Discontinued Hopper io

[JBone65]

Thanks Vaporific, of course i use this setup at home, but family and neighbours that came don't notice this as a bubbler.....or they don't told me !!!!!

I have never understand how people can use the IO/Grasshopper directly to the mouth without burning their lips.....totally impossible for me !

I'm old now. It's painful to think about how many burning roaches and short pipes I've smoked over the years. I've probably burned myself with a butane lighter at least a thousand times. The io definitely puts out a stream of hot air but it should be less than a joint.

I do sometimes get a hint of smokers cough. The heat generates killer hits.

 

[RustyOldNail]

Thanks Vaporific, of course i use this setup at home, but family and neighbours that came don't notice this as a bubbler.....or they don't told me !!!!!

I have never understand how people can use the IO/Grasshopper directly to the mouth without burning their lips.....totally impossible for me !

Use a glass 510 drip tip on the performance MP, for native.

DUMP the hard to clean conical MP as that only concentrates the heat to a smaller opening. Sure it looks like a PEN, who cares....

I now use a new solution that @Abysmal Vapor discovered online, and I originally had trouble ordering.
posted about here:

Discontinued - Hopper io

I owned some OG’s and now 3 Ti IO’s. Easiest work-around after multiple defects was to buy a Tinymight. I don’t feel like James Bond anymore when vaping, but at least, the TM never stabbed me in the back…

fuckcombustion.com

I’ve been waiting months for FC to reinstate or fix “image attachments”, to post photos here, I don’t have the time for 3rd party free photo hosting sites that go belly up in short order.

So check out the link, buy TWO, they are cheap, fill with balls, works great!

Your rig, reminds me of my Herbolizer small water rig, which is half filled with quartz balls, NO WATER, don’t have to clean very often, easy to see vapor performance real time, cools as good or better then my more expensive water rigs sitting on the shelf.

 

[GoGlass]

Hi RustyOldNail,

I imagine that i must be less tolerant to hot vapor than the vast majority here, because i have tried maybe 15 different ways to colling the vapor of my IO. I have tried with my Glass vaporgenie, with all kinds of tubes and drip tips (i have also bought the ULTON Rhino Dry Herb 510 Drip Tip !), with my Mighty cooling unit......The path for vapor must be sufficient for cooling, and drip tips are not enough long...for me.

I don't use water anymore in my bubblers, water give taste to my vapor after the second draw, and i dont like that.....

 

[vapviking]

My solution to hot hits in a unreliable vape like the Grasshopper has been to buy a Taffee Bowle. It took me three tries. First, I was willing to give up hopping when I got a VLeaf Go. Then I got an XMax V3 Pro and was fully liberated from my abusive relationship with Hopper Labs.
Now, the Bowle has fulfilled my quest for great, very cool vapor (with no add-ons at all).

I do have one working io left, but I will just as readily reach for any of the others mentioned above (or the Mighty). Two other io's are sitting in limbo waiting for months now for HL to let me know when to send them in, but I am (emotionally) fully over it with this vape.

 

[RustyOldNail]

My solution to hot hits in a unreliable vape like the Grasshopper has been to buy a Taffee Bowle. It took me three tries. First, I was willing to give up hopping when I got a VLeaf Go. Then I got an XMax V3 Pro and was fully liberated from my abusive relationship with Hopper Labs.
Now, the Bowle has fulfilled my quest for great, very cool vapor (with no add-ons at all).

I do have one working io left, but I will just as readily reach for any of the others mentioned above (or the Mighty). Two other io's are sitting in limbo waiting for months now for HL to let me know when to send them in, but I am (emotionally) fully over it with this vape.

I fully understand your position, I bought in very late. I have two working Titanium IO’s, when they eventually stop working I’ll send them in, assuming HL is still around. However, I won’t be buying anything else from them as I VALUE customer support. I have enough other devices as good or better, and I knew the potential HL issues before buying, and in the end, it will just be a lost gamble.

Your posts in this thread have been extremely helpful, I’ll continue to post here as long as my units continue to work, best of luck with the new devices.

 

[vapviking]

Your posts in this thread have been extremely helpful, I’ll continue to post here as long as my units continue to work, best of luck with the new devices.

Thanks.
I think I've sworn-off posting in this thread several times, so I won't say 'never' anymore. It is unfortunate that most of my posts here these days have contained some amount of negativity.

 

[RustyOldNail]

Thanks.
I think I've sworn-off posting in this thread several times, so I won't say 'never' anymore. It is unfortunate that most of my posts here these days have contained some amount of negativity.

I understand completely. When I was younger, I ranted a lot more. As you mentioned, once you take the “emotion” out of the equation, it’s just an unpleasant loss of time and money. I still suspect this is just a side hobby for HL.

 

[Vaporific]

I understand completely. When I was younger, I ranted a lot more. As you mentioned, once you take the “emotion” out of the equation, it’s just an unpleasant loss of time and money. I still suspect this is just a side hobby for HL.

You mean HL has real day jobs?

 

[jivebuggered]

Placed an order for a bubbler, some batteries and priority shipping over a week ago.

Nothing, no shipping email.

Emailed them to add in an additional front heater a few days ago, to arrange payment and to check on my open order.

Nothing, no reply as of yet.

Such a frustrating company to deal with!

I could not help my self I had to send them a "nasty" email so sick of there slack service. If I ever get my silicon mouthpieces great, if not they have ripped me for $40 either way I want NOTHING to do with them again. I still have 2 x1st gen hoppers one Ti the other SS. If they stuff up so be it I rarly use them now anyway. I need the MP for something different..

HL has them listed on hopperio.com - https://hopperio.com/collections/accessories/products/silicone-mouthpiece

Looks like you can order singles or packs of 5x

That is part or is Hopper Labs? I have already paid the bastards but then nothing except one email saying sending straight away. Dont start me!1

 

[vapviking]

That is part or is Hopper Labs? I have already paid the bastards but then nothing except one email saying sending straight away. Dont start me!1

Hl run 2 sites, supposedly transitioning from this one;

Home | Grasshopper

The Grasshopper is a revolutionary vaporizer, built and designed by a small group of engineers. It was our passion to bring the best technology available to the vaporizer market and that is exactly what we have done.

www.grasshoppervape.com

to the "newer" one;

Hopper io

www.thehopper.io

The change happened when they introduced the hopper io, but also curiously when they stopped using paypal. I don't know if there was any correlation. But they have not closed the original site, so it is confusing.
(Very strange that on the old site you can still order an og Grasshopper, the lead time listed at 2 to 4 days, and the price is exactly the same as an io.)

On the newer site, a banner warns all who enter;
Currently there are extended lead times for all products. Please only order if you are okay to wait.

So, that says it all. When even HL can admit, "We got nuthin', can't even drum up a box to send some of these silicone condoms," it is a sad statement. And they keep taking in money.

The last time we had dead air from HL was 2020, after the fire and battery debacle. Months and months went by, but they came back up, even were posting here about the new-new thing they had (re-)invented, the io.

It looks to me like they've fucked it all up again.

@jivebuggered, if you have a dire need, it looks like these folks have some (in Canada);

Hopper IO Silicone Mouthpiece

Hopper IO Silicone Mouthpiece $9.99 CAD - The Herb Cafe is an Authorized Retailer for Grasshopper products. Ships from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. No Duty! Fast and Free Shipping Available! Come check out Canada's largest catalog of top quality vaporizers and accessories!

theherbcafe.com

If you are not using them on Grasshopper, can you tell us what you do use them for? Maybe we can suggest some alternative.

 

[JBone65]

It's a fine spring morning. My $85 io is 19 months old today and still giving amazing hits. I wish everyone could say the same.

Have been reading and watching videos, for several years, wondering if I'll have to change horses at some point.

Wild guess: HL might be preparing to launch a refined model. If so, it will be interesting to see if they change tactics concerning the confusing lifetime warranty or if they just continue along the established path and convince customers to upgrade at cost.

HL is probably still in business because the original concept was (still is?) cutting edge, and because of the ineptitude of the competition. No other company seems able to improve upon existing designs and dominate the market. Sounds like the (relatively expensive) Tiny Might is still the best alternative. Not much has changed.

 

[Vaporific]

Sounds like the (relatively expensive) Tiny Might is still the best alternative. Not much has changed.

Both brand new, a Ti IO is about the same price as a Tinymight. I have both. I’ve already opined in the comparison thread the pros and cons of each. Agreed that much hasn’t changed with HL; they’ve gone dark again and we could only speculate. I’ll venture to guess the pandemic has again waylaid them either personally/physically (and I wish it on no one!) or supply chain wise. I’ll wager more on the latter however they’ve been down this road several times before and it’s like Lucy continually pulling the ball out from Charlie Brown’s feet when he tries to kick it. They’ve had poor ‘luck’ and poor business operations among other things. I doubt and sincerely hope they’re not working on a new main product before they can restore semblance to existing manufacturing and operations, but we’ll see. Let’s not forget the albatrosses of the steel case and battery charger that never came to fruition almost since their inception. Time will tell…

 

[vapviking]

It's a fine spring morning. My $85 io is 19 months old today and still giving amazing hits. I wish everyone could say the same.

Have been reading and watching videos, for several years, wondering if I'll have to change horses at some point.

Wild guess: HL might be preparing to launch a refined model. If so, it will be interesting to see if they change tactics concerning the confusing lifetime warranty or if they just continue along the established path and convince customers to upgrade at cost.

HL is probably still in business because the original concept was (still is?) cutting edge, and because of the ineptitude of the competition. No other company seems able to improve upon existing designs and dominate the market. Sounds like the (relatively expensive) Tiny Might is still the best alternative. Not much has changed.

More power to ya, you are lucky to have had a smooth ride, unfortunately there are far too many who can't say the same.

I'll just say that if these guys go ahead and launch yet another "refinement" I'll just shit when they offer me an "upgrade" from the io!

The original (& current) concept appears refined and expensive. Though it sometimes works really well, It has never been a success, imho. It is at best a near-miss. They first failed with the Zen Pen, even before the Grasshopper (failure) and now we have the io's dubious record? This vape does not "dominate the market".
There are lots of competitors doing a far better job in every regard.

I can see that the io is serving you well, you've been clear about that, but take a look at this new thread. Over 40 posts, many with multiple "daily drivers" and not a single mention of a Hopper. Okay, some are plug-ins, but...

What is your daily driver out of your arsenal?

Vapcaps with the ccd screen on the microdosing setting for my daily microdosing. The Dreamwood Glow 18 with a cooling mouthpiece for the daily convection hits.

fuckcombustion.com

 

[JBone65]

More power to ya, you are lucky to have had a smooth ride, unfortunately there are far too many who can't say the same.

I'll just say that if these guys go ahead and launch yet another "refinement" I'll just shit when they offer me an "upgrade" from the io!

The original (& current) concept appears refined and expensive. Though it sometimes works really well, It has never been a success, imho. It is at best a near-miss. They first failed with the Zen Pen, even before the Grasshopper (failure) and now we have the io's dubious record? This vape does not "dominate the market".
There are lots of competitors doing a far better job in every regard.

I can see that the io is serving you well, you've been clear about that, but take a look at this new thread. Over 40 posts, many with multiple "daily drivers" and not a single mention of a Hopper. Okay, some are plug-ins, but...

What is your daily driver out of your arsenal?

Vapcaps with the ccd screen on the microdosing setting for my daily microdosing. The Dreamwood Glow 18 with a cooling mouthpiece for the daily convection hits.

fuckcombustion.com

I tried to make the point that the portable flower vaporizer market is generally weak, but there probably would be a huge market if devices worked as advertised, were reasonably priced and there were more satisfied customers spreading the word. Companies are still selling (IMO bad) portable conduction devices that are overly complicated and expensive. It's buyer beware whichever way you go. The technology exists to make a better grasshopper. HL might be up to something, they own the patent, and there could be a gigantic market out there if they find the right formula. If they come up with something people like and want, what happened before will be less of a factor.

 

[vapviking]

I tried to make the point that the portable flower vaporizer market is generally weak, but there probably would be a huge market if devices worked as advertised, were reasonably priced and there were more satisfied customers spreading the word. Companies are still selling (IMO bad) portable conduction devices that are overly complicated and expensive. It's buyer beware whichever way you go. The technology exists to make a better grasshopper. HL might be up to something, they own the patent, and there could be a gigantic market out there if they find the right formula. If they come up with something people like and want, what happened before will be less of a factor.

Could it be that the market for portable flower vaporizers is actually robust, but there is such variety in what people look for in their consumption habits, maybe this is why no one company comes up with the true market-leading vaporizer. Maybe such broad demand is what allows hundreds of vapes to be on the market at all? Yeah, this leads to a lot of crappy vapes out there, but also some very, very good ones.

Some companies have hit decent combinations of features that resonate with a larger user base. I think Healthy Rips has a couple of extremely popular models, (Fury Edge, etc). Even pure conductions like Pax have strong sales. Both perform as advertised and can be had for under $200. These are off the top of my head, I don't mean this to start vape comparisons, per se.

It's been 5 months that my requests for repair and all other inquiries have been ignored. (I have -almost- always been polite in my correspondences.)

My history with Hopper goes back to pre-order days -- I pre-ordered 4 og's. I wanted to be supportive and see these young, bright guys succeed. Now, 6 years, 7 hoppers, 20+ warranty repair tickets and about $1800 later, I acknowledge that I have been in an abusive relationship. I truly don't give a f**k what they come up with next.

 

[Vaporific]

Could it be that the market for portable flower vaporizers is actually robust, but there is such variety in what people look for in their consumption habits, maybe this is why no one company comes up with the true market-leading vaporizer. Maybe such broad demand is what allows hundreds of vapes to be on the market at all? Yeah, this leads to a lot of crappy vapes out there, but also some very, very good ones.

I echo this sentiment. It seems like there are new vapes coming out every month, especially if you check the yet-to-be-released thread (or whatever it’s actually called, I don’t have it handy) here on FC. This includes dry herb types.

Speculative at best but I assume HL is (again) having supply chain issues supporting new sales and RMAs. Likely cash flow issues too but they may still be hanging around by the narrowest if threads at this point. I’ve rooted for them to succeed and stay afloat in the past but it’s hard to continually do this the way they operate and their both lack of presence herein and communication with customers.

On a more upbeat note I cleaned my newly acquired gently used TI body last night with ISO and let it dry. The backend threads were very dirty. Tonight I’ll apply Blu-Tac to all threads and give it go. I’m looking forward to a more freely screwing mouthpiece (native) than my slightly contorted heating chamber that I caused trying to remove it initially from the body to inspect and clean it. I learned my lesson: do not use pliers to remove the heating chamber!

 

[JBone65]

Could it be that the market for portable flower vaporizers is actually robust, but there is such variety in what people look for in their consumption habits, maybe this is why no one company comes up with the true market-leading vaporizer. Maybe such broad demand is what allows hundreds of vapes to be on the market at all? Yeah, this leads to a lot of crappy vapes out there, but also some very, very good ones.

Some companies have hit decent combinations of features that resonate with a larger user base. I think Healthy Rips has a couple of extremely popular models, (Fury Edge, etc). Even pure conductions like Pax have strong sales. Both perform as advertised and can be had for under $200. These are off the top of my head, I don't mean this to start vape comparisons, per se.

It's been 5 months that my requests for repair and all other inquiries have been ignored. (I have -almost- always been polite in my correspondences.)

My history with Hopper goes back to pre-order days -- I pre-ordered 4 og's. I wanted to be supportive and see these young, bright guys succeed. Now, 6 years, 7 hoppers, 20+ warranty repair tickets and about $1800 later, I acknowledge that I have been in an abusive relationship. I truly don't give a f**k what they come up with next.

All emotions aside, there might be 100,000,000 potheads worldwide who have the means to buy one - if they knew with certainty that it works amazing and that it will make their weed last longer.

The market does seem to be alive and growing, slowly. I know lots of folks that would enjoy a good portable flower vaporizer but they all use easier and more reliable options instead, like cartridge pens, live resin and combustion. I'm thinking a good portable unit has advantages over a desktop for many consumers.

Despite the many failings of HL, the fact that satisfied customers like me really do exist kind of proves the concept (to me anyway), it could be possible to capture a larger piece of that largely untapped market. Right or wrong, HL has accumulated some interesting experience.

The world needs improved portable vaporizers ASAP.

It's just a thought.

Edit: For instance, an improved design might include removable screens for easy cleaning. Simply replacing the words "lifetime warranty" with "limited warranty" in their ads might be more honest and consumers wouldn't expect as much. Obviously, CS and supply issues would need to be addressed. Yes, it's wishful thinking.

 

[AK-47]

Reading this while puffing some CBD with my hopper.

After almost a year the hopper IO is still the best vaporizer I ever had. Potentially ever have had. I don’t see big improvements from companies like S&B, Pax, Firefly, Davinci etc.

No one offers the combination of stealth, minimalistic design, convection heating and great flavor like the hopper IO.

I hope the guys find a great CEO that they can hire to help them. Customer Service sucks but their device is something else!

 

[vapviking]

I also posted this in the TB thread,

@Shit Snacks mentioned that the (Tafee Bowle) stem is a j-hook, with its 2 right angle turns.
This fit is not snug, but held at the right spot it works pretty nice!

[url=https://ibb.co/Lk89TGW] [/URL]

 

[Shit Snacks]

I also posted this in the TB thread,

@Shit Snacks mentioned that the (Tafee Bowle) stem is a j-hook, with its 2 right angle turns.
This fit is not snug, but held at the right spot it works pretty nice!

[url=https://ibb.co/Lk89TGW] [/URL]

Haha I wouldn't use it with the chamber pot, what's the point in that? I would actually use it with the standard hopper tip, and that silicone condom, to seal and hold it in one hand straight up? It's fun to use a glass right angled hook that way with the hopper although it would be best to have one with a tight parallel joint pointing straight up for the ultimate portability out and about to make the hopper actually usable at every temp...

 

[btka]

I also posted this in the TB thread,

@Shit Snacks mentioned that the (Tafee Bowle) stem is a j-hook, with its 2 right angle turns.
This fit is not snug, but held at the right spot it works pretty nice!

[url=https://ibb.co/Lk89TGW] [/URL]

would be great taffee cooling, pot system and hopper heating element, batteries (maybe not proprietary ones) in an different form factor... that would be a superb vape... ok hopper part of this vape would have to be reliable...

 

[WhyAreWeWaiting]

I still help people as much as possible but there is little I can do. I don't have access to their systems and have not had a debrief in some time on the state of affairs there. Last I spoke they had gotten through a lot of the backlog but not completely. In the past getting anodized parts for warranty was an issue. I suspect it still is. Happy to help wherever I can. Folks should be working through the portal on their case and product questions can be written to support@thehopper.io

I sent them one of my IOs last August for its umpteenth RMA. They never even acknowledged it. Another IO is also faulty, but no point in spending money on postage to send it back when you know you're being ignored. Avoid Hopper like the plague.

 

[vapviking]

Haha I wouldn't use it with the chamber pot, what's the point in that? I would actually use it with the standard hopper tip, and that silicone condom, to seal and hold it in one hand straight up? It's fun to use a glass right angled hook that way with the hopper although it would be best to have one with a tight parallel joint pointing straight up for the ultimate portability out and about to make the hopper actually usable at every temp...

The hopper silicone condom hits the bottom of the stem if used without a pot in place. Additionally, I've about sworn off of the standard mp's, having seen the insides, strictly pfe for me, wysiwyg.
The whole thing is less than perfect, just a first crack at it.
I was thinking that with a little sanding on a pot I could get it to mate better with the pfe.
I would try the stem's flat mp, maybe that would get hopper more comfortable distance from face...
But, yeah, it is really about the same cooling factor as the glass jhook I have.

 

[vapviking]

Crickets here in the hopper thread.

And still that ominous banner on the website;
Currently there are extended lead times for all products. Please only order if you are okay to wait.
I'm waiting 5 months now for some response to my service request.

Not even a 4/20 sale this year? This is not a good look...

Nevertheless, Happy 420 to All!

 

[someTooL]

Really hate reading about the situation with HL. Enjoyed both the SS and Ti io and hoped to someday replace. Missing a cultural day as today when your only business is to supply this culture is like Blockbuster video closing on movie day. Wait…