Hi guys! Until last night I was set on getting a solo...but then another member pointed me to this thread. I am wondering how people who have owned both units feel about the pros and cons of each? I'm looking at aspects like performance (high tolerance), taste, portability, battery life and stealth (in that order but all are important). For full disclosure, I was also looking at the Ascent since I love it's form factor and all glass air path (flavor). Sadly those aren't available at the moment.
By the way, what was the issue that caused the redesign of the PNP?
Also I really really really want something that will work without me having to constantly fiddle with shit or worry that my unit might not work this time for whatever reason.
I own both the Solo and the Pinnacle Pro (and am happy to have both).
Performance
Both the Solo and the Pinnacle Pro get me nicely medicated, and I have a pretty high tolerance (I go through an eighth of flowers a week, at least...supplemented with wax/edibles). Both vapes offer a good range of temperatures, and are capable of producing big, visible vapor hits. I feel like the Pinnacle Pro is a little "easier" to hit, for lack of a better word. Maybe it's the relative lack of restricted draw? At any rate, I feel like I focus on draw speed more with the Solo. But they are both top notch vapes.
Taste
The Solo wins this one, hands down. The glass stems, while not terribly convenient, do offer great flavor. That said, the Pinnacle Pro is better testing than many other portables I've tried, for longer. I definitely like its taste much better than the iolite, Da Vinci, or the Pax. The first couple hits are quite nice, and it doesn't get to the burnt popcorn stage too quickly (unlike many conduction vapes).
Portability
The Pinnacle Pro definitely comes out on top for portability. It's very small. It easily fits into my pocket (girl jeans), although I more often carry it in my purse. The biggest portability challenge with the PNP is figuring out how to carry extra bullets. I use a pill container I bought at The Container Store. The Solo is wonderfully portable for carrying around the house, but I would never choose it over the PNP to take out of the house. You can easily carry glass stems with you in travel tubes such as those sold by PlanetVape, but obviously it's not as easy as just tossing the PNP in your bag.
Battery Life
This one goes to the Solo. The battery life is simply better. I feel like I can get at least 6-7 12-minute sessions from the Solo, versus 5-6 8-minute sessions from the PNP. To be fair, I've never sat down and timed things out exactly. But the Solo definitely lasts longer. That said, the PNP is designed out of the box to be used while charging. There is a power adapter you can buy for the Solo that will allow you to use it with a dead battery, but it's not a charger. My daily routine involves having four sessions with my Pinnacle Pro between the time I leave home in the morning and get home in the evening. The battery works for this. I could probably even get another session out of the battery (but instead I plug it in when I get home). Both vapes seem to charge relatively quickly.
Stealth
Pinnacle Pro, again. It's just so small! There's a slight smell as it heats up (same with the Solo, or any vape), but it's not overly obvious. I actually find the PNP to be excellent for stealth, especially when I'm wearing long sleeves. I hold the PNP inside my sleeve, with the mouthpiece just above my fingers...so it really just looks like I'm bringing my hand to my mouth when I'm drawing. I'm not advocating such things, but I actually used the Pinnacle Pro in Home Depot the other day (note: I wouldn't necessarily attempt this if I wasn't a patient living in a medical state!!). The only issue was figuring out where to blow the visible clouds of vapor. I don't consider the Solo to be stealth at all. There are things you can do to make it "stealthy" (like the adapter that allows you to hide it in a McDonald's-type cup), but that's not true stealth in my opinion.
Reliability
So far, both these vapes are rock-solid reliable for me.
You can't go wrong with either, in my opinion. It really boils down to what you want...better flavor/battery life, or more portability/stealth? If you often vape outside the house or in public situations, I'd recommend the PNP for sure. If not, the Solo may be more what you're looking for (or maybe not...I really do love the PNP just as much, in different ways).
I think you'll enjoy it.
![:\](/i/s/hmm.gif "Hmm :\")