Gandalf
Well-Known Member
I just got my Ti Grasshopper yesterday and so far it has been quite an interesting experience comparing it to the SS version.
The first thing I noticed on my Ti is that it runs noticeably hotter than the SS one I have. If you read my previous experiences with the Hopper, it took me a couple days to learn the technique that worked for me to get big clouds. But when I took the first hit off a fresh bowl in the Ti, I damn near choked on the tremendous amount of vapor I got.
My roommate experienced the exact same thing. He was having a hard time getting consistent hits off the SS version (although I could with no problem), but he's able to get consistently large hits with the Ti.
The difference was so obvious that I started to think something was wrong with the Ti (running too hot maybe?) so I played around with it at different temperatures to see if there was an issue. The Ti seemed to be producing clouds at setting 1 (although lighter ones), which surprised me, and I started to think it might be broken.
Then I packed two equally sized bowls - one in the SS and one in the Ti - and finished both bowls on setting 1. The entire time, the Ti felt harsher than the SS with hotter vapor, but when I emptied the bowls out, they were both a similar light brownish color.
So after several bowls of testing - and getting much more stoned than I normally would while trying to compare the two units - I've come to the conclusion that both are working properly, but that the Ti just runs hotter than the SS.
I'm not sure if this is a supposed performance benefit of the Ti, as @BuzzDanklin alluded to something similar in a previous FC post where he said:
It's also a possibility that some units just run hotter than others, no matter whether they're SS or Ti.
Other impressions about Ti vs SS so far:
APPEARANCE - Surprisingly, I think I like the SS version better. Because the pen clip is also SS, the unit has more uniformity to it and therefore a cleaner, more simple look. This is a matter of preference of course but I'm not looking forward to saying goodbye to my SS hopper.
WEIGHT - Tremendous difference here. The Ti feels substantially lighter. Again, this is a matter of preference, and I think I may prefer the slightly greater heft of the SS version.
FIT / FINISH - The SS version has smoother threading, whereas the Ti version feels coarse in comparison. A bit more pressure is needed to tighten the mouthpiece, screw in the back-end, change the temperature setting, etc. I don't mind it, just a noticeable difference.
PERFORMANCE - Other than the temperature differences I spoke about above, performance seems to be similar. Bowls are browned evenly and thoroughly, and both versions heat up in the same amount of time.
All in all, if I had to choose between the 2 at this point, I'd probably go for the SS. I'll be keeping the Ti version though and selling the SS because I have the lifetime warranty with the Ti version, whereas I purchased the SS one secondhand on eBay.
Let me know if you have any questions about the difference between the two and I'll be happy to answer. I only have the SS version until tomorrow when it gets sent off to the highest bidder.
The first thing I noticed on my Ti is that it runs noticeably hotter than the SS one I have. If you read my previous experiences with the Hopper, it took me a couple days to learn the technique that worked for me to get big clouds. But when I took the first hit off a fresh bowl in the Ti, I damn near choked on the tremendous amount of vapor I got.
My roommate experienced the exact same thing. He was having a hard time getting consistent hits off the SS version (although I could with no problem), but he's able to get consistently large hits with the Ti.
The difference was so obvious that I started to think something was wrong with the Ti (running too hot maybe?) so I played around with it at different temperatures to see if there was an issue. The Ti seemed to be producing clouds at setting 1 (although lighter ones), which surprised me, and I started to think it might be broken.
Then I packed two equally sized bowls - one in the SS and one in the Ti - and finished both bowls on setting 1. The entire time, the Ti felt harsher than the SS with hotter vapor, but when I emptied the bowls out, they were both a similar light brownish color.
So after several bowls of testing - and getting much more stoned than I normally would while trying to compare the two units - I've come to the conclusion that both are working properly, but that the Ti just runs hotter than the SS.
I'm not sure if this is a supposed performance benefit of the Ti, as @BuzzDanklin alluded to something similar in a previous FC post where he said:
It's also a possibility that some units just run hotter than others, no matter whether they're SS or Ti.
Other impressions about Ti vs SS so far:
APPEARANCE - Surprisingly, I think I like the SS version better. Because the pen clip is also SS, the unit has more uniformity to it and therefore a cleaner, more simple look. This is a matter of preference of course but I'm not looking forward to saying goodbye to my SS hopper.
WEIGHT - Tremendous difference here. The Ti feels substantially lighter. Again, this is a matter of preference, and I think I may prefer the slightly greater heft of the SS version.
FIT / FINISH - The SS version has smoother threading, whereas the Ti version feels coarse in comparison. A bit more pressure is needed to tighten the mouthpiece, screw in the back-end, change the temperature setting, etc. I don't mind it, just a noticeable difference.
PERFORMANCE - Other than the temperature differences I spoke about above, performance seems to be similar. Bowls are browned evenly and thoroughly, and both versions heat up in the same amount of time.
All in all, if I had to choose between the 2 at this point, I'd probably go for the SS. I'll be keeping the Ti version though and selling the SS because I have the lifetime warranty with the Ti version, whereas I purchased the SS one secondhand on eBay.
Let me know if you have any questions about the difference between the two and I'll be happy to answer. I only have the SS version until tomorrow when it gets sent off to the highest bidder.
