I am not sure which thread to post this in but after reading the sub thread I wonder why the overall consensus is that the cloud wins for taste but sub wins for smoothness. It seems that pure convection would both taste better and be smoother but yet it seems that is not the case. I don't have a sub so I felt I should post here first. I noticed my solo which also is conduction based seems to make me cough less but I just assumed it was because of the slow draw and I was not getting as strong of a hit. The hits always snuck up on me but never the knock me down like the cloud. It takes me four hits to empty a half filled elb and I can easily take too big of a hit and I am coughing like crazy. People in the sub forums can take bigger hits than with the cloud with less irritation.
Any thoughts as to why the cloud is generally considered less smooth than the sub? Is it something about convection being less smooth or could it be the stainless steel mesh of the ELB somehow lowers the smoothness? Is there a better place to discuss this? I am really focused on just making my cloud the best it can be. I wonder if there is anything different about the EVO that would change the taste or smoothness for the better over the current cloud.
Just got done with my second Sublimator session . . . the Cloud tastes better because its mainly glass (if you can really taste an ELB more power to you) and the Sublimator is a huge hot piece of metal with lots of conduction going on. The reason the Sublimator is so smooth is because of the heated down-stem. It acts similar to a fractional condensation column so the harsher (larger) droplets condense first, making a lot of oil and smoothing out the hit.
There is no doubt the hits from the sub are smooth, but, I have yet to have them rival the density and power of the Cloud . . . there is just an "airiness" on the sub that I can't account for yet . . . but I am still trying to test as often as I can visit it . . . I also feel the sub is a fire hazard, burn hazard, glass break hazard, possible electrocution hazard, pet hazard, and child hazard, but its ok, whatever fits your lifestyle I guess. I really see the difference being oil vs flower users. The sub is awesome with the way it does dibs and the sublimate it produces is impressive. As you guys know, I'm not a fan of reclaim, or difficult maintenance, so you can see the sub wouldn't quite fit my lifestyle . . .