Discontinued The Grasshopper

[vapviking]

I have seen this 5% failure rate quoted before. Can you please tell me the source for this metric.

Although my GH is working perfectly (and I'm thankful for that and love the vape), I rather agree with Joemoma though I wouldn't express it that way.

I am also an engineer, I worked for a long time in airborne electronics/avionics and I KNOW that there are ways to drive failure modes out during development and drive out infant moralities from production runs before shipping. I also have some familiarity with failure analysis and corrective action. All of this takes time, money, and a commitment to quality.

If these guys really were aerospace engineers, none of these concepts should be foreign to them.

Just saying, they can make the best functionally performing vape in the world but still fail due to poor company performance.

This is all well and good. I expect the highest engineering standards and implementation especially when it comes to carrying me to 38,000 feet and back alive. Nothing but the best, please. Backed by billions of dollars and a whole industry dedicated to that success and my safe return.

The hopper guys were pretty much in their garage 2 years ago. Crowd sourced funding for launch.
Even now, I bet they don't have a robot pressing that clicker button 100,000 times to test it (or was that in one of the early videos lol). But I also bet they have some form of testing/qc in various other steps or would not have gotten half this far.

In any design, decisions are made that affect build, aesthetic, reliability and more. As you said, time and money. Some of these decisions may be life saving, some are far less critical.

I'm getting a Hopper for $135 that might last a lifetime. Or not. I'm not an engineer and these guys have impressed me so far, warts and all.

 

[btka]

I don't understand. How does their current policy result in more profits than creating a second revenue stream out of refurbished units?

in my opinion they repair the faulty pieces and build new ghs with them... my ss gh has a different body more shiny thwn the front end more mat... have heard the shiny one is old ss gh body... but that is all speculation but do not think they throw the items that they can repair away but reuse... normaly I am not a fan of this but as this is a startup and I like the gh (game changer) and have liftetime warranty it does not bother me to be honest... ALL SPECULATION...

 

[YaFreekin Right]

in my opinion they repair the faulty pieces and build new ghs with them... my ss gh has a different body more shiny thwn the front end more mat... have heard the shiny one is old ss gh body... but that is all speculation but do not think they throw the items that they can repair away but reuse... normaly I am not a fan of this but as this is a startup and I like the gh (game changer) and have liftetime warranty it does not bother me to be honest... ALL SPECULATION...

I think that is totally fine so long as it is not the 1st unit you receive from them. For warranty repairs refurbished parts are fine and typical of many industries.

 

[hi_there]

in my opinion they repair the faulty pieces and build new ghs with them

Not sure how kosher that would be, especially if you sell them as new-units

out of refurbished units

Maybe scrap Stainless Steel?

 

[btka]

Not sure how kosher that would be, especially if you sell them as new-units



Maybe scrap Stainless Steel?

as I stated it is pure speculation.... or better it is a guess... if I would be gh...

 

[Chose]

Ok I've had my gh ss for 4 months and I still can't work it out some times it works perfectly and some times I get the hot back end it always gives good effect but I'm always scared it will die I don't know wether I'm just paranoid after waiting 2 years and finale have it in my hands only to lose her or weather she is just a bitch that I will just have to put up with because she's so hot she's a real slut girl next door type milf

 

[GTAVaper]

Mine gets literally one chamber per batt..if my batt isn't fully charged when I start a new chamber then it won't vape the chamber but damn on a full battery those have to be the biggest bong hits of any vape out there..and I've got all the big hitters..this thing rips but batteries suck..

I see that you also have a Supreme V3 ....as do I.....and am wondering how this is possible since I have used most all of the high end vapes and the Supreme is the most powerful and tasty extractor of vapour and others who also own a Supreme have never placed the GH on the same level....or even the level of a Milaana.

 

[subway13029]

I think because there arent many fully functional hoppers that last long enough in the wild to give.these nice nice big hits of vapor. It took me to get a certain technique down and sice then this thing rips.

 

[akwardsauce]

can anyone tell me whether this is a standard response or if they are just going to mail me parts instead of my entire device (they asked for the GH, battery, & charger)...?

 

[GTAVaper]

@subway13029

I will reserve judgement until mine arrives to see what it can do.

But I would be surprised if the Grasshopper can keep up with the likes of my Supreme V3, Venus Apollo, Milaana and Underdog (regular sized Stainless steel tipped NonG's; at 13.3v it really milks quickly and very densely - very close to Supreme V3 level).

If you leave the Underdog on and have pre-loaded NonG stems ready to go it is the ultimate quickest "one-hitter" style of plug-in vape. "One Hitter" meaning that it will milk a very large bubbler chamber (I have a dual setup with large diameter honeycomb/turbine perc ash-catcher) very densely and then fill it again but not that densely after clearing and filling the chambers again.

However, it is nice to know that the GH can perform as well as you are posting......and as others have posted. But then again - you are also only lasting 1 battery per bowl.

Perhaps this might be as a result of you having a very hot running Hopper (faulty) and not as a result of any faulty batteries. One chamber per battery is just not going to cut it for my usage though.....this would make the vape just too much a PITA for me to deal with for too long.

So maybe ultra high performance level that you are reporting is not being seen by others (who also have Supreme's & Milaana's) because the Hopper is not designed to run as hot as yours is running while at full steam through a long bong rip?

Just a guess.....but my July 15 order is supposed to be coming sometime this month.....if it doesn't get held up in a postal strike......and I will be adding my then

 

[syrupy]

can anyone tell me whether this is a standard response or if they are just going to mail me parts instead of my entire device (they asked for the GH, battery, & charger)...?

That looks odd, because lower down it says send your hopper in so they can diagnose, then later says they're sending replacement parts. How would they know what parts to send before they look at the hopper? Did you send the whole unit back? If so, why wouldn't they assemble it on their end?

Edit: Didn't know HL was sending out individual parts, thought they always wanted to get the whole unit back?

Edit 2: After re-reading, I may have misunderstood. It makes no sense to me though.

 

[jivebuggered]

I think because there arent many fully functional hoppers that last long enough in the wild to give.these nice nice big hits of vapor. It took me to get a certain technique down and sice then this thing rips.

Just like to say that I have finally received my Hopper after it vanished into the twilight zone for weeks. To their credit Vaposhop have compensated me for my long wait with discount and goodies and is much appreciated. Would I recommend them ? YES, I would, they just need to get a better International mailing contractor and they will be a great online store. The Hopper is well suited for my needs since I can easily prime it with my sipping style. Yes it is hot by the second or third good toke but after that I add my extended glass tube (ex Da vinci stem with a short length of silicon tubing attached)and I get huge clouds on 3 1/2-4 setting pretty amazing. Just always worried it will fail on me. Come on Hopper Labs get some quality control happening before you start getting (rightly or wrongly) a really bad reputation and I would hate to see that happen.

 

[radiant34]

I have seen this 5% failure rate quoted before. Can you please tell me the source for this metric.

Although my GH is working perfectly (and I'm thankful for that and love the vape), I rather agree with Joemoma though I wouldn't express it that way.

I am also an engineer, I worked for a long time in airborne electronics/avionics and I KNOW that there are ways to drive failure modes out during development and drive out infant moralities from production runs before shipping. I also have some familiarity with failure analysis and corrective action. All of this takes time, money, and a commitment to quality.

If these guys really were aerospace engineers, none of these concepts should be foreign to them.

Just saying, they can make the best functionally performing vape in the world but still fail due to poor company performance.

For an engineer of such high expertise you forget to aforemention external causes that had prevented them from shipping these much earlier. For example terrible outsourced parts which then had to be in sourced and made at the labs. There were many roadblocks for this company that were completely out of their control.

 

[GTAVaper]

For an engineer of such high expertise you forget to aforementioned external causes that had prevented them from shipping these much earlier. For example terrible outsourced parts which then had to be in sourced and made at the labs. There were many roadblocks for this company that were completely out of their control.

I don't expect that any competent Engineer would rely on the unverified excuses for delivery that a company is publicly stating as being the real reasons for their lack of performance.

These very young "engineers" are likely not even licensed engineers at this point - 4 years professional "internship" in Canada to become licensed after your Bachelor Of Applied Science degree.

So they likely have never ever had to bring projects into existence, design and construction/manufacturing before .....since starting up a company and running one......especially if you are a MJ vape aficionado is a lot more difficult than completing university course project......except for perhaps a very difficult PhD thesis project

They grabbed the tiger by the IndieGoGo tail and hung on for all they could.....it is a wonder that it was even built in the first place after how long it took to source parts and start manufacturing.

But it does seem that they are catching up on past pre-orders and if their failure rates are kept down through increasing QC and constant upgrading to the best possible part sourcing then perhaps they can make a long term business out of this project.

But if that it the case, then they really need to become more than a one-trick pony and build some other vapes for other niches......such as a home portable built with that magic heater tech and run by a pair of replaceable 18650's.

But for such a home portable, a DC hookup point should also be provided so that the vape can be tethered to a wall adapter in case you run out of viable batteries. The current should also have pass through capability though so that it can be powered while charging dead batteries.

Apollo, Solo, Mighty, Haze or Ascent sizing should be completely acceptable (or whatever size that can handle 2-18650's)......because if smaller size and discretion is needed then they already have the Grasshopper to fill that niche.

 

[radiant34]

I don't expect that any competent Engineer would rely on the unverified excuses for delivery that a company is publicly stating as being the real reasons for their lack of performance.

These very young "engineers" are likely not even licensed engineers at this point - 4 years professional "internship" in Canada to become licensed after your Bachelor Of Applied Science degree.

So they likely have never ever had to bring projects into existence, design and construction/manufacturing before .....since starting up a company and running one......especially if you are a MJ vape aficionado is a lot more difficult than completing university course project......except for perhaps a very difficult PhD thesis project

They grabbed the tiger by the IndieGoGo tail and hung on for all they could.....it is a wonder that it was even built in the first place after how long it took to source parts and start manufacturing.

But it does seem that they are catching up on past pre-orders and if their failure rates are kept down through increasing QC and constant upgrading to the best possible part sourcing then perhaps they can make a long term business out of this project.

But if that it the case, then they really need to become more than a one-trick pony and build some other vapes for other niches......such as a home portable built with that magic heater tech and run by a pair of replaceable 18650's.

But for such a home portable, a DC hookup point should also be provided so that the vape can be tethered to a wall adapter in case you run out of viable batteries. The current should also have pass through capability though so that it can be powered while charging dead batteries.

Apollo, Solo, Mighty, Haze or Ascent sizing should be completely acceptable (or whatever size that can handle 2-18650's)......because if smaller size and discretion is needed then they already have the Grasshopper to fill that niche.

do you have one gta vapor? have you seen the size of the heater? or the microprocessing thats in the top? makes milaana look like a block of wood . i cannot wait to see what else they have in store. they created their own proprietary batteries that are cheap, a unique microprocessor that regulates voltage, and a heater that is powered by unicorns. I really would like to know how the heater works. It's not as big as the milaana, nor do i think it functions as a blowdryer heater.

 

[akwardsauce]

That looks odd, because lower down it says send your hopper in so they can diagnose, then later says they're sending replacement parts. How would they know what parts to send before they look at the hopper? Did you send the whole unit back? If so, why wouldn't they assemble it on their end?

Edit: Didn't know HL was sending out individual parts, thought they always wanted to get the whole unit back?

Edit 2: After re-reading, I may have misunderstood. It makes no sense to me though.

so basically, i described my issues & they told me to send in the GH, charger, & battery (basically everything but the box). so thats what i sent them.

then i asked to buy batteries and have them ship it back with my repaired device (free shipping). then they messaged me that they are sending out replacement parts and when i get them i have to send them the original stuff back...problem is, i have nothing except the box with me now.

so i am wondering what they are actually going to mail me back, and what are they expecting me to mail them?

or do they just have a script that they reply with (which actually makes me think they didnt even read all that stuff i wrote describing my issue)?

i just hope whatever they send me is right because i dont wanna wait longer, pay shipping again, and also look like im trying to screw them over by not sending something back...it would be easy to verify that they have all my property while its in their possession rather than mail it back to me and "take my word for it"...maybe ill record myself opening their package straight from the mail just to make sure...

but its stressing me out a lil bit...

 

[GTAVaper]

do you have one gta vapor? have you seen the size of the heater? or the microprocessing thats in the top? makes milaana look like a block of wood . i cannot wait to see what else they have in store. they created their own proprietary batteries that are cheap, a unique microprocessor that regulates voltage, and a heater that is powered by unicorns. I really would like to know how the heater works. It's not as big as the milaana, nor do i think it functions as a blowdryer heater.

I am sorry but if you do a little reading (check my sig) then you would realize that your question was already answered.....and redundant.

Also, it doesn't take much to make a Milaana look like a block of wood......because that is what all the vape internals are mounted on......and the Milaana heater is actually not very big at all.....and I don't really care what technology it is built on.....it works very well......and best of all - seems to be reliable.

If you want to really look at something that looks primitive.....check out the Supreme V3......and <gasp> you need to heat it up with a blowtorch......but yet that primitive looking vape blows away every vape on the market ......check Stu's recently posted opinion in that thread. It is not the looks of a vape that impress me .....but the performance......and reliability.

From all accounts the Grasshopper performs very well......but has crap battery life and poor reliability. All very significant issues that are valid for an intelligent discussion......without any need to start referencing mythical creatures

Also, one correction......they did not create their own proprietary batteries......they built the vape around the smallest diameter batteries that they could source......and the MANUFACTURER then created these "proprietary batteries" that you speak of ......and which perform so poorly from all the accounts that I've read. Any company that wants to use produce and sell these batteries can contact any battery manufacturer in China and there is nothing that Grasshopper Labs could do to stop them from using the same dimension batteries in their own product.

So giving GHL's any kind of additional recognition for doing the obvious when they want to build a pen form factor is being far too generous to their ingenuity.....which is being first to market with a well performing herb vape in a pen form factor.

I am also not "dissing" the vape .....but it seems like you are interested in vigorously defending any perceived criticisms that are being made regarding the Grasshopper.......even though these criticisms are valid given the reports of poor battery life and multiple returns.

Maybe all these Grasshopper malfunctions are arising as a result of the unicorn that drips into the backends after they ingest the energy of these "proprietary" unicorn friendly (and sustaining) cells and heat up the herb with their magic horns

 

[radiant34]

The people that have working grasshoppers aren't complaining. I'm on my phone so I don't see your acquired vapes. This isn't a session vape for me so I do not find any trouble with batteries. I have 4 and that lasts me approximately 6 bowls worth.

I don't care what criticism these guys get, not my place to defend it. But when you have a thread where users that have a working unit rarely bother to report in, And users who have a broken one coming in to to report failure gets one sided really quick. this thing is amazing once you get it to work.

The milaana according to user feedback has the same reliability rate as the hoppers. Maybe a bit more reliable as it is a much simpler design. But even for a simple design the recessed glass for many users comes unglued and that seems much more of a simple solution that shouldve been during beta

And the batteries in the hopper are the only unique li-ion batteries in a vape(besides maybe ff2?). Theyre 5 bucks, cheaper then the 18650's.

And i'm not sure what you mean by

unicornn that drips into the backends after they ingest the energy of these "proprietary" unicorn friendly (and sustaining) cells and heat up the herb with their magic horns

I don't taste any batteries, nor do they get hot to even emit any gas..

My own personal gripe with the vape is the harshness of the hits, as im used to the cool vapor of the mighty. but the terp profiling in the grasshopper is much higher than the mighty(as the cooling chamber collects alot of the vapor) so although theres less of a vapor travel path, theres more vapor entering your lungs.

I am sorry but if you do a little reading (check my sig) then you would realize that your question was already answered.....and redundant.

Also, it doesn't take much to make a Milaana look like a block of wood......because that is what all the vape internals are mounted on......and the Milaana heater is actually not very big at all.....and I don't really care what technology it is built on.....it works very well......and best of all - seems to be reliable.

If you want to really look at something that looks primitive.....check out the Supreme V3......and <gasp> you need to heat it up with a blowtorch......but yet that primitive looking vape blows away every vape on the market ......check Stu's recently posted opinion in that thread. It is not the looks of a vape that impress me .....but the performance......and reliability.

From all accounts the Grasshopper performs very well......but has crap battery life and poor reliability. All very significant issues that are valid for an intelligent discussion......without any need to start referencing mythical creatures

Also, one correction......they did not create their own proprietary batteries......they built the vape around the smallest diameter batteries that they could source......and the MANUFACTURER then created these "proprietary batteries" that you speak of ......and which perform so poorly from all the accounts that I've read. Any company that wants to use produce and sell these batteries can contact any battery manufacturer in China and there is nothing that Grasshopper Labs could do to stop them from using the same dimension batteries in their own product.

So giving GHL's any kind of additional recognition for doing the obvious when they want to build a pen form factor is being far to generous to their ingenuity.....which is being first to market with a well performing herb vape in a pen form factor.

I am also not "dissing" the vape .....but it seems like you are interested in vigorously defending any perceived criticisms that are being made regarding the Grasshopper.......even though these criticisms are valid given the reports of poor battery life and multiple returns.

Maybe all these Grasshopper malfunctions are arising as a result of the unicorn that drips into the backends after they ingest the energy of these "proprietary" unicorn friendly (and sustaining) cells and heat up the herb with their magic horns

 

[GTAVaper]

The people that have working grasshoppers aren't complaining. I'm on my phone so I don't see your acquired vapes. This isn't a session vape for me so I do not find any trouble with batteries. I have 4 and that lasts me approximately 6 bowls worth.

I don't care what criticism these guys get, not my place to defend it. But when you have a thread where users that have a working unit rarely bother to report in, And users who have a broken one coming in to to report failure gets one sided really quick. this thing is amazing once you get it to work.

The milaana according to user feedback has the same reliability rate as the hoppers. Maybe a bit more reliable as it is a much simpler design. But even for a simple design the recessed glass for many users comes unglued and that seems much more of a simple solution that shouldve been during beta

And the batteries in the hopper are the only unique li-ion batteries in a vape(besides maybe ff2?). Theyre 5 bucks, cheaper then the 18650's.

And i'm not sure what you mean by

I don't taste any batteries, nor do they get hot to even emit any gas..

My own personal gripe with the vape is the harshness of the hits, as im used to the cool vapor of the mighty. but the terp profiling in the grasshopper is much higher than the mighty(as the cooling chamber collects alot of the vapor) so although theres less of a vapor travel path, theres more vapor entering your lungs.

I hope to enjoy my incoming Hopper (July 2015 order) as soon as I can and hope the performance lives up to the hype.

I do have some very high end vapes (performance-wise) and so I am not going to be hoping that it outperforms any of them .......which I believe to be highly doubtful.

But if it performs near any of the vapes I own......and fills a different niche and performs reliably.....then I will be very happy with my purchases (bought 3 of them 1 Blue Ti and 2 SS) - so you can see that it is in my best interest for me to hope for them to perform well

If they don't live up to my expectations then you might find them here on the Classifieds.

But even if they perform well (in their role) that doesn't mean that I will say that they are "better" than my Milaana, Apollo, UnderDog or Supreme.....but rather that the Grasshopper is a great vape that does what I want for the purposes that I want it for.

My VAS is rapidly diminishing - I think that once I am done with the pre-orders and "wishes" in my current signature .....that it will take a very special vape release for me to want to buy anything more since I will have all the bases covered that I want.

I know that Volcano is a better bag vape than my Extreme......but I hate using bags so it would never be something that I would consider......yet others might not be able to imagine life without their beloved 'Cano's

P.S. I am not sure how you managed to actually quote me and yet have my correctly spelled unicorn then switch to a spelling of "unicornn" upon it's arrival within your post's quote.....maybe that was a GIM moment?

 

[Baron23]

For an engineer of such high expertise you forget to aforemention external causes that had prevented them from shipping these much earlier. For example terrible outsourced parts which then had to be in sourced and made at the labs. There were many roadblocks for this company that were completely out of their control.

Come on, man....who picked the suppliers? Who specified supplier design/process/test requirements? Who is responsible for supply link management? Please, to me this just sounds like making excuses for guys who should know better. This is done routinely for products from aircraft to coffee makers.

I say it again, I love my GH, I'm not impressed with the company so far for really terrible delivery performance, reliability and failure issues, and basically hiding out behind form emails when they owe it ot people to come here and do some explaining.

Oh, and by the by, my GH works just fine so far (about a month or so in). Also, I find the taste excellent, but only for the first draw. I often use it with a water tool and I'm just fine with that as I also have no problem using it natively with the condom.

I have no intention of bashing Hopper, but they are subject to valid, fact based, criticism on their company performance and the only ones responsible for this are themselves.

 

[TheWhisper]

I have 2 batteries and they last me 3+ dry bowls each on temp 5.

 

[vapviking]

Come on, man....who picked the suppliers? Who specified supplier design/process/test requirements? Who is responsible for supply link management?

If the answer was simply 'two stoners from North Carolina' would you feel different about their accomplishment?
I think the answer may be somewhere between that and Scotty from Star Trek.

I'm being a little facetious, in humor. I guess it's clear I'm not holding these guys to any gold standard. I appreciate some other aspects of what I consider a righteous effort to bring a dream to market while keeping price down, great warranty, etc. So I'm willing to forgive some amount of inexperience on their part. I've enjoyed watching the evolution of it, and as I've noted in the past, in the life cycle of a product consumer anticipation can be huge. I may have already gotten 135 bucks worth of that!!! Though maybe not the price for the four I have on order...

One day soon I'll be hopping and maybe it'll be so intermittently that it'll just be hopping mad. Til then I wait in anticipation. July looks like it might actually be my month...

I appreciate your thoughts on your hopper so far @Baron23 -- and am encouraged that it's working!

 

[MoltenTiger]

so basically, i described my issues & they told me to send in the GH, charger, & battery (basically everything but the box). so thats what i sent them.

then i asked to buy batteries and have them ship it back with my repaired device (free shipping). then they messaged me that they are sending out replacement parts and when i get them i have to send them the original stuff back...problem is, i have nothing except the box with me now.

so i am wondering what they are actually going to mail me back, and what are they expecting me to mail them?

or do they just have a script that they reply with (which actually makes me think they didnt even read all that stuff i wrote describing my issue)?

i just hope whatever they send me is right because i dont wanna wait longer, pay shipping again, and also look like im trying to screw them over by not sending something back...it would be easy to verify that they have all my property while its in their possession rather than mail it back to me and "take my word for it"...maybe ill record myself opening their package straight from the mail just to make sure...

but its stressing me out a lil bit...

Hey @akwardsauce don't stress too much - a little confession, I never returned my faulty charger because it would cost me more than the parts-worth to send it from Aus, so I arrogantly neglected to do it.
HL either didn't notice, or they didn't care enough to follow it up.

I'm certain what they sent you was a semi-automated response sent out to you accidently, due to the fact these guys are running around like headless chickens.

It'll be all g

 

[moondog]

I'm certain what they sent you was a semi-automated response sent out to you accidently, due to the fact these guys are running around like headless chickens.
It'll be all g

That's kind of what I was thinking. Like when you pay a bill and then get a notice that you still owe the money because "the system" automatically sends out the notice because "the system" has not yet recognized that you already paid the damn bill.

 

[MoltenTiger]

That's kind of what I was thinking. Like when you pay a bill and then get a notice that you still owe the money because "the system" automatically sends out the notice because "the system" has not yet recognized that you already paid the damn bill.

After comparing your warranty history with my own, it does look like she copy/pasted the wrong thing back to you and called it a day.
My reply (compared to the purple oval in your pic) simply says

We've repaired your Grasshopper and it's now on its way back to you.

It's possible something else happened, and until you hear back from HL there's no way to know.
I doubt anything major has though.