Davinci by Karma

[mephisto]

Had my DV for about 4 weeks and it is my daily driver. No problems w/ the straw.
I get about 4-5 sessions to a charge. This vape is great for a portable IMO. It heats
up real quick, and it gets the job done. I have been checking the DV site for the
extended straw and nothing as yet. Has anyone thought to use a little wire ball in the
concentrate can. I used a small ball of Volcano liquid pad pulled apart and stuffed into
my HA cauldron. It works great for concentrates. The theory would be the same for use
in the DV. I have not tried it yet, but soon.....

 

[pandawok56]

The snorkel.actually is available it just takes.some finding. You first have to go the DV accessory page, then click on "straw", I believe on the left is a column with all the other accessories and the snorkel should be on top.

 

[V-RodVapors4U]

Get a case for the DV. Constantly putting in and pulling out can damage the straw. It gets bent in all different directions I noticed when I put it in a pocket. Cargo shorts seem to work great. I think JRR has a hard cell case he found that fits. Got a link JRR?

 

[pandawok56]

Yea I believe that which is why I only ever put it in the smaller pocket on my jeans, which reduces the twisting.and bending.

The case was a standard digital camera case. I used my friends for a day and it fit like a glove, I just haven't had a chance to pick one up.

 

[Davinci_vaporizer]

pandawok56, shoot me an email or PM with your address, etc. and I'll rush you out a replacement straw at no charge.

edited to add:

yes, the snorkel is available and it's a little hard to find, but that is being fixed. It's undergoing it's big modeling gig photoshoot, so we'll have quality pics up soon and the site is being tweeked design-wise

 

[CentiZen]

Do you anticipate taking any other forms of payment other than credit card? I plan on never owning a credit card but I would love to buy a DV. Is there any way we could work something out or do you possibly have something in the works?

 

[J.R.R.Tokin']

Hey guys. Here's a quick vid of my oil can mods.

It needs about a 5 min warm up at 200 c to get visible vapor production. The hits are quite light but go on for ages. I will post a vid of me hitting the oil cans in the next day or two.

 

[max]

Get a case for the DV. Constantly putting in and pulling out can damage the straw. It gets bent in all different directions I noticed when I put it in a pocket. Cargo shorts seem to work great. I think JRR has a hard cell case he found that fits. Got a link JRR?

Here's a soft case that works great. Only $2.75 delivered. It has a strap on one side and a fishnet pocket on the other. You only have to bend the flexi-straw very slightly to get it zipped up.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-5-Portabl...405?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20b78e9595

 

[Peloton]

Hey guys. Here's a quick vid of my oil can mods.

 

[V-RodVapors4U]

Is there a thread on making oil? Does the oil come from cleaning the vapes? Whip, glass pieces? How is that done?

 

[vorrange]

Check the concentrates sub forum, it has a few threads that can educate you.

 

[B.]

Or google "how to make bho"

(butane honey oil)

 

[Tim]

After a few months of combustion, I'm back on the market for a portable. I narrowed it down to the DV or Solo. The only thing I'm worried about is the seemingly small bowl on the DV.

Thanks for the videos, JRR! They've been a huge help.

Edit: I went out and got one. I'll have some pictures and impressions to share soon.

 

[pecosthecat]

I'm loving these reviews. I am thinking about adding one of these to my stable, mostly for portable use. I love the solo, but with the glass stems it is a bit too large and fragile for out and about on the go.

The one thing that holds me back on the DV is that it appears that it would be very difficult to clean given that the top part only flips open. Is this really an issue?

 

[Tim]

The one thing that holds me back on the DV is that it appears that it would be very difficult to clean given that the top part only flips open. Is this really an issue?

It would have been great if, instead of "flipping" open, the top piece could slide off completely. Oh well.

I haven't had to clean out the device yet, as I've only been through one bowl. However, a quick flip of the unit empties the bowl nicely. No need to stir/dislodge ABV between loads.

For real "cleaning," though, this is what I plan on doing (3 minute mark):

Ok, here's one on loading and cleaning. One thing to add, don't use the brush in the chamber straight after use. I'm pretty sure the bristles are plastic and will melt on the hot metal of the chamber.

 

[pecosthecat]

Yeah, I saw that video. It still appears that it may be difficult to clean after some daily use. When I see how quickly and thoroughly my solo stems get gunked up, this is what has me worried about trying to clean a chamber in the DV with out being able to remove the top.

It would have been great if, instead of "flipping" open, the top piece could slide off completely. Oh well.

I haven't had to clean out the device yet, as I've only been through one bowl. However, a quick flip of the unit empties the bowl nicely. No need to stir/dislodge ABV between loads.

For real "cleaning," though, this is what I plan on doing (3 minute mark):

 

[Tim]

I'm hoping a slightly damp Q-tip will do the trick, but that may just be wishful thinking.

 

[Tim]

Just a little history.. I've been looking for a great portable for a long time. My first vape was the NO2, and I loved it, despite it's flaws (mainly the plastic taste). I LOVED the ease-of-use of the NO2. I would often preload and have a bowl ready to go. It fit perfectly in all my cup holders, for goodness sake. I would have gladly thrown my money at Vapir to make me a higher-quality version. Now, don't take this as a dig on the NO2. I went through 3 of them and loved them all.. but they just weren't portable enough, and the taste was just a but too much to stand.

I eventually picked up an MFLB and the difference was night and day. I gained a purer taste, but usability was a little more cumbersome. I quickly adopted the "slow sip" techniques, I bought an electric grinder/shredder, I was loving it. Until I wanted to share. It's a great personal hitter, but passing it around is not enjoyable at all.

Fast forward to today, I skimmed through a few FC threads and had it narrowed down to the Solo and Vaporblunt. I nearly missed the DaVinci altogether, but someone mentioned it in another thread. Read all 19 pages of this thread and went out and bought the damn thing.

So that's where I'm coming from! Anyways, onto my pros and cons of the DV.

Pros:
- I got mine in black, and the smooth matte finish is perfect. It feels like the Incipio case on my iPhone. Simple and clean, just hoping it doesn't chip (like my Incipio cases have in the past).
- The screw on whip/straw is a very nice touch. Seriously. No more clear silicone! It looks professional.
- Really does heat up quickly. Some reports state that you should wait 5 minutes for optimal heat in the chamber, but I can get vapor soon after the light turns green.
- Very good vapor pulls for very little effort.



Cons:
- Unfortunately, my power switch is a little wobbly. I'm not sure if it's designed that way or if mine has a defect, but the switch can rock back and forth. It works fine, but it bugs me a bit.
- The flip lid, and, in turn, the other issues that it may cause. So far, not a huge deal. However, it makes retrieving something in the "storage compartment" difficult after a vaping session, as the components are really hot.. obviously. It will also make cleaning more difficult than it has to be.
- The locking mechanism on the lid isn't very secure. With a gentle but forceful nudge with my thumb, I can easily pop open the chamber without disengaging the switch. I doubt that it will happen on accident, but it could happen.
- The upper bowl (alone) does not work well. I originally planned on using ONLY the upper bowl to keep the lower bowl clean. However, it just doesn't work well. Little to no vapor is produced, and the herb is only lightly heated. Still green. (The lower bowl holds a lot more herb, anyhow)
- Heat is a major issue. The area around the air intake slots (holes) get's VERY warm. Too hot to touch. This is my major gripe. Essentially, it forces me to hold the DV in a specific way to avoid getting burned.


As long as the heat problem doesn't become too much of an issue in the future, I'd say I have my daily driver.

 

[J.R.R.Tokin']

Glad to help Tim, and I agree that it would have been great if the lid was removable - maybe with a watch strap type fastening. (possible upgrade for next gen DV)

Honestly haven't had any issues cleaning it. It's a bit fiddly but nothing major. I found that if I run the unit empty at about 220c for 5 mins, let cool down then clean it is very minimal what is removed on the q-tip.

Looking forward to your thoughts Tim - happy experimenting

 

[Tim]

I'm not sure if it's already discussed in the thread but I found that you can change the factory pre-set temp by holding down both the + & - buttons at the same time, then adjust temp and hold both buttons to set.

I can't seem to get this to work :/

 

[J.R.R.Tokin']

It only works till you switch the unit off and then re-sets, so pretty pointless anyway.

 

[pandawok56]

Any idea as to how to remove the bottom screen? Every DV comes with two different sized extra screens, so I assume the bottom chamber screen can be removed but I can't get a very good view of whats underneath the screen and don't want to damage anything.

I also got some oils the other day and tried to do both oil and herb with JRR's mod. I could taste the oil, but it was very hard to draw and I couldn't taste the herb at all. After about 10 minutes I opened it up and the herb was only slightly changed in color and very resiny (but that might just be because I need to clean my unit). So I think I'm just going to avoid using the top chamber all together. Sad because it'd be really cool to be able to use both, but it just doens't work in my experience. :/

 

[Tim]

I'm convinced that the DaVinci is a direct upgrade to for NO2 owners. They feel very similar in usage, even down to the whining noise that they make while charging.

I hope someone figures out how to use the upper chamber efficiently. As of right now, it's feels useless.

 

[J.R.R.Tokin']

Pandawok. Try the oil can mod again, don't put in so much cotton (plays a big part in effectiveness) and hit it cigar style.
Honestly, I have tried many different ways to get that top chamber to work and I'm convinced it wont work because of the air that gets in from the gap around the lid. It's effective as a particulate catcher but that's it as far as I'm concerned.

EDIT:
It’s been a good few weeks now that I have been exhaustively putting the Da Vinci through its paces and feel ready to review. Please bare in mind these are just my own personal opinions, so please add in the IME’s and IMO’s where required.

The Da Vinci comes in a nice display box that is great for storage once the unit and power supply are out. It comes with the unit, straw, charger, 2 oil cans and some replacement screens. The unit has a nice size and weight to it – roughly equivalent to a smart phone. The tactile feel is very nice, feeling like a silky smooth rubber (but I believe it is a plastic).

The digital display is easy to read and I like that it is back-lit for those movie moments with the lights off. Also, the ‘heat-up’ indicator is useful and easy to understand. No light means the unit isn’t heating, red means it’s heating and green once it reaches the desired temp (which can be changed between F° and C°).

There are 3 ways in which the DV can be used. Herb in the bottom chamber, herb in the top chamber and oil cans.

First I’d like to say that I had no success in using the top chamber to vape herbs. It works well as a cleaning section to remove particulate from the inhale with its two screens, but other than that I just ignore it. Also, I found that using the oil cans for herb was vastly inefficient compared to a direct load in the bottom chamber.

The most straight forward way of using the DV is to load the bottom chamber with herbs, switch on unit, wait to get to desired temp and hit. The heat up time on the unit from room temp to 180 °C is approximately 30 seconds. The first few hits tend to be light and then they start to build up in thickness. A great feature of the DV is the air-flow. You can sip or suck and get the desired results.

Contrary to general vape use I’ve experienced, a long and strong inhale can result in lung-wrenching pulls and a slower inhale will give a lighter hit. I believe that this, and the ineffectiveness of the top chamber, is due to one of the major flaws on this device. The flip-lid does not create an air-tight seal when in the closed position. This allows a lot of air to enter via the lid area diluting the vapour on inhale and probably cooling the air too much to vape anything in the top section.

Taste wise I have no complaints at all. I haven’t experienced any ‘off-gassing’ tastes at all from my unit. I do find that if I really want to get the most flavour out of my herb its best to start at about 160 °C and let the unit and herb heat up for a good 5 mins. Then hit it going up about 5 °C every 3 hits and stopping at 180 °C. If I go straight to 180 °C the taste diminishes much quicker.

The heat retention is very good as I can take hit after hit with only a few seconds break in between. One thing I have noticed is that the heat seems to build up inside the unit and I think that the longer you are hitting a bowl the more conduction comes into play. I tend to stop at 180 °C and leave it there. By the end of the bowl it feels like I have upped the temp. When I check the ABV it looks very evenly extracted to a dark chocolate brown, similar to what I would get from my EQ at 230 °C – so I believe that the SS herb chamber retains and stores more and more heat creating a little oven.

Due to this ‘oven’ effect the unit can get uncomfortably hot directly over the area of the herb chamber if used for a prolonged period. There are other areas on the vape that are fine to hold by that don’t really get affected by the heat. I find that if I just do one bowl within one 10 minute session its fine.

The Oil Cans were a bit of a disappointment to begin with and I could only get the faintest puffs of vapour. As stated above I really think it’s a waste using them for herb. The ‘oven’ effect is magnified in the Oil Can and I found that my herb was getting scorched rapidly. Even with the silicone top off the herb is cooked rapidly and little vapour is produced. I posted a video previously for a few mods on the oil cans to get them working more effectively.

There are a few improvements I’d love to see in the DV mark 2. They are:
* Full air-tight seal when lid is closed.
*Removable lid for easier cleaning.
* Non-melting bristles for the brush
* Better heat insulation to reduce the unit’s touch-heat in use.

Overall I think it is a good, robust, portable vape that is very easy and straight forward to use. It is very effective for vaporizing herbs and ok for oils (with the mods). The battery life is good and charge time quite quick and I really like that you can use it while charging. My main issues with the unit stem from the additions they threw in at the last moment i.e. the oil can, top load chamber and brush, but I look at them as an extra that’s fun to play with. So, this definitely gets the thumbs-up from me and will be a regular when visiting friends.

 

[Lostclusters]

Any idea as to how to remove the bottom screen?

It may not be removable. When I bought the vap I am reviewing, the vendor that sold it to me told me that it's bottom screen was not removable. He also suggested I put one of the extra screens, from the accessory bag, in there.