I feel like the microdose bowl really leans into the low temp flower dab concept with the smaller, tapered design focusing the air path and stabilizing temperatures with the extra ~4.5mm of titanium surrounding the bowl towards the screen; I dropped PID temp down to 435F/224C (330F/166C measured at the top of the original housing) to get the vapor I was looking for and was pleased with the flavorful and uniform extraction when paired with CC mini influx.
The only drawback of the original bowl, thermal binding, is now solved via a system of o-rings and glass stems, possibly at the cost of torchability:
I reached out to Cal regarding the o-rings and found out they are Viton, 28mm OD / 22mm ID, max temp 450F/232C, soakable in ISO. I really like this new system but there are a couple of things I feel could improve the user experience. I've been using a needle to remove the o-rings leading to some minor damage; perhaps a milled channel could allow something like a needle to get behind the o-ring more easily. Also, if some o-ring lubricant were included in the kit, it would be a really nice touch; I've been using the one included in a Dynavap maintenance kit and it's made quite a difference:
The handle is the same as before and really holds up well against heat; perhaps something themed in the future?:
Using the same system as the microdose bowl, the full size bowl still performs wonderfully, especially at the top screen setting:
Here is a size comparison vs the original bowl:
Regarding pre-soak: At 435F/224C, a 15 second pre-soak heated up the bowl to about 200F/93C and a 2 minute pre-soak got it up to 290F. I'll have to play around with temperatures a bit but and also see what's possible with a torch
The new bowls are a really solid iteration and I see some more great things out on the horizon for Vapvana via their IG! Thank you, Cal!
Non sequitur: check out the sharp edges on the CT scoop