Reflections
Well-Known Member
good luck on your 3rd unit njluvdr..I'm enjoying mine!!
Ascent Vaporizer by DaVinci
- Thread starter Davinci_vaporizer
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- battery powered
Third time was the charm for me. Loving the third unit.
°k
The sound of vapor
You'll receive it with a US plug but a simple US to UK adapter works perfectly well.
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lwien
Well-Known Member
Ok, a quick and dirty Ascent review from me. Who woulda thunk, eh?
One important thing to keep in mind is that this review was after only one session comprised of 4 hits. As with any vape, it's going to take multiple sessions to get ones technique down, but here are my first impressions.
The packaging is simply...............stunning. And, btw, the exact same thing can be said for the vape itself. Simply........gorgeous. Btw, the ONLY times that I have ever used the words, "stunning" and "gorgeous" is to describe a very pretty lady that my eyes happen to run across. (Just felt the need to clarify that a bit.
)
The attention to detail, in both the packaging and the vape itself exudes quality for a product that could be priced, based just on these two aspects, at double what it currently is. Very, very nice.
And what further cements that high quality is the weight of the product, as well as the close tolerances of the hinges, buttons and glass mouthpieces. It just not only looks great, but feels great as well. On my unit, at least, all previous complaints of shoddy workmanship was nowhere to be seen.
Fired up the unit to max for about 5 minutes for a burn-off. No off-gassing but it did exhibit that "new car" smell for a bit. After a few minutes, that was gone.
Let it totally cool down. Loaded it up with about .05gr of medium ground, well cured bud (I'm a lightweight). As per Nigel's suggestion, I tamped it down with one of the oil cans, removed the lid of the can, left the can in the bowl, shut the Ascent and fired her up to 385F. Took a nice, long slow draw and produced a decent cloud of vapor. Not as voluminous as my LSV but about on par with my old PD. Nice taste, but again, not as tasty as my LSV simply because the vapor production is not the same. Waited a few minutes, turned off the unit and immediately took a second hit (for me, efficiency is high on my priority list so I'm trying to get the most out of a small amount of bud). The second hit was even a bit more voluminous than the first.
Typically, 2 hits is all I need to get me where I want to be, so I put the vape down and went about my business. What I did notice is that it almost felt like a different strain of weed when using the Ascent versus the LSV. I felt the affects a LOT quicker with the Ascent, even though the clouds weren't as dense. Guess I'm getting a different cannabinoid profile due to the temps and how this vape operates. I waited about 15 minutes and decided that I needed another hit which is one more than I normally take to get me where I wanted to be, even though the effects came on quicker. Fired her up again to 385, but while waiting to get to temp, I started doing something else, but I was so fucked up at the time, that I lost track of how long I put it down for (lol)...........could have been idling at 385 for 5 to 10 minutes or so. Kinda lost track of time. Took a 3rd hit.........nice vapor production. Turned off vape. Waited a few minutes but was concerned that I would be wasting some residual vapor in the Ascent after I turned it off so I took another hit not expecting any visible vapor, but there was some. Not a lot......a bit whispy, but still there. Ok, NOW is where I wanted be.
A few hours later, I wanted to see the color of the ABV so I took out the can. What I saw I never experienced with any other vape that I ever had. The ABV was a VERY uniform very dark brown. I'd say about 2 to 3 shades below black. It's a uniform color that I've never seen before. With all my other vapes, I'd get a mix of light golden brown with various shades of darker brown, even after multiple stirrings. There were no stirrings with the Ascent, yet the ABV looked totally used up without any unevenness to the color at all.
What I described above is both a good and a bad thing, depending on what your priorities are. If you grow your own bud, or your just not that concerned with conservation, the Ascent, in my opinion, is just about faultless, and I'd say this even if you didn't require a portable.............it's that good. The bad is, for me, that it took me 3.5 to 4 hits to get me to where I wanted to be rather than the 2 hits that I got from either my PD or my LSV and used twice the amount of bud in the process (that extra idling time before the second hit may have something to do with this). But keep in mind, this was my first session with the Ascent.
Next time, I'm going to try lowering the temp to 350 and see if I can get the ABV to a nice golden brown rather than the chocolate brown that I initially got. May require a few more hits, but my concern is if I can get .05gr to last me two days like it typically does, rather than just one day. If I can, the Ascent is a keeper.
Oh, and one of the HUGE pluses for me is how hassle-free it is to use than any other vape that I've had before. Just load her up, set temp..........and puff. No stirring. No dumping, crumbling and then re-stirring. No bong rituals. No reloading. No battery to insert. No butane to worry about. No AC cord to worry about. Etc etc. It just really appeals to my stoner laziness that sets in. Effortless......to say the least.
Other than the efficiency aspect, which I may be able to increase with technique, I love this vape, even as a home vape. As a portable, I think I would like it possibly even more..........but not for stealth. I got the burl wood and as I said, the damn thing is just so darn sexy and pretty that it would draw attention to itself.
REALLY liking this vape, but bud conservation is at the top of my priority list and I got to find a way to make that happen with the Ascent. Don't know if I can though. 100% convection vapes have an advantage here being that the ONLY time that the bud is getting any kind of heat whatsoever, is when you are hitting on it. With the PD as well as the LSV, the only time I insert the wand or the stem full of weed is when I want to draw on it. As soon as I take a hit, I take the stem or the wand out. With the conduction and radiation aspects of the Ascent, there is constant heat being applied to the bud when the unit is heating up, in between hits, and when the unit is cooling down, and even though you may not see vapor during this process, the bud is still being used up. So, simply by the design differences between convection and conduction/radiation, I may not be able to get the efficiency that I am after.
But man, other than that, this is one sweet vape that could easily sell for more than the current asking price.
(guess that wasn't so quick and dirty.....
)
One important thing to keep in mind is that this review was after only one session comprised of 4 hits. As with any vape, it's going to take multiple sessions to get ones technique down, but here are my first impressions.
The packaging is simply...............stunning. And, btw, the exact same thing can be said for the vape itself. Simply........gorgeous. Btw, the ONLY times that I have ever used the words, "stunning" and "gorgeous" is to describe a very pretty lady that my eyes happen to run across. (Just felt the need to clarify that a bit.
)The attention to detail, in both the packaging and the vape itself exudes quality for a product that could be priced, based just on these two aspects, at double what it currently is. Very, very nice.
And what further cements that high quality is the weight of the product, as well as the close tolerances of the hinges, buttons and glass mouthpieces. It just not only looks great, but feels great as well. On my unit, at least, all previous complaints of shoddy workmanship was nowhere to be seen.
Fired up the unit to max for about 5 minutes for a burn-off. No off-gassing but it did exhibit that "new car" smell for a bit. After a few minutes, that was gone.
Let it totally cool down. Loaded it up with about .05gr of medium ground, well cured bud (I'm a lightweight). As per Nigel's suggestion, I tamped it down with one of the oil cans, removed the lid of the can, left the can in the bowl, shut the Ascent and fired her up to 385F. Took a nice, long slow draw and produced a decent cloud of vapor. Not as voluminous as my LSV but about on par with my old PD. Nice taste, but again, not as tasty as my LSV simply because the vapor production is not the same. Waited a few minutes, turned off the unit and immediately took a second hit (for me, efficiency is high on my priority list so I'm trying to get the most out of a small amount of bud). The second hit was even a bit more voluminous than the first.
Typically, 2 hits is all I need to get me where I want to be, so I put the vape down and went about my business. What I did notice is that it almost felt like a different strain of weed when using the Ascent versus the LSV. I felt the affects a LOT quicker with the Ascent, even though the clouds weren't as dense. Guess I'm getting a different cannabinoid profile due to the temps and how this vape operates. I waited about 15 minutes and decided that I needed another hit which is one more than I normally take to get me where I wanted to be, even though the effects came on quicker. Fired her up again to 385, but while waiting to get to temp, I started doing something else, but I was so fucked up at the time, that I lost track of how long I put it down for (lol)...........could have been idling at 385 for 5 to 10 minutes or so. Kinda lost track of time. Took a 3rd hit.........nice vapor production. Turned off vape. Waited a few minutes but was concerned that I would be wasting some residual vapor in the Ascent after I turned it off so I took another hit not expecting any visible vapor, but there was some. Not a lot......a bit whispy, but still there. Ok, NOW is where I wanted be.
A few hours later, I wanted to see the color of the ABV so I took out the can. What I saw I never experienced with any other vape that I ever had. The ABV was a VERY uniform very dark brown. I'd say about 2 to 3 shades below black. It's a uniform color that I've never seen before. With all my other vapes, I'd get a mix of light golden brown with various shades of darker brown, even after multiple stirrings. There were no stirrings with the Ascent, yet the ABV looked totally used up without any unevenness to the color at all.
What I described above is both a good and a bad thing, depending on what your priorities are. If you grow your own bud, or your just not that concerned with conservation, the Ascent, in my opinion, is just about faultless, and I'd say this even if you didn't require a portable.............it's that good. The bad is, for me, that it took me 3.5 to 4 hits to get me to where I wanted to be rather than the 2 hits that I got from either my PD or my LSV and used twice the amount of bud in the process (that extra idling time before the second hit may have something to do with this). But keep in mind, this was my first session with the Ascent.
Next time, I'm going to try lowering the temp to 350 and see if I can get the ABV to a nice golden brown rather than the chocolate brown that I initially got. May require a few more hits, but my concern is if I can get .05gr to last me two days like it typically does, rather than just one day. If I can, the Ascent is a keeper.
Oh, and one of the HUGE pluses for me is how hassle-free it is to use than any other vape that I've had before. Just load her up, set temp..........and puff. No stirring. No dumping, crumbling and then re-stirring. No bong rituals. No reloading. No battery to insert. No butane to worry about. No AC cord to worry about. Etc etc. It just really appeals to my stoner laziness that sets in. Effortless......to say the least.
Other than the efficiency aspect, which I may be able to increase with technique, I love this vape, even as a home vape. As a portable, I think I would like it possibly even more..........but not for stealth. I got the burl wood and as I said, the damn thing is just so darn sexy and pretty that it would draw attention to itself.
REALLY liking this vape, but bud conservation is at the top of my priority list and I got to find a way to make that happen with the Ascent. Don't know if I can though. 100% convection vapes have an advantage here being that the ONLY time that the bud is getting any kind of heat whatsoever, is when you are hitting on it. With the PD as well as the LSV, the only time I insert the wand or the stem full of weed is when I want to draw on it. As soon as I take a hit, I take the stem or the wand out. With the conduction and radiation aspects of the Ascent, there is constant heat being applied to the bud when the unit is heating up, in between hits, and when the unit is cooling down, and even though you may not see vapor during this process, the bud is still being used up. So, simply by the design differences between convection and conduction/radiation, I may not be able to get the efficiency that I am after.
But man, other than that, this is one sweet vape that could easily sell for more than the current asking price.
(guess that wasn't so quick and dirty.....
)
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theCerberus
Well-Known Member
I hear the same noise on all my vapes after I swab them with iso. Its just the remaining iso boiling/evaporating off. The sound goes away after the burn off.....
wouldn't it be as simple as powering it up in a clean and small enclosure of some type that it is sealed in for a few minutes(maybe up to 10 mins?) and then opening and smelling what is in the container? Power it p and stick it in a ball/mason jar I a dark room with a flashlight and seems like you would be able to tell.
peaceonearth
High since 1968
Hi, first time posting here. I just ordered my Ascent (directly from manufacturer) and very excited. One thing I was surprised they didn't offer though, was a car charger. Does anyone know approximately when one will be available? Although the Davinci car charger is suppose to (maybe) work, I would rather wait for a car charger made specifically for the Ascent that will allow use while charging. GREAT site - thanks for all the wonderful info!
peaceonearth
High since 1968
Thanks, but I believe that's the one for their old Davinci model, not the Ascent. It can (supposedly) be used with the Ascent, but doesn't allow you to use it while charging. Plus I'd be leery using it 'cuz the Ascent has slightly different power requirements than the Davinci.
When I just ordered it, it wasn't a pre-registration - at least I hope not!! I was given shipping choices in addition to free shipping, and payed a bit extra for usps priority. Order status says "awaiting fulfillment"
mod note: Please avoid back-to-back posts, use Edit instead. Two posts merged.
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cawshook
Solod out.
Thanks. What design did you order? Im thinking of going stealth, but the wood has that Mercedes interior luxury. Its tempting.When I just ordered it, it wasn't a pre-registration - at least I hope not!! I was given shipping choices in addition to free shipping, and payed a bit extra for usps priority. Order status says "awaiting fulfillment"
unless they sold out they said on their fb page Friday that it is not available.
I actually got an email Thursday saying that my pre-registration group could buy theirs on Friday. Friday I woke up too see their FB page said "come get em!". I was a little annoyed.
mod note: Please avoid back-to-back posts, use Edit instead. Two posts merged.
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peaceonearth
High since 1968
Stealth was a no-brainer for me. I like a simple clean design, plus it's just so... stealthy.
Yesterday their site had it as "unavailable" and I couldn't even pre-order. Today it had changed and allowed me to order.
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I would not be surprised if they sold that batch out already. Not sure what to say about the pre order as if I had waited till my groups time from 4-9 pm Friday night I probably would have got the same message that they are unavailable. Keep an eye on their facbook page is my advice.
HighMtnSkier
Waiting for winter
Just get an inverter for your car and then you can use the wall wart in your car.
peaceonearth
High since 1968
Oh!!!!! I had no idea that existed - wow the possibilities - thank you!!!!
@lwien, nice review. Re the dark ABV: I'd say that was the consequence of forgetting and leaving the Ascent on. It continues to heat the load and since there is a lot of conduction, it gets cooked and you lose some vapour and a lot of flavour. You probably will find an improvement if you just use it the way you intended rather than forgetting it. In my opinion, you won't get it to be as efficient as your PD was (or even the LSV) but the things you like about the Ascent would make it a keeper for out and about—unless you don't have that requirement?
lwien
Well-Known Member
Yeah, I'm gonna try it again either tonight or tomorrow with hitting it as soon as it reaches vape temps without forgetting that it was on. I have no doubt that I used up more weed that way, even if left on at vape temps for 5 min. or so.
What I really like about it over my PD or LSV is the ease of use. It's just so hassle free. But in regards of using it when out and about, I never do. All my vaping is done in-house. Gonna play with it a few more times to see if I can get that efficiency up, but considering how much conduction and radiation is going on, it could be a challenge.
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nigel
And shepherds we shall be,for Accuracy & Discovery
@lwien -- Nice review. Kept actually checking back in last night, eagerly awaiting your thoughts.
So... uh... loosing track of time and space and being "so fucked up" are not to "where you wanted to be"? Exactly how many dimensions *are* you targeting to loose track of?!?
Keep in mind, from @OF's tests on both the Ascent and Solo (there may be others he reported on since), that different vapes behave differently. With the solo he found, in some conditions, it actually RAISED the temp in the bowl about 30°F(IIRC) on draw. If you think you are doing a 400°F bowl, you are actually raising the temp to 430°F. So the temp in that case was like a minimum. On the Ascent the temp was more like a maximum. (IMHO, this is more important as you have better control.) So "380°F" on one vape might not be "380°F" on another.
A variation in temp could quite readily affect the "cannabinod profile" and account for both differences in effect and production.
Also I note that the second hit was larger. This could be the result of the bowl still getting to temp.
I believe OF indicated it took several minutes to get the whole load (for a FULL bowl) up to temp, and then something like 90 seconds for full thermal recovery after each draw. (Don't know if that's with or without the glass flowers) Of course, you can extract stuff well before full thermal recovery, but it is useful to note that at that point the entire load is not at temp.
I think practice will help.
And not leaving it on.
I did suggest you'd most likely burn through more product on a learning curve. I don't know if you can get to where you are with your LSV (not knowing it personally), but the first time one uses anything is NEVER going to be the most efficient as you learn how something works. If I could gift you some "demo buds" I would.
Sidenote: As the unit won't stand on its own, if you need both hands free to load it, the DV rep taught me a nice trick -- Swing the bowl open and rest the top on the table edge (with bowl hanging over). It *WILL* balance that way. I wouldn't do it over anything but carpet, just in case you knock it over, but it works well.
I felt the same way. But then again I've used it now in an awful lot of public places, including in restaurants and what-not. Now, if I'm really visible, I'll keep the temp low so not a lot of visible vapor. But e-cigs are so trendy now that people just assume that's what it is.
I think a bit more experimentation is in order. With some practice and familiarity, you'll get a technique down.
I was thinking about this last night, and I'm not sure the glass flowers will help you? 0.05g is a TINY amount. That's one of the things that struck me doing that test for you. That's just so little that I don't know how effective the flowers would be. In larger bowls (0.1g and up) I think they help a lot. Or maybe I'm completely wrong here and they will help? The oil can is, I believe, 1.7g. I forget on the glass flowers. I guess the only thing to do is test it.
I remain skeptical on the whole "bud being used up" issue, just due to the law of conservation of matter/energy. The volatile components don't magically disappear in-between draws. Sure there is a chimney effect with the hot air, but that is minuscule in relation to evacuating the chamber with a draw. The is some condensation of vapor, but again, not a lot in relation.
Also keep in mind, the minute you draw, you've dropped temp of the load. (For sake of illustration, I'm going to presume that a volatile compound will only boil at a precise point. In reality, we know it to be more of a range.) If what you are targeting has a point of 365°, if you drop it to 364° (again: gross over-simplification), you cease vaporizing it. So, it is NOT boiling off in-between hits. Unless you do something like set it down for 10 minutes and forget about it. But, even if you leave it to boil for a while, most of it isn't escaping so you recover that on intake.
Now, that being said, I am ignoring the synergistic effect of compounds with different boiling points, but even if you are vaporizing one as it is raising to the temp of the other, that vapor doesn't just disappear into thin air. (Two minor loss point addressed above.)
Keep in mind that "as soon as it reaches vape temps" does NOT necessarily equate to the load being at that temp. In your case, your load is so tiny, it most likely is or is very close. But others reading this should be aware that a fully loaded bowl comes to temp some time AFTER the display says the heater has.
@lwien: Did you try any further extraction (another session) on the ABV or are you fairly certain it is toast?
So... uh... loosing track of time and space and being "so fucked up" are not to "where you wanted to be"? Exactly how many dimensions *are* you targeting to loose track of?!?
Keep in mind, from @OF's tests on both the Ascent and Solo (there may be others he reported on since), that different vapes behave differently. With the solo he found, in some conditions, it actually RAISED the temp in the bowl about 30°F(IIRC) on draw. If you think you are doing a 400°F bowl, you are actually raising the temp to 430°F. So the temp in that case was like a minimum. On the Ascent the temp was more like a maximum. (IMHO, this is more important as you have better control.) So "380°F" on one vape might not be "380°F" on another.
A variation in temp could quite readily affect the "cannabinod profile" and account for both differences in effect and production.
Also I note that the second hit was larger. This could be the result of the bowl still getting to temp.
I believe OF indicated it took several minutes to get the whole load (for a FULL bowl) up to temp, and then something like 90 seconds for full thermal recovery after each draw. (Don't know if that's with or without the glass flowers) Of course, you can extract stuff well before full thermal recovery, but it is useful to note that at that point the entire load is not at temp.
I think practice will help.
And not leaving it on.
I did suggest you'd most likely burn through more product on a learning curve. I don't know if you can get to where you are with your LSV (not knowing it personally), but the first time one uses anything is NEVER going to be the most efficient as you learn how something works. If I could gift you some "demo buds" I would.
Sidenote: As the unit won't stand on its own, if you need both hands free to load it, the DV rep taught me a nice trick -- Swing the bowl open and rest the top on the table edge (with bowl hanging over). It *WILL* balance that way. I wouldn't do it over anything but carpet, just in case you knock it over, but it works well.
I felt the same way. But then again I've used it now in an awful lot of public places, including in restaurants and what-not. Now, if I'm really visible, I'll keep the temp low so not a lot of visible vapor. But e-cigs are so trendy now that people just assume that's what it is.
I think a bit more experimentation is in order.
With some practice and familiarity, you'll get a technique down.I was thinking about this last night, and I'm not sure the glass flowers will help you? 0.05g is a TINY amount. That's one of the things that struck me doing that test for you. That's just so little that I don't know how effective the flowers would be. In larger bowls (0.1g and up) I think they help a lot. Or maybe I'm completely wrong here and they will help? The oil can is, I believe, 1.7g. I forget on the glass flowers. I guess the only thing to do is test it.
I remain skeptical on the whole "bud being used up" issue, just due to the law of conservation of matter/energy. The volatile components don't magically disappear in-between draws. Sure there is a chimney effect with the hot air, but that is minuscule in relation to evacuating the chamber with a draw. The is some condensation of vapor, but again, not a lot in relation.
Also keep in mind, the minute you draw, you've dropped temp of the load. (For sake of illustration, I'm going to presume that a volatile compound will only boil at a precise point. In reality, we know it to be more of a range.) If what you are targeting has a point of 365°, if you drop it to 364° (again: gross over-simplification), you cease vaporizing it. So, it is NOT boiling off in-between hits. Unless you do something like set it down for 10 minutes and forget about it.
But, even if you leave it to boil for a while, most of it isn't escaping so you recover that on intake.Now, that being said, I am ignoring the synergistic effect of compounds with different boiling points, but even if you are vaporizing one as it is raising to the temp of the other, that vapor doesn't just disappear into thin air. (Two minor loss point addressed above.)
Keep in mind that "as soon as it reaches vape temps" does NOT necessarily equate to the load being at that temp. In your case, your load is so tiny, it most likely is or is very close. But others reading this should be aware that a fully loaded bowl comes to temp some time AFTER the display says the heater has.
@lwien: Did you try any further extraction (another session) on the ABV or are you fairly certain it is toast?
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lwien
Well-Known Member
It looks like toast, but I'll give it a shot anyway.
Two things I forgot to mention. Even though it looks done, I never got the popcorn smell and taste that I got from other vapes when the ABV was cooked out. Secondly, even with a light draw, I could still feel and kinda hear the oil can being sucked up to the top of the bowl which I used as an indicator of drawing slower.
nigel
And shepherds we shall be,for Accuracy & Discovery
I'll get it at higher temps, but I almost never go above 392°F unless I'm testing something. I don't like the taste, so that's one of the reasons I don't go there.
I am not surprised the 2nd hit is bigger then the first. By that time you have heated up the chamber, and everything in it to the temp on the display. Pror to that point it is still getting everything in the chamber up to the desired temp.
Mine is supposed to be here tomorrow....
Mine is supposed to be here tomorrow....