I'm picking up a VapCap 'M' tomorrow for 20 bucks, that special price requires a return buyer (an existing dynavap account for their 20 hour sale). I think with reputable options like that for such a cost (it's normally 50, something like a third of what my 2011 MFLB cost but with actual ability), how could anyone be so phased by a GH in 2017. I can see repeat issues being a solid reason, but having had repeat issues I still don't see a viable alternative or real reason to hate on a consumer product or the company that's trying to make it better despite obvious difficulties. Why make more for them? Some seem compelled to?
HL aren't folding anytime soon, so to those who're disgruntled why not just sit the thing aside and ship it off once they've amended all the design bottlenecks they're aware of or have further improved their warranty department (to me that's a bit like 'why buy this tech now when in 8 months this new version is coming out?'* sometimes it's worth the wait). I've still got my MFLB after all these years and I've considered warrantying it, though I typically use my GH daily more than it's ever seen use. The GH is an excellent vape and it's totally worth the rigmarole to get a working one, unless of course it's feature set is redundant to a user, to which I'd wonder why they're even interested or willing to complain about it. To me that just says they're suffering buyers remorse for something they probably should have avoided. There's a lot of options out there, most are legitimately below par comparatively or offer something entirely different. I'm not willing to settle for that, but a cheap butane vape on the side just for fun might get some use - if I ever get caught out charging or RMAing. Any potential hopper owner can easily do the same, which has been recommended for a long time now.
*i was talking computers/components here, but that highlights an interesting idea, a la Moore's Law aka planned incremental improvement. Intel created Moore's Law and it has been referenced against as a trend for random phenomena, when the reality is it's just a business target set by a large corporation and has nothing to do with progression of technology beyond the economic constraints that limit it. I see alternative products from the big players Pax, S&B, Arizer, maybe some others (though there's mostly small scale struggling competition to the big guns) following this same limited approach, where without a general consensus of 'these products are severely lacking' there is no incentive to innovate or progress, and what we see is stagnant greed. The Grasshopper is dissimilar to this paradigm in that they have the most innovative product that does not have designed obsolescence. There is no imminent GH2, there is just the GH and planned accessories like a mains power adapter, rapid external charger, a case or two, oils front end, whatever. So that's why it's able to be held onto for a good while before claiming warranty (though why bother, better off enjoying it), but also why the company is a good one to support and be supported by. They've definitely rubbed a number of people off the wrong way, but without dirty tactics of incremental and slow progress, there's just wait times and catch up to do many years of work immediately. If they manage to pull it off, then their efforts will cause a market turnaround and for two or three vape style usages (one hits and bongs, sessions with cooling attachments) it will become a renowned new standard.
If they don't manage to get there, which I see no reason to assume, then it's still a great time having one. Technology should be marvelled and not cause us to feel annoyance - that is what incremental progress causes, updates causing obsolescence. In this instance the increments aren't for a particular CPU efficiency or die size, they are mass-manufacturing scaling issues that will be resolved within this products lifetime (a magnitude better already). The way I see it, I already have cannabis and we've always, what we haven't had is the means to peak enjoyment from it - which, for me, this hopper tech allows, nothing needs to be added or taken away. This is my favourite tech item I've ever purchased, because despite the durability - everything else is considered and final, and every time I use it I appreciate it very much indeed.
There's all this preemptive excitement around the Ghost MV-1 (just the name and the style scream second editions, plus the heater coil is literally a coil. Nice, it'll work but certainly not for too long but then there'll be an MV-2 slim in matte). The Hopper might already be better than it, though bring on the competition as innovation is always lurking, from what I've seen it's still tailing though. It all depends what you want and what you're willing to settle for, a near perfect device with service intervals is still dreamy beyond sub-par settlement
but it was great giving a demo with such a response.
