Received my jack-pods from VGoodiez via USPS. I snagged the only ones that were available, the 10-pack with the loading tray. I haven't messed around with the tray and probably won't.
I did an initial run with the jack-pod in the Grav Upline Taster (GUT), which is my primary motivation for getting these. The TM is my first stem-loader and I'm maybe overly focused on making the loading and unloading process with my stems as simple and as mess-proof as possible.
The jack-pods look like they'll hold around 0.2 grams. I'm usually partaking on my own, so a half-fill is what's going to be typical for me and that's what I loaded for the initial run. The pods won't actually slide all the way into the GUT, getting stopped at the rim by the edge of the jack-pod lid. But the pod itself seemed stable inside the glass.
Because the lid area of the jack-pod is outside the GUT, I'll need to take care that the GUT isn't pushed in so far that the lid of the pod is making contact with the heater screen. If you're not familiar with the GUT, there's (I guess) embossed lettering on the body of the stem, with the words Grav and UP, and a red triangle, in a three-level stack. With the lettering facing you and the GUT inserted into the TM, the red triangle is furthest from the mouthpiece. As it happens, having the GUT positioned just so there's maybe a 1/16th of inch of daylight between the triangle and the top of the TM chamber seems to keep it from making contact with the heater. So, that's helpful.
My session was more than pleasant. I haven't been using the GUT a lot, so my basis for before/after assessment is not the best, but taste seemed good (for GG#4) and I don't think there was any big reduction in vapor volume. Maybe a bit less clouds, but I'm not reaching any conclusions after just one run with it.
After doing three or four normal hits, I took a couple of hits on the TM without the oven on, in order to see how much heat is actually getting transferred and retained by the pod. Based on the lack of any detectable vapor, I'd say not so much that it spoils the convection heating.
When I went to unload, I failed to turn the TM upside down and the jack-pod fell inside the TM chamber. There was no spillage, and that's likely because the lids are a snug fit on the jack-pod. There was plenty of clearance on the sides of the chamber, so getting the pod out was no problem. Prior to my session when I was testing the loading and unloading of the jack-pod into the GUT, it was possible to eject the pod by blowing through the mouthpiece. Nice.
The AVB was very uniform, probably the best I've seen with my TM so far. With the pod only half-filled, I gave the TM a few gentle shakes about halfway through the load to simulate a stir. Maybe that helps. I don't normally stir.
I also have the TM 10/14/18 WPA and plan to use the jack-pods with it. I think that is potentially going to be a bit different experience. There is the same issue with the jack-pod lid not being able to slide all the way into the (smaller) WPA chamber, but there's the additional factor that the jack-pod pretty much perfectly fills the WPA loading area, meaning that the bottom of the jack-pod is in contact with the glass area separating the chamber from the rest of the GUT stem. I don't think this is a big problem, but I'll have to try it a few times to really know.
I'm not sure if I'm going to use these in conjunction with the stock glass/CU stems, but if I do, it would probably be only with the XL stem, as I think the pod may push the cooling unit too close to the business end with the short one.
Only one session, but it's looking promising in terms of what I was hoping to accomplish.
If anyone else using these with a TM, I'd welcome any tips or suggestions.