I too have always wondered if there would be a more even extraction stopping at the pinch. I always get darker nugs at the top than the bottom. I've noticed this with ground flower as well. Probably doesn't make much of a difference either way!
Stopping at the pinch seems like more of a hassle than it's worth IMO.. You can always heat up at the pinch, or half way out or something, and then go all in for the hit, that might help w/ the top getting roasted more..
I find that if my airflow is too wide open I tend to seem to consistently get lighter nugs at the bottom.. IMO I find just a little bit of airflow restriction makes for more even extraction, and smoother draws, and more stable temp throughout the draw YMMV.. Now I hand grind very coarse, then I tamp it down just a little, then I check the bowl has the amount of air flow restriction I look for.. I don't fight the restriction too much, and it always milks fat and smooth this way, and my AVB pretty much always seems to be the same color from top to bottom..
First thing I did when I got my S3 was take the screens it comes w/ out and put basket screens in.. I don't know why, but I assumed most of you guys were using basket screens, but after seeing some posts here it seems like most of you use the screens it comes w/.. I never tried the screen it comes w/ until last night, but so far I think I may actually like it better.. for marginal reasons IMO.. the basket screens stood really clean too since the bowl gets so hot, but this seems a little easier to maintain.. and I like that the load can be pulled out like a core sample..
How much are you guys loading? I've been loading what I would load for a fat bong snap back when I combusted, and I usually get 2 fat rips out of it, sometimes a little third one.. I like to stop heating at 165c on the first round, then for the second rip I like to stop heating at 185c.. otherwise I'll just go straight for ~185c and take 2 rips w/ no reheat.
I've been looking at the handle more, and I really appreciate the way it makes minimal contact w/ the heater tube.. Any other more aesthetically pleasing handle I can think of would likely rob the heater tube of it's heat a little more.. I'm thinking I like this handle just fine the more I think about it.. I like how high it holds the block up, and I like the angle it holds the block at..
I have to say the mod using both grommets on the tube has greatly improved my Supreme, I get a much tighter seal on my water tools now using a simple reducer adapter and getting more volume of vapor than before. It's made a great thing even Supremer.
I can't see using it any other way.