Yeah, I'll second the Launch Box. I have had mine for almost a year now, I got the final final revision before they implemented the ball-catch and it's been working fine since the first hit. I haven't used it for a total of 2 days out of the 10+ months. Most days it sees approximately two "full" trenches usually divided into 3 equal loads. My average daily use doesn't go past .25 on the heavy days. My "heavy days" include treating joint pain, nausea, depression, and now apparently a torn rotator cuff. Trench 1 of the day right now, about halfway through, and it's doing its work. The taste is fantastic, although this isn't a totally "clean" vapor path. Wood, stainless steel, and if you want, acrylic or glass for the stem, and what appears to be food-grade silicone tubing for the whip. You cannot clean this completely once you use it due to the nature of the device, unlike ThermoVape's products which you can completely clean and even boil if you feel driven or have the necessity of cleaning it that thoroughly. I know for sure that the ThermoVape Ultra with the AVA will be my next piece, I've decided to hold off on flower vapes since my Launch Box continually surprises me even after my tolerance build-up (been vaping medical since the end of March, everyday.)
However, and this is the biggest however for this piece, you HAVE to have your technique down for it to work optimally. You cannot just half-ass this one, there's a pretty specific way to use it and it will drastically decline in quality/end-user experience if you don't do it.
I've used a few desktop vapes and although I do enjoy using them, I have the peace of mind knowing that if all else fails, I still have my box. And lemme tell you, it's small enough that I fall asleep with it in my pocket and I don't even realize till I wake up the next morning. It's small enough that I can put it under my spare pillow, with a brand new load and a charged battery, and have confidence in knowing that if I wake up at 3 am on the verge of throwing up, I've got vapor only about 5 seconds away.
Okay, enough about the LB, there are other alternatives to it! For instance, the Solo has a small form factor (think 8.4 ounce Red Bull can... then a little smaller) and the few friends that I know and talk to often that own one absolutely love it. It was my second choice of vaporizer if the LB wasn't available. The Pax and Inhalator are also both good portables, with the Pax being bigger on aesthetics and the Inh beating it out on consumption/efficiency according to owners of both.