First post here...and a noob to vaps so excuse all the redundant questions but this thread is too long to pour through looking for answers...
Based on sthanna1017's post I thought I would post this.
I have a unique perspective among the reviews I've read so far; I am a first time vaper, first time buyer. Not an expert= No value, right? Wrong! When I was reading reviews, I had problems relating to them. Even if I technically knew what the reviewer was saying, I had no applicable experience with which to compare it! So for all you vape virgins, I sacrifice my experiences.
First of all, I work in a tech field. That has conditioned me to NEVER buy the initial product. You are no longer consumers...you are now large-scale testers. I got the latest version stealth...and the earlier (repairable) revisions have been mitigated. I think you can safely disregard all the issues mitigated by the refinements DV has made, unless you are in the used vape market.
Normally I am not a packing snob, but I can admit when I'm impressed and the packaging impressed me. Whether it was simple mimicry or design, it shows attention to detail, and that’s a usable intangible when you are looking at a product that may have had an issue or two at launch. It separates the people who want to make a buck and are willing to let consumers deal with problems from the people who are offering products in which they have pride, and an emotional investment. To me, it indicates a real investment in the well-being of the product. I may be wrong.
First Impressions:
You receive the vape and charger, a bag, a sticker that is unusable outside WA and CO, and some cards. There is a spare set of glass and below that the oil/wax jars. The glass is delicate not because it's cheap glass, but because it is smaller than you think. There is a faux-velvet bag. There are two boxes below that with some dustcaps, some screens (not sure where these go), and another cleaning/jar removing pick. There is a ton of extra space in the box.
The Vape itself is about the size of a turn of the century cell phone. It feels solid and has a nice heft, and feels quality...even in the subdued stealth with no wood or leather. The OLED is a little bright, but it is a very nice display. Operating it is pretty-monkey simple. If you can't run it, you probably shouldn't be vaping anything. The grill on the bottom looks steel or like plated pot metal. It is metal, though, as are the sides. The middle is a nice soft-touch polymer.
The instructions say to charge it 10 hours or until the indicator says full. Mine came apparently fully charged. I plugged it in and the indicator was full. I left it plugged in for a half hour or so and the indicator stayed on full, so I just used it.
It heats up fast, and cools down slow.
Usage:
My grinder is more of a cheap plastic shredder that my buddy gave me, but it works really well, so my medicine was mostly shredded and not finely pepper ground.
Loading the vape is a pain. Do it over a piece of paper or something, so you can pick up the crumbs, or use a funnel. One review said the jar was a good pack. I am sure it is, but I have to wonder if that reviewer was part gorilla, because I have big hands, and packing it with my fingertip was fine.
The bowl didn't look discolored or damaged and the hinge felt solid. The seals around the glass appear normal, well-fit, and when I was using it, they seemed to work. I wrapped my hand around the bowl/hinge area during a session and my draw didn't get harder, so I don't think it's sucking wind. It has that little v notch, which to me looks like it may also pull the seal together slightly in addition to making sure you don’t open the bowl the wrong way.
My First Session - was with about .1 gram. It's about a third of my normal single dose. In this case, there was not a huge, billowing cloud and 375, and the draw was fairly easy and not "thick feeling", HOWEVER; and here is where what I am saying is what I was looking for in reviews, it was still every bit as efficacious. Combusting that amount would almost be a waste for me. Vaping it was certainly not.
It was good for about 4 vapes over 10 minutes or so, which, for the amount, seemed fine to me. I stopped then and the resulting herbs were about a caramel-brown. I looked through them carefully, and they were pretty evenly crisp. I probably could have jacked the temp and continued, but I was very satisfied with the comparative effects I got from vaping. I could tell when the herb started to taste burnt. Imagine that...you could taste when it was done! I had serious discounted the taste observations in the review I have read. It was actually fairly amazing to taste my medicine, and like an idiot wine taster, I pondered on the hints of mint and pineapple.
The session was all done on one temp; though I'll play in the future with progressively caching out using higher temps.
Emptying it was far easier than loading it...I took a ziplock bag, opened the bowl, and poured out the spent meds, witch simply dropped out, not being scorched to the side. A tap was all it took to clear the bowl. I then let the meds run their course and functioned nicely for the rest of the night; a definite pro compared to combustion.
I am asthmatic, and had to develop a definite and delicate method to avoid coughing. The Ascent gave me absolutely no problem during my first session...I didn't cough, or even get the hint of a cough. That is another huge pro...virtually no dirty things in my lungs. Mentally, that made taking my medicine easier.
I didn't need to stir the tiny amount in my first dose.
The Ascent does take a while to cool down. I can see how putting it in your pocket could get mighty uncomfortable mighty fast after a decent session.
My Second Session - I packed the bowl. I don't know how much I used, but It was about the same as a sharing a combustion session with a friend.
This time I got impressive clouds. Not only did it medicate, it also taught me that it is totally possible to cough from breathing vapor. The cloud was substantial, the draw was noticeably harder (the "milkshake draw"), and you could certainly taste/smell the medicine more. The effect was the same as before, only far more intense.
Again, I did not step up this session to a higher temp, as I was medicated enough for one night. This time I turned off the vape before I was done and let the residual heat continue to produce ever-weakening (though still potent) vapor. I got another drag or two off the cooling vape.
I am not sure if this will cause a problem, in that you are pulling rapidly cooling vapor over the glass where it may condense, wasting medicine and making your glass dirty. It may be better to let the vapor re-condense on the medicine to re-vaporize the next session, if there is one. If you are caching out, it may not matter, if you can get any vapor from a cached out, cooling bowl.
I got 3 sessions out of a packed tight, filled bowl, though I stirred it every time I used it (do this over a piece of paper). I also jacked the temp to 385 and vaped more; for me, the vapor and efficacy decreased from it's original potency, but it still worked. That was another pro for vape virgins, since it’s a pro over combustion.
Cons:
The unit is tricky to load. Doing it while medicated might get frustrating. It needs a charging/loading stand. I'm seriously going to try to 3d print one. All the extra space in the box would be perfect for a stand.
When I medicate, I tend to let it rest in my palm; it usually rests on the charging port and lightly resting on the metal grate. While this stops the convection of fresh air into the bowl, it also gets a little warm at 375, warmer and 385, and I imagine it can get bad if you are up there. That is a design issue that seems as though it would be hard to mitigate, and the solution is Apple-esque: Don't hold it by the sides on the bottom during a longer session. That is simply the nature of this vape.
Final Thoughts:
If your aim is to stealth vape, leave the bowl loosely packed with a pinch of medicine and the temp low. No vapor, plus no coughing, plus still medicinal == win in my book. I was also far more functional, which I imagine is good for those stealth situations. If you need those big clouds, it looks like you need a more packed bowl/higher temps. This is from two packs and 4 sessions, but it shows that the Ascent WILL stealth and the Ascent WILL put out some cloudage. If you are a vape virgin and don’t know what you want, you can try them both. I have had 4 sessions and I haven't had to charge it yet.
In the end, I can say that everything that made me a little nervous about buying an Ascent turned out to be a non-issue. There are some inconveniences, but it isn't like you are getting a machine now with critical and designed-in flaws. All of the negativity I am seeing is that it doesn't do exactly what some people want it to do. For some of those issues there are workarounds, but they don't keep this from working. At this point, it is not a purchase I regret.
FC thread gods have not corrected my post as of yet. I suggest you call DV direct for an answer. Meanwhile I'm gonna go hit up my fully charged Ascent from my car