Discontinued The Grasshopper

[nickb]

My Grasshopper will be here tomorrow Woo Hoo or Thursday a few scratch and dent units on E-bay SS for $225 free shipping i think like 7 left... I ordered a Titanium from Grasshopper website and figured i might as well grab a SS that i can have right now... because i hate waiting and wanted to bring this to my poker game next week,,,,

 

[newVaper420]

Can anyone please tell me how long it has taken in the past for HL to reply (or even simply read) their web-based warranty request?

Wouldn't you think combustion with no particular flashing signal from the leds would be enough reason to address it quickly?

I'm smart enough to NOT keep using my unit, even though it hasn't given me the cop lights, and it gets hotter than temp 5 ever did. The battery got way hotter than normal too. It all feels dangerously close to catastrophic failure.

I actually heard from Trevor himself over the weekend about my other hopper. They sent me a new front end 4 months ago for my friend's SS that got stripped, and I JUST noticed the instructions on how to send the old one back. I found the instructions when I realized that ticket was still open, so I looked to see why. I'm guessing when a ticket is open for several months, any response from us escalates it directly to him?
I apologized for missing their return instructions, told him it would be in Monday's mail (it is) and he replied "Don't worry we'll have your other issues fixed." ...but they've yet to even open the other ticket (according to the web form, anyway. My guess is they see that it's a green Ti and don't open my request until they have stock.

So yeah, add me to the ranks of the frustrated broken hopper owners. I thought I was done with the lack of transparency when I received my unit in January.

5 days and counting...

Thanks in advance

I opened a ticket October 1st, and they have yet to read it as well.

 

[Shieldsab]

According to the tracking info, my stainless GH is on a plane somewhere between London and Toronto. I'm almost OK with it taking its time, because if it comes on Friday I'll be tempted to bring it to thanksgiving. And if I do that, I'll use it, and most of my family don't know. So unless it's going to come Thursday, it can wait till Tuesday. Either way, I'm excited to try it.

 

[Justpassedu]

Can anyone please tell me how long it has taken in the past for HL to reply (or even simply read) their web-based warranty request?

Wouldn't you think combustion with no particular flashing signal from the leds would be enough reason to address it quickly?

I'm smart enough to NOT keep using my unit, even though it hasn't given me the cop lights, and it gets hotter than temp 5 ever did. The battery got way hotter than normal too. It all feels dangerously close to catastrophic failure.

I actually heard from Trevor himself over the weekend about my other hopper. They sent me a new front end 4 months ago for my friend's SS that got stripped, and I JUST noticed the instructions on how to send the old one back. I found the instructions when I realized that ticket was still open, so I looked to see why. I'm guessing when a ticket is open for several months, any response from us escalates it directly to him?
I apologized for missing their return instructions, told him it would be in Monday's mail (it is) and he replied "Don't worry we'll have your other issues fixed." ...but they've yet to even open the other ticket (according to the web form, anyway. My guess is they see that it's a green Ti and don't open my request until they have stock.

So yeah, add me to the ranks of the frustrated broken hopper owners. I thought I was done with the lack of transparency when I received my unit in January.

5 days and counting...

Thanks in advance

I emailed them through there web based Warranty request , got a answer same day asking me to run a few tests so i did what they asked , its been 10 Day's now and no reply back. I emailed there regular address to tell them and i get a answer saying whats my case or Ref # so i give it to them , still no answer back 3 days after that. If i would have known it takes so long with a lifetime Warranty i would have never purchased the hopper. Lets just say i am not happy , it is what it is . If it ever gets fixed i may just sell it...

 

[slcbdco]

Man ... Tradeoffs /:
Everything has so little smell that I would assume it would be fine, I just worry and prepare for the worst.

Maybe I'll get one ... They're just soooo nice looking, and I'd love to support Ratchett on something like this, I've only bought small knickknacks from him.

Anyone have an eGo case and can compare the size? It fits in my cargo shorts pockets or sweat pants, but barely, and wouldn't fit in any regular shorts for sure.

The custom stitch sounds appealing

@Vapor_Eyes you have one of my favorite names on FC btw, I remember when I first saw it a year ago in the Nano forum.

I have @Ratchett case I love it, the case isn't smell proof but the Grasshopper is!

 

[JoeMama]

Red and blue lights on my 6 month old ss gh. Still working and performing great but have to switch on and off to stop the blinking. Hope it won't die but seems possible.
Some days ago i got a bong to enjoy some bigger hits with the gh. Used it on temp 4&5 a lot. As other users stated this could be a reason for a heater malfunction.

Sorry about the cop lights...
I hesitate to think it is caused by using the hopper at its highest T settings. That goes against everything I'd imagine GHL would consider in a design of something so advanced... "Just don't use it to it's fully rated ability". And, sure, if it IS due to that, well, then, hey everybody, turn those suckers up and make 'em fail so it hurries them up to make it work...

Or maybe they can just leave off the T5 mark and make it T1 to T4.

I use a salt spoon for my other vapes, but it was just too wide for the gh oven. So I asked @Ratchett for the perfect scoop. Up till now, I've been using the pinch method like you. I found that unless you squeeze it into a little ball, it's a mess. Now I get to keep everything nice and fluffy!

And the spiral stand really IS perfect. I couldn't resist getting it with the scoop.

I really like using Ratchett's Hopper mini-funnel, but that's only while I'm at home since it'd be a pain to carry. That tool looks great. Typically I'd use a doobtube cap to fill the hopper when I'm out.

@Mr. Me , what've you got in that doobtube? Can't tell but it doesn't look like herb.
EDIT: Oops, should've read on the next page! "Nevermind!"

@tubasco and @Justpassedu .... it seems like their warranty service runs in fits and starts. Maybe it's manpower versus a spike in returns? I hate the image of them running around with their hair on fire. Please keep us posted on when you get satisfaction.

 

[MonsterWithoutBorders]

I m getting inconsistent results from doing what worked. I am kind of use to it and by messing around a bit I can get it to work well. Today i feel hopeless about the future of this repair bound device. The new ones still fail often. We here are going to school to make it work right. Deoxit blutac very careful iso cleaning. Attempt to make sure the threads are very clean. Battery care issues. Damn but this is one great vaporizer. Damn f... damn.

 

[tubasco]

I m getting inconsistent results from doing what worked. I am kind of use to it and by messing around a bit I can get it to work well. Today i feel hopeless about the future of this repair bound device. The new ones still fail often. We here are going to school to make it work right. Deoxit blutac very careful iso cleaning. Attempt to make sure the threads are very clean. Battery care issues. Damn but this is one great vaporizer. Damn f... damn.

That's how mine finally died: all the little things I did to keep it working just stopped being effective, like NOT screwing the backend ALL the way down, wiggling it a bit left to right, until I heard the ticking REALLY loudly (which indicated to me that the heater was getting full voltage, because the blue light would consistently appear quicker) deep cleaning the threads and mouthpiece weekly...clicking it off halfway through my pull to also pull cool air into the hopper... all these things worked a treat for 8 1/2 months.

Decided I can't wait for HL to decide when they want to read my warranty request, so I bought a SS from the eBay listing.

Yeah, I know, but this thing is that good. Unrivaled in many ways.

Need my hopper. Dammit.

 

[JoeMama]

That's how mine finally died: all the little things I did to keep it working just stopped being effective, like NOT screwing the backend ALL the way down, wiggling it a bit left to right, until I heard the ticking REALLY loudly (which indicated to me that the heater was getting full voltage, because the blue light would consistently appear quicker) deep cleaning the threads and mouthpiece weekly...clicking it off halfway through my pull to also pull cool air into the hopper... all these things worked a treat for 8 1/2 months.

Decided I can't wait for HL to decide when they want to read my warranty request, so I bought a SS from the eBay listing.

Yeah, I know, but this thing is that good. Unrivaled in many ways.

Need my hopper. Dammit.

You're not alone, Tub. I own two for the same reason... 8-1/2 months, eh? It is almost certainly an inevitably disheartening experience that I don't look forward to having.

 

[lovecrush]

Sent my broken device, charger and vented battery yesterday, I'm glad I got the arizer air recently as a backup...

 

[newVaper420]

Just got my response from Hopper. Within the 3 days quoted. So far so good :-)

 

[Vapor_Eyes]

That's how mine finally died: all the little things I did to keep it working just stopped being effective, like NOT screwing the backend ALL the way down, wiggling it a bit left to right, until I heard the ticking REALLY loudly (which indicated to me that the heater was getting full voltage, because the blue light would consistently appear quicker) deep cleaning the threads and mouthpiece weekly...clicking it off halfway through my pull to also pull cool air into the hopper... all these things worked a treat for 8 1/2 months.

Decided I can't wait for HL to decide when they want to read my warranty request, so I bought a SS from the eBay listing.

Yeah, I know, but this thing is that good. Unrivaled in many ways.

Need my hopper. Dammit.

For the serious hopper enthusiast owning two is highly recommended.

I find it ironic that my SS that I purchased mainly out of impatience is going strong over three months later, and my one month old Ti needs service. I justified the SS purchase by telling myself it would be a good backup and that came true.

Buying that SS from Vaposhop was a great decision overall. The Grasshopper is the perfect summer vape, when I ordered the Ti last September I thought I would have it by summer for sure, I was actually thinking March '16. Of course the official estimate was November '15.

 

[tubasco]

Just got my response from Hopper. Within the 3 days quoted. So far so good :-)

Got my response from Caroline moments ago. Of course, immediately after shipping notification for my new SS from the eBay seller, haha. They're sending me a new body. Hope it's had some robust revisions since my (likely) 1.0 version!

I think y'all are right though...I AM a hopper enthusiast. I tried my FW 3.0 the past couple days and, while it "works" it just isn't nearly as convenient as the hopper. So now I'll have 2, which means both will be used half as much

 

[Vapor_Eyes]

I also received my warranty info recently. I just finished cleaning my Ti, I'm going to have to ship the whole unit back. I expected that since I don't have any of the flashing light patterns indicating a malfunction.

 

[tubasco]

I also received my warranty info recently. I just finished cleaning my Ti, I'm going to have to ship the whole unit back. I expected that since I don't have any of the flashing light patterns indicating a malfunction.

I don't have flashing lights either. I described in detail what was happening...I guess they were able to diagnose based on that?

 

[Vapor_Eyes]

I don't have flashing lights either. I described in detail what was happening...I guess they were able to diagnose based on that?

It's possible I didn't give enough detail. I kept it pretty brief. My problem is the opposite of yours, mine is barely producing heat and not even close to combusting.

 

[jabba]

I think y'all are right though...I AM a hopper enthusiast. I tried my FW 3.0 the past couple days and, while it "works" it just isn't nearly as convenient as the hopper. So now I'll have 2, which means both will be used half as much

Your quote is the 'deal' plain and simple. My Grasshopper(s) provide me the ease, function, speed, and stealth that is completely unmatched by everything since the 'dugout'. The GH allows me to not combust in a nearly effortless fashion...anywhere I please....whenever I please. While I may not be completely ecstatic about the perceived reliability of these devices....so far the 'good' by far outweighs the bad. Due to the forums....after I received by first GH....I very quickly added a 2nd unit to my arsenal. I have two perfectly functional GH's and I would be very upset if I had to revert back to a PAX.

Many of those less enthusiastic with their Hoppers would view this post as fan-boy'ish and continue to admonish Hopper Labs for any variety of indiscretions. I can't argue with these folks. That said, Hopper has handled warranty claims on both of my devices in acceptable fashion(s)....and the benefits of this vape...in my case...are absolutely worth any troubles.

We all want our devices to 'do' what we need for them to 'do'. The GH handles my wish lists in spades.

 

[Mr Mellish]

I AM a hopper enthusiast. I tried my FW 3.0 the past couple days and, while it "works" it just isn't nearly as convenient as the hopper. So now I'll have 2, which means both will be used half as much

This is interesting to me. My most active rotation includes my GH's and my FW3. The FW3 flavor blows the GH out of the water, in my opinion. And...when I'm out on the deck at night with the FW3, I don't have to cover a very hot barrel with surprisingly bright-ass lights to remain incognito.

It certainly takes longer for complete extraction with the FW3 and I do tend to use the GH more but I can't imagine giving up the stealth or flavor of the FW3 in all situations.

 

[Vapor_Eyes]

I have to agree that the Hopper is in a class of its own. I wouldn't want to go without one now that I've experienced it. Some people have no use for a vape like this and that's fine too.

For those of us who need something that's convenient, convection, fast, fool-proof, small, and stealthy, there's really no competition in my opinion.

 

[JoeMama]

Your quote is the 'deal' plain and simple. My Grasshopper(s) provide me the ease, function, speed, and stealth that is completely unmatched by everything since the 'dugout'. The GH allows me to not combust in a nearly effortless fashion...anywhere I please....whenever I please. While I may not be completely ecstatic about the perceived reliability of these devices....so far the 'good' by far outweighs the bad. Due to the forums....after I received by first GH....I very quickly added a 2nd unit to my arsenal. I have two perfectly functional GH's and I would be very upset if I had to revert back to a PAX.

Many of those less enthusiastic with their Hoppers would view this post as fan-boy'ish and continue to admonish Hopper Labs for any variety of indiscretions. I can't argue with these folks. That said, Hopper has handled warranty claims on both of my devices in acceptable fashion(s)....and the benefits of this vape...in my case...are absolutely worth any troubles.

We all want our devices to 'do' what we need for them to 'do'. The GH handles my wish lists in spades.

I have this weekly card game with friends, some of whom partake but rarely use; so I bring my Pax2. Before I had the hopper it was my only vape (thanks, VAS) and I loved it. Now when I go to the card game, I take my hopper for myself. I would certainly use it if I had to, but my hoppers do everything I need in a way that can't be beat.

To keep my 2 Ti's in rotation (why do I feel like I should have a SS too!? ), I use one for day and one for evenings... I hate dumping out half-ABV because I always prefer a fresh pot (heheh) but hate waste.
But this way I give them consistent use.

It's OK for others not to be as enthusiastic, of course... I think what drives the enthusiasm is a combination of tech, stealth, and speed. HL just needs to get on top of the reliability game.

I have to agree that the Hopper is in a class of its own. I wouldn't want to go without one now that I've experienced it. Some people have no use for a vape like this and that's fine too.

For those of us who need something that's convenient, convection, fast, fool-proof, small, and stealthy, there's really no competition in my opinion.

Here Here!

 

[tubasco]

This is interesting to me. My most active rotation includes my GH's and my FW3. The FW3 flavor blows the GH out of the water, in my opinion. And...when I'm out on the deck at night with the FW3, I don't have to cover a very hot barrel with surprisingly bright-ass lights to remain incognito.

It certainly takes longer for complete extraction with the FW3 and I do tend to use the GH more but I can't imagine giving up the stealth or flavor of the FW3 in all situations.

I guess mainly I prefer the chamber of the hopper over the capsules of the FW. And I need the quicker warmup time, as I'm usually hitting the hopper while walking towards a stage after forgetting to hit it during my set break.
I do think the FW tastes marginally better over the course of several hits, but I use my hopper with the crafty CU on the go, and it tastes great while the vapor stays cool.
I am intrigued by the FW 4! One battery brings it more in line with the convenience of the hopper.
But after using the hopper for so long I can safely say I hate mesh screens, and LOVE simply swabbing.

EDIT: also, my FW has this annoying habit of telling me it's battery level between sessions as follows: 4! 4! 4! 3! 2justkiddingZERO. Has that been addressed before? Do I need to just charge it after every use? It takes sooooo long. I guess that's an advantage of the 4.0 coming out

 

[Hjalmark]

I guess mainly I prefer the chamber of the hopper over the capsules of the FW. And I need the quicker warmup time, as I'm usually hitting the hopper while walking towards a stage after forgetting to hit it during my set break.
I do think the FW tastes marginally better over the course of several hits, but I use my hopper with the crafty CU on the go, and it tastes great while the vapor stays cool.
I am intrigued by the FW 4! One battery brings it more in line with the convenience of the hopper.
But after using the hopper for so long I can safely say I hate mesh screens, and LOVE simply swabbing.

EDIT: also, my FW has this annoying habit of telling me it's battery level between sessions as follows: 4! 4! 4! 3! 2justkiddingZERO. Has that been addressed before? Do I need to just charge it after every use? It takes sooooo long. I guess that's an advantage of the 4.0 coming out

If I can get the Firewood 4.0 before Grasshopper I am cancelling my order because I am not sure I wanna spend the ... what is it 20-30 bucks for shipping x times it breaks

but seen some broken Firewood 2.5 or 3 BUT the 18650 battery makes up for it

p.s: i might just be saying this because I hope or know I will not get F4 before grasshopper

 

[Mr Mellish]

EDIT: also, my FW has this annoying habit of telling me it's battery level between sessions as follows: 4! 4! 4! 3! 2justkiddingZERO. Has that been addressed before? Do I need to just charge it after every use? It takes sooooo long. I guess that's an advantage of the 4.0 coming out

My FW3 has never done that. Sorry to hear that. Also, I charge mine after every 3rd or 4th session (usually 5-6 draws on setting 3 and 5-6 draws on setting 4 -- boosted).

No question that the GH is easier to load and dump but the FW3 doesn't seem to gunk up too badly and it's so easy to drop the MP and the capsule in ISO (like I do with the GH MP and condom). I have noticed that the GH with the Crafty CU does help the taste (and vapor temp) but it still doesn't come close to my FW3; I get 1-2 somewhat flavorful hits out of the GH. With the FW3, ALL 5-6 hits at setting 3 are very tasty and I get 1-2 decent tasting hits at 4. For me, the GH goes to popcorn VERY quickly.

But, the GH is still the most active vape in the rotation.

 

[tubasco]

It's been four weeks since I got my Ti, here's a comparison of the inside battery contact:

Brand New:

After Four Weeks:

Sorry for the differences in lighting. I couldn't get them to match no matter how hard I tried.

Notice how the grid pattern is pretty much unchanged, despite the gold-colored finish wearing off in the center.

Also, I didn't notice when I first got it but there is a big silver gouge at the edge of the gold ring in the 8 o'clock position.

I just noticed a difference between this circuit board and my 8 1/2 month old one!

In the pictured (new) one there are two places that the battery contact connects to the board. Let's call it 1:00 and 2:00, and there is a circuit between them...and ample space on either side of them (the plain black area) which I assume is a small buffer area of insulation to help prevent short circuiting?

On my older one those two places that connect to the battery contact are DIRECTLY next to each other, and are both very close to that solder point, without ample space around them. I can see how it might be advantageous to separate those points.

And my plating is significantly worn as well. Could it be that there is ONLY plating on the circuit board as the primary battery contact? And when the plating is worn there is no contact left to transfer power? Plating-only seems like a bad idea with the way the temp dial works. But I don't know electronics.

I know one thing: I am NEVER adjusting the temp dial with the battery installed on my replacement.

 

[JoeMama]

FW?! This is totally new to me... I just checked out some vids of it, and I think this is getting my VAS on.

it looks like it has everything to be a nice at-home vape. I love the hopper and it does satisfy all day, but with all the worry about it being so prone to problems...

It has a bigger chamber, and seems like you can load it up for a longer up-time than the hopper.
Does this seem like a great higher-duty product to you, @Mr Mellish ? How's the battery situation, does it last well enough between charges?

I'm not in a rush, so I'd love to get the FW4 if it gets good reviews.... OhboyOhboyOhboy