Sent my Mighty in for service, and the downtime is getting me to look at other options in the meantime.
Looking the hybrid, I can't help to think that there isn't much innovation over the earlier volcanoes, other than the redesign of the filling chamber and the addition of the whip.
Adding the extra metal inside the collar is what gives it the extra conduction heating...that's it. It's nothing complicated or strange. I'd love to see this reworked to fit the classic and digital versions. People will be still drawn to the new and shiny version with Bluetooth, but it boggles the mind why the main advancement isn't retrofitted to the tried and true tanks (especially the classics). Seems the touch screens, and other gadgetry are unnecessary, and honestly...just additional fluff.
I'd be game for grabbing a classic (or even a plenty), with this rather modest upgrade in connection tek. S&B would have a monsoon of orders for the retrofit part.
as i said earlier, the device doesn´t need more innovation, it is like a Macbook, an 2010 macbook looks the same as an 2018 Macbook but it is thinner and faster. that´s it. what should it do additionally, making coffee? ;-) in the end it is still about vaping herbs which it does better than most other vaporizers.
the Hybrid has a 40second heat up time which allows for fast hits with the whip which you can´t get with the other models and which is the main selling point. just think about 10 sessions, you have to wait 3 minutes every time with the old models and with the new one 40seconds, it definitely adds up in time spent waiting for the device to be ready.
when someone wants that fast heat up, conduction heating and the whip you have to buy the Hybrid as there won´t be any retrofit for the older models because well, they want to sell this new Volcano version.
if someone is fine with bag only and longer heat up, the Classic is still there to buy and it is cheaper than ever used because many people are selling their Classics to buy a Hybrid.
The Plenty while still a good device is is a model from yesteryear with the long heatup time and heat cycles, this is an device which feels really old in 2019 imo, i´ve sold it directly after getting the Hybrid as i had no use for it anymore.
i don´t really see where the device needs more innovation as it is a cult classic vaporizer which more or less kicked off the whole vaping craze 20 years ago. surely they will stick to the design because it is iconic and the reason why it is named Volcano. maybe a more silent pump would have been nice but that is frankly the only thing where i see potential for improvement
in function they just modernized it with Bluetooth, workflows through the app, faster heat up, finally a whip and added conduction heating.
i think when they do a new Mighty it will be the exactly same: faster heat up, Bluetooth app support and maybe a little more compact, the rest will be the same because there isn´t much left to improve.