Oh well, my box has arrived. Mine, and few other participants who
paid their fair share to have a fresh look on this highly anticipated beauty
As everyone else will probably do their best for a thorough test, let me be the
one, who takes the risk, and disassemble the device, for a better understanding.
I will explain most parts, the idea behind, the risks or downsides of use as well
as benfits and improvements of Imag Plus V2. I will have my opinion expressed on the
previously discussed open electronics as well as Chinese marketing strategies to have
a clearer picture overall to see what we really got here:
For those, who already used/using an Imag Plus V1 with the traditional PI (polyimide)
thermal film, there will be two obvious difference at first use (after you finished
"teaching" your battery, which I cannot stress how important is! See "User Guide"!)
First: the heating up time. Here the ceramic heating element is itself the chamber, as opposed to
the predecessor, where transfer of heat required, wasting energy, and time. Here it is a matter
of about 30 seconds to heat up, and only 10 sec +/- 3 sec to change, under room conditions.
I address this as a milestone in conduction vaping - embedded ceramic heater allows a much
more intense heating of the substance, this has a heavy impact on cloud density, in fact, now
the first, "blue" setting do have a good reason to be
The second is the considerably odour-free burn out sessions, before use. Burning out your unit is
always desirable, regardless to what make of a vaporizer you are about to try.
High end log-vapes for the enthusiast may give you the option of "use out of the box",
but these wonders of the East are designed for the dusty road, not for the connoisseurs.
Manufacturing processes are anything, but non-polluting. Couple hundreds of C° is.
Whatever reaction can be induced by heat it should be done before use, to avoid
possible by-products to be inhaled. However, no outgassing can be detected here,
nor a false scent during the very first heat up, which is promising, health-wise.
Only worth to mention the typical "factory new" smell right out of the box, which
may seem a little bit "sitting" in the entire packaging & unit, nothing obtrusive though.
Also a few to add as first impressions. I would love to see a more discreet packaging, to
be honest. I understand the cult arousing around this technology to be used with one
specific herb, and this obvious promotion of the device appears very loud on the front of
the box, in a clumsy jungle-ish environment, making it very indiscreet to be posted
through many, many hands. I am amongst the rare, whos smoking tobacco out of this unit,
and I found very uncomfortable to order a box with big Cannabis leaves on it. On a stealth vape.
Got it?
It is also a first impression that this company is really something emerging from the
market, as they do have a great communication practice, and delivering goods by fast
implementing user feedback gathered through relevant forums is really something speaking for itself!
Under the skin
Please do not try this at home, as you will void your warranty, and also most likely
kill your device aesthetically and practically as well. Thats my job
So look, what we got here. Around the cylindrical, resistor-embedded ceramic heating cup
I see an insulation consists of a black fibre material, and a few cm of a
Kapton tape,
to tie it down.
A very sympathetic design element is two heat-proof silicone rubber pieces intended to
confine the insulation, to stop filaments of fibre material to pollute the path of air.
The few filaments seen around the rim are also chanceless to enter, after assembly these
elastic pieces are forced to seal off both ends of the fibre. Also, I consider every
odourless, heat-proof silicone rubber material "medical-grade"
Thumbs up!
An obvious "leak on the boat" is a hole below the heating chamber, exposing most
electronic parts to the ventilation area. See my notes below on this specific subject.
Below notice the negligent painting on inner wall. I had this conversation earlier, I admit
loose paint can be nasty, though it's important to remain objective before considering
level of risks against paranoia. This applies very much for the open electronics "issue"
as well. As far as paint adhesion goes, there are numerous types. Bonds of polymeric coatings
to metallic substrates are amongst the strongest. In the unlikely event of a loose paint particle
falling off during inhalation, and rides a very fortunate stream to enter the chamber,
it is still a very important factor to consider: your substance filling the chamber.
And the sticky resins deposited thourough your unit. And the extra filtration.
I would add the fact, that it is highly unlikely for a carcinogenic particle to cause cancer
on contact of a body tissue, but honestly, I don't see a chance to get that far.
I like the counter-examples against overrated issues, so let me share one:
on a regular evening, before you pull off your sweater, change light conditions
to focus a beam through dark, than after getting changed, just have a look, how much dust
you see in the air. Those tiny flyers are most likely made of a polymer, and will have no
diffculties to enter your lungs
Trust yourself! Your body have considerable steps to take
to protect you
The upcoming carbon fibre body should eliminate this subject anyway...
To make a statement on how healthy or unhealthy is to inhale air in contact with such
items like printed circuit board, electronic components, solder material etc.:
the most important is to understand heat dissipation inside the device. The fibre
material does such a good job of absorbing heat, that the Kapton tape surrounding it does
not even heats unbearably hot for the fingers first time. After several minutes of max. heat
output I could measure around 140-155 C° at most -directly on surface, surrounding air will be
considerably cooler- this is a very desirable "comfort zone" for many plastics, adhesive resins,
and basically means nothing for materials designed specifically for heat.
This means no change in their structure, providing no reaction by-products.
Any bits getting loose or fall and entering vacuum when in use, should also be catched on the way,
during numerous filtration. A counter-example maybe? Hm.. have you ever thought of the air
pollution inside your laptop/PC/TV/etc., which evetually enters the same room where you are?
My only concern with the design, that it leaves great opportunity for foreign items to fall inside the unit;
I have a habit of using a needle to freshen tobacco during a vape session, needless to say that
recovering it was a primary reason behind this entire disassembly
Obvious solution is a copper strainer screen what you can install, one note on this, that you
should avoid any force insdie the chamber, as ceramic is very fragile.
To summerize the above, I think it is safe to say, that this device poses no considerable risk to health, by any means. In fact, it is a very favorable device for taking a huge leap towards
a much, much healthier approach of the good, old smoking habit!
A word on the mouthpiece: the set includes two of these, it is easy to take apart, and clean.
A piece of ceramic inside also favorable as it cools the vapor decently, also provides extra filtration,
but can be left out for better flow, or replaced with a cotton ball with a dip of menthol, or
maybe a pinch of fresh cut tobacco as an organic filter option - just great!
Allow me a
final thought on the Chinese vape market, as this device will (if not already do) have
set a substructure for many upcoming units. As traditional marketing strategies typical to the East
one succesful design will get cloned and re-branded to be sold with different marketing and pricing.
These rebrands are typically differs in aesthetics, some may offer practical improvements, such as
replaceable battery, better airpath designs or useless extras and cheaper components. For your
future reference: anything may come to your way from now, which shows similarities with Imag Plus,
will be an Imag Plus - in different clothes, hairstyle and makeup. And I am pretty sure that fakes
won't be far away. Don't get fooled, take your time and do your research
Get the Imag!
rld?
