So I've had my Instaheat for a couple days now and OH MY it is wonderful.
Heating seems to be more even than the other high surface area heater I love.
Craftsmanship is superb as Alan's work always is.
Taste is also superb. I feared there'd be some loss of taste or too wood-y of taste with no glass surrounding the heater, but my fears were totally unfounded. I also never have to worry about breaking glass with this unit!
The dial on the bottom unit works well, but I've found little reason to move it much. I keep it exactly at 50% which is where it was at when Alan sent it. I get great, powerful, consistant hits. I originally wanted a voltmeter display of some sort but after using this a bit it would honestly be pointless. Makes more sense to "set it and forget it" for this manual vape.
The button is fantastic. Really nice feel too it and the right amount of travel.
The only con in this design is the intake holes, and how they effect ergonomics. With a regular log vape I hold it like a handle, hand completely wrapped around the unit. With the insta-heat, this covers up the intake holes and blocks airflow. So I must hold it more daintily and lower on the unit. No issues holding it this way, it's just an adjustment to my habits. And none of this will effect it while on a box mod.
I don't have a boxmod to test out the heater portably yet, so I can't comment on that.
Alan also sent his new portable stir/pick tool. It's similar to the ones he's always made but much shorter and includes a sheath. The pick slides out of the sheath, flips around, and slides back in. It's really well made and works flawlessly.
The glass insert in the 18mm wood stems is a really nice addition. Not only does it keep the wood cleaner, but you can slide it to different depths which makes the stem an adjustable-length stem.
I'm thrilled with this vape, it's instantly my new favorite and my daily driver.