Hey, just joined this site to toss in my two cents in regards to the Vapor Blunt:
I have been a heavy user of vaporizers for 4-5 years. My main vape at home is the Herbal Aire, and I'm currently on my second unit(original unit just got way too dirty after 3 years of daily use). I had just started to make a move into the portable vape market about a year ago, because I was getting frustrated from using a glass pipe on the go. I had been using the Magic Flight Launch Box for my mobile needs, but I got very annoyed at the faulty battery setup that unit uses, and unfortunately you cannot take apart the unit to remove resin from the main chamber.
I had read some reviews regarding the VB, I liked the design, and the price point wasn't too bad. I went over to my local head shop and picked one up. Here are my thoughts concerning the unit:
Packaging:
The package on this unit is very slick - the box catches your eye and looks professional. When you open it up, the first thing that you see is a cut-out piece of plastic with the vapor blunt displayed in all its glory. When you peel on down to the next layer of the box, you come across the main contents: the vapor blunt, wall charge unit, cleaning tools(which are very high quality by the way, especially the scrub brush), mouth piece(s), and instruction manual.
Overall I give the packaging a 9/10
Build Quality:
I will start off by saying this: the build quality is misguided. The unit looks like it is made of a lower grade plastic, but still manages to maintain a look of intention and durability. What I mean by intention is that the unit was obviously well thought out, and clearly with a certain design direction. When you pick it up the first thing that will surprise you is how hefty/sturdy the unit feels in your hands. There is a slight indentation on the top of the unit to encourage users to hold it like an actual blunt, why wouldn't you anyways? The screw cap that covers the bowl has a stir stick built into it; this is ingenious, how has no other manufacturer managed to incorporate this into their design? I will never know. The unit itself is kept together by using 3 small screws, and some nice molded plastic. Inside the unit the main air flow tube is kept far out of way of the heating elements/electronics. The battery is easily replaceable if necessary.
Overall I give the build quality a 8/10
Operation:
The unit is one of the simplest, and most efficient-to-use vaporizers I have ever used. It can almost be entirely operate with one hand. The unit heats up with the press of a button, and with a second press the unit shifts into boost mode for some extra heat. You simply put the tip of the vapor blunt to your lips and inhale. When you are done inhaling, you turn the shift knob and wait 30-45 seconds before taking another hoot - when you battery dies, the LED turns red. Charge time on the vapor blunt ranges based on how dead the battery is, but on average my charge times are usually around 60 minutes. I can use it multiple times before the battery is drained, with each session lasting approximately 5-10 minutes. I can bring this bad boy to work with me without having to worry about recharging it until I get home.
Overall I give the operation a 9/10
Vapor Quality:
The vapor quality is utterly beautiful. As with any other vape, you really need to learn how to properly pack the bowl and what consistency of herb to use - once you have that down, you are on your way to some delicious and dense vapors. The stir knob simply adds to this effect, as you can "shift" the contents of your bowl after every hit ensuring that all of your material gets burned evenly. In terms of efficiency, the ABV seems very comparable to the ABV that the Herbal Aire leaves behind - and as far as I am aware, the HA is one of, if not THE most efficient vaporizer on the market.
Overall I give the vapor quality a 9.5/10
Maintenance:
On to my favorite section, cleaning! Needless to say I was quite disappointed at the lack of video/instructional material related to actually cleaning the vapor blunt. The inside of the unit is a complete mystery to most users, myself included. After about a week of solid use I noticed that my air flow was seriously restricted. I unscrewed the mouthpiece and tried clearing the flow chamber back up to the heating element using pipe cleaners - no dice. I tried to go from the other end forcing out the utterly large amount of resin that had built up in the air flow chamber - to no avail. I tried to use a tool of some sort to scrape the resin out of the chamber, but it was quite hard to do because I couldn't get the resin heated up to a point where it would be easily removed(even with the unit turned on). So I finally got to a point of desperation, I thought to myself "I've had this $200 vaporizer for a week and I can't clean it or get decent air flow?!?!?!"....not today sir! I did the thing most people shouldn't do: disassembled my vapor blunt. I did it with great success mind you, but I wouldn't recommend doing this as it clearly states in the manual that it voids warranty(not that I could see anything that would indicate the unit had been tampered with). I luckily found an image on a random site that showed me the insides of the vapor blunt. With this lone image I had prepared myself enough to embark on the task of removing this chunk of resin from my vapor blunt. After removing three screws, and taking apart the main unit, and removing the button, and removing the board, and removing the heating element, and finally removing the air flow chamber piece, I was able to finally squeeze out the pea-sized turd of resin that had been haunting my vaporizer in the angled portion of the air flow chamber. I had to cut the USB cord for a printer, and feed that through the air flow chamber, but in the end it all worked out well. I have come out of the experience with working knowledge on assembling/disassembling my vapor blunt, and I have also learned that it is best to clear your air flow chamber out at least once every two days if you are using it a few times a day.
Overall I give maintenance a 6/10
Who should buy this vape?
Anyone who is looking for a high-quality, easy to use, efficient portable vaporizer. Just keep in mind that this device requires a more stringent cleaning regime than most other portable vaporizers.
Peace out,
Gonna go toke my VB
P.S:
That new Vapor Blunt 2.0 looks amazing....why did I just buy my original??