Sorry for being the weirdo talking to himself. Here is my T-Vape 2.0 Review.
Introduction – Past to Present
I've owned the original T-Vape since August 2013, it is still an item in my current collection. At the time it was an interesting and new style of vaporizer. The closest to it would've been the first generation Pinnacle and Pinnacle Pro (also released in August). A little under a year later the T-Vape 2 was released in June and the great conduction war had already begun. There were now many vaporizers of similar heating design flooding the market. The Imag, Flowermate, and even Titan are notable contenders; all of them are still getting new iterations.
The T-Vape has been in its 2.0 stage for a couple years now and I have received over 20 new vaporizers within that time. I originally paid about $140 for the first gen and the 2.0 was sent to me for free on its release. The current MSRP for the T-Vape 2 is $180, which is fair when compared to the costly units from Ploom, DaVinci, and Arizer. However it can be found at a more reasonable price of $70, a link will be found below. The seller is California based and appears to be directly affiliated with Square.
Changes and Components
I think it's worth mentioning first the expected differences between the T-Vape 2 and 1. The micro-usb is out and replaceable batteries are in, it accepts two sizes. Both ovens will be included instead of just one. The ceramic filter in the nipple was swapped out for a metal filter with spring. The starting temperature was changed from 370F to 390F. The nipple on the battery was extended and the button sleeve is tightened. The bottom end doesn't get as hot over time. Overall feel and build seems a little better everything that needed a slight change got it. I have a full unboxing video if you want to see all the items included but it's all what you'd expect. A brush, metal dowel, two batteries, charger, two nipples, the two ovens.
Batteries
The batteries are an 18650 and 18630 at 2200 and 900 mah respectively. It should be noted that the long oven consumes about twice the battery life. I'd expect maybe one use from the short battery and three from the long battery. The short oven should deliver two to three uses with the short battery and three to five uses with the long battery. The previous T-Vape had a non replaceable 1650 mah battery. With the new batteries the T-Vape can function in four different setups. Mini (short battery, short oven) 5.25", Short (long battery, short oven) 6.5", Medium (short battery, long oven) 6.5" and long (long battery, long oven) 7.5". The only negative about the new battery system is pass-through charging is gone. The 1.0 battery does work with the newer ovens.
Ovens
Each oven has stainless steel walls with two tiny air inlets on the upper rim near the nipple. There is an initial taste with both ovens so burn offs may be wanted. The long oven I highly suggest for concentrate only usage, I have done some temperature tests with a digital thermometer and the long oven can exceed 550F. The short oven you can comfortably fill about .2g of herb before the airflow really suffers. It also runs quite hot, I have seen temperatures around 420-480F on the initial heat up and up to 520F on reheats. That said combustion has not been a concern for me with these units as long as you understand the long oven will most likely just combust what's in it.
I have had successful lengthy packed sessions with the long oven, it can work for dry herb but I don't recommend its use for that. You may want to experiment with your oven, all mine ran fairly hot and I could get combustion if I wasn't paying attention or on the initial heatup.
Usage
Once assembled operation is simple. It requires 5 clicks to be turned on and off, once turned on it glows red to indicate heating. Initial warm up is normally around a minute thirty. When fully heated the button goes green and the unit begins cooling itself. To apply heat you will want to press and hold the button for about 10-30 seconds per draw. Like during the initial warm up the button goes red when you press it for heating. The light will flash after the button has been held for around 30 seconds indicating the oven will cease heating.
When using an oven for concentrates I suggest a metal concentrate pad like the Crafty or Firefly's; dry herb/abv does work well when using the short oven for concentrates. I have had cotton/rayon/hempfiber combust in the long oven so I don't really recommend those. I have noticed it is not a requirement to grind your herb, it can however result in better performance and airflow. I normally have the T-Vape preloaded before beginning the warm up, this results with a very dense first hit. I find it takes about 4-6 draws before my load is what I consider spent. Before each draw I press and hold the button for at least 20 seconds. Depending on your technique draws and production will definitely vary.
Maintenance, Taste, and Odor
Cleaning is very easy and quick. Dumping a used bowl just involves slotting the metal dowel through the oven. The mouthpiece filter can get clogged, I suggest occasionally brushing its screen and spring right after a session. The silicone on the mouthpiece can also absorb some of the abv smell, this is probably the smelliest part of the unit. The T-Vape is not the most odor friendly vape, you are going near combustion temps and continuously heating a load when in operation. Even with the slight control of when heat's applied the T-Vape still leaks a good amount of vapor when running idle. Flavor is also nothing spectacular, I find the SS oven great in flavor but the extraction rate is high for a conduction unit. That results in a quickly degraded fresh taste.
Negatives
No unit is without their faults, here are the ones I have found with the T-Vape 2.0
The unit can smell pretty bad, especially with that silicone nipple. Heat up is long. Normally a minute and thirty seconds at least. Flavor phase quickly skipped, it will probably taste of abv on the second or third draw. The button is not the most comfortable thing to hold for the entire session. Burnoff flavor period was notably worse than most conduction ceramic units. The temperatures aren't entirely accurate and how/when its heating can be confusing.
I'm sure there are other negatives I am missing, don't feel afraid to mention what I may have missed.
Overall Opinion
The T-Vape is a solid choice for users who want a true high temp conduction experience. It also succeeds at delivering a very stony effect which is something other conduction units don't seem to deliver as well/easily. Even with new technology continuously going through my hands I still keep and revisit the T-Vape. It's definitely personal preference but there not too many sub $120 conduction units that I'd buy for a second time around. For $70 dollars, I recommend the T-Vape; the most I think anyone should spend on it nowadays is $100 new. It is good heavy hitting conduction portable powered by easily recharged 18650/30 batteries. Heatup isn't impressive nor is flavor, the unit however does shine in production and effect.
http://www.shopxhale.com/search?type=product&q=VAP315
And those videos are actually just up further and I have 8 more of the 1/2 on my channel. But the two most recent are definitely the best examples.
