The wood body is beautiful, but my sweaty hands make me constantly concerned that I'll end up ruining it by holding it. I've taken to just wrapping a paper towel around the wood to make a barrier between it and my hands. I'll look into one of the many case options soon.
Well, now that I've owned the TM2 over a week, I feel it's fair for me to give some initial impressions:
Background:
I've been using vaporizers exclusively for my dry herb use for at least 4 years now, though I had previously used a couple devices over the previous 5 years alongside various pipes and bongs. I've always had various dissatisfactions with the models I'd try, ranging from not being able to get good vapor production to having to wait for extended heat-soaking in order to get a decent session.
Over time, I whittled down my preferences with vaping to a very specific set of criteria:
1. Fast Heatups
I'm a naturally impatient person, but there's a much larger reason for this as the first point. I've found that the longer the herb has to be exposed to heat during the vapor session, the more the effects lean towards the sedated side rather than cereberal side that I'm after. This is entirely a subjective experience; my personal theory is that various cannabinoids 'degrade' when exposed to heat for extended time, which changes the experience a bit.
Because of that, I prioritize a device that is able to get my herbs up to vaping temps as fast as reasonably possible.
2. Low Temperature Stability
Since I'm primarily concerned with reducing the sedative effects, another goal in my devices is being able to run at a low temperature without fear of outpacing the heater. Many devices will get around an inefficient heater by just boosting the temp, so that even when temperatures start to sag later in a hit, you'll still be getting some vapor production. By comparison, a device with a more efficient heater can get the same vapor production without heating the herb as much at the start of the hit.
3. No Stirring
It's 2024. We have the technology. As snobbish as it sounds, to me personally, having to stir is a sign of inefficient vaporizer design.
4. Microdosing friendly
I've always preferred devices that can use a small amount very efficiently compared to powerhouse tanks. I already own a ball vape for home use; For portables, I want something that can get good enough vapor production off a ~.15g dosing capsule that it'll leave me satisfied without skyrocketing my tolerance.
I will be very upfront: Without exaggeration, the TM2 meets all of these needs far better than any other device I've encountered. The only reason I didn't indulge in one sooner was the cost, but now that I have one, I can tell you it's well worth the asking price.
I've landed on about a 5.5 on the temp dial as my go-to setting for capsules. This gives me a good 5-6 hits off a capsule and ends with a thorough coffee/milk chocolate colored roast. I've driven the temp as high as an 8 before and gotten some really impressive hits that would make my previous desktops blush, but the flavor definitely suffers more on the final tokes at the higher temperatures.
Saying that, the flavor has been leagues and away better than any other vape I've ever tried. This is the only device where I've actually found myself taking a hit, putting the device down, and not be disgusted by the flavor when I return. This is my first device with an on-demand mode, and to be honest, I expected myself not to use it with how dissatisfied I'd been restarting a bowl on my session vapes before. Instead, at least 80% of my use so far has been on demand.
As far as packing/loading, I've been doing a loose pack on the dosing capsules, where I'll 'scoop' the capsule along the bottom of my grinder and carefully turn it to keep a little pile over the top of the rim. Then, I scoop a tiny amount into the lid, and place the lid over top, using my fingers to prevent some of the piled herb from falling out. This process leaves you with a full capsule that's a little compacted, but nowhere near as much as if you did a traditional pack.
When I load the stem, I'll purposely back the stem out about half a cm (3/16 inch) to give a little more space between the heater and the load. This helps it to stay more even (I noticed without backing out that the "ring" of deeper roast would be more pronounced), but still makes sure the capsule isn't able to fall all the way out of the stem, so it'll be pulled into the stem reliably when you start your hit.
I can't stress enough how well this vape hits points 1 and 2 in my incoherent rambling vaping preferences. Due to the convection only nature, the herb isn't even being heated all that much during the initial heater startup (which is almost always under 15 sec, even from a cold start), but even when you take extended draws, you can tell that the temperature is rock solid once the bowl gets up to temp. I've never had such flavorful terp hits produce this much vapor. I've never had second and third hits taste this good. It's just all around bringing out the absolute best parts of my previous vaping seshes, in every puff.
It's even to the point that I notice myself using less material and coughing less, since I don't feel compelled to chain-hit away at it like I would a session vape, and I'm not having to take the lungbusting rips that ball vapes basically require.
This thing truly feels like a box mod e-cigarette that just happens to take special herbs and spices instead of e-liquid.
The only gripes I have?
-The top of the poker tool should be made of a clear plastic to make the indicator lights easier to see. As-is, you have to be looking nearly straight down at the device to see if it's still turned on, but if the empty holes were instead a frosted clear plastic, the light would be visible from a much wider angle (think of those like "fiber optic" christmas trees; when you put a clear plastic thing next to a light, the whole piece of plastic lights up
-There is a small ring of less-done roast in every load I've put through. This is par for the course with a convection only device, but I figured is still worth mentioning. The outer ring is still at an acceptable point for me, but some hardliners that want a deep cacao/espresso roast may end up needing to stir to get the whole load there.
-The wood body is beautiful, but my sweaty hands make me constantly concerned that I'll end up ruining it by holding it. I've taken to just wrapping a paper towel around the wood to make a barrier between it and my hands. I'll look into one of the many case options soon.
That's seriously it. I have to get that nitpicky to find anything wrong.
I'll try to check back in in a few months, but suffice to say, this is the most impressed I think I've ever been in a device during this "honeymoon" period.
