Ascent Vaporizer by DaVinci

[nigel]

NO ascent out there has a properly cured unit.

I'm not sure upon what you are basing this assertion, but it is just simply NOT true. I would suggest that before passing off broad sweeping generalizations as valid, that you either qualify your assertions as limited by your own presuppositions or you invest the effort in examining EVERY unit out there.

There are units out there that do NOT exhibit this behavior, and not all units that have been produced with the problem batch of silicone.

 

[VaPeD&CoNfUsEd]

Mine did NOT off gas! Mine has been a more than perfect unit as far as functionality goes.

 

[Mr. Gweilo 420]

After all the months of waiting. After all the salivating and masturbation over this vape. It has to be said. What a laughable piece of shit. It is beyond me why anyone would persevere with it. Parting with $250 of your hard earned for this piece of junk??? Please


mod note: From the rules page- Don’t attack products or companies. You can post your opinion, and you can criticize, but posts written to offend are not allowed.

 

[VaPeD&CoNfUsEd]

After all the months of waiting. After all the salivating and masturbation over this vape. It has to be said. What a laughable piece of shit. It is beyond me why anyone would persevere with it. Parting with $250 of your hard earned for this piece of junk??? Please

Do you have an ascent?

 

[Mr. Gweilo 420]

No ( ahh I hear the nerds circling for the kill) but I have monitoring for many months now. Seriously this company can't even get a product together that works. How do you send out units k owing they will need to be returned? I think it is very poor. They have taken advantage of the VAS most vapour nerds suffer from big time.

 

[VaPeD&CoNfUsEd]

Well, there are good working ones out there and those ones are really badass portables. I own one so I can say that. I don't think you should be calling it a "piece of shit" if you haven't even used one. They do need to get their shit together but, once they do they have a stellar product.

 

[Mr. Gweilo 420]

Well, there are good working ones out there and those ones are really badass portables. I own one so I can say that. I don't think you should be calling it a "piece of shit" if you haven't even used one. They do need to get their shit together but, once they do they have a stellar product.

I hear you but I'm just glad I didn't order one. Personally Da Vinci is blacklisted in my books. I think what they have done is a disgrace.

 

[OF]

I've put a single wrap of silicone plumbers tape around the inner glass tube and that creates a seal between the 2 glass tubes so when I put my finger over the bottom of the glass screen when it's open I can't get any airflow through the unit.

Sounds like an interesting idea, as long as it doesn't shed somewhere inside the unit. I assume you meant Teflon Plumber's Tape (the thin white stuff)? I've never heard of a silicone one.

There are units out there that do NOT exhibit this behavior, and not all units that have been produced with the problem batch of silicone.

When it comes to outgasing catalyst from cured rubber I think you've hit on the key......"do NOT exhibit this behavior" (emphasis mine). After effecting the setting up (technically the curing part, not the 'destinking part we're talking about), this stuff migrates through the material. That which reaches the surface can escape. The very fact we smell it confirms this is happening (and since it means some has left the rate is lower still). NASA did some cool tests on this for space use, it basically never really stops. It just gets low enough so enough people don't notice. Instruments have no trouble showing it's still happening. It's like how long until the skunk smell is gone? Or when will the closet no longer smell like cigarettes from the tenant that lived here two years ago?

Some rubbers and catalysts are worse than others, of course. But all will outgas (or they wouldn't smell at all...), the 'food safe' ones just don't use toxic catalysts as I understand it.

In a fun way the general technique to 'fix this' is forced aging.....heat, vacuum and time. The recipe for purging BHO?

I hear you but I'm just glad I didn't order one. Personally Da Vinci is blacklisted in my books. I think what they have done is a disgrace.

I'm not sure about 'disgrace' and all, kind of a subjective judgement IMO, but I'm with you on being glad you came here and researched before buying. Informed consumer choice is a good thing, not always easy of course, but well worth taking advantage of sometimes.

Hopefully you'll find another vape that suits you better, lots of good ones out there.

OF

 

[nigel]

NASA did some cool tests on this for space use, it basically never really stops. It just gets low enough so enough people don't notice.
...

But all will outgas (or they wouldn't smell at all...), the 'food safe' ones just don't use toxic catalysts as I understand it.

Thanks, as per usual, for providing informed rational information.

I actually spent some time talking with some NASA engineers on some of these very issues this weekend. Nice timing.

 

[Skulduggery]

I hear you but I'm just glad I didn't order one. Personally Da Vinci is blacklisted in my books. I think what they have done is a disgrace.

Sorry you feel this way, but your accusations are based on a lack of knowledge. I received a first batch Ascent that had to be returned for an exchange. DV, especially Aaron, has treated me wonderfully as a customer. I do NOT feel slighted, robbed, or mistreated by DV in anyway. I had the honor of helping them test and troubleshoot the first batch. Besides the screen issue, which was explained, the off gassing and leaky plastic tube were things that took allof us from the first batch a few days to recognize. Thus, I didn't and wouldn't expect DV to catch these issues, but we did, together, on FC forum. We (the first batch recipients) told DV to ship it to us ASAP, we understood the risks, and now we have helped contribute to improving the greatest portable vaporizer to hit the market. With all due respect, Mr. Gweilo, I'm unsure what your trying to contribute. I respect your choice to blacklist DV, but maybe it's time to move onto another thread.

BTW folks--even with the defects my Ascent had it totally impressed me. IMO, the best hitting vape historically has been the Super Vapezilla, the old school, loud, slow to warm up, slow to cool down, non-portable, precise temperature, all GonG $550 vape. The Ascent is the first vape to hit like my super vapezilla, except it's dead silent, heats up quickly, no worry of cool down, portable, good temp control, nearly all GonG and more than 1/2 the price! To each their own, but I'm happy to wait for the improved replacement.

 

[grokit]

As long as we're feeding it, what I remember dv saying is that they isolated a single batch of catalyst as not meeting specs, and they have since changed suppliers to prevent this from happening again.

Or something to that effect

 

[Smknbud]

I hear you but I'm just glad I didn't order one. Personally Da Vinci is blacklisted in my books. I think what they have done is a disgrace.

Yeah, your right.

It's disgraceful how they did a major mea culpa and admitted that they had production issues, immediately stopped delivering more defective units, openly admitted what went wrong, promised all a replacement and/or money back, kept us in the loop with what they are remedying and promised to make things right.

Sure, the argument might be that it should never have got to this, but it did. They are doing the best they can to win back our support. Disgraceful my ass.

 

[JCat]

Sounds like an interesting idea, as long as it doesn't shed somewhere inside the unit. I assume you meant Teflon Plumber's Tape (the thin white stuff)? I've never heard of a silicone one.

Yes ... I meant Teflon ... it was late (Yes I do know the difference between PTFE and silicone )

Edit: It is just a stop-gap fix ... I am getting my unit replaced, just waiting for stock of fixed units to be available.

 

[lwien]

Yeah, your right.

It's disgraceful how they did a major mea culpa and admitted that they had production issues, immediately stopped delivering more defective units, openly admitted what went wrong, promised all a replacement and/or money back, kept us in the loop with what they are remedying and promised to make things right.

Sure, the argument might be that it should never have got to this, but it did. They are doing the best they can to win back our support. Disgraceful my ass.

It's all in the timing. DV WAS disgraceful in how they handled their pre-launch contests as well as the launch itself along with the products of that launch. THAT, by any means of measurement, was disgraceful, and that's putting it mildly. But the way they are handling that disgrace is anything but disgraceful.

A twist on an old saying: It's not how you knock yourself out that counts. It's how quickly you realize what a dumb fuck your were and what you're going to do about it so that it NEVER happens again.

 

[Reflections]

I hope they dont forget to give adobewan his winning unit from the new batch coming out!

 

[sxmokeUP]

I'm not sure upon what you are basing this assertion, but it is just simply NOT true. I would suggest that before passing off broad sweeping generalizations as valid, that you either qualify your assertions as limited by your own presuppositions or you invest the effort in examining EVERY unit out there.
There are units out there that do NOT exhibit this behavior, and not all units that have been produced with the problem batch of silicone.

Hi nigel, I am with you in accuracy and discovery. I want them to be correct and known. Below is a post by DV on pg 106. In it, I take it to mean that the silicone supply in general (for production units) was the problem. There was no distinction or mention of batches as @grokit mentioned. Hope the below is enough. By reading it, one can assume all production units are suspect. Again, this is what DV said to us at FC. If DV as a company says something different in an email or over the phone, that might be true, but not everyone heard/saw it, so is there "truth" in that? Thanks nigel.

So, now for the product updates. The silicone was a supplier problem, we have been purchasing what is considered food grade silicone, ie the stuff you bake with- and it is rated up to 700F for the quality that we have. By now you all know that the curing was improperly done, this has since been resolved. Not only are we switching suppliers, but are now doing a secondary curing inhouse to ensure that only the best gets through. We've managed to resolve the screen issue as well. There were two issues here, as I believe Nigel pointed out- some were scratched and others had a film coming off. This was due to 2 different batches being produced differently. The factory had decided to add a film to prevent the initial scratching which was occurring ..and contrary to popular belief....it was not put on inside out. The internals of this vape are so compact that there isn't much room for well, anything- so the film was coming off as they shoved the insides in. Apparently this is resolved and I'm waiting on samples to come in and then we're off to the races...again.

---------------------

TY @OF for explaining that the off-gassing will never stop and will only dissipate. Similar to concrete in that it never stops curing, but can do things to accelerate the curing. (concrete is my analogy)

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Yeah, your right.
It's disgraceful how they did a major mea culpa and admitted that they had production issues, immediately stopped delivering more defective units, openly admitted what went wrong, promised all a replacement and/or money back, kept us in the loop with what they are remedying and promised to make things right.
Sure, the argument might be that it should never have got to this, but it did. They are doing the best they can to win back our support. Disgraceful my ass.

Yes, yes, yes. Maybe it is because I feel slighted in that my questions (although tougher to answer) didn't go unanswered, but DV does not chime in in a timely matter. They had production issues such as off-gassing, but count the pages between the first incident of off-gassing and page 106 where they actually admit to the mistake (props to DV on that).

---------------------

It's all in the timing. DV WAS disgraceful in how they handled their pre-launch contests as well as the launch itself along with the products of that launch. THAT, by any means of measurement, was disgraceful, and that's putting it mildly. But the way they are handling that disgrace is anything but disgraceful.
A twist on an old saying: It's not how you knock yourself out that counts. It's how quickly you realize what a dumb fuck your were and what you're going to do about it so that it NEVER happens again.

YESS, again, timing. Not to say they are not doing everything, but timing is key.

 

[Dreamerr]

Thanks sxmokeup...and nigel told ya I read it...

 

[Adobewan]

I hope they dont forget to give adobewan his winning unit from the new batch coming out!

Very sweet Reflections, thank you!
DV reached out to me this am to tell me they hadn't forgotten me.
I genuinely understand some of the frustration on the thread here, but can't stress, as some have already, that DV is making this right. I've fought legal battles, and dealt with bureaucracy where the opposing party fights tooth and nail to the bitter end even though they were in the wrong.
DV had a major set back, were probably reeling for a number of days, got back up, dusted off, and are owning their mistake.
That's a win for all of us and at a large cost to DV. A cost, I hope, that returns to them with interest.

 

[RUDE BOY]

DaVinci did hit a homerun with their First Vaporizer and took care of issues with it as they arose and IMHO it's an awesome Vape that pretty much changed the standard in the portable market . They more then proved they put us the user above all , their customer service has been nothing short of great .

Once they nail down quality suppliers theres no doubt in my mind they will stop shagging foul balls and hit another Homer out of the park with the Ascent . I for one am willing to wait a bit .

 

[Dreamerr]

Shagging

 

[Blackfish108]

I thought I would chime in here since i work in the food industry and work with suppliers in china. we have an office here that has been in operation for over 75 years, family owned (yes I am part of the family and yes I know how it looks, but I earn my money honestly; without any nepotism present, as a sales rep/ shipping adviser 9-5).
every time we place a new parts order with a Chinese company it's almost always a total crap shoot as far as quality and shipping times go. I went to China a few years back to check out the quality of work they were doing and factory setup they have. I can certainly say (I know this is no surprise) that they make many promises that they just cant keep. They'll clean the factory day and night before you come to visit, they may even take you to a different factory and tell you that this is where your products will be produced (happened to us)! They (and I'm not trying to single out the Chinese here, its just who I have had the most experience with) will just plane tell you what you want to hear. You could ask them to make a batch of mixing bowls to exact specs with tolerances of .0002 and they will tell you that they will have a batch of 10k sitting in your warehouse the next month. Come that time, you would be elated to find that they were able to fulfill the order, you might even start releasing them early because they look so good. This sets in motion a whole series of events that eventually leaves you (the distributor or in DV's case distributor and management team) with hundreds of unhappy customers after they find that the finish comes off and people are getting metal shavings in there food. Plus you have an extra 5k of junk product stuck in your warehouse (and no, china does not accept refunds).
My point is, is that we have no idea how this went down when management at DV found out about these defects. Considering the reaction and attention they have spent on updating us, I would suspect that they lost a considerable amount of product, supply contacts and unfortunately customers. From what i see, and i know no one is asking me; I think DV is doing everything in there power to fix this. Getting a new manufacturer as fast as they did impresses me tremendously as does the speed in which they were/are able to come up with a solution. If you have to ask me, I'm sticking with my ascent on order and if its still not up to par, I have full confidence DV will do everything in there power to fix any obstacles down the road. Alot of people are angry, and I understand, if I was waiting for a product for months only to find out its not up to par, I would be too. The thing to take into consideration is not so much your own reaction, the real test is how the company reacts. As they say every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Just look at PAX. I love the thing but its mouthpiece is not acceptable to me. I have herd so many complaints and all we've been given is lube. I don't even clean my glass as much as i have to with the PAX. I've had one for half a year and they still haven't fixed the mouthpiece issue yet , (unless you like lube).
I feel like that is the difference, PLOOM will give you a refund or replacement which is great but to see a company like DV tackle the internal and external bugs before the unit has been on the market for less than 2 months just says a lot to me.

 

[Snappo]

I thought I would chime in here since i work in the food industry and work with suppliers in china. we have an office here that has been in operation for over 75 years, family owned (yes I am part of the family and yes I know how it looks, but I earn my money honestly; without any nepotism present, as a sales rep/ shipping adviser 9-5).
every time we place a new parts order with a Chinese company it's almost always a total crap shoot as far as quality and shipping times go. I went to China a few years back to check out the quality of work they were doing and factory setup they have. I can certainly say (I know this is no surprise) that they make many promises that they just cant keep. They'll clean the factory day and night before you come to visit, they may even take you to a different factory and tell you that this is where your products will be produced (happened to us)! They (and I'm not trying to single out the Chinese here, its just who I have had the most experience with) will just plane tell you what you want to hear. You could ask them to make a batch of mixing bowls to exact specs with tolerances of .0002 and they will tell you that they will have a batch of 10k sitting in your warehouse the next month. Come that time, you would be elated to find that they were able to fulfill the order, you might even start releasing them early because they look so good. This sets in motion a whole series of events that eventually leaves you (the distributor or in DV's case distributor and management team) with hundreds of unhappy customers after they find that the finish comes off and people are getting metal shavings in there food. Plus you have an extra 5k of junk product stuck in your warehouse (and no, china does not accept refunds).
My point is, is that we have no idea how this went down when management at DV found out about these defects. Considering the reaction and attention they have spent on updating us, I would suspect that they lost a considerable amount of product, supply contacts and unfortunately customers. From what i see, and i know no one is asking me; I think DV is doing everything in there power to fix this. Getting a new manufacturer as fast as they did impresses me tremendously as does the speed in which they were/are able to come up with a solution. If you have to ask me, I'm sticking with my ascent on order and if its still not up to par, I have full confidence DV will do everything in there power to fix any obstacles down the road. Alot of people are angry, and I understand, if I was waiting for a product for months only to find out its not up to par, I would be too. The thing to take into consideration is not so much your own reaction, the real test is how the company reacts. As they say every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Just look at PAX. I love the thing but its mouthpiece is not acceptable to me. I have herd so many complaints and all we've been given is lube. I don't even clean my glass as much as i have to with the PAX. I've had one for half a year and they still haven't fixed the mouthpiece issue yet , (unless you like lube).
I feel like that is the difference, PLOOM will give you a refund or replacement which is great but to see a company like DV tackle the internal and external bugs before the unit has been on the market for less than 2 months just says a lot to me.

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't Davinci own the factory in China? I believe DV claimed so. Thanks!

 

[Dreamerr]

Blackfish thanks for the education. I want to know so much more and will ask someone in pvt but this all seems dumb to me then why companies go to China then...they save money but lose customers and the product is not going to be consistent not just the ascent from what you say. This is not a good business practice maybe? Where is the money tipping point? I know on sharktank(TV show) the bald man says if it can't be made in China it isn't worth putting out but he couldn't care less about customers.

Yes, snappo they do.

 

[lwien]

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't Davinci own the factory in China? I believe DV claimed so. Thanks!

That's what DV said.

The question I have though is.............is the marketing, sales and distribution of DV product owned by the same company that owns the factory?

 

[nigel]

every time we place a new parts order with a Chinese company it's almost always a total crap shoot as far as quality and shipping times go.

Thanks for your post on your dealings with manufacturing in China. I made a comment in another thread the other night that perhaps you'll understand.

Just a correction: It was a supplier issue. DV has their own factory over there.