A hit on the Couchlog using a Glass Charlie Dynavap stem adapted and filled with some Cereal Milk ground bud
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So I've put this review off for a while because I've got some mixed opinions about this vape and I wanted to give it a good amount of use before saying what I think. After about 2 months with it, I have a good understanding.
Looks
So my unit is all walnut and it looks great, the grain doesn't match between the top and the bottom, although some positions it looks like it does so it's alright. I was really surprised at how small the unit is, very compact.
Image IMG-20240129-WA0002 in Syed's images album
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My biggest problem with the look of the unit is with the temperature control. Black markings on the walnut makes it practically impossible to see the temperature level without bringing the control right up to your eyes and focusing intently on them. This absolutely caused me some issues in the beginning and I burnt a few bowls.
Mouthpiece
I like the look and feel of the mouthpiece, except where the bowl doesn't sit flush with the wood, there's always that bit of a gap there. The bowl size is reasonable.
I also got a spare bowl and O-ring kit so I could use my glass Dynavap mouthpiece. I kinda wish there was a purpose built bowl to connect to the mouthpiece, this way works alright but it could be better with an attachment meant to fit any Dynavap stem. Given the number of people making stems, I think this would be great. It was really nice using my Glass Charlie Dynavap stem which has been sat in the drawer for ages because I never use Dyna's anymore.
It was much more comfortable using the glass stem, and I really liked that. It became my preferred stem to use. I think an all-glass stem made for this in the same style of a Glass Charlie Dynavap stem would be awesome.
General usage
Now I've bought this vape to be my main desktop unit and it's not exactly filling this role even though it's getting plenty of usage. I've found that I can get 3 good hits from the unit before needing to let it warm back up again, this is using the mouthpiece. I've found using it with the glass bowl that I can only get one good sized pull on there before needing to let it warm back up again.
So this vape is great for hits throughout the day, or if I'm taking a bowl slowly in the evening watching something, but if I need to have a good sized bowl without taking ages over it then I need to look elsewhere, so that means the wake an bake and bedtime bowls are often on the Tasty Tube or Thermal Accumulator. And one of the main reasons I bought this was to reduce torch-powered vape usage. So it has done that, just not as much as I thought/hoped.
I think the issue I have is that I can't get enough good sized hits from this thing before it needs to heat up again, which means I can only finish a very small bowl in one heat "load". I feel like this vape could've been bigger whilst still being a compact unit, and it would've been capable of more back to back hits.
Now I get I'm a (very) heavy user in general, but I feel like this has been marketed as a heavy hitter, and for sure I can get big satisfying hits but not enough back to back for me.
I think I'd love a Couchlog XL using sic balls
Tunneling
You do get tunnelling on this vape, I'm guessing it's fairly common with log vapes due to the design, this is my first log vape. I do wonder whether something on the end of the heating rod could break up the flow of air and combat that? One advantage of using the Dynavap stem is that the bowl is narrower, so I get barely any tunneling on that compared to the stock mouthpiece.
CONS
The biggest annoyance is how easy it is for the lead into the temp control to disconnect. It can be only a tiny bit disconnected so easily missed, and there have been a few times I've gone to take a hit and it's been cold. That's really infuriating, because that's my main want from this device to be always-on and ready.
This picture is plugged in and working
Image 20240107-210123 in Syed's images album
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and this image shows what it looks like when it isn't connected
Image 20231224-192806 in Syed's images album
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I know it's a bit closer so the difference looks a bit more, but when it's to the side and you glance over at the unit it's easily missed. The problem comes from the stiffness of the cable which causes it to move. Now the cable is something which was complained about in the past too, and I didn't quite get why until I got mine. If a braided cable was used, I don't think my unit would ever have become accidentally unplugged and I would probably like it a lot more.
I get frustrated by this unit because I get some tasty and potent hits from it, but not enough and going up to the unit to take a hit in-between meetings and realising it's unplugged is super frustrating.
Another con is the loading funnel, I don't understand why it's made from rough plastic so your weed gets caught up on there, it should be a smooth surface. Although I didn't end up using it that much after I started using the Dynavap stem, but still annoying on the occasions that I do use it. Also I don't know if my heater is way off compared to everyone elses, but I can barely get past the 1st setting and getting brown to dark brown AVB.
This vape costs €375 + £100 import tax, now I know the tax is my own look out and I don't begrudge paying it. But I really question whether this is worth more than a log like Enano XL which costs €258. I don't know honestly, I'm sad that this vape frustrates me because those hits I do get are great.
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