Welp, this review has taken longer than I anticipated to come to fruition but I really wanted get to know this girl before I give my opinion. Also things have been pretty hectic for me lately and I wanted to be able to take the time to be thorough so I have held off until now so i can give it a proper write-up.
I did have shipping trouble when this journey first started but to be fair that was mostly due to UPS's inadequacies with a dash of Ghost's email system acting up. But I was able to find them on Bud's forum and get everything squared away so no big deal in the end.
My first impression out the box was even better than I anticipated. The look to me is futuristic, which I love and doesn't look as tacky as I thought it would in person since I had to go with nickel because black chrome was sold out
The weight of the unit is up there compared to others but I like to think it's the same as how higher end cellphones tend to be heavier, just better construction and materials. Also you gotta remember it's got two 18650s in it. Those things ain't light by themselves, but the unit sans battery has some heft to it and i like that. I don't plan on dropping it but it seems like it would be fine even with the added weight bringing it to the floor harder.
My first time when I went to use it, it was pretty hard to open to the point of after the second time of closing it and opening it to see if I could loosen it I could no longer get it open
Luckily I instantly reached for my trusty channel lock plyers and a cloth to protect the device and proceeded to open it with them and close it about ten or fifteen times and after that it's a breeze to open. I'll admit it was pretty frustrating especially since I'm not weak by any means. For reference my max deadlift right now is 420(I know right, lol), which isn't elite level of strength or anything but it's way above average Joe for sure. So imagine if I actually had a medical issue with my hands or was elderly or smaller weaker person I probably would have not gotten it open at all to begin with. When I mentioned it to them they assured me they check the units before sending them but for some reason they haven't figured out why occasionally there are ones like mine. I'm assuming employee incompetence which can be expected everywhere just kinda irritating I had to bust out a tool to use my new 300 dollar vape. Never had that experience before.
Now onto me actually getting to use this BEAST. And yes I do mean that, that's why I had to capitalize it. This fucking thing is a certified monster. I go for clouds that's what I need. Not just for the narcotic benefit it gives me from using high temps which are needed for my pain management from a couple injuries I'm recovering from but also the cloud is satisfying to me. I don't mind coughing a little and I love watching the cloud as it spreads and dissipates it's one of my favorite parts of when I use to smoke so to have that helps with the mental satisfaction. That's what this thing does and it does extremely well.
I fooled around with the lower settings just to see how they produce but they were mostly disappointing. Then I did what I should have from the start. Loaded up a fresh one and put it on max on the first rip and ohhh baby
This thing punched me right in the fucking face with the biggest cloud I could ever imagine would come from a portable and so damn flavorful my entire nasal passages and mouth was just coated in tasty lip smacking terpenes
It was definitely cloud esque 100 percent as I had hoped for. I get one super huge flavorful hit at top temp and one more big ass hit that's not bad but nowhere near what the first was and then two whispy bastards if I wanna get it dark brown all with stirs after every hit. Stir is one hundred percent mandatory as is making sure the screen holes are free in between hits otherwise the load has charred spots and some still green. This is honestly my only problem with the thing at this point. I wish the whole crucible was ceramic because the bottom part I still haven't needed to clean because it doesn't effect taste and the holes never get clogged. I think the lid being steel contributes to the vaping with a bit of conduction so that probably won't happen but if they could get a lid with slightly bigger holes it might not have to be poked clean every rip. But that also probably won't happen because I'm sure the holes are the size they are because it's needed to restrict the air enough to where the heated air isn't passing through too quickly. It's not a major problem because I've gotten quite good at poking them clean with the safety pin I now have pinned on me at all times but I could see a less dexterous person having a hard time enjoying this vape because stirring is essential and at the highest temp like I like it's completely essential to have every hole poked clean or it will char the load in spots and you also don't get anywhere near the cloud you get with clean holes.
Now a little insight as to how I hit it because even though you can get good vapor production at any draw rate the way I do it gives huge clouds. Every time I start a session I back the stem all the way out then stick it back in till the two slits just pass the visible black rubber seal. This is the ideal position from what I've found for maximum clouds. Then from that position with a slow but steady draw rate continue on until the shut off buzzer and you should be on cloud nine that you created
I've tried more restricted draws by pushing it in further but they are never as big and also what's the point if this baby is all about less draw restriction. I've also had more than a handful of "ghost" hits from having heatsink issues which is how I've come to the method of pulling the mouth piece all the way out and making sure the slits are in just the right spot before I start which has solved that problem for me but hopefully I'll have a new heatsink soon so that won't be an issue either in time.
Also I almost forgot I have a weird battery issue where my light doesn't go off to let me know it's done charging but they said give it a week to see if it fixes itself or they'll give me a spare free of charge so now here it is a week later and it's still happening so they are shipping out a spare no questions asked. Stellar customer service
Initially I also noticed that I wasn't getting the same performance as the battery got lower especially past 50 percent but after I updated the firmware to v1.3.4 it chucks clouds even when it's at one blinking green light which means it's supposed to be on the charger and she's still giving
so it seems they finally have things worked out with the firmware.
All in all, is this vape perfect? No. But no vape is. Is this vape for everyone? Probably not. But if you are a tasty cloud connoisseur that is in the market for a portable that gives a huge cool rip that is better than some desktops and is truly Cloud Evo esque in performance then look no further. It's truly beautiful being able to go out on the deck and take a huge faceripper then enjoy the sights and sounds of my beautiful backyard that lines some woods after a hard day. This device makes that possible and for that it will always have a place in my heart
If this is the future of vapes I can't wait to see what comes out next. We're in a beautiful time vaporents, enjoy