Ok time to sums things up!
A lot has been said about the new stems for the solo - both Ed's wood stem and Planet Vape PHVES.
I have been using Ed for couple of weeks and I gotten the PHVES about a week ago and been trying it a lot
First of I'd like to state that whoever purchase a Solo must also obtain one of these 2 awesome stems! So which one should you pick? - this will be the first time I ever review anything and please note I'm not native American so I apologize it I can't express myself 100% freely...
Build
PHVES - The PHVES stem (I have the "straight" model) looks almost identical to the stock glass stem but with small nicks and engraving along the stem increases airflow by miles, I also like the label PHVES engraved on the stem...it makes it look cooler...unfortunately just like the stock stem it could still break easily with shaky hands...I dropped it once and luckily nothing happened!
The PHVES also comes with "onboard" screen (wider than Ed's) that is important for fine grinding...however if you grind your herbs too much you might have bits of it coming through the screen...no additional screen has been received with the PHVES.
PHVES fits quite well in the solo but when it gets hot you can cause it to fall fairly easy tho it shouldn't happen.
Ed's Wood - Solid ! The wood stem is beautifully made and feels very strong, you can drop it as much as you like and nothing will happen, the SS chamber is also bigger than the PHVES glass chamber and easier to handle with double screening(more on that later on).
The chamber itself has been modified with a tight thick screen which is IMO the best...it requires much more cleaning tho, if not then the airflow will be decreased!
The airflow is just as good as PHVES and even better tho people might say otherwise...they pretty much identical in terms of airflow.
Ed also included 2 more extra screens which is awesome and a must for double screening.
The stem itself fits almost perfectly and when it gets hot you really have to shake it strongly to make it fall.
The SS chamber as some said can get loosen up and be removed...I actually like it as it makes it easier to maintain.
Performance
PHVES - The PHVES performance really well ! it produces the most fat and thick clouds, the taste is great but is not different to the stock stem but the clouds are almost endless
PHVES works great with the cotton ball technique.
Ed's Wood - Preformance is almost the same as PHVES but I think PHVES has a slight edge...
The SS chamber is bigger and IMO takes a bit longer to hit up ... which is causing a slightly more "wide" vapor ... the thing is that while PHVES might preform a little bit better,
the taste is just ... a-m-z-i-n-g... I never tried wood like this and I never thought the taste will be better than glass (I thought glass is the high end of taste but I was wrong)...so for a slightly less dense vapor but with more flavor ... I'm not saying you wouldn't get thick clouds, I think its just a little harder to do so with the wood stem since the chamber is bigger and the herbs is with less contact with the heater element than the PHVES(once again these are slight differences).
Usage
PHVES - The way I see it PHVES is for home use only, as I wouldn't take it out and risk breaking it. of course you can use it outdoors but I rather not if possible.
The glass is easy to clean and therefore sharing shouldn't be a problem...you can reclaim the resin which is super important to me !
Ed's Wood - Never leave your home without a wood stem! you can toss it inside with no worries of breaking it! but its also nice to use at home, it all depends what you slightly care more (taste vs slightly thicker vapor)
Sharing this wood stem is harder than glass since its not as easy to clean - you cannot really reclaim since the wood doesn't get hot enough to scrape and alcohol is a bad for wood.
If you share it with friend the top wood might soak into spit of other users so its slightly less conferable to share.
Features
PHVES - pretty much what you see is what you get - pure dense vapor with great airflow for a decent price...this really should replace the stock stem ASAP. no additional screen is a let down.
I was able to do double screening with J.R.R screens but honestly I would like a perfect match screens...I was able to double screen tho with no problems - half of the screen goes inside and half stays at the edge of the glass chamber, but the screen won't fall and that's all that matters.
Ed's Wood - Free screens is awesome and needed for double screening...the SS chamber is designed perfectly to fit double screening...the top has nicks and is slight wider than the actual place to put the herb and therefore if you take the second screen after filling the chamber and just put it above it will fit perfectly and will never fall down! this is very classy!
But what I really liked is the "WONG" feature of Ed's wood stem!
I got a bong and I can connect it to the wood stem with no adapter whatsoever, this thing fits
perfectly and I can hold the bong in one hand and I don't need to worry about it falling down...for the PHVES I would need to get a GoNG which cost more money...and with the wood I actually get it for free...
Price
PHVES is cheaper but for an international customer such as myself, I ended up paying the same amount for both stems, so in terms of price Ed's is simply a better deal - you get a stem that can be used indoors and outdoors with no risk of breaking, a "WoNG" ready device and yes it makes the solo looks nicer...
Conclusion
Having tried both I can safely say that this makes the solo a much better machine.
Arizer should be thankful and add PHVES as its stock glass and make a special version with Ed's wood (IMO) both are top notch but if you have to choose one I would go with Ed Wood stem simply because its a better deal and offers more features...
For myself - a guy who loves reclaiming, not being able to reclaim well as glass sucks...so for home use I try to use glass more...but if anyone of my friends comes and I'd rather have the wood stem connected to the bong since its easier to hold and handle.
I think the perfect Solo requires both stems and you wouldn't regret getting both...
That's it for now. I hope I wrote enough info...cheers and good day
