A couple months back I was contacted by a company called Freshstor about a soon to be released herb storage system called the CVault. I'm a little late with this as they launched their website last week but let's talk about the CVault.
Perfectly cured cannabis is a beautiful thing. The aroma, the texture, the flavor. Looking at some of the thread titles in this section it's clear that many people are conscientious about preserving that optimum state. There are many opinions on the subject but an inert, airtight container such as a mason jar is widely agreed as being the best starting point.
When I first heard about the CVault system I was skeptical - there are so many gimmicky new products that are inferior and more expensive than readily available counterparts. However, after some consideration I kept an open mind. On paper there are a few advantages to the Cvault when compared to the tried and true mason jar:
Light proof - Over time light can degrade THC. It's not that hard to keep clear jars in the dark but it's easier to just not worry about it.
Durability - I love glass but mason jars can break if dropped. For the application, stainless steel is just as inert and although I haven't tested it myself I'd imagine these CVaults could be thrown off a building with only cosmetic damage. Apparently whipping one against a cement wall results in dentswhipped against wall and floor
Humidity Control via Humidipaks - Humidipaks are small, condiment sized packets that maintain a predetermined relative humidity by adding or removing moisture. You can read more on the Humidipak website here. Through testing, Freshstor determined that 62% Humidipaks were best for this application. The underside of the CVault lid holds the Humidipak.
I received the small and medium size CVaults. The first thing I did was take a big whiff inside the containers. I have a pretty sensitive sense of smell and for something like this any detectable odor is an instant turn off. I was happy to find absolutely zero smell. No rubber smell, no chemical smell. Nothing.
Fit and finish is good all around. I don't know what type of stainless steel is used other than food grade but the finish is nice and shiny. Thick enough to be tough but not overly heavy. The triple latch system works very well - when you close it up it sort of feels like locking up a vault. The latches themselves are welded on and look like solid, quality parts. Same goes for the silicone rings which are beefy and have no smell. Overall it's a smart and simple design. Nice.
The Test
After removing the Humidipaks I gave the containers a wash in warm soapy water, and being a bit obsessive I used a pointy knife to carefully remove the silicone rings for the initial cleaning. The rings are friction fit into a groove, no adhesives are used. There was a little bit of dark residue in the grooves and on the back of the rings, presumably a remnant of the stainless steel fabrication process. Not a huge deal as it would likely not have been in contact with anything on the inside, and if you're paranoid like me you'd probably wash them first anyway. After a thorough towel and air drying, the rings were fairly easy to push back into the grooves.
I had a very nicely cured, dense 7g nug which fit into the small container with plenty of room to spare. A similar nug was placed in a mason jar. I opened them briefly every few days or so to check them out but did my best to leave them alone, only picking off tiny log-vape-sized bowls.
After the first two weeks I could tell the flower in in the mason jar was noticeably drier than the nug in the CVault which was like the day it went in. It's been about 50 days now and the CVault bud is still damn near perfect. Probably not exactly the same, with oxidation slowly occurring but to my eyes, nose, and palate it's at least 95%, while the mason jar nug is crumbly dry and has undergone a significant change in flavor and aroma.
Initial Conclusion
It's nice when a product surprises you. I was skeptical in the beginning, but after living with these for a couple months I'm sold and won't be going back to mason jars if I have the choice. The Humidipak system works incredibly well - it's sort of uncanny to open up the vault and find your flowers in the same condition they were when you put them in 2 months ago. Freshstor's website says the CVault is to storage, what the grinder is to preparation. A bold statement, but with performance and convenience level so high I wouldn't necessarily disagree. And considering the excellent build quality, additional functionality and very reasonable prices I won't hesitate to buy more CVaults before tracking down 62% Humidipaks and throwing them in a mason jar.
I'm sure I managed to type a novel and miss the important questions so ask away. I'm really excited for people to try these for themselves and I managed to get 3 small and 3 medium to give away but more on that later.
First day.
50 days later. Lighting is close but it was overcast in this pic.
Perfectly cured cannabis is a beautiful thing. The aroma, the texture, the flavor. Looking at some of the thread titles in this section it's clear that many people are conscientious about preserving that optimum state. There are many opinions on the subject but an inert, airtight container such as a mason jar is widely agreed as being the best starting point.
When I first heard about the CVault system I was skeptical - there are so many gimmicky new products that are inferior and more expensive than readily available counterparts. However, after some consideration I kept an open mind. On paper there are a few advantages to the Cvault when compared to the tried and true mason jar:
Light proof - Over time light can degrade THC. It's not that hard to keep clear jars in the dark but it's easier to just not worry about it.
Durability - I love glass but mason jars can break if dropped. For the application, stainless steel is just as inert and although I haven't tested it myself I'd imagine these CVaults could be thrown off a building with only cosmetic damage. Apparently whipping one against a cement wall results in dentswhipped against wall and floor
Humidity Control via Humidipaks - Humidipaks are small, condiment sized packets that maintain a predetermined relative humidity by adding or removing moisture. You can read more on the Humidipak website here. Through testing, Freshstor determined that 62% Humidipaks were best for this application. The underside of the CVault lid holds the Humidipak.
I received the small and medium size CVaults. The first thing I did was take a big whiff inside the containers. I have a pretty sensitive sense of smell and for something like this any detectable odor is an instant turn off. I was happy to find absolutely zero smell. No rubber smell, no chemical smell. Nothing.
Fit and finish is good all around. I don't know what type of stainless steel is used other than food grade but the finish is nice and shiny. Thick enough to be tough but not overly heavy. The triple latch system works very well - when you close it up it sort of feels like locking up a vault. The latches themselves are welded on and look like solid, quality parts. Same goes for the silicone rings which are beefy and have no smell. Overall it's a smart and simple design. Nice.
The Test
After removing the Humidipaks I gave the containers a wash in warm soapy water, and being a bit obsessive I used a pointy knife to carefully remove the silicone rings for the initial cleaning. The rings are friction fit into a groove, no adhesives are used. There was a little bit of dark residue in the grooves and on the back of the rings, presumably a remnant of the stainless steel fabrication process. Not a huge deal as it would likely not have been in contact with anything on the inside, and if you're paranoid like me you'd probably wash them first anyway. After a thorough towel and air drying, the rings were fairly easy to push back into the grooves.
I had a very nicely cured, dense 7g nug which fit into the small container with plenty of room to spare. A similar nug was placed in a mason jar. I opened them briefly every few days or so to check them out but did my best to leave them alone, only picking off tiny log-vape-sized bowls.
After the first two weeks I could tell the flower in in the mason jar was noticeably drier than the nug in the CVault which was like the day it went in. It's been about 50 days now and the CVault bud is still damn near perfect. Probably not exactly the same, with oxidation slowly occurring but to my eyes, nose, and palate it's at least 95%, while the mason jar nug is crumbly dry and has undergone a significant change in flavor and aroma.
Initial Conclusion
It's nice when a product surprises you. I was skeptical in the beginning, but after living with these for a couple months I'm sold and won't be going back to mason jars if I have the choice. The Humidipak system works incredibly well - it's sort of uncanny to open up the vault and find your flowers in the same condition they were when you put them in 2 months ago. Freshstor's website says the CVault is to storage, what the grinder is to preparation. A bold statement, but with performance and convenience level so high I wouldn't necessarily disagree. And considering the excellent build quality, additional functionality and very reasonable prices I won't hesitate to buy more CVaults before tracking down 62% Humidipaks and throwing them in a mason jar.
I'm sure I managed to type a novel and miss the important questions so ask away. I'm really excited for people to try these for themselves and I managed to get 3 small and 3 medium to give away but more on that later.
First day.
50 days later. Lighting is close but it was overcast in this pic.