Discontinued Hopper io

vapviking

Old & In the Way
You're probably better off investing in a Nitecore digital charger. A lot less hassle charging batteries so you have spares on standby.
These days I tend to keep my "spare batteries" in multiple vapes. I have two outboard chargers I've been trying to use less and less.
I grew tired of unscrewing and screwing grasshopper back ends - for battery swaps and sometimes to improve the connection.
Occasionally I do get the hopper all set with several extra batts for a road trip or something, but usually I'm rotating between several other vapes and I love them all! (Splinter, Milaana3, Go, Mighty, 2 Grasshoppers - see what I mean? And with all but the M3 I tend to leave batts in and just pop the device on a charger. My charging area is a pretty crowded arrangement.)
 

The Chemist

New member but long time lurker
If you want to start a new way to vape using these you are welcome to try but I'm not so sure the results will be good :lol:. My stuff is made of glass, It's just the way they called them at Planetvape. I've put them in water a lot of times and they never grew in size, unless I was too medicated to notice? :hmm:
 

ByetheRye

Member
You're probably better off investing in a Nitecore digital charger. A lot less hassle charging batteries so you have spares on standby.
I’m super interested in this. Do you have a link to the appropriate one? Google brings up at least 1,789,200 results. Much appreciated my friend!
 
ByetheRye,

The Chemist

New member but long time lurker
The key is to keep doing it regularly and it should not take long to do the clean up of your vape or your glass. The thing is, I know each time I clean something there's potential for me to screw up and break it so it's a balancing act between keeping the thing clean enough so it will be easy to do and do it the least amount of times possible to reduce the chance of disaster. A quick cleaning with a brush after each session is enough for me, in the beginning I tried, I really tried to clean everything everyday but... laziness. :D
 

MoltenTiger

Well-Known Member
They look like orbeez or whatever, little polymer balls that swell with water and greatly expand in size. Actually would be an interesting addition to a vape piece.

Google says they are "made of acrylic acid, sodium hydroxide and water, to which color pigmentation is added to give more variety of nuances. It is the water molecules that make Orbeez grow."

The Canadian Winter is using solid beads of borosilicate.

You can get glass marbles or glass pebbles used for supporting flowers in a vase, these will be soda lime glass, but functionally similar enough.

A while back 'diffuser beads' were a packaged accesory for glass bongs, but that search term has also been compromised by the existence of the polymer balls too, where they're used to absorb essential oils to slowly release fragrance.

A bunch of small gemstones would be a neat alternative


I’m super interested in this. Do you have a link to the appropriate one? Google brings up at least 1,789,200 results. Much appreciated my friend!

I recommend the Xtar MC2 for the following reasons:

- closely matches specs to the mains/DC efest option that HL linked to before the magnetic charger was in full swing
- uses USB Micro-B for power rather than a DC jack, allowing portable use (battery bank) and simple international adaptability
- fits the Hopper batteries extremely well without any mucking around
- will not overcharge the Hopper battery, even if left on the charger. It sends a magnitude less current to a charged cell than the more expensive, less suited, Nitecore models. Leaving charged cells on charge for many hours isn't a huge problem with the Xtar MC2, which is a nice peace of mind for easy care-free charging
- it's really small and portable, which goes well with the Hopper kit. Especially if considering single cell charging with the Xtar MC1

note that these are all older models, and the newer Xtar MC2 Plus design will fast charge the GHBs because of their length. Due to the low capacity, a less intense curve will offer more cycles and is the way to go. ~1.25hrs to charge.

If you don't already have a cylindrical Li-ion charger, and only need a 2-bay (or a Hopper charger), then the MC2 is perfect - extremely high quality and the value is next to none.

Unfortunately it's getting harder to find the older models as they are getting bought up and probably aren't in production any more.

here is the single bay ultra portable MC1: https://www.banggood.com/XTAR-MC1-18650-14500-26650-Battery-Micro-USB-Smart-Charger-p-954099.html under $10 USD

MC2 is sort of a drop ship type item at this point, but they can still be found for 6-20 bucks https://www.amazon.com/XTAR-MC2-Charger-Black/dp/B00MS4U5BU
 
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Michel

Well-Known Member
@VGOODIEZ
The hopper io pictures in your online shop, are they taken from a SS or plain Ti? The finishing looks better than my plain Ti OG I had in 2016.

Edit: if there is anybody who unexpectedly owns both units and could upload some high quality pictures I would be very thankful. It drives me nuts because I can’t decide between SS and Ti since hopper started shipping in may/june. the colored units aren’t shipping yet, so I bought a Tinymight to tide me over and cure VAS a little...

I had originally a plain, blue and grey Ti... didn’t like the look and feel of the plain Ti and think I might go for the SS this time, but @VGOODIEZ pictures made me think twice
 
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ByetheRye

Member
@VGOODIEZ
The hopper io pictures in your online shop, are they taken from a SS or plain Ti? The finishing looks better than my plain Ti OG I had in 2016.

Edit: if there is anybody who unexpectedly owns both units and could upload some high quality pictures I would be very thankful. It drives me nuts because I can’t decide between SS and Ti since hopper started shipping in may/june. the colored units aren’t shipping yet, so I bought a Tinymight to tide me over and cure VAS a little...

I had originally a plain, blue and grey Ti... didn’t like the look and feel of the plain Ti and think I might go for the SS this time, but @VGOODIEZ pictures made me think twice
I posted a review with some pics of my SS on the Grasshopper Reddit
 

Baron23

Well-Known Member
If you want to start a new way to vape using these you are welcome to try but I'm not so sure the results will be good :lol:. My stuff is made of glass, It's just the way they called them at Planetvape. I've put them in water a lot of times and they never grew in size, unless I was too medicated to notice? :hmm:
Ooops, didn't read the whole thing. haha

But there are glass beads available from craft and hobby suppliers....I just picked the wrong one to show you! haha

Cheers
 

Michel

Well-Known Member
I posted a review with some pics of my SS on the Grasshopper Reddit

Only found your review and 1 picture which doesn’t focus the hopper but meadow in the back.

I found a lot of pictures online but never any information which version it is...
 
Michel,

vapviking

Old & In the Way
@VGOODIEZ
The hopper io pictures in your online shop, are they taken from a SS or plain Ti? The finishing looks better than my plain Ti OG I had in 2016.

Edit: if there is anybody who unexpectedly owns both units and could upload some high quality pictures I would be very thankful. It drives me nuts because I can’t decide between SS and Ti since hopper started shipping in may/june. the colored units aren’t shipping yet, so I bought a Tinymight to tide me over and cure VAS a little...

I had originally a plain, blue and grey Ti... didn’t like the look and feel of the plain Ti and think I might go for the SS this time, but @VGOODIEZ pictures made me think twice
I don't have the pics you want, but I also felt a (very minor) disappointment with my ti Grasshopper (which I still have, though its' draw is real tight now so I rarely use it). The ss ring just cries out to be ti, but it never will be. Tragic, though probably some logical "necessary evil", to use a term in the news today.
All the ti models show some amount of ss on the outside and this has been a turn-off for me. Of course, many folks love them and consider it a design accent, I suppose.
A brand new ss io is a thing of beauty; sleek and uniform in look. Mine now sports a ss pfe and a ss short drip tip and looks great. They wear-in great over time as well.
 
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Michel

Well-Known Member

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Michel,

slozukimc

Well-Known Member
My bad. Somehow, when on the mobile phone, I can only see one pic. In desktop Mode the 4 pics are visible. Thanks!




What do you think, SS or Ti? I would guess Ti but it doesn’t look like the plain OG Ti I had...
That pic is Ti. You can tell because the ring on the back end and the exposed part of the front end are different than the body and the part of the back end with the markings.
 

VGOODIEZ

Home of the Heavies
Retailer
That pic is Ti. You can tell because the ring on the back end and the exposed part of the front end are different than the body and the part of the back end with the markings.
Yes it's Ti. I didn't have SS at the time listings were created. At some point I'll find time to update.
 
VGOODIEZ,
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Michel

Well-Known Member
Ok thank you all for your help. It was a picture from 420edc.com which made me unsure about materials since the author says both units are Ti‘s. The color difference might come from the lightning...
 

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VGOODIEZ

Home of the Heavies
Retailer
Ok thank you all for your help. It was a picture from 420edc.com which made me unsure about materials since the author says both units are Ti‘s. The color difference might come from the lightning...
Yeah the SS is a nicer finish IMO. I honestly didn't think anyone would notice in the pics but you guys don't miss a thing!
 

MoltenTiger

Well-Known Member
What about the Xtar VC2? As good or nah?
I remember someone on reddit said it doesn't completely cut off after the batteries are full. I like the info on the VC2 display, that's why I got it.
No it's not as good. It is otherwise a good looking charger, however it is best suited for larger capacity cells but it could be used carefully to good result.

The main concern I have is the charge current to a 4.2V cell.

VC2 Measurements
  • When charging the last digit in the capacity displays will flash.
  • The charger will charge with 2.4mA from 0 volt and display will show "Err"
  • At 0.2 volt it will start charging with 340mA (It will be down to 180mA 2.9 volt) at and display will show mAh.
  • At 2.9 volt regular charge current will be applied.
  • When charging two batteries with reduced current, they may not charge at the same speed.
  • When charge is finished the charger will charge with 0.3mA.
  • Charger will restart if voltage drops to 3.9 volt.
  • Charge will restart charging after power loss, or battery insertion.
  • When not connected to power it will drain about 0.1mA from a battery.
  • Current dial will show maximum possible charge current, not actual charge current.
  • Charge current steps down if usb voltage drops too much and may step up if usb voltage recovers (Like when one slot is finished).
  • Voltage dial will show within 0.1 volt when voltage is above 3.5 volt, between 4.1V and 4.2V is does also have a 4.15V position.
  • Voltage dial is within 0.1 volt when voltage is above 3.5 volt.
  • The 3 volt position on the voltage dial looks like it signals "start of regular charge", i.e. 2.9 volt.
  • mAh display flashes "Full" when the corresponding battery is full.
  • The background light will flash when at least one battery is full.

The GHB cell wouldn't go as low as 2.9V so it will receive the full charge current of just 0.5A, which is good. However once it's full it will continue to charge at 0.0003A - which might not be much but it's far from 0.

The MC2 Measurements
  • Discharges with less than 0.001mA when not connected to power
  • Charges with less than 0.005mA when LiIon battery is full.
  • Will restart if battery voltage drops below 4.12 volt.
  • Below 2.85 volt the charger will charge with about 70mA
  • Above 2.85 volt it will apply regular charge current.
  • Charge will restart charging after power loss, but not on battery insertion.
  • Charger will reduce charge current when usb voltage is below 4.7 volt.

The MC2 throws 98% less current to an already charged cell. If you leave a charged up cell in the VC2 for 1 minute it will overcharge the cell to an extent that would require about 1 hour of neglect with the MC2.

If you can be bothered watching things like a hawk, at least it charges conservatively, plus it has a little TV screen.

The MC2 has proven for me to be the best quality cheap China tech item I've ever bought. Xtar unknowingly made a perfect hopper charger basically. The VC2 is still better than most, just gotta be more careful. At least the GHBs will fit snug, and it's nearly as portable.
 
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