The (non-Extreme) V-Tower is my first foray into vaping, selected after a thorough perusal of the threads here. I must say I'm as happy as a pig in mulched trim. The concept of inhaling something fragrant and pleasing, not harsh and gagworthy, takes some getting used to. Subconciously, it's easy to associate pain to the throat with a good effective hit.
The V-Tower is a fine machine, and has been well-thought out. The timer is an absolute lifesaver. It presents as a no-nonsense piece of complementary medical technology and all parts are machined very well. The LCD screen is class in a bucket, it really is. A quick note - Pyrex doesn't glow red when it's hot enough to char titanium. It looks normal. It's not, and it won't just give you a nip if you touch the wrong area - it'll strip skin from bone. The glass parts get genuinely, explosively, dangerously hot, so be very careful indeed and only touch the parts protected by the black heat-resistant coating. It gets a bit toasty even through that.
I've found the V-Tower, owing to the large cyclone chamber, isn't very efficient. I blazed through an absolutely staggering amount of herb - far more than I would have been able to combust - in very short order. I recall little of that week, but the mountain of duff spoke for itself. To this end, I found 'puffing' the herb to actively mix it in with the air in the chamber helps, and also giving a short, sharp suck to gather it in the elbow screen and then slowly drawing it can usually extract pretty much everything. However, I feel other vapes might be noticeably more efficient. But the cyclone bowl is, as far as high-end vapes go, pretty much unique and a fine piece of industrial design. It gives you great visual feedback as to the speed and dynamics of your draw and you can watch the herb toast right before your eyes. IMO, this is far more fun and involving than simply stuffing a plug of herb in a whip and breathing back until the vapour stops.
I got the V-Tower in large part due to the social aspect of using the hands-free swivel whip and doesn't it work like an absolute treat! Just pass the whip over to your mate - no scrambling to keep the connections together or having to hold the whip in place while you're toking. My flatmates are totally in love with my V-Tower (freakin' vultures!) and it's like the old days of passing bongs in a circle under a tree with your mates and getting toe-up. The large cyclone bowl also means you can really load it up and provide the goods for multiple people without undue hassle. I'd say the social aspect of the V-Tower configuration makes pleasant communal puff sessions convenient and fun and to me that's half the battle won.
I vape at 220C for a few whips then crank it to 230C-240C after a quick stir. Now, I've managed to make it catch fire twice, and not any little smoulder too. Like, burst into an ember with a puff of acrid smoke. Granted, I cranked it to 260C, used very dry leaf and drew very slowly, but it still happened, and very efficiently too. So, I can catgorically confirm combustion is not only possible with the V-Tower, it's actually not all that difficult, if you really want to do so.
My duff comes out a dark brown and I can't see how anyone can get anything out of those mummified remains. I smoked it and got a headache, ate it and was reminded of popcorn. I think I'm just vaping prety much everything first time around. As Mum always said, if a job's worth doing... )
And although I've only used a Vaporbros apart from the V-Tower, the amount of vapour the whip produces is astonishing. I've smoked a long time and the clouds are pretty much indistinguishable from a good bong rip when you've got your pack cranking. I'd say this was the most surprising aspect, as I read (an am not disputing) that the SSV and DBV had whip delivery sewn up. I still wanted to V-Tower for the unique design and was willing to put up with a few airy hits. Now I want to try the SSV to see how it could possibly produce more vapour. I must say - I'm open to correction but I'm a bit dubious! I got lungfuls so thick the whip was like a milk-line and holding onto the hit was a bit of a challenge!
All I can say is the SSV must deposit you directly on the goddamn moon and I'm not sure anyone needs to be that high (except me, and you, and... okay. We ALL need to be that high!). Anyone thinking of forgoing the V-Tower through reports of weak hits should make their own decisions, but my information and experience is the hits are more than satisfactory. More than awesome. I'm blown away.
For Aussie vapers (And we all know how hard it is to get convection vapes down under!), I'd recommend KJ Rockwise on eBay. CAD$274, delivered within a week. No hassles at all. Great reseller, totally recommended.
I still miss combustion and must admit to polishing off most sessions with a single decent bong rip. Just one. It's all you need. Vaping works best when you only have enough to catch a buzz - a few hits of vape delivers an highly pleasant, floaty, alert high in small doses, far more than combustion. I think this is where vapoing really shines. However if you're like me and have your crop dry, sharpstone grinder arrive, deadlines pass and V-Tower arrive - all within three days - I feel you can streak through ungodly amounts of weed bewilderingly fast. But maybe it's just me.
A fine machine, a fine delivery method, and I have nothing but positive things to say. Thanks, FC, for being so informative and thanks, eBay, for letting Aussie stoners avoid death by lung cancer.
Casper
The V-Tower is a fine machine, and has been well-thought out. The timer is an absolute lifesaver. It presents as a no-nonsense piece of complementary medical technology and all parts are machined very well. The LCD screen is class in a bucket, it really is. A quick note - Pyrex doesn't glow red when it's hot enough to char titanium. It looks normal. It's not, and it won't just give you a nip if you touch the wrong area - it'll strip skin from bone. The glass parts get genuinely, explosively, dangerously hot, so be very careful indeed and only touch the parts protected by the black heat-resistant coating. It gets a bit toasty even through that.
I've found the V-Tower, owing to the large cyclone chamber, isn't very efficient. I blazed through an absolutely staggering amount of herb - far more than I would have been able to combust - in very short order. I recall little of that week, but the mountain of duff spoke for itself. To this end, I found 'puffing' the herb to actively mix it in with the air in the chamber helps, and also giving a short, sharp suck to gather it in the elbow screen and then slowly drawing it can usually extract pretty much everything. However, I feel other vapes might be noticeably more efficient. But the cyclone bowl is, as far as high-end vapes go, pretty much unique and a fine piece of industrial design. It gives you great visual feedback as to the speed and dynamics of your draw and you can watch the herb toast right before your eyes. IMO, this is far more fun and involving than simply stuffing a plug of herb in a whip and breathing back until the vapour stops.
I got the V-Tower in large part due to the social aspect of using the hands-free swivel whip and doesn't it work like an absolute treat! Just pass the whip over to your mate - no scrambling to keep the connections together or having to hold the whip in place while you're toking. My flatmates are totally in love with my V-Tower (freakin' vultures!) and it's like the old days of passing bongs in a circle under a tree with your mates and getting toe-up. The large cyclone bowl also means you can really load it up and provide the goods for multiple people without undue hassle. I'd say the social aspect of the V-Tower configuration makes pleasant communal puff sessions convenient and fun and to me that's half the battle won.
I vape at 220C for a few whips then crank it to 230C-240C after a quick stir. Now, I've managed to make it catch fire twice, and not any little smoulder too. Like, burst into an ember with a puff of acrid smoke. Granted, I cranked it to 260C, used very dry leaf and drew very slowly, but it still happened, and very efficiently too. So, I can catgorically confirm combustion is not only possible with the V-Tower, it's actually not all that difficult, if you really want to do so.
My duff comes out a dark brown and I can't see how anyone can get anything out of those mummified remains. I smoked it and got a headache, ate it and was reminded of popcorn. I think I'm just vaping prety much everything first time around. As Mum always said, if a job's worth doing... )
And although I've only used a Vaporbros apart from the V-Tower, the amount of vapour the whip produces is astonishing. I've smoked a long time and the clouds are pretty much indistinguishable from a good bong rip when you've got your pack cranking. I'd say this was the most surprising aspect, as I read (an am not disputing) that the SSV and DBV had whip delivery sewn up. I still wanted to V-Tower for the unique design and was willing to put up with a few airy hits. Now I want to try the SSV to see how it could possibly produce more vapour. I must say - I'm open to correction but I'm a bit dubious! I got lungfuls so thick the whip was like a milk-line and holding onto the hit was a bit of a challenge!
All I can say is the SSV must deposit you directly on the goddamn moon and I'm not sure anyone needs to be that high (except me, and you, and... okay. We ALL need to be that high!). Anyone thinking of forgoing the V-Tower through reports of weak hits should make their own decisions, but my information and experience is the hits are more than satisfactory. More than awesome. I'm blown away.
For Aussie vapers (And we all know how hard it is to get convection vapes down under!), I'd recommend KJ Rockwise on eBay. CAD$274, delivered within a week. No hassles at all. Great reseller, totally recommended.
I still miss combustion and must admit to polishing off most sessions with a single decent bong rip. Just one. It's all you need. Vaping works best when you only have enough to catch a buzz - a few hits of vape delivers an highly pleasant, floaty, alert high in small doses, far more than combustion. I think this is where vapoing really shines. However if you're like me and have your crop dry, sharpstone grinder arrive, deadlines pass and V-Tower arrive - all within three days - I feel you can streak through ungodly amounts of weed bewilderingly fast. But maybe it's just me.
A fine machine, a fine delivery method, and I have nothing but positive things to say. Thanks, FC, for being so informative and thanks, eBay, for letting Aussie stoners avoid death by lung cancer.
Casper
