Discontinued The Grasshopper

[CroZure]

So I have been using my Hopper that I picked up off of ebay for a few weeks now. I also recieved my shipping comfirmation from HL today. I had ordered a colored Hopper and they are still backordered. Switched it out it a titanium and out the door it went.

I've put my FF2 up and doubt I will use it much anymore. I still use my mighty once or twice a day but I really like the how I can space my sessions out longer with the hopper. Everybody speaks highly of the flavor but I don't think it is great. FF2 > Mighty > Hopper. The Hopper is the most dense but I still think the mighty has the best overall vape quality. I just burn through a lot of material with the mighty vs the hopper.

My only complaint about the hopper is the temperature of the vapor. It will hurt my throat if I only use it all day. I don't get that feeling with the mighty or volcano. I ordered a bubbler from DHgate because it is kind of hard for me to hit this thing. I hope that the water will help cool the vape down. I am starting to worder if I can even use this as my primary vape with out water.

Does anybody else have this issue if they use it without filtering it through water?

Will a small bubbler cool the vapor down?

 

[GreenHopper]

So I have been using my Hopper that I picked up off of ebay for a few weeks now. I also recieved my shipping comfirmation from HL today. I had ordered a colored Hopper and they are still backordered. Switched it out it a titanium and out the door it went.

I've put my FF2 up and doubt I will use it much anymore. I still use my mighty once or twice a day but I really like the how I can space my sessions out longer with the hopper. Everybody speaks highly of the flavor but I don't think it is great. FF2 > Mighty > Hopper. The Hopper is the most dense but I still think the mighty has the best overall vape quality. I just burn through a lot of material with the mighty vs the hopper.

My only complaint about the hopper is the temperature of the vapor. It will hot my throat if I only use it all day. I don't get that feeling with the mighty or volcano. I ordered a bubbler from DHgate because it is kind of hard for me to hit this thing. I hope that the water will help cool the vape down. I am starting to worder if I can even use this as my primary vape with out water.

Does anybody else have this issue if they use it without filtering it through water?

Will a small bubbler cool the vapor down?

I'm OK using the hopper natively around T3 for elongated smaller frequent hits but for the head spinning T5 hits I tend to use my bubbler which does a great job cooling the vapour. It also reduces the dryness of the hit which I find to be a bigger factor relating to my throat getting sore.

 

[JoeMama]

You just gotta try it and see if it works for you, it's impossible to guarantee you'll get a working hopper, even a 1% (pure example, HL claim less than 2%) failure rate is a guarantee that someone is going to get a failure. Luckily HL seem to have a fairly good RMA process, however there are always the few unlucky customers who have fallen through the cracks and have been mistreated (IMO).

There is also no guarantee you'll even like the vape signature, the are people who have owned the GrassHopper and sold it on as it doesn't work for you.

All I can say is:

• the price is going up imminently
• i've had mine for almost a year and I love it
• it fucks you up like a punch to the head
• it's stealthy - like really stealthy
• swappable batteries go along way to mitigating low mAh
• it's shocking how well this thing runs through water
• it's going to get better with a water pipe adapter on the way and hopefully an oils front end too
• it's versatile and in my book that makes it good value for money
• it's easy to clean (although there is debate about material dropping down onto the heater when left in and upright position, this is a fairly new discussion though and I don't really have enough data to comment on)

Regarding the issues the GrassHopper has I'd say the largest is perception.

This has been a long running thread based on a long running tech startup.

They have finally breached the Pre-Order threshold and are amending their pricing model to better support their business model. This to me is a sign of growth that should lead to company stability. I can however only assume that the company stability results in a better production effort and smoother customer service, from what I've been reading over the last couple of months I'd say there has been considerable improvement in both areas.

Areas for improvement:

• Shipping method - people have been complaining of the cheaper shipping method losing tracking details when leaving the states.
  
  
• Formfactor - Some people don't like the custom sized 750mAh batteries and would prefer something like an 18650. For now that's not what the Hopper is
  
  
• Communications - whilst improved by the use of a blog it would in my mind (and I suspect many) be a good idea for HL to get back involved with at the very least the FC community. I don't think this is going to happen, I think they'll favour their own blog as they'll be able to control the content
  
  
• Don't talk about putting the customer first, actually do it - When a priority customer who has invested additional funds for a premium HT unit receives one without a screen get them a screen pronto and chuck in a free battery for their patience. I'd also like to see a policy where a customer receive priority treatment if they have had more than 4 or 5 RMA's in a row. It doesn't happen often but when it does, look after that customer.

Excellent prose, Green! Totally copy that to your clip-board; It's a great Letter of Initiation for the new seekers!

 

[GreenHopper]

Excellent prose, Green! Totally copy that to your clip-board; It's a great Letter of Initiation for the new seekers!

Thanks bud, part of me wanted to post:

'Buy the fucking hopper or the kitten gets it'

But it felt a little clichéd

 

[MoltenTiger]

But what if they hate kittens?

Pretty happy HL are now working on accessories. The WPA should be able to be purchased within the week.

What I really want HL to come out with though, is a USB-C cabled replacement back-end/battery.
Similar to what @Joel W. made, a multi-18650 battery pack with a dummy battery to meet the contact on the PCB.
Instead of batteries, using USB-C via computer, mains adapter or powerbank would allow for tethered pass through performance without having to buy any extra components.

That would be amazing and is easily possible

 

[JoeMama]

But what if they hate kittens?

Pretty happy HL are now working on accessories. The WPA should be able to be purchased within the week.

What I really want HL to come out with though, is a USB-C cabled replacement back-end/battery.
Similar to what @Joel W. made, a multi-18650 battery pack with a dummy battery to meet the contact on the PCB.
Instead of batteries, using USB-C via computer, mains adapter or powerbank would allow for tethered pass through performance without having to buy any extra components.

That would be amazing and is easily possible

Yes, I feel the same way... I had imagined a thing that looks like a battery but the negative end looks like a battery-with-a-backend-attached: the clicker is even part of this "battery-assembly". But in actuality, the "battery" is really just a cylindrical transition to meet the internal center contact of the body.

But does a computer USB output have enough stooch for running the hopper??

 

[JCat]

But what if they hate kittens?

Pretty happy HL are now working on accessories. The WPA should be able to be purchased within the week.

What I really want HL to come out with though, is a USB-C cabled replacement back-end/battery.
Similar to what @Joel W. made, a multi-18650 battery pack with a dummy battery to meet the contact on the PCB.
Instead of batteries, using USB-C via computer, mains adapter or powerbank would allow for tethered pass through performance without having to buy any extra components.

That would be amazing and is easily possible

I don't think USB would cut it ... wouldn't be enough power ... usually 2A/5V is the limit which is ~10W which is nowhere near enough to power the GH ... this could be done without the USB though, straight into the wall with a power adapter that can deliver the 4.2V/>10A required for the GH ...

 

[GreenHopper]

@MoltenTiger

I couldn't find a picture of a grasshopper with a gun to its head

I've been a staunch supporter of an @Joel W. full throttle maximum continuous power power adapter.

USB C could do it as the max spec is 20v 100watt, you'd probably have to drive it with something like a 50watt 6 port USB charger.

However I think you are getting into Quick Charge territory which would mean licencing the chip set and having to integrate that into the power adapter.

I always envisioned it more like @Joel W.'s design, making use of a barrel connector that could be plugged into a power brick. Only issue is, I don't know of a power brick that delivers 3.7v 45watts. You'd probably have to go for a 5v or maybe even 12v and use a step down converter if such a thing exists. I suspect that's why @Joel W. used 3.7v 18650's.

I'd be happy with that as an option.

 

[JCat]

This would be something with a custom back-end ... so even if there does not exist a power brick that delivers 3.7/12.5A, one could easily be built as part of the process ... this is something that would need to come from HL no?

 

[GreenHopper]

This would be something with a custom back-end ... so even if there does not exist a power brick that delivers 3.7/12.5A, one could easily be built as part of the process ... this is something that would need to come from HL no?

The battery version could certainly be created by an FC Accessories Maker.

In fact one was:

@Joel W. Had a play with making a 4x 18650 pack to GrassHopper Power adapter thingy:

 

[bleak]

Last week in Amsterdam I tested a Grasshopper with a bong... WOW!

 

[MoltenTiger]

But does a computer USB output have enough stooch for running the hopper??

The new USB-C varient could power two hoppers with a 100W max rating.
USB-C wasn't on the table when the hopper was initiated, now it's going to fundamentally change the portable vape game.

However I think you are getting into Quick Charge territory which would mean licencing the chip set and having to integrate that into the power adapter.

no need to charge, that's what the battery and normal back-end are for.
And there's no need to fast charge these cells (small capacity, particular chemistry).
USB-c could give the hopper a desktop tethered option, whilst also being able to be used with a high capacity powerbank* (which would turn it into a very similar set up to Joels)

A device like this would be more likely to come from HL, as reverse engineering the back-end would be a serious task without a lucrative return.
The back-end could be re-used like with Joels, but sending the correct current down the line proved to be difficult
(I think there is problems with the PWM, so it is probable that it could only be done by HL)

*doesn't seem like there's any powerbanks currently on the market that could do it, but eventually it could happen

 

[ROB520]

So what happened to joel? Wouldn't he want to sell these things? Seems like everyone is interested??

 

[GreenHopper]

The new USB-C varient could power two hoppers with a 100W max rating.
USB-C wasn't on the table when the hopper was initiated, now it's going to fundamentally change the portable vape game.


no need to charge, that's what the battery and normal back-end are for.
And there's no need to fast charge these cells (small capacity, particular chemistry).
USB-c could give the hopper a desktop tethered option, whilst also being able to be used with a high capacity powerbank* (which would turn it into a very similar set up to Joels)

A device like this would be more likely to come from HL, as reverse engineering the back-end would be a serious task without a lucrative return.
The back-end could be re-used like with Joels, but sending the correct current down the line proved to be difficult

*doesn't seem like there's any powerbanks currently on the market that could do it, but eventually it could happen

What I meant was, USB C power sources like the the mains supply I linked to use the Quick Charging circuits to determine what wattage to push out the socket (I believe) so if you were going to use USB C to directly drive the hopper I think you'd need a Quick Charge chip at the hopper power adapter end in order to tell the power supply's quick charge circuit what wattage to push.

Otherwise I think the power supply would fall back to a default of 5v 2amps which wouldn't be enough to drive the hopper directly.

I think that's correct but I'd need to do more reading to be sure.

Last week in Amsterdam I tested a Grasshopper with a bong... WOW!

WOW is exactly what I thought. The hopper is a beast through water.

I assume the hopper is yours and you took it to Amsterdam and used it on a Cafe's bong?

Nice vid btw

 

[MoltenTiger]

What I meant was, USB C power sources like the the mains supply I linked to use the Quick Charging circuits to determine what wattage to push out the socket (I believe) so if you were going to use USB C to directly drive the hopper I think you'd need a Quick Charge chip at the hopper power adapter end in order to tell the power supply's quick charge circuit what wattage to push.

Otherwise I think the power supply would fall back to a default of 5v 2amps which wouldn't be enough to drive the hopper directly.

I think that's correct but I'd need to do more reading to be sure.

Yeah, the cable would need a PCB in it like the current one. (a bigger one for the extra power).
At this stage it would require a mains adapter (and perhaps a custom one), but as USB type C becomes more mainstream, there will be other options that allow for the power draw necessary.

 

[CroZure]

That's exactly it. The concern of resins finding their way into the heater.

Just curious, have folks seen resin in the mouthpiece when they are using the delta 3 stands that hold it with the mouthpiece pointing down? I would think if resin is a concern with using the charging stands, then you would see resin seep out of the mouthpieces when using other stands. Also, if any resin does make its way to the heating element, would any resin burn off during the next use?

I know it is completely different design but it is not like this is a problem with the mighty and it stands straight up. Plus, the vapor and material is pretty dry after vaping with the hopper, not like the FF2.

 

[MoltenTiger]

I have noticed oil getting trapped in the mouthpiece end. After ripping a bunch of bongs, you have to be careful not to touch the tip as it's pretty hot and can leak oil.

I'm not too concerned about this making its way to the heater as the dry herb would absorb it.
Though I don't charge my device in a stand, I wouldn't hesitate to try it until there was a problem.
It's pretty obvious if oil is building up or not, so it's a problem that either quickly appears or is slowly accumulative. It could also be no problem at all, I don't think anyone has actually reported issues because of this?

 

[Mr. Me2]

Just curious, have folks seen resin in the mouthpiece when they are using the delta 3 stands that hold it with the mouthpiece pointing down? I would think if resin is a concern with using the charging stands, then you would see resin seep out of the mouthpieces when using other stands. Also, if any resin does make its way to the heating element, would any resin burn off during the next use?

I know it is completely different design but it is not like this is a problem with the mighty and it stands straight up. Plus, the vapor and material is pretty dry after vaping with the hopper, not like the FF2.

I think goo finds its way, regardless. I use a @Ratchett stand just for filling, and keep my gh laying on its side otherwise.

Having said that, I still can feel some stickiness on the tip of its mouthpiece (okay, here come the snarky jokes...) from time to time. To me, that's just a heads up that it's time for an ISO soak.

 

[biohacker]

I get sublimator style red oil coming out the front end from exclusive temp 5 bong use. I have to wipe it after every bowl. The silicone mouthpiece hides it well so if I'm feeling lazy I just use it. After a while it's quite a mess under there lol

 

[JCat]

I think goo finds its way, regardless. I use a @Ratchett stand just for filling, and keep my gh laying on its side otherwise.

Having said that, I still can feel some stickiness on the tip of its mouthpiece (okay, here come the snarky jokes...) from time to time. To me, that's just a heads up that it's time for an ISO soak.

I would venture that it's the airflow when the device is at it's hottest that makes the resin migrate into the mouthpiece. I can't see it running down once it's cooled off ... or really at all ... think the resin really migrates in the direction of airflow (just basing this on observations with other vapes though as I don't yet have my GH ... been on it's way to me since the 15th ...)

 

[Hammahead]

So… Hoppy and I are official divorced. I sent it back to the german retailer who confirmed it's broken (I really dreaded the notorious resurrection in transit) and gave me full credit of the original purchase price.

Life with Hoppy was great - when it worked - but got too exciting for my personal taste. 3 major defects in 7 months? Nope… Last run I was mainly waiting for it to die again so I could get the whole story behind me.

Also maybe I was kind of spoilt after the first two warranty cases where they would just send me a new part after a detailed description of the problem. This time they told me to send in the entire package first, including the charger (which I actually never used, so wtf?) before deciding what to do. This would have boosted my shipping costs and doubled the time without a properly working device. Now that I write it down, I realize how much this aspect really annoyed me: a lot.

See you folks on other subforums here! I might give it another try though when I have reason to believe they dropped the failure rate considerably. Which might never happen when I see the cult developing around the Hopper. Ferraris also spend a lot of time in the repair shop and still most owners love them wholeheartedly. And why not?

Best

Hamma

 

[MoltenTiger]

I get sublimator style red oil coming out the front end from exclusive temp 5 bong use. I have to wipe it after every bowl. The silicone mouthpiece hides it well so if I'm feeling lazy I just use it. After a while it's quite a mess under there lol

I lost one recently and had to replace it.
There was a massive difference between it and the brand new one

 

[ArthurJ]

I get resin seeping out of the tip of the mouthpiece. I took a tooth to it the the other day to clean some of it out.
It's due for a good cleaning.

I keep my laptop on top of a dresser so the USB charger just kind of hangs over the side and the hopper just sort of hangs over the side, tip down, when I charge it.

I've had mine for a solid two months now after a warranty replacement and it has been really great, I find I like it more and more all the time. Lately I've been dialing it down to 2 for more flavorful hits and then stepping up the temps.
If I hit it at 5 without a water piece I tend to take shorter draws, like 5 secs.

I just ordered a SS before the price goes up so I'm excited to have a spare.
I also think it will be nice when out taking a walk to switch off between the two as the tip gets hot.

 

[JCat]

I took a tooth to it the the other day to clean some of it out.

... my dental hygienist would not be happy with me at all if I did this ...

 

[slcbdco]

The WPA comes in 14mm taper. Fits snug with all my pieces. Airflow is "different" with the WPA, it is more open and flows easier when pulling hard. With the WPA i've been starting on T3.9-4.2 rather than 3.5 with the normal FE. I'm a flavour chaser and was getting what i was looking for at the higher temp and the added bonus of quicker vapour production. It seems to gunk up faster but we were using it heavily. Not sure but from the lil testing we did it seemed to get less dirty if you rip it harder. The slower softer pulls allow for more particulates to build up in the screen holes.. my guess.

I prefer the flavour out of the WPA and so did the rest of the squad. I found it lasted longer throughout the entire bowl even when starting on the higher temp.

It's nice to go free-handed as well and let the hopper rest in the stem.

Doing the multiple chamber pulls isn't as easy as with the Silicone/Normal front end but you can manage.

Swapping between front ends will keep your silicone new for longer and I didn't have to clean my normal FE as much because I was only using it on the go with a bit coarser grind to avoid build up.

The feeling of the rip is a lil more "airy/smoother" but with the same vapour density and the same effects.

It's very reminiscent of hitting a normal bong

@biohacker if you have a snug 19-14 glass adapter you should be good to go!!

I foresee it putting many headz to bed

You have one of the HL alternate mouthpieces too? I went from using my grasshoppper on a bong maybe once or twice a week to now, one of my grasshoppers just lives on my bong!

Have you used the alternate mouthpiece native yet? I never had a problem with it being too hot for my lips but I bet many people will just use that as their mouthpiece all the time if they prefer the extra air flow or cooler tip.