Discontinued The Grasshopper

[nonbeliever]

Selection bias is a real thing and you are right that it happens often.

However, that does not explain how someone could be on their fourth unit...especially since @nonbeliever had one that lasted many months then quick fails afterwards for the next three. That speaks to a bigger issue...

@nonbeliever did anything change with your usage habits around the time the first one failed and when you used the next three? Do they offer any explaination as to why these are failing? I would be demanding root cause of failure (not that they are obligated to give it to you...)

The only change in my usage habits since I first received the GH is that I am not using it at all, since it doesn't work. I'd characterize myself as a heavier user, and since a few days after receiving have pretty much only used it at temp setting 5. If I have to meter my usage, the unit is of no value, so that needs to be off the table.

To weigh in further, my report on the problem I had with the second body was the first I've reported any problems - never posting any of the problems I had resulting in replacing the body or multiple clicker back ends. As a business person and entrepreneur, I very much understand the trials and tribulations of startups, both successful and not. HL is of course going to experience growing pains, and as their supporters (I was an IGG backer), we're going to feel those pains.

That said, my experience also allows me to read between the spin, and I believe HL has done themselves a big disservice by over promising repeatedly, and making claims that certainly don't appear consistent with what their community is experiencing. I think they are acting like a company that is financially stretched, and is trying to keep the wheels on so they don't implode. With the body, the first two failures were red lights to black - and I was told the heater malfunctioned. This last body was the blue/red lights of death - which was an early problem that was reported a lot, and they have inferred was fixed over the last number of months. Maybe they are correcting failures with replacements from the older parts remaining, I can't say. I can only report what I am experiencing - which is slower times in them responding to my problems; unit failures at a rate that doesn't seem consistent with their claims, and I ended up canceling a unit I had added to my order at shipment because it was not shipped with my order (although that was one of their promises). I got tired of dates being not met (they kept changing the date my add on order would be shipped same as many others), and I have lost most of my confidence in what they are delivering or even their long term viability. Having game changing technology does not guarantee either success or longevity. You have to be able to deliver and make money. Replacing units 4 times is likely eating into profits, not making one.

 

[tr33sPlease]

The only change in my usage habits since I first received the GH is that I am not using it at all, since it doesn't work. I'd characterize myself as a heavier user, and since a few days after receiving have pretty much only used it at temp setting 5. If I have to meter my usage, the unit is of no value, so that needs to be off the table.

To weigh in further, my report on the problem I had with the second body was the first I've reported any problems - never posting any of the problems I had resulting in replacing the body or multiple clicker back ends. As a business person and entrepreneur, I very much understand the trials and tribulations of startups, both successful and not. HL is of course going to experience growing pains, and as their supporters (I was an IGG backer), we're going to feel those pains.

That said, my experience also allows me to read between the spin, and I believe HL has done themselves a big disservice by over promising repeatedly, and making claims that certainly don't appear consistent with what their community is experiencing. I think they are acting like a company that is financially stretched, and is trying to keep the wheels on so they don't implode. With the body, the first two failures were red lights to black - and I was told the heater malfunctioned. This last body was the blue/red lights of death - which was an early problem that was reported a lot, and they have inferred was fixed over the last number of months. Maybe they are correcting failures with replacements from the older parts remaining, I can't say. I can only report what I am experiencing - which is slower times in them responding to my problems; unit failures at a rate that doesn't seem consistent with their claims, and I ended up canceling a unit I had added to my order at shipment because it was not shipped with my order (although that was one of their promises). I got tired of dates being not met (they kept changing the date my add on order would be shipped same as many others), and I have lost most of my confidence in what they are delivering or even their long term viability. Having game changing technology does not guarantee either success or longevity. You have to be able to deliver and make money. Replacing units 4 times is likely eating into profits, not making one.

Thanks for the report...this is very disappointing.

 

[Mr. Me2]

What's the latest news on the stainless steel travel cases/tubes?

I had ordered one of those, but I'm going to get one of @Ratchett's leather cases instead.

 

[Likes2vape]

I just looked at Reddit and it looks like there are 3 more faulty units over there

 

[GHWhatWhat]

I just looked at Reddit and it looks like there are 3 more faulty units over there

One guy posted twice, but yeah, not great to see.

 

[Custom Flower Hardware]

This thread has seemed to turn into..."lets post all the broken units and complain" it has totally gone away from the product and how it works. People like myself with working units probably are sick of the bitching and are happy hopper users so they are most likely done with this thread because the negativity is flourishing. There will always be units that malfunction with new companies no matter what the industry. Personally I am done with this thread because my hoppers work better then all my other vapes combined. I will not keep reading about folks pissing and moaning every chance they get. Most of this is probably user error but not worth discussing. Can we start a thread in the lounge or somewhere titled happy hopper users??? Thanks.

 

[smokeydabear]

I don't really post that much but I've been following this thread from the beginning. It seems people are getting frustrated and its somewhat understandable but we shouldn't get upset with the victims because they have plenty of reason to be upset too. I don't recall seeing one post saying the gh sucks when its working so I dont believe people are bashing it, people just need to tell their side of the story. When people bring their bad experiences to us it's usually preceded by the good time they had with it. I think its cool to let folks vent a little if they need to. Anyway back to our regularly scheduled discussion

 

[nonbeliever]

This thread has seemed to turn into..."lets post all the broken units and complain" it has totally gone away from the product and how it works. People like myself with working units probably are sick of the bitching and are happy hopper users so they are most likely done with this thread because the negativity is flourishing. There will always be units that malfunction with new companies no matter what the industry. Personally I am done with this thread because my hoppers work better then all my other vapes combined. I will not keep reading about folks pissing and moaning every chance they get. Most of this is probably user error but not worth discussing. Can we start a thread in the lounge or somewhere titled happy hopper users??? Thanks.

For some number of us, the GH is not working at all, so it can't only be about how it works, since it isn't working. I personally have posted on some number of occasions the positive aspects of the Grasshopper, but as I've experienced recently, it isn't working for me at all, and is not user error, but malfunctions in the technology (not according to me, but according to Hopper Labs). It seems to me that understanding both sides of the story might be important to some folks. I'm happy you are having a very positive experience with your Grasshopper, and am looking forward to having a similar positive experience again... I did for some period of time, but that has changed, and not for the better. It's part of the story. I could certainly be posting I love my Grasshopper (I do love the technology when it was working) except that over the last 4 weeks I've only had 4 or 5 days where it worked. That of course would then have a bunch of folks asking the question of what is wrong with it.

Seems to me like what is being discussed is a fair conversation.

 

[CarolKing]

It seems like the positive post are few and far in between. Come on folks, if you have a GH vaporizer that works and you are happy with, please post your positive reviews. We want to hear them.

It's already time for another update from Hopper Labs. I haven't felt confident enough to order one of these units. They aren't ready yet for prime time. Still in the beta testing phase. There's hope FCer @ShayWhiteGrow is a happy customer.

 

[ZC]

At this point its all speculation but a possible cause of failure could be the charger? Maybe there's a problem where some chargers are causing shorts in the GH, which would at least explain why so many users are having repeated failures with new parts, assuming they're using the same charger.

 

[Averyminya]

@CarolKing As am I. Grasshopper cloud machine since the 5th of October! It has serviced over 13 people and 8 different bongs. I'm so sorry my review has been delayed, college has been busy with midterms and starting my capstone for next year. That has some priority over the video, but I promise it is in the works! I have about 22 minutes of good video so far.

I am sorry to hear about the recent failures. I wonder if it is something that has changed in the building process, QC tests, or if it simply is more people speaking up compared to others who've still received theirs. But I simply don't believe that the Internet can qualify as the same population of Grasshopper orders.

Life is stressful, don't stress this tiny aspect of your life. It will come in it's due time, and fretting with dark speculation will only bring more stress!

back to my paper...

 

[Custom Flower Hardware]

At this point its all speculation but a possible cause of failure could be the charger? Maybe there's a problem where some chargers are causing shorts in the GH, which would at least explain why so many users are having repeated failures with new parts, assuming they're using the same charger.

good point. I never used the charger I charge them in the haze charger. Huh? Sorry for the negatory outburst gang

 

[pakalolo]

This thread has seemed to turn into..."lets post all the broken units and complain" it has totally gone away from the product and how it works. People like myself with working units probably are sick of the bitching and are happy hopper users so they are most likely done with this thread because the negativity is flourishing. There will always be units that malfunction with new companies no matter what the industry. Personally I am done with this thread because my hoppers work better then all my other vapes combined. I will not keep reading about folks pissing and moaning every chance they get. Most of this is probably user error but not worth discussing. Can we start a thread in the lounge or somewhere titled happy hopper users??? Thanks.

Talking about what people post is not talking about the Grasshopper. If you want the tone of this thread to change, abandoning it won't help. Opening another thread for happy GH owners only would remove positive posts from this thread, which just makes everything worse. We would not allow it for that reason alone. If you want people to make positive posts, start the ball rolling yourself.

This direction is a derail. Please post about the GH, not the thread and the people posting in it.

 

[slcbdco]

Can we start a thread in the lounge or somewhere titled happy hopper users??? Thanks.

Yes Please! FWIW I've been happily grasshopping since August and this is still my go to vape. If I travel which I do a fair bit it's the only vape I take with me.

I just recently got a mivape. It's a cool device, different than the GH and worth having. It works great but when I get home from this bit of traveling because I have to send it since the door hinge came broken. That is a company that is also launching a product after two years and this is their second vape and they have QC issues, just like pax, just like firefly, just like storz and Bickel.

The vaporizer space is a new space so reasonable expectations might help. Of course that's easy for me to say as I take another tasty rip of my perfectly functioning Grasshooper that I've have for months!

 

[paytonpenn]

I'm still a happy customer.

This was posted in the Firewood thread but would probably be better read here.

Ive read alot of grasshoppers breaking easily....were they the beta versions or what?

Yes. That was the point of the Indiegogo. If you look at many Kickstarters/IG campaigns you'll notice the first iterations not being that great or actually failing to meet expectations (let alone not coming any time soon). I think its awesome they are actually replacing the broken ones. I've backed other things and too often has the maker failed to properly support his/her product when it breaks but is in progress of shipping to the other promised units. I understand situations occur and these people are just humans. They had an idea but sometimes it ends up being more trouble than it was worth.

It's something to get the item you backed for in your hands, but to actually expect someone to be able to support 20+% of the backers when they needed money to make it in the first place.. Well you better hope they got an extra 20+% of imaginary money to pay for all these unexpected dupli-triplicates.. Or you better hope they are marking you up well and cost ain't as bad as they say.

It's kind of stupid how quickly this thread can get pages, I don't feel there are many people who actually own Hoppers contributing and its pretty counter productive especially if you are trying to find useful info.

 

[Czechyourhead]

I've had my Ti hopper almost a week now (have yet to try my ss hopper). Working as expected. I've been running it pretty hard and constant through a water piece. Only issue I've run into is the need to clean the lid daily as the threads become harder to screw in when dirty. *extra batteries are a must.

Completely happy with my purchase. I know it sounds kinda cliche, but it's worth the wait.

Gifted one to a friends who's vape knowledge was limited to the Accent. His response was jubilant. As a civilian compared to lot of us on FC, he mentioned that it covered every need he could foresee. Every issued he'd had with previous version of a portable are covered with the hopper. And seeing he had no idea the hopper was even an option or any knowledge of the delays....

I have to agree with above sentiments. I've strayed from posting in the thread as I've been pleasantly medicated...and all the unfounded animosity (and in some cases founded) is harshing my mellow.

I know the delays are redundant and frustrating. I've been along since Nov 30, 2013. In the end I'm glad I signed up for the ride.

 

[TheWhisper]

At this point its all speculation but a possible cause of failure could be the charger? Maybe there's a problem where some chargers are causing shorts in the GH, which would at least explain why so many users are having repeated failures with new parts, assuming they're using the same charger.

Mine stopped working before I first attempted to charge it, unfortunately.

 

[tubasco]

Mine stopped working before I first attempted to charge it, unfortunately.

doesn't that usually indicate a "dead battery?"
but seriously, can you please follow up with what hopper labs has told you? surely you've written them and they've responded by now...

 

[JiggyJack]

Only issue I've run into is the need to clean the lid daily as the threads become harder to screw in when dirty.

I'm curious. Why/how are your threads getting dirty? Haven't heard this issue before and with the threads being so deep in the mouthpiece I'm just wondering how yours are getting so dirty. Are you using the stick-your-hopper-in-a-vat-of-weed loading method (which I am planning to use once I get mine)?

And seeing he had no idea the hopper was even an option or any knowledge of the delays...

That is one lucky bastard. I can only imagine being given a hopper sight-unseen. Maybe tonight I can dream about it.

 

[TheWhisper]

doesn't that usually indicate a "dead battery?"
but seriously, can you please follow up with what hopper labs has told you? surely you've written them and they've responded by now...

I don't mean to be brusque, but I elaborated on my situation multiple times over multiple posts throughout the past few pages. I already wrote about how it wasn't either of the two batteries that I received that was causing the problems, and I already wrote about my communications with GHL.

EDIT: It looks like you may have been kidding about the dead battery part. And there's no news from GHL other than what I wrote before - new body is in the mail and I need to ship back my broken one.

 

[Czechyourhead]

I'm curious. Why/how are your threads getting dirty? Haven't heard this issue before and with the threads being so deep in the mouthpiece I'm just wondering how yours are getting so dirty. Are you using the stick-your-hopper-in-a-vat-of-weed loading method (which I am planning to use once I get mine)?

Fairly sure its from heavy use. By the time I'm cleaning the threads, the screen in the cap is starting to become slightly restricted. I'm using a santa cruz shredder, and some of my meds are a little dry. A rougher grind and wetter material might help with this. I load over the screen of my grinder, I do no load it like a dugout.

Not really a big issue, I'm just trying to be sure I don't strip the threads by forcing it.

 

[Nube Scrutator]

I'm curious. Why/how are your threads getting dirty? Haven't heard this issue before...

I have the same minor, minor issue. After repeated use, sticky material starts to get on the fine threads. A simple wipe with iso takes care of it.

 

[killick]

So after a bunch of soul searching and thinking I cancelled my hopper, but not for the reasons anyone thinks.

After chatting with a fellow med patient buddy we came to the conclusion that the hopper will be a perfect tool for many, like a precision sniper rifle it will get the job done now! I also need a job done, but a shotgun is more what I need. It's less about precision and more about volume.

I'm gonna miss having a hopper just for the hi tech edness of it and know there are times it would be the perfect vape for me, but given where we live and play these days I have no reason for stealth. Using MiniVAP as a stealth vape for the summer showed me that.

We are fortunate we got away from big cities and small minds, and now live where we no longer worry about what the people next door think we might be smoking - they already know

Kudos to Hopper Labs for helping and supporting the decision. I'm going to keep following the thread cause I really hope they do well with their product.

 

[Averyminya]

Fairly sure its from heavy use. By the time I'm cleaning the threads, the screen in the cap is starting to become slightly restricted. I'm using a santa cruz shredder, and some of my meds are a little dry. A rougher grind and wetter material might help with this. I load over the screen of my grinder, I do no load it like a dugout.

Not really a big issue, I'm just trying to be sure I don't strip the threads by forcing it.

This happens to me too. I think it's from pieces of herb being pulled into the screen, and then moves to the side and gets stuck.

Every 3 days or so, I take a 3 Q-Tips, dip them in Iso, hold the mouthpiece upside down and swab the threading, and then the screen. I use the other dry ends to swab it dry. Then I blow through the mouthpiece and swab with a dry Q-Tip just to make sure I get the Iso in case it gets around the other end of the screen. Sometimes I will swab the outer threads, but definitely less often than the inside. However, it takes less than 5 minutes, and looks brand new every time I do it. There is only 1 small stain that I think is from heat of vapor residue that I just don't clean well enough. The threading feels so freaking nice though, cleaning it isn't a chore because the payoff is so nice.

I don't think you would strip the threads though, I think the gunk just makes it a little harder to close.

Also, if you use the mouthpiece as a way to pack the Hopper (which works very well), the threading will get dirty much more quickly. I actually stopped packing it that way because of this. Loading the GH is so easy though, and there are a few different ways to do it. I'm going to try loading with a doobtoob soon, I just got my hands on one.


Funny thing happened to me today! My battery died when I was hitting a fresh bowl. I forgot to turn off the unit, but the blinking lights had gone away (They only last a few seconds). So I start unscrewing the backend, swap my batteries, and when I go to but the backend back on, halfway through screwing it back in I see the lights turn on and I'm was so confused. The mechanical pen click tricked me!

I'm glad to see so many positive posts after the "Get Your Shit Together" post hah! I think part of what the problem is, is how much can you talk about a product after you have said something on it? I definitely feel awkward whenever I repeat myself.

 

[grokit]

The ‘Grasshopper Vaporizer’ team just posted:

1 new Announcement:

Hey Everyone,

We are well into November and production is moving smoothly. Not much has changed since our last update 15 days ago. We’ve added another member to our team and are focused on delivering more units.

The Grasshopper is rapidly making a place for itself in the vaporizer community. We are happy to see backers enjoying their new devices and sharing their experiences. Thanks for being a part of it!

The number of issues is vastly down from what we experienced when we first entered production. As our revisions are constantly being implemented, we expect to see a very low failure rate as we move forward. The new service request form can be found under Account>Warranty Request for anyone experiencing problems.

Production is running 7-days a week to keep units flowing at our maximum rate. It’s a busy time with all effort going directly into delivery. We still expect to be through the vast majority of backers this month.

We’ll return with an update on December 1st.

The Grasshopper Team.