Proud owner of a Z8, Ryan’s first iteration in ZC so its design is a bit different and it’s older than the ZX. I’ve taken the heater off its coil and had a look inside with a magnifying glass and a jewellers loupe. This was after a year of hardcore using it exclusively, about six months ago. There was some grey marks on the outside from the coil (the Z8 is white) and Barkeeper’s Friend made quick work of those but otherwise it was as pristine as it arrived. Using the loupe, there wasn’t a scratch, hairline crack or micro fissure anywhere on the outside. Using a high-intensity magnifying lamp, I looked inside and saw nothing but smooth white surface. Not surprised at that honestly, since any heat-related damage would begin on the outside where the coil is. Didn’t think about using my USB microscope at the time but honestly don’t think it would have revealed anything more.
So that’s all I can tell you from a factual standpoint about the materials that Phase3 uses. I can’t speak to any other seller’s products or where they sourced their materials and chose the shop that tooled their products. There was one manufacturer who rushed out a ZC device to capitalise on the initial enthusiasm for the Z8, however they did not have Ryan’s R&D knowledge or relationship with a reputable overseas manufacturer. The result was a janky, ugly looking facsimile of the Phase3 product imo and I’m not surprised if there‘s been quality issues with some owners simply because it was such a rushed, reactionary product with very little thought and effort put into it.
I think a lot of concern comes from a misconception some people have about the word “ceramic”, this material has properties unlike any traditional ceramic material one might be familiar with. Some people base their decision making on some vague assumption, like “I dunno dude, I just feel like…” but with no actual evidence or reasoning, and then that same person will do absolutely zero research. Even though they’re holding a supercomputer with easy access to the sum of mankind’s knowledge. But they will put their ignorance out there as fact or even worthy of discussion, all day and night. The internet was meant to make humanity more intelligent through the easy dissemination of information and scientific knowledge but obviously that’s not been the case; as a species, we’re still as apt to be as fucking dumb as we’ve ever been.