Discontinued Magic Flight Launch Tube

[420Downunder]

I've ordered one, should be here in a week or so It looks like the perfect portable for me.

 

[Phaang]

OK, I just got mine, I'll give some quick first impressions, with a full review to follow.

Dealer was very quick, delivered in three days (west coast).
Product packaged well, little chance of breakage.
This device is a bit finicky, not as easy to use as implied from the website. Has a learning curve similar to other technical vaporizers I've experienced (Vapor Cannon, Da Buddha, Vapor Genie).
Will scorch/singe if too much is put on screen, or if battery left in contact too long. I have not dialed in the right combination of product amount/battery time. Until I do, I cannot comment on the quality of the hit. I have managed to get one good hit, but then it went to scorch mode and horrible, horrible combustion (beyond burnt popcorn). Despite specs claim, this device will combust. I actually saw small embers/sparks in the weed. This was from an oversized load. Initial trials hint that a small load is best, somewhere on the nature of 1/4 tsp of ground material or less. I also suspect finer grinds work best.

Again, I will have a full review with photos by the weekend.

 

[stickstones]

Sweet, Phaang...

 

[mrshock486]

Can't wait to hear further reviews. Awesome that you got it so fast.
Now go play and come back to us!

 

[JohnnyVape]

Go Phaang !! Can we get a daily dairy ? (Nano second culture i know)

 

[magicflight]

Hi Phaang,

In regards to the vape, it sounds like your unit might be running a bit hot.
In normal operation, the recommendation are:.
- use ground material (a medium fine ground is better),
- fill the tray to about the 2/3 level (as if using a one hit pipe),
- apply the battery to start heating while also drawing fairly slowly
and evenly in one continuous pull, for a duration of about 15 seconds,
and then stop.
- repeat as necessary.

The temperature attained is a balance of
how much material is used (more makes hotter, less is cooler and quicker),
how quickly the air is drawn thru (more air or a faster draw has a cooling effect),
and how long the connection is maintained (15 seconds is usually best).

If you are getting ANY combustion or even scorch within a
15 second heating period, then clearly somehow you received a unit
out of calibration. Just to be sure, I have already contacted both our
distributor and manufacturing. You should be hearing from our
distributor shortly -- we are sending you another unit (free) so that
everyone can be sure that you are getting the expected behavior.

Normally, we expect that from a single filling, we should be able to
get between one and three hits only. The endpoint is signaled by
the user preferred taste, at which point, the unit should be reloaded.

Again, if you have any problems with the unit, we will absolutely
do whatever it takes to make it work right.

-- MagicFlight

OK, I just got mine, I'll give some quick first impressions, with a full review to follow.

Dealer was very quick, delivered in three days (west coast).
Product packaged well, little chance of breakage.
This device is a bit finicky, not as easy to use as implied from the website. Has a learning curve similar to other technical vaporizers I've experienced (Vapor Cannon, Da Buddha, Vapor Genie).
Will scorch/singe if too much is put on screen, or if battery left in contact too long. I have not dialed in the right combination of product amount/battery time. Until I do, I cannot comment on the quality of the hit. I have managed to get one good hit, but then it went to scorch mode and horrible, horrible combustion (beyond burnt popcorn). Despite specs claim, this device will combust. I actually saw small embers/sparks in the weed. This was from an oversized load. Initial trials hint that a small load is best, somewhere on the nature of 1/4 tsp of ground material or less. I also suspect finer grinds work best.

Again, I will have a full review with photos by the weekend.

 

[Survivalism]

Amazing magicflight, making me want one of these bad boys..

 

[magicflight]

I've ordered one, should be here in a week or so It looks like the perfect portable for me.

Hi,

Although we usually ship within 24 hours of receiving an order, due to the import customs service associated with various international orders, we have been unable to guarantee that the unit arrives within a week. We have had an order to the UK held up for nearly 3 weeks in customs! At least two orders that we have already shipped to Canada have also been delayed for nearly a week now, even though we routinely ship using priority mail. Delays in order processing associated with customs is something which is well outside of our control, regardless of our wishes, unfortunately.

As things progress, it is our plan to eventually also have a distributor located in Canada, from which we can ship directly, thus saving time waiting for Customs to process the shipment.

-- MagicFlight

 

[420Downunder]

Makes me happy to know I'll have such fantastic customer support available when mine arrives

 

[Phaang]

Wow! Nice response! I will check both units against each other and see if there is consistent behavior. I'll postpone my review until after I get the new unit. Please note, all, that I will be traveling all of next week, so if the unit comes after the weekend, you'll have to wait another week for a review.

 

[josh]

The customer service and support definitely seems top notch. This product is looking better every day. I, like many others, am just waiting on that full FC review that I know we will be getting soon, but it certainly looks like this is one to get.

 

[Hennessy1414]

Phaang

Dont be shy on the "defective" unit. it could possibly be your technique, but who know

keep on trying and that would be quite nice if we could get a daily mini diary on the vape

 

[Phaang]

Yep. I'm still trying it out. It may have simply been user error, I did pack the screen pretty dense. I will not post any final review until I get the second unit, just to make sure there isn't a defect in the product.

I could post a daily diary, except it would be filled with "tried the launch tube, it produced some vapor, I scorched the weed; set up my DBV and got high from that". I just don't have time this week to give the kind of attention this needs.

I am going to really put the device through its paces this weekend, hopefully the replacement will be in my hands by then.


one other thing to note about the Launch Tube...it is a pretty delicate little fella, so keep that in mind when you are eyeing to purchase it.

 

[Phaang]

Launch Tube Porn

While waiting for the performance review, I thought I would put up some photos of the construction of the Launch Tube.

Here is what came in the mail (sans packaging materials):

Plain White Box, one page instruction sheet (basically same as what's on manufacturer's website), Launch Tube, battery charger, (2) 2600mAh NiMH batteries

Here is the unit fully assembled:



Details of construction:

Glass half-installed, notice the spring tensioning spars that push out against the glass once the glass tube is slipped on-nice touch


Bottom view of the those spring tensioning clips


Brand brand on end


Detail of interior-1. spring clip 2. electrode copper "rail" 3. mesh screen


Screen detail


Loaded unit

I think this is actually under-loaded, but until I get my replacement, I don't know for sure proper loading.

Hope this slakes some of the info-appetite that's out there.

 

[Acolyte of Zinglon]

is it something where you would be comfortable carrying it in your pants pocket just as an everyday thing? or would it be much better to keep it inside say, a hard glasses case for protection

what seems to be the part that would give the most trouble? (i would guess the screen or the glass, when/if i order it, ill also order a couple spare glass tubes)

also, how tough is the draw stem, would i be best to order a couple replacements for that? what diameter is it? would it be possible to cut it short then run a silicone tube?

 

[stickstones]

AofZ, I think the manufacturer said they will replace parts that break. Correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[Acolyte of Zinglon]

they sell replacement glass, draw stems, and battery holders, so id think that its the heating unit its self that they replace under warranty, at least thats what i assumed, im going to have to go back and read the post on warranty info

edit: i guess il just wait for magic flight to come and clear this up

 

[Phaang]

is it something where you would be comfortable carrying it in your pants pocket just as an everyday thing? or would it be much better to keep it inside say, a hard glasses case for protection

what seems to be the part that would give the most trouble? (i would guess the screen or the glass, when/if i order it, ill also order a couple spare glass tubes)

also, how tough is the draw stem, would i be best to order a couple replacements for that? what diameter is it? would it be possible to cut it short then run a silicone tube?

I'd carry it in a coat pocket, but maybe not your pants pocket. The pyrex sleeve, the (relatively) thin wood, prongs of metal--this is not tight-pocket-friendly. Having said all that, this is a robust device, just not rugged. Keep it inside a carrying case would be my advice.

The outer glass sleeve is probably the most problematic as it is something you have to handle constantly while operating this device. You have to remove the sleeve every time you load, so there is further opportunity to drop or misplace it. The screen is a tough SS mesh, but it could either detach or get warped/broken if one pokes too hard at it while loading.

The stem is 1/4" (7mm) OD. It's hard acrylic, so you could throw it against the wall and it would just bounce. You could easily cut it short and attach an appropriate whip, but I don't know that there would be any advantage to that. The vapor (so far as I can test) is pretty cool by the time it reaches your mouth from the longish stem. Also, the unit is small and is definitely a two-handed operation (swinging the battery into contact, holding it, then swinging it away, all while holding with the other hand). Not sure what the tube would do other than extend the available condensation path.

Edit: Manufacturer is obviously eager to establish itself as a good producer of product. They have been exceptional at customer service so far. They are already replacing my first possibly defective unit, as well as an extra pyrex sleeve as mine had micro-cracks on the cut edge. I would trust them to come through on any defect replacement.

 

[Acolyte of Zinglon]

thank you phaang
i think the main advantage with the flexible tubing would be stealth, as you could run the tubing up a sleeve and thereby not have to raise the unit to take a hit
i think i will order an extra draw stem for this purpose

edit: yes, defect replacemrnt, but we cant really expect them as a company to replace the glass under warranty because a user dropped it, its great if they would, but they do offer replacement parts at a reasonable price (the glass is $4, the most expensive part is the battery holder at $7, but thats also the least likely ppart to break)

 

[Phaang]

One thing about stealth AofZ: there is no provision to hold the weed in the screen while traveling, moving about, etc. So, part of the vaping process is actually loading the screen, which, due to it's small size and delicacy, you need to pay some attention to. You'll have to pinch your load, slide the sleeve, drop the load onto the screen, move it around a bit with your finger or poking device to settle it into the screen, then close the sleeve and get ready to rotate the battery into place. Tough to do all that without someone wondering what you were doing with your busy hands all hunched over your lap! LOL. Nice idea with the hose up the sleeve, though!

 

[magicflight]

Hi,

We warranty all parts, including the glass, even if its broken due to user error.
We will send a direct replacement, or if such becomes available, an upgrade,
(depending on user needs).

-- MagicFlight

they sell replacement glass, draw stems, and battery holders, so id think that its the heating unit its self that they replace under warranty, at least thats what i assumed, im going to have to go back and read the post on warranty info

edit: i guess il just wait for magic flight to come and clear this up

 

[CapnVape]

Hi,

We warranty all parts, including the glass, even if its broken due to user error.
We will send a direct replacement, or if such becomes available, an upgrade,
(depending on user needs).

This is the best warranty I have ever heard of. I mean who covers user error, that's incredible.

 

[Bananiq]

yea really superior warranty service. I wish every manufacturer offer this.
CapnVape: what i know, only koss have life-time warranty caused also by user's error

 

[magicflight]

Hi,

Actually, we will replace broken glass even if it was broken because the user dropped it. Our reasoning is that the glass is necessary to operate the unit, and we would prefer to have people use it than to have it sit unused on a shelf. Part of our sustainable environment and business philosophy is to not create more trash -- our product unused and unloved does no one any good. It is also inherent in any sort of sustainable system to have cooperation and some degree of mutual trust. We are therefore willing to
support the majority of users, even at the risk of possible abuse by a small minority.

-- Magic-Flight

edit: yes, defect replacemrnt, but we cant really expect them as a company to replace the glass under warranty because a user dropped it, its great if they would, but they do offer replacement parts at a reasonable price (the glass is $4, the most expensive part is the battery holder at $7, but thats also the least likely ppart to break)

 

[stonemonkey55]

magicflight - that is awesome, I will be ordering one shortly. We'd like to offer the same replacement for our glass but the cost is mostly in the labor of blowing the glass than the glass itself :/

Part of our sustainable environment and business philosophy is to not create more trash -- our product unused and unloved does no one any good. It is also inherent in any sort of sustainable system to have cooperation and some degree of mutual trust.

Right on! I love that philosophy, esp the mutual trust part! You guys are gonna do well!