Ascent Vaporizer by DaVinci

[swieder711]

Well I have had my Ascent for a while and I love it. I like using the glass jar in oven as a method to reduce load size. Packing the jar well results in minimal contamination of funnel stem. when the stem was getting dirty before the jar, I used a little brush to clean funnel and seal around it with every new load. Using the little glass jar takes longer to heat up but once heated it acts as a heat sink stabilizing the temp during draws. I also love to blow shotguns at 430. The glass jar is definitely conserving my herb better.

Can you provide a bit more detail on how you use the glass jar? Do you load your material into the jar or pack down the material by putting the jar on top of the material.

A picture would be great.

Honestly, I was in your shoes a few months ago. A combuster looking for a good portable vape for use around the home (didn't need ultra stealth) and out over friend's houses.. The Ascent surely converted me to vaping, but I personally regret spending what I did for this vape. (I value the vape around $150, far lower than any vendor is currently selling it). Sure they have worked out some issues, but I still think DV has a bit more tweaking to the design before it's worth $250 (in my opinion).
For me, the Ascent is the best tasting of the 3 vape's I own (and best tasting of the 4 vapes I've ever tried!), and my wife won't let me sell the Ascent because she only like's the flavor country from 335 to 355F. But if I had to do it over again, I probably would not have purchased it (at the current price anyway).

I just got in on a Mass Drop which is buying the Ascent for about $170 shipped. I'm looking forward to my first vape. Hopefully it will ship soon.

 

[1_gr8_underdog]

@swieder711 welcome to FC. Congratulations on your Ascent. Massdrop says it will ship 10 buisness days after the drop ends hope this helps.

 

[CarolKing]

Swieder, Put your glass jar on top of your herb with lid off, jar standing up.

 

[Krizzle]

Have all the kinks been pretty much ironed out on the Ascent now? I am waiting for vapefiend to get them back in stock and ordering the carbon fiber version. Ive been eying up an ascent since launch but always held off because of the issues and because I had Zero luck with the original da vinci. I liked the unit but with 3 units dieing on me I am still very apprehensive. Advice appreciated Ascent owners

 

[CarolKing]

There are still folks out there with issues, some could be user error too. There is a learning curve with the Ascent, but once you master it, it becomes a very good little unit to have.

It produces great clouds of vapor, for you cloud chaser. Slow and easy draws all the way with this vape. It's an awesome vaporizer if you get a good one.

Krizzle, I saw you on the Solo thread. Do you own one? Excellent choice for a vaporizer too. If I had a choice between the Ascent or the Solo, I would personally go with the Solo. Don't get me wrong, I love both vaporizers, but I love the Solo more.

Check out the Indica.

 

[swieder711]

While waiting for my Ascent to be delivered I am looking to get a few accessories.

Has anyone tried these glass flowers, http://www.ebay.com/itm/Pack-of-20-...032?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f32de1da8

Are the flowers needed if I put the oil can on top of my material?

I am also looking for a Wood on Glass or Glass on GonG tip. Are there clear winners for those purchases? Is anything else needs for the tip to attach to the Ascent?

 

[Delta3DStudios]

While waiting for my Ascent to be delivered I am looking to get a few accessories.

Has anyone tried these glass flowers, http://www.ebay.com/itm/Pack-of-20-...032?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f32de1da8

Are the flowers needed if I put the oil can on top of my material?

I am also looking for a Wood on Glass or Glass on GonG tip. Are there clear winners for those purchases? Is anything else needs for the tip to attach to the Ascent?

Yes those flowers will work - I paid $8.50 for a 50 pack shipped, so that's a bit expensive for only 20.

No you don't need flowers if you use the oil can on top. I personally stopped using the oil can because it was getting too sticky and hard to remove from the unit (about 30-40 pages back you see someone else who had a hell of a time removing their oil jar from the oven!)

I only use glass flowers with my herb, I never use the oil can anymore.

I think the wood stems are nice if you want portability without risking to break your glass stems, but to me, wood stems give the vapor a negative taste. I like glass on glass when possible (as many of us on this thread will agree). As other's have mentioned, you can use the 14mm straight GONG adapter sold by DV as a mouthpiece.

I have found the GONG adapter to provide a nice tight seal to the inner glass stem (actually, it's making a tight seal against the silicon, but the effect is the same). Usually I always use the GONG adapter unless I'm traveling and trying to be a bit more 'discrete'

 

[OF]

Are the flowers needed if I put the oil can on top of my material?

Strictly speaking, no. Neither flowers or the oil can are needed to make vapor. But they both enhance performance, to better meet the owner's desires. Those would be your desires here, your values (not someone else's). You're the only guy who can definitively say which is better for you.

I'd say of the guys that tried both the majority still report the flowers more effective (if harder to use). IMO those who tried only one solution don't have useful input in the 'what's best' discussion?

I suggest the only guy that can truly answer that is you. And it's going to cost you ten bucks in flowers to find out. Then you can tell us?

Best wishes with ii.

OF

 

[swieder711]

I ordered my flower screens from ebay, http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=301145556055&ssPageName=ADME:L:OC:US:3160 ($9.41)

my 14mm Gong from DaVinci, http://www.davincivaporizer.com/glass-straight-water-tool-adapter-14mm/ ($30)

and my Ascent from MassDrop, https://www.massdrop.com/buy/ascent-vaporizer?s=ascent ($168.47)

I am in for $208. Now all I need to do is wait for my packages to arrive.

Can I use a Vape and still be "stoked?"

 

[valence]

I got in on the mass drop deal - $159.99 ($181 after tax and shipping). Hope I love it. I'm working my way through the last ~50 pages or so of the thread but reviews seem pretty mixed.

 

[mikterhon]

Greetings to everyone, I've had my ascent for 2 months now.Love it to pieces.
since i've had it tho i've had problems with charging it. It didn't charge for over a week
then out the blue, its able to charge but it seems that it has some kinda short in the unit.
i have to open it a particular way for it to charge.
Now the bowl doesn't want to work. It turns on and everything but the temperature goes up
a few degrees and thats it. Now I'm gonna have to send it back and do without it as i wait to get
a replacement. Just the thought of going back to smoking honestly turns me off somewhat and i've been
a smoker for over 15 years. Im thinking of getting a cheaper back up vape to use.
Does anyone have any suggestions?

one other main thing i wanted to add in regards to cleaning the ascent.
i find that using the magic eraser is the best thing ever to clean it.
bowl gets nice and clean and it doesn't take long to clean either.
i would strongly recommend to anyone to use a magic eraser to clean the ascent.

 

[Delta3DStudios]

Greetings to everyone, I've had my ascent for 2 months now.Love it to pieces.
since i've had it tho i've had problems with charging it. It didn't charge for over a week
then out the blue, its able to charge but it seems that it has some kinda short in the unit.
i have to open it a particular way for it to charge.
Now the bowl doesn't want to work. It turns on and everything but the temperature goes up
a few degrees and thats it. Now I'm gonna have to send it back and do without it as i wait to get
a replacement. Just the thought of going back to smoking honestly turns me off somewhat and i've been
a smoker for over 15 years. Im thinking of getting a cheaper back up vape to use.
Does anyone have any suggestions?

Welcome! I'm glad to hear you like your Ascent! Sounds like you probably had a 1AA1 (or 1AE1) model - sounds like you managed to break your ascent with the charging issue, but were able to make a connection with the board when you rotated your unit the right way. The final nail in the coffin was when your heating wire broke.

Funny, on my Ascent, the heater wires were the only thing to break, the charging cable worked fine. I knew my unit had a short when I tried to fire it up for a 3rd session of the night to find the heater wouldn't heat up. I tried like you to rotate my oven open to try reconnecting the wires (as you successfully did with charging) - no such luck.

I knew I would be without an Ascent for at least a week (since my unit failed on a Thursday night!!), so I immediately started my hunt for a new vape, something stupid simple with no parts to fail. Ultimately I purchased a Lotus as a backup to my Ascent, now the Ascent is only used as a portable piece (and flavor country for the wife who doesn't like anything above 350F!).

Consider yourself lucky you got 2 months out of your unit! My ascent was my daily driver for less than a month (25 days?) before it failed.

 

[pakalolo]

Consider yourself lucky you got 2 months out of your unit! My ascent was my daily driver for less than a month (25 days?) before it failed.

That's a rather unfair comment, since most people have never had a failure with their Ascents.

 

[Delta3DStudios]

That's a rather unfair comment, since most people have never had a failure with their Ascents.

Maybe so, but there are more than one or two people on this thread alone who have had not one, but two or three failures. Sure, unhappy customers are more likely to complain - but most of the people on here aren't seeking out the FC site to complain - they are normal users (and active members of this community) like the rest of us. There are several people on this thread who have mentioned they are now on their 3rd or 4th Ascent. It seems clear to me there is/was a major design flaw which has affected many users. Thankfully, this happened to a reputable company with excellent customer service. Plus, we can only count those users who come on this forum - what's to say people who buy an Ascent from their LHS don't encounter these issues after a month of use?

I can understand if a lot of people had the 1AA1 units and had one unit fail, but 2, 3, 4 failures? Common, statistically you must admit that is pretty exceptional. How many times have you purchased an electronic device which was defective and you got a replacement? How often did that replacement fail with the same problem as the previous one?

I can't think of any device I've ever purchased where I had the same issue fail more than once...... Except for a cheap propane meat smoker - the included hose failed after 3 months (threaded brass connector broke!) causing a bad fire which partially destroyed the smoker. The manufacturer shipped replacement parts. However after a week of use with the new parts, I detected the same rotten egg smell indicating the line had failed again. I opted to buy an expensive hose/regulator valve to fix the issue. I didn't trust the manufacturer to replace the part a 3rd time with another cheap low quality hose!

Do I think my replacement Ascent will last longer than 1 month this time around? Sure! But that's probably because I have gone from using my first Ascent 4-5 times a day, to using my Ascent twice a week. Maybe Davinci has truly fixed the issue with these new 2AA1 units, as the number of complaints per week seem to be dropping on this thread, but I still think there are MANY people still using the 1AA1 units which will fail eventually - depending on how often it's used. For someone who used it many times per day, it has probably already failed, for the person who uses their Ascent once a week, it might not fail for another year or two!

 

[Norcalsun]

That's what I'm afraid of ^^^. I only use my Ascent about 4 x a week, I'm a hoping that if I have any problems they show before my warranty ends. I'd hate to have a defective problem after my warranty runs out.

 

[mikterhon]

i have one of the new units
2aa1,unfortunately
i baught a Pulsar 7 pen as a back up tape to use in a mean time while i send this new one back.
i've been fully satisfied with the company and their customer service, only thing is i live in toronto and wonder how long this entire process will take.
i used my ascent numerous times everyday.

 

[Glass004]

Crap, My one week old Ascent from GotVape.com crapped out on me. After very heavy use, the on/off button does not work anymore. Also the menu button seems to be dyfunctional as well. Davinci tells me I have to wait until the charge dies then plug it back in. I am not hopeful it will function again.
I ordered a new Ascent from the factory. I predict I'll be sending these excellent machines back many times during the two year warranty and the spare will help. IF they improve with reliability I will have one to give one of my sons.

I am not too upset, because it is a great device, if I only could get a reliable unit. Let me emphasize that the customer service folks were VERY concerned and gave me a nice discount on my new unit. I ordered extra glassware, jars (for packing loads to go) and an adaptor for my car.

Concerning the glass jars, I have tried turning it upside down on the load without the silicone top and it bounced up and down and seemed to restrict air flow in my device. I use the silicone top on the glass jar without problems. Maybe a little breaking in on the taste during first load. Also as to technique, I pack fine ground herb tight into the jar. I proceed with a long hot cook, and turn it down once the glass mass gets hot. The glass jar helps maintain good heat with the long slow draws.

 

[nigel]

That's a rather unfair comment, since most people have never had a failure with their Ascents.

And some people have multiple units (all 1AA1's) and none of them have failed.

But that's probably because I have gone from using my first Ascent 4-5 times a day, to using my Ascent twice a week. ... but I still think there are MANY people still using the 1AA1 units which will fail eventually - depending on how often it's used. For someone who used it many times per day, it has probably already failed, for the person who uses their Ascent once a week, it might not fail for another year or two!

I just don't think that is true.

One of my units has been a daily driver longer than anyone here has had one (minus, of course, SLiM, theHerbalReview, and... ? (Was it sticks? I forget.)). The other unit get near daily use, although for other herbs. [Disclaimer: As of late been using the Herbalizer quite a bit, so not using the Ascent 100% currently, but still a lot.] I have not had mine fail, and my usage pattern on the device is high.

Now, I *did* have a few issues: One of which was a bad connector on the charger (that's the cable coming from the wall wort); the other was one of the units didn't turn on after lending it to a friend, but then an overnight charge fixed that.

After very heavy use, the on/off button does not work anymore. Also the menu button seems to be dyfunctional as well.

If the "on/off button does not work anymore", how do you know the menu button is dysfunctional? Or do you mean that the on/off is finicky and will not reliably work (but you can still turn it on from time to time, if the appropriate stars are in alignment)?

Hope that draining the battery works for you. If you really can't turn it on, that's going to take a while.

Concerning the glass jars, I have tried turning it upside down on the load without the silicone top and it bounced up and down and seemed to restrict air flow in my device.

I think the idea here is to sandwich the product between the glass floor of the bowl and the glass bottom of the oil can. Inverting the oil can looses that advantage.

I would expect a slightly restricted draw, but the flipside of that is better air/heat penetration for smaller loads.

 

[Delta3DStudios]

I just don't think that is true.

One of my units has been a daily driver longer than anyone here has had one (minus, of course, SLiM, theHerbalReview, and... ? (Was it sticks? I forget.)). The other unit get near daily use, although for other herbs. [Disclaimer: As of late been using the Herbalizer quite a bit, so not using the Ascent 100% currently, but still a lot.] I have not had mine fail, and my usage pattern on the device is high.

Now, I *did* have a few issues: One of which was a bad connector on the charger (that's the cable coming from the wall wort); the other was one of the units didn't turn on after lending it to a friend, but then an overnight charge fixed that.

I'm still not convinced. I suspect the wires are hand-soldered at the factory, and what I *think* is happening is that some solder joints are stronger than others. I suspect there is no additional support to prevent constant movement of these wires/solder joints. It seems nobody did product testing on how many times a hinge can survive open and closing before unit failure.

Perhaps you got a lucky one with a large dab of solder? Can't tell for sure until someone decides to crack open their Ascent and take pictures of the inside of the unit (anyone brave enough??? Please!??)

I still believe there are MANY units which experience failure (over 10% of all units). While I believe this problem may have been resolved (or improved to mitigate the issue), there are still many 1aa1 units in the field.

Everything I'm saying is of course conjecture and I have no proof of it aside from what I've read. But you can't ignore the failure rate of these devices. Look around on other websites, you'll see quite a few people complain their units failed within a month or two of use.

Perhaps not all units are affected, but I consider this a serious design flaw, and I hope it truly has been resolved. I would like to see some sort of official statement from Davinci Vaporizer regarding this (or to hear from them at all on this site since they haven't posted any updates in MONTHS). But of course, I know they will probably never give an official statement.

We can agree to disagree. But I personally cannot in good faith recommend the Davinci Ascent to my friends at this time. That's not to say in the future once these issues have been ironed out I will change my mind. I recognize this is a new product and still evolving, but at this time I stand by my statements.

 

[nigel]

I'm still not convinced. I suspect the wires are hand-soldered at the factory

Why do you "suspect" that:

this issue has recently been identified as a point of hand manufacture where the solder is weak, and has been remedied in all recent units. Due to the hand-production, I guess this is expected to some degree, but is now a watch point to prevent in newer units.

Perhaps you got a lucky one with a large dab of solder?

Not just one. If you count the loaner and then the ones I got as gifts for friends, that's 5 units I have direct (if not daily) access to -- all 1AA1's, all in use for 4-10 months, and all without failures.

And that's the point I have been making all along. You say that it is just a matter of time+use before failure. I say that the units with the weak point are the ones susceptible to the issue. The units that were assembled according to design should be just fine.

I still believe there are MANY units which experience failure (over 10% of all units). While I believe this problem may have been resolved (or improved to mitigate the issue), there are still many 1aa1 units in the field.

Nope. I realize you are just making up a number here, but that number is not right and reflects a sampling bias.

And, again has nothing to do with the unit number. Could be all of Gallant's solders are made well. But when Gallant goes out for a vape break (Gallant never combusts.) or when he's sick at home with HxNx for a few weeks, Goofus stepped in and made hurried weak points. (Also, Goofus combusts on his breaks.)

Goofus is now on permanent mop-duty.

 

[Delta3DStudios]

Why do you "suspect" that:








Not just one. If you count the loaner and then the ones I got as gifts for friends, that's 5 units I have direct (if not daily) access to -- all 1AA1's, all in use for 4-10 months, and all without failures.

And that's the point I have been making all along. You say that it is just a matter of time+use before failure. I say that the units with the weak point are the ones susceptible to the issue. The units that were assembled according to design should be just fine.




Nope. I realize you are just making up a number here, but that number is not right and reflects a sampling bias.

And, again has nothing to do with the unit number. Could be all of Gallant's solders are made well. But when Gallant goes out for a vape break (Gallant never combusts.) or when he's sick at home with HxNx for a few weeks, Goofus stepped in and made hurried weak points. (Also, Goofus combusts on his breaks.)

Goofus is now on permanent mop-duty.

Lol, ok maybe I am wrong (just ask my wife, I've been wrong for 6 years now!)

Having 5 units without problems is impressive, but still, it does seem like there were quite a number of failed 1AA1 units. I hope as you say the problem has been resolved. Also, Jesus, can I say you've got some nice friends if they give you Ascent's! I'd be happy if one gave me a grinder! Let alone a vape!!

Do I blame the manufacturer? Not at all, It's the nature of product development. Hopefully they continue to improve the design.

But alas

 

[nigel]

Having 5 units without problems is impressive, but still, it does seem like there were quite a number of failed 1AA1 units.... Also, Jesus, can I say you've got some nice friends if they give you Ascent's!

Well, the 5 working units I have access to are just as anecdotal as someone else's X bad units in a row. That was kinda my point.

But there were indeed a lot of early units that had that issue before DV could shape things up. I have not disputed that. Just not "ALL OF THEM!!!" as keeps cropping up, uninformed, over and over again.

CLARIFICATION: My friends didn't give ME, I gave THEM. I'm trying to get a few close friends off of combustion. But I count those units as ones I have access to and use on a regular basis, and therefore have direct knowledge of. (As opposed to, say, people I know online who use perfectly good units, but I can't verify the unit in person.)

Do I blame the manufacturer? Not at all, It's the nature of product development. Hopefully they continue to improve the design.

Well, my point is it wasn't a design issue. It was an assembly issue involving human-factors. It has been identified and remedied, and on that point you are correct on the nature of development.


NOTE: In my previous post, I made fun of Goofus, but I didn't intended to imply any one person was a problem. Sorry, if my trying to be funny came across as an insult to someone else's hard work. Was trying to suggest that between people performing the same hand task, that different results are possible. [EDIT: Actually... Expected. This is why we develop standards, to attempt to minimize subjective interpretations.] But even the same person, right after the first cuppa for the day or after they started to come down with a flu, could also produce wildly divergent results.

 

[1_gr8_underdog]

I have a stealth ascent coming via MD. I too miss the updates and interactions I had with DV on here. I may have somthing to add in a few weeks once it arrives.

 

[nigel]

I have a stealth ascent coming via MD. I too miss the updates and interactions I had with DV on here. I may have somthing to add in a few weeks once it arrives.

Well, as the person that first stirred the hornet's nest here at FC as to the Ascent, I look forward to your input. I thought you had tried one, but 10's of thousands of posts later, who can remember who said what?

I'd be keen on the Firefly and the Herbie (I know... not a portable, but still) comparisons. But also avail on PM as you know....

Cheers!

 

[CarolKing]

I enjoy the glass gong as well as the wooden stems by Ed made for the Ascent. Ive ordered the cocobolo 14mm stem from Ed too. It doesn't have to be either or, sometimes a variety is nice.

My Ascent is still working well even though it's a black stealth, it's 7 months old and I use it 4 or 5 times per week give or take. The battery life is a little over an hour, say hour and 15 min. I'm happy with that.

I had a friend borrow it last weekend while walking around at Pike Place Market in Seattle. She said it was easy to use , because she just loaded it with a full load with just a couple of flowers on top. It lasted them about 30 min of off and on use, without having to reload.