Discontinued Hopper io
- Thread starter VegNVape
- Start date
jabba
Well-Known Member
You will. On first blush my repaired Ti unit seems to run similarly to my SS unit.. I'm pulling for you. Even with my two OG's I had largely gone to using oil carts. Now that I am with good io's....I am largely back to flower....and it is a welcome change.
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vapviking
Old & In the Way
I gotta say, that's not a stellar endorsement. Sounds a little more like sarcasm, but I know that's not your style.
"The Grasshopper. Satisfaction. Eventually." Great slogan!
Vitolo
Vaporist
It's not an endorsement... It is my admission that even though my OG unit still works perfectly, I too suffered delays in ordering the one extra piece I ordered from them.
The IO works great!
I do wish the lights had stayed red and blue, for my personal easy detection from across the room... but it's all good. We learn... we grow!
jabba
Well-Known Member
lol. i really think the predominant reason that i had to upgrade both og's to io was the lights. i became disoriented having both an og and an io with differing lights...never knowing when to inhale...when to hit the plunger...when to hold and when to fold....sometimes envisioning emergency vehicles....at times thinking a train was headed straight for me...hearing sirens. I need continuity in my life. lol
Vitolo
Vaporist
We could all use a slice!
vapviking
Old & In the Way
The change of lights was all part of HL's plan for world domination, at least that's what I read somewhere.
I think.
We found it confusing in my house, what with multiple devices and two users. We had to change the whole fleet over. (actually, 4 became 2).
We have finally subjugated ourselves to the White Light/White Heat, more than 50 years after Lou Reed first laid it out...
jabba
Well-Known Member
you have excellent taste...VU is among my most very favorites. this made me laugh out loud. the white light io really did startle me a bit at first....but i quickly adjusted. i'm just THAT good lol.
Maroon-Scholar
Active Member
Ok, after some drama I finally have my new (and working) Ti IO. Here is my experience.
tl;dr Hopper Labs still makes one of the best portable vapes on the market (perfect for my needs), and customer service was excellent in my case. However, QC remains atrocious such that this is a risky investment for those outside the US. Within the US? Go for it!
Ordering: Although I already have a working Ti OG (auto-shutoff never worked but, for me, that was never such big a deal to send it in for warranty) I wanted to take advantage of the New Year discount to experience the IO. Hopper Labs also allowed me to put the money I paid for the never-delivered bubbler toward the purchase, so it was about 40% off. Not bad. It was ordered on 12/31 and finally delivered to me in California on 1/19. HL cited the holiday rush and COVID as reasons for the delay in shipping. Fair enough. Annoyingly, the box did not come with the ID code required to register the unit, but I understand this is a very common issue now.
The Hopper: On first glance the IO looked perfect. No scratches, no missing/damaged screens, no dirt or grease in or on the unit, auto-shutoff working, and the 'instant on' is admittedly impressive. The temperature dial was very tight though. Ok, it probably just needs a few turns to loosen up. At that point I realized it actually has the feel of grinding metal, nothing like the smooth action of my OG temp dial. Alarmingly, upon closer inspection, I realize the dial is crooked and off-center. Not good. And then, mid-turn, "pop!" - the whole back-end comes apart!
Customer Service: The disappointment and frustration was intense. But I channeled that energy into taking immediate action, writing Hopper Support about what happened while simultaneously opening up a warranty claim. Support did get back to me the next morning advising me to ship it back, which I did the same day. I was on a time crunch and, for reasons too complicated to describe here, I needed to receive my repaired unit back by 1/30, a mere week and half later. I pleaded with HL (both through email and the warranty request) to do everything in their power to get me a working unit by that date. And you know what? They did! Exactly on 1/30 I received what has, so far, proven to be a fully functional IO.
The replacement Hopper: I have been using my Ti IO almost every day for a week now. My experiences match the most enthusiastic assessments on this forum and elsewhere. Thick, billowing clouds of vapor expressing the full terpene profile of the flower, even with half filled chambers on low temperature settings. Despite reports to the contrary, for me side by side comparison seems to match the extractive power of the Ti OG. Also, the mouthpiece seems to get less hot than my OG, allowing for longer sessions (I always use it natively with the performance front-end) I hope the durability holds up.
Conclusion: As so many on this forum has said, the Hopper is one of, if not the best portable vape on the market - when it's working! I am more convinced of that than ever. Further, customer service was very responsive and accommodating. But quality control is inexplicitly and inexcusably terrible. I can think of no sound reason why the company should be facing such issues at this point in their existence. As such, echoing jabba on this forum, until QC issues are remedied I cannot recommend the Hopper to customers outside the US unless they are willing to take the risk of long and expensive shipping if a problem arises. For those in the US, in the event of a warranty claim, I found customer service to be excellent and the shipping was fast.
tl;dr Hopper Labs still makes one of the best portable vapes on the market (perfect for my needs), and customer service was excellent in my case. However, QC remains atrocious such that this is a risky investment for those outside the US. Within the US? Go for it!
Ordering: Although I already have a working Ti OG (auto-shutoff never worked but, for me, that was never such big a deal to send it in for warranty) I wanted to take advantage of the New Year discount to experience the IO. Hopper Labs also allowed me to put the money I paid for the never-delivered bubbler toward the purchase, so it was about 40% off. Not bad. It was ordered on 12/31 and finally delivered to me in California on 1/19. HL cited the holiday rush and COVID as reasons for the delay in shipping. Fair enough. Annoyingly, the box did not come with the ID code required to register the unit, but I understand this is a very common issue now.
The Hopper: On first glance the IO looked perfect. No scratches, no missing/damaged screens, no dirt or grease in or on the unit, auto-shutoff working, and the 'instant on' is admittedly impressive. The temperature dial was very tight though. Ok, it probably just needs a few turns to loosen up. At that point I realized it actually has the feel of grinding metal, nothing like the smooth action of my OG temp dial. Alarmingly, upon closer inspection, I realize the dial is crooked and off-center. Not good. And then, mid-turn, "pop!" - the whole back-end comes apart!
Customer Service: The disappointment and frustration was intense. But I channeled that energy into taking immediate action, writing Hopper Support about what happened while simultaneously opening up a warranty claim. Support did get back to me the next morning advising me to ship it back, which I did the same day. I was on a time crunch and, for reasons too complicated to describe here, I needed to receive my repaired unit back by 1/30, a mere week and half later. I pleaded with HL (both through email and the warranty request) to do everything in their power to get me a working unit by that date. And you know what? They did! Exactly on 1/30 I received what has, so far, proven to be a fully functional IO.
The replacement Hopper: I have been using my Ti IO almost every day for a week now. My experiences match the most enthusiastic assessments on this forum and elsewhere. Thick, billowing clouds of vapor expressing the full terpene profile of the flower, even with half filled chambers on low temperature settings. Despite reports to the contrary, for me side by side comparison seems to match the extractive power of the Ti OG. Also, the mouthpiece seems to get less hot than my OG, allowing for longer sessions (I always use it natively with the performance front-end) I hope the durability holds up.
Conclusion: As so many on this forum has said, the Hopper is one of, if not the best portable vape on the market - when it's working! I am more convinced of that than ever. Further, customer service was very responsive and accommodating. But quality control is inexplicitly and inexcusably terrible. I can think of no sound reason why the company should be facing such issues at this point in their existence. As such, echoing jabba on this forum, until QC issues are remedied I cannot recommend the Hopper to customers outside the US unless they are willing to take the risk of long and expensive shipping if a problem arises. For those in the US, in the event of a warranty claim, I found customer service to be excellent and the shipping was fast.
spamjam
Well-Known Member
I nudged HL with a query regarding color Ti status as the order page was still showing Jan 21 shipping. Here's their response:
Thanks for contacting us. The date has been updated but that is for new orders. We are receiving the parts this coming week and will start to ship the existing orders right away.
Thanks for contacting us. The date has been updated but that is for new orders. We are receiving the parts this coming week and will start to ship the existing orders right away.
Just received my new SS io. Hits are an immediate improvement over my OG titanium. I also noticed the mouthpiece stayed cool (which could be because I was standing outside in 29 degree temp). Very happy with the purchase and it is definitely an improvement over the OG in instant heat, size of vapor cloud, and temp of mouthpiece. Great flavors too.
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Hi Trace,
I ordered the SS io since I knew shipping was delayed for the titanium and colored models. It took a little over a week to get a shipping notice.
Hope that helps.
DryBonesufo
Well-Known Member
I also saw your review on the Tafee Bowle . Great to see you active in the community. I’m waiting for POTV to have the bowle but I got my SS IO from Vgoodiez. I have been loving it. For 5 months straight I have been vaping on the IO day in and day out. Also just as a suggestion to those who plan and are current users, please be sure to clean your threads!I posted this picture in the Hopper thread... but had to show it off here, as it is a Hopper IO that I am hitting!
vapviking
Old & In the Way
I have two minor issues to discuss, both with one io. My other io has been flawless since arrival early Dec '20.
Heat comes out of the air intake holes. Intense heat.
Months ago, when I made mention of this, I had thought this was a normal though annoying function of the io. No one else reacted or mentioned it. Then we got a second io and it does not have heat coming out the air holes.
The back end. Unit gets to a point where it will power on with very little provocation, just a touch to the clicker sideways will sometimes set the lights and heat on, sometimes powering on in my pocket. I have returned a previous back end because of this.
But I am finding that a thorough dousing of the back end with electrical contact cleaner keeps this from being a problem, for I think, about 3 weeks before needing another treatment. 3 or 4 treatments in now and it has helped each time. Maybe this can help extend time between repairs.
Heat comes out of the air intake holes. Intense heat.
Months ago, when I made mention of this, I had thought this was a normal though annoying function of the io. No one else reacted or mentioned it. Then we got a second io and it does not have heat coming out the air holes.
The back end. Unit gets to a point where it will power on with very little provocation, just a touch to the clicker sideways will sometimes set the lights and heat on, sometimes powering on in my pocket. I have returned a previous back end because of this.
But I am finding that a thorough dousing of the back end with electrical contact cleaner keeps this from being a problem, for I think, about 3 weeks before needing another treatment. 3 or 4 treatments in now and it has helped each time. Maybe this can help extend time between repairs.
Vaporific
All who wander are not lost...
My lone and only IO (Ti) has been cool as a cucumber for 5+ months. I haven’t noticed any extra heat by or from the air holes and backend. Then again I rarely run it about 3.5 natively, occasionally higher through glass or filtration but I’ve not noticed it getting too warm. I hope you can sort out the wonky/hot unit. Honestly I haven’t cleaned my IO too often and try to keep it clean between usage, which is not daily and closer to every other day. Still love the form factor and when it works well (which the IO does for me better than my OG), it works extremely well.
Intense heat comes out my holes too. I have burnt myself more than several times. I've learned to be very wary of those hot holes.
My back end also powers on with very little provocation. I am not 100% certain because I am still testing but I think this happens with one of my batteries and not the others, again not sure on this. When using that battery I have started loosening the back end when finished out of fear this is going to come on when I am away from the unit. No telling what those hot holes might do if left on by themselves.
I have three batteries. All of the batteries seems to require me to occasional click multiple times to shut off or on. Other times all works on the first click. When I cleaned the grooves of the back end I got lots of black residue. It did not look like vape residue but certainly could have been. After I cleaned the grooves, for a while the repeated clicking got less.
Not sure what to do about it but wanted you to know you are not alone in those issues.
Otherwise this vape hits like a truck.
cliffhanger1
Well-Known Member
i also have the problems with the clicking exactly the same what HughJundys says too. new devices from me dont have it. but now i have the same backend on other body since yesterday, and it's a lot less now that I have to click multiple times.
also that it sometimes comes on with a small touch
I also have gray residues in some bodies, some of which cannot be removed or cleaned
with hot air which comes With hot air coming out of the holes, I have not yet been able to determine that I will pay attention to it
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Coombs
Well-Known Member
I’ve given up. Three packages later and I still don’t have a working hopper. I’ve spent almost an extra $100 just sending broken hopper parts back to HL. The last one had me sending everything back and a month and a half later I got it back and it still does not work properly. I can now get a little bit of heat, but I can only get the weed to a very very golden brown, unlike the chocolate brown during the first week...
So I think I’m done, hopper is great when it works, but mine never does and paying for shipping to never get a working product for more then a day if at all, is draining. Back to my EVO for at home and oil on the go....
Biggest waste of money in a while for me. One expensive pen shaped paper weight.
So I think I’m done, hopper is great when it works, but mine never does and paying for shipping to never get a working product for more then a day if at all, is draining. Back to my EVO for at home and oil on the go....
Biggest waste of money in a while for me. One expensive pen shaped paper weight.
cliffhanger1
Well-Known Member
I'm sorry to hear that Coombs 
I think there will hardly be a perfect hopper anyway or only at the beginning.
You or we need a lot of love for the product to invest more and more, I think in order to have the patience, the setbacks in part, the annoyance of the money not to mention your case is certainly very extreme hope you will be offered a satisfactory solution and promptly!
I think there will hardly be a perfect hopper anyway or only at the beginning.
You or we need a lot of love for the product to invest more and more, I think in order to have the patience, the setbacks in part, the annoyance of the money not to mention your case is certainly very extreme
hope you will be offered a satisfactory solution and promptly!So sorry to hear that too. My first OG has been flawless and my new SS io seems the same (but only time will tell).
Combs, curious as to what model you've had all the issues with? I have heard the titanium io's have issues (which is why I went with the SS which seemed to have better QC and consistency with the units).
Combs, curious as to what model you've had all the issues with? I have heard the titanium io's have issues (which is why I went with the SS which seemed to have better QC and consistency with the units).
Kinick23
Well-Known Member
@DCP how's the AVB on your SS unit? I got an SS finally last week. This is my first hopper so wasnt sure what to expect and with the variability in unit performance from what I've read it's hard to determine what 'normal' functioning is. Anyway my AVB definitely isnt choc brown, more blond/brown when I dump it. I'm still experimenting with pack and how much or how little to load/tamp for optimal cloudage. So far cloud production is med to dense for me, though not as dense as I would like just yet. I usually take first hit native on 3.5 then throw on a J hook and bump to 4.5 ish and ride it out so thats why i was a little surprised my AVB wasnt darker running it at close to max temp.