Hi all, I'm looking to get a new vape in this price point. I have the Solo 2 & Grasshopper. I want something that's small & somewhat easy to clean. I'll be using it while out and about outdoors in the city. How long does the battery last on the Miqro? Anyone also have a Grasshopper? How do they compare with battery & smell? Thanks!
I'm going to cut to the chase: You're a Grasshopper owner, so surely you're aware of the issues. Like many, I currently have not one, but two units in repair, one for more than a year. I could go on, but if you're interested in hopper horror stories, you know where to look.
That said, I ADORED the GH. To my way of thinking, for a certain narrow range of use, of the type you describe above, I couldn't imagine a better design, and it was pleasurable enough (when it worked) for extended use as well.
But when I sent in my second hopper for the second time I realized that I had to find something else. The Da Vinci MIQRO was that, and I'll say it clearly: I now feel as positively about it as I did about the GH, in many ways more so - and in "one and done" use as well as extended. In terms of stealthiness, in almost every way the MIQRO actually outdoes the GH, mainly due to the fact that one can't completely enclose a Hopper within one's palm. (For the record, the GH beats the MIQRO w/regard to heat-up time, which contributes greatly to that device's stealthiness. But it's close.)
Cleaning is a breeze, and I'll leave it at that. I'm sure others will attest. Mine remains always spotless, after a half-year's use.
There is one area in which the MIQRO simply SOARS past the Grasshopper - as unreliable, fickle, and fragile as the GH is well-known to be, the Da Vinci product is 180 degrees in the other direction. This is a well-engineered and very solid device that the maker rightly takes pride in.
The battery does give out in roughly half the time of the larger 18650s, but in practical terms, it works. Da Vinci built in "Smart Path" heating patterns (I think you can see lots of videos on this). It takes me a while to trust that anything's not bogus, so at first I didn't give this use strategy any thought. But you'll come to realize that it's the way to maximize the use of the smaller battery most efficiently. When you learn the language of this device, batteries aren't a worry. You get about 7-10 5-min. sessions, I believe, on a full 18350, and that's likely enough to take you through a day. Extra batteries are inexpensive, and they're easily replaceable on the fly.
Side note on that: you ask about the smell, and the "Smart Path" idea is to work incrementally up in temperature with best efficiency. Therefore, it doesn't produce hugely visible clouds, but it definitely does work as promised, and the better efficiency has the side benefit of making it virtually odor-free.
The temperature strategies - Smart Paths - could be thought of as a "learning curve" I suppose, but it's not much of a curve, it's completely intuitive.
I'll leave it at that. The TL/DR is I looked for something when the Grasshopper broke my heart, and the MIQRO is it. Hope this helps.
I too have both vapes (pre-order GH, which I got lucky with, has worked flawlessly ~3 years now), and mostly agree with mulciber's thoughtful reply above, except for:
Odour,
I find that the slower heat up, and conduction of the mIQro produces quite a lot more noticable odour than the GH.
If in an environment like a cinema (sparsley populated!) I have used my GH without my partner even noticing.
But she always notices immediately when I use the mIQro (I wouldn't dare use it in a cinema), and several other friends have remarked on the smell produced by the mIQro (these friends were used to me using either the GH, or a Vapcap out and about until I got a mIQro).
I'm not saying it
stinks in use, but my experience is different to mulciber's for sure.
Battery life,
Even on smartpath 1 (gotta love smartpaths BTW, nice relaxed experience), I only get 4 or maybe 5 sessions before shutdown (unit cooled down to 'pocket temperature' between sessions).
I generally start with SP1, for a single session, then SP2 also once, then SP3 once, then SP4 once will leave the battery almost completely flat.
Sometimes I stick to the lower SP's and can get an extra sesh' or two before it flatlines, but that's all.
FWIW, I am still using the OEM batteries.
IF (and it's a big IF) GH were producing a reliable vape (I got lucky, but as mulciber states, the GH thread is a total car crash) then the choice between the mIQro and the GH would be much harder.
I can micro-dose properly in my GH and feel satisfied with the results, but the mIQro isn't quite as good in that regard.
The GH smells quite a bit less in use IMO.
Flavour can be very good (but not stellar) from both units at lower temps, but GH has a slight flavour advantage at higher temps.
Outdoor stealth is better with the mIQro IMO, as it can be totally palmed by the average size male hand.
Battery life is only slightly better than GH in my experience.
High temp clouds can be better from GH (when taking long pulls, or through water especially), but not a truly night and day difference, quite noticable though.
As things stand, if I were advising someone who has neither which to buy, it'd be the mIQro.
They offer quite different experiences though, and I'll be keeping both.
If poverty forces me to sell I think the mIQro would go first, but only because I know that if I was to re-buy a mIQro I'd be confident that it would work! (or at least be replaced quickly).
I would NOT take that same gamble with a new GH, my current one works perfectly, but it sure doesn't seem that way for many members over on the GH thread!
Put it this way:
If I were going out of my house and wanted maximum stealth indoors-Grasshopper.
If I was going to be outdoors-mIQro.
If less stealth were needed (and I thought I could avoid wind)-Vapcap.
I bought the mIQro because I wanted to try electric conduction, as it seemed like a session vape might be a nice relaxed way to consume, and it is, both out and about, and occasionally at home on the couch.
