Corded CT Ruby Twist bundle (hybrid Ti + Glass bowl, PID, stand) Review
Tl;DR – Good value basic ball vape for flower. Look elsewhere for boutique/craft or bleeding edge components or for concentrate specific needs. New ball vapers be prepared for space, workflow and storage reqs, and to not get grabby with hot bowls .
For background, I’ve been a cannathusiest since the late 80s and on-and-off vape’er since the early aughts. About a year ago I got back into vaping (healty rips rogue) and simultaneously discovered how much industry has grown in terms of consumption methods. ]
Overall concept - this was my first ball vape - is great. Really appreciate the ability to electronically control temps across or even within sessions to experience more or less flavor/vapor using relatively healthy materials. As others have pointed out the ‘twist’ of air channeled by the head is a nice idea and does work somewhat (a finer grind and drier material may give better results) but I wouldn’t look to this as being a killer feature or differentiator. Workflow was relatively easy to pick up and, with the coil guard ON, I have been less concerned about the heat than I thought I’d be. The amount of space needed and sheer number of pieces parts is new to me and sometimes annoying but really just reinforces the distinction between ‘desktop’ and portable products.
Bundle cost at 180-200 felt about right for what’s in the box and given a basic understanding alternative ball vape products.
Wired (vs wireless) - I have yet to use wireless for comparison however as something that is likely to be a ‘desktop’ product (vs portable) for me either way, I never felt like the cord was in the way or that my workflow/experience was constrained.
Ti Bowl...
- Decently secure connection from the injector head
- Great that the rubies are preinstalled, and head is ‘coiled’… From a sealed box I was up and running in under 5 minutes
- I Would prefer glass or solid Ti screen over the steel screen it came with
- I assume the rubber gaskets are glued somehow to the head? but would prefer they be recessed.
- Broke the glass joint (my fault) on day 3 but there is enough there to still be usable.
- I would prefer the glass joint to include a carb of some sort and would advise anyone
- I would prefer a Ti joint option in addition to the 14mm glass joint, over the 18mm joint which I cant use (and 14mm male to 18mm fem is not easy to find locally)
- I found replacing the screen a bit tricky as the 18mm glass joint head only barley suffices to keep it in place.
- I found the area between the screen and the lip of the ti bowl collected quite a bit of residue that was tricky to get off with soap and water and I am hesitant to try anything else given how close the area is to the rubber gaskets
- Wood handle is short but functional
Glass injector style Bowl...
- Decently thick
- Carb is great
- Plenty of space between injector head and flower when using
- Appears you can move the metal screen up which I have yet to try
- I would prefer a glass screen over metal
- I would prefer a more secure connection from injector head
- I wonder if a Ti or other metal piece could fit around the lip of the glass bowl head to A) provide a more secure connection that is more applicable for heat soaking and or B) provide a recessed tray for concentrates.
Micro-dose style bowl (purchased separately)
- Broke it on day 2 – totally my fault, was a 2-4” drop
- Recall the connection from the injector head to be quite good/secure.
- If the standard injector bowl allows for 2 screen positions then I'd stick with that over this unless you really really dont vape much material
The rest
- Heat up and down times using the CrossingTech PID was fast and subjectively accurate
- Coil handle seems to be heatshrink over foam. Its actually quite comfy however be aware that it can start to unscrew itself relatively easily which can make securing it to the bowl head more difficult. As others have mentioned, there are great replacement handles in wood etc.. that I could pickup that may feel more secure
- Brush felt cheap but I appreciate that it was included and found it more useful once I realized you could adjust the metal piece up or down around the hairs to achieve a tighter or looser fit respectively.
- Stand was perfectly adequate for holding the vape and keeping heat away from surfaces. I found it easy to hang/balance the vape with the stand facing toward or away from me which was helpful with sharing sessions.
- Scoop was handy and a good (if not a smidge large) dose but the metal edges are particularly sharp on mine
- Braided cord is great over rubber/heatshrink and was plenty long for my needs. Really digging the gooseneck idea tho and may look for a posable alternative.
- My glass rig - (10” base to mouth, but on the thinner side) was a bit front heavy with the vape sitting on the bowl (and coil guard on), requiring that I hold the base to prevent tipping.
What’s next for me… well, I at least need a replacement 18-> 14 glass joint for the Ti and may replace the screens and handle. Additionally, while I do enjoy stacking concentrates on flower, I also enjoy them solo and am therefore looking into goosenecks and coil options including new offerings from Crossing Tech and others. This also makes a wireless heater more interesting to me personally in that I may be able to make out with a single hot hole for both devices.
