The Vape Pen - reviewed

Okay, this is a really new thing and I am quite sure no one here has tried it yet but there seemed to be some interest in it when I asked a week or so ago if anyone had heard of it before, so I took it upon myself to go out and try it (a dirty job but SOMEONE had to do it! ) and here's my report.

* Let me disclose right up front that I am considering working for the Vape Pen company but as of now I am not working for them and not sure that I will. However, you can take this report with that grain of salt. *

I do give you my word that everything I say about it here represents my true feelings and opinions and experience about the vape pen; I would not lie or exaggerate about it even if I were officially representing it.

Okay, enough of the disclaimers, now on to the report:

Last week I had a chance to see the Vape Pen, hold it and use it. One of the cooperatives near me is now selling the pen and herbs and I was able to sample the pen and herbs for myself, and ask questions.

When I first held the Vape Pen I was very impressed with the look of it. It really does look like a pen and unless someone looks closely they will assume it is a ball point pen. It's actually smaller than most of the pens I use. The only way it looks different than a pen is that one end has a pipe type tip instead of a ball point. But even that looks like it could be a retracted ball point tip.



When I got to try it, I said, "Where is the switch to turn it on?" "There isn't one. You just suck on it to activate it " came back the reply. Wow. Cool. High tech!

As I sucked on it a blue light on the tip lighted up so I knew it was working and I took a very light 5 second or so draw because I didn't know how strong it might be. I took what I would call a medium or even small hit and did not even feel the vapor going into my lungs, though I tasted it. It's not EXACTLY vapor like the vapor that comes out of your vaporizer, but it is more like vapor than anything else I can think of. It's a bit lighter than most vaporizer vapors and has a very light, subtle taste.

I felt the effects right away and said "Wow" as I relaxed back in my chair. I was impressed with the fact that I felt the effects on such a small puff, and also that I didn't even FEEL it on my lungs, yet it was strong enough to have the desired effect.

The "vapor" from this Vape Pen FELT less irritating to my lungs than vapor from a vaporizer. Not a lot less, no; but less. It is so smooth I can barely tell that I am getting a good hit until I feel the effects. And less hot in my throat. I am not making any claim that it is milder than vaporizing but I am reporting that it felt that way to me.

I cannot speak to the cost effectiveness from personal experience yet. But I can say that even if it was more costly than whole herb, frankly I would pay it just to have it available for when I want to medicate while away from home. If the liquid herb is, indeed, equivalent in price per use, as it is said to be, then all I can say is, that's fantastic! And from my limited experience at this point, I can say that it does not seem to be over-priced for what you get.

This is technology that will allow you to take your meds anytime, anywhere with practically ZERO chance of anyone knowing or wondering what you are up to. You can easily use this at a concert, movie theater or on the street because even if law enforcement saw it and asked you about it, they would not know it is herb and there is no way to see it. And of course you would be a medical marijuana user in any case, so no problem. But if you're like me, you like to keep it discreet anyway, so this enables you to be very discreet.

The drops are diffused inside the pen in a fibrous material so there is nothing to see and it doesn't smell like herb unless you open up the tip and put your nose right up to it. If someone takes it apart all they will see is a fibrous white material inside that is colored a bit brown from the extract. Only 4 drops of liquid herb fill the Vape Pen and that is plenty for a couple of users to use when out to a concert or movie or whatever, and the battery lasts all day. If you want to take an extra battery to be sure, you can but it's not necessary.

So my opinion is that this technology works the way they say it does. I think anyone who is into vaping, especially those looking for portability and discretion, will love the Vape Pen. It is not designed to replace a home vaporizer, although it could be if you wanted to limit your meds to those available as an extract (at this time the selection is limited).

For those of you on this forum who make and sell vaporizers, I don't think you need to worry about competition from this product. For one thing, the liquid at this point is only available in a few strains. So if a user likes to sample many new strains, they will still have to use a vaporizer or combustion. You can go to a Dispensary or Co-op here in L.A. and find dozens of fresh whole herbs to try, and most of us do like to try new strains, so for me, as an example, I will still always want to use my vaporizer at home, even if I have a Vape Pen and liquid herbs. But this fills a niche for those who want absolute discretion and portability - to take it to the office, a movie theater, concert, family reunion, etc.

In conclusion, I think that the Vape Pen is yet another "vaporizer" (atomizer, technically, so they say) that a vape aficionado will want to have in his arsenal, especially for mobile, portable use.

All I can say is that I am very excited about this product and hope to learn more and see more availability of herbs for it. It's a shame that mmj isn't legal all over the country so everyone who wants to, could get a chance to use this.

(I was asked to include this DISCLAIMER:
The Vape Pen is only available to medical marijuana users at this time and it is not recommended that people try to use home-made extracts in the Vape Pen. It has been carefully developed to work hand in hand with a specific proprietary formula of herbs or legal liquid marijuana as sold in some dispensaries in California, so I was told one should not attempt to use one's own home made extracts in the pen, and the use of do-it-yourself liquid in the Vape Pen will likely ruin it while voiding the warranty. There is no glycerin in the liquid herb. This prevents exposure to toxic by-products of glycerin decomposition, according to Vape-Pen's web site.)

If anyone has any questions or comments after looking over the web site, I will try to get the answers for you.
http://www.vape-pen.com/

Please note that, as to the technical aspects, I am only repeating what I have been told in response to my questions. I cannot personally vouch for the technical aspects of it, but I do trust the information to be true and accurate. If I discover any inaccuracies I will happily correct them.

Questions? Comments?

Vape Pen herb: This is equivalent to about 1/8z of herb. The little thing on the right is a dropper to get the drops from the vile into the vape pen.

 

Looks like a great idea. The liquid aspect is still a deal breaker for me though. Unless I could make it myself, availability would be an issue for those North of the border I'm guessing.

 

Right, quomist. It is intended for liguid herbs that are formulated specifically for it including a medical marijuana liquid, so actually even here in the USA you can't get it unless you're in California - at this time. I'd like to see medical marijuana be available all over the U.S. and Canada in the near future. But I don't know when or if that's going to happen. Hell, personally I'd like to see it legal for recreational use as well, for that matter.

 

I would like to know more about the liquid and what they are using to keep the goodies in suspension. Whatever is in that liquid is going straight into your body.

edit..from their website

The extracts are produced by Supercritical Fluid Extraction and Spray Drying of whole herbs. Flavanoids are extracted by steam distillation and re-combined. Liquid Herb is not a concentrate! It contains active ingredients in proportions similar to smoking or ingesting the whole herb.

1ml of liquid herb consists of about 40 drops and 4 drops will fill the cartridge, allowing 10 puffs. The herb contained in a milliliter of liquid herb is equavilant to 3.5 grams of high quality bud and costs about the same.

The fog delivery technology is exactly the same tech used in clubs and parties to produce theatrical fog. This technology has been used for decades without any ill effects. We add essential herbal extracts to the mix. Water vapor and droplets of herbal medicine are the primary components of the resulting vapor.

 

Looks and sounds like a great idea, except for the mmj patients only part. I would love to have something that portable, that easy to use. Unfortunately recreational marijuana use is looked down upon. Something this revolutionary deserves some praise though. Then again, friends who have mmj cards are of great benefit . Look forward to hearing more about the pen.

 

I just got some more information:

The excipients are Propylene glycol and other natural ingredients. Vitamin E is used as a preservative. This device is used and has been approved by MD's for their patients.

The Vape Pen vaporizes or "atomizes" the herb at a lower temperature than vaporizers typically do. The formula for the liquid herb is such as to atomize at that lower temperature. The formula of the liquid herb is a proprietary formula which took over a year of research to develop, including the participation of a molecular biologist, a chemist and a PhD physicist, so it is not just a simple matter of liquefying herb in your home.

The Vape Pen Liquid Herb utilizes GC-MS testing (Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry) to assure purity and medicinal content.

I remember from the other thread I think someone wanted to know about the materials used in the pen. So here's what I was told:

"The vape pen itself is certified RoHS compliant and uses only the highest grade materials. The body itself is surgical stainless steel with a powder coated outer finish. There is no lead, cadmium or any other toxic material anywhere in the atomizer.

The batteries remain separate and can be exchanged with the factory after their 800 cycle life to prevent lithium from entering the environment - a discount is offered to users who choose to recycle them in this way. Gold contacts are used between the battery and the atomizer to assure good electrical connection between the two parts. Plastic parts are made of HDPE (high density polyethylene) that has been approved for medical use (no toxic dyes, etc).

The heating element is made of an alloy of nickel, chromium and tungsten - designed for this use and chemically inert."

 

It's not that recreational use is looked down upon, it's just that it's not legal!

Thank goodness at least some of us can use it for medical reasons without penalty, and the Vape Pen is good for being able to carry it discreetly and with less worry (it's still illegal to carry it in the car - it counts as an "open container" violation from what I understand if you get stopped and the police find it in the driver/passenger area, just like open alcohol.) So with the Vape Pen it is easier to carry it without fear of it being seen.

 

Looks like a standard 901b e cig. I have used one to quit smoking and found it to be a bit fiddly and prone to failure. (but that basically applies to most e cigs) The atomizers burn out occasionally and the batteries get weaker and need replacing. I would also get liquid in my mouth occasionally which was annoying.

I bet that liquid would really kick butt in one of the 901 mods that use a bigger higher voltage battery!

 

Yeah... I'm still trying to figure out what makes the unit itself different from any other e-cig... I love my big battery mods... Off cigs 3 months now and reduced my nicotine dose by 3/4 too!

The liquid part really intrigues me as we've been discussing that in another thread as well. My PG liquid experiments were not fruitful. I had come to the conclusion that a BHO concoction might make it strong enough and someone has posted about that. I now am VERY curious!!

 

zombonaut, while this looks like an e-cig it has been changed to work with the liquid herb. It has a 90 day warranty as well and you get 2 batteries and 2 or 4 tips. Since you only put 4 drops of liquid herb and it's a little thick like honey, I doubt you'll be getting liquid out of it.

The batteries used are the latest type lithium batteries.

As to failure issues, it has a 90 day warranty. Since it is an electronic device it could fail due to mistreatment such as dropping it or stepping on it. One does have to respect it as a small electronic device.

There is a heavy-duty model in the works for "power users".

 

I have no experience with e-cigs, never seen one. So I don't know the answer to this question. This is what it says on the vape-pen web site: http://www.vape-pen.com/how-it-works/

"Based on a device originally used as a cigarette replacement, now greatly improved. vape pen incorporates a microprocessor to exactly control a low-temperature atomizer. Low temperature atomization minimizes oxidation of the delivered medication.

Our atomizers are constructed of surgical stainless steel and are RoHS certified. all components are made in an ISO 9001 certified factory with strict quality assurance. The Vape Pen is assembled and tested in the USA.

At the heart of the vape-pen is an advanced microprocessor controller. This chip monitors the temperature and timing of the atomization process. Conventional vaporizers use a higher temperature to vaporize bulk materials. The vape-pen utilizes a special low-temperature technology which results in far more efficient delivery. Because less of the active ingredients are degraded by oxidation, more medicine reaches your body. This improved efficiency is the key to the lower cost of use. The vape-pen only operates with the special vape-med formulations. Use of any other material will result in less than satisfactory results and it voids the warranty."

I know they spent a lot of time in research and development.

 

Nice review, and as an owner of the same product, I can agree with everything he says, I got mine from www.saveasmoker.com and it has replaced cigs in my life





For those of you interested in making your own thc juice, check this post where I detail my method of doing it for this EXACT model of atomizer

http://www.fuckcombustion.com/viewtopic.php?id=889&p=2


Now as far as this medical juice goes I find it hard to believe its more then just THC extract, PG, and Vit E, the fact that so many people worked on it means that they are either not good at what they do or someone just wanted to be able to put that on the advertisement.

If I could some how get my hands on this juice, I would more then easly be able to break it down and tell you everything thats in it, thus I live in AL and they dont let you have herb juice here lol.....

Also I find it very hard to believe that this version is any diff then the one I have, even though mine is an ecig. I would like to get my hands on one as well to see... It amazes me how many people mis understand boiling point, and think that it matters in something like this, oh well maybe ill post a guide about that at a later date.

With no offense to the OP, as I know your simply passing on what is posted on their site, this is complete and utter crap! HEAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH OXIDATION! If anything heat helps keep oxidation down. Epic sigh! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxidation_state

Im going to be honest here, all I see in the website, is half assed statements, from people who either are not at all knowledgeable on the subject or are delivering pre chewed facts to people in order to make them think this is something better then it is.

As far as a "lower temp" goes, this would mean they are buying these from china, like all the other resellers ripping them apart and reprogramming the microcontroller to check the temp sensor diffrently, my guess is that I doubt this very seriously and personally I think that the entire website is full of it, dont let the two semi pretty girls take away from your judgement here guys!

Im willing to compare mine vrs anyone who has one of these vapor pens, to prove that temp is the same, battery output is the same.

 

Did you actually bother to read anything or you just dismissed it as bullshit right away? Their site clearly states "There is no glycerin in liquid herb. This prevents exposure to the toxic by-products of glycerin decomposition.

When heated above 280 C, glycerin decomposes forming acrolein, a toxic, corrosive gas. Acrolein is assigned a PEL and a TLV of 0.1 ppm; the PEL limit is a ceiling limit. -Journal of Chemical Education"
http://membership.acs.org/c/ccs/pubs/CLIPS/JCE20030025.pdf

Again from their website "The Vape Pen is assembled and tested in the USA"

I just don't see the validity of your post. For around 100.00 I would much rather buy something designed from the outset to vape THC than to spend almost as much on an e-cig designed for nicotine and then fuck with it to modify it to work properly with the green and then try to make my own juice using substances which are dangerous when heated.

 

Propylene glycol, not glycerine. Both use guy's units are using propylene glycol.

 

Trixer, thanks for the complements on the review.

It's not the exact same unit, even though, yes it LOOKS like it.

Their web site says the vape-pens are not made in China. I believe they are made here in the USA. I have no reason not to. You don't make something under RoHS restrictions, assemble a team of scientists, spend years in R&D, making something safe to be recommended by MD's - and then go around lying on your product web site, saying it's made in USA when it's not. So, there is no reason to believe the web site is bullshit. I can't prove it, but I have no reason to believe they are lying.

Frankly you are the one making a LOT of assumptions that you have no proof of:

You are stating it's the exact same as the e-cig pen. It is not.
You are stating you can make the liquid herb the same as them. Unless you have a lab and several scientists I am betting you cannot.
It is NOT just THC. That was made very clear on the web site. If you have evidence to the contrary, please provide it. You cannot.

I can't prove everything they say is true but I think the burden of proof is on you to prove it is not true, and if you cannot, then you really shouldn't make wild accusations.

When does anyone come on this Forum/Web site and say "I believe the [name of vaporizer] web site is lying about the materials used!"? I haven't seen it. I would think some evidence would be required before stating such a thing.

I think you can make your objections and challenges in a less inflammatory way. If you would like I will see if I can get official replies to your concerns, though. But please don't make accusations, basically calling people liars, without evidence.

While I am not part of the company I have met people who are and they seem like very decent, intelligent and good people. I have no reason to doubt their claims about their product and will defend them against unfounded accusations.

By the way if you would like to buy a Vape Pen I think you can order it from their web site, I'm not sure. I know you cannot get the meds there, though. And if you use anything other than the official vape meds in it, you void the warranty.

 

Although I wouldn't go as far as saying that his claims are "wild" since he can make a tincture similar to them, I think the only thing that your product has an edge in is in the flavanoid department. That extraction was not described in Trixer's (brilliant) idea.

Making your own tinctures beats the hell out of buying it from some other party, especially when you can choose what herbs to put into them.

 

I didn't mean to refer to his claims of making his own formula that might work being wild, (though I do think it's a bit wild to assume you can match talents with a team of scientists and a medical lab, at home, in your kitchen). I was referring rather to his wild claims that the web site was full of lies, etc.

I support the pioneering spirit of DIY formulas. Just be careful not to use anything with toxic bi-products, like glycerin.
"When heated above 280 C, glycerin decomposes forming acrolein, a toxic, corrosive gas. Acrolein is assigned a PEL and a TLV of 0.1 ppm; the PEL limit is a ceiling limit." -Journal of Chemical Education

1. http://membership.acs.org/c/ccs/pubs/CLIPS/JCE20030025.pdf

 

You assume, that I am at home in my kiction.... I assure you I have extensive chemistry experience, now as far as responsibility of proof relying on the accuser, I will agree with that. So lets stop and reflect here,

http://www.e-cigarette-mart.com/black-dse901-mini-ecig-starter-kit-5-cartridges-free-p-81.html

Ohh look, you can get the same product in bulk there too.. 50 for 1000

Now, I find it extremely hard to believe that two diffrent people came up with the same idea, or that they have a factory in the us that is basically copying this product?

My units battery uses a Motorola microcontroller, I havent worked on loading my own pic code into it cause I havent found the datasheet for the MC being used in this case, but when I figure it out I should be able to flash it to output any tempeture that I want to.... (man... I must be like a team of scientists...)

Now as far as the formula here, judging from the look its got Vit E and A in it, Though thats only speculation, its color makes it seem as if it has some kind of carotene in it, plus sense vit A has been proven to help repair tissue damaged by smoking it would make sense to put it in a smoking product to minimize damage.



With out this juice I wouldnt be able to tell you 100 precent what it is in it.. but the proccess I would under go would be as follows..

I would take an amount of this formula and first put it in a two chamber distill apparatus, and distill both the PG, and any alcohols in it, after which I would put it in a centrafuse and spin it to seperate any bulky mineral types out of it and see if I couldnt get it to layer out nicely, if I could I would drop it into a sepertory device and remove each layer, examine it under microscope and run basic tests on it...

It would take a couple weeks but with the right know how its pretty easy to get this kind of thing reversed... Ill be honest it took some testing to get the system right, but it seems funny to me with the time of their release as well as my own experiences, seems a little umm fishy.

Now if they are lieing, maybe not I just think alot of stuff is being over sold or glorified while alot of real facts are being hushed. It was a review and I was attempting to be critical of something... thats what reviews are for lol..

However sense I do not live in cali and can not get either the unit or the juice, I will have to settle with only half claims...

 

Sorry for the double post but also

Where on earth do I mention anything about glycerin, I already knew not to heat it above 280 this is kind of common knowledge to anyone who does stuff like this on a regular basis.

 

pwnd

he thought you were a punk!

 

I like trixer

 

Yes, Trixer, I did assume you were working at home in your kitchen. I should not have made that assumption. My apologies.

Yes, the cheap e-cigarette you linked to looks the same as theVape Pen. And that is proof the Vape Pen people are lying? How?

The Vape Pen web site states:
"Our manufacturing partners have achieved ISO 9001 certification." And that it is RoHS certified.

Is the one that looks like the Vape-Pen in your link, ISO 9001 certified and RoHS certified? Then it is not the same thing. Not at all.

Are you saying Vape Pen's web site is lying when it says:
"Based on a device originally used as a cigarette replacement, now greatly improved. The Vape Pen incorporates a microprocessor to exactly control a low-temperature atomizer. Low temperature atomization minimizes oxidation of the delivered medication.

Our atomizers are constructed of surgical stainless steel and are RoHS certified. all components are made in an ISO 9001 certified factory with strict quality assurance. The Vape Pen is assembled and tested in the USA. "

If you have proof they are lying, please share it with all of us. It's your choice. But personally, I would be careful about publicly saying someone is lying on their web site about their product. But that's just me.

Trixer, I have no beef with you at all. You seem like an alright dude. We're all into vaping, right? And portability and discretion. Right? I don't see why I'm getting all this hostility by reviewing the Vape Pen here!

Have I attacked you? Or did you come to my review thread and start attacking the product I was reviewing, even though you've never tried it? I don't really see why you want to do that. If you try it and hate it, then okay, fine, state your opinion! Isn't there some rule here that says you have to try a vaporizer before you can knock it?

I, personally, would rather use an RoHM certified Vape Pen than a cheap e-cig. That's why I like the Vape Pen.

Sounds like you're doing well with your project. I'm happy for you. I hope you get it working the way you want it to! Meanwhile, there is this product which works really well...

I hope others besides me get to try it and comment on how they like it. I'm just not sure it's quite right to call people liars when you have no proof of such, and really, is it fair to make accusations about something you have neither seen in person nor tried?

I have tried it, and I can tell you that it works and provides complete portability and complete discretion! I like the whole idea of it! And that's why I'm excited about the Vape Pen!

It is great if you can make your own and use your own herb and so on, but really, not everyone is a chemist like you, Trixer, so for those of us who want to be able to just buy something off the shelf and use it, the Vape Pen and Liquid Herbs are fantastic! I'd think you should be happy that this product is out there, providing a safe and discreet way to medicate! I certainly am. If you tried it, I think you'd like it. Sorry you don't live in a place where it is sold.

 

Nevermind

Oh... Lots of certified factories in China are making and selling the cheap e-cigs

http://www.ecigarettedirect.co.uk/extra info/factory.html

 

I see nothing on their website stating "not made in China" they simply state "The Vape Pen is assembled and tested in the USA" Which is a very vague statement, which in my eyes translates to "we screw together the pieces which were made in China" Plain and simple this thing looks just like any other E-cig, they use the same batteries, plugs, and even claim to be developing the same USB adapter that they all use.

Many companies claim to have a team of scientist, and judging by the generic lab pictures on their website they might not have even one. If it looks like a rat and smells like a rat......

The molds and general tooling to produce a product like this would be astronomical, that's why most of the worlds electronic gadgets come from China, they can do it cheaper and put out the same product under 50 different brands and the general population of people are none the wiser.

I know you are looking to have a place with this company but come on, you can't come on here and expect to fool the intelligent people of fuckcombustion into thinking this is a revolutionary design, that's why we come these sites and research so that we don't get sucked into buying these knockoff designs.

 

atomizer ... i take that to mean an ultrasonic mechanism, rather than temperature device, to create the "vapor" -- probably not a vapor at all, but rather a mist -- which would definitely be "low temperature".

i can't imagine getting a true vaporizer (400F operating temperature) in that small a package with enough battery power to last more than one hit -- if that. Cigar size, maybe, but the batteries would still be separate.