OK, time for my Vapvana Ace review!
I received the setup on Monday afternoon, today is Friday. I vape nightly, so I have had four good sessions with this setup. I am not a concentrates guy, so I haven't tested the banger setup in the hot hole, just flower in the glass Ace bowl.
First off, this thing RIPS! Admittedly, this is my first ball vape. I didn't really know what to expect, despite watching several YouTube reviews and seeing this thing in action, online, several times. I still wasn't prepared. For context, I have a few Dynavaps, a TM2, and more recently, the Bowle 2. The Ace is an entirely different thing. And I am here for it.
First session was at 540 degrees. I vape outside, so ambient temp was reasonably warm here in Texas. First healthy bowl was cashed in two good rips and a small third finisher. This thing smacked me in the face. For some reason, I thought I should vape another bowl, for science. I quickly learned that two is too many for me. I passed out upstairs trying to watch TV.
Next session, I turned the temp up to 555. It was a bit colder outside and I wanted to see what this thing can do. I got more vapor faster and the flavor was still amazing. Subsequent sessions were all at 555 outside with similar experience. This is the way I want to consume cannabis. This is the way.
Notably, first, the flavor is amazing. I can't tell if that is attributed to the glass bowl, the power of the device, the fact that it is pure convection. Not sure I care. It is amazing. The effects seem amplified. I felt higher with the same amount of material in the Ace than in the Bowle 2. Maybe a function of the sheer volume of vapor consumed in one hit. I have the luxury of having a few different strains on hand and each had their own flavor, it was super pronounced. 10/10 here.
Downsides:
This thing is annoying to setup and tear down nightly outside. I have to run an extension cord, set everything up, wait for everything to get to temp. Afterwards, everything needs to cool sufficiently so that I can pack it all back up. This is a "me" problem. All of you heroes that can vape inside don't have to worry about this. I am still working to optimize my setup and teardown workflow. It is getting easier the more I do it.
Wireless heat loss during a session. I vape with my daughter most nights. When we share the Ace, we are aware of the challenges of a wireless solution in a multiple person vaping scenario. Thus, we leave the head in the hot hole for a long time between bowls to ensure we have max heat transfer. I have no idea where the line is, so we err on the side of caution and our sessions are a bit extended trying to compensate for heat loss in the vape head. We will wait less time each session, trying to find the line of heat loss in a shared session. Experimentation will be the key here.
Final Thoughts:
My main gripe is that I waited so long to get a ball vape. I wanted to do my research and select the right device for me. I feel I have achieved this, I just can't get over the fact that I have been missing out for this long. The Ace is the perfect solution for me. A screwball would serve to mitigate the heat loss when vaping with others, but I know that cord would get in the way and knock shit over. I am happy with the tradeoff for wireless convenience. I need to grab some concentrates to try out the banger in the hot hole. If the experience with flower is any indication, concentrates will be great in the Ace as well.
If you are on the fence, I don't feel that you can go wrong with the Ace. If you are planning bigger sessions with more people, the Screwball may fit your needs better, but for a solo vaper, this is an amazing experience.
