Discontinued The RBT Milaana (unregulated single 18650)

[killick]

@Shit Snacks thanks - forgot about the cool unit.

Still, design is simply simple, and simply works. Please protect me from blinking, flashing lights, WiFi and RFID based vaping, and anything requiring proprietary anything. Wood, batt, heater and go. Although back when I was still doing engie/techie stuff I loved the gadgets... But they always fail...

 

[AJS]

When Sheila emailed me, there was a phone number link attached. I asked her about this. She said its her other job but can call if really needed. I didn't speak on everyone's behalf, just my own, so not sure if she wants a bunch of phone calls, but she told me it was alright.

Am I allowed to post this, as its not a quote unquote conversation?

 

[HellsWindStaff]

When Sheila emailed me, there was a phone number link attached. I asked her about this. She said its her other job but can call if really needed. I didn't speak on everyone's behalf, just my own, so not sure if she wants a bunch of phone calls, but she told me it was alright.

Am I allowed to post this, as its not a quote unquote conversation?

I would say not, sounds like she was extending you a courtesy incase you ran into further troubles with your shipping. Unless everyone is getting the number, but still would shy against posting that.

I just PM'd ShitSnacks about this, but since I'm here might as well ask, can anyone direct me or show me the "Convection Tests" for the Milanna and/or Zion? I don't doubt that convection is happening, but I would be interested to see if there was much radiant heat and/or conduction going on, if at all. In theory if it was pure convection, you could load a stem into the Milaana and hold the button down long on a fresh battery, and nothing should happen to the herb (ala the Firefly or with butane the Lotus)

And/or if there aren't photos or posts about this, if one of the new users (or old) would be so kind to sacrifice a stem for the sake of science, that would be cool Dug around a bit and didn't seem to find any. At least under the search terms "Convection test"

 

[nosmoking]

the exclusive way you were treated.

How was I treated exclusive? Because I received an email? Let me explain how it went since I believe your reading into things incorrectly. On 4/19 or 4/20 I contact RBT through the contact us page on his website to inform him about my separate orders just like everyone else is supposed to. Sunday evening I received an email from RBT stating he had to check with the manufacturer and that he would try to make arrangements to have my batteries and charger ship with my Milaana. I noticed his email the following Monday morning and sent him a response letting him know I did already receive the charger and my batteries and that if he kept using the same reference and service for his domestic shippings I could let the crowd now. My timing was impeccable because whatever he was doing he was able to see my email immediately and responded immediately from his phone with this response:

"You my friend kick Major Ass! Thanks a million. I will make sure yours goes soon and will def keep the ----- reference tag.

Thanks for the positive vibe and support as we sort though the last 50 pre-orders over the next two weeks. 30 are already at final test.

Sent from my iPhone"

I figured from his response @Shit Snacks might have mentioned something or other about a fortune telling shipping guru or something or other. Who knows but I am not getting exclusive treatment by any means. I sent him a response back within 10 minutes and another a day later. Neither have been answered or responded back to. I also sent him PM's on FC and tried to contact him through his website prior to 4/19 and he never responded back to me. I got lucky once with a response...I hardly find that exclusive or privileged.

 

[tblast]

can anyone direct me or show me the "Convection Tests" for the Milanna and/or Zion?

Pretty sure Pak did one in the Zion thread a long while back, and determined it was fair to label it as pure convection. Not 100% on that as I couldn't find it just now, but I have some memory of reading that way back when.

 

[hippogriff]

In my opinion the grasshopper is more stealthy but that is about it when compared to my Milanna.

Battery life - Milanna wins and it's not even close my grasshopper can barely last 2 chambers before it is dead. Milanna I get at least 4 and I could get more but I like fresh batteries.

Vapor Quality - Milanna easily wins so much smoother than the grasshopper and I don't burn my lips constantly and that's with the short stem on my Milanna.

Vapor Flavor - Milanna tastes much better for longer than the grasshopper. I feel the flavor drops off quickly when using my GH.

I have had my Milanna since Monday and I haven't used any other vape since. It just produces vapor so easily and it so convenient. I don't even grind my bud with it just break off chunks and load it, pure convention flavor is amazing.

This, well maybe not battery life if you include charge times in the bowls equation, and I want to add it's not just stealth, the GH is just as fast and easier to use, the temp controls are precise and the little heater is designed for ripping, it's got a lot to offer. I've had a hopper since last October, and very much like the Milaana, it's the heater that shines above the rest of the design (and issues), I am interested in any form factor these two heaters take. The GH tech is precise and relentless, and it's still the only vape I've owned that I've been able to hand to a complete newb and they get it.

I only use convection portables, a Grasshopper, a Firewood 3.0, and now a Milaana. It'll take me more time to boil down my impressions, but the Milaana heater is instantly impressive. Something about the massive surface area bringing down the peak temp the heater needs to reach, so you feel the power but there's a signature smoothness that goes all the way thru to the flavor and vapor quality.

 

[Shit Snacks]

I would say not, sounds like she was extending you a courtesy incase you ran into further troubles with your shipping. Unless everyone is getting the number, but still would shy against posting that.

I just PM'd ShitSnacks about this, but since I'm here might as well ask, can anyone direct me or show me the "Convection Tests" for the Milanna and/or Zion? I don't doubt that convection is happening, but I would be interested to see if there was much radiant heat and/or conduction going on, if at all. In theory if it was pure convection, you could load a stem into the Milaana and hold the button down long on a fresh battery, and nothing should happen to the herb (ala the Firefly or with butane the Lotus)

And/or if there aren't photos or posts about this, if one of the new users (or old) would be so kind to sacrifice a stem for the sake of science, that would be cool Dug around a bit and didn't seem to find any. At least under the search terms "Convection test"

Yes wrote you an nice little explanation essay bud Basically it is pure convection if used properly, since you are not supposed to hold trigger more than 5sec without inhaling here or in Zion. The heater keeps climbing in temp so eventually wood and glass will be warmed, you're supposed to draw the heat through the load instead of wasting energy to let it bleed into the device. The standard convection test usually involves a session style device vs an on demand trigger device, but if you replicate it for this device as intended, it does reveal no cooked herb without inhaling like a log Daisy/Lily or Elevape (FF and GH do have some minimal conduction/radiation occur in a similar test for a slight browning, whereas a Mighty CFX or MiVape will have enough conduction/radiation to cook a load more substantially without inhaling)

 

[speedyg]

One day into it's short life, my Milaana had an unfortunate accident and is now dead. Like a dummy I dropped it with the short stem attached and while the stem is still intact, the female joint is broken. Anyway shit happens and I've contacted RBT regarding my options. I know that warranty will not cover user stupidity but hopefilly I can get it fixed. Awaiting his response.

 

[AJS]

One day into it's short life, my Milaana had an unfortunate accident and is now dead. Like a dummy I dropped it with the short stem attached and while the stem is still intact, the female joint is broken. Anyway shit happens and I've contacted RBT regarding my options. I know that warranty will not cover user stupidity but hopefilly I can get it fixed. Awaiting his response.

Oh Nooooooooo. Maybe he'll send you a new female and you can glue it in yourself? Highly doubt it though. Bummer man! Hope everything works out.

 

[Copacetic]

One day into it's short life, my Milaana had an unfortunate accident and is now dead. Like a dummy I dropped it with the short stem attached and while the stem is still intact, the female joint is broken. Anyway shit happens and I've contacted RBT regarding my options. I know that warranty will not cover user stupidity but hopefilly I can get it fixed. Awaiting his response.

That sucks speedy, please accept my condolences.

 

[Shit Snacks]

Ah damn @speedyg that sucks, at least you have a Zion But that does confirm one durability vulnerability that we all suspected regarding the glass. Sure it can survive a drop in water but a drop on the ground is always a risk when glass is involved. Hope the warranty process goes smoothly despite the "user error"

 

[HellsWindStaff]

Pretty sure Pak did one in the Zion thread a long while back, and determined it was fair to label it as pure convection. Not 100% on that as I couldn't find it just now, but I have some memory of reading that way back when.

I found one post of Paks where he mentions throwing some herbs on his Zion glass screen and held the button for 40 sec, no pictures or anything and wasn't quite what I was looking for (was curious about the stem contributing to any conduction/radiant heat)

So, I certainly would still love to see some photos, a picture is worth 1000 words! But Shit Snacks explained the methodology behind it very well in PM and makes sense with proper use that it would be pure convection!

 

[cybrguy]

One day into it's short life, my Milaana had an unfortunate accident and is now dead. Like a dummy I dropped it with the short stem attached and while the stem is still intact, the female joint is broken. Anyway shit happens and I've contacted RBT regarding my options. I know that warranty will not cover user stupidity but hopefilly I can get it fixed. Awaiting his response.

Bummer, an actual tragedy. Hope you didn't get enough use out of it to be totally hooked. I would be in a bad place if I lost access to RBT devices at this point...

 

[Shit Snacks]

I found one post of Paks where he mentions throwing some herbs on his Zion glass screen and held the button for 40 sec, no pictures or anything and wasn't quite what I was looking for (was curious about the stem contributing to any conduction/radiant heat)

So, I certainly would still love to see some photos, a picture is worth 1000 words! But Shit Snacks explained the methodology behind it very well in PM and makes sense with proper use that it would be pure convection!

Ah I think Pak did mention doing it with stem inserted (bc yeah what you described should never be done regardless), maybe it wasn't in that post you found, but I'm fairly certain it was somewhere in Zion Bible of a thread lol Since the stem has the glass rim that would be in direct contact with any heat you pull through it from the heater, it will conduct and absorb some heat but not enough to vape the load unless you held the trigger longer than you ever should. I have been meaning to do a post of multiple photos with writing laying out step by step how best to use it but kept procrastinating

 

[kimura]

@HellsWindStaff - the stem gets just a little warm during a draw. in fact if you take out the stem right after a long draw and put your finger in the chamber/female joint, it's just barely a little warm. for reference, the male joint on the Cloud EVO gets way hotter. even the chamber of the MiniVAP gets hotter. while I was typing this, I just actually put my finger in the chamber and held the button for several seconds and it's just slightly warm in there. this heater tech is 100% convection.

it's been a couple days and obviously I'm very impressed with this vape. flavor, effect, purity of materials, wide open draw, minimalist design, powerful and ubiquitous batteries, I don't know what else to say that hasn't been said. probably just buy this thing if you think it looks like something you might like

turns out the battery RBT sent me with the vape was a bad cell, basically DOA like @Vape Dr., so that's too bad. it seemed to stuggle to get through a single bowl. good thing it's so easy to find 18650s

 

[WakeAndVape]

How was I treated exclusive? Because I received an email? Let me explain how it went since I believe your reading into things incorrectly. On 4/19 or 4/20 I contact RBT through the contact us page on his website to inform him about my separate orders just like everyone else is supposed to. Sunday evening I received an email from RBT stating he had to check with the manufacturer and that he would try to make arrangements to have my batteries and charger ship with my Milaana. I noticed his email the following Monday morning and sent him a response letting him know I did already receive the charger and my batteries and that if he kept using the same reference and service for his domestic shippings I could let the crowd now. My timing was impeccable because whatever he was doing he was able to see my email immediately and responded immediately from his phone with this response:

"You my friend kick Major Ass! Thanks a million. I will make sure yours goes soon and will def keep the ----- reference tag.

Thanks for the positive vibe and support as we sort though the last 50 pre-orders over the next two weeks. 30 are already at final test.

Sent from my iPhone"

I figured from his response @Shit Snacks might have mentioned something or other about a fortune telling shipping guru or something or other. Who knows but I am not getting exclusive treatment by any means. I sent him a response back within 10 minutes and another a day later. Neither have been answered or responded back to. I also sent him PM's on FC and tried to contact him through his website prior to 4/19 and he never responded back to me. I got lucky once with a response...I hardly find that exclusive or privileged.

That's cool. But your misreading my statement if you feel the need to explain the chain of events...I wasn't attacking the communication you received, I was merely saying your other emails warranted a response just like the deserved 'hi five' he gave you.

That was my point simple and plain.

Again thanks for your help and answering my PM's as well as creating a POSITIVE shipping frenzy of sorts.

 

[nosmoking]

@WakeAndVape
I didn't like the idea of anyone thinking I was treated exclusively or provided privlidged information. Its not what I stand for.

Its easy to misread posts...I am happy and off to a state of being well medicated...I never wanted anything else for you but the same!

And I should finally thank you and all the other members for the kind words and gratitude sent my way

 

[nondarb]

My Mi arrived yesterday. After lots of trying, troubleshooting with a z-team member and a conversation with RBT its going back to NY unfortunately. I don't believe my unit to be a proper representation of the Mi's performance so I'll reserve judgement in that regard.

Hopefully I get it back soon. RBT got back to me pretty quick and seemed to believe he knew what the issue could be so hopefully this is an isolated incident and I get a big drink of that z-team kool-aid soon enough.

In the meantime I'll continue breaking in my Daisy I suppose.

 

[HellsWindStaff]

@HellsWindStaff - the stem gets just a little warm during a draw. in fact if you take out the stem right after a long draw and put your finger in the chamber/female joint, it's just barely a little warm. for reference, the male joint on the Cloud EVO gets way hotter..... while I was typing this, I just actually put my finger in the chamber and held the button for several seconds and it's just slightly warm in there. this heater tech is 100% convection.

Thank you for this; the finger test I was hopin someone would try and basically answers my question. (Still would love photo and some more function vids from new users ) Appreciate the EVO comparison too as it gives me a frame of reference I'm familiar with.

@Shit Snacks i will have to search later, on mobile now, I didn't filter by Paks posts but I did search "test" and didn't seem to find anything ?

I asked Shit Snacks this too, but I was asking because I was curious if you could get a "thicker" or fuller extraction in just one hit with a heat soak prior. Like, if it took you 3 hits to cash the load feathering it normally, if you held button down for a few seconds and soaked the stem/load, and then used the normal technique if you could get one hit extraction without risk of burning and such.

Not exactly the same, but I always would prime my Firefly and rengage the heater 2-3 times prior to hitting from cold to let it build up energy. (And got very fat hits and cashed the bowl very quickly doing this) I know such a ramp up isn't necessary with the Mi, but I was curious to see if it could add anything with no ill effects (burning!)

 

[CaptVapor]

My Mi arrived yesterday. After lots of trying, troubleshooting with a z-team member and a conversation with RBT its going back to NY unfortunately. I don't believe my unit to be a proper representation of the Mi's performance so I'll reserve judgement in that regard.

Hopefully I get it back soon. RBT got back to me pretty quick and seemed to believe he knew what the issue could be so hopefully this is an isolated incident and I get a big drink of that z-team kool-aid soon enough.

In the meantime I'll continue breaking in my Daisy I suppose.

What was the issue if you don't mind me asking?

 

[speedyg]

Bummer, an actual tragedy. Hope you didn't get enough use out of it to be totally hooked. I would be in a bad place if I lost access to RBT devices at this point...

Tragedy is right but I'll survive! I'll get it fixed or replaced and be more careful in the future. Probably a good idea to keep the stem out when not in use.

 

[Shit Snacks]

What was the issue if you don't mind me asking?

Yes yes @nondarb is who I mentioned above, unit running cool, batteries fine, I think RBT said it might be a short caused from vibration during shipping.

Yes I see @HellsWindStaff that could work, that is the benefit of the high surface area heater, I just had a long session and the way I use it low temp vaping to start and temp step it gets heat soaked. On demand is still possible, but it is easier to fully exract a load quicker when it is heat soaked. So it is perfect with temp stepping, on a fresh batt you just go instant and let off button when you feel heat in throat and continue drawing residual heat from heater to get a nice smooth hit. I can temp step by taste and feel, stir after a like 5 hits for taste more than anything else like every convection vape I've ever used even though here you can avoid it depending on pack and technique (seems GH may make me want to stir too from what I'm hearing--I'll find out soon apparently, confirmation just received for that finally today-- like FF the stuff on the bottom overcooks and hurts taste, this heater tech avoids it better in my experience but if you had a really big bowl full it would likely be similar). I tried pics but will follow up with them later maybe, it stays green for a bit like this as the load shrinks, so stirring is more fluffing it back up, i don't tamp bc every hit tamps it with heat, I just start my first hit after a pack or stir inverted (best way to load and remove stems carefully to stir) and then its compacted in the basket until the next fluff. If you wanted to cash it sooner, I'd recommend loading less than full otherwise you risk charring the end like you would in other manual pure convection vapes--best to let off the button sooner and use residual heat soak for low temp vaping instead. It's really all in how you learn control for you own needs, it seems intuitive the more you use it, I have used it with a total mj and/or vapor newbies plus heavy smokers and vapers that have taken right to it with simple instructions. The real way you control heat is your breath honestly, most of them take much bigger hits than I am capable of, without scorching so basically I am sure single hit extraction is possible aside from bubbler useage with preheat... Like all pure convection, especially instant on demand manual ala T1 FF ESV Trii + logs, the biggest factor is your own breath. The way you pack and how you use the trigger (along with battery level here as an unregulated device) are the more scientific variables, but something about the breath I've found to be so subjective and more difficult to explain in writing when it comes to manual full convection vapes... Wow where did I start and where did I go with this wall of text? Hope it was useful for someone

 

[mephisto]

Dammit, I am still waiting for Irene (#18), I sure miss her, but I am expecting little sister Eileen any day now according to the email asking if I still reside where I still reside. I can't help but wonder how I will sand and contour the body, do some engraving, and some staining......Thanks for all the sultry Mi usage reports, it really helped me put my other favorite instant, wood convection heater woes to rest for awhile. I am vaping vicariously through you early Mi cult members......

 

[Tommy10]

Only headshop near I couldn't find a US M/M, going off my standard sized 18 m/m as a reference. Potentially a Mi coming soon and I don't have a way to get it to water, batteries or charger yet! What am I thinking!!!
Although going to the old mans this weekend and he's bound to have some 18650 chargers, just to do some more research and get the right batteries. I'd be interested to see if electricity can replace butane for me again.

Also anyone know where I can find the contact form again? I don't remember it being this hard last time, clicked FAQ-contact and get this lovely little message but no message box?

"Check the FAQ pages in the FAQ menu above. If your question isn't answered please submit the appropriate Form found under each list of FAQs. Please allow the stated time for a response and forgive us if you ask a question answered in a FAQ and therefore we dont respond"

Was thinking about going via the refund option since I'm still yet to get a reply, and now I can't find it... But I'm not sure if this would offend his lord ship, and put me at the bottom of the list, or "No More Mi for you!" If RBT forgot my bread, I'd dare not ask!!
These new international shipping confirmations, and my purchase email being old makes me fearful my Mi is sitting somewhere waiting for my confirmation reply.

 

[AJS]

I don't have a way to get it to water, batteries or charger yet! What am I thinking!!!

Silicone over the shorty stem straight to a female (or wrap the silicone around a male, should work for either).
Illumn shipped by batteries pretty quick.
Lightningvapes shipped my charger pretty quick.

Lg he4 for $5 + few buck shipping. Same batts rbt had on his website (originally?).