I'm still trying to work through the main Cera thread, so bear with me if I'm wrong.
The Cera thread has a rough start. There was a massive amount of initial interest and it took a long time for more than a few people to get their hands on it, so "popular consensus" jumped to conclusions based on few users' reports. I'll try to do some summarizing here.

Disclaimer: I only have the LL cart. I'm the (only?) guy around here who paid $300 for a Cera only intending to use it with herbs and I'm still happy 9 months later!


The heat thing makes sense when you step back and look at what exactly the LL cart is doing. It's delivering true convective heating, which means there is a heat exchanger inside which air is drawn through in order to be heated to vaporizing temperatures and then moved through your herbs. For that to work the actual heater has to get to temperatures even higher than vaping temps. I've heard >1000ºF quoted before.

But, we're doing this in a portable, something you're holding! So you have to be shielded from that heat somehow. What they've done is made the entire thing out of ceramic zirconia, which is a great insulator! But this means that while the outside takes a noticeably long time to heat up, considering the amount of heat on the inside, it also takes a noticeably long time to cool down.

With that said, once you get the technique down it's easy to get heavy dosing done before it gets too hot to put to your lips, and even then you can throw on a silicone heat shield to keep puffing for a bit longer, or switch to using it with a bong. And while getting vapor as fast as you can from a cold start takes learning but is eminently possible, pulling vapor from a steaming hot Cera is easy as pie.

After that, as a mostly-solo vaporist, I find the Cera is always cool and ready to go by the time I want any more. I always take the battery out after a session so it doesn't stay heated inside while the Cera's cooling down. Not necessary, but maybe helpful for long-term battery life? Chicken soup


It is rollable and breakable. The ceramic is really fancy stuff, they aren't lying when they say it's far stronger than a ceramic coffee mug, but it's not by any means indestructible. You'll want to treat it with respect, like a smartphone.

And speaking of the ceramic, I personally find the vape stunning in person, dildo-minded folks be damned. :lol:

I don't find the switch placement that awkward in practice, though I admit it seems strange at first glance, and I also admit I have large hands. I've heard others in the Cera thread say they've grown comfortable with it as well, but YMMV. Some creative folks have come up with some simple mods to make it latch in the on position if you want. You can find those on the Vaporpedia page.


The bit about the LL cart not working well is bunk, but it seems that some have had trouble learning how to harness its power. It requires a bit of technique like any other manual vape (MFLB, FlashVape…). Some have chosen to modify their mouthpiece to maximize airflow. This will give you a freer draw but may lead to more throat irritation and coughing. Something like the Solo's stock stem vs PVHES I think. I personally haven't done this, I love it just the way it is!


As for the overpriced part, I don't see it, but that is a subjective judgement.
A $300 CLL setup gets you what is IMO an outstanding portable vape that is one of the few examples of convection-dominant vaporization in the portable market right now.
It's ridiculously cleanable, whether you're looking at how fast and easy it is to wipe clean routinely or how intensely you can clean it prior to traveling with it.
The UFO mouthpiece does an incredible job cooling the vapor; I have not once thought "I wish I had a water tool to run this vapor through" whereas the MFLB had previously prompted me to buy a bubbler that later broke.
With that said, the design allows it to mate with a GonG joint very easily. Nice for the oil cart I'm quite sure!
The convective power combined with the ceramic bowl design make it a top contender for portable bubble hash vaping.
The battery life is good, competitive with the Persei owing to its lower voltage. And the batteries are removable and replaceable thank goodness, built-in batteries bug me to no end.
And of course, for a mere $100 more you've now got CEO and LLC.

For a vaporist that is usually rolling solo, I think it is a real monster. Group settings are where I can see heat buildup possibly becoming frustrating, for someone in the group at least. Though, if somehow everyone in the group was an LLC expert, I think you might do just fine!

If you can't tell, I really love this vape. I hope some of my glowing ramble helped condense some useful info for you. I find it easy to get carried away…


As for a definitive verdict on Cera vs Persei, I can't offer any such thing. I've never used a Persei though I have been following the buzz around the SR71 and I think it looks great, a real competitor to the CEO for performance it seems. All I can do is offer up what I do know, and that is a lot about the LLC. And I think this little cart is the real wildcard when comparing Persei to Cera. Hope I've shed some light on what's what with the thing so you can better decide what's what for you.
 
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sbj

New Member
Everyone has been jumping on the Hercules train. I'm sure UP Tech needs to restock after the run on their initial batch. Calling them or emailing should solve that mystery pretty quickly @THC SCIENTIFIC

That being said, I'm honestly not the person to answer questions about the Cera. I haven't owned one, I've only used my friend's. It works well for what it's meant to do, just like most of the high end units... but that's really all I can say about it. Of course as you know ,using someone else's vape once in a while is very different from living with one on a daily basis. No unit is prefect, and they all have their quirks and drawbacks.

In any regard, from my limited experience with the Cera, I can say I prefer the versatility of the Persei. Add in the aesthetics aspect and portability of the Persei, and you know why I own what I own.

As for the bubbler... which one are you talking about? The Nibbler attachments or the whole bubbler rig? I can tell you the Nibbler X is a worth while attachment to get. As for the bubbler, I haven't used it. I use a whip style attachment to draw hits from my bong. check out YouTube vids of the Hercules and Persei from @BLAZING OG

Thanks, I think the persei is now one of my top choices along with the Cera. I was referring to the Nibbler X. I don't have a bong, so do you think this would be the best option for a water attachment?

  1. The Cera thread has a rough start. There was a massive amount of initial interest and it took a long time for more than a few people to get their hands on it, so "popular consensus" jumped to conclusions based on few users' reports. I'll try to do some summarizing here.

    Disclaimer: I only have the LL cart. I'm the (only?) guy around here who paid $300 for a Cera only intending to use it with herbs and I'm still happy 9 months later!

    The heat thing makes sense when you step back and look at what exactly the LL cart is doing. It's delivering true convective heating, which means there is a heat exchanger inside which air is drawn through in order to be heated to vaporizing temperatures and then moved through your herbs. For that to work the actual heater has to get to temperatures even higher than vaping temps. I've heard >1000ºF quoted before.

    But, we're doing this in a portable, something you're holding! So you have to be shielded from that heat somehow. What they've done is made the entire thing out of ceramic zirconia, which is a great insulator! But this means that while the outside takes a noticeably long time to heat up, considering the amount of heat on the inside, it also takes a noticeably long time to cool down.

    With that said, once you get the technique down it's easy to get heavy dosing done before it gets too hot to put to your lips, and even then you can throw on a silicone heat shield to keep puffing for a bit longer, or switch to using it with a bong. And while getting vapor as fast as you can from a cold start takes learning but is eminently possible, pulling vapor from a steaming hot Cera is easy as pie.

    After that, as a mostly-solo vaporist, I find the Cera is always cool and ready to go by the time I want any more. I always take the battery out after a session so it doesn't stay heated inside while the Cera's cooling down. Not necessary, but maybe helpful for long-term battery life? Chicken soup

    It is rollable and breakable. The ceramic is really fancy stuff, they aren't lying when they say it's far stronger than a ceramic coffee mug, but it's not by any means indestructible. You'll want to treat it with respect, like a smartphone.

    And speaking of the ceramic, I personally find the vape stunning in person, dildo-minded folks be damned. :lol:

    I don't find the switch placement that awkward in practice, though I admit it seems strange at first glance, and I also admit I have large hands. I've heard others in the Cera thread say they've grown comfortable with it as well, but ymmv. Some creative folks have come up with some simple mods to make it latch in the on position if you want. You can find those on the Vaporpedia page.

    The bit about the LL cart not working well is bunk, but it seems that some have had trouble learning how to harness its power. It requires a bit of technique like any other manual vape (MFLB, FlashVape…). Some have chosen to modify their mouthpiece to maximize airflow. This will give you a freer draw but may lead to more throat irritation and coughing. Something like the Solo's stock stem vs PVHES I think. I personally haven't done this, I love it just the way it is!


    As for the overpriced part, I don't see it but that is a subjective judgement.
    A $300 CLL setup gets you what is IMO an outstanding portable vape that is one of the few examples of convection-dominant vaporization in the portable market right now.
    It's ridiculously cleanable, whether you're looking at how fast and easy it is to wipe clean routinely or how intensely you can clean it prior to traveling with it.
    The UFO mouthpiece does an incredible job cooling the vapor; I have not once thought "I wish I had a water tool to run this vapor through" whereas the MFLB had previously prompted me to buy a bubbler that later broke.
    With that said, the design allows it to mate with a GonG joint very easily. Nice for the oil cart I'm quite sure!
    The convective power combined with the ceramic bowl design make it a top contender for portable bubble hash vaping.
    The battery life is good, competitive with the Persei owing to its lower voltage. And the batteries are removable and replaceable thank goodness, built-in batteries bug me to no end.
    And of course, for a mere $100 more you've now got CEO and LLC.

    For a vaporist that is usually rolling solo, I think it is a real monster. Group settings are where I can see heat buildup possibly becoming frustrating, for someone in the group at least. Though, if somehow everyone in the group was an LLC expert, I think you might do just fine!

    If you can't tell, I really love this vape. I hope some of my glowing ramble helped condense some info for you. I find it easy to get carried away…


    As for a definitive verdict on Cera vs Persei, I can't offer any such thing. I've never used a Persei though I have been following the buzz around the SR71 and I think it looks great, a real competitor to the CEO for performance it seems. All I can do is offer up what I do know, and that is a lot about the LLC. And I think this little cart is the real wildcard when comparing Persei to Cera. Hope I've shed some light on what's what with the thing so you can better decide what's what for you.

    Thanks, I appreciate you and caligulas unbiased reviews. I'm assuming most people were happy with the wax cart in the main thread? Also, what cart would I need if I wanted to vape hash?
mod note: Back to back posting, in order to quote multiple posters, is not allowed. Edit to add to a post please.
 
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nopartofme

Over the falls, in a barrel
Thanks, I appreciate you and caligulas unbiased reviews. I'm assuming most people were happy with the wax cart in the main thread? Also, what cart would I need if I wanted to vape hash?
Yep, the CEO is the star of the show over there, very well liked. Pretty much the only complaints you'll hear from that group are related to the base that the core screws into. Many are waiting hopefully for the "Cera Mini" base, which from what I understand won't so much be smaller as much as lighter, not being made of ceramic yet still holding 18650s.

The LL cart is best for solid concentrates like bubble hash and old school hash that don't pass the "foil test" (completely melting and vaping off of a piece of aluminum foil cleanly). The EO cart needs the cleaner stuff, I believe I once heard "supermelt" named as a possible minimum, meaning even a so-called "full melt" bubble hash wouldn't be up to scruff there I think?
 
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sbj

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Yep, the CEO is the star of the show over there, very well liked. Pretty much the only complaints you'll hear from that group are related to the base that the core screws into. Many are waiting hopefully for the "Cera Mini" base, which from what I understand won't so much be smaller as much as lighter, not being made of ceramic yet still holding 18650s.

The LL cart is best for solid concentrates like bubble hash and old school hash that don't pass the "foil test" (completely melting and vaping off of a piece of aluminum foil cleanly). The EO cart needs the cleaner stuff, I believe I once heard "supermelt" named as a possible minimum, meaning even a so-called "full melt" bubble hash wouldn't be up to scruff there I think?

Thanks again. After a lot of time researching, I think I'm closer to making a decision. Wish I would have found this site sooner. Goodnight.
 

jdee

Well-Known Member
Have you considered not overpaying for a simple wick+coil setup? most BHO pens are nothing more than bridgeless atomizers, you can get the whole setup for under $7 from https://www.fasttech.com/products/1411/10004782/1391903 and the replacement heads only cost $1.68.
get an ego to 510 adapter for $2 https://www.fasttech.com/p/1284600 and throw it on ANY ecig you want with 510 threading or use it on an ego twist for $12 https://www.fasttech.com/products/0...c-twist-1100mah-variable-voltage-rechargeable. Thats $20 for a complete setup shipped to your door. I have seen the exact same setup being sold for many times more, simply because someone took the time to rebrand it.

I ordered these globes just to see how they compare, and they all work the same as the identical higher priced versions. I prefer setups that you load a dab at a time, because I find if you load large amounts, the heat cooks your load and it ends up tasting like reclaim by the end. For now I'm using a rebuildable atomizer with stainless steel mesh and microcoil for my bho. I made a vertical microcoil and made a 'waffle cone' out of mesh and placed it inside the microcoil, I pulse the coil to gently heat it up and load my dab in the cone, clean flavor everytime, no reclaim taste.
 
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Caligula

Maximus
@jdee while that is a valid alternative to wasting money on a GPen or something similar, neither the Cera nor the Persei are piece of crap, Chinese e-cig clones. Those products shouldn't even be mentioned in the same sentence a the Persei or Cera. That's like going up to someone looking at high end Harley Davidson motorcycles, and telling them that instead of buying a Vespa scooter, they could buy a DIY kit and build their own moped. Apples and oranges.

@sbj yes the Nibbler is a very good attachment for water conditioning your vapour. Also be aware that a new larger version called the Nibbler XL, will be released soon. That one is intended to fit over the Hercules attachment.
 
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clouded vision

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I have never had oil from my omicron carts taste like reclaim. there are 2 chambers and heaters in the carts, the first melts the oil which drops down into the second chamber where it is soaked up by the wick a nd then vaporized so the majority of the oil is kept separate from vaporizing temperatures. the Chinese e-cig clones and carts on the other hand are garbage compared to the omicron carts.
OTOH if you only plan to use oils in the carts, you don't necessarily need to buy the persei or omicron unit as you can just get a 510/ego to m601 thread adapter and run omicron carts on an ego battery. This won't give you the option of upgrading to the hercules or hammer/bender attachments to vape flowers and hashes though.
 

jdee

Well-Known Member
does hercules work using 510/ego to m601 thread adapter if its connected to say a DNA20 powered ecig? here are the specs

output power 7 to 20 watts
output voltage 4 to 8.3 volts
atomizer resistance 0.6 to 3.3 ohms
 
jdee,

Caligula

Maximus
@jdee There is just no way you will be able to supply the instantaneous and sustained power demands that the Hercules requires with those types of power units.
 
Caligula,

jdee

Well-Known Member
what's the resistance in ohms on the hercules sr-71? because the DNA20 board can do 7.4 volts @ 2.8 ohms = 19.5 watts
 
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