Discontinued VapeXhaleLabs Presents: The Cloud

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lwien

Well-Known Member
B. said:
Ahem...airy hits? Showerdome vs Hydratree?
Yeah, I'd like to know too. I'm a glass neophyte and have no idea what the differences are and how they affect the final vape hit, so for those of us that don't know anything about this stuff, can we get a bit of a lesson.
 
lwien,

minnesnowta

Vaporist/Glass Head
Yeah I didn't come in here trying to talk shit about anyone. You said that you thought hvy was on the high end which I know is not the case. You were probaly being sarcastic but that's kindof hard to get over the Internet. The big thing about the cloud is the ability to be used with other glass so sorry JD this thread will be full of glass. And not just hydratubes. I just put a picture up to show how small SGW labels are and how it doesn't take away from the piece. Yeah I'm proud of my set. That doesn't mean you have to go wishing an earthquake on me. That's kindof a douche move. Not that I'm concerned since we don't get earth quakes...
 
minnesnowta,

MacRadish

Well-Known Member
lwien said:
B. said:
Ahem...airy hits? Showerdome vs Hydratree?
Yeah, I'd like to know too. I'm a glass neophyte and have no idea what the differences are and how they affect the final vape hit, so for those of us that don't know anything about this stuff, can we get a bit of a lesson.
x3
 
MacRadish,

the ob

all good in the hood.
I too would like to know what everyone thinks of the three glass options and how they are different. could someone please summarize their thoughts that has experience with all three?
 
the ob,

Durden

I am Jack's title
Think about the difference in the construction for a second. The circulator design has all the slits at the same level, so each has nearly equal potential at any point during the hit for the vapor to pass through. The slits are also vertical and the vapor is forced through the top part of slit as much as possible so the bubbles are small. Because the slits on the circ are farther out from the stem, the bubbles dont collide with glass or each other as often and stack more. The end result is a very uniform bubbly hit (once you displace the initial water) as more slits operate the harder that you pull/drag, that still has enough airflow for fast clears.

The tree has a slightly different construction, with 2 rows of slits (or grids) and often open ends on the bottom of the tree. This means that when you pull softly, the real action is taking place in the top row of slits/grids, and as you pull harder the vapor is forced further down the trees and out the other slits/grids, and sometimes coming out the bottom ends (and out of everything when you clear it). So the more you pull the more water is displaced as the bubbles form deeper in the water, where in the circ all the water is displaced in the beginning of the hit and as you pull your just pulling bubbles through the water. There are also more collisions of bubbles with the glass and each other so you get larger bubbles forming out of several smaller ones which dont stack as high.

Gridded trees make smaller bubbles so there is more initial diffusion, but there are still many collisions of the bubbles so they don't stack as high as circs.

:peace:
 
Durden,

GreenLeaf

Well-Known Member
B. said:
Ahem...airy hits? Showerdome vs Hydratree?
yeah I was wondering the same thing. I've never used either a Showerdome or a Hydratree and I'm used to just regular bongs with straight tubes and no diffusers.
 
GreenLeaf,

lepstadder

Well-Known Member
lwien wrote:

B. wrote:

Ahem...airy hits? Showerdome vs Hydratree?

Yeah, I'd like to know too. I'm a glass neophyte and have no idea what the differences are and how they affect the final vape hit, so for those of us that don't know anything about this stuff, can we get a bit of a lesson.

x3
This is kindof hard to determine

if you like more chug you can use more water over the holes/slits

but for the most part its all in preference and that is hard to determine until YOU personally have tried them

"THEIR IS NO BEST DIFFUSION!" LOL

if all your used to is trait tubes with normal downstems then you are in for a treat
 
lepstadder,

lwien

Well-Known Member
Naw, I wasn't looking for the best. Just wanted to know what the differences were and the pro's and con's of each.
 
lwien,

AGBeer

Lost in Thought
Arent there any comparison vids on youtube showing the differences in hits between designs?

Better yet - arent there any VXC vids showing the differences? :brow:
 
AGBeer,

lwien

Well-Known Member
I don't think "seeing" it is going give me what I want to know. Maybe I should be more specific. Which type is easier to clear, ie, takes less lung power? Which type clears faster? Which type provides a smoother hit? Do they need to be hit differently? And any other questions I forgot to ask. Pardon my ignorance in all this, but the only glass I ever used is my HVY mini-beaker which I've only used with the PD.
 
lwien,

MikRoOrganix

Erlhead!
May we please see pics of the tree and the new gridded tree? I know there are pics of a tree tube out there, but I dont think it was the final version, right? I saw some smaller tree pics floating around..... :) Thank you SO much! Preorder placed long ago....
 
MikRoOrganix,

whosgottheherb

Well-Known Member
Does anyone know how to contact VapeXhale privately?

Mod note: They're not providing phone numbers. vapexhale@gmail.com
 
whosgottheherb,

tdavie

Unconscious Objector
This is an open post either to Vapexhale or someone here who has used the various glass 'options' and could sum up the differences very basically.

As an example;

waffle dome gives you bigger hits
tree gives you smoother hits
gridded tree preserves more of the flavour of the herb

And so forth. The Vapexhale is a vaporizer, but with high end glass attachments/adapters. I know squat about glass, don't mind admitting it, am buying the Vapexhale, but don't know how to recommend it or sell it to other people. If I can't tell g/f why the Vapexhale might be better than 'other vaporizer' it's gonna be a hard sell.

Does anyone following this thread have a link to a good primer about glass/high end glass pieces.

thanks

Tom

(I selected the hydratube tree but this is a decision based on nothing other than an emotional decision of 'I think it looks cool'
 
tdavie,

stonemonkey55

Chief Vapor Officer
Manufacturer
Here is a glass guide that I found on another forum. This guide will give you information about the basics of glass. Not all of this will apply to HydraTubes but the Cloud will work with any of the pieces described in the following guide...

The Glass Purchasing Guide

-The very basics: filtration, smoke volume, drag/turbulence.
In my opinion these are the three basic features of a piece that effect how enjoyable/smooth the smoke is. How much filtration, how much volume, and how much drag is acceptable is personal preference of course but these factors will always have significant impact. The more water the smoke has to flow through, the smoother the smoke. Water to smoke surface area contact removes the aqueous components from the marijuana smoke thus making it smoother and healthier than direct combustion. Smoke volume is fairly obvious, there is a certain volume of smoke that each individual can comfortably inhale and exhale without a dying cough.

Drag/turbulence play a role while inhaling to burn the bowl and when clearing. Too much drag when milking could lead to embarrassing drool and if there's drag when clearing, it increases the time the smoke is exposed to air (making it harsher and stale) and increasing the amount of time the smoke comes in contact with the lungs (longer delay would make it more irritable to the lungs)

-Know origin of production

This is not to say that the country of origin has a direct impact on the quality of the piece, however certain countries have reputation for better quality control than others and this seems to hold true majority of the time. The three main countries relevant in this discussion are China, Germany, and the USA.

China is the king of mass production, and pieces originating from China are just that, mass produced glass products. This is particularly not well suited for glass piece production. With the fragility of glass and all the removable components that must fit in joints with little tolerance, the quality control applied by the manufacturer are usually sub par, delivering products that can break easily or perform poorly. This is not to say that all pieces from China are weak and poorly produced, but one should keep in mind the production process that leads to the final product. Ive owned China glass that were free of imperfections and performed wonderfully; it is just up to the purchasing individual to apply his/her own strict quality control standards, which is why Ive attempted to create this guide.

I dont want to start a debate between Germany vs. USA (this really applies only to the ROOR brand) but the general consensus seems that products originating from these two countries have better quality control than China. That said, I have seen pieces from the USA that were produced poorly, so country of origin is never an end-all mark of quality.


-Know artist/company who produced the piece

-Brand and artist reputation isnt everything, but very important. Dont purchase a piece with bad reputation hoping that youll be the exception. I personally like to try to support local glassblowers who truly view pieces as art and not just glass to make money

-Straight Tube vs. Beaker:

The physical differences between the two are pretty obvious; one is a straight cylindrical tube whereas the other has a flask bottom base. Due to the streamlined design of straight tubes, they will always clear faster than their beaker counterparts. One thing to look for in straight tubes is the thickness and diameter of the base, as this translates to its stability. Tubes are generally more durable than beakers because of their design (a bump usually will contact the base vs. the beaker which can shatter). Some companies blow out the beaker straight from the tube and causes paper thin bottoms. Keep an eye out for beaker bottom thickness as well as tube thickness.

-Thickness of glass

Check the thickness of the glass to see how durable it is. Pieces usually range from about 3mm to 9mm. The thickness of glass doesnt necessarily mean itll be harder to break. What breaks glass? Force. Force = mass x acceleration. Thicker glass means youll be increasing mass which will increase the overall force. Thicker glass may be more durable to smaller bumps and such, but if it falls or tips theres a greater chance it will break.

People always hit thicker glass tubes and claim that the smoke is smoother. This is true and not true at the same time...more discussed in the next section...

-Outer/Inner diameter of tubing

Most glass tubing used in pieces comes in a standard outer diameter of 50mm. As glass gets thicker, the
outer diameter usually stays fixed and the inner diameter becomes smaller. This is why given two tubes of identical design but differing thickness of glass, the thicker will appear smoother to the user (less volume).

There are glass blowers that use different diameter tubing such as 40mm and also some companies (I know ZOB has done this) produce thicker glass with bored out centers so the smoke volume isnt changed. Ive also heard of glassblowers who work down tubes to make them shorter but thicker. Im not 100% familiar with this process maybe someone can chime in.

-Quality of joint

The ground glass joints featured on these pieces also come in differing quality. This is arguably the most stressful location on the piece. They come in different thicknesses but can roughly be categorized to standard, bistabil (what ROOR uses), and some super thick joints like honalee or "uber"

-14mm vs. 18mm vs. 24mm This refers to the ground glass joint diameter used in pieces. The differences are pretty obvious; an 18mm will clear faster than a 14mm due to increased airflow. Arguably, a 14mm will allow you to produce a more concentrated hit, but this difference is usually not noticeable. 14mm tend to be cheaper than 18mm counterparts. 24mm joints can also be found in some "heavy hitter" pieces. Just like the difference between 14 and 18, a 24 will clear faster than both 14 or 18.

Also, joints come in varying qualities (both the male and female end) so make sure the joints are clean, free of imperfections, and slide easily in/out without much resistance or slack.

-Quality of joint weld
Looking at the joint from top down, look at the thickness of the glass around the joint. I wish I had a picture to point out exactly what Im referring to but look right around the base of the joint (it kind of looks like a large oval when directly looking at the joint from the front of the piece)

-Quality of glass (bubbles)
Check the glass itself to see if there are any air bubbles, especially around key stress points like the joint. These can weaken the structural integrity of the glass

-Lines of tube (make sure everything is perpendicular)
-This might seem like a moot point but Ive seen many beakers and straights that dont sit perpendicular to the bottom. It doesnt really effect smoking dynamics (unless the lean is so bad it throws off the perc water levels) but is indicative of the quality of production

-Ash catcher compatibility (compare joint angles of female piece and male a/c)
-You want to make sure that the reservoir of the ashcatcher sits parallel to the base of the piece to ensure maximum diffusion and minimal splashback
-Try to see if the design of the ashcatcher is tall enough to prevent this, or if there is some type of splash guard integrated into the design

-Large pieces with carbs:
I'm not referring to bubblers and pipes but large glass pieces. Drilling that carb hole jeopardizes the structural integrity of the glass and becomes a super weakspot in the design.

-Type of perc
Percolators serve to break down the smoke into smaller components and forcing them through water filtration again to provide additional filtration and cooling. They come in a variety of designs which all employ the same principle but in many different ways. Off the top of my head (and the designs I understand) I can think of these types of percs: Inline, Tree, Dome, Circulator, and Disc/Natural. I cannot tell you which perc is better than another because a lot of it depends on the design of the particular perc in question

There are common traits in perc's to look for. They typically are the source of most drag in a poorly designed piece. Check the upstem diameter to see that there is enough flow and see how many # of slits are placed (whether it be around the dome or on each arm)

inline/halo: I decided to group halo percs with inline percs as they both force the smoke to travel laterally through diffusion slits (maximizing surface area contact smoke:water ratio). In theory these should filtrate the smoke most (compared to say a "normal #" of tree arms) However ZOB's halo left much to be desired and the Inline designs coming out these days are significantly better in performance.

tree: tree percs work by directing the smoke stream through a upstem which then is forced 180* down back via separate glass arms into another reservoir of water where it is filtrated and continues up the tube. Check to see the # of tubes, how well the joint is that holds all the arms, and the thickness of each tube. There are small differences that can lead to different smoking dynamics such as the # of slits per arm or whether the bottom of the arm is sealed/opened/slit.

dome: dome percs work similar to tree, featuring an upstem that is then covered by a "dome" which has slits on the side. Since the dome is sealed over the upstem (minus the slits) the smoke is force to travel up the upstem and then back down inside the dome and exit out of the slits through water and up the tube. One thing to look for in particular is the distance between the upstem and the top of the dome. I've seen many production pieces that have very little clearance between the upstem and top of the dome, which creates a restriction in air flow, translating into more drag. I believe this is the key weak point in dome percs

circulator: circulators can be considered the latest generation of dome percs. Instead of featuring 4 or 5 slits around the circumference of the dome, these percs feature many tiny slits. This provides more diffusion and with the many # of slits increases the air flow and reduces the turbulence.

disc/natural: these operate by having the water level place below a solid disc with holes cut into (sometimes circular, sometimes triangular). As the vacuum is created when inhaling, it forces both the water and smoke to be sucked up through the holes in the disc as it filtrates. The cool thing about this design is once the entire bowl is milked, since the water level is now above the disc it is very easy to clear with minimal drag. My only complaint I've seen is that sometimes a disc perc by itself is a little chuggy and there is this initial difference in water pressure one must overcome before starting to milk

-Type of downstem

standard downstem: This is your typical downstem that comes stock with most pieces. Just a simple tubing with ground glass joint. It tends to be "chuggy" but usually clears the fastest of all downstems

slit diffused downstem: These are probably the most common type of diffuser downstem. The smoke travels down the tubing like any other downstem but exits the tip of the downstem through small slits cut along the sides. Look at the number of slits, how large the slit is, and how large the hole at the end of the downstem is to get a good idea of its diffusion capability and how draggy it'll be.

german-style diffused downstem : These downstems are also very popular and feature a tip that is pierced with small holes. Sometimes the holes are placed in straight bands around the stem, sometimes randomly, and sometimes as a spiral. They arguably provide better diffusion as the smoke is forced to travel out a greater # of openings but can also add significant drag if not designed properly. Check the # of holes, diameter of hole, and diameter of hole at the very tip to see how draggy it is.

Gridline downstem: Sovereignty has a design they call the "gridline downstem". It's more of a modified german-style downstem as it feature small pierced holes in a grid like fashion on only one side of the downstem. The hole at the end is relatively large to allow for quick clearing.

Gridcap: From my limited experience in hitting a gridcap, I would say it is a mixture of a dome perc and natural perc put together. Instead of a disc with various holes placed on its surface, there is a dome with multiple holes pierced all throughout the dome (around and above). It provides significantly more filtration than a disc perc. I've only seen this incorporated as the initial filtration (in replacement of a traditional downstem). One thing I noticed is there still is that water pressure difference the user needs to overcome before it starts to milk (if you don't understand what I'm saying, think like a few milliseconds of drag as the water levels rise above the dome but then it becomes dragless from that point on forward)

Gridline: These feature a fixed stem style except multiple downstems are placed horizontally across the base of the tube at the same level. Diffusion slits are cut on the top of these downstems. One could think of this as a quasi-inline sort of piece as it forces the smoke to travel laterally. As of now this design is exclusive to Sovereignty glass and I must say it performs very well.

Fixed-Stem: Instead of having one downstem connect the bowl to the base of the piece, these have a tree perc attached to the downstem. As you can imagine, this provides significantly more filtration than a single diffused downstem.

Stemless: These have a straight tube that connects the bowl and bends 90* to connect to the reservoir of the tube. the ground glass joint for the slide is placed above the 90* bend so water levels never interfere with the bottom of the slide. These have that same initial water displacement you have to overcome before a smooth milk, but it clears super fast since. Some companies have placed diffused "caps" over the top of the water level to try to reduce the "chugginess" of the hit

I hope this guide gives you a quick crash course on glass. If you want more information, I suggest you explore www.glassdistrict.com and research just like you came on this forum to research vaporizers. Looking at glass is addicting :o
 
stonemonkey55,

B.

War Criminal
SM55-I would imagine you've hit all 3 types of tubes, can you give us your impression? In a blind test could you tell the difference in the vapor?
 
B.,

stonemonkey55

Chief Vapor Officer
Manufacturer
Describing how the different HydraTubes hit is very difficult if you do not have any experience with any water tools in the past.

Durden's descrption does a good job IMO

This is all my opinion so don't get too crazy please, not gonna edit it just gonna ramble a bit and hopefully thatll be helpful tongue.

Think about the difference in the construction for a second. The circulator design has all the slits at the same level, so each has nearly equal potential at any point during the hit for the vapor to pass through. The slits are also vertical and the vapor is forced through the top part of slit as much as possible so the bubbles are small. Because the slits on the circ are farther out from the stem, the bubbles dont collide with glass or each other as often and stack more. The end result is a very uniform bubbly hit (once you displace the initial water) as more slits operate the harder that you pull/drag, that still has enough airflow for fast clears.

The tree has a slightly different construction, with 2 rows of slits (or grids) and often open ends on the bottom of the tree. This means that when you pull softly, the real action is taking place in the top row of slits/grids, and as you pull harder the vapor is forced further down the trees and out the other slits/grids, and sometimes coming out the bottom ends (and out of everything when you clear it). So the more you pull the more water is displaced as the bubbles form deeper in the water, where in the circ all the water is displaced in the beginning of the hit and as you pull your just pulling bubbles through the water. There are also more collisions of bubbles with the glass and each other so you get larger bubbles forming out of several smaller ones which dont stack as high.

Gridded trees make smaller bubbles so there is more initial diffusion, but there are still many collisions of the bubbles so they don't stack as high as circs. A good mix of both worlds.

Smaller bubbles mean more diffusion, but high stacks of bubbles dont always give the vapor time to condense. Bubble stacks preserve flavor more, and trees take slightly less overall effort to operate. Then again if the vapor is thick coming in it doesnt matter how its diffused youll get thick vapor coming out brow.

My tree feels more 'normal' to me whatever that means in the glass world, and I have much more experience using them than circs, but I love using circs and think they hit amazingly smooth.2c
I'd love to give you guys a clearer answer but without any previous experience with glass, it is hard to contextualize. Even when you do have previous experience with glass, sometimes the difference one feels when vaping is difficult to capture with words.

If I were to just give a description of a few words for each, this is how I would describe them:

ShowerDome - Drag free, nice rumble, great diffusion, medium sized bubbles.

HydraTree - "smoother" sounding, instead of rumble, more of a fizzy sound, diffuses great, medium sized bubbles.

Gridded HydraTree- Similar to tree, smaller bubbles, even "fizzier" sound

The bad news is that those are poor descriptions, the good news is, no matter which one you get, you can be sure that you are getting "best in class" diffusers for each diffuser type so you really can't go wrong.
 
stonemonkey55,

Durden

I am Jack's title
I think an important thing to keep in mind is that all of these designs are Fixed-Stem designs, compared to more normal diffuser-style tubes. That means there is more diffusion and it clears much much faster than what you would be used to from a tube like hvy (or even my beaker roor). The effort needed to operate these will also be significantly less than the normal diffuser downstem like the heavy because their is so much more airflow possible with the much larger perc and additional holes/slits which reduces the drag significantly. The volume on these are also relatively low (250ml volume range Im thinking?), which means little water to move and relatively little effort overall, mostly in the form of a insanely quick clear.

As far as selling it to others, it's American made quality glass from real artists and not a production company paying minimum wage workers. I always explain it like shoes, in the end they all cover your feet, but good ones look and feel better than their cheaper counterparts, are recognizable by others, and are better constructed.

In the end their is more the same in these pieces than their is different, mostly because SM and co. collected some of the best names in the business (and my favorites for tube companies :D) and they all make top quality pieces that will make solid additions to any collection.
 
Durden,

tdavie

Unconscious Objector
Thanks to those who have posted about differences in glass design. Much appreciated and I assume that once I get my hands on one, I'll have more questions and will probably want to compare it to the other type that I didn't purchase :)

Tom
 
tdavie,

xayre5150

Well-Known Member
Greetings and salutations! First post. Pre-order in, going with the showerdome. Just purchased a Luke Wilson 15 arm bubbler also. I have been lurking and reading the last couple weeks. I cannot wait for the Cloud. A fantastic product from genuinely honest businesspeople. What is the world coming to?
 
xayre5150,

bonsai006

New Member
It's been nice watching this vape progress. Alright I know this question will be hard to answer but any estimate would be nice. When do you think 1000 units will be sold? I have exams this week so I am not working untill next monday, which means I wont be getting any money untill 3 weeks time.. do you think you will have sold 1000 units by then? I'd really like to take advantage of those prices. I've read this post over like 10 times now and I think it makes sense.. you know what they say study high, take the test high, get high scores.
 
bonsai006,

Lo

Combustion free since '09
The pre-order page doesn't take credit card info just yet. You just put your name on the list at the moment.
 
Lo,

Progress

'Socratic Existentialist, MD'
When do you think 1000 units will be sold?
As word gets out (especially once the first units are in the hands of people who post reviews and videos) I am sure they will go pretty quickly.

I also apologize for breaking SM's crystal ball (prognostications may, therefore, be inaccurate).
 
Progress,
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