Spent the passed week getting to know the
FC-199 from SAML/Popularglass and I wanted to share my personal thoughts in case anyone is considering it.
I can only speak to the one I received, so I'm not aware of any variances between them.
First impressions when I unboxed it were mixed.
Some things I noticed right away were:
In most areas, the glass is very thick. The rig has a nice heft/weight-balance to it. The base is a perfect diameter in my opinion; It's thick at the edges, but does taper towards the center.
The egg/fab section looks pretty good, although mine looks a little more lop-sided in person. The bottom of the egg is not completely flat, it drupes on one side. Not sure if just mine is like that, but I did go back and look at the photos and it appears that they kind of hid that spot with the camera angles they used. I'd be interested to hear from anyone else who bought it if the bottom of their egg is flat or not.
The 18mm ground joints on mine are literally perfect; and pair perfectly with the included mouthpiece (and other accessories). I've never had such well-fitting ground joints, so I'm really happy with that.
I also love the mouthpiece; it was made quite well. I see what people mean about the flat style mouthpiece. It's kind of a joy to use and easier to give a quick clean.
One of the main concerns I had right away was how thin the glass on the top "window" looks/feels. when I tap my finger nail on the side of the rig, it sounds like I'm tapping on a thick glass bottle, and then when I tap on the top window section, it feels/sounds like I'm tapping on a thin glass watch-face. I'm pretty careful with my glass and I really hope I don't break this, but it feels like if I dropped something like a metal lighter or a baller head from like 3+ inches, that spot would crack without a doubt. Maybe that's normal for designs like this? But I feel like the glass should be thicker in that spot.
The one other issue I noticed is that mine doesn't sit completely flat on the table; it wobbles ever-so-slightly to one side, about the thickness of a sheet of paper. I was able to shim it pretty easily with a 2x1" strip of paper that I glued to the base. Not ideal, but I'm particular. Most would probably be unphased by the amount of wobble present. It's a wide base, so maybe it's difficult to get it perfect?
Onto the function:
I was initially concerned with the size of the inlet hole on the perc, which appeared to be too small for my liking.
The hole near the mouthpiece joint seemed a little small too, albeit slightly bigger.
I've since completely changed my mind. This is, by far, my favorite functioning rig out of the ones I've tried (which is only about 6).
I've realized the rigs I've been using are too free flowing for me.. I need some resistance. The rig also happens to be a perfect size for my lung capacity, which is another relief. My previous ones were too big, always needing to do two inhales to clear the hit.
Aside from loving the feeling/action of the perc, there is virtually no blowback happening with mine (Using B1 with Shovelhead bowl). I can hit it as hard as possible and the herb doesn't even budge. This has been such a treat, as I've always had to mitigate this with my other rigs. It's one less thing to think about and I'm stoked.
Edit: I also do really love the "top window" design of this piece. It's as enjoyable to use as I had hoped. The unobstructed view of the vapor building gives a really good sense of control and also just looks cool.
Bottom line: Although my initial impressions were mixed, I'm actually really happy with this rig. It quickly became my favorite/daily-driver and If something happened to it I would buy another one; Especially if they address those minor issues.
Note: I bought the "A Mouthpiece" from the
FC-UFO listing to compare with the one included with the FC-199. I don't think I'll be using it.
It's only slightly taller than the included one (less than an inch) and not nearly as nice feeling to use.
Still working on it. Can you enlighten me?
