Transformer Tubes (Formerly Steele Concept)

[Tea Party]

That's the name of the type of down stem. The longer joint stem was chosen for the aethestics and when a log vape or other is placed on the GonG it will be far enough away from the unit. When I was designing it, people tended to like the joint stem to be about the same height as the tube.

Did this answer your question? If not I can further clarify

The longer joint ruins the aesthetics.

Long vape? dude I really hope you aren't trying to market this hard in the vaporizer community. The majority here don't want to spend over $100 on a piece.

Not to mention at $400 or even $350 There is a lot of options on the market...

Got a pic of the diffuser you use?

 

[Jurassic]

Not to mention the yo-yo'ing on the price. It's almost like he was waiting for our response, and when the thread went silent with zero sales he dropped it again.

 

[Steele Concept]

Tea Party,

Pictures are up on SteeleConcept.com. If you scroll down to the bottom of the first page you will see a pic of the bowl and down stem.

The price is $250 shipped until the end of this week for the grand opening. $299.99 after that for FC members and other members of communities like the facebook page, High Times readers, etc.

Jurassic,

The price yo-yo'ing really sucks, I'll admit. It was never my intention to change prices and generally it's a real shitty way to do business.

As mentioned there were many factors and once I'd set a price something else would come up. Now the price is set and that is that. I'm just happy it was able to go down and not up. I'm going to see if I can delete the past post prices as it's confusing.

This product is intended as a daily driver for vaporization and combustion alike. I'm a minimalist myself and try to make do with only what is necessary, so having a piece of hardware for both is a plus in my opinion.

I expect the vast majority of people to use this device for combustion, because that's what most people do. However, it was designed around being a good water tool for vapor and combustion that will never break.

I think most FC people would purchase a small scientific bub or EHLE unit as mentioned. For most, this is probably the best option. However, for someone who wants something different and unbreakable, my product is there for them.

 

[Tea Party]

All that money for a plastic and metal bong and you include an old school d cut diffuser? not even a shower head cut diffuser ( which requires no more work to make)?

 

[Steele Concept]

All that money for a plastic and metal bong and you include an old school d cut diffuser? not even a shower head cut diffuser ( which requires no more work to make)?

If a shower head is preferred by most I can always ask my glass guy . It sounds like you know more about glass than I.

I also appreciate the constructive criticism. I ask everyone and the shops I go to, what they think and take all opinions into consideration.

Please realize polycarbonate is not cheap, nor is some thick 304 custom machined stainless. However, acrylic and rubber mouthpieces are very cheap. I purposely avoided these materials because they are flimsy and break easily unlike polycarb and steel. I could have easily cut my manufacturing cost in half if I went with acrylic and rubber mouthpieces.

Thanks for the suggestions guys.

 

[meduser#420]

Please realize polycarbonate is not cheap, nor is some thick 304 custom machined stainless. However, acrylic and rubber mouthpieces are very cheap. I purposely avoided these materials because they are flimsy and break easily unlike polycarb and steel. I could have easily cut my manufacturing cost in half if I went with acrylic and rubber mouthpieces.

Understandable that you have overhead, but $300 is ridiculous. I'm sure as you say it hits smooth, is strong, durable, and everything else. I paid $300 for a German roor... I think and am pretty sure you are building these for around $100 plus tax. Am I right? I'm not cheap by any means but c'mon!

With all due respect and no offense intended.

 

[Steele Concept]

Understandable that you have overhead, but $300 is ridiculous. I'm sure as you say it hits smooth, is strong, durable, and everything else. I paid $300 for a German roor... I think and am pretty sure you are building these for around $100 plus tax. Am I right? I'm not cheap by any means but c'mon!

With all due respect and no offense intended.

I hear what you are saying and I respect your opinion. While I'm not saying exactly how much it costs me, Please understand there is prototyping cost, materials and manufacturing cost, advertising, web hosting, business entity, my accountant, patent costs, travel costs, shipping, merchant fees etc. etc. All in all it costs a lot of money.

If I were a large company with an operating budget of course I could churn out these for cheaper. If these were made in China I'm sure they could be sold for $100. The fact is, I am a single person who had an idea. This is a locally made artisinal craft. I am not a wealthy guy. I'm 40k in debt from graduate school and I'm not doing this out of greed. I'm doing it to provide value to the community while being able to (hopefully) make a decent living.

The black label ice master ROOR we dropped in our video costs ~$300. So does my unit.

In the future if I can afford big economies of scale I can bring the price down. I would love to do so, as I want everyone to be able to afford this unit. I can't drop the price any more right now, this is the best I can do.



Peace.

 

[Ontariovapes]

Mr. Steele. Don't let meduser rain on your parade. What you have done is extraordinary for one of your age. You had an idea and you can charge whatever the market will bear. It is your buyers who set that value not your non-buyers. I've seen water pieces for $20,000.00. Would I buy one? Not a chance! But someone must r they wouldn't be in business. I don't think your price is unfair and you have been more than generous with your discounts to our humble group. That wasn't required but, I for one, thank you greatly. Good luck in your venture and those who share your dream will buy your product. I admire you! Keep at it.

 

[Steele Concept]

Thank you so much Ontariovapes. What you just said really means a lot to me in these dark hours of debt and uncertainty.

According to Wikipedia "An entrepreneur is an enterprising individual who builds capital through risk and/or initiative"

I saw a pain point in the marketplace. People's expensive glass water pipe inevitably break. This is especially true amongst the college demographic of ages 18-22. Upon going to bed one night the Steele Concept came into my brain and I immediately went to the drawing board. I feel that people out there could really use a nice indestructible designer water pipe. I had a dream and I immediately jumped my ass out of bed to pursue it.

So far when explaining my idea I've had friends and family criticize and doubt me, store owners laugh in my face and people say it couldn't be done on my budget. Now when I show the unit people smile and want to hold and try it... I like that.

I'm here to bring value and innovation to the industry. Ultimately, my product works well and doesn't break so in the long run it saves people money and heartache. We all know that smashing glass sound is horrible when you know it's your baby.

I'm willing to bet on this dream I have and regardless if I'm successful or not at least I can always say I had an idea and I went at it with tenacity. If I never tried I would regret that. I don't want to regret anything.

So... I'm here with heart and swingin' for the fences. This product isn't going to be for everyone, but I think it really fits a genuine need in the marketplace and I'm here to stand behind that.

 

[Steele Concept]

That being said if any of you guys are going to be at Seattle Hempfest this weekend, my guy Sam is setting up a section of his booth for my product, feel free to check it out!

Take 'er easy dudes

 

[Tstat]

With a younger generation type son, I'd love to buy this for him. Can we see some action shots?

 

[Ontariovapes]

If you didn't try, you couldn't lose, but you couldn't win either. Life's a crapshoot. I admire you for rolling those dice. To show my confidence in you, I'd like to buy one and I will write a journal of my findings for you. Perhaps that will start the ball rolling. PM me and we can arrange the sale.

 

[Steele Concept]

Tstat, action shots will be coming soon. My LSV should be here in a day or two so we can do some nice cloud shots. I'd say by this weekend latest action shots should be up.

Ontario - PM sent. Thank you.

 

[Tea Party]

Don't get it twisted if this was made in china the retail price would be $100 with a healthy margin.

You're targeting college students with a 3-400 bong?

 

[Steele Concept]

Don't get it twisted if this was made in china the retail price would be $100 with a healthy margin.

You're targeting college students with a 3-400 bong?

Lol you are totally right about China unfortunately.

Yes I am targeting college students. Me and a lot of friends had couple hundred dollar pieces in college and they break. That's where I got the idea People splurge on the things they like.

Here is a quick teaser of the bubble action. I'll have vape/smoke videos up by the weekend but I know people are dying to see how the thing works. I filled it a little too much with water, but I'm learning still myself hehe. I'll find the perfect amount of water, measure and record it in the FAQ on my webpage.

Now I gotta go, my gf wants me to get off teh interwebzzz.

 

[Slightly Medicated]

This is a fantastic idea. I don't have company over often. When I do though, I feel weary letting them use my expensive pieces. I also feel bad giving them a cheap pipe to smoke out of. This is the perfect solution. I would not feel worried about them using it at all.

Personally, I like that it is made in America. If it was manufactured in china I would be worried about the materials more. I know it is not exactly rational. I just fee like with a product like this I feel like made in America is an extra safety measure.

I have been working on a class about vaporizers for cancer patients and the like. This might be a good option for them. I would worry less about them having shaky hands with this device then I would a glass piece.

I know I went though thousands of dollars in broken glass throughout the years. Some of it was my fault, some of it was others, and some was pure accident. I would have loved to have a piece like this to loan out to people. I could also see myself using it as a travel piece. I would feel much better with this in my car then I would some glass.

I hate going to Seattle Hempfest... I have not been in three years. Crowds that large make me uncomfortable. It would almost be worth it though to see your product. Are you going to be in town for the event?

 

[Steele Concept]

Unfortunately I can't afford going to the event right now. I'm grateful my mans willing to display my product.

Glass is an absolutely beautiful and inert substance, but it breaks. It's like the gorgeous girlfriend who bitches all the time... Very nice to look at, very nice to use, but inconvenient at times

Most people understandably go glass. Most people will put up with a supermodel looking gf despite her inconveniences.

I'm trying to marry the best of the GonG universe with the world of 304 Stainless and Lexan Polycarbonate. Trying to avoid inconveniences for a happy medium between the two realms.

 

[Tea Party]

I'll take the bitchy super model over the fat chick with a flat chest, no ass, and who can't cook.

 

[Steele Concept]

I'll take the bitchy super model over the fat chick with a flat chest, no ass, and who can't cook.

Lol when you put it that way I'd probably take the supermodel as well. Then again I'm young and we are more willing to deal with bullshit for that assssssssssss. In the words of a lifelong criminal I met once "when your dick gets hard, your head gets soft". When your young your dick is always hard and your head isn't always sharp when there's that booty involved. Not to mention its said that the frontal lobe in humans isn't fully developed until 25...

In other news I recieved an LSV and it is a cloud machine. As stated earlier I'd like to upload some Steele Concept action video coupled with the LSV. They seem to be a great fit for each other because they are both durable and the aesthetic matches.

 

[Ontariovapes]

In my day that was called " thinking with your little head rather than the big one". My unit is on its way and I can't wait to try it with my new Cloud vape. Thanks a million Steve!

 

[Steele Concept]

Ontario - You should get your unit next week. Takes a bit longer for you canucks

Slightly - I'm leaving now to ship your unit. You'll get it by Monday.

Welp, gotta be on the road now to sign up more dealers

Thank you all for your continued support.

Oh and you all should wash it with soap and water prior to use. I wash them once I get the metal back from the machining but 2x washing with soap and water really brings out the nice finish.

Peace

 

[Steele Concept]

Steele Concept Action Video with LSV

 

[Slightly Medicated]

I am really looking forward to getting my unit. I think it will be a fun challenge to photograph. I bet it will end up being the piece I leave sitting on my coffee table. I don't have any water filtration in the TV room currently. I find the pieces can break if you bang up against the table and they fall over.

I am wondering, what do the steel cubes set on top of? I assume there is like a "ice pinch" type thing?

 

[Steele Concept]

Slightly, the steel cubes sit on a welded steel icecatcher/splashguard. There are 4 half circles cut on the outside to encourage some bubble action but nothing crazy.

 

[Jurassic]

Just curious, why the SS? Why not all polycarb? And how is this different from all the other plastic indestructable bongs out there?

I am glad to see you getting some sales!