Discontinued Purple-Days Vaporizer

[partially veiled]

haha ... I hate waiting too and I was lucky that my PD arrived super fast. Take your time getting to know your PD. IMO its a different vapping experience than other convection vapes ... narrower hits but still full of flavour ... and well it just gets you hammered!

Haha yeah man thanks for the tips, you must have known I'm an anxious fella!

I'm feeling pretty confident about the PD though. I see how it's different from other vaporizers, in the same manner that they themselves are different from one another. After being burned on the Crapir One, I took my time with this one and did some research, and there's many reasons why I chose the PD over something like the SSV or the Extreme, each of which I was totally prepared to buy.

I am a chronic smoker now...but most of my smoking is done by myself, at home, utilizing a pipe with one of my main objectives being to maintain the most efficient dosing possible. I'm sure I don't have to tell you all, but eventually you get to a point where being efficient with your medicine really means something. Especially when you're dealing with the harsh realities of an ever increasing tolerance stemming from habitual usage. It's a lesson I'm learning as I get older, anyhow: do not consume just because a consumable is in front of you. Learn how to control your desires.

My current habits are what sold me on the PD. I actually LOVE the small bowl capacity. I like that it could be very simple to just vape "enough", and then to leave it be. I also know I can get ripped with it. Just vape more bowls! Haha duh, that's a tough one! So the small bowl capacity is far from a compromise for me. Same with the manual draw aspect of this vape: the short "stem" and direct hit feature basically make this feel like the pipe of the vaporizer world, to me at least. Like I said, I'm a pipe smoker now...and I love them. I love that short, thin air stream. I like that the PD is pretty darn close to the way I'm doing it now, so it's no freakin' deal breaker there. I do also like the uber simplicity of this unit...as I said to Tom, my lighter doesn't have a temperature control either!

My biggest concerns are:

- Efficiency
- Taste
- Safety

Therefore as long as the PD does the job right, and tastes good in the process, it will be doing exactly what I bought it for. I really trust that Tom has done his homework on the safety aspects of this unit, so I'm not even thinking about that anymore. That being said, I also realize that vaporization is going to be different than combustion, no matter which one of the high quality units you're referring to. So I WILL be sure to give it some time when getting used to my PD, and be sure not to jump to any conclusions. I try to be patient, optimistic and perseverant every day anyway, so I'll be sure to keep saying "learning curve" over and again in my head if I struggle with this new fangled technology . Thanks for the heads up v_c.

All this being said, I can totally still see the need (check that: desire) for other vaporizers in my life. The PD really does seem like it can slip into the spot of my everyday medicine delivery unit, and kick it up a notch with flavor and safety at the same moment. Yet, I can TOTALLY still see myself picking up something else somewhere down the road. Especially if vaping turns out to be as efficient as I've heard it can be .

With the current (quality) units available, my dream set up would probably be:

- PD, for the majority of my usage
- SSV, for when you need to kick it up a notch and partake in a dedicated "session", rather than what I would term a more medicinal style of dosing. My own life is all I can speak of, of course, and I do have different uses for this herb...most of the time it's a emotional/psychological/spiritual tool for me, but there are those times...when an all out sesh is in order . Right now it's bongs, or more often than not joints, which fill that role for me. I could see using the Surfer more often than this, but for a pipe smoker this is the sort of "Dream Team" combo I came up with. The SSV would also be what I would pull out for when friends come over, as I've got three very close friends who smoke almost as heavy as myself, and a few others who are casual.
- HerbalAire, for bags, duh. Bags don't really seem to be my thing, but I can totally see the potential for a unit such as this. Especially for those larger get-togethers .

There are other units I could see falling in love with, but you'll simply never see me pay $400-700 dollars for a single unit, especially when there are competitive, competent, models at half the price. That's just my though...and if someone was just giving a unit away there are definitely a few I would love to try...the Herborizer for instance . I just can't justify it, and the battle of desiring material ownership is something I fight every day...so the PD makes me happy for so many reasons, as you can see .

 

[vaporcloud]

So I WILL be sure to give it some time when getting used to my PD, and be sure not to jump to any conclusions

Unlike me ... 'Tom my purple-days doesn't work!' The mans a saint. Took the time needed to get me use to my PD. I was trying to hit it like my box vape After reading your post PV you have the right attitude and should fine the PD is exactly what you want.

And a PD and SSV (or DBV) would be the perfect vapping duo IMO.

 

[partially veiled]

Well now I'm interested v_c. How did you find the sweet spot with your PD? Was it a draw speed thing, a special mouth technique, or what? How are you getting the most out of your unit? There's not enough good information about this vaporizer...this site and Tom's site is all I can find ...but your right, Tom is a great person to deal with (Pammy too!) and that's probably the best way to go about it...they've got all the good info ). The PD seems to have a unique little design so I'd love to hear another brother's experience with it! Enlighten us, my man!

Same goes with the pictures. I was happy to see people posting pictures of the PD; it's such a sleek little beauty, but there's not enough good pics floating around! So to you for getting that ball rolling.

 

[vaporcloud]

OK , here's my experience and learnings.

The learning curve was a bit steep for me. I had to slow down, take my time and follow the necessary rules.

1. The product must be dry. Crumble dry and ground medium to fine. The PD doesn't like stems much either due to the tiny bowl so its best to pick them out if possible.

2, Draw slowly. I disagree with Max in that he says you can hit the PD at a variety of draw speeds. This may be true to a point but the slower I draw the bigger the hit. A loosley packed bowl doesn't need to have the shit sucked out of it ... this will produce unsatisfying results. I have had no issues with over drawing or needing to let the PD warm up again after taking a hit but slow (slow !!!) draws work best. Sometimes I will suck that slow its like the smallest amount of air movement but it alloows the heat to sit on the herbs and vaporize

3. Don't over pack the bowl. A medium to loose packed bowl works best. Although if can be hard to draw an over packed bowl if you can manage to pull some air through you can produce some nice wafts of vapor and a couple of extra hits. But a bowl packed just enough so the product wont fall out seems to work best for me. I use the suck straw method to pull the herb into the bowl. If its nice and fine a pinch between thrumb and fore finger dropped into the bowl and lightly tamped with your finger works for me too.. My wife picks up small pieces and then pushes them lightly into the bowl with a pokey stick. She thinks I pack them too tight

I am an ex bong and protopipe smoker and transitioned to a vapordaddy box vape that was very easy to get big fat hits off. This was something I had to get use to with the PD is that it just wont produce thick streams of vapor. But a smooth slow draw still produces enough visible vapor to satisfy, its tastes great and hits clean.


Another plus for the PD I have found is the portability. My PD gets moved from my bedroom to the lounge after my kids have gone to bed, this way the wife and I can hit it while chilling and watching TV in the evening. I leave the PD and assorted session gear out but forgot to put them away last night. I txt the wife and told her to put my tin etc away befoer my son finds it. She replied alls ok, so easy to put it all away. This little guy is a winner in so many areas, sure not the best in all categories but covers so many bases its hard to fault.

Another plus for me is I'm a grazer. That is, I like to session in small amounts often. I know people who would rather get as much down them, in as short of a time as possible to get baked to the eyeballs ... and I don't mind this but find it wipes me out to much. Even vapping to much will give me couch lock. I prefer to sip a little often ... and the purple-days works beautifully here. It takes take a bit of time to have a full session so I'll have 3 quick bowls, go and do some family shit, 30 minutes later nip in and suck back 2 more bowls ... go and do some more stuff, come back in 40 minutes for another 5 bowls. After 2 hours I've consummed 10 or so bowls, am totally wrecked but not looking for somewhere to lie down. And once the kids are in bed I just hit those little bowls until its sleep time.

Now this may sound like a recipe for huge consumption but thanks to the efficiiency of the PD I'm using around 40% less and yet am able to satisfy my grazing without chuffing through my stash in 2 days.

Hope that helps PV. I hate to think I am going on too much about my cherry bomb but its like I have goneup s level ... like from swilling beer (smoking) to downing bottles of quality wine ( box vape hits) to shorts of a fine malt whisky or bourbon (Purple-days).

 

[partially veiled]

Wow, now that's exactly what I'm talking about, vapor_cloud!! Great review. Thanks dude, here's to .

I'm sure the learning curve will be steep for me too. I've only ever had quality vapes in passing, and I won't even get into my experience with my Vapir unless it's truly warranted...it's a pretty well known scenario, and my disappointment is excruciatingly typical. So I've never tried a whip vape, unless you count the Vapir forced air (with a broken fan ) "whip" attachment...which I don't. I'm prepared for a new experience, and in fact look forward to one. Always one for change .

The importance of the herbs being dry is I think something Tom has mentioned before, IDK maybe I'm dreaming. I'm glad to have heard that again though, I'm actually dealing with some overly-wet stuff at the moment, so I guess I should dry some out a little bit for the PD, shouldn't I? Any recommendations on how to do it safely? I thought I remembered reading Tom say he used the top of the TV or something gently warming like that. I don't use my TV for anything but movies, I think maybe the top of a fridge would be better? I used to be of the mind that it was best to hermetically seal my buds, especially once shredded, but I'm starting to sort of think that it doesn't actually matter so much... THC definitely does oxidize/degrade, but I don't think it occurs as rapidly as my paranoid mind envisioned... ALSO, I invested in a quality grinder after reading some info here. Another for FC! Went for a Mendo Mulcher 3", just standard flat no Keif catcher. I guess if the herb is REALLY dry, you don't even really need a grinder? Does it have to be that dry? Wet bud has been an issue here, on and off, lately.

People seem to have success with the sucking method of loading the bowl, so I think I'll probably try that at first. Seems to make sure you've got air movement, makes enough sense.

Another plus for me is I'm a grazer. That is, I like to session in small amounts often. I know people who would rather get as much down them, in as short of a time as possible to get baked to the eyeballs ... and I don't mind this but find it wipes me out to much. Even vapping to much will give me couch lock. I prefer to sip a little often ... and the purple-days works beautifully here. It takes take a bit of time to have a full session so I'll have 3 quick bowls, go and do some family shit, 30 minutes later nip in and suck back 2 more bowls ... go and do some more stuff, come back in 40 minutes for another 5 bowls. After 2 hours I've consummed 10 or so bowls, am totally wrecked but not looking for somewhere to lie down. And once the kids are in bed I just hit those little bowls until its sleep time.

Hahahaha you nailed it man. That describes my usage as well: I'm a total grazer!! I love it. I find that's what I need though. I use it (in my mind at least, it's certainly not government sanctioned...but neither is most of the shit I partake in ) at least semi-medicinally, and I don't want to, and certainly can't afford to (in regards to my responsibility to engage in the world, in work, in family life, etc.) get torn ALL day...so grazing is what works best for me. Eating would be another option, but I find it too intense...it's more of a special occasion type of thing. This is actually something that drew me to the PD as well...just leave that sucker on for a while and hit it when you need it! JUST LIKE MY FREAKING PIPE! Haha see where I'm going? I graze with that thing, as well. Hell, sometimes I'll put the same bowl out three times! Maintenance is the name of my game these days...yet again, I feel confident in buying this vape because I know that's not ALL it can do, like you've said it can get you wrecked too! I'm sure I'll put that to proof.

I'm glad to hear that the PD works efficiency-wise for you, so now the battle for me will be that old "will power" battle...

Thanks for the seriously solid review man, your tips give me a better idea of what to do when I lay hands on this thing. I'll be sure to come back with a review of my own once I've lived with mine for a little while.

 

[vaporcloud]

The importance of the herbs being dry is I think something Tom has mentioned before, IDK maybe I'm dreaming. I'm glad to have heard that again though, I'm actually dealing with some overly-wet stuff at the moment, so I guess I should dry some out a little bit for the PD, shouldn't I? Any recommendations on how to do it safely?

Tom mentions ensuring the tobacco is dry and leaving on the tv. I have 2 young kids so thats not really an option for me. I just stick a few nugs in my hotwater cupboard for a few hours. I don't reckon it harms the herb at all. I hate weed that is not dry. So yeah ... dry that shit out man in prep for your PD. Its a must!!! I still grind ... preserves the pollen that way

Just had my home from work session ... and this thing rocks. I doubt I'll actually need another vape really. Its the ultimate one hitter vape. Smooth and pure hits that really are bigger than you expect once you get the hang of it.

 

[vaporcloud]

And another thing ... my PD is left on 24x7. Its on whenever I want a hit. I guess I'll turn it off if I run out of weed ... which will happen at some stage ... but thats still a few months away

 

[max]

Glad you found the hits that work for you vc. I don't want to press the matter, but also don't want people to think the PD is a difficult vape to learn. This difference of opinion on the PD learning curve is a perfect example of why you shouldn't count hits or depend on somebody else's opinion for technique. A visual example, where you can see how someone else is hitting, is far different than depending on the written word. Another point that's seldom mentioned in discussing hits is whether you take in outside air with the hit or not. I never lock my mouth around a mouthpiece and hit it because it forces you to either hit it hard, or take a hit that's short and/or uncomfortable due to not getting enough air in your lungs. And with a narrow bowl like the PD has, locking my lips on the tube is not a pleasureable experience.

I've owned about a dozen different vapes-butane, various whips, and even direct draw use with the herbalAire. And I've never really hit any of 'em really hard, because unless you're using high heat, you just don't get good results. With most vapes a heavy hit just lowers the temp too much. Not an issue with combustion, but with vapor, keeping a good temp range is the whole ballgame. You must have been hitting that Vaporite really hard, because using what I consider to be pretty strong hits, I get good results from the PD. And the reason for this is the heat exchanger. Most vapes just transfer the heat directly from the heating element to the bowl, so a big hit will put a chill on the vapor path, and the element just can't compensate fast enough to maintain an operating temp unless you've got it dialed up really hot. And if you are running hot, you're forced to hit it hard every time, since a slow, easy hit with high temp is going to be too hot and overcook your herb. It's also going to be hard on the herb between hits, just from ambient heat. With the big metal block on vapes like the PD and Supreme Vaporizer, you have a heat reserve that allows more flexible hits. If you go outside in shirtsleeves in cold weather, the cold air lowers your body temp fast. If you're all bundled up in warm clothes, you have a buffer zone against the cold. That's what the heat exchanger on the PD does. When you hit it with a good, strong draw, you haven't lowered the temp out of vaping range because you're not overcoming the heat buffer that the exchanger provides. Now if you hit it like you're trying to suck the chrome off a car bumper, that's different. It's like turning the fan on high speed on your car heater. You force air through the heating coils faster than the coils can heat the air, and the reult is barely warm air coming out.

The Vapolution is the closest thing to the PD as far as operation. But the Vapo has no heat reserve. The heating chamber is just a glass tube with a heating element wrapped around the outside. It's nice since you have an all glass vapor path with the heater outside the tube, but a hard hit draws in too much cold air and you get no vapor. Also, with the herb 2" down inside the heating chamber, it's easy to burn the bowl if you leave it there too long. The PD wipes the floor with the Vapolution, performance wise. A strong hit that gets you vapor on the PD will get you nothing but warm air from the Vapo. But with the same 1/4" bowl diameter, this is the vape to mention when comparing hits, and there really isn't any comparison.

The PD neither burns the herb or requires you to take really light hits. With other vapes you have to adjust the temp if you want to change from easy hits to stronger ones. The SSV is very good about letting you get effective hits with varying draw strength. You're pulling air only through the top inch of the heater cover. But the narrow air stream, using an easy hit, requires you to move the bowl around a little to avoid overcooking in the small area of herb the air stream contacts. I also rotate the PD tube a little once or twice during a bowl to improve coverage, but the quarter inch bowl doesn't need it like a full size whip does. I've never turned any herb black with the PD, and that's something you have to watch with most whip vapes. I think it's amazingly efficient and flexible for a vape with no temp control.

So as someone with quite a bit of experience with different vapes, I can say that, IMO, the PD is a very easy vape to learn compared to some others (especially the Vapolution), and extremely forgiving in how you hit it. There's no other direct draw vape with such a big heat reserve, and I think that's what makes this vape fairly easy to use and just, well...special.

 

[partially veiled]

It's here it's here! Oh man!

So I was secretly hoping for arrival today, but didn't want to get my hopes up too high: I had been telling Tom that the service around here is notoriously slow, so I never bother with express shipping and always expect a wait. From payment to package in 9 service days, that's seriously not bad at all for what I'm used to! Several weeks is the normal procedure.

Okay, so I have a lot I want to say already, but I'm going to refrain for the moment since I'm sure I'll be back later in the day to give some "first impressions" anyway. Instead, as promised, I've taken a few pictures and I'd just like to submit those.

First off, I'll say I totally understand what Tom was trying to explain (on his site, I believe?) when he's talking about the fact that it's hard to get good pictures of these units. That is really true. I was floored by the depth of beauty in this little wonder, and once I was holding it in my hands I realized pictures don't really do the woods justice. I took a few pictures (actually, I took MANY initially...) using vastly different lighting, and I still feel like I'm far from capturing the stunning quality of this Tea Tree wood. I will try again later, but I have a really busy day planned so playing with the camera will have to wait. I'm planning to try the PD out today as well (of course!), so I've got it heating up already and I'm going to let it get niiiice and acclimatized before I come back and sit down with it for a few. Like I said, I have a busy day planned so I'm sure I won't have the time to just sesh with this unit all day long, but I can certainly try to develop a first impression by the time the day's out.






The last picture was me trying to get a good shot of the LED (and here you can see how the colors are still off...). In all of the pictures I've seen the LED comes across looking blue-ish indigo, or something like that. It is REALLY Purple! It actually looks cool, and I love the simplicity of this units aesthetics. Diggin it . I'll definitely be back with more later, and I will not rest until I've got a picture I'm satisfied with! This is a real beauty, I already feel compelled to show it off!

 

[vaporcloud]

Beautiful

 

[vtac]

You lucky bastard!

It really is difficult to capture wood's beauty, especially with a point 'n shoot camera. I can tell the tea tree is a beaut.

I was hoping the weekend would end fast so mail service would resume and bring me my PD, then I find out there's a stupid civic holiday on Monday. If it's not here tomorrow I'm going to cry.

 

[max]

Another Purple vaper is born. I'm sure you'll like it pv. Pic #3 is a good one. Shows some interesting grain patterns.

I was hoping the weekend would end fast so mail service would resume and bring me my PD, then I find out there's a stupid civic holiday on Monday. If it's not here tomorrow I'm going to cry.

That's what you get for living up there in the land of the moose and the goose. Gotta be some kinda payback for the high quality, low price herb you get up there.

 

[vaporcloud]

I've owned about a dozen different vapes-butane, various whips, and even direct draw use with the herbalAire. And I've never really hit any of 'em really hard, because unless you're using high heat, you just don't get good results. With most vapes a heavy hit just lowers the temp too much. Not an issue with combustion, but with vapor, keeping a good temp range is the whole ballgame. You must have been hitting that Vaporite really hard, because using what I consider to be pretty strong hits, I get good results from the PD

I guess I was lucky with my first vape being the Vapordaddy because for all its reliability issues it had great temp retention and you could hit it really hard at full temp for huge hits and no burn or turn it down a bit and hit it slower if that's how you roll. Max, I think your experience with multi vapes helped you appreciate the subtleties of the PD where I went in balls out and was initially disappointed. After reading your post this morning I took more note of my 'standard' draw speed on the PD and its prolly not much different than my normal draw speed for my box vapes ... its just a different feel with the vapor tube as apposed to a whip. But in saying that, if I slow my draw down to a bare minimum the hits do get bigger. As mentioned most of my early problems were user error ... the wife hit the PD great first up I just want to make it clear that not everyone hits the PD like a champ first up and some slight adjustment in technique may be required to ensure satisfaction.

 

[vtac]

That's what you get for living up there in the land of the moose and the goose. Gotta be some kinda payback for the high quality, low price herb you get up there.

-ing you a river.



I should say that Tom shipped it the same day (actually before I even paid).

Some customs agents are probably trying it out with confiscated herb.

 

[vaporcloud]

My pilot light shows up as indigo in the pics as well.

 

[vaporcloud]

Be careful if your picking out a plug from a vapor tube. I blow out the left overs into the tote bag supplied with the PD but sometimes forget and the plug becomes logded in the tube once it cools. The wife was picking out a plug when she dislogded and removed the circlip holding the screen inplace. I can't get the clip back in but the screen looks to be well fixed in place. Has this happened to anyone else? How do I get the circlip back in place? Is it even necessary? I'm glad Tom included 3 with each purchase

 

[Purple-Days]

Get a 1/4" drill bit at the ready and use the blunt end to set the clip. Your fingertip can supply the guidance and pressure too get it back into the tube pretty easy.

Warming a 'frozen' losd before blowing can get many plugs clear without proding.

If you ever loose a clip the automotive supply store helped me with my first A-Zap mishap. It's a clip for a 1/4" tube. Line it up and laod the clip like a cannonball.

Good luck, need help ask anytime. We want you happy.

Thanks for ypur support,
Tom

 

[max]

I just want to make it clear that not everyone hits the PD like a champ first up and some slight adjustment in technique may be required to ensure satisfaction.

It's certainly different enough from the typical box vape to require some adjustment. And of course some of us have special needs. See below for my special needs.

Be careful if your picking out a plug from a vapor tube. I blow out the left overs into the tote bag supplied with the PD but sometimes forget and the plug becomes logded in the tube once it cools. The wife was picking out a plug when she dislogded and removed the circlip holding the screen inplace. I can't get the clip back in but the screen looks to be well fixed in place. Has this happened to anyone else? How do I get the circlip back in place? Is it even necessary? I'm glad Tom included 3 with each purchase.

I decided to take one apart shortly after I got the vape. I had no experience with a vapor tube and didn't quite buy the 'permanent screen' thing. I was also fucked up and didn't bother to look at it closely enough to see it had a clip on each side of the screen. I got the screen and top clip off-never did find the screen-and started to buy the permanent screen thing a little more. I wrestled with it a little bit, gave up, and gained some more appreciation for the time it takes to make this stuff. I sent the tube, minus the screen, back to Tom when I shipped him my Vapo battery pack.

Good luck with it. Let us know how it goes.

 

[vaporcloud]

I did my first iso rinse of a vapor tube ... and shit i should have done it a few days ago. It didn't looked that gunked up but it draws much better now. I'm rinsing the one with the bottom clip off and I'm going to keep using it. I cant see the screen coming out unless I 'wrestle at it' like Max did

gained some more appreciation for the time it takes to make this stuff

Hell yeah!!! The workmanship is awesome.

 

[vaporcloud]

Get a 1/4" drill bit at the ready and use the blunt end to set the clip. Your fingertip can supply the guidance and pressure too get it back into the tube pretty easy.

Didn't see this thanks Tom will give it a try

 

[vaporcloud]

I dont have many big nugs left from my pound but glad I have a few left to put thru my PD

 

[partially veiled]

I'm still going to hold off on making a detailed comment on my PD; I simply haven't had enough time to use it and live with it. I have had some time to sit down and toy around, and I will say so far I am really enjoying it. Very much so. I can see right off the bat that there are some things I'm doing wrong, and I'm going to have to improve on these things if I want better vapor, but I think I've already got most of it figured out. Pretty sure it has more to do with the water content and grind consistency of my herb. Anyway, I will be back relatively soon to give some more detailed thoughts on my new PD, but so far it's been a lot of fun testing it out. It works, that is for sure . Getting some damn tasty vapor as well . Oh...and big, thick hits are totaaally achievable on this little beauty, but they are the definition of "bowl clearers". Okay, got to stop now...already a lot I do want to comment on, but I'll try to gather more perspective (and have a little more fun ) and then give an opinion. So far the equation is relatively simple: Purple Days = Purple Vapor

 

[vaporcloud]

Nice one PV. It takes time to get to know them thats for sure. I'm totally wrpped with the performance of my PD. First 2 hits on a bowl are farken primo ... tasty as and plenty of vapor clouds

 

[vtac]

Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh! Waiting is SO hard!

There's a grinderfull of beautifully dry herb waiting here just for you, Cherry Jane.

 

[max]

There's a grinderfull of beautifully dry herb waiting here just for you, Cherry Jane.

Cherry Jane huh? Mary's sister? Cousin? Don't know if I should tell you this, but Tom told me your vape was named 'Bob'.

Looks like a PDless weekend for you vtac. I'll think about you every time I load a bowl. And meanwhile you have to get by with that sorry Silver Surfer. So sad.