sticks has already mentioned this, but it bears emphasizing: the original Indica sent to the beta testers was a disappointment. Frankly, the beta team was quite negative. We unanimously thought the Indica was doomed to be a failure. We were not prepared for
Indica and his determination to make a great product. Many manufacturers don't really conduct beta tests. Rather, they send out early release models but make no provision for changes.
Indica is not one of those. Instead, he took our criticisms on the chin and kept revising his design until he came up with something that really works. This, I think, is perhaps the most significant thing about the Indica: the manufacturer is open-minded, willing to accept criticism, and prepared to fix problems. I'm looking forward to seeing his next project. Meanwhile, back to the one at hand.
We felt that the Indica had to perform at levels comparable to the Pax, which is the big seller for this style of vapourizer. I'm here to reassure you that this goal was met. In fact, I think the Indica beats the Pax in some areas, namely temperature choice and ease of cleaning. In terms of vapour production, the Indica is at least as good as the Pax, and in my opinion, delivers better flavour.
The Indica is well packaged and arrives in a handsome wooden box. It includes spare spacers (which improve performance with small loads) and a second oven door, as well as the typical assortment of cleaning tools.
For those of you concerned about size, here's a comparison:
In terms of weight, the Pax weighs 93 g (3.3 oz), the Ascent weighs 193 g (6.8 oz), and the Indica weighs 154 g (5.4 oz).
The oven capacity is .22 g lightly packed. If you packed it tightly you could probably get it up to .25 g or so. I prefer small loads and it was important to me that the Indica could handle my standard .07 g.
Indica took that as a goal and hence the spacer was born. With the spacer, the Indica handles small loads with the best of them.
One of the things I found was that the ABV from the Indica is quite even, and darker than other devices at the same temperature. This would indicate great extraction. Despite the fact that the Indica, like other conduction vapourizers in this class, is heating the load constantly, I haven't noticed as much flavour degradation as I get from the Pax (for example).
I haven't done any testing to determine battery life, but one feature some of you will appreciate is that the Indica can be used while charging. I wound up having to do this for one of my tests and it does get a little warm to hold, but nothing bothersome.
Anyone looking for an alternative to the Pax that is much easier to maintain should give the Indica serious consideration. It's pocketable, attractive, and the manufacturer has gone all out to produce a great product. You can see
the rest of my Indica pics on my imgur page.
If you are fond of flipping the lid open and shut you will like this thing. It was designed to sound and feel just like it.
