I have been enjoying the amazing Tempest over the last week. For me, I have reached for the Tempest 4 out of 5 times, and my new Venty is pissed off at me for paying so little attention to it. I can get super milky clouds out of the Tempest in a way that just is not possible from the Venty; I can tweak exactly how I want my hits from the Tempest. The Venty can’t be fine tuned in the same way.
Mad Heaters and Phatpiggie, wow, your team has created a genius device! Thank you. You deserve success from bringing such an innovative device to the vape world.
I knew I wanted to try out the Tempest when it became clear that its ball vape technology was portable. I can’t afford a conventional sprawling ball vape setup. I do not have the space, as stealth is a factor for me, and that is another reason the Tempest is so cool. It fits in a pocket and goes anywhere. It is like a pocket bong.
I see many other people use the term “honeymoon” to write about the Tempest. For me, this is not a honeymoon. The Tempest does all kinds of things my other vapes do not. For example, I enjoy my Venty, I really do, but man, using that is like being hit by a bulldozer of stonededness (made up word, I know, but you get the point). Using the Tempest can be like that, but the Tempest hits more like a ninja than a tank. If I want a super tasty cloud, almost as thin as a wisp, I can do it with the Tempest. If I want to get launched into space because of a mega hit, I can do that, too. The Tempest is like a Swiss Army knife of vapes.
By my count, the Venty has essentially 3-5 different airpath modes if you are being generous. On the other hand, the Tempest has at least 16 ways to direct air and cool it (or not):
3 different analog heat settings in the Visual Indicator (VI)
AND
6 different air paths: you get one set of 3 distinct air paths (on the stem) with the helix tube; you get another set of 3 distinct air paths with the direct tube
AND
5 main settings in the airflow control in the tip (closed, ¼ open, ½ open, ¾ open, full)
AND
2 options for a secondary cooling unit in the mouthpiece
With the Tempest, I can “go on vapor exploration,” and what I mean by that is I get to discover cool tricks and techniques. That is just pure fun and discovery. One example is just breathing.
I consciously modulate how I breathe in, and I can teach myself new ways to enjoy the taste/other effects. If I am soft and delicate, I won’t cough. If I want to go kamikaze and cough up a lung, well, I can do that, too. (For any musicians out there who use
a circular breathing technique , you can use a slightly modified version to keep a Tempest inhale going for a long, long, long time.)
Aside from breathing, I can also play around with different temperatures on my Wand IH. I could use a torch, too, but I prefer the IH because it eliminates wind effing with my torch effectiveness. Torch adds variables I do not like, such as wind, if the torch needs butane, how far I hold it from the flame, did I spin it equally, etc.
The possibilities with the Tempest are mind blowing. Consider that Mad will be offering 3 different sleeves to go on the main unit, so that adds even more variety.
I have a lot of respect for the Venty, and I do like it, but I do not have the same intense love for it as I do for the Tempest. I see the Tempest as true innovation. For me, using it is ritualistic, especially with the Reload. Yes, the Venty is awesome in its own right, but imo it is just a mega Mighty+ on steroids, except it is not as nimble or versatile as the Tempest. If I could go back in time and get my money back for the Venty, I would. For the price S&B is asking for the Venty, I could get 2 Tempests with some awesome accessories.
If I try to imagine myself being happy with most of my other vapes after the Tempest, it would be like expecting myself to be satisfied with dry humping after I had experienced the real deal.
So yeah, words can only do the Tempest so much justice. You really ought to get your hands on one and explore all the cool things you can do with it.
. You spin a bit quicker than me which probably makes no difference. I’ve thought about making some kind of mechanical spinner holder or whatever, for a table.. hmm. For grins, I set the big buddy down to a minimum and tried. Kept it pretty far and it covered the cap too much for my liking. Heated up a little fast too. It did work really well though! Good looking result as I stopped at the second VI mark 
) awesome reason not to keep it clean though!