Discontinued Zion vaporizer

DieHard

Accessory supplier
Accessory Maker
For those with combustion concerns. IIRC. My Loki was tuned a bit extra hot. I have only experienced combustion with the dial cranked all the way, AND usually it was someone using it and forgetting to let off the button. Even on full power, with the unit warm from use, combustion is easy to avoid. Clean up after the fact really only involves cleaning the stem in ISO. After that it's good as new!
 

cybrguy

Putin is a War Criminal
And just to be clear, I have only gotten combustion when I was intentionally pushing Venus towards the biggest hit possible or was completely asleep at the switch. And at 75% or less on the dial (where I usually am) it is nearly impossible to combust accidentally.
 

Bongologist

JoJo Woodworks
Accessory Maker
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@Mr. Me2 I believe the ballpark is $239 now.

@cwheezy it has been awhile, an update would be great.
 

RastaBuddhaTao

Well-Known Member
Manufacturer
Sorry for the delay everyone. So excited today that not even Reddit can bring me down :)

After many nights of burning the midnight oil with @MrPeanut and many mornings up before the sun we have great news to report!

Two primary failures where uncovered. 1. Air bypassing the heater element. 2. Uneven heat distribution in the heater element. There are 5 root causes identified with fixes for all five identified and 4 have been confirmed through testing. There are a ton of updates to share over the coming weekend.

Thanks again for everyone's patience and good vibes. I have a feeling good karma is about to be bestowed on the loyal RBT Cult members. Membership does have its privileges ;)
 

nosmoking

Just so Dab HAppy!
Sorry for the delay everyone. So excited today that not even Reddit can bring me down :)

After many nights of burning the midnight oil with @MrPeanut and many mornings up before the sun we have great news to report!

Two primary failures where uncovered. 1. Air bypassing the heater element. 2. Uneven heat distribution in the heater element. There are 5 root causes identified with fixes for all five identified and 4 have been confirmed through testing. There are a ton of updates to share over the coming weekend.

Thanks again for everyone's patience and good vibes. I have a feeling good karma is about to be bestowed on the loyal RBT Cult members. Membership does have its privileges ;)
4 out of 5 sounds good. I trust you will indulge us more on this in the coming week as you mentioned so I won't ask about the 4 root causes you already confirmed fixes on but can you advise us now a little more about the 5th root cause. Is this something you are still working on finding a solution for and will this cause further indefinite delay or do you plan to start moving forward with production plans regardless?
 

Likes2vape

Well-Known Member
Sorry for the delay everyone. So excited today that not even Reddit can bring me down :)

After many nights of burning the midnight oil with @MrPeanut and many mornings up before the sun we have great news to report!

Two primary failures where uncovered. 1. Air bypassing the heater element. 2. Uneven heat distribution in the heater element. There are 5 root causes identified with fixes for all five identified and 4 have been confirmed through testing. There are a ton of updates to share over the coming weekend.

Thanks again for everyone's patience and good vibes. I have a feeling good karma is about to be bestowed on the loyal RBT Cult members. Membership does have its privileges ;)
I'd like out of the cult (don't care for the kool aid) and to get a refund. I have submitted a refund request 10 days ago through the website and have heard nothing back. I have 2 orders one with just the Zion and one with the tod, the single battery unit plus 4 batteries. I would like a refund on both orders and I do not agree to pay the PayPal fees.
 

ZC

Well-Known Member
I was on the fence about the Zion before the supposed October launch, but lately I've been glad I held off.

A good vape is always tempting, and the Zion seems to be fantastic, but if the customer service isn't there then I might as well be gambling. I say this to you RBT not to discourage you, but to encourage you to shift your priorities.

Customers should come first. Refunds should be given immediately. Communication should be often and transparent. You've gained so much hype and support in this community by being transparent and communicative, you can't just stop that now that you're producing.

I hope to buy a Zion one day, but I can't buy from a manufacturer known to disappear for weeks at a time with zero communication, and I can't buy from a manufacturer ignoring or neglecting refund requests when they've failed to deliver a product on time.

The setbacks themselves are fine and perfectly excusable -any new product can have growing pains. But communication and customer service needs to be paramount, especially in the face of these setbacks.
 

seaofgreens

My Mind Is Free
The fact that he is here at all, and has been up front and honest with his difficulties is enough for me. I for one didn't expect him to come and report back until he had something to report back on... But, I don't know what's up with refund delays for those that want out. Get on that RBT!
 

VegNVape

Increase the Peace
Company Rep
but lately I've been glad I held off.
:wave:

Well good for you. Personally I'm chuffed to bits that I've been on-board from the jump-off. This ride has been amazing so far & from what I can see it's only gonna keep getting better.

I know I do actually have a Zion in hand, but I also do know what it's like to wait. I waited for my Zion. I am still waiting for my Grasshopper. Am I annoyed, frustrated, angry with or feel lied to by GHL?

Nope.

I can take it.

But, if it turns out that they take my money & never provide me with a vape THEN I'll start kicking off, but otherwise, I'm cool.

Each to their own I say.

And anyway, I'm pleased you feel that you have made the right decision - you need to be sure before joining a cult :D


:peace:
 

phattpiggie

Well-Known Member
Accessory Maker
A lack of communication isn't a good for anyone manufacturer or customer. I didn't place an order but the wait still makes me anxious. Any news is good news.

@ZC I can see you're 'once bitten twice shy' as you wait for your Hopper.
I know it doesn't help but put into perspective RBT LLC was only formed/registered on December 16th 2014. Nearly a year to the day after the Hopper campaign closed.

I totally appreciate anyone's disappointment that Zion's weren't ready for production and the frustration it has caused. I'm in the UK so the wait for International customers will be even longer for the production unit. I will wait and once everything is in full swing RBT will be able to, take a rest, concentrate on the Dual Power and the UnrSingle.

@RastaBuddhaTao congratulations on the progress and no pressure or anything but it would be nice to see you celebrate your '1st' Anniversary in style.

Come on RBT and poor @MrPeanut :tup:
 
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Edric al-Fali

Well-Known Member
So excited for the update. It feels good that this new vaporizer is being thoroughly polished instead of just tossed out there unfinished.

That being said. can we have a ballpark time frame? Are we talking weeks or months? One month or several? I know I am one of the last in line as I bought mine on Oct 1. I need to know if I should get something else in the meantime.
I have a busted iolite that is leaking butane. It was my original plan to get the Zion and send my iolite in for repairs. It was also my plan to buy a Prima before I discovered the Zion.
If it's going to be soon, I can wait. I would feel silly buying another vaporizer and having them both arrive close together.
If it's still going to be a few months, however, I want to get the Prima because my only portable is on its death bed.
 

killick

But I like it!
We all knew there were likely to be slipups. We all chose to ignore them for whatever reasons make us do these things. I, for one, have been without a decent portable since early spring, and MiniVAP is performing admirably at what is *not* it's primary function. I almost feel like it should get wrapped in a camo pattern in case it comes out in the bush with me any more...

When Zion is ready to be revealed I know it will be a lovely experience, based on the reviews of people I've come to know through FC and know they have similar views to myself. This is fun! I have more cousins I've not met yet, and share a hobby :)

Edit - It's not that I don't feel for some of you guys. I do understand. Your expectations get raised, and in the days of immediate gratification we don't like 'the unknown' - we want it now, Or we are prepared to wait til XX of XXX, but not a second longer. I get it. I was like that myself, for a long time. I've been doing as much as I can to grow. I've been on disability the past 2 years now, and it's given me the time to appreciate the difference between what really matters and what really doesn't matter all that much. And you know what? In the grand scheme of things I'm just fine waiting for the team at Mt Zion and their 'lungs of steel' to release a product that they are happy with. Yes, they hit a speedbump, but better with only 10 units in the wild, and not 200.
And I know they are nice people, and are doing their best to provide me with a stellar way in which to do my own reggae-influenced dance moves!

Some time, if I feel up to it, I'll post some pix from a Barbadian 'Bajan' booze cruise. I got a lot of pix from the roof til I was chased off. Apparently it was quite funny... ;)
 
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VegNVape

Increase the Peace
Company Rep
Edit - It's not that I don't feel for some of you guys. I do understand. Your expectations get raised, and in the days of immediate gratification we don't like 'the unknown' - we want it now, Or we are prepared to wait til XX of XXX, but not a second longer. I get it. I was like that myself, for a long time. I've been doing as much as I can to grow. I've been on disability the past 2 years now, and it's given me the time to appreciate the difference between what really matters and what really doesn't matter all that much. And you know what? In the grand scheme of things I'm just fine waiting for the team at Mt Zion and their 'lungs of steel' to release a product that they are happy with. Yes, they hit a speedbump, but better with only 10 units in the wild, and not 200.
And I know they are nice people, and are doing their best to provide me with a stellar way in which to do my own reggae-influenced dance moves!

Some time, if I feel up to it, I'll post some pix from a Barbadian 'Bajan' booze cruise. I got a lot of pix from the roof til I was chased off. Apparently it was quite funny... ;)
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaand doubley liked for the edit :tup::tup:


:peace:
 

pushpaw

Well-Known Member
Hi all. I have been lurking around in here for some time, and have been meaning to post a little hello for a while but stupid life keeps getting in the way. Anyway, I've been interested in the Zion for quite a bit but didn't get in on the pre-orders as I have been waiting what feels like forever for a Grasshopper (I was a backer, so waiting since Dec 2013...) and I just couldn't justify having money out of pocket on two future vape gadgets at the same time.

I have a number of other vaporizers, and my current go to is my Firefly (which I lucked out and got one for $100 from a guy on craigslist a few months back) which I love, despite its little imperfections (like the damned batteries). I used to use a Solo, but would often just smoke rather than wait for it to heat up. I haven't smoked at all since I got the Firefly. :) I can imagine that the Zion would make my Firefly completely redundant.

My Grasshopper is due to arrive on Friday. That doesn't quite feel real yet, but I have a tracking number and everything haha. Which leads me to:

@RastaBuddhaTao - I've seen a couple people opting out, asking for refunds. Well, I will gladly join the cult and take a spot in the pre-order line instead of them if you are willing. :D If not, no worries, I have toys to keep me distracted until you are taking orders again. :cool:
 

Shit Snacks

Milaana. Lana. LANA. LANAAAA! (TM2/TP80/BAK/FW9)
So excited for the update. It feels good that this new vaporizer is being thoroughly polished instead of just tossed out there unfinished.

That being said. can we have a ballpark time frame? Are we talking weeks or months? One month or several? I know I am one of the last in line as I bought mine on Oct 1. I need to know if I should get something else in the meantime.
I have a busted iolite that is leaking butane. It was my original plan to get the Zion and send my iolite in for repairs. It was also my plan to buy a Prima before I discovered the Zion.
If it's going to be soon, I can wait. I would feel silly buying another vaporizer and having them both arrive close together.
If it's still going to be a few months, however, I want to get the Prima because my only portable is on its death bed.


I'll leave it RBT to lay out any time frame (likely this weekend it seems?), but since you were such a late order with no other useable vape I'd definitely treat yourself to a meantime/backup vape now. Probably something stealth, torch based, or even conduction that might still find some use when Zion finally does arrive (as if ;)), iolite is a little outdated anyway now imo, pm me if you wanna talk recommendations etc where it won't be off topic

And :clap: RBT! Good quantifiable progress, I can almost taste the mapley goodness once again! Been too long without my bestfriend...
 
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Copacetic

Somewhere North of The Wall
Edge of the seat stuff here :popcorn:

I feel my own frustration re' the GH bleeding out into other parts of my life ( and I'm a late pre-order, so haven't had to endure the carrot dangling that many have!), but I don't feel that in this case. :peace:

I'd rather RBT took the time to reach a satisfactory (to him) level of reliability and craftsmanship, than run into the kind of issues that have me quite nervous re' my GH investment ( This, is the grasshopper, the most powerful hand-vape in the world, it'll blow your head clean off! I kid!, I kid! :rofl:)

I want to get a single battery Zion, and get carving, I have some ideas for decoration waiting for a 'canvas', and can't wait to get started!
Patience is elusive, but I'm hopeful that the wait will be worth it :cheers:
 

RastaBuddhaTao

Well-Known Member
Manufacturer
I appreciate the feedback. Due to lack of bandwidth answering questions via emails, PMs, the thread and the www form was unmanageable. many of my post were lost in the thread and I was frequently asked the same question. In order to Maintain a high level of customer satisfaction a comprehensive FAQ was compiled on the web site to provide a central location and each FAQ page has a form if your question wasn't answered. I believe not reading and asking a question answered in the FAQ just above the form is bad customer form and I will not respond. However, any good question is answered and added to the FAQ. Then the next person with the same question gets an instant answer saving us both time.

I then explained that the heater problem was open ended and I could not provide any dates, but put out a high level plan. I then apologized and offered a refund. Somehow I that process it appears some people feel horribly wronged and for that I am sorry. My intention was to provide a fast and efficient means of communication, not give the impression that I We will not have an army of customer service people on web chat and on the phone as that is not our business model. If our customer service or delivery doesn't meet your standards I ask that you not do business with RBT. I am sure there are vaporizers on the shelf at your LHS so I will be sure to stay on top of the refunds so we can make the unhappy people happy again... I recommend the Daisy.

Changes that will be made is no Paypal penalty for any refunds, a weekly update, and an update to the plan moving forward. If you are at all concerned with timing, please submit for a refund rather than stress over it.

Now, back to riding that Zion train... @VegNVape love the metal rendition :)
 

killick

But I like it!
Patience builds character, as well as psychological reserve. It's very zen to be patient, and I really think patience will be rewarded. Where I was in a rush I'm now thinking of this magical time to come. I'm really hoping the 2nd hand vape has a slight glitter effect to it, but I'll live if it's not super visible... ;)
 
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