Ascent Vaporizer by DaVinci

[lwien]

I know this is an assumption, but until we hear from DV, I'm going to assume that these units arrived in this condition in transit from China, en route to US Customs BEFORE DV had a chance to QC them.

The question I have is, did DV not QC them here stateside in order to expedite delivery due to the launch delays, or did they QC them and made the choice to send them out anyway due to the launch delays?

 

[notorio]

I think folks are just going to have to bite the bullet on these quality control issues. They appear to be systemic and possibly too common. If that's so, it could be too much for Davinci to handle. Good luck. Not trying to rain on everybody's parade, but just sayin.

Yeah the wait has been long enough that I'm not too bothered to wait more, as long as I get the "all glass vapor path" promised. But even with the bowl aligned, it looks like some vapor would build up in the area above the bowl which contains silicone. For me that is quite serious, as the "all glass" path was one of the main reasons I bought the Ascent.

 

[t-dub]

Interesting . . . it appears that even though you "own" the factory in China, it is still a factory in China at the end of the day . . .

 

[lwien]

Interesting . . . it appears that even though you "own" the factory in China, it is still a factory in China at the end of the day . . .

Which is why stateside QC is mandatory.

 

[Shrike]

With all the QC problems I decided to give mine a real close inspection...the only "problem" I can find with mine is the filmy streak on the OLED screen that is noticeable with the unit powered off...on, it can't be seen at all.

Have not had a chance to actually try it out yet, and may not be able to until tomorrow, but, if that is all I can come up with it is not a deal breaker for me. Not something I need to bother DV about...sorry some are not as lucky.

By the way...mine is a Burl...and the fit seems to be excellent on mine. I'll update if I find anything else not to my liking, but so far I really like this design.

 

[nigel]

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In all fairness, we all know the delays involved and it was an "all hands on deck" day in the warehouse to get everything in one door and out the other. NOt to mention the frustration here at any more delays. So they were probably moving through those things like mad.

It sounds like they should maybe have taken an extra day or two to hand-check the units.

But then again, everyone here would have been furious at one more delay! Damned if you do, dammed if you don't.

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Scratched bowls, offset bowl, overhanging bowl seal, glue spots, upside down buttons, glue-loose poor-fitting croc skin, LED window scratched & cloudy

A better list than I compiled!

It seems, except the screen and the off-centered bowl, that these are mainly one-off (or maybe two-off?) issued (plus and minus buttons swapped, glue dots, etc). Is that correct?

But then, as an Apple user, I'm used to a near seamless fit and finish

Not being a hater here by any means, but Apple has had their fair share of launch problems. DISCLAIMER: I used to work for Apple (Corporate... long before there was Apple retail) Even current releases all have issuues.

I'm not sure there was anything ever made ever that didn't have some issues with the first batch.

It's the price we pay to be on the bleeding edge.

BINGO!


[quote="notorio, post: 444933, member: 15326"[/quote]@notorio

That's at kinda an angle, but I presume that is a pic of the bowl off center? If so I understand better now. Thanks!


Or is it a picture of the silicone "spilling over" also. If so, due to the angle I think, I'm not seeing it.

 

[poonman]

Interesting . . . it appears that even though you "own" the factory in China, it is still a factory in China at the end of the day . . .

You know what they say ...
You get what you pay for .
And I believe that was the reason they took it overseas , $ .

edit ;
If DV had taken a day or 2 , to inspect it .
We wouldn't know , either way . they wouldn't have announced that procedure .

 

[Snappo]

The FC forum consumers are just a very small sample of all the Ascents out there. Look how many issues are cropping up, some are stacking up to be common among us. How do you think that might translate into the mass market? C'mon man, what are the odds? Good? This goes beyond quality control checking before shipping to consumers. Wish it didn't. Like I said before...Looks like they just slapped this thing together quick n sloppy just to get it out, finally. The quality sounds so low at this point that version 2 would just be a band aide before version 3 really shows real improvements. That's my experience anyway. JMO. Cheers!

 

[OF]

Which is why stateside QC is mandatory.

I'm not sure I agree with this.

First off, I'm a Demming type, quality is built in, not inspected for. The real goal is a Quality Assurance program that's effective, "Control" infers there's problems happening that need ferreting out. That should not be.

For instance, you don't think D9 inspects every Omicron cart do you? Or boxed up Perseis and Omicrons? So 100% incoming inspection (which is what I think guys are looking for) is not mandatory, nor IMO desirable. Although I agree here it would be a good thing for a while probably.

We're also assuming things we're finding as faults are considered so by them, not always a safe assumption. What happens if, for instance, they decide that whatever is being reported on the window is not a deal breaker? They might be OK with lots of 'faults' new owners are not? We really don't know what the standards are past 'not good enough for me'.

It's also worth noting that this can add to the cost of production, I don't think folks are interested in paying any more? Not an easy issue IMO, I've fought it on both sides. FWIW, based on the experience of the original DV issues, I too suspect they will handle this successfully in due time.

OF

 

[lwien]

While I agree that it would be cost prohibitive to put every unit thru a QC stateside, but on a brand new product line that has yet to hit the market, imho, they should go through a 100% QC until they are satisfied that all the issues have been addressed. From that point on, QC'ing one in ever 50 or one in every 100 would be acceptable.

Does that increase production costs initially? Sure it does, but then economies of scale start to tip things in the other direction.

 

[nigel]

The FC forum consumers are just a very small sample of all the Ascents out there.

Yup. ANd the most hypercritical hyper-observant segment of the market too. We are going to spot mistakes that 90% of the population would never see if... what's that expression about "cant even see if it is biting one in the face".

I'm not surprised to see we find errors. I've seen one or two I haven't brought up yet, because I was more focused on how does it perform.

While I agree that it would be cost prohibitive to put every unit thru a QC stateside,

Nonsense. A stateside QC only costs 5-20 FC thread pages.

/me ducks

 

[notorio]

That's at kinda an angle, but I presume that is a pic of the bowl off center? If so I understand better now. Thanks!


Or is it a picture of the silicone "spilling over" also. If so, due to the angle I think, I'm not seeing it.

I couldn't take it from the other side because the latch is in the way, but yes, the silicone protrudes about 1mm over the bowl.

I would be grateful somebody could address my query - in the non-defective Ascents, does the vapor come into contact with the silicone rubber above the bowl? Because it looks like there is a gap between the bowl and the glass stem above.

Thanks

 

[Quetzalcoatl]

I couldn't take it from the other side because the latch is in the way, but yes, the silicone protrudes about 1mm over the bowl.

I would be grateful somebody could address my query - in the non-defective Ascents, does the vapor come into contact with the silicone rubber above the bowl? Because it looks like there is a gap between the bowl and the glass stem above.

Thanks

I'm not entirely sure if it's in the air path, but if it is, it should start to get some reclaim/buildup on it. If it does... well, then the vapor is coming into contact with the silicone rubber (I'm assuming you mean the seal) and it's not truly an all-glass air path.

 

[Davinci_vaporizer]

As always, we stand behind the product that we produce.

Our factory ensures that all units are QC'd prior to arrival, then we QC them here again in the US to ensure working order. After looking at the blemishes, I can't disagree that some are unacceptable, such as the skin coming loose.

At the end of the day, we want you to be happy with your new toy, so feel free to contact us directly and we'll get this resolved.

 

[Hoof Hearted]

 

[notorio]

I'm not entirely sure if it's in the air path, but if it is, it should start to get some reclaim/buildup on it. If it does... well, then the vapor is coming into contact with the silicone rubber (I'm assuming you mean the seal) and it's not truly an all-glass air path.

That's exactly what I'm getting at, whether the rubber seal is part of the vapor path.

 

[Quetzalcoatl]

As always, we stand behind the product that we produce.

Our factory ensures that all units are QC'd prior to arrival, then we QC them here again in the US to ensure working order. After looking at the blemishes, I can't disagree that some are unacceptable, such as the skin coming loose.

At the end of the day, we want you to be happy with your new toy, so feel free to contact us directly and we'll get this resolved.

What's the story on the funny-looking displays? Water? Plastic protector that ended up being on the inside instead of the outside to peel off?

If you can divulge, what kind of QC process do you guys go through? Just a functional, non-cosmetic one, or do you give it a complete look-over?

 

[Snappo]

Yup. ANd the most hypercritical segment of the market too. We are going to spot mistakes that 90% of the population would never see if... what's that expression about "cant even see if it is biting one in the face".

I'm not surprised to see we find errors. I've seen one or two I haven't brought up yet, because I was more focused on how does it perform.

I respectfully disagree (as you are a good Joe), if you are implying that our members that have cited notable issues are being hypercritical. The issues I'm hearing about here are CRITICAL in several ways: poor materials (LED face plate, scratched), poor construction (seals, skins, glue spots), croc skin not-as-advertised, lack of forethought on the length of the water tool adapter, misaligned bowl, ...we'll see what else crops up. Even if 90% of the population were deaf, blind, and dumb, Davinci should show enough pride in their product and respect for the consumer not to let this happen. I see a house of cards ahead, and it's not standing.

 

[Poopman525]

I waited for my Burl Wood unit to fully charge and then used it once. These are my first impressions. The build quality seems great. I don't have most of the problems others seem to have. My screen is a bit scratched on the inside I believe, but it doesn't hinder anything when the device is on. My device seems to look and perform great. I only got noticeable clouds like once or twice, but I definitely felt effect. As members have pointed out before, you don't need to see the vapor for it to be there. I'll have to use it a few more times to fully get the hang of it. I have to say though so far I'm pretty happy and impressed with the unit. It seems to me like the Croc skin is having the most issues. I'll post another review later on in the week. So far . The scratched screen is a bit annoying, but not really an issue. DRAW SLOW!!

 

[Davinci_vaporizer]

As far as the displays go- they are all like that, its not a blunder or an accidental blemish.They place a coating on them during assembly to prevent scratching....because the original samples we had were scratched to hell. Now it seems that the coating is off due to the film.

The factory does full QC testing (obviously not enough....or maybe too much?) that includes a full inspection, multiple heating and discharging cycles and even a vibration test. I am betting the vibration test caused the croc to come out and maybe the crack. We do a quick once over, turn on and make sure it generally works here. Will beef that process up asap.

 

[Snappo]

I love my Solo more now than ever! Tried and true!

 

[nigel]

that our members that have cited notable issues are being hypercritical. The issues I'm hearing about here are CRITICAL in several ways:

Sorry. Poor choice of words as hypercritical has a negative connotation, does it? I didn't mean "critical" in the negative sense. Is hyper-observant better? I meant to say that if anyone is going to catch things, it is the group on these pages.

Whether we spot them or not speaks nothing to the importance of the issue. Some of these are indeed of concern, and I didn't mean to suggest to you that they weren't.


EDIT: And some, I really don't think are of concern, like the one-off errors. It's one thing if a problem is systematic. Another if it is just a mistake.

And in all fairness, some of the things in your list are NOT manufacturing issues, and shouldn't be addressed as such. Two examples: "croc skin not-as-advertised" is not a manufacturing issue, but a communications issue. We know that the design has changed several times and it looks like someone gave out outdated information. And; "lack of forethought on the length of the water tool adapter" Again, not a manufacturing issue, but a design choice. And you labeling it as "lack of forethought" is a claim that you know what was in their heads better than they do. Can you allow for the notion that is a reason that length was chosen?

But, yeah, the manufacturing QC issues that are issues are indeed issues. Tautology.

Thankfully most everything so far seems to be cosmetic, not performance related.

 

[Vaporito]

I have not ordered yet, but as a current owner of the original DV. I have faith that Davinci will make it right for those that got the defects.... After all the original DV is very impressive in the quality of the build and long term performance. I expect nothing less than that from the ascent.

And I'm confident they will beef up the QC in the next round of orders.... *keeping fingers crossed*


But please keep reporting these issues to make sure DV is aware. They are listening and responding here...

 

[Snappo]

Sorry. Poor choice of words as hypercritical has a negative connotation, does it? I didn't mean "critical" in the negative sense. Is hyper-observant better? I meant to say that if anyone is going to catch things, it is the group on these pages.

Whether we spot them or not speaks nothing to the importance of the issue. Some of these are indeed of concern, and I didn't mean to suggest to you that they weren't.

I think even a poorly observant consumer would notice the glaring flaws that are cropping up everywhere. And for DV to say that the scratched (on the inside) LED glass is normal is beyond credulity.

"I am betting the vibration test caused the croc to come out and maybe the crack."
DV, I got your vibration test right here.

If these issues of quality are all pervasive attributes in this version 1, there is nothing quality control before delivery can do. Back to the drawing board.

 

[sasNW]

+1 on wondering if there is rubber in the airway? From some of the pics it's looking like vapor will contact rubber for sure IMO.

I'm really thinking about switching my order to the inh. Was hoping the delays would iron out some of the first version bugs