SideKick by Elev8 Vehicles

stickstones

Vapor concierge
I tested an inexpensive, unreleased conduction vape last night and it was nowhere near as good as the Sidekick. While the Sidekick gets me vapor on all temps, this one didn't do much until I got to the highest setting.

I forgot to mention that I liked the signature of the Sidekick as well...pretty stoney.
 

DrFunkyMD

Member
Yeah, it's true, I trip. :freak:

I am getting excellent vapor production --- 6.5 is my number.

The ABV is dark but I have examined it very closely and I am getting NO burnt herb. So as far as the Sidekick is concerned I feel it extracts the hell out of the herb without any burning. The stirring mechanism may cause some of the darker ABV because using it exposes more herb to the hot oven walls as you use it.

Also sometimes a fair amount of herb sticks to the stir post. I don't know if this is a negative at all but this happens.

Herb also falls through the holes in the bottom of the oven. When I opened the little cleaning door on the side it had a fair amount of ABV in there. I would say you maybe would want to empty that about every three days.


How much are you loading and how many draws are you getting?
Thanks
 
DrFunkyMD,
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Verax

Well-Known Member
That seems like it could be your issue there Verax. I think too much airflow in there would cause excessive burning. Did you get better results last night? My Sidekick just arrived today so I won't get to try it out until tonight (my awesome wife has already got the batteries on the charger for me), so I will find out for myself really soon. I love my DaBuddha, and really hope the Sidekick lives up to the high expectations I have from the crew at 7th floor.

Was much better last night, yes. I would say efficiency for me is about the same level as the PAX2, which isn't terrible. The thing I like the most is the really cool vapor. It hits really smooth compared to any other portable vape I own.

I also love my DaBuddha. I't my longest standing vape, and has been my daily driver for a long time. :)
 

Steak1mus

New Member
Hi everyone! I'm a long time reader (9+ years), big 7th Floor fan (SSV owner for 7 years), so I was very excited to hear that they were making an original portable vape.
I preordered a Sidekick, which arrived on Tuesday.

I shone a flashlight through the air ports in the side, you can see the heater design through the translucent ceramic. Notably, the resistance wires do not seem to go all the way around the ceramic bowl - the area farthest from the mouthpiece appears to be unheated. It also appears that heat is provided from the sides only, not from underneath.

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vapen00b

Many vapes & accessories. Always happy to help
Hi everyone! I'm a long time reader (9+ years), big 7th Floor fan (SSV owner for 7 years), so I was very excited to hear that they were making an original portable vape.
I preordered a Sidekick, which arrived on Tuesday.

I shone a flashlight through the air ports in the side, you can see the heater design through the translucent ceramic. Notably, the resistance wires do not seem to go all the way around the ceramic bowl - the area farthest from the mouthpiece appears to be unheated. It also appears that heat is provided from the sides only, not from underneath.

pYs8JTV.jpg

rpzx290.jpg

MEXnOIj.jpg

RVlHfcR.jpg


Thanks for sharing. Great first post! welcome! :)



No I seem to understand why you would need a stir stick in this one. More like being not a "feature" but a "must" for even browning.
Well, I like to hear people do like it! Seems to work nicely! :)
 

DrFunkyMD

Member
On 7th Floors instagram page they are advertising that they are selling the Sidekick for $200 bucks. WTF that's cheaper than my $235 preorder price. I got say I am a little dissapointed to see that considering I haven't received mine yet. I mean if I wait 7 seven more weeks I can get it cheaper than when I ordered it in december?
 
DrFunkyMD,
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phattpiggie

Well-Known Member
Accessory Maker
@Steak1mus that may explain why Steve has RSI in his thumb.
If the bowl isn't heated evenly then you need to stir to re-distribute the load around the oven. If you don't there is all the more reason for an un-even bake.
 
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Steak1mus

New Member
I tend to agree with @steama about there being plenty of heat. I get similar results with vapor density from hitting super slow vs. a much faster draw. The heater seems to respond fairly quickly, and seems to be able to maintain vaping temp even with a fast draw. I'll take some thermal photos of the Sidekick later.

I also experimented with vaping a small amount without the top plate on. Interestingly, visible vapor production started while the temperature still read zero, and increased as the temp went up. I found it works best with torn apart or coarsely ground material better than finely ground - if the grind is too fine, the stir rod just moves through without really disrupting what's in the middle or stuck to the sides.
Loading larger pieces, taking a few hits on 3-4, then a vigorous stir to break it up, followed by vaping at 5-6 seems to work very well. This is good, because I don't like to carry a grinder around in addition to the vaporizer.
I tried stirring while vaping, with no or very little carryover. If you have the vortex rod installed, I highly doubt any particles would make it all the way past that, especially once it becomes resinated. Speaking of resin, the screen needs cleaning very often. It gets quite a bit of buildup of ABV and condensed vapor after just 2-3 bowls. If you use the Sidekick often, you're going to be cleaning the screen often too. Alcohol wipes work really well for this.

I tried the concentrate can out last night. It's quite effective, but a little confusing on how to use it. The silicone lid of the concentrate can covers the bowl, so there's nowhere for the stir rod to go... I ended up unscrewing it and using the concentrate can with just the screen (it's not attached to the stir rod)
I set the heater at 10 for the can, seemed to work well. It doesn't give dab-like hits, though. Much more like vaping flower material as far as vapor production, but obviously the flavor is different. It hits with medium density vapor for 10+ hits, before I hit the 7 min cutoff and decided I was too medicated to continue ;)

When vaping flowers, the vortex rod seems to condense a lot of vapor that you would otherwise inhale, and I find that it hits better with the rod removed. The vapor is still cool without the rod, but there's something about portable vapes that makes me get, as @steama puts it, severely baked. I have the same effect from the Magic-flight. Also like the magic flight and other good portables I have tried, the Sidekick has a way of sending me into extreme coughing sessions. I think it must be something about the short vapor path, or maybe it is just a conduction vape thing. Both of these happen with or without the rod, although the coughing is worse without it.
 

DrFunkyMD

Member
Am I the only one choked about the Sidekick being $200 bucks for the 420 sale? I guess so since it seems like I am the only one who hasn't gotten his Sidekick yet. I am so jealous of all of you but great reviews and tips guys and possibly gals. Keep them coming.
 
DrFunkyMD,

stickstones

Vapor concierge
Man i think i might have to get on board here..what you think @stickstones

I think @steama nailed it in his description of where it fits in the lineup. I like it. It gets me baked, is stylish and is the only conduction vape I have quickly gone back to for more. I've tried a lot of conduction vapes and haven't wanted any of them for my personal use, but this one is quickly sneaking in there. I FINALLY got some concentrate last night and had a session in the Sidekick with it. Very tasty and plenty of hits. It isn't going to hit you like a pen, but for session sipping it is nice with concentrate.

It's harder for me to recommend a vape to people who have as many as you do. It would be easy to look at your lineup and say what more do you need. But we junkies always find a need. It's like I said before...if you want a conduction vape and are fine with the price, this is the Mercedes of conduction vapes.
 

mayan

Well-Known Member
Hey all...Just received my Sidekick. So far, loving it. I just took 'er out for a spin and find her taste, draw and ergonomics to my liking. Kept her at 7 and had plenty of vapor. Of course, the proof is in the pudding so let's see how things are going forward but so far, I'm enjoying her now. My biggest nit is that mine did not come with the mouthpiece lubricant and it's a VERY tight fit. Any suggestions as to what I can use as a substitute. Thanks!
 

ApparentlyStoned

When life gives you lemons, lemon tek
http://imgur.com/a/W38j0
I covered mine in a carbon fiber sticker I found. It looks cool. Im more satisfied with it now. Just this morning I figured it out. II have been hitting it on four with easy to medium pulls. I turned it straight to six and ripped on it. Much more satisfying hits. A harder pull helps. Im going to try a harder hit at four later. I also found out I can stick an arizer air stem in the oven to vape smaller amounts. Nowhere near as tasty but more efficient. Not the best solution but it works. I've been using vape e liquid juice to lube it. Not sure what to buy.
 

Custom Flower Hardware

Well-Known Member
Manufacturer
The Sidekick really excels at what I would call a 'bowl vape'. Meaning if you load a bowl it can do that bowl in a very exceptional way. This vape extracts so well I have been getting very baked everytime I use it. One bowl and done. Falling in love can't be this easy.

Load a bowl and gently pack it up to the black-o-ring. Start at 6 and walk to 8 Use the stir tool whenever you feel the need, all the time if you wish, never a flake of herb makes it through the vaporpath when stirring. The highest I have used the Sidekick is 9 and it has never burnt the ABV but it is dark. Do not worry the Sidekick ABV is always very dark but don't trip, it is just different trait of this vape. I don't really have a desire to vape flowers any higher than 8 in the Sidekick.

The batteries are very good. I have been getting about three really long lasting bowls. Because the batteries do have a relatively short runtime and they have left me stranded mid-bowl twice, luckily, I had a fresh charged set ready to roll. If your battery meter id getting below 2/3's empty I would just put a fresh set in. When the Sidekick runs out of juice it just shuts down. 7th Floor really did their homework on these batteries and they are surprisingly good. You can verify the authenticity of the batteries and charger online. Just scratch off the silver bar and enter the number at this URL: http://www.efestpower.com/index.php?ac=article&at=list&tid=126

When I do a Sidekick bowl I stick to business and pay attention through the entire process because the Sidekick will completely cook the goods if you doze. When vapor production is gone after stirring and a heat increase or two the load has spent it. The Sidekick extracts the hell out of the herb with a lot of focused radiant heat –- it's a very powerful and hot bowl. Certain things like this make the Sidekick's personality or signature very interesting. I have been thinking of the Sidekick and trying to figure out where this vape lives in my mind. It is very unique and different from anything else I have had. I like it quite a bit but the question is do I love the Sidekick? Hmm? The real question is how could I not?

The once pretty white bowl is now a dark coffee ground brown. I tried a damp q-tip with ISO but that stain is not coming off. This vape is so good I DGAF about a brown bowl.

If the stir mechanism becomes difficult you may need to clean the stickiness out of the bowl with some ISO on a q-tip.

More to come Sidekick pals. :tup:
Dam bro you got me pumped for this now!!:rockon:
 

Gameface

Member
Haven't posted since getting the sidekick, but I've given it a couple good runs. I haven't used the cooling rod at all, but maybe I'll put it back in tonight and see what I think.

I'm going to keep the sidekick, no question. But to be completely open, I bought it on new year's eve and they had a 20% off everything sale going on that day, so mine was $188. Can't really imagine paying $300. I got s/n 109.

I've been following this thread to get best practices on using the thing.

I used to have a magic flight and I've sort of been trying to use my magic flight draw technique to get the best possible hits. It's not hard. The hits are good. Flavor, in particular, is really good. I'm not sensitive to temperature, so without the cooling rod it's been very pleasant.

My wife went out of town the day the unit arrived. Usually she loads a bowl, I take two hits and she does the rest, loads another and does that by herself. I'm no good if I smoke too much, but a couple good hits and I'm a happy camper. Anyway, with her out of town and me playing with a new toy, I got WAYYY too baked, which for me causes paranoia and I don't enjoy it. So I can definitely get where I want to go with the sidekick, no problem.

I did buy it for her, so I'm a little more worried how she likes it. She said she really loved it, but after using it together she loaded up the LSV for her solo session. But that's probably going to remain her favorite at home vape. I think she really likes the sidekick as a portable option. I think I'll like it for when she goes to bed and I want to play on my gaming PC in a room where I don't want to haul the LSV. Just load up the sidekick and go.
 
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