Finally tried out the vortex stem.
First the appearance and quality,
Its the best/coolest looking stem in the lineup as far as im concerned, the "vortex" part in there just looks awesome to me, I had to get a mirror so i could watch the vapor collect in the small pathway and then come shooting out lol. The quality is excellent. No scratches, chips, anything. And i really like that they just have the PV "emblem" and not all the writing "PVHES shorty/turbo" etc. like the others. To me, while definitely not a deal breaker in any way, it adds unneeded attention to the stem.
Next up is the fit,
It fit in the unit perfectly before it heated up, once it heats up it wobbles a bit, its loose enough if i try and pick the Air up by the stem the stem just comes out, but not so loose if i hold it upside down it will drop out on its own... Unless i shake it a bit, then it will for sure. Not an issue for me as i dont vape while jumping up and down on my head ??
Last lets talk about function,
I noticed it takes just a little longer to start producing clouds than my turbo or shorty, im guessing this is because the thicker glass takes a bit longer to heat up. I was getting amazing flavor even before seeing any visible vapor though. Once it started producing clouds it kept producing them, and kept tasting great. I find it pretty similar/same to the turbo as far as clouds are concerned but it does seem to
somehow keep it tasting better. Maybe i just need to clean my turbo though LOL
I ran the first full session on green and noticed the stem only felt hot right above the vortex chamber, i ran the 2nd full session on red immediately following the first and the heat made it up to about 1/4" above the emblem. Plenty of room left of nice cool glass. The hits are also very cool during the entire 2 sessions.
In conclusion,
This is an excellent stem! It will replace my turbo, mainly due to the appearance honestly, and be paired with the shorty i shortened to 95mm. Vortex when im relaxing and have time to blow, and shorty for those quick sessions when I got work to do!!