Hello hello hello . . . right o.k. so you might or might not know that I've not actually had the most easiest of times getting to know my Zion, and I would go as far as to say that it has been rather turbulent so far.
So please accept my apologies for not posting more but I have been trying to get to grips with this more than ample handful of a vaporizer at a rather hectic & stressfull time in my life
Hence this post is not really complete and was hurriedly done on my phone, but it is something, at least.
To add just a little bit of background - I have & enjoy an mflb, firewood, cera LL (to a far lesser extent these days) amoung many other vapes at home so I have been slightly surprised by the learning curve I seem to have experienced, especially after hearing from others who were having an apparently much easier time.
I'm just a problem child
So I'm not sure that I've completely cracked it but I feel I may be getting somewhere near.
I still can't figure out what has been going wrong but this is what I am doing now . . .
I load the stem to the brim, quite finely ground & pack it in but not really tight. Power on about 75% and hit the fire button to give a good 10 seconds warm up.
1st hit: Very light draw for around 20-25 seconds, letting off the fire button for the last few to 5 seconds. This produces a light but visible vapor with a pretty intense and an extremely clean flavor.
We're off to a good start
I check the stem to find light browning limited to one area of the load. I turn the stem 180° and re-insert.
2nd hit: Foregoing the preheat but again drawing in a light & steady style for a similar duration - this time producing more visible vapor & a satisfying throaty feeling. Tasty and good.
I check the stem to find the load well browned from the middle out, with lighter, maybe untouched material still visible around the edge.
Time to dump the stem contents and then vacuum reload ready for the second half . . .
3rd hit: Same technique as previously, but now being more aware of the risk of combustion . . . I can now see the vapor winding it's way through the mouthpiece and I am trying not to be too greedy
I stop & look at the stem, but surprisingly I can see straight through it, however when I look down into the stem I find that it is thick with fog!
I check the stem load which is now looking all brown at the very least, and some much darker in one area. I turn the stem 180° and drop it back in Johnny to attempt to get everything I possibly can out of this brief yet full session.
4th hit: Still good vapor production and still tasting fine to me but obviously depleted. I get a good strong hit.
Checking the load one final time shows a well spent stem, good extraction, with lots of mostly dark coffee brown avb.
4 good hits = happy daze!
-Contrary to popular belief, I find that a finer grind seems to help me.
-Multiple back2back sessions help it get all toasty warm & really cloudy.
-Water is definitely not required & surprisingly I have enjoyed my Zion experience far more without it.
-Johnny is sooooo good to hold! He fits my hand perfectly in multiple positions, and he's daaaaamn solid! Wota hunk!!!
I continue to learn, and I bow to The Zion.
Johhny B Goode.