Discontinued The Grasshopper

[sk8man121]

Is anyone still experiencing hot back-end issues? I was using my recently-returned RMAd hopper yesterday and the base of the clip got flesh-searingly hot 5-6 seconds after clicking on the pen to the point of my hand instinctively letting it go. Oddly enough, I have tried to recreate this since and cannot.

Losing faith after 3 RMAs, and they claim this is a brand new back-end. Perhaps it's the main unit?

 

[biohacker]

Losing faith after 3 RMAs, and they claim this is a brand new back-end. Perhaps it's the main unit?

It's the backend IMHO, they work differently than the older style that weren't as "smooth" to turn. And yes, completely random, so I think it's a contact/conduction issue myself. Keep the faith!

 

[sk8man121]

What's the next step? Keep it and hope for the best? RMA a 4th f*in time?

Also @biohacker can you explain how the new back-ends work differently from the old ones? I hadn't heard this.

 

[biohacker]

What's the next step? Keep it and hope for the best? RMA a 4th f*in time?

Let your conscience be your guide! I don't know how they work differently, but they are very different from the older style. They are much smoother to turn, and just have a different feel. Some members have pointed out some differences but I can't recall what exactly they were. Keep your head up, it's part of the roller coaster ride! If these burns keep happening, and @JCat starts documenting/ filming, i'm smelling a class action lawsuit coming up. Well not really, but just seen it mentioned on another forum due to so many pissed off customers.

 

[sk8man121]

My only real concern is that the heat build-up that seems to come out of nowhere in the back-end could be dangerous or cause the device to explode/electrocute/etc.

 

[biohacker]

My only real concern is that the heat build-up that seems to come out of nowhere in the back-end could be dangerous or cause the device to explode/electrocute/etc.

I think some of my burns have felt "electrical", but who knows....but they do work better than a coffee to wake me the fuck up. My girlfriend screamed (giggity!) and said "i'm out", and that's when I drew the line. Happy wife happy life!

I don't think you have much to worry about it exploding, as I think they did their due diligence there and don't want to kill people, but even the roller coaster ride has the potential risk to maim or kill, so yeah..you know.

 

[GreenHopper]

I'm kinda with @biohacker here.

It's not that I like seeing complaints, I wish everyone was having a good time. But I do find it interesting to see what issues people are having and if they are still experiencing repeat RMA's.

Personally I've only RMA'd my purple hopper twice, once as a DOA and then 2 weeks later the body was swapped due to cop lights. This was back in the day when they sent out the parts individually.

My current usage of the GH has dropped right off but I still love the device and see it having a place in my line up. There is nothing out there more stealthy than the GH. Most of my friends will warm to the Hopper quicker than any of my other vapes, including my VapCaps. There is something about being able to hand a fully loaded Hopper to a newb and all they have to do is draw when the light goes blue.

My current concerns are (mostly from others reports):

• Repeat RMA's needing immediate re-RMAing - This is completely unfair to the user and is just going to result in a bad reputation. If I had to RMA my unit more than 3 times in a row it's going in the draw until either reports show improvement on QA or it never sees the light of day again.
  
  
• Hoppers not performing like they used to - The performance was what got me with the Hopper, it really does blow me away. If the latest amendments are reducing the Hoppers performance then again I'm going to be losing interest. If I have an RMA requirement and the device that comes back has a different vape signature that is noticeably less enjoyable to hit than what I was used to using then I'd be disappointed.

 

[biohacker]

@GreenHopper that sums it up quite impeccably!! Both of your current concerns are bang on, and reflect how I feel, but I would add DOA to the immediate Re-RMAing as well. The thing is, and has been reported on other forums - is that they all work differently. Something changes in the calibration, or as @JCat noted his works better on 4 than 5, that's completely unacceptable. And I really think alot of owners that think their GH's work fine, don't... perhaps they may be lower temp vaporists, or who knows but some of us know what a REAL GH works like, and some of us (myself included) have provided stellar videos of this. Would be nice to see some more videos in this thread, as well as participation. Mostly lurkers.

 

[voodoo_vape]

Agreed!

I've owned my GH since August of 16.
Initially loved it until my first RMA.
Since then it's never performed as well and performance seemed to go downhill with each subsequent RMA.

I started searching for alternatives.
Got the SBJ and loved it but it's not portable enough for me.
I started reading the VC thread since it was growing pretty quickly but I was very skeptical.
For shits and giggles, and because I thought they were quite handsome, I got a TI Woody a few months ago.
Tried it a few times and fell head over heals. I'm sure it's not for everyone, but for me it's just about perfect.

Incredible customer service, customization, constant innovation, no batteries or BS claims, encouraging an entire ecosystem, flavor and effects on par with my Crafty and GH... What's not to like?!

I too may jump back on the GH bandwagon when all ducks are in a row.

It's funny how much CS drives my vape purchases these days!

Hop on!

Thanks for the heads up on the VC, still don't think it's for me but i'll keep my eye on it indeed and perhaps give it a spin next time I have a vape meetup with Lazylathe! He wasn't much of a fan either.

Others have said so in the past, but no one has not fallen in the "nets" of VC without having at least a decent experience....!!

I finally reached the point of being tired of it.
Not the vape, I'm tired of reading this thread.
I happen to enjoy using the Hopper a lot and I come here to learn more and to share my experiences. I don't mind hearing about others' negative experiences, since there is a knowledge base being built here.

The cheer leading bro aspect on the negative side has become infinitely repetitive, boring and ridiculous in my opinion, and there's so little that's appearing as 'new' here.

My personal update is that my two nine month old Hoppers have been great for over two months now. The track record of the two has averaged an RMA every six weeks. No trouble for me to mail them in, and in my opinion, they still work great, idk about them "going backwards"; I don't see that from where I sit.
Incidentally, I had 4 Crafty's fail in a year's time even while S&B is one of the solid manufacturers!

I realize that as a frequent poster I also have been repetitive. But just a couple of weeks ago, on the return of @vtac I advocated the practice of refraining from speaking unless one has something to add to the discussion. Having reflected on that, I'm going to take a few weeks (minimum) off and maybe pick it up down the road.

As Joni Mitchell once wrote, "If you need me, I'll be in the bar," except for me it's the garden. Or PM me.

Cooome on man... this is not right!! Whenever you see sth negative being said about HL you pop out to say that you dislike seeing "repetitive" posts and facts and experiences.... Well, you can' t shut people's mouth... that's for sure... and HL should have weighted things better when they made this tremendous expansion/opening, name it however you like, before starting bullshitting people that have actually supported them to the last vapor cloud in the past...now we'll be cynical fuckCombustioners! ... All of us that have been moaning and posting our frustration and/or disappointment in this thread, have actually been adding content and experiences!!
Personally, although my general satisfaction about their CS after having received my hopper cannot make me forget what I've been through so far. Not to mention my friend's experience..
Regardless the pioneer of the vape in stealth factor and vapor production, the flaws have been so many that people don't really want to undergo many things that haven't been sorted out yet.
@GreenHopper @biohacker I'm totally with you guys on this!! Times are hard for many so that they have the ability to spend such money on vapes and other VAS () and in addition to that to be ready to pay any postage fees needed for an RMA.
Plus the fact that CS wise, DynaVap rocks!! And it does make a lot of difference knowing that there is an excellent CS along with a very intriguing product!!
I dare to say that if I had met VapCap earlier, I would have probably delayed my hopper purchase a lot more, maybe I wouldn't have bought it.. who knows...

 

[SpudBob]

I really have to hand it to a lot of you guys. Your loyalty to a product is amazing. I know that the GH, when working properly, is fantastic. My initial attraction to the GH was its simplicity. Hit the button ,take a hit and turn it off! What a concept! No fancy smancy crap! Just good, strong vapor! The problem is if these were your car or your toilet you'd be hating life! Product reliability is crucial to company survival. If GH doesn't get their shit together they are a going to get tanked-then where is your "lifetime warranty"?. CS is critical to survival in this, or ANY other, industry and it seems that GH is throwing out some bad stuff lately.Now I realize these are growing pains but people don't like pain! IF they want to grow they NEED to improve reliability! Their life depends on it! I mean service, say, once year would be acceptable. Every couple months is ridiculous though! Also the thought of having to have multiple units to compensate for GH reliability issues is, IMHO, ridiculous also. Maybe I'm the ridiculous one one??? This maybe a newby observation but the info here was enough to make me jump ship and head in another direction. Thats not what you want to see happen in a startup company like GH. They are competing against GIANTS with mucho capital. Mark my words, if they don't get it right, and soon, they will be a dead duck in the great big pond that IS the vape industry IMHO!

P.S. Thanks to ALL of you guys and gals that shared your honest experiences with this product! It,probably, saved me a lot of frustration and heartache!

 

[Icon13]

Is anyone still experiencing hot back-end issues? I was using my recently-returned RMAd hopper yesterday and the base of the clip got flesh-searingly hot 5-6 seconds after clicking on the pen to the point of my hand instinctively letting it go. Oddly enough, I have tried to recreate this since and cannot.

Losing faith after 3 RMAs, and they claim this is a brand new back-end. Perhaps it's the main unit?

From my experience neither component will fix this. I had multiple body replacements and each time the body was replaced the unit worked great and the backend stayed much cooler, but it was only a temporary fix.

After many sessions it would gradually get hotter and hotter until it would be very hot every use and the performance would degrade until it would stop working. Both ends would get extremely hot in the period leading up to the failure. Like, there's no way I'm going to put my lips on this thing. I learned to use it by holding it in the middle where it was much less hot. I used mine strictly through a Mobius Matrix anyways. Not only was it very hot, but the excess heat had me very concerned using it natively due to the fact that I have a lithium ion battery basically in my mouth.

 

[frank grimes]

Would anyone recommend getting an external charger to charge the battery rather than use the pen itself as the charger? Aside from the convenience, I'm thinking about getting an external charger to preserve the pen. Anyone think using the pen as the charger makes the gh deteriorate faster?

 

[voodoo_vape]

Would anyone recommend getting an external charger to charge the battery rather than use the pen itself as the charger? Aside from the convenience, I'm thinking about getting an external charger to preserve the pen. Anyone think using the pen as the charger makes the gh deteriorate faster?

you should definitely get an external charger!! For both your unit and your batteries lifetime.
Grab either a nitecore or an xtar; personally I have a D4 nitecore one and all my 4 batts would be in rotation as soon as they'd finish.
Earlier version GH chargers were kinda faulty, so I have never ever user the one that came with the hopper.. Latest version works fine but it pumps the battery to its limits. In the long term, I think that this is not good for the overall lifetime. External chargers, nitecore for sure, leaves a small "buffer" and does not fully charge them.

Hope that this helped

 

[frank grimes]

you should definitely get an external charger!! For both your unit and your batteries lifetime.
Grab either a nitecore or an xtar; personally I have a D4 nitecore one and all my 4 batts would be in rotation as soon as they'd finish.
Earlier version GH chargers were kinda faulty, so I have never ever user the one that came with the hopper.. Latest version works fine but it pumps the battery to its limits. In the long term, I think that this is not good for the overall lifetime. External chargers, nitecore for sure, leaves a small "buffer" and does not fully charge them.

Hope that this helped

Thanks, that's good to know...I'm looking at the Xtar ANT MC1 PLUS....it's a single charger but that's all I need. Xtar is a lot cheaper than nitecore but I love the small form factor of the xtar. You think nitecore is that much better than xtar?

 

[biohacker]

You think nitecore is that much better than xtar?

@MoltenTiger doesn't! Search his posts, he's the charger guru in this thread IMO! But put on your thinking cap

 

[mrb]

When they get this product right it'll be amazing! I just hope they don't go under from all the repairs they seem to be doing. .

This would be my perfect vape, but I'm not willing to go through sending it in from the UK every time.

I praise the company for aiming to achieve such a great device. Hope they figure it all out before someone else does it better.

Thanks to everyone who leaves their recent hopper experiences . . can't wait to see the day the complaints drop off. . . Just make sure you pop back to tell the rest of us when the issues are finally evaporating

 

[biohacker]

YAY Swag!!

Grasshopper Grasshopper Mail
New Tees, Hats and Videos


Hopper Lab's new YouTube channel showcases the Hopper, tips and tricks, how it's made and more. Subscribe to our channel for giveaways and more videos. Enjoy!





Hopper Labs snapback truckers hat with a deep fit, flat brim, and mesh backing. Great for summer in the outdoors!



New Hopper Tees designed by an HL employee!

 

[steviekool]

Wish they had double X.

 

[skyvaper]

Just picked this piece up and while a bit bigger than I expected. Paired with the the hopper and pfe........YES!!!

 

[IAmKrazy2]

Anyone try the performance front end yet? I ordered one to try. The idea of much better airflow has me sold.

 

[Hjalmark]

You think nitecore is that much better than xtar?

Xtar is much better because it has "X" in its name

Otherwise I never had a li-ion charger before except the Xtar vc2, just ordered the Ant for my portable kit + Anker 10,000 power bank that all fits neatly in my little purse.. MAN PURSE!!!

But quality wise I have no idea, Xtar has cool display but think the nitecore is smaller?

But then again.. Xtar has x in its name

 

[Poostuff]

YAY Swag!!

New Hopper Tees designed by an HL employee!

I might get one of those shirts, bet it lasts longer than the Grasshopper.

 

[MoltenTiger]

Thanks, that's good to know...I'm looking at the Xtar ANT MC1 PLUS....it's a single charger but that's all I need. Xtar is a lot cheaper than nitecore but I love the small form factor of the xtar. You think nitecore is that much better than xtar?

The Xtar MC1plus selects charge rate via cell length, meaning it charges the hopper batteries at an 18650 rate (1A).
The original MC1 doesn't do this, and is better suited to the hopper batteries (or any thin, long li-ion cells).

Nitecore is a decent manufacturer, but the tech specs of the Xtar MC2 and MC1 (old version) make them much better suited for hopper batteries.
Key differences are the precision, charge rate, charged cell charge rate, and the ease of placing a GHB (less prone to damage battery wraps).
I also appreciate the smaller size of the Xtar's (the MC1 is tiny!), the cheaper price, the ease of portable charging and the care-free nature of it - don't have to worry about leaving charged cells plugged in, don't have to select a charge rate. It's as simple as dropping a battery on and grabbing it off when it's done, or some time after (it charges charged cells at less than 0.000005A, which is pretty damn good - 98.75% slower than the Xtar VC2, VC4 and any Nitecore).

 

[JCat]

So my SS Hopper is going back for a 3rd RMA (in a row, came back from the 1st two with same problems and some new ones, although some problems partially solved but hardly fixed)

Caroline said she would personally look at this one and expedite it and would recommend a replacement Hopper be sent out. I guess we'll see. I'm kinda' in a pickle, because I really want a working Hopper for when I'm out of town on business for a week (have to do this two weeks a year), unfortunately, if I sent back my SS Hopper today, and everything went perfectly, and they had it for no more than one day in servicing, and they shipped back priority (which they will only do at full price of $45 USD now ... no discount for the $20-$25 free shipping that you are opting out of ... ??????????)

Hopefully they send back my Ti Hopper back actually fixed ASAP as they still have that (since Caroline said she would expedite the SS one I asked her to instead expedite the Ti one ... for the above reason of the SS one being almost impossible to get back to me before I am out of town for a week). We'll see what HL says. Maybe they will be accommodating this time? Maybe they will send my Ti one back priority? Maybe even for free? (I doubt this ... but I like bashing my head against a brick wall asking for reasonable accommodation based on reasonable reasons and getting turned down repeatedly! )

I'm hopeful based on the way Caroline responded, but that's just the way I am; an optimistic pessimist!

 

[duff]

Sending good vibes your way @JCat!

There are some smart folks here! More details than I can comprehend @MoltenTiger! Thanks.