I agree with most of what your saying. With respect to the heat, I'd say two things, 1. The heat problem is solved by everyone having their own grasshopper. Not to sound too "let them eat cake" or #letthemeatcrawfish, but remember there whole marketing plan for this device is that it is a PERSONAL device. It's not supposed to be shared, everyone is supposed to have their own, which is a different kind of device than is in the market now.
Think for a moment about other shared consumption experiences, drinking, cigarettes ... sure folks tend to do those things in a group but everyone has their own. Cannabis culture became different for a variety of factors but the primary factor being prohibitin as that is a contributor to other "reasons" (rtiual, safety in numbers, high relative cost etc.) why cannabis uniquely involves my mouth touching the same thing as yours.
Full disclosure, I am not a germophobe, rather the opposite, and make no mistake if the strain in your GH is delicious, your GH will be in my mouth ... after I've turned it off and let it chill for a few seconds ...
that said; Having had the experience of being in a GH setting where, everyone had their own cannabis, lots of variety in plentiful supply, and a few GH's (not one for everyone but enough that one was always available) you see why they are reaching for the lowest possible price point for the maximum. If for example you're at a fancy dinner party like this in Boulder:
http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/photos/2015/09/kush-and-cocktails-top-chef-weed-pairing-dinner the GH is PERFECT for that situation.
If you have 10 people who have to sneak outside and all try to get high without being noticed standing around in a circle looking sketchy, get a crafty.
Or, all ten of you get a GH and perhaps just take a few quick rips in the bathroom, #Protip: turn the fan on.
The point being, the GH isn't the ideal vape for every situation but it's the perfect vape for the ideal situation. And yes I would have easily payed $200 for it when I think of how much my pax2 and FF cost and if I had gotten the GH first I wouldn't have bought the FF as evidence by I never use my FF anymore.
That said, remember that the alchemy of the GH is the heater, NOT the form factor! That means, this heater could be in ANY form! In a desktop? Maybe? In a larger device with internal cooling a' la crafty? Why not?
With the immediate practical concerns with the "ideal" situation such as you can't just buy 2 GH's for the price of one Crafty because they aren't shipping yet notwithstanding, a year from now when the GH is readily available and maybe in Colorado we have gotten our act together on cannabis consumption lounges/bars/hospitality, not only is the GH going to be ideal, I think it will drive the vape market and I'm really looking forward to what they do next with that tres seis alchemy vape heater!
To be real clear, I have NO IDEA what they are planning in the nerdery but I hope they focus on the second generation portable that is larger with more battery life, I definitely recommend spare batteries for out and about during the day. I usually take about 10-15 rips an hour and a battery usually lasts about 1.5 hrs or 2-3 bowls. Changing the battery is still faster than a pax even warms up, it's just that I'm less concerned with discretion so it would be cool to see what they could do with a larger form factor :-)
