I've had the DBV with the baller series heater cover for a little while now so I think I can finally share my complete thoughts about it (spoilers: It's great). This turned out to be a much longer write-up than I thought it would be so forgive me for the short novel
First Impressions, Hits, and Taste
To start, the included travel bag is very nice. Lots of cushion and different slots to store all the accessories. I got a blue WPA and the aroma top with my order. I registered my DBV on the Elev8 website and got a coupon that I would use later. I read up on the heat levels people would use so I started out at around 12 and moved up to 2-3ish after a couple of hits. Huge clouds but it got harsh on the higher heat settings so I kept it down around 12-1 for other bowls and that's where I'm at currently. This hits on this setting are still huge. I got a little too toasty for comfort on the first bowl with certain strains so I had to learn that less is more.
I don't know exactly how much flower I use by weight but I fill the stem up about a quarter of the way and very lightly tamp it down. This lasts me a few sessions with the last one being much weaker than the first and it's the hit I take to keep me going while I reload the bowl
I am a little disappointed with the water pipe adapter. The WPA was always a just-in-case thing for me, but using with my bong in practice didn't seem worth it. It took me 2 breaths to fill the bong and clear it. I had the heat set to 3 here. Maybe I need more flower in the bowl? Either way I'm fine with hitting it directly from the hose.
Overall, this is exactly the desktop vaporizer experience I was looking for. Very simple to use, effective, and discrete. It doesn't look like I have a spaceship or a science experiment next to my desk.
It's also a standalone device, unlike a ball-vape which people kept recommending.
Compared to my Pax Plus the taste is comparable but with a slight taste from the hose. It's not immediately noticeable unless I directly compare the hits back to back, but it's there. It's not prominent so it doesn't bother me. One thing I noticed is the flower doesn't get as dark as when used in my Pax unless I turn the heat back up to 2ish, but then it becomes a bit harsh. I use the 3rd setting on the Pax just FYI.
The Aroma Top and Experience with Customer Service
Moving on, the aroma top is nice. I leave it on max heat all day and it leaves my room nice smelling. It's not as strong as a candle or an oil diffuser that uses a flame but it's nice. I learned that the smell does diminish after a few days so I replace the wax once a week. I burn candles normally so when a candle burns out I pour the remaining wax out and use that in the diffuser. It's a great way to recycle the remaining wax.
The downside to the aroma top is I couldn't use it and hit the vape at the same time. I had to remove the glass cap to get the aroma piece to fit correctly and that messed up the airflow making hits impossible. I asked Elev8 about this before hand and they said the aroma top would not fit with the cap on and gave no guarantees about the hit-ability with the cap removed, so that was on me and I took the risk.
I ended up emailing them asking if there was some sort of flush cap available to make the aroma top fit better. After a little bit they got back to me and said that if I ordered one they could grind it down for free. I thought that was great and very generous! I used the coupon I got earlier to order the cap, an extra hose, a new colorful mouthpiece, and a glass poker. Once the cap arrived I realized that they didn't just grind the cap down but they made a new flat shape. Again, that's awesome. However, this cap was actually bigger than the one I started with so I was a little disappointed.
I emailed them back with pictures to let them know. They were very apologetic and said that they had tested it on their own unit and it worked. They said if they couldn't figure out what the issue was they would give me a refund for the cap. It turns out that based on the pictures I sent them my heater cover was really high. To remedy this they sent me a new heater cover for free. Insane customer service from them. The new heater cover arrived today and with it the aroma top fits perfectly with the new cap installed. It actually works with both caps but I'm using the new one they sent me as it's easier to remove when I need to. I no longer have to swap out the cap with a oven mitt and then re-install the aroma top after every session. I just have to adjust the heat dial and I'm done.
Extra
Call me weird but I didn't like how long and pointy the included poker was. I kept imagining accidentally sticking myself with it. The glass ball on the end was also too big to fit in the end of the stem to tamp the flower down. The all glass poker I bought separately is much nicer and the end fits in the stem.
Also, the colorful mouthpiece I bought has a smaller diameter opening on the mouth side compared to the standard glass mouth piece that came with the DBV. With it, airflow is slightly more restricted.
When comparing the first heater cover to the replacement they sent me it is definitely shorter in terms of height, but the slot for the stem is actually longer.
The inner glass barrier that keeps the balls in place is also reversed. The first one went from bottom to top but the replacement goes from top to bottom. If I filled the first one up too much the balls would come out of the front. With the replacement, I can fill it all the way but I still have to remove some to fit the cap in.
Both caps also fit much better in the replacement than in the original.