Discontinued The Grasshopper

[Old School]

I personally thought this was quite telling if you can read between the lines a tiny bit....

The ‘Grasshopper Vaporizer’ team just posted:

1 new Announcement:

Hey Everyone,

We’re here with a quick production update. The team continues to push Grasshoppers out the door and we’ve now delivered over a thousand units. This is a good start and has put Grasshoppers in about 35% of backer’s hands. Thanks to everyone who provided feedback on these first-run units.

We are not giving up.... but the telling comment...thanking your 1st run beta testers.... might this be an involuntary confession of a newly improved version..? {adjustments}

We know there are still many of you awaiting delivery and it has been a slow process. Delivery is happening and you will receive your Grasshopper. Our goal is first to produce a quality product and second to increase production volume. It was necessary to make some adjustments to ensure that everyone gets working Grasshoppers the first time.

Again we are determined..... we needed to fix something {secret} lets hope it had to do with the hot back-end and or the black gunk... which common sense might suggest we lump all these into poor connectivity..... maybe some copper runs are being installed where it makes sense to... no of course not wires...

In our testing of these adjustments, the Grasshopper has proved reliable for over 50,000 cycles and counting. These tweaks will be in full production this month, and will coincide with a further increase in production batch size.

So many cycles again makes me think about switching it on/off... then we also have the red & blue flashing death... might also be in the "adjustments" column....

Some users were wondering about the Grasshopper’s certifications. The device is both FCC and CE certified. CE paperwork will now be included on shipments when required to speed up the customs clearance process. We’ll soon be including an option for Priority Mail shipping which will be available during address verification. This option will also provide you with shipping insurance, and we recommend this option to anyone who is worried about failed delivery.

We’ll be back with another production update on the 15th.

The Grasshopper Team

This whole cert thing was a very nice thing to have gotten this done....

I do think they've presented these "necessary adjustments" more in a reliability aspect...

 

[skyvaper]

Allowing customers the option to add more units and accessories to their order without changing their place in line and shipping everything according to the original backer date has made all of the calculations and speculations based on order date, amount funded the date you backed, spreadsheets or ANYTHING completely obsolete IMO.

 

[seaofgreens]

Just need a nice FC backer to allow all FCers here to pile our orders onto their order, allowing us to leapfrog the rest of the chaff! Muahahahahah....

 

[luckypucky]

Just need a nice FC backer to allow all FCers here to pile our orders onto their order, allowing us to leapfrog the rest of the chaff! Muahahahahah....

If they ever get to the rest of us backers.. At this rate it looks like 2016.

 

[tubasco]

If they ever get to the rest of us backers.. At this rate it looks like 2016.

But "this rate" isn't what they plan on staying at. They admitted they have been "Beta testing" with the first round of backer shipments, and they also talked about the 50,000 power cycle test (and still counting) which leads me to believe they will soon be shipping larger batches.
I am a Dec 11 backer, and I fully expect mine to be in my hands by late October/early November.

 

[luckypucky]

But "this rate" isn't what they plan on staying at. They admitted they have been "Beta testing" with the first round of backer shipments, and they also talked about the 50,000 power cycle test (and still counting) which leads me to believe they will soon be shipping larger batches.
I am a Dec 11 backer, and I fully expect mine to be in my hands by late October/early November.

I am also a December backer and I'm not expecting anything till December.. maybe or after. I have read everything they have posted from day 1, they need to hire more assembly people if they plan to mass produce. Beta testing yes I know but with a lifetime warranty if they don't work they get replaced and they get feedback either way.

 

[tubasco]

I am also a December backer and I'm not expecting anything till December.. maybe or after. I have read everything they have posted from day 1, they need to hire more assembly people if they plan to mass produce. Beta testing yes I know but with a lifetime warranty if they don't work they get replaced and they get feedback either way.

how do you know they haven't hired more assembly people? So many assumptions on FC. Do you honestly think they will remain a "boutique vaporizer" company forever? They have literally been beta testing on the early-bird backers without divulging as much ahead of time. If they are not lying then their beta testing is nearly complete. (50,000 cycles of the latest incarnation and counting). I expect larger batches to be shipping in the next couple weeks. We'll see soon enough i guess...

 

[luckypucky]

how do you know they haven't hired more assembly people? So many assumptions on FC. Do you honestly think they will remain a "boutique vaporizer" company forever? They have literally been beta testing on the early-bird backers without divulging as much ahead of time. If they are not lying then their beta testing is nearly complete. (50,000 cycles of the latest incarnation and counting). I expect larger batches to be shipping in the next couple weeks. We'll see soon enough i guess...

We shall see, but assumptions? They said they had to hire more people last month.. Remember? I don't think that's an assumption.

 

[juke52]

It would be interesting if these guys did what a lot of pioneering tech start ups seem to do do: get their thing up and running (more or less...), then sell the company to some deep-pocketed Google type company and walk away with wheelbarrows of $. That might get the manufacturing part into the hands of some pros at least.

 

[tubasco]

We shall see, but assumptions? They said they had to hire more people last month.. Remember? I don't think that's an assumption.

I hear ya... but they did hire the people already. I feel it's an assumption to think they need to hire even more people in order to fulfill current backers' orders. They also talked about more automation being put into the assembly process, so the staff should be left to do more QC and less build-out. That's MY assumption anyway, haha
Bottom line is I feel pretty good about their dedication to making a well-working device... and I truly believe they are smart enough to know that mass shipping of faulty units is destined to bankrupt them... so if they really are making progress with the latest iteration, then we can only hope that larger batches are the next step! C'mon HL! We're rooting for you here!!

It would be interesting if these guys did what a lot of pioneering tech start ups seem to do do: get their thing up and running (more or less...), then sell the company to some deep-pocketed Google type company and walk away with wheelbarrows of $. That might get the manufacturing part into the hands of some pros at least.

That's really interesting... but my gut tells me they are clinching tight to their proprietary 3D printed heater. Maybe after a proven track record the company will be worth many times more what it's worth now? Would be nice to see them on Shark Tank, haha

 

[PeteSeattle]

A little interjection ... Are we still looking at ways to load the Hopper? I came across this grinder funnel ... DHGate :-/

http://www.dhgate.com/product/015-f...etal-spice/242216992.html#s2-11-7b|1899376255

 

[°k]

A little interjection ... Are we still looking at ways to load the Hopper? I came across this grinder funnel ... DHGate :-/

http://www.dhgate.com/product/015-f...etal-spice/242216992.html#s2-11-7b|1899376255

Damn those things to grind into powder always make me uncomfortable, they look like the perfect tool a rapist son of a bitch would use to prepare some roofie before a "date"... if it wasn't for that the idea of a funnel at the bottom of a grinder isn't bad, for the GH I think its narowness might be an issue though (clogged too easily?).

 

[cybrguy]

Damn those things to grind into powder always make me uncomfortable, they look like the perfect tool a rapist son of a bitch would use to prepare some roofie before a "date"

WTF? I think you scare me a little...

 

[°k]

WTF? I think you scare me a little...

Well look at the "teeth" and also the glass vial next to it that screws on the funnel; this doesn't look like it's for herbs (unless you want to turn it into powder) but more like it's for pills to be used as powder on the go.

 

[PeteSeattle]

Well look at the "teeth" and also the glass vial next to it that screws on the funnel; this doesn't look like it's for herbs (unless you want to turn it into powder) but more like it's for pills to be used as powder on the go.

Oh you're right! It was just something I've never seen before and who knows what comes up when you're searching dhgate. Yeah, it looks like definitely used for "some other" purpose.

 

[MoltenTiger]

Damn those things to grind into powder always make me uncomfortable, they look like the perfect tool a rapist son of a bitch would use to prepare some roofie before a "date"... if it wasn't for that the idea of a funnel at the bottom of a grinder isn't bad, for the GH I think its narowness might be an issue though (clogged too easily?).

Haha paraphernalia of others poison always seems different and weird. A lot of people would feel similar about the GH itself if they found out what it was.
Fortunately I think there's many, many more pill snorting partiers/crystal purchasers than powder crushing rapists

 

[sundaddy]

Lead proved to be too soft of a metal in the earlier units.

 

[Shrike]

...I see the stainless steel cases have an "estimated" release date of December, now. Guess it's taking them awhile to redesign and get them manufactured.

 

[Bass Vaper]

...I see the stainless steel cases have an "estimated" release date of December, now. Guess it's taking them awhile to redesign and get them manufactured.

Back end issues...

 

[grokit]

...I see the stainless steel cases have an "estimated" release date of December, now. Guess it's taking them awhile to redesign and get them manufactured.

Gotta think that's a big bill to pay too, for what the second time?

 

[Averyminya]

My first day with the Grasshopper I got so much amazing use out of it. A 10:30 A.M. walk with GS637 in my pocket and girlfriend by my side. We both enjoyed a walk to the bank during the warm late morning stroll. Just a couple hours ago I got back from seeing the Martian with 4 of my friends and I brought the Hopper along then too. 1 and 2 are very discreet. I'd say the hardest part to be stealthy is the loudish click and that can be solved by a loud scene. Otherwise hold your breath! The LED is very easy to cover in your hand. I leaned on my girlfriends shoulder so I could press the button with one hand and cover the led with the other. Beautiful waterpipe use as well. Stainless steel well worth the wait. It's so much smaller than I thought, very thin and elegant. Sorry for the clunky post, it's late and I'm tired. I'm just so excited because it really is a void filled and an era closing and beginning.

Those of you who don't frequent Reddit, by the end of October I will have a review video. I'm taking requests so if there's anything you're curious about use wise send me a message and I'll write it down and try and cover it in the video. I may do a livestream, but I'd need to find an alternative to Twitch since I don't think they allow our paraphernalia

Love,
Worth the wait.

 

[Old School]

I can't be the only one wondering if this most recent GH out into the wild was pre or post "necessary adjustments".... would this have been too soon to be a post....how will we know..?

Anyway I hope yours is flawless....as far as operationally..... look forward to your review....thx....

 

[hi_there]

They admitted they have been "Beta testing" with the first round of backer shipments

The problem with this is that they did not admit it till a bunch of broken units were received. So I take it they did not really think they were beta testing till after the reports of broken units.

 

[Averyminya]

I can't be the only one wondering if this most recent GH out into the wild was pre or post "necessary adjustments".... would this have been too soon to be a post....how will we know..?

Anyway I hope yours is flawless....as far as operationally..... look forward to your review....thx....

Hm. The dial is GS000637, as far as everything else there were very small scratches but nothing major or even noticable. It's very very sleek. It works great. I got a littlw worried, I over tightened the backend (where you screw the battery shut). It just reset and had to tighten the last 2 or 3 threads. It was fine. Still a lovely unit. No one has noticed smell even on 4 through water with people coming into a room as vapor is being exhaled.

 

[paytonpenn]

Odd. I smell my GrassHopper when it's loaded and can't leave it in my car with the leather over it without my car smelling like herb.

So maybe no one cared versus not noticing