Alfa Vaporizer by goboof

maremaresing

Well-Known Member
Love this review of the alfa! It's like my first reactions with it years ago.

That straw thing looks completely suspect. I'm not sure who signed off on that. It doesn't even look durable past the first use. Why not provide a glass mp or something else?
 
maremaresing,
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blackstone

Well-Known Member
Yes, even a more heavy wall plastic pipe would be more like it. I suppose it does work and it's foodsafe, even one inch of some straight straw material helps, but doesn't mean people are going to love that solution!
You get one cooling straw with every Alfa now to try out.
The rest of the vape does work surprisingly well though.

It's funny because when vapecritic did his Alfa review video he liked it, but a few years later he was posting that it's not that good a device and that there are better options, like the Pax2/3. I'm like whaaaatever, you can't switch your tune like that! In his best vapes of 2015 video he had this vape in the same grouping with the Pax2 and Arizers, which he had just 1 level below below the Mighty and Crafty. That led me to purchase the Alfa as my first vaporizer which turned out to be an amazing decision.
Even in the video it looks like it's working really great for him. It was the same with the SSV I think.
Ok time moves on and other things improve slightly so maybe they should be allowed to adjust the scores a little but it seemed to get to a point where it depended on how nicely the reviewers got treated by the company.
And god help your product and company if you forgot to send one to a reviewer, or excluded him on purpose! Or had a falling out. Then you're going DOWN, great vape or not!!
I suppose this is a great budget option now the price went down a bit.
 

Joie de Vivre

Well-Known Member
I got this a few days ago. Lifting the mouthpiece, which sits loose in its hole (there is a silicone mouthpiece that requires no o-ring but it sits in a separable plastic outer compartment that has no o-ring) a couple of wires are visible through a hole right next to it, that might or might not be effectively separate from the airflow, but in any case the draws smell unclean after several burn-offs and chambers. It gives a big hit when packed, (which I enjoyed optimising using both ends of a 3/16 drive hex socket) and the Auto Puff feature works especially well. It has sharp corners and the plastic lid is not sealed. If this were made of good materials and completely isolating the draw, the performance would justify that or a higher price. But it isn't, and given what X-Max, Arizer, Boundless etc are doing in the budget space Goboof should goback to the drawing board. I will put it back in the draw mainly because of taste/safety questions and better options.
 

hinglemccringleberry

Well-Known Member
I got this a few days ago. Lifting the mouthpiece, which sits loose in its hole (there is a silicone mouthpiece that requires no o-ring but it sits in a separable plastic outer compartment that has no o-ring) a couple of wires are visible through a hole right next to it, that might or might not be effectively separate from the airflow, but in any case the draws smell unclean after several burn-offs and chambers. It gives a big hit when packed, (which I enjoyed optimising using both ends of a 3/16 drive hex socket) and the Auto Puff feature works especially well. It has sharp corners and the plastic lid is not sealed. If this were made of good materials and completely isolating the draw, the performance would justify that or a higher price. But it isn't, and given what X-Max, Arizer, Boundless etc are doing in the budget space Goboof should goback to the drawing board. I will put it back in the draw mainly because of taste/safety questions and better options.
Sounds like you got a lemon. The Alfa IS made of good materials. Mine never had any of those issues and I never once had any robot/plastic/electronic off smells/tastes. The low temp terpy draws on mine tasted insanely good.
 
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hinglemccringleberry,

Joie de Vivre

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Anodized aluminum chamber, stainless steel vapor tube
The chamber wouldn't be plastic but everything else is, and the hole and loose mouthpiece are by design. I kept trying, because of this thread, and it really works, but I can't get over the flimsiness and continuing smell. I want to be able to mention my vapes in the present tense years from now. If I was harsh let's look forward to their next iteration, perhaps I should just say this design is showing its age.
 
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Joie de Vivre,
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hinglemccringleberry

Well-Known Member
The chamber wouldn't be plastic but everything else is, and the hole and loose mouthpiece are by design. I kept trying, because of this thread, and it really works, but I can't get over the flimsiness and continuing smell. I want to be able to mention my vapes in the present tense years from now. If I was harsh let's look forward to their next iteration, perhaps I should just say this design is showing its age.
Did they change the body recently or something?? The body of my gen 1 Alfa was all metal except for the chamber door
 
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Joie de Vivre

Well-Known Member
This is a note to correct myself and make an apology - I had the impression that under the wrap it was light plastic, the top and bottom are plastic, however the sides are indeed all metal and I have been saying otherwise. Maybe to avoid slander I should delete or edit some of my above remarks with a note but for transparency I'm just saying this here, I was really critical of the smell and presumed it is all plasticky, and mccringleberry took issue with me and is right, well the sides anyway. Maybe the Alfa is alright. I'm gonna keep my trap shut for a while.
 

maremaresing

Well-Known Member
It's really big of you to adapt your opinions based on new information. Definitely keep posting your experiences with the alfa (and other vapes).

When the alfa was released, it was cutting edge in size, and still has a lot of features that new vapes don't. It actually has a cleanable airpath, for instance. That said, it's been 7-8 years since it's release. A lot of new vapes have come out that built on the design evolution in the industry. Not abnormal for some vape companies to have long product cycles, but it's long in the tooth.

It's a neat vape, and I wish they would improve on it with a gen 2 at some point.
 

hinglemccringleberry

Well-Known Member
This is a note to correct myself and make an apology - I had the impression that under the wrap it was light plastic, the top and bottom are plastic, however the sides are indeed all metal and I have been saying otherwise. Maybe to avoid slander I should delete or edit some of my above remarks with a note but for transparency I'm just saying this here, I was really critical of the smell and presumed it is all plasticky, and mccringleberry took issue with me and is right, well the sides anyway. Maybe the Alfa is alright. I'm gonna keep my trap shut for a while.
But if you have a off-smell/taste problem, it should be mentioned. Where did you buy it from?
I never figured out if the Alfa air path was truly isolated. Never bothered to because mine gave me nothing but pure flavor.
 

vapeape77

Well-Known Member
How about some pictures to clarify what your chamber looks like? I like the Alfa and use it a couple times a month for the nice bong flavors. Not digging the digs it’s getting without some pics…..
 
vapeape77,

Joie de Vivre

Well-Known Member
My issues were the materials and the top coming out. I can report he replaced the unit, which had a couple of issues, and the new unit does not have those issues. I removed the smelly expensive wrap immediately. A bit like the Dotleaf, it is fine now but I use it intermittently and with more care. I still don't like the plastic top and bottom parts and the build featuring a little screw proud at the side. But it hits well enough and with the wrap off I enjoy using it. I don't see the point of a picture, or rather, the point of honouring the request for a picture of the chamber.
 
Joie de Vivre,

Abysmal Vapor

Supersniffer 2000 - robot fart detection device
Cool new skins on the Alfa :).
n1.jpg

bc1.jpg
 

tashian

Well-Known Member
Are these guys still active? tried contacting due to unit fault but no way to get thru their web page contact.
 
tashian,
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