The Predator Review
The Predator Vaporizer is manufactured by 420 Lenny out of Oceanside, CA. The cost on the vaporizer and included Predator carrying case is $299.99 shipped from VapeWorld.com. This review will hit on the main parts of The Predator vaporizer just in time for it being VapeWorld.coms Vaporizer of the Month for April 2010.
The parts and accessories that are included with The Predator Vaporizer are great additions and really add a ton of value to the vaporizer. This includes a nozzle cleaning solution, cotton swabs and container, air tight stash disk, acrylic 4 piece herb grinder, aromatherapy bowl, aromatherapy essential-oils (if you are into this type of thing), super solid carrying case and a decent set of instructions.
Durability/ Claims:
420 Lenny gives you a limited lifetime warranty on The Predator Vaporizer. This limited lifetime warranty covers electrical and heating system failures and is intended for the original purchaser. Vape World has had zero returns on The Predator Vaporizer but we have only been selling them for about a month, we have heard one complaint that the Titanium models silicone top arriving scratched the silicone surface scratches very easily is what we came to find out. Our demo model was left on with the locking wand still attached (we will get into that later in the review) for over 24 hours with no issues except a blackening around the heater cover screen something our 420 Cleaner Soak -N- Rinse couldnt remove 100%... but other than that no issues so far.
Design
When VapeWorld.com first received pictures of The Predator we were blown away finally a vaporizer that looks great something out of Transformers, an actual piece of art, then we saw it in person The renderings we saw beforehand were just that renderings put together on a computer. Those pictures made it look like the unit was all metal with sharp colors and great lines. The actual Predator Vaporizer does include some metal a nice sturdy CNC machined base, but the unit itself is made of an ABS type black plastic injection molded housing with the colored part of the unit being a rubbery silicone type material (the rubbery colored part also scratches easily so be careful).
The rubbery silicone colored part of The Predator works as a good grip if you wish to grab the vaporizer, but a table top electric vaporizer doesnt get moved enough for that to be considered a plus point in this review. If the unit was made of quality metals, or even 420 Lennys original idea carbon fiber then this couldve been the best looking/coolest vaporizer on the market just the plastic shell reduces its price point of $300 and overall visual flair of the original renderings. The only plastic injection molded shelled devices we carry are the Vapir line of vaporizers; the Vapir One 5.0 more specifically is half the price and fills balloons, something The Predator does not do. Lets not get confused The Predator is a much better vaporizer than the Vapir line. The lifetime warranty, the heating time and quality of components we were just bringing up the plastic housing as a comparison we just wish it wouldve been made out of something more solid.
The heat-up time on The Predator is okay 3-4 minutes to get to the temperature 420 Lenny suggests where the dial is pointed to 12 oclock. We found that the 12 oclock position is just not hot enough to get a good amount of vapor we actually turned up the heat all the way to get our normal visual vapor out of it, in return our herb went much quicker to the burnt popcorn taste but we did get some decent vapor hits out of it once the heat was higher.
The Predator also comes with 2 LEDs inside the opening of unit which are super bright and makes the unit look like 2 eyes staring at you cool stuff. There is even a switch to turn them off. They are supposed to dim if the unit gets too hot but we never really noticed them doing that even at the temperature knob all the way up, not saying it doesnt happen just that it wasnt something that we paid attention to.
The heating element 420 Lenny chose for The Predator is made out of stainless steel which leads to a much longer life span than a ceramic heating element but it definitely takes longer to heat up. Read the Taste section below to see if the metal affects the flavor of your herbs in The Predator.
A great new innovation with The Predator is the first ever locking wand system. The Predator simply uses a paper clip sized metal ring that locks onto the back of the Ground Glass Heater cover tip which in turn is attached to the wand. Great! No more broken wands from them falling out and no more herbs falling on the floor from an accidental yank of the wand and it being pulled out of your vaporizer.
The Predator only comes in a Hands Free option with ground glass and the locking wand system. To remove the wand from The Predator you simply push in the top section of the wand and it expands the paper clip locking device allowing it to be pulled off from the heater cover. The only issue with the locking system is that the part you must press in to release the wand gets HOT. Burn your hands hot, so you must be quick or have some form of pain tolerance for your hands. Once the metal clip is broken-in more it becomes much easier to remove from the heater cover but the part still gets hot every time.
Cleaning the unit is not difficult; the heater cover comes right out and can be soaked to remove any kind of build up. The black build-up we acquired on our heater cover tip wont 100% go away, doesnt affect anything but since its under the glass it mustve been caused by the initial heating of the stainless steel heating element. The screen cannot be removed in the wand so Im guessing eventually you will have to soak the whole thing to get it all clean. A q-tip with the included Predator vaporizer cleaner solution works well enough to clean the herb chamber part and the top of the screen but resign does build up under that screen thats where the soaking would come into play. 420 Lenny mentions that the mouthpiece and tubing are dishwasher safe never any mention about removal of the wand from the tubing not sure if we would want to put the whole wand in the dish washer. We actually twisted the tubing a couple times and pulled the wand off to test it, the wand is held on to a small piece of black plastic on the underside of the screen. Inserting the tube back into the wand is a pain probably why they dont suggest you taking it off, or give you instructions on how to do so. We ended up pushing onto the top of the screen in the wand while pushing the tube in and it finally slipped over the black bottom piece.
The travel case included with The Predator is perfect! Super hard shell in sleek black material. Fits The Predator and all of the included accessories perfectly and doesnt look like you are carrying around a vaporizer. Great job on the case 420 Lenny!
Taste
A couple of the guys here at Vape World thought the initial taste from the tubing and mouthpiece was gross in their words the taste of tubing was almost enough to turn them off from using it again. Personally it is probably just the new taste of a new vaporizer manufacturing processes and maybe the tubing is from another country shipped in (assuming cost effectiveness).
Once the initial indifferent taste of the vaporizer passes, only takes a few vaporizer sessions, we all agree the vapor taste is good on par with most basic vaporizers at the $300 and under price range. The taste was good but it wasnt great either for example a couple of vaporizers we have used here stand out for their tastes we hold those as the benchmark including the SSV, Volcano, Vaporfection and the first couple inhales from the Iolite.
Vapor quality is also a part of the taste experience and with The Predator, the vapor is too light at the 12 oclock recommended setting, for us to get thicker vapor we turned our Predator vaporizer all the way up to the hottest setting. Then we ended up getting great vapor clouds and started feeling the effects of The Predator quickly. That didnt last long due to the high heat and the burnt popcorn taste soon came knocking letting us know our herb was spent.
Conclusion
In conclusion, The Predator vaporizer by 420 Lenny is an innovative artistically designed vaporizer. It includes a lifetime warranty for the original purchaser and is shipped in a sealed carrying case that they did a wonderful job designing. The Predator comes in 4 different colors including, Ferrari Red, Shark Blue, Titanium Grey and Pink. Accessories included with The Predator vaporizer are plentiful and all fit nicely in the carrying case.
Some limitations of the vaporizer are its in-ability for the user to change or clean the bottom of the screen without soaking the whole wand which does come apart but not so easy to fit back together. The metal heating element takes a decent amount of time to heat up and to get good vapor hits the unit needs to be hotter than recommended. The actual unit is plastic and rubbery silicone which takes the look factor down a notch as well.
While a decent standard type vaporizer, for the $300 price range there is a ton of other vaporizers on the market. The Predator choosing $300 as its price point means it has to go against the Extreme-Q which not only offers more methods of inhalation but also a digital display.
To compare apples and apples for non-digital standard vaporizers at the $300 or under price range you are looking at the uber popular SSV series of vaporizers, the Herbal Aire H2.1 which is possibly the most efficient vaporizer on the planet and even the entry level Vaporfection Stealth Jr. Analog. Since competition is steep you really need to look into the design of The Predator, the visual appeal of it and if the locking wand system and sturdy carrying case is enough to overlook The Predators inconsistencies and higher than average price point.
The Predator Vaporizer is manufactured by 420 Lenny out of Oceanside, CA. The cost on the vaporizer and included Predator carrying case is $299.99 shipped from VapeWorld.com. This review will hit on the main parts of The Predator vaporizer just in time for it being VapeWorld.coms Vaporizer of the Month for April 2010.
The parts and accessories that are included with The Predator Vaporizer are great additions and really add a ton of value to the vaporizer. This includes a nozzle cleaning solution, cotton swabs and container, air tight stash disk, acrylic 4 piece herb grinder, aromatherapy bowl, aromatherapy essential-oils (if you are into this type of thing), super solid carrying case and a decent set of instructions.
Durability/ Claims:
420 Lenny gives you a limited lifetime warranty on The Predator Vaporizer. This limited lifetime warranty covers electrical and heating system failures and is intended for the original purchaser. Vape World has had zero returns on The Predator Vaporizer but we have only been selling them for about a month, we have heard one complaint that the Titanium models silicone top arriving scratched the silicone surface scratches very easily is what we came to find out. Our demo model was left on with the locking wand still attached (we will get into that later in the review) for over 24 hours with no issues except a blackening around the heater cover screen something our 420 Cleaner Soak -N- Rinse couldnt remove 100%... but other than that no issues so far.
Design
When VapeWorld.com first received pictures of The Predator we were blown away finally a vaporizer that looks great something out of Transformers, an actual piece of art, then we saw it in person The renderings we saw beforehand were just that renderings put together on a computer. Those pictures made it look like the unit was all metal with sharp colors and great lines. The actual Predator Vaporizer does include some metal a nice sturdy CNC machined base, but the unit itself is made of an ABS type black plastic injection molded housing with the colored part of the unit being a rubbery silicone type material (the rubbery colored part also scratches easily so be careful).
The rubbery silicone colored part of The Predator works as a good grip if you wish to grab the vaporizer, but a table top electric vaporizer doesnt get moved enough for that to be considered a plus point in this review. If the unit was made of quality metals, or even 420 Lennys original idea carbon fiber then this couldve been the best looking/coolest vaporizer on the market just the plastic shell reduces its price point of $300 and overall visual flair of the original renderings. The only plastic injection molded shelled devices we carry are the Vapir line of vaporizers; the Vapir One 5.0 more specifically is half the price and fills balloons, something The Predator does not do. Lets not get confused The Predator is a much better vaporizer than the Vapir line. The lifetime warranty, the heating time and quality of components we were just bringing up the plastic housing as a comparison we just wish it wouldve been made out of something more solid.
The heat-up time on The Predator is okay 3-4 minutes to get to the temperature 420 Lenny suggests where the dial is pointed to 12 oclock. We found that the 12 oclock position is just not hot enough to get a good amount of vapor we actually turned up the heat all the way to get our normal visual vapor out of it, in return our herb went much quicker to the burnt popcorn taste but we did get some decent vapor hits out of it once the heat was higher.
The Predator also comes with 2 LEDs inside the opening of unit which are super bright and makes the unit look like 2 eyes staring at you cool stuff. There is even a switch to turn them off. They are supposed to dim if the unit gets too hot but we never really noticed them doing that even at the temperature knob all the way up, not saying it doesnt happen just that it wasnt something that we paid attention to.
The heating element 420 Lenny chose for The Predator is made out of stainless steel which leads to a much longer life span than a ceramic heating element but it definitely takes longer to heat up. Read the Taste section below to see if the metal affects the flavor of your herbs in The Predator.
A great new innovation with The Predator is the first ever locking wand system. The Predator simply uses a paper clip sized metal ring that locks onto the back of the Ground Glass Heater cover tip which in turn is attached to the wand. Great! No more broken wands from them falling out and no more herbs falling on the floor from an accidental yank of the wand and it being pulled out of your vaporizer.
The Predator only comes in a Hands Free option with ground glass and the locking wand system. To remove the wand from The Predator you simply push in the top section of the wand and it expands the paper clip locking device allowing it to be pulled off from the heater cover. The only issue with the locking system is that the part you must press in to release the wand gets HOT. Burn your hands hot, so you must be quick or have some form of pain tolerance for your hands. Once the metal clip is broken-in more it becomes much easier to remove from the heater cover but the part still gets hot every time.
Cleaning the unit is not difficult; the heater cover comes right out and can be soaked to remove any kind of build up. The black build-up we acquired on our heater cover tip wont 100% go away, doesnt affect anything but since its under the glass it mustve been caused by the initial heating of the stainless steel heating element. The screen cannot be removed in the wand so Im guessing eventually you will have to soak the whole thing to get it all clean. A q-tip with the included Predator vaporizer cleaner solution works well enough to clean the herb chamber part and the top of the screen but resign does build up under that screen thats where the soaking would come into play. 420 Lenny mentions that the mouthpiece and tubing are dishwasher safe never any mention about removal of the wand from the tubing not sure if we would want to put the whole wand in the dish washer. We actually twisted the tubing a couple times and pulled the wand off to test it, the wand is held on to a small piece of black plastic on the underside of the screen. Inserting the tube back into the wand is a pain probably why they dont suggest you taking it off, or give you instructions on how to do so. We ended up pushing onto the top of the screen in the wand while pushing the tube in and it finally slipped over the black bottom piece.
The travel case included with The Predator is perfect! Super hard shell in sleek black material. Fits The Predator and all of the included accessories perfectly and doesnt look like you are carrying around a vaporizer. Great job on the case 420 Lenny!
Taste
A couple of the guys here at Vape World thought the initial taste from the tubing and mouthpiece was gross in their words the taste of tubing was almost enough to turn them off from using it again. Personally it is probably just the new taste of a new vaporizer manufacturing processes and maybe the tubing is from another country shipped in (assuming cost effectiveness).
Once the initial indifferent taste of the vaporizer passes, only takes a few vaporizer sessions, we all agree the vapor taste is good on par with most basic vaporizers at the $300 and under price range. The taste was good but it wasnt great either for example a couple of vaporizers we have used here stand out for their tastes we hold those as the benchmark including the SSV, Volcano, Vaporfection and the first couple inhales from the Iolite.
Vapor quality is also a part of the taste experience and with The Predator, the vapor is too light at the 12 oclock recommended setting, for us to get thicker vapor we turned our Predator vaporizer all the way up to the hottest setting. Then we ended up getting great vapor clouds and started feeling the effects of The Predator quickly. That didnt last long due to the high heat and the burnt popcorn taste soon came knocking letting us know our herb was spent.
Conclusion
In conclusion, The Predator vaporizer by 420 Lenny is an innovative artistically designed vaporizer. It includes a lifetime warranty for the original purchaser and is shipped in a sealed carrying case that they did a wonderful job designing. The Predator comes in 4 different colors including, Ferrari Red, Shark Blue, Titanium Grey and Pink. Accessories included with The Predator vaporizer are plentiful and all fit nicely in the carrying case.
Some limitations of the vaporizer are its in-ability for the user to change or clean the bottom of the screen without soaking the whole wand which does come apart but not so easy to fit back together. The metal heating element takes a decent amount of time to heat up and to get good vapor hits the unit needs to be hotter than recommended. The actual unit is plastic and rubbery silicone which takes the look factor down a notch as well.
While a decent standard type vaporizer, for the $300 price range there is a ton of other vaporizers on the market. The Predator choosing $300 as its price point means it has to go against the Extreme-Q which not only offers more methods of inhalation but also a digital display.
To compare apples and apples for non-digital standard vaporizers at the $300 or under price range you are looking at the uber popular SSV series of vaporizers, the Herbal Aire H2.1 which is possibly the most efficient vaporizer on the planet and even the entry level Vaporfection Stealth Jr. Analog. Since competition is steep you really need to look into the design of The Predator, the visual appeal of it and if the locking wand system and sturdy carrying case is enough to overlook The Predators inconsistencies and higher than average price point.
Look again, my friend. The OP is from March of 2010.
![:\](/i/s/hmm.gif "Hmm :\")
