For the record, I had 6 or 7 warranty returns, got a shitty attitude and swore off the hopper. Now I own a Ti and a SS, both driven daily. I paid the inflated prices for the hoppers sold on ebay, no issue. Every interaction with cs resulted in a remedy. It sometimes took a short time for Caroline to respond to my query(s), but I will still happily rely on GHL to provide the technology and stealth that my usage/job/demographic demands.
Discontinued The Grasshopper
- Thread starter midgetsanchez
- Start date
catbird
hyperconscious
Thanks! I agree w/you and @moondog and have considered this also, though of course there will be exceptions. In particular I was confused in the shipping phase by people sending GH consistent inquiries into when to really expect their hoppers. The info about the process and all that has transpired is accessible here and I don't see what that could possibly accomplish (I know that is not about warranty service, but it's a CS issue with some parallels).
Yes, I think that's apt and that technological advancements shifting usage on a broad scale is exciting! Personally, I never bought a Pax because I had other vapes on my radar, and the cost seemed inflated considering the drawbacks, and since flowers are my main thing, not concentrates, until the GH I didn't have a portable that I was inclined to throw in my bag for no particular reason. I was initially overwhelmed by the response of early GH users and skeptical of all the fangirl/boyishness, and the many statements of how it was a "game changer." My dislike of cliches aside, I get it. The size/form factor, instant heat up, absolute simplicity of use, and portability of batteries, all without sacrificing power, do set it apart (maybe I need to print a retraction of some of my previous posts about their video ads and such). While I <3 my beautiful logs and my other portables, even for home use I can't argue with the convenience of the GH. I was trying to only use it when out to extend the life, but I keep finding myself carting it around at home in a little tray with @Ratchett's stand and mini funnel etc (it's a good little setup that ups the convenience). Now that I had an almost painless warranty experience, and I have a working hopper back, I'm not living in fear of it breaking, so I'm succumbing to just using it at home if I want to. It has amazing effects. If it fails, all is not lost and HL will rectify it.
I hope we will soon see improved reliability (obviously), and more options for portables that can do what the GH does, from HL and others. I make a point to buy from companies with exceptional CS, and while to me HL was rather questionable w/r/t transparency and shipping estimates, I couldn't resist, even straying from my wood/glass/handmade leanings. And I have no complaints about the hopper or my experience with their warranty service, and other communications like changing the color or my preorder accessories etc; all were responded to and handled quickly and effectively, and I felt bad for even bugging them with editing my order knowing they were being inundated with such requests. I agree with you that their 100% rate is important and should be stressed. HL was clearly wedded to the pen design, which has it's advantages (I think it's marketable and drew people in), and I would love to also see an alternate hopper with a similar footprint, but different shape, in which the heater is not near the mouth piece and the vapor path is longer (maybe they can riff on another commonly carried item for a new shape, too). I think that what really makes the GH is the heater tech, and HL earns major props for this.
I especially like this.
Cool, I am realizing that my sneakiness is mostly unwarranted. And I think I have the same subconscious desire for the GH to spark recognition/inquiry!
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hi_there
Well-Known Member
I don't get it, you bought one from GHL and had a bunch of returns and a bad attitude from them. Then you went ahead and bought two from ebay at inflated prices and are now happy?
Purple Lava Lamp
Well-Known Member
Does anyone here have both the Pax2 and a Grasshopper? And can tell me how they compare?
I've been waiting for my GH SS for 9 months, and at this point have given up hope of receiving it anytime soon. Just saw the Pax2 for $199 and thinking about getting it. Is it worth it?
My ideal vape is discreet, portable, uses herb (I'm not into oils, etc) and gives nice hits. My first choice is the Grasshopper but who knows if my order will ever arrive, and I want to get something else in the meantime... Pax2 ?
I've been waiting for my GH SS for 9 months, and at this point have given up hope of receiving it anytime soon. Just saw the Pax2 for $199 and thinking about getting it. Is it worth it?
My ideal vape is discreet, portable, uses herb (I'm not into oils, etc) and gives nice hits. My first choice is the Grasshopper but who knows if my order will ever arrive, and I want to get something else in the meantime... Pax2 ?
MoltenTiger
Well-Known Member
Agreed, and I'm sure we will. Especially when their production drops to a more casual pace.
In terms of other devices, HL have shaped the market - just look at the flowermate Swift / Boundless CFV.
I think there will be a year or two before there is adequate competition to the GH dynamic, but it's exciting to see product design shifting towards better usability, on demand heat and lower prices.
They certainly were questioned a lot. I had to wait over 12 months for my pre-order, and I remember being confronted by the angst of the then already 12 month waiters online after commenting on a bi-monthly update. I quickly learnt that my September ETA was not feasible, but I would have known that if I'd spent an extra hour googling before purchasing. But the Paypal security as well as the reviews made me jump the gun. No regrets from me, but I bought retail the first chance I got. As annoying as it is, their marketing stance is the reason they are still around today, anyone doing actual research would have easily known the wait was excessive.
Transparency wise, they did actually give reason to every delay, and they did improve their estimates significantly. Was it by enough? Probably not for anyone with bridges already burnt.
But there is a full written history of their daily activities on their indiegogo campaign, their transparency could have easily been worse.
I especially like this. I love not being tethered to a power outlet.
The Pax 2 is pretty cool. It's a great size, and very robust.
It is conduction based, which means it continues to cook material and the flavour is not so good.
It shines with a very fine grind and a dense pack, but the oven houses a large amount of herb, it's common for people to use an extra screen in the oven to shrink its size (helps to get dense cloud off smaller packs).
It smells a lot, people will notice this. You can get air-tight caps for either end to minimise the smell, but it reduces its stealth factor by a decent amount.
Personally I think it's not worth the asking price, and a hopper from Vapefiend will cost only a tiny amount more and give a much better experience, although direct draw is probably on-par.
I sold a hopper to a mate with a Pax 2 and I am pretty sure he doesn't use the Pax anymore. His Mighty still gets use, but I think the hopper is adequate. I only miss having a Mighty when my hoppers are dead, which is not common enough to justify getting one.
I would look at the new Flowermate Swift or Boundless CFV if I was considering a non-hopper back up.
But the serous advantage of having two hoppers is dual wielded hits, it's a good bonus worth considering.
vapviking
Old & In the Way
I have Hopper, Pax 2 and a Mighty. The Pax 2 is rarely used, except by my wife who likes it in the car. It is our 3rd choice in the rotation, even though it is discreet, beautiful and dependable.
You are closer than ever to having a remarkable product in the Grasshopper, and you've waited this long, hang in there! It's another level compared to Pax 2 in lots of ways. Convection as opposed to conduction.
@moondog 's solution is the Focusvape Pro which can be had on sale at PuffitUp for $99 and you get a free 4 pc grinder. He's liking it as an interim take-along vape and it will make a steady backup for the finicky Hopper. Heck, for 15 bucks you can get a bubbler for it!
Kermitt
Well-Known Member
Looks like a very nice tool.
Baron23
Well-Known Member
Yes, but they should...and I don't know if they are....but they should be in the midst of a full blown reliability improvement program. Fault isolation, root cause analysis, corrective action.Reliability is not the hoppers strong pointGreat for quick hits and microdosing.
100% reliability is my OmniVap and also unbreakable.
I suspect they share our view of this insofar as these warranty repairs must be costing them a great deal and a reliability improvement effort will pay for itself.
I hesitate to say it too often...but mine is still running great since March but I share daily driver role with my Vapcaps and throw in the Volcano once or twice a week.
Cheers all
Icon13
Serial Vapist
Don't buy it. The Pax 3 comes out in like a month. It utilizes a more powerful heater and has 1/3 the heat up time.
In addition it has interchangeable ovens. One standard. One small one for personals, which is a big improvement and solves the you have to use a lot all at once problem. Now you can use a little bit all at once. It also has a concentrate oven.
I think Pax really listened to consumer feedback on this one and really hit the nail on the head. Plus, Pax was funded recently for $47 million, so that should alleviate the small company growing pains like the ones we have from GHL.
I want one so I have a portable vape to pass around in sessions on the go. The Grasshopper is more like the bong of vapes. Pack it and take to the dome, but not so much for passing around. I think the Pax is more like a cherried bowl in a pipe. Great for passing.
I do not think the Pax would be nearly as good for sneaking a toke real quick and discrete on the go in public. That is grasshopper territory.
Vapor_Eyes
taste buds
I looked at this post when I first woke up this morning. I thought that was some live resin until I noticed the plate and fork in the background.
Oops!
Keepin' it real
voodoo_vape
Vapour RebeL
I had exactly the same sequence of thoughts
Btw, does anyone know how long does it get for HL to ship the order after the confirmation email? Is it another barrier for extra waiting or does it get sent in a week or so after the email?
Vapor_Eyes
taste buds
It's impossible to say for sure. In the past it has been anywhere from 2-3 days to several weeks or more.I had exactly the same sequence of thoughts
Btw, does anyone know how long does it get for HL to ship the order after the confirmation email? Is it another barrier for extra waiting or does it get sent in a week or so after the email?
vapviking
Old & In the Way
If it's a request for email confirmation and you respond with confirmation, it can take from 2 days to, well, 2 months?? to then get a shipping confirmation. Once there's shipping confirmation, it can then take 1 to 3 days for it to leave HL.
JoeMama
Well-Known Member
I have both.... As @MoltenTiger has explained the Pax2 very well, I won't gild the lilly with similar input on performance stuff... But I still do use the Pax2 when I know I may be sharing with others. I still take my Hopper out with me if I'm taking the Pax, because I have no problem telling people that I don't share my blankie with anyone.
Now that makes these two plus the FW4 that will contend for VAS satisfaction. These seem like interesting goodies. Seems like the "100% convection" market is starting to break open on the smaller profile units, so it's a new ball game now.
Now that I've been spoiled by a 5-second heat-up time, I don't think I'd choose a vape that takes more than 10-15 seconds to be ready. Reliability issues aside, I gotta hand it to GHL for their innovation. If others are releasing palm-sized (albeit nice form factors) devices, GHL has a big edge.
catbird
hyperconscious
Totally. However, until their footprints are smaller, I see little advantage of those vapes over say FW, and Milaana. That's just me, though -- I understand they are marketable to many.
Eh, I agree with this almost. I came upon GH too late to back, though I would have, and was fully aware of what I was getting into when I preordered, having followed the threads. I waffled when I got the email from the wait list, based on reliability concerns mostly I think, but then I ultimately ordered a few weeks later. By that time they had abandoned the time limit for ordering off the wait list, which I had let lapse, or maybe they had even opened up preorders to all by then (it's fuzzy). Their model of accepting money for future delivery is what seems to have kept them afloat, yes, and for me the ends do justify the means in their case. That doesn't mean that they really do, though, but it suits me because I like my GH and would otherwise not have one. Also, I don't even think the delays are a big deal -- fully expected with crowd funding and the like, so to me it was the lack of acknowledgement on their part that was more frustrating. And even that didn't frustrate me personally as much as concern me based on how it was impacting others.
At the same time I do find it annoying when people pop up on threads without reading anything at all and ask about when to expect theirs and then are surprised by the response, because yes, everything about the process is accessible between here and the campaign page, and estimates can be deduced that way. However, the reality is accessible not so much because of HL, but in spite of them.
Yes, their transparency could have been worse, and they communicated and updated like crazy, as we know. I think, however, that their content has left a lot to be desired, not because of malicious intent (whether purposefully misleading or not in order to get the vape made, I think the intention is positive), but because they're not great at it. I do appreciate that they seem to be listening and incorporating customer feedback to inform their communications. However while they try, radical transparency is not something we get with HL; they can't seem to suppress the PR spin, and they've been SUPER repetitive, vague, and unrealistic. I knew that coming into this, and am okay with it because of my own POV, self interest, and interest in seeing GH come to market. Radical transparency is really not something that I expect most to understand or be able to do anyway.
I know. Even when it really should not make a difference, it just does.
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GrandWazoo
Well-Known Member
The GH IS a e-cig , shown it to collegues who also touched it , smoked everywhere , no one has doubt that is something else than an e-cig. Maybe people look at you more because they see a very tech e-cig and would like to know where you bought it . Milaana is something else , and if someone ask you , you got to answer well... I got a Da Vinci , for collegues it was an old my son's walkie talkie .
JoeMama
Well-Known Member
That's hilarious, because that thing does look like a comm device. People like, Hey you're transmitting right into your mouth by sucking on that antenna. Tell them it prevents cavities I guess.
jimmbo
Member
I'm looking to finally get on the list for the hopper but had a quick question for you guys. Have they solved some of the issues with all the defective units? I already own a crafty and I'm not trying to have two vapes that will need to be warrantied many times.
(edit: VAS too strong already bought it)
(edit: VAS too strong already bought it)
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newVaper420
Vapor Enthusiast
Eh you'll love it. And lifetime warranty. Broke on Saturday of last week. Getting new body tomorrow. Not bad considering all the holidays.
tubasco
Well-Known Member
What body are you getting? Do you get a tracking number for replacement parts?
Caroline told me on 10/5 they'd ship me one "soon." (I have Green Ti)