I thought I might describe my experience with the FW8 as a first-time Firewood owner, to help inform other people who might be deciding whether or not to make their purchase. I have no point of comparison to make with the fabled FW7. I purchased: the Firewood 8 early adopter's kit, and the Delta3D Studios loading tool after reading the positive review of Moondog here on this forum.
Verdict: I am delighted with my purchase, and feeling the FW8 in hand, admiring its elegant design, brings great pleasure to my ritual.
I like the wooden battery-in-case unit, and for my needs a charge is more than enough to take care of the evening's business. I do believe having the second battery unit in the early adopter's kit is worthwhile, though, because you just never know, and if sharing with a few friends it will become necessary if they're rambunctious types. The real value of the FW8, however, is in my opinion its ceramic capsule-in-chamber setup. I fill four chambers using the Delta3D loading tray (so far I've had best results with a finer grind and a substantial tamp), and one goes in the chamber, three in the stylish matching caddy that came in the early adopter's kit. The tolerance on the sliding top of the caddy is tight, and sliding it back and forth can take some doing. I applied some beeswax to the edges, and opening and closing has become substantially easier.
Now to the vapor itself. I have the three temperature settings at 370º, 390º, and 410º as was suggested to me by an experienced hand on the Reddit vaporents forum. There is a bit of a learning curve to getting generous, fluffy clouds, but I've come to appreciate the process as a way to really dial in the strength of the effect. The ability to cycle through temp settings with great ease is most welcome. I take a couple of draws using the lowest temp setting, which offers the most beautifully flavorful clouds I have experienced from a handheld vape. Once you get some residual heat radiating in the oven, jumping to the next temp setting allows for some devastatingly potent tokes if you want to jump Snake River Canyon. I have found that holding the button down until I start to feel the clouds in the back of my nose, then letting residual heat carry things onward allows the correct mix of flavor and potency to be expressed. I'm fairly lightweight, and can suffer The Fear if my stone becomes too overwhelming, so I generally take one "ramp in" toke on 370º, one substantial toke immediately thereafter in which the clouds really swell, then a toke at 390º. This last is a sip if I'm feeling tentative, or hearty if I'm feeling like the world is in my corner. I generally then have one more toke at 390º and two at 410º still available, which I tend to enjoy half an hour to an hour later. Enthusiasts who enjoy a really robust experience could of course dispatch a chamber in one go. You will get very high.
The next stage is where I think people will want to focus when deciding whether or not this is a vape for them. It might strike some as onerous. To reload, one unscrews the oven door a half-turn, then dump the now-spent ceramic capsule out of the oven. The way I've been tamping, cheeba stays neatly in the capsule, but you will need either serious calluses on your hand or a surface that can take some heat, for it is blazing hot. I think following the suggestion of several people here, and using a pair of tweezers to extract the capsule is the best solution. I got a pair of needle-nose tweezers so that I can use the tweezer prongs to clear out the capsule into my AVB vessel. I like to clear my capsules in one sweep by storing them in the Delta3D loader, then holding it upside down and using the tweezers to empty all four efficiently. So, more gear. The payoff, however, is twofold: the oven stays immaculately clean because there's no bits of green getting stuck and torched, and of course the glory of these convection clouds: rich, full, deliciously tasty.
I assume that in future, artisans may make glass mouthpieces for the FW8 that offer the owner a chance to display a flash of color, have a longer mouthpiece, or use with a waterpiece. The amber mouthpiece provided is modest and unassuming—it fits the look of the device. I have used the FW8 with the MJArsenal Titan (10mm female joint), and it worked beautifully, but I actually prefer to hold it in hand and use as is, because it is so enjoyable.
All in all, my view is: it was well worth the money for me, and has become my prime device, used daily (I still very much enjoy a vapcap, too). I found the learning curve to procure thick, potent clouds to be fairly straightforward, though the first draw in a session will be a bit wispy until radiant heat builds in the chamber. Subsequent tokes will allay any concerns there. The buzzing alerts are unambiguous and effective. Even when I'm in a mellow mood, I'm not going to mistake the process of cycling through the temp settings. The capsules can be a pain to load, but the Delta3D tray streamlines the process and also offers a safe holding place for them so that nothing but capsules filled with bright green cheeba will scent the wooden caddy if you're heading out for an adventure. I would feel comfortable taking it with me for a hike or a beach day, though right now I'm babying it to ensure the wood doesn't take on any little dents. When I inevitably do cause the FW8 to take on some character with a dent here or there, some citrus oil and beeswax or cutting board oil will beautify it.
I am so glad I made this purchase. I love this vape.
