Discontinued The Grasshopper

[vapviking]

My recent experience has been when I needed a back end, one arrived is a few days or so. Now, I need a body, and they said one would be sent and I should return the old one when I got the new one. It's been a few weeks now, no new body...
I'm currently also awaiting return of another that's been in warranty service since August (or was it July?).

 

[Hammahead]

The Hopper, when working well, is a great device to use when introducing someone to vaping.

Absolutely, talking from my experience. If you want to turn on someone to vaping, who has been combusting for decades, it needs a device that can produce some serious clouds. For me, that was the Verdamper, which imo still is one of the best vapes there is. Not that long ago, the Hopper was the only portable device in the $200 area that would do this even better than the (way more expensive) Mighty/Crafty. Now there are several vapes that can do (something like) that, so I usually introduce people to devices like the Focusvape, the Fury/Fenix or the Xvape Fog. None of them are really top tier, but they produce great clouds with a small learning curve, at below 100 Bucks. Plus they're super reliable without any voodoo. I've ordered the SplinterZ just the other day and expect it to do what the Hopper does. If it does, my replacement Hopper (Summer 2018 model) might be found in the classifieds, not sure yet. It may end up as a device for people who like to fiddle with complicated stuff and undergo extensive rituals to use and maintain their primadonna gear. The Hopper's USP is the sheer power and all the drama is very uncalled for in my book. It loses the "U(nique)", it might lose me.

 

[PPN]

It's nice some of us get a good and fast rma experience... not my case, they received it the september 4 2018 and they don't give me a lot of infos and when I ask for it I get the same reply speaking of delays.

Yes, I agree with the @Hammahead 's post, there is a lot of less expensive and more reliable vapes, though the GH is so sleek!

 

[Razshiro]

It's nice some of us get a good and fast rma experience... not my case, they received it the september 4 2018 and they don't give me a lot of infos and when I ask for it I get the same reply speaking of delays.

Well i sent mine in september 2018 too, they received it in the beginning of October, i just asked for an update and they told me their estimation is 3-6 months for "October rma's" ... Happy to have some other toys to play because i think i will wait more than 6 months ....

Oh and Happy new Year Hopper's user, wish you not the same issue than Haze !!

 

[Vaporific]

Well i sent mine in september 2018 too, they received it in the beginning of October, i just asked for an update and they told me their estimation is 3-6 months for "October rma's" ... Happy to have some other toys to play because i think i will wait more than 6 months ....

Oh and Happy new Year Hopper's user, wish you not the same issue than Haze !!

Same here - I sent my pre-order Ti in for RMA in mid September, asked for an update in late October and got pretty much the same answer: we'll get to it when we get to it (likely several months given what I've read herein and in their newsletters). Let's hope they stay solvent to get through the RMA backlog - that's my big concern. Otherwise they'll go belly up and those of us waiting for RMA units could be out of luck altogether.

Indeed, having a backup is critical. Many choices in the portable space depending on whether you prefer convection or conduction or hybrid, and what your budget is. Also, operation and maintenance are important factors for me. I got lucky and purchased a Fury clone the day my Hopper died. It was meant to be finding it when I did since the Hopper was my daily and only vape - and now my Fury is my daily and one-and-only however I'm searching albeit deliberately for a suitable backup to that and to throw in some different vaping mechanism for a change.

Good luck to all those with RMAs in process...

 

[guyonthecouch]

Same here - I sent my pre-order Ti in for RMA in mid September, asked for an update in late October and got pretty much the same answer: we'll get to it when we get to it (likely several months given what I've read herein and in their newsletters). Let's hope they stay solvent to get through the RMA backlog - that's my big concern. Otherwise they'll go belly up and those of us waiting for RMA units could be out of luck altogether.

Indeed, having a backup is critical. Many choices in the portable space depending on whether you prefer convection or conduction or hybrid, and what your budget is. Also, operation and maintenance are important factors for me. I got lucky and purchased a Fury clone the day my Hopper died. It was meant to be finding it when I did since the Hopper was my daily and only vape - and now my Fury is my daily and one-and-only however I'm searching albeit deliberately for a suitable backup to that and to throw in some different vaping mechanism for a change.

Good luck to all those with RMAs in process...

What other answer would you expect from them?

Here's a different perspective, Hopper Labs brought the heater manufacturing process in house around this time last year. For them to have bought the equipment(allocate funds), learn how to use the equipment correctly(how long would it take you to learn how to use, assemble, maintain a new piece of heavy machinery? ..and not lose any fingers), learn how to assemble the heater properly, train employees on said equipment and not go belly up in the process is quite an incredible feat in such a short amount of time. Also, they have to get everything dialed before they focus diligently on RMAs, they are most likely making little changes/adjustments on the fly(now that they can) and would want the warrantied units to receive these updates. That's why certain cases get dealt with faster than others, depending on the issue and available parts.

The fact that Hopper Labs hasn't thrown in the towel yet is a testament of their commitment to us customers and that they're in it for the long haul. We know they've sold over 30k units since their inception, the path of least resistance at this point would be to drop us all like a sac of potatoes(thanks Haze for doing us dirty) rather than continue on.

Thanks for sharing your story, IMO the Fury is a baby's toy compared to the Hopper. If you want a fury buy a Weecke Fenix - same tech and much cheaper.

If you're looking for a backup comparable to the Hopper, I'd consider an Evo, FP or Sub.

 

[Vaporific]

What other answer would you expect from them?
Thanks for sharing your story, IMO the Fury is a baby's toy compared to the Hopper. If you want a fury buy a Weecke Fenix - same tech.

If you're looking for a backup comparable to the Hopper, I'd consider an Evo, FP or Sub.

I have a Snap (Fury clone) which likely is the same as the Fenix from what I've heard. And I love it. I really do. My only compaint is no swappable battery and since it's essentially my only vape, I've already noticed a slight battery drain after a few months. I know it won't last forever and likely a couple of years (which is OK considering I got a great deal on it).

My pre-order Ti worked fairly well for the first few months and then performance degraded from there. Finally, the thing would turn on hence the RMA. I haven't had any issues with my Snap and it extracts better than my Hopper did, not that I'm a cloud chaser at all mind you. I am searching for a suitable backup I can switch off with on a near daily basis. Thanks for the suggestions - I'll take a look.

EDIT: EVO is a desktop and I'm looking for portability. @guyonthecouch - what are the others? I'm not familiar with the acronyms.

 

[seriousTone]

Got our bronze ti in the mail last night. Put it through one capful today and fucking a I like this thing a lot so far.

Started out at 1 and as there was no more vapor I turned up by one until 4. By the end the load was a nice uniform medium roasted coffee color.

I thought that the flavor on level one was not as green as some other vapes. Went to a slightly roasted flavor only by hit 2 or 3. But I'd rather it be hotter than not hot enough.

Loving it so far, so fast to heat up, the weight and feel of it, the click of the button, and even the warmth of the mouthpiece as you hit it.

Hope it's a reliable one!

 

[slick]

Have the batteries been $14 for a while now? I swear they were $7 just a bit ago. That's a shame. I wanted to pick up a few new batteries because my old ones are draining too quick. I dont think I want to drop $50 on batteries when I could get a fury clone for $20 more.

 

[habitat-fc]

Thanks for sharing your story, IMO the Fury is a baby's toy compared to the Hopper. If you want a fury buy a Weecke Fenix - same tech and much cheaper.

If you're looking for a backup comparable to the Hopper, I'd consider an Evo, FP or Sub.

Lol the Hopper would be the back up compared with a Flowerpot or Sublimator. You talk about baby's toys, that is what the Grasshopper is when compared with those two desktops.

@Vaporific they are all desktops that @guyonthecouch is talking about and in my opinion they are all far superior to the Grasshopper to ever be a backup to the Grasshopper

 

[guyonthecouch]

Lol the Hopper would be the back up compared with a Flowerpot or Sublimator. You talk about baby's toys, that is what the Grasshopper is when compared with those two desktops.

@Vaporific they are all desktops that @guyonthecouch is talking about and in my opinion they are all far superior to the Grasshopper to ever be a backup to the Grasshopper

Think you misread my post and are hung up on the term "backup".
If you're going to get a second vaporizer due to issues with your first vaporizer wouldn't you want to consider getting an upgrade? Seems logical to me.
The 3x units I mentioned are perfect complimentary vaporizers for a Hopper owner to look into. Being that they're all desktops, reliability - the main issue we're all facing and most concerned with is somewhat addressed(desktops aren't perfect either, but at least they don't rely on batteries). A proper functioning Hopper can definitely contend with all of those units and then some. It's a true portable and can be paired with glass or can be used native, more versatile. Not to mention, price, form factor and heat up times.

 

[vapviking]

I may have missed, or maybe not saved something, but I was just looking for HL's most recent news update and found only up til June '18 Update. There's another brief post in their on-site blog, from July.

As a customer who has several Hoppers (two currently in warranty), I was struck by this sentence (from June),
"We expect outstanding orders to be cleared in the next 30-60 days and warranties to be caught up in the next 120 days."

My earlier warranty piece went to them in July and is still in limbo, now almost 7 months.
So, I went to website and their most recent on-site blog is from July.

Yes! the now-$14 proprietary batteries were $7 a year ago, went to $12 for a while and have now entered the realm of the ridiculous, which is the space in which almost everything about this company lives. To quote my Fearless Leader, "Sad!" (Or it's his fault? Has he put a tariff on Chinese hopper batteries, too?

I'm disappointed that the company is going down. I could accept it more readily if they simply went belly-up and didn't try to keep it all going Ponzi-style (see previous 894 pages...).

I entered this venture very early on, have purchased 5 in total, and have wished them the best of luck with product and business for years now. But in risking a chunk of change, I accepted the chance that it might not pay off. While it has been a nice ride for a while, I've come to see this ride, under these conditions, as not sustainable -- I mean for me, not for HL!

So, I've branched out. I have a promising RBT new product on order. Also tried a friend's new Fury2 and that little thing is beautiful and powerful. Not a Hopper, nor a Mighty, but it does pack a punch if you want it to. For $115 I may just pick one up. Gotta see first how that new Splinter V1 goes...

It's such a big world now, this vaporizer world, we consumers can be pretty selective if we want to be.

 

[habitat-fc]

Think you misread my post and are hung up on the term "backup".
If you're going to get a second vaporizer due to issues with your first vaporizer wouldn't you want to consider getting an upgrade? Seems logical to me.
The 3x units I mentioned are perfect complimentary vaporizers for a Hopper owner to look into. Being that they're all desktops, reliability - the main issue we're all facing and most concerned with is somewhat addressed(desktops aren't perfect either, but at least they don't rely on batteries). A proper functioning Hopper can definitely contend with all of those units and then some. It's a true portable and can be paired with glass or can be used native, more versatile. Not to mention, price, form factor and heat up times.

No I understood you, just getting the point to others who may not have tried the hard hitting desktops that the Grasshopper is not going to compete with those and the hopper will seem weak compared with the FP and Sub.

I think they are great recommendations, I was only pointing out they are far heavier hitters than a Grasshopper, and it would seem weird to have a better vape for a backup.

 

[guyonthecouch]

No I understood you, just getting the point to others who may not have tried the hard hitting desktops that the Grasshopper is not going to compete with those and the hopper will seem weak compared with the FP and Sub.

I think they are great recommendations, I was only pointing out they are far heavier hitters than a Grasshopper, and it would seem weird to have a better vape for a backup.

So I'm assuming you've tried all of the mentioned vaporizers? Including the latest V5 grasshopper?

I'd have to disagree, a fully functioning hopper will not seem weak in comparison. Guess we'll agree to disagree.

If anybody in the Toronto area would ever like to join our test group and test/compare vaporizers feel free to message me. Newbies and vets are welcome. The group(not just me) definitely agrees that the Hopper(fully functioning V5) is fit to be in the heavy hitter category.

 

[MoltenTiger]

I can attest that the Grasshopper cannot do what the Sublimator does, even when the GH combusts the material it can't really hit with the same strength.

But, nothing else can either. Not even the FP I dare say.

The GH is great when waiting on the sub and it's heat up time - but the GH is also a better vape to daily. The Hopper is plenty powerful enough, and a proper toke hits pretty hard. It doesn't blow your mind or stun you for a few hours like the Sub, but that's what the sub does as a one trick pony, more or less.

And for the most part, that's why I still use the hoppers (and both at once, using the GH in place of a carb bung with the Sub on top, is most excellent, hop, sub and dab), I haven't found a portable that matches the easy output of the hopper. Though the VC I'm using now is doing it's job. As far as portable heaters go the GH is great. But compared to desktops, it beats the likes of the EQ, maybe some log vapes or older whip style boxes etc. But you can't miniaturise the likes of the Sublimator, so there will never be anything that hits that hard in a true portable form. The GH is for now, probably the best bet

 

[habitat-fc]

@guyonthecouch I have tried them all apart from the Sub and I think the Grasshopper is the hardest hitting portable by far, but I can't get it to hit as hard as my Flowerpot. I believe the Sub is even more powerful than the FP.

 

[Hogni]

That all and mainly the flavor of the GH can't also compare. You can't compare apples with pears. But for sure the GH has a great performance esp. as a portable, better than many other desktops.

 

[guyonthecouch]

Guess we do agree then haha. Back to my initial post about a second vaporizer to add to your rotation if your hopper isn't cooperating. If I got a fury 2 or dynavap(not hating on these), the standard suggestions, personally I'd be highly disappointed with effects. Yes they function but they're not getting me where I need to be, so I added my input and suggested alternatives.

To be clear, I wasn't trying to say the grasshopper is as powerful or more powerful than the vaporizers mentioned. Was stating that it does fall into the heavy hitter category along with them though.

The only one left on my list is the Supreme and need to revisit the sub after all these years.

 

[Hogni]

SV3? Ugly as shit but hitting like a train - and if you should mean the GH is tasty test the SV3. So delicious and a desktop on the go - not really, more at a secret place - if paired with a J-hook.

 

[Baron23]

Let me be clear, IMO if you have a properly working GH, its an incredible vape. Emphasis on "properly working" which describes neither of my RMA'd Grasshoppers.

Through out this long saga of Hopper Labs, it seems that there are still have some that view Hopper Labs performance as understandable given a wide array of challenges that are cited.

I do not agree. Its one thing after another...one promising "change" after another....one blog post after another....yet IMO Hopper Labs is still f*cking up by the numbers and still have issues with testability, maintainability, and interchangeability (all of which are basic engineering disciplines).

This has been going on for YEARS.....and so I no longer stretch to "understand" them...I merely hope to get my two GH's back into RMA purgatory and back to me in proper working condition...before anything else happens to the company.

 

[mulciber]

This has been going on for YEARS.....and so I no longer stretch to "understand" them...I merely hope to get my two GH's back into RMA purgatory and back to me in proper working condition...before anything else happens to the company.

It is something we're understandably unwilling to talk about, but the company, as such, is likely done, and has been for a while. It seems to be selling a number of new units as fast as it can make them (which isn't very) in order to attempt to keep alive some sort of user base, so that it can keep more or less "unsuspecting" people hanging on. Meanwhile, many of us have had our units in "repair" for a year, which is truly unconscionable. This is a company that is desperate to remain on life support as long as possible. I'm not saying that the founders and developers are necessarily bad individuals, but they're in a bad situation and coping in the only way they can think of. It's fairly pathetic, but again, that's hard to admit because of the device's enormous potential. Of course I wish them well, and will be thrilled if and when I ever get my two units back from repair. But for now I've resigned myself to the possibility of never seeing them again, and moved on to a device that can fill the need and perform similarly, but has a reputation for utmost quality and reliability (Da Vinci MIQRO).

 

[slick]

Yes! the now-$14 proprietary batteries were $7 a year ago, went to $12 for a while and have now entered the realm of the ridiculous, which is the space in which almost everything about this company lives. To quote my Fearless Leader, "Sad!" (Or it's his fault? Has he put a tariff on Chinese hopper batteries, too?

I'm disappointed that the company is going down. I could accept it more readily if they simply went belly-up and didn't try to keep it all going Ponzi-style (see previous 894 pages...).

I entered this venture very early on, have purchased 5 in total, and have wished them the best of luck with product and business for years now. But in risking a chunk of change, I accepted the chance that it might not pay off. While it has been a nice ride for a while, I've come to see this ride, under these conditions, as not sustainable -- I mean for me, not for HL!

So, I've branched out. I have a promising RBT new product on order. Also tried a friend's new Fury2 and that little thing is beautiful and powerful. Not a Hopper, nor a Mighty, but it does pack a punch if you want it to. For $115 I may just pick one up. Gotta see first how that new Splinter V1 goes...

It's such a big world now, this vaporizer world, we consumers can be pretty selective if we want to be.

I'm with you, looking for that new vape.

Someone had mentioned a v3? Is that a supreme v3?

 

[Vaporific]

I'm with you, looking for that new vape.

Someone had mentioned a v3? Is that a supreme v3?

Yes, please clarify what "v3" is. I too am looking for backup portable, not table top. My Fury clone works wonderfully but it was a 'replacement' for my Hopper which went into RMA purgatory the day I got my Fury. Effectively, it's my only working vape at the moment and my Pax needs too much work and likely an RMA as well (I liked the Pax for a bit but cleaning it, especially keeping it lubed, was a pain given the heavy use).

While I'm in no rush and would love to say money is no object, I don't want to break the bank on a second regular and rotational vape with a major expense looming later this year. I'm considering the Arizer ArGo, Davinci Miqro, HealthRips Fierce and perhaps one or two others. I'm still researching this and listening to many of you.

As for HL, I've stated before they're underwater and overwhelmed in most conceivable ways. I hope the stay in business long enough so we all get our RMA'd units back working as good as new. TBD. Again, when the Hopper works well, it works well - but many have experienced inconsistent performance, poor customer service and - indeed - cryptic, middling and sparse communication at best.

This has been going on for YEARS.....and so I no longer stretch to "understand" them...I merely hope to get my two GH's back into RMA purgatory and back to me in proper working condition...before anything else happens to the company.

I hope you meant to say "back from RMA purgatory", lol. I'm wondering if I coined the phrase herein several months back however nevertheless, purgatory is not where I nor my Hopper would like to be...

 

[nonbeliever]

Yes, please clarify what "v3" is. I too am looking for backup portable, not table top. My Fury clone works wonderfully but it was a 'replacement' for my Hopper which went into RMA purgatory the day I got my Fury. Effectively, it's my only working vape at the moment and my Pax needs too much work and likely an RMA as well (I liked the Pax for a bit but cleaning it, especially keeping it lubed, was a pain given the heavy use).

While I'm in no rush and would love to say money is no object, I don't want to break the bank on a second regular and rotational vape with a major expense looming later this year. I'm considering the Arizer ArGo, Davinci Miqro, HealthRips Fierce and perhaps one or two others. I'm still researching this and listening to many of you.

As for HL, I've stated before they're underwater and overwhelmed in most conceivable ways. I hope the stay in business long enough so we all get our RMA'd units back working as good as new. TBD. Again, when the Hopper works well, it works well - but many have experienced inconsistent performance, poor customer service and - indeed - cryptic, middling and sparse communication at best.



I hope you meant to say "back from RMA purgatory", lol. I'm wondering if I coined the phrase herein several months back however nevertheless, purgatory is not where I nor my Hopper would like to be...

Take a look at the lil Bud by vapwood for a portable. Bigger form factor, but uses 18650 battery for much longer battery life. It’s my daily driver since I tired of playing the GH “bang my head on the wall” game. Great clouds, great taste, and best of all... it just works. Vapwood is soon releasing a dna regulated version as well.

 

[ChooChooCharlie]

Just got this trippy TiDye TiChillum from 420EDC

One long hit

Ordered a couple more hoppers

As Alfred E. Neuman would say, "What, me worry?"