Hey gang,
I'm new here and recently bought a Vapexhale Cloud based on a lot of the FC reviews, so I figured I would post my first impressions of the product.
They did not have what I ordered in stock (evolver hydratree) so they upgraded me to the evolver 2.0 hydracirc with bent neck (like the swagger) for no additional charge...which was awesome since this is not even available yet on their web site, I don't think. I had a great experience with the customer service and they got the order out quickly.
I spent about 5 hours with it and fell in love with the huge flavorful milky hits it can produce. I think that almost everything has been said about the positive aspects of this product here, but I found a few negatives that I thought I would mention for anyone that is on the fence about buying it.
I seriously fell in love with this vape...However, after my 5th session (literally 3 hours after I received it in the mail) the base fell over on the table a short distance and the GonG joint broke. I completely acknowledge that this was my fault for tipping over the base. I'm not a clumsy person and have had some of my glass for over a decade, so it truly was chance. When I contacted Vapexhale to see what could be done about the broken GonG joint, I was expecting it would be a $50-100 fix that the manufacturer could take care of at my expense. Their response to me was that if the GonG joint is broken, they could not fix the vape because the unit is fused around the glass bamboo which contains the joint. Apparently opening it up would compromise several of the components and they said they could not service the vape; so now my cloud is a paper weight. My only option was to spend another $290 on a refurbished cloud since they would not service my unit. Apparently they keep refurbished units around at a discount specifically for this purpose when someone breaks the GonG joint (which points to a fundamental issue in the design). So, I spent $600 (including shipping) on a cloud with hydratube and used it for 3 hours before it broke. I have to spend another $290 for a refurbished base. I now have $900 invested in my cloud... It was a tough decision, but I'd rather have a $900 item that I can use vs. a $600 item that I cannot use.
It is my opinion that the industrial design of this vape is not well done in terms of durability or serviceability. As I said, I'm very careful with my gear, but sometimes sh*t happens. Most other vapes out there can be serviced by the manufacturer to have parts replaced, but this is not true with the GonG joint on the cloud. Once it breaks, game over...not even the manufacturer will help fix it, warranty or not.
So it's my fault for breaking it, but I think the current design is flawed. The manufacturer should be able to service the most breakable item on the product without charging the customer for a new unit (discounted or not). I totally expected to pay for fixing the unit, but didn't expect that I'd have to buy a new one.
While I love the hits that this product produces, if I could do it over again, I would NOT buy it simply because I don't think the design is durable enough. If breaking a $25 GonG joint will render the whole unit useless and the manufacturer will not service it, there is an obvious problem in the design. The manufacturer should be able to replace this part rather than trashing the unit, as this could happen to anyone that owns this product no matter how much care is taken.
I hope that Vapexhale will improve the design of this product because based on performance alone it is the best vape I have used...but performance is only 1 aspect of my decision making when purchasing new products.
This was my personal experience and is intended as information for those interested. Positive vibes to all of the Cloud owners out there...I look forward to my replacement.
Peace and clouds!