Welcome to the club BSF. Let us know how you like it and spend some time getting used to how you use it. IMHO it takes time to understand it and the best way for you to use it...<snip> .
This statement is spot on. I received my Solo a couple weeks ago. I've only been able to use it about 5 times so far, a friend was considering switching to vaporizers so I lent it to him to try first hand for a few days, and I'm still getting to know it.
From my research the Solo was about as close as I was going to get to a non-portable table top style vaporizer for vapor quality, variable temperature and construction quality. I required the semi-compact and semi-discrete size of the Solo. There are much smaller units out there better suited for carrying around in your pocket but I vap 99% at home before bed for insomnia and mild pain relief and wasn't as concerned about carrying it around in public. The Solo's size does lend it to be easily stored in a nightstand drawer or tucked discretely in a cupboard though.
I fill the bowl in the tube by using the tube as a straw and sucking the ground herb from my grinder compartment. I get a couple dry bits in my mouth this way but I simply add them to the bowl. My dumb fingers tend to make a mess of things when trying to pinch a bit from the grinder and fill it by hand and I can live with this process until I find a better solution. I've tried a couple regular pipe screens that I had laying around but they didn't seem to fit quite right and fell out unexpectedly.
The variable temperature is what I am still dialing in for myself. Level 4 or 5 seems to be a good middle ground to start at and worked well for me. Yesterday I tried level 2 and got a nice head buzz. I left the herb in the Solo for use later in the evening at a higher temp before bed. Hitting that ABV that same night with level 6 resulted in the body relaxation and sedative effect I wanted for bed time. The science of the boiling points of different cannabinoids tells me this is the outcome I should expect. I'm hopeful this is repeatable but am reserving judgement for a few weeks yet while I try more settings and combinations.
All of this is not to say the Solo is mechanically difficult or confusing to use. It's that, for me at least, it seems to allow each individual the ability to find their own sweet spot. That's a beautiful thing but takes some patience, a little trial and error and a dash of research.
Good luck with your new Solo. I hope it arrives quickly and enjoy the process of getting to know it
).
