Ascent Vaporizer by Da Vinci (pre-sale thread)

[lookhigh]

How stupid is this reviewer (and i use the word reviewer loosely) does he not realize there IS A SLEEVE/SEAL around the glass. I bet if u hit this thing without the glass inserted it would still work.

 

[JoeKickass]

I noticed something that intrigued me. Looks like Joekickass influenced the design of the grille on the bottom of the Ascent. Refer to here if you want to see how that unfolded.

Influenced maybe, but that grill isn't really the one I would have picked, let me explain:

Aston:

Maserati:

I think someone said it right before, the Ascent is going for the retro look:

(As long as it's more reliable than an old Cadillac! lol)

 

[SleepyHead]

I can see the retro styled grill they are going for, one of the reasons why I think the wood burl one compliments the grill so well.

 

[pakalolo]

I think someone said it right before, the Ascent is going for the retro look:

(As long as it's more reliable than an old Cadillac! lol)

I know it's a Maserati grill because the designer told me so. He did go for a retro look, the 60s Maserati:

 

[JoeKickass]

I know it's a Maserati grill because the designer told me so. He did go for a retro look, the 60s Maserati:

Ah touché!

I sometimes think it would have been fun to have lived in the 60's, but then I realize that everything would be from the 60's and I would miss the internet

 

[pakalolo]

Ah touché!

I sometimes think it would have been fun to have lived in the 60's, but then I realize that everything would be from the 60's and I would miss the internet

I lived through the 60s. They were a hell of a good time and I didn't miss the internet. Of course, if we'd had the internet back then I probably would never have left my room and missed the whole thing.

I doubt that any of us will ever appreciate all the detail that went into the design of the Ascent. From talking to Cortney, I learned a lot I would never have known. His design was strongly influenced by input from FC on the DaVinci but tempered with his own drive for quality and performance. He doesn't feel this design is perfect by any means. He said he could name quite a few things that didn't satisfy him and he challenged me to identify what I found wrong with the design. Under the circumstances the best I could come up with were the weight and size, but as we are seeing from the initial impressions by our own reviewers, there are other things. Not all of them are flaws, incidentally, some are matters of taste, like this grill discussion he said neatly tying it back to the post he was replying to.

 

[PoopFights]

Thanks to all of you with the test units who have given their first impressions! Anyone else get excited every time they get a new email on their phone, hoping it's Da Vinci, only to be disappointed when its not them? The ignitor on my WISPR just crapped out so I'm left to combust like some savage or use my puffit which although discreet isn't as effective as I'm used to.

Speaking of the WISPR, do any of you with the test units have any early insights on a comparison between the two?

Also, I've seen the question of smell (pre, during use, post use) asked but I may have missed the answer. If I missed it, could you point me toward the post that answered it?

 

[11eleven11]

What concerns me the most about the Vapelife review is his talk about that silicone taste... I wonder what he is tasting as I haven't heard any FC owners on here mentioning that. Is it possibly that new fresh vape taste that needs to wear off? If that is indeed the case, he is incorrectly judging the vapor quality of the Ascent simply off a fast early review. Lame.

But if there really is a lingering silicone taste for some reason then that sucks, especially for a product with all glass that is shooting for a high standard of vapor quality. Again, what gets me is I haven't heard from anyone on FC reporting that.

 

[BigBurlyBill]

What concerns me the most about the Vapelife review is his talk about that silicone taste... I wonder what he is tasting as I haven't heard any FC owners on here mentioning that. Is it possibly that new fresh vape taste that needs to wear off? If that is indeed the case, he is incorrectly judging the vapor quality of the Ascent simply off a fast early review. Lame.

But if there really is a lingering silicone taste for some reason then that sucks. Again, what gets me is I haven't heard from anyone on FC reporting that.

I think Slim responded to that. There is a silicon taste for the first 2 bowls. After that, the taste is gone. It might be possible to burn an empty bowl to see if it will help, but we're very far off from that point in time. lol

 

[Green_Weed]

I think the flavor of plastic or silicon it is usual for the first few uses in all vaporizers

Regards from Portugal

 

[11eleven11]

See, now that's pretty shitty of vapelife to release such an early review and judge the vapor quality like that. Chodetastic.

After unboxing it, I would put it in the charger, turn the heat up, and start blowing into it to try to get rid of that initial "factory new" taste.

 

[Tickdickler]

I have a question about smell, when your product is heating up is there a lot of smell alone from that? For example, my PAX makes a pungent smell while its heating up without even pulling on it. Is this the same for the Ascent?

 

[exhaleclouds]

I have a question about smell, when your product is heating up is there a lot of smell alone from that? For example, my PAX makes a pungent smell while its heating up without even pulling on it. Is this the same for the Ascent?

I would assume somewhat since conduction is going on...and you aren't in control of the heat transfer. On my solo without pulling i can still smell it while heating up.

 

[RUDE BOY]

(As long as it's more reliable than an old Cadillac! lol)

Oh come on Joe old Cadillac's were Kickass . Most vapes aren't gonna come close to 100,000 miles Let's just hope the Ascent lives long enough to need an oil change and new break pads . Slims method of reporting on it's use over a matter of months will tell .

I do love my DaVinci when it works , but I'm on my third unit since X-mas .

 

[Shrike]

I'm sure the Mob misses the 'old Cadillac's...you could fit 4 or 5 bodies in those trunks...ahhh...the old days!

Now its Prius' & Mini Coop's...sad.

 

[lwien]

I think the flavor of plastic or silicon it is usual for the first few uses in all vaporizers

Not true. The only vape that I have ever used that had that smell was the Iolite and in that vape, that smell and taste never went away.

Some vapes have it worse than others and some vapes never having it all while some will only have it for a short while and others will have it forever.

 

[Green_Weed]

Sure, it may not happen at all, but it happens in some

 

[lwien]

Sure, it may not happen at all, but it happens in some

Now I agree with you but that's not what you originally said. Just wanna keep things real.. .

 

[smokum]

I think the problem with finding any vape having a taste/smell is the lack of initial clean and more importantly, the seasoning of the chamber.

It's how I've found things myself when being over anxious to 'fire it up' out of the box rather than prepping properly. After all, these rigs (as with many other items/products out of the factories), don't come 'sanitized' IMO.

 

[Steve French]

What have been the impressions on battery life so far? The Vapelife review mentioned getting around 5 sessions in a battery cycle and I remember reading a similar number from one of the FCers comments.
While that still sounds better than what's currently on the market, that doesn't seem to match the 3-4 hour advertised battery life. Have either of the three of you with an ascent tried testing the battery life from a full charge? I'd love to hear your initial impressions.

 

[tyethewolf]

New member here! Just made an account cuz I had an interesting idea. The ascent has a straw that comes out of it so I figured a protective case that looks like a drinking cup would work nicely. Possibly have a smell proof container in the bottom to store extra herb or grinder or what not. This definitely looks like an awesome vape that I've been following since page 10ish and I can't wait to get it and put away my Extreme Q 4.0. Will be waiting patiently. Cheers!

 

[Yoshimattsu]

New member here! Just made an account cuz I had an interesting idea. The ascent has a straw that comes out of it so I figured a protective case that looks like a drinking cup would work nicely. Possibly have a smell proof container in the bottom to store extra herb or grinder or what not.

That's a really cool idea!

 

[RUDE BOY]

What have been the impressions on battery life so far? The Vapelife review mentioned getting around 5 sessions in a battery cycle and I remember reading a similar number from one of the FCers comments.
While that still sounds better than what's currently on the market, that doesn't seem to match the 3-4 hour advertised battery life. Have either of the three of you with an ascent tried testing the battery life from a full charge? I'd love to hear your initial impressions.

It takes weeks to really know what the battery life is . At least with the DV it took a dozen or so charges to learn what timings are . When you can make such drastic temp changes I may get 4 sessions and you might get 6 . Those times of 3-4 hours battery life always seems to fall short or it will run that long if you only do one heat up and keep it running for 3 hours , That's just my from experience with other vapes .

 

[stickstones]

I noticed a little taste on the first bowl, but it must have been something from manufacturing on the glass, because there is nothing else in the air path. Ever since then it is darn near the best tasting vapor I've had anywhere.

The smell...I don't smell anything when it is packed and sitting around. I don't smell anything after a session when it is sitting around. I smell a little bit while it is heating up, which is normal. The difference is that this thing heats up so quickly that you are into your session pretty quickly after you can smell it. But even then it doesn't smell up the room like a VAP2 will with the stem in it. So, it seems to smell a little less, and heats up faster than the others which reduces the time you have to smell it.

The glass stem design...I love it! It has a little play in it so you don't have to worry about breaking it with a little adjustment. And if the rubber seals at the ends of the air path are working you will never taste anything but glass. I don't think tightening up this glass would be good at all...too tight and you risk easy breakage.

Battery life...I'll have to test this. The problem is that it has an auto shutoff that is motion sensitive, so I can't just turn it on and leave it there. Five sessions seems like a bare minimum to me. SliM is getting six sessions and he runs it on high the whole time. I think eight to ten lower temp session is very doable.

 

[marvil701]

Sorry for not being able to contribute anything entirely new, but I just noticed two things comparing it to the Solo:

• Cleaning. Should be a lot easier compared to the Solo, because you can remove like 90% of the air path tubing and let it sit in isopropyl alcohol. Anyone who has used a bong before knows how disgusting they can taste if you don't keep them clean, and those usually have an all-glass (smoke) path.

• Battery life. This had me worried from the beginning. It seems like Davinci sacrificed a part of the convection effect by placing the bowl at the bottom instead of the top. But this should really keep the batteries from deteriorating, because the bowl and air-path seem to be isolated quite well from the batteries (heat kills batteries off faster). At least more so than in the Solo, which should leave us with overall longer battery life.