Discontinued The Grasshopper

[Kalessin]

Just to add another voice to the consensus. It is about 95 degrees out here. (Fahrenheit) I was just out in it with my grasshopper hitting it as often as I wanted, and it never got unbearably hot. Definitely warm, but not as hot as my Pax gets after a full session on max. I never felt the urge to flinch away from it or anything.

 

[vapviking]

I don't have my hopper yet but I've really been digging the Cosmic grinder I got from EZVAPES:

http://ezvaporizers.com/grinders/cosmic-case-mini-bottle-cap-grinder/prod_461.html

Hey! I just pulled a Cosmic 4 piece outta mothballs when I saw a tiny piece missing from my Mighty plastic grinder!!!! I'm lovin' it again. Kind of an older one without the engraved logo, so I'm bummed the original sticker is almost gone...
Enjoy you shiny new one!

 

[Mister G]

It finally came today so first impressions (SS unit pre-ordered March 16, 2015). Outstanding! Smaller than expected (many have already said this) I really dig the size of this (but watch out, don't lose it, it's so discreetly small). Packaging presentation is awesome as also widely reported.

Have done two bowls, just a pinch off of a tiny cola, unground, bowl seems tiny.

First bowl - 3.5 - nice sized clouds from the get go, yes this unit gets noticeably hot, I can see how it is bothersome to many, but not a biggie to me, I have high heat tolerance, but agree that this vape is probably not best suited for constant use and hitting.

Second bowl - used just a smidge less of a pinch, started at 2 - really nice flavor, stepped it up to 5, good clouds at the end, flavor gone by then.

Solid feel in the hand of a quality product, good machining, threaded pieces fit together nicely.

Expectations are met (stealth design, heater power), a tall order with FC Vaporists. The heat is understandable for the size tradeoffs and for me tolerable. Will have to try this with a WT soon, but most of my use will be outside the house dry hits. Fingers x'd I won't need the warranty.

So if they sort out the QC and the manufacturing throughput issues, they can make a lot of money with this product.

 

[Kalessin]

It is amazing how smooth the vapor is from this thing even while being so warm.

 

[Kermitt]

What is the best way to clean the silicone mouthpiece?

 

[Baron23]

Hi guys - this is a review that I posted on Vape Life Forum, Bud the Vape Critic's site. Now I understand that many did not like Bud's review of the GH, but I personally have nothing but the highest respect for Bud. However, our opinions do differ and he and I are totally good with that.

I was going to edit it so as to make it appear as if written first for FC, but fuck it...its been a long day LOL

I was recently loaned a Grasshopper (GH) to try out. It’s a bronze Ti unit with the new back end (no split in the ring).

My main concerns with the GH are with the company, Hopper Labs, behavior with respect to delivery dates and the quality of their production. I think what they have done to people as far as deliveries (really, no deliveries), but supplying EU vendors (who apparently backed them) with units for retail sale (above list price) definitely leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Also, there are some posters I have read with 5 or 6 RMAs already and I saw one guy claim 10! (but who knows, he may have been using his as a sex toy LOL). But, we don’t know the total population shipped and can’t make any significant and sensible projections on failure rate as all we have is anecdotal reports, mainly from the people who did have problems. On the other hand, they seem be responding very quickly with design improvements, RMAs under their lifetime warranty deal, and production line improvements.

So, what about the vape itself? First of all, I want to be completely clear and unambiguous about this one point: I have the utmost respect for Bud, The Vape Critic, and this review of the GH is not intended in any way to be a refutation of Bud’s review of this vape. Also, I’m not taking shots at the man while he is on vacation; everything written below has been PM’d between Bud and myself already and he’s completely cool with independent opinions and understands that people place differing values on different characteristics and have differing aesthetic tastes. That dissent is not only allowed but encouraged is one of the things that make this site great and far preferable to me than some other well-known vape sites.

Appearance and Design
Very nice looking, chic, elegant, nice feel to hand. I agree with Bud that this is a bit spoiled by the pocket clip (LOL) but I don't object to it as much as much as he does. If given a choice, I would do without it, but the fact that it’s on there…..meh.

The condom; I don’t mind it at all but agree that the color choice (translucent natural silicon) is poor in that it will very quickly get stained brown from vapor. But this really isn’t a big deal to me and chances are it will stay a lot cleaner than a lot of grungy pipes and bongs that many of us have passed around, yeah? For $5/each I will consider the silicon condom to be consumable and no great burden to replace if it gets too ugly to bear.

Now, I agree with Bud that I would wish that they had expanded the scale for the five temperature hash marks. That is, I would wish that they had they used a greater amount of the diameter for the temp adjustment (more travel) as it would provide better resolution to the user when setting temp. But, I did find very nice smooth mechanical resistance when adjusting the temp ring and felt I could pretty much get it to set and stay where ever I wanted. More territory for temp setting…yeah, nice to have…but I'm not outraged or inconvenienced by it.

I also agree with Bud that they should have added a few more threads to the attachment of the mouthpiece. Think of it being a little more like 'Space Case' type threads. But I can also see their design challenge. To provide for an oven of any size, plus insulating double layer, well...you are left with only so much room for the thickness of the mouthpiece. Also, it occurs to me that many folks well prefer it the way it is as you don’t have to unscrew for an age to get the mouthpiece off and once on it is very stable and not liable to just come unscrewed. So, it’s a non-issue for me.

My one criticism of the design is on the decision to add induction charging circuitry (The slip it over the end charger) to a vape that has very limited mechanical space and a challenging thermal environment. Doing this in a pen where the batteries are removable and external Li ion chargers are readily available doesn’t make sense to me but for those that travel with their vapes a lot, this may be very desirable (but still…really?)

Operating a GH
This is dead simple. No technique or body language needed. The oven is rather small (which I like for this vape’s purpose) and I get about .15 of fine ground herb in there with a very light tamp to no tamp at all. I start about about 3.75 on the temp scale (which is right at 365 F) and get wonderful flavor and the start of psycho active vapor. I then bump up to about 4.2 (approx. 385 F) for the bulk of the load and might bump up just a bit more to 4.5 for last draw.

I have run it with fine grind and hand chunks. I think ground works better but it handles chunks just fine which is very good in an ‘on the go’ vape.

I tend to start with a long slow draw to heat the herb and when I start to feel good vapor (maybe half way through) I speed up my air intake. I have seen no evidence at all that the GH heater can’t keep up with whatever air flow I chose to use.

The AVB comes out a nice even mid-dark brown. Actually, comes out more evenly browned than from my Volcano! While I have gotten some roasted flavor later in the load, there has not been a single shred of evidence of combustion while at the same time my herb appears to be completely extracted.
I primarily use this vape to take a draw and then set it down. That is, turn it on…take a draw…right at the end turn it off and keep drawing for a little bit…then set it down. I use it like this when watching TV or reading a book. Take a hit, let it sit; take another when the mood hits. That or for a quick couple of draws before leaving the house, for example. In both of these use cases, the temperature of the mouthpiece (and body of vape for that matter) is not an issue to me at all.

I’m waiting for a 18 mm male to 14 mm female adapter to put the GH on my glass. Looking forward to that.

The Heat
Now, when using as a session vape…well, that’s a bit of a different story. When taking one hit after another in quick sequence, the mouthpiece gets pretty hot. By the 7th hit, the mouthpiece without the condom was too warm to hit comfortably. But it was fine up to about hit number 5. Again, this is fast sequence drawing. With the condom, heat was no problem for me.
The session vaping does bring up a point. This is definitely a convection vape…until the sides of the oven get so hot that they transfer heat to the mouthpiece. Surely if you get this unit that hot, there must be some level of conduction. But I for one don’t think that conduction is a sin and I have found the vapor from this unit to be very good and perfectly acceptable to me.

Charging
A battery lasted me through three loads but when it died I did not get the fast flashing blue…it went straight to fast flashing red and died. No problem, I had the extra battery already charged in my external charger so away we went. I have had no problem charging the unit with either the induction charger (magnetic bit that sticks on the end of the vape) or with externally charging batteries. I tend to charge at lower amps on my external charger as this is kinder to battery life (i.e. .5 amps).

Plug for Delta 3-D Studios
They make a nice little stand for the GH and a lot of other keen stuff, much of it 3-D printed. http://delta3dstudios.com/portable-vaporizer-accessories/grasshopper-vaporizer/

Summary
I like this vape a whole lot on appearance, design, operation, and my personal use cases it fulfills. To me, this is a very nice ‘instant on’ companion to my desktop Volcano. The short falls are on company execution (delivery really) and some concerns about failure rate and how Hopper Labs is going to do long term with their lifetime warranty liability. But, that’s a possible future impact and at the present it’s working just perfectly fine and I’m enjoying it tremendously.

 

[moondog]

Hi guys - this is a review that I posted on Vape Life Forum, Bud the Vape Critic's site. Now I understand that many did not like Bud's review of the GH, but I personally have nothing but the highest respect for Bud. However, our opinions do differ and he and I are totally good with that.

I was going to edit it so as to make it appear as if written first for FC, but fuck it...its been a long day LOL

I was recently loaned a Grasshopper (GH) to try out. It’s a bronze Ti unit with the new back end (no split in the ring).

My main concerns with the GH are with the company, Hopper Labs, behavior with respect to delivery dates and the quality of their production. I think what they have done to people as far as deliveries (really, no deliveries), but supplying EU vendors (who apparently backed them) with units for retail sale (above list price) definitely leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Also, there are some posters I have read with 5 or 6 RMAs already and I saw one guy claim 10! (but who knows, he may have been using his as a sex toy LOL). But, we don’t know the total population shipped and can’t make any significant and sensible projections on failure rate as all we have is anecdotal reports, mainly from the people who did have problems. On the other hand, they seem be responding very quickly with design improvements, RMAs under their lifetime warranty deal, and production line improvements.

So, what about the vape itself? First of all, I want to be completely clear and unambiguous about this one point: I have the utmost respect for Bud, The Vape Critic, and this review of the GH is not intended in any way to be a refutation of Bud’s review of this vape. Also, I’m not taking shots at the man while he is on vacation; everything written below has been PM’d between Bud and myself already and he’s completely cool with independent opinions and understands that people place differing values on different characteristics and have differing aesthetic tastes. That dissent is not only allowed but encouraged is one of the things that make this site great and far preferable to me than some other well-known vape sites.

Appearance and Design
Very nice looking, chic, elegant, nice feel to hand. I agree with Bud that this is a bit spoiled by the pocket clip (LOL) but I don't object to it as much as much as he does. If given a choice, I would do without it, but the fact that it’s on their…..meh.

The condom; I don’t mind it at all but agree that the color choice (translucent natural silicon) is poor in that it will very quickly get stained brown from vapor. But this really isn’t a big deal to me and chances are it will stay a lot cleaner than a lot of grungy pipes and bongs that many of us have passed around, yeah? For $5/each I will consider the silicon condom to be consumable and no great burden to replace if it gets too ugly to bear.

Now, I agree with Bud that I would wish that they had expanded the scale for the five temperature hash marks. That is, I would wish that they had they used a greater amount of the diameter for the temp adjustment (more travel) as it would provide better resolution to the user when setting temp. But, I did find very nice smooth mechanical resistance when adjusting the temp ring and felt I could pretty much get it to set and stay where ever I wanted. More territory for temp setting…yeah, nice to have…but I'm not outraged or inconvenienced by it.

I also agree with Bud that they should have added a few more threads to the attachment of the mouthpiece. Think of it being a little more like 'Space Case' type threads. But I can also see their design challenge. To provide for an oven of any size, plus insulating double layer, well...you are left with only so much room for the thickness of the mouthpiece. Also, it occurs to me that many folks well prefer it the way it is as you don’t have to unscrew for an age to get the mouthpiece off and once on it is very stable and not liable to just come unscrewed. So, it’s a non-issue for me.

My one criticism of the design is on the decision to add induction charging circuitry (The slip it over the end charger) to a vape that has very limited mechanical space and a challenging thermal environment. Doing this in a pen where the batteries are removable and external Li ion chargers are readily available doesn’t make sense to me but for those that travel with their vapes a lot, this may be very desirable (but still…really?)

Operating a GH
This is dead simple. No technique or body language needed. The oven is rather small (which I like for this vape’s purpose) and I get about .15 of fine ground herb in there with a very light tamp to no tamp at all. I start about about 3.75 on the temp scale (which is right at 365 F) and get wonderful flavor and the start of psycho active vapor. I then bump up to about 4.2 (approx. 385 F) for the bulk of the load and might bump up just a bit more to 4.5 for last draw.

I have run it with fine grind and hand chunks. I think ground works better but it handles chunks just fine which is very good in an ‘on the go’ vape.

I tend to start with a long slow draw to heat the herb and when I start to feel good vapor (maybe half way through) I speed up my air intake. I have seen no evidence at all that the GH heater can’t keep up with whatever air flow I chose to use.

The AVB comes out a nice even mid-dark brown. Actually, comes out more evenly browned than from my Volcano! While I have gotten some roasted flavor later in the load, there has not been a single shred of evidence of combustion while at the same time my herb appears to be completely extracted.
I primarily use this vape to take a draw and then set it down. That is, turn it on…take a draw…right at the end turn it off and keep drawing for a little bit…then set it down. I use it like this when watching TV or reading a book. Take a hit, let it sit; take another when the mood hits. That or for a quick couple of draws before leaving the house, for example. In both of these use cases, the temperature of the mouthpiece (and body of vape for that matter) is not an issue to me at all.

I’m waiting for a 18 mm male to 14 mm female adapter to put the GH on my glass. Looking forward to that.

The Heat
Now, when using as a session vape…well, that’s a bit of a different story. When taking one hit after another in quick sequence, the mouthpiece gets pretty hot. By the 7th hit, the mouthpiece without the condom was too warm to hit comfortably. But it was fine up to about hit number 5. Again, this is fast sequence drawing. With the condom, heat was no problem for me.
The session vaping does bring up a point. This is definitely a convection vape…until the sides of the oven get so hot that they transfer heat to the mouthpiece. Surely if you get this unit that hot, there must be some level of conduction. But I for one don’t think that conduction is a sin and I have found the vapor from this unit to be very good and perfectly acceptable to me.

Charging
A battery lasted me through three loads but when it died I did not get the fast flashing blue…it went straight to fast flashing red and died. No problem, I had the extra battery already charged in my external charger so away we went. I have had no problem charging the unit with either the induction charger (magnetic bit that sticks on the end of the vape) or with externally charging batteries. I tend to charge at lower amps on my external charger as this is kinder to battery life (i.e. .5 amps).

Plug for Delta 3-D Studios
They make a nice little stand for the GH and a lot of other keen stuff, much of it 3-D printed. http://delta3dstudios.com/portable-vaporizer-accessories/grasshopper-vaporizer/

Summary
I like this vape a whole lot on appearance, design, operation, and my personal use cases it fulfills. To me, this is a very nice ‘instant on’ companion to my desktop Volcano. The short falls are on company execution (delivery really) and some concerns about failure rate and how Hopper Labs is going to do long term with their lifetime warranty liability. But, that’s a possible future impact and at the present it’s working just perfectly fine and I’m enjoying it tremendously.

BRAVO!!!

Well done, sir. Honest, balanced, reasoned, and fair-minded with all pros and cons placed within the context of your usage. The only quibble I have is that I would have loved to see the usage-with-water-tool section competed and in there, but I understand that would have meant waiting for your adapter. Will you be updating when those tests are complete?

 

[MoltenTiger]

Nice write up @Baron23, it covers it all pretty well. It's a fairly praising review considering you haven't tried it through water yet, the pièce de résistance!

Couple of tid-bits, it's silicone, not silicon
And the charging, I think is just ordinary conduction with a magnet to fix it in place. Induction implies wireless charging of some kind.

@radiant34 sounds like you have a warranty case there
It should still work, but it'll be finicky. Hopefully you can get a bit of use out of it whilst you go through the warranty process.

@Kermitt Wash the mouthpiece with a Q-tip and some ISO, although I think alcohol will speed up its colour change. You can scrape most of the oil out with a thumb-nail, the silicone is quite stretchy and doing this cleans it pretty effectively and keeps it clean.

 

[radiant34]

had my grasshopper for 2 months and it seems to not want to heat up now. goes from red to blue in a second.

 

[Baron23]

BRAVO!!!

Well done, sir. Honest, balanced, reasoned, and fair-minded with all pros and cons placed within the context of your usage. The only quibble I have is that I would have loved to see the usage-with-water-tool section competed and in there, but I understand that would have meant waiting for your adapter. Will you be updating when those tests are complete?

Hi Moondog - wow, how flattering. Yes, if you like I will post GH with water tool update. I'm looking forward to getting my adapter (local shop was out of stock) as I think this will be a great water vape as many others have already demonstrated.

Also, while this was a "loaner", it was given to me in completely new condition (he has a couple of them) and it looks like its mine to buy now.

Nice write up @Baron23, it covers it all pretty well. It's a fairly praising review considering you haven't tried it through water yet, the pièce de résistance!

Couple of tid-bits, it's silicone, not silicon
And the charging, I think is just ordinary conduction with a magnet to fix it in place. Induction implies wireless charging of some kind.

@radiant34 sounds like you have a warranty case there
It should still work, but it'll be finicky. Hopefully you can get a bit of use out of it whilst you go through the warranty process.

hehehe...it is indeed silicone but I work in the software industry so I'm used to typing silicon (as in the valley LOL).

I don't really know about how the power is conveyed to the battery...it doesn't look like its obviously direct conduction so I assumed it was inducing a current across to the back end...but that would take coils, etc in the vape and I don't know how that all would fit in there so I'm sure you are right.

Thanks

 

[MoltenTiger]

@Baron23 as it turns out, silicone is a misnomer and it is actually a polysiloxane material. None-the-less a different colour would have been good. I'm not sure though, if it would still get a similar safety rating as the food safe material they went with. I seem to remember them sourcing something more expensive, specifically for the best safety ratings (initially they didn't even want to include it).

I am pretty sure there is a ring of the same insulation plastic used front end on the back which isolates the two charging points, but I've never known for sure.

How is the bronze colour? Any chance for a pic?
Reckon you'll buy it?

 

[kingfisher]

Nice review moondog! Edit: review was from Baron. I was under the hoppers influence at the time of the original post, and well this edit too. . Is there another error?

My one criticism is that the device does not have induction charging. If you connect the dial with the push button stem with a piece of any conductive material the unit will power on or the led will light up. I think there is some circuit protection. Either way I digress, main point is it is not induction charging.

 

[moondog]

Nice review moondog!

My one criticism is that the device does not have induction charging. If you connect the dial with the push button stem with a piece of any conductive material the unit will power on or the led will light up. I think there is some circuit protection. Either way I digress, main point is it is not induction charging.

Thanks, but unless you're referring to my review of the Baron's review, I think you've got the wrong guy.

 

[kingfisher]

Thanks, but unless you're referring to my review of the Baron's review, I think you've got the wrong guy.

Damn well you can thank the hopper for doing a good job on that one. Yes the very thorough review. Must have been baron. Guess I got.your name from your review of his review... I will edit the post lol

 

[sixstringsmash]

So after seeing all these posts about waiting so long to get a grasshopper, I decided to bite the bullet and just got one off of Ebay for a bit of an elevated price. The sellers advertising the lifetime warranty coming with this but I'm a little skeptical about that, does anyone know if the lifetime warranty will still apply for units bought off ebay like this?

 

[Ilikegooddeals]

So after seeing all these posts about waiting so long to get a grasshopper, I decided to bite the bullet and just got one off of Ebay for a bit of an elevated price. The sellers advertising the lifetime warranty coming with this but I'm a little skeptical about that, does anyone know if the lifetime warranty will still apply for units bought off ebay like this?

Yes the warranty still applies. All that is asked when registering is the ID code on the box and the serial number off the hopper. As long as these have not already been entered you are good to go.

 

[Vaperist]

So after seeing all these posts about waiting so long to get a grasshopper, I decided to bite the bullet and just got one off of Ebay for a bit of an elevated price. The sellers advertising the lifetime warranty coming with this but I'm a little skeptical about that, does anyone know if the lifetime warranty will still apply for units bought off ebay like this?

i hope you didn't get a Chinese knock off. must be careful when buying of eBay these days.

 

[jabba]

So after seeing all these posts about waiting so long to get a grasshopper, I decided to bite the bullet and just got one off of Ebay for a bit of an elevated price. The sellers advertising the lifetime warranty coming with this but I'm a little skeptical about that, does anyone know if the lifetime warranty will still apply for units bought off ebay like this?

You sir are a smart man. I assume you bought it from the seller in Houston, TX. I saw yesterday that he had dropped his price by $10 and is also now offering a 2nd battery. Are you kidding me?....an extra $75 over retail to get the GH NOW....as opposed to waiting some unknown length of time. I'm not affiliated with the Seller...but I bought a SS from him last week. Shipped USPS Priority and had it within 3 days of auction's end. It is new, perfect (thus far), and the warranty registration was no problem. Please remember that many Indegogo backers purchased the "retail kits" which included 25 units intended for re-sale. GH's from these retail kits were intended to be registered by their future owners. Your registration won't be a problem, however, after you register the device your warranty is not transferrable.

As far as these consistent warnings from posters about Ebay Chinese knockoffs. Ya....I get it...but most of these vapes are just plastic Chinese devices TO BEGIN WITH....thus easy to knock off. I'd love to see a Chinese knockoff of the GH....and for $175...I doubt it could be done. The GH will not be easy to cheaply "knock off" in either form or function....the GH was constructed and performs too well to be easily replicated. The Grasshopper seems to defy the vape laws of physics...I still marvel at the GH each time I use it. The build quality and 'feel' of the device is fantastic. The near instant heat up and vapor production are unparalleled among similarly sized vapes. If you are a cool vapor snob or wish to have long relaxed sessions...perhaps the GH is not right for you. Grasshopper is unbelievably game changing for near instant gut punching rips from a pen sized device...15 seconds from pocket to pocket. If you were accustomed to combusting and are hesitant because vaping just didn't 'do it' for you....well then you should try the GH. I'm really pulling for Hopper Labs to exhibit better product reliability and basic manufacturing/shipping/distribution acumen. Assuming Hopper Labs can overcome their struggles....they have really created a winner product here.

edit: btw....this leather case is being sold on Ebay and various places for $30-50 and is reported to fit the GH. You can find it here at NewEgg for about $22.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA24G15W3985&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleMKP-PC&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleMKP-PC-_-pla-_-OS+-+Pens,+Pencils,+&+Markers-_-9SIA24G15W3985&gclid=CMzbg6GEr80CFZKCaQoduggMfw&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

[priestsmiler]

I got my ss gh from vapefiend yesterday. Had the day to familiarise myself with the beauty. It is awesome yet at the same time I also feel a little disappointed. I wanted to believe the heat would be manageable without the lip condom thing but my unit literally burns your lips after a couple inhales. Even with the condom around 4 or above is very uncomfortable for me. However with the mflb stem it is more than comfortable. I will be experimenting with other cooling options. I have run through my glass and it is exceptional like I expected. I thoroughly agree with @Baron23 review and most of the vape critic says is pretty accurate. When my girlfriend came back from work and asked what I thought to it I was so intoxicated all I could really muster up was "it's good" in a manner that kinda resembled the vapecritics manner in his review. My theory is that the gh is so effective in what it does he was so medicated his normal persona was subdued (just like me). The gh imo imparts the effects very similar to smoking because the heater is so powerful the active ingredients are simultaneously released as the temperature is reached quicker rather than a prolonged building up of temperature slowly releasing different compounds at different temps.
Despite being slightly disappointed that is just my opinion, it is still my current favourite vape with my vapcap and other vape rotation.
On a separate note I feel my unit is already slightly defective; there is a slight gap between dial and back end body like others have mentioned. The gh turns itself off after so long (a few seconds) despite being 'drawn on'. The whole vape gets incredibly hot (even the backend). And I have yet to have more than 2 bowls from a fully charged battery. Does this sound right to others with gh experience? Tia.

 

[Baron23]

@Baron23 as it turns out, silicone is a misnomer and it is actually a polysiloxane material. None-the-less a different colour would have been good. I'm not sure though, if it would still get a similar safety rating as the food safe material they went with. I seem to remember them sourcing something more expensive, specifically for the best safety ratings (initially they didn't even want to include it).

I am pretty sure there is a ring of the same insulation plastic used front end on the back which isolates the two charging points, but I've never known for sure.

How is the bronze colour? Any chance for a pic?
Reckon you'll buy it?

My one criticism is that the device does not have induction charging. If you connect the dial with the push button stem with a piece of any conductive material the unit will power on or the led will light up. I think there is some circuit protection. Either way I digress, main point is it is not induction charging.

Hi guys - I took another look at the backside of the charging ring and agree with Molten that you can see a small amount of plastic that looks to separate and insulate the two electrical poles. I withdraw my assertion that the GH uses inductive charging technique...if I had given it a bit more thought I should have come to this conclusion on my own, but I didn't so thanks! LOL :-)

Also, I had thought that perhaps the color of the condom was due to being 'food grade' and not having any dyes to that could vape out. I feel certain that they had a reason for selecting it. As I said, if it gets too grungy I will flip for the $5 to get a new one.

Cheers

 

[jabba]

I got my ss gh from vapefiend yesterday. Had the day to familiarise myself with the beauty. It is awesome yet at the same time I also feel a little disappointed. I wanted to believe the heat would be manageable without the lip condom thing but my unit literally burns your lips after a couple inhales. Even with the condom around 4 or above is very uncomfortable for me. However with the mflb stem it is more than comfortable. I will be experimenting with other cooling options. I have run through my glass and it is exceptional like I expected. I thoroughly agree with @Baron23 review and most of the vape critic says is pretty accurate. When my girlfriend came back from work and asked what I thought to it I was so intoxicated all I could really muster up was "it's good" in a manner that kinda resembled the vapecritics manner in his review. My theory is that the gh is so effective in what it does he was so medicated his normal persona was subdued (just like me). The gh imo imparts the effects very similar to smoking because the heater is so powerful the active ingredients are simultaneously released as the temperature is reached quicker rather than a prolonged building up of temperature slowly releasing different compounds at different temps.
Despite being slightly disappointed that is just my opinion, it is still my current favourite vape with my vapcap and other vape rotation.
On a separate note I feel my unit is already slightly defective; there is a slight gap between dial and back end body like others have mentioned. The gh turns itself off after so long (a few seconds) despite being 'drawn on'. The whole vape gets incredibly hot (even the backend). And I have yet to have more than 2 bowls from a fully charged battery. Does this sound right to others with gh experience? Tia.

The GH does get hot and is not intended for continuous ripping or sessions. The condom fits very nicely and solves 90% of the tip heat issue(s) but I understand that it would be nice if it weren't necessary. You've not a 30-45W heater sitting less than 2 inches from your lips in a stainless steel tube....heat should be expected methinks. If you click the GH off after you are 75% through your draw...it helps to reduce the heat. My batteries get me through a few chambers. I've never had the unit shut itself off while drawing....try giving it a more powerful draw. We have become accustomed to sipping many devices...not necessary with the GH. It should shutoff after 15 seconds. If you heat up....draw...and turn off within 75% of your full draw...you shouldn't have the problem if your unit is working correctly. The small space between the back end and body is intentional. If you depress the back end while changing temps...you will observe that the temp change motion will feel much more smooth. If you twist to change temps without depressing the back end...you can change the temp....but it will be more difficult and rough. Folks think this is purposeful so that you don't easily and accidentally change temps in your pocket.

 

[Baron23]

The GH does get hot and is not intended for continuous ripping or sessions. The condom fits very nicely and solves 90% of the tip heat issue(s) but I understand that it would be nice if it weren't necessary. You've not a 30-45W heater sitting less than 2 inches from your lips in a stainless steel tube....heat should be expected methinks. If you click the GH off after you are 75% through your draw...it helps to reduce the heat. My batteries get me through a few chambers. I've never had the unit shut itself off while drawing....try giving it a more powerful draw. We have become accustomed to sipping many devices...not necessary with the GH. It should shutoff after 15 seconds. If you heat up....draw...and turn off within 75% of your full draw...you shouldn't have the problem if your unit is working correctly. The small space between the back end and body is intentional. If you depress the back end while changing temps...you will observe that the temp change motion will feel much more smooth. If you twist to change temps without depressing the back end...you can change the temp....but it will be more difficult and rough. Folks think this is purposeful so that you don't easily and accidentally change temps in your pocket.

Maybe you can help me out...I have seen my GH seem to shut off during a very long and very slow draw. I have thought that I was just not drawing fast enough and the over temp sensor kicked in (I don't think I timed out at 15 Sec but maybe). Turn it back on, it works perfectly and I don't get this if I increase my draw rate just a bit.

Is this how yours seems to work?

 

[VapeKnight]

after vaping for 6-7 years I too have become more sensitive to the heat. I have had the best success using the GH thru the Crafty cooling unit or any water filter. If I have to use it by itself I simply wait one minute between hits, the TI unit cools down quickly.

 

[Mister G]

Some updated random thoughts from one day's use...

• This is a seriously powerful device, hard to believe this isn't a desktop and that it doesn't require the brute force of torch flame to reach this level of power (from a battery!)
• I love holding it, I just want to walk around with it in my hand, it's so cute and tiny. The most "portable" vape I've owned yet.
• I like the body heat, in the winter I think it'll warm your hands as you use it
• The vapor is a bit harsh even as low as 3, irritates my throat just a bit, need to have a beverage on hand if using dry at high temps. Reminds me of the Pinnacle Pro on higher setting.
• I really wish there was an integrated pick for dislodging ABV (I don't really like having to unscrew the back to use the clip and it's a bit large anyway).
• The battery life is not a delighter, it just about squeaks by and almost everyone will need to keep extras charged up and ready. Just 30% more battery life and I think it approaches what's needed, I get approx 3 loads per batt right now.
• Excellent convection extraction, very evenly browned ABV, very impressed with this.
• Also very impressed with how little material you need to use to get great clouds and effect. This is a VERY efficient vape.
• Nice vape signature, for me it seems some small % conduction effect in a nice way.
• This feels like 00420 James Bond's vape he got from Q for a secret mission in Holland to thwart Hydro's newest boss, Weedfinger.

EDIT: I'd like to rig something in the GH bowl similar to the Supreme's bowl screen as a way to pull out ABV more easily. Just not sure where to get the right kind of steel wire.

 

[Vapor_Eyes]

I doubt it could be done. The GH will not be easy to cheaply "knock off" in either form or function....the GH was constructed and performs too well to be easily replicated.

That's the thing about knockoffs, they don't come close to the performance of the real thing. I would think it would be easy to make a shitty knockoff of the Grasshopper. Aluminum body, ceramic oven, and a 14650 battery. The most important aspect of a knockoff is that it looks like the original, and then usually it is built as cheaply and minimally functional as possible.

Almost everything is being counterfeited these days so it really pays to be careful.