OK my initial test drive is complete.
I was able to connect the new FF to the app immediately....one cool thing about the app is it allows you to connect multiple devices, so the FF2 prototype is still listed but it recognized the new FF right away. I changed the activation to "both buttons" since it defaults to "either" and was ready to roll. I used exactly .12 g's of my all-time favorite strain (The Big, don't get me started....
), mostly un-ground, just small chunks of bud. I packed it fairly tight and it filled the bowl fairly completely.
I started on Med/High and stirred every three hits. I got great vapor right away....the lights flashed four times and the device was ready. I moved up to High around hit #20...and that's where the hits started to fade. I slapped the concentrate pad on top of the bowl at hit 24, and got another 6 large-ish hits to take me to about 30 hits. For .12 g's, that is pretty damned good, especially considering over 20 of those were quite large.
The improvements over the FF1 are stark: great vapor right away, consistent performance, really easy use (almost no learning curve), lighter, smaller, no damn screen to worry about!, gets way less hot at its hottest, cleaner, simpler, temp control....you get the picture. (As with the prototype, flavor is equal to the FF1, but again, a tad less cool than the FF1...this might be my only negative vs. the 1.)
As for differences from the prototype version, there are a few worth noting, beyond the obvious fit/finish issues:
- Draw is less restricted. It's still a bit restricted but way less than the prototype, most definitely "airier" without sacrificing vapor quality.
- Mouthpiece is more stable.
- It seems to reach and retain target heat better. The prototype would require another "wait" time cycle on the second hit...the production model hits the temp after the first hit and unless you put it down for ten minutes you can pick it up and have instant target heat. Very nice!
- The bowl seems to have a redesign...the bottom edge has almost no gap, so debris can't really get under it. (Man I love the screenless bowl...such a huge improvement.)
Overall, as impressive as I'd hoped the final version would be, at least in my initial use. I'm curious to see what everyone else thinks.