The Nomad From Morwood

[Dan Morrison]

@VaporWare I agree on all those points.

About the heaters. I am always tinkering, even the heaters as they are now go through subtle upgrades with each batch.

I have a new heater in the works right now. New ribbon material is coming this week, hopefully it works out like I imagine. Will be posting updates on that for sure.

 

[SquirrelMaster]

I was actually quite surprised to see the amount of green in these photos. When under normal indoor lights this same abv looks pretty much straw/light brown. But under these bright lights, colour balanced, the green is very much enhanced. Just goes to show that you can't trust photos on the internet. Un-colour balanced, I could make these appear brown, but that wouldn't be 'scientific' hahah.

I've noticed that before as well when taking pictures of AVB and then going through them later knowing my material was more cooked and/or less hot spotted. I love your lens by the way, that f/1.0 looks wonderful. I had to see what you use because you always post nice pictures.

When you were doing the testing, you marked each bowl as a session but how long roughly were you waiting between each hit? I figured your pre-heat time would drop after each subsequent draw unless the coil is allowed to cool completely. Also I'll assume this was at room temperature? I know you're in the cold winter months like most of the rest of Canada and I find my pre-heat times jump a lot as the temperature drops.

Also with the briar burl bowl insert compared to an all glass stem do you find a difference in the resulting AVB? I haven't used a wood stem on an electric vape yet but if the walls don't absorb heat like glass does, does that affect the outside at all? I'm assuming no, or at least it's not noticeable if it does happen?

 

[namasteIII]

Cheers to all the science. Dans photos came our right at my bedtime sesh time last night so I tried to replicate his best results and had 2 brilliant sessions.

Note 1: I have been disrespecting the low heater, especially with a full battery the low heater works fantastic for big vapor, and it is relaxing just to hold the button down, not pulse and be on the lookout for excessive heat.

Note 2: There is a big difference in mouth and throat feel between convection and conduction vapor. I have been using a Dynavap daily for like 2 years before the Nomad came, and I kept having this feeling like there was something I was missing with the Nomad. It's hard to describe but a big conduction hit fills you up, you feel like all your body cavities are filled, and you want/need to exhale and push it out. Convection is far more airy, on a big hit you feel the thick vapor going down but it doesn't really tend to create that feeling of resistance or wanting to exhale it. Like I said this is really hard to describe, but if you have a conduction and a convection vape try both back to back and pay attention to how the vapor feels different, or maybe you have already noticed and you understand what I am saying.

Note 3: I have been tamping too hard. Seeing that Dan had the most even ABV with a half pack and the lightest of tamps that is what I tried. And my results pretty much mirrored his, same or similar number of hits, and very similar looking ABV. I will be continuing to pack less then full and only the most minimal of tamps from now on. I really think the light tamp helps even up the airflow around and through the herbs a good deal.

Note 4: I need to find some low effort way to get my grind completey even. I grind upside down for a while so it gets pretty fine, but even still I end up with bigger pieces and smaller pieces. I doubt I will be breaking out any sieves or sifters, but I'm going to try and run my ground herb through the top of my grinder again, maybe upside down for a bit. Open to suggestions here.

I also have been loading with the vacuum method but I will try a funnel and can see how that will keep and even pressure on the whole load which should help even more.

Haven't tried it yet but I hope this new packing method can improve my results on the high heater as well. I supposed my Nomad sense could use improving as well, because sometimes I wait for feelings of heat to inform my pulsing but maybe that is waiting too long and I need to be proactive. Maybe I should try and get the heat to feel as much like the low heater as possible. I do want to master that heater because if you are someone who goes for big, full extraction hits, the high heater is what you want.

@KeroZen when you get 30 hits a session, are you taking like 5 second draws? Or full length but super light draw speed? I'm curious how those sessions look.

Glad for this discussion, already lead to 2 brilliant sessions, and likely many more, Perhaps I am evolving as a Nomad user.

 

[Vaporware]

@namasteIII I’ve never smoked, but I’ve heard people talk about the feeling and it sounds like it’s a bit more similar to your conduction experiences.

I think especially if you’re used to using one vaporizer or smoking method switching takes some getting used to, and when it’s two that you dial in to your own preferences as much as a VapCap and a Nomad the differences are even more pronounced and you really have to relearn how to do things to get what you want.

I’m glad to see you getting better results so quickly though! I’m sure you’ll get the high heater down too, but it’ll probably be easier after getting consistently comfortable with the low heater.

Maybe I shouldn’t have brought up the grind consistency...Dan had mentioned it before, but I guess even to him it’s just a bonus and not something he generally spends time on, so I wouldn’t worry too much about it.

I do think it can help, but unless it’s wildly inconsistent I doubt it makes a huge difference. I would also avoid over-grinding though. Getting good airflow through powder is hard!

@SquirrelMaster Since he was having to pull the stem out, carefully position it, take at least one picture and put it back in between each draw I’m sure each draw was a cold start on these sessions (unless he pre-heated it before pre-heating it to simulate back to back hits, but I doubt it).

I’d be happy to hear more about the wood vs glass issue too, but back when the first wood rings between screens were introduced, I believe there was talk of it cooking the edges of the bowl more consistently than in the glass alone.

...and yeah, Dan’s photos always impress me too! Makes me want to get my one good lens back from my sister, but I’d probably have to borrow her camera to get as good an image out of it.

 

[KeroZen]

I think my hits are clearly under 5 seconds, but mind you I never tried to time them accurately. Counting to 5 mentally would be my max duration I think, but I'm surely not as steady as a real clock!

Also when I said my ABV looks more uniform and brown at the end, just to be clear, I'm a rather low temps vaper and I don't push my bowls super far. I don't aim at dark brown and even less almost black BUT I continue for a good while once taste has degraded and becomes more "roasted" ABV'ish (yet not too popcorny and zero hint of charring, I dislike that) If there's still ample vapor, I continue.

I keep hitting it until it starts producing very little vapor while keeping the temperature constant (same trigger timing and hit duration) Then I stir or flip the load once, and go for the end of the session (maybe 6 extra hits at most?)

PS: I use exclusively the low power heater by the way.

 

[Mr. Me2]

I also have been loading with the vacuum method but I will try a funnel and can see how that will keep and even pressure on the whole load which should help even more.

Can you scoop to load it instead of using a funnel? That’s how I fill my Splinter and it’s very easy and clean that way.

 

[Dan Morrison]

@SquirrelMaster Thanks for the kind words about the photos! This lens I used here was actually a Canon 60mm f/2.8, but it's adapted to my Fuji x-E3 with a dummy adapter, so the lens information is incorrect on the metadata

My other lens I use a lot is a meike 35mm f/1.7. This Chinese made lens is under $100 and excellent. Very few lens elements, giving a look more like a vintage film lens. Lots of character.

___

Between each hit I removed the stem, put it into my camera taking setup, and snapped a quick photo. I had everything set up on a tripod, focus adjusted, etc. Then I would record the times and vapor quality on paper before the next hit. So it was probably 1-2 mins between hits. I didn't do any extra pre-heating that was not recorded. I wouldn't say that the vape returned to cold, but rather it was just warm.

Under normal conditions, I do expect that I would change the pre-heat to something like 3-4 seconds on the second hit onwards.

I used to do a 4 or 5 second pre-heat on the first hit, but now I find a 6-7 second produces vapor quicker and allows me to go right out of the gate with a faster draw speed.

Ambient room temp, just average t-shirt wearing normal.

Glass vs. Briar - I do find a difference, but I'm not entirely sure how big of a difference it makes, I go back and forth between the two methods and jump between which one I prefer. The all-glass gives you a larger chamber, which I do like, but the briar does seem to insulate the load a bit... and I think that gives faster heat up times and slightly better evenness around the outside edges.

A note about the briar chambers, on advice from @namasteIII I have been experimenting with pre-shrinking the chambers in the oven to roast the wood. This roasting seems to stabilize the wood and cause less shrinkage/expansion in the future. I found that if left unroasted, the briar burl chambers would go from fitting snug to loose after a session and then return to near normal after sitting a few hours. The new chambers go from snug, to slightly less snug, so I'm super happy about that! These improvements have already made it into the Nomads that I have sent out this week.

___

@namasteIII Awesome to hear! And your notes are definitely helpful for future Nomadics, all of this helps me to better explain the techniques.

I compared the Nomad quite heavily to the dynavap, and I definitely know what you mean by the vapor difference, it's quite drastic. I've noted, and others have as well, that conduction (or hybrid) heating produces a thicker feeling and looking vapor, for whatever reason. Effects wise, I don't find any difference given the same amount of herb, so I'm pretty confident that the extraction efficiency is comparable..... but the vapor is just different.

Also, draw restriction between the two devices is drastic! When coming from the dynavap back to the Nomad it feels like there is just zero restriction, feels like tons of air is just streaming through the thing, ha. It requires quite the adjustment.

Good to know about the tamping! When I tamp a load very lightly... It's about the weight of a pencil, ha. So it's like..barely a whisper. I find that as long as it stays in place for the first hit, that first hit will compress the load and sort of melt it all together, and after that you're safe.

About grind consistency, I am ashamed to say that I use scissors.... heh. I don't know why but it's just always been my way of doing it. I'm sure there is a better way, but that's how I do it and it works for me. It's pretty inconvenient for large quantities though. I fill up a film canister and scissor the hell out of it.

With the high heater, I aim to make it perform like the low heater. But it just get me there with less pre-heat and less time inhaling. Also, you bring up a good point with feeling the heat. I let go of the button before I feel the heat, based on intuition. With the high heater, I think that when you feel the heat, it's too late. A very good observation there!

I will say that with the high heater you can definitely push it further much easier than the low heater into higher temp ranges, getting into those dark brown abvs is no problem. Most of the time, taming it is the problem.

@KeroZen Very interesting, excited to try that out.

@Mr. Me2 I dump directly from my herb container into the chamber, but on occasion I scoop with a little scooper, works equally good!

 

[SquirrelMaster]

With a Dynavap, specifically the M, I find it to be lot more harsh than other vapes which changes the vapour for me. I can get much fatter hits on the VapBong then the my Dynavap but is that a fair comparison? Conduction seems to cook the herb easier but is it more efficient? There are so many variables like heat level, materials used in the vapour path, vapour path length and flower used and I always go back to taste in which I usually prefer convection. Even writing this reply I went back and forth over how to explain it which maybe means we're trying to say the same thing, just differently.

I was going to ask what kind of grinders you all were using as some have excellent consistency and others not so much. The only device I have that is extremely picky is my MV-1. Too fine and I get wicked hot spotting, too coarse and the process is too long. For all my other devices I can pretty much use any grind from my OG HerbRipper XL or BCG and they all suffice but the finer grinds compress faster in stems. Again so many factors like draw strength, humidity of herb and whether it's a stem device or not.

I rarely tamp any of my convection devices and if I do it's very minimal, just enough so the herb doesn't fall towards the heating element. Most of the time I just take the first hit inverted and that secures the material as it starts to cook and as the suction pulls the herb together. I have a little LEGO shovel that I use to load my devices because I'm cheap and haven't picked up something slightly larger as the ones targeted to us are so expensive for what they are. I'll get something better suited one of these days.

I did not consider the time spent taking a picture between hits for some reason. If I'm having a session with a device I take hits back to back with enough time to exhale and have a sip of water so the heaters don't have time to cool much. That's an inconsequential detail but it was on my mind.

@Dan Morrison f/2.8 is still nice and shallow for a depth of field, your f/1.7 lens sounds nice too. No primes in my bag except my 150mm macro and the rest or zooms. I better not starting think about camera's or I'll be temped to update my aging DSLR .

 

[Dan Morrison]

@namasteIII I decided to try a medium grind, and no tamp at all. I just sprinkle-fill the chamber to near the top, maybe give the top the lightest rake with a little pick to settle all the little bits, and load it into the Nomad upside down till it hits the screen. So long as the herb is near the top of the chamber, the screen will keep everything in place. After the first hit the herb is compacted and pulled into the chamber where it stays in place by itself.

I found this method gave better airflow and flavor. It also seems to get the airflow going around the edges a bit better as well.

With the low heater I'm getting 2-3 hit full extractions, ending at an even light/medium brown all the way through the load.

It's clear that there are many ways to skin a cat here, but I'll be trying out this loading method for a while, that's for sure!

p.s. - this method is especially nice with the cooling beads, where you can pretty much get 1 hit full extraction with a long (20-30s) draw.

 

[NOLOGO]

by my rough estimations it's nearly time for an update on batch 1 of the Nomad II, and I'm so excited to see these beauties emerge!!

 

[Remdigger]

tell me how to see the specifications of the device. and pre-order information, thanks!

 

[Vaporware]

tell me how to see the specifications of the device. and pre-order information, thanks!

You can get on the list by messaging @Dan Morrison here or by e-mail using morwoodco at gmail and giving him your e-mail address.

The basics are that (in addition to being in my opinion the best looking artisan vaporizers out there, and one of the smallest/most pocketable), the Nomad is an unregulated on-demand convection vaporizer with easily swappable 18650 batteries.

Unlike others in this category such as the Milaana, Li’l Bud, etc. you can also easily swap heaters in the Nomad so you can get worry free hits with the lower powered heater once you learn how it behaves, or you can push the envelope with the higher powered heater if you want to get more heat and vapor going faster (at the risk of combustion if you push too hard). Dan’s also working on other heaters which will add even more flexibility.

The Nomad experience is dependent on a number of different factors such as battery model, current battery voltage, heater choice, draw speed, how long you hold the button, etc. As you can see from the discussion about how to get good results in the last couple of pages though, once you know what you’re trying to do most people can learn to get results they’re happy with pretty quickly.

You might think of it like driving a manual or automatic car. A lot of people prefer a set-and-forget automatic kind of experience, but with manual control you can learn how it feels and how to get exactly what you want out of it.

You can learn the Nomad well enough that you don’t have to really think about it, but it will always be responding to the power you’re applying, draw speed, etc. rather than just sitting at a set temp or constantly cooking your flower like other types do.

If any of that sounds appealing to you, it’s time to get on the list!

 

[Remdigger]

Если что-то из этого кажется вам привлекательным, пора попасть в список! : borg:

thank you very much for such a detailed response and available information, I really appreciate it. let me clarify one small point: how much USD do I need to Deposit? thanks

 

[Vaporware]

thank you very much for such a detailed response and available information, I really appreciate it. let me clarify one small point: how much USD do I need to Deposit? thanks

$0!

You just get on the list and when your name comes up (if you’re ready to buy one) you choose the options you want and pay, then he builds about 30 of them at once and sends updates with great pictures and stuff as they’re built. It takes a while, but it’s a unique experience and a unique vaporizer.

I believe the Nomad IIs are $375 with standard options, but they can be more with more expensive woods for example. If you get on the list now though, you’ll have plenty of time to save and I think it’s well worth the money. In fact I feel like I should have paid him more for all the work he’s done on mine.

 

[Remdigger]

$0!

You just get on the list and when your name comes up (if you’re ready to buy one) you choose the options you want and pay, then he builds about 30 of them at once and sends updates with great pictures and stuff as they’re built. It takes a while, but it’s a unique experience and a unique vaporizer.

I believe the Nomad IIs are $375 with standard options, but they can be more with more expensive woods for example. If you get on the list now though, you’ll have plenty of time to save and I think it’s well worth the money. In fact I feel like I should have paid him more for all the work he’s done on mine.

hats off to you for your message! just wanted to know the price to know afford it to me, spasibo.

 

[RxPlorer]

Have any users combusted dry herb when using the Nomad II low heater?

 

[Vaporware]

I don’t think it’s *impossible* with any good convection heater, especially in an unregulated device, but you can preheat and hold the button down throughout the entire draw without combusting (see Dan’s AVB pics and session descriptions on the previous page).

Things like “cigar puffs” and long preheat times to get more heat into the load faster can get more vapor going early on, but at least with a fresh battery you could possibly overdo it and combust.

If you learn to feel when it’s overheating your flower and keep your draw speed above that level though (and judging by reported draw lengths it would be a pretty slow draw), it should be hard to combust with the low heater.

I don’t remember seeing many combustion reports in this thread, so I’m not worried about being able to learn at least the low heater pretty quickly.

 

[disGRUNTled]

Me, waiting on Nomad #96......................

 

[Mr. Me2]

Is it on its way?

 

[namasteIII]

I've never combusted and I'm not a Nomad pro. I think you would have to try very hard to combust with the low heater, and also shut your brain and senses off.

 

[disGRUNTled]

Is it on its way?

 

[Remdigger]

 

[flammy]

FWIW, I'm waiting still as well from batch 4. This said, if you're on the tail end of batch 4, I'd feel lucky. His painting and overall sleeve design skills have improved with each Nomad 1 he's cranked out in this batch. Some of the custom painted sleeves in this recent batch have just been phenomenal for the lack of better words. You'd think he's a painter rather than a vape maker at times.

I'm very excited to see the remaining units out of this batch. Hold faith. It'll be worth I'm sure.

Cheers to all the science. Dans photos came our right at my bedtime sesh time last night so I tried to replicate his best results and had 2 brilliant sessions.

Note 1: I have been disrespecting the low heater, especially with a full battery the low heater works fantastic for big vapor, and it is relaxing just to hold the button down, not pulse and be on the lookout for excessive heat.

Note 2: There is a big difference in mouth and throat feel between convection and conduction vapor. I have been using a Dynavap daily for like 2 years before the Nomad came, and I kept having this feeling like there was something I was missing with the Nomad. It's hard to describe but a big conduction hit fills you up, you feel like all your body cavities are filled, and you want/need to exhale and push it out. Convection is far more airy, on a big hit you feel the thick vapor going down but it doesn't really tend to create that feeling of resistance or wanting to exhale it. Like I said this is really hard to describe, but if you have a conduction and a convection vape try both back to back and pay attention to how the vapor feels different, or maybe you have already noticed and you understand what I am saying.

Note 3: I have been tamping too hard. Seeing that Dan had the most even ABV with a half pack and the lightest of tamps that is what I tried. And my results pretty much mirrored his, same or similar number of hits, and very similar looking ABV. I will be continuing to pack less then full and only the most minimal of tamps from now on. I really think the light tamp helps even up the airflow around and through the herbs a good deal.

Note 4: I need to find some low effort way to get my grind completey even. I grind upside down for a while so it gets pretty fine, but even still I end up with bigger pieces and smaller pieces. I doubt I will be breaking out any sieves or sifters, but I'm going to try and run my ground herb through the top of my grinder again, maybe upside down for a bit. Open to suggestions here.

I also have been loading with the vacuum method but I will try a funnel and can see how that will keep and even pressure on the whole load which should help even more.

Haven't tried it yet but I hope this new packing method can improve my results on the high heater as well. I supposed my Nomad sense could use improving as well, because sometimes I wait for feelings of heat to inform my pulsing but maybe that is waiting too long and I need to be proactive. Maybe I should try and get the heat to feel as much like the low heater as possible. I do want to master that heater because if you are someone who goes for big, full extraction hits, the high heater is what you want.

@KeroZen when you get 30 hits a session, are you taking like 5 second draws? Or full length but super light draw speed? I'm curious how those sessions look.

Glad for this discussion, already lead to 2 brilliant sessions, and likely many more, Perhaps I am evolving as a Nomad user.

IMO, good airflow is very critical for the Nomad and most convection vapes for that matter. I currently use a glass stem with 6mm beads trapped between 2 screens (exactly the same as what Dan is currently offering). IMO, there are two major factors in optional airflow for the nomad.

First is the way you load the bowl. I would avoid using a fine grind as that will compact the load and make it harder for the air to pass through. I also would avoid tamping down too firmly. IMO, you should use the least amount of force to hold the material in the bowl.

Second factor is the chamber screen. I find that my screen will clog after a day or two of heavy use. This will definitely vary for everyone depending on type of material and amount of usage. I've found the the perfect draw restriction for me to be somewhere between a fully cleaned screen and a fully clogged one. This said, there comes a point in which the clogged screen will present performance issues that are similar to ones you'd experience when the load is packed too tight...hotspots. I have a spare chamber screen at the ready and just pop that in while the clogged one gets an ISO soak.

For reference, I use my low heater exclusively. I'm the type that doesn't mind if there is a little chlorophyl visible in the load when I call it quits and the low is absolutely perfect for those purposes. This said, it's harder to combust with low heater but far from impossible especially on a fresh battery.

 

[cpk]

Yes I am very glad to be patiently waiting for Nomad 1 #56.

 

[Dan Morrison]

Yes I am very glad to be patiently waiting for Nomad 1 #56.

Taking photos of your finished sleeve today, it looks sweeeet!