Sorry man, posted that before ibsaw you're post, then tried tonedit but it was too long!
So here you go, everyone else look away, bc me and YungLearer seem to be a similar type of caaraaaazy
well put despite the length! Now I know why you tagged me at the end, just my style lol Totally with you bud, let me know if this helps, I will try to explain how it "works" and compare that with some other touch points (also its actually more than 10 users now too btw
):
So in essence, there is a stainless steel heater with a fairly massive surface area (this is part of where the patent comes in) which uses mica as an insulator (first it was glass in alpha units, but that proved too much of a heat sink for low temps, more reliant on heat soaking to really get going unless maxed out). Part of what happened in that 3 month delay to perfect said heater, is the other part of the heater patent, it is now constructed in a specific way or shape to better vortex airflow through the heater and in turn through the herbs, providing a much more even extraction (the beta heaters could get away without any stirring too, but the production heaters can do this much more consistently). I do not have my Grasshopper yet, but I know it is supposed to have its own vortex airpath allowing hit air to swirl through the load as well.
Anyway this large steel mass will climb in temp 0-500F in seconds when the trigger is pressed, it can actually keep climbing as it is an open loop device, but it will start to plateau, climbing at a slower rate than it did at the start, much like the Firefly as detailed in its little graph that it comes with. This is also similar to how the Thermovapes would heat when the batteries make contact, and the way Milaana works direct off the battery as well. Where Zion is different, is its computer chip and potentiometer which allow for voltage regulation similar to a log with a vvps, however here the best way to think about it is that the knob adjusts the rate the heater climbs in temp. It also sets a limit for the plateau, so if you are at 25% it is extremely difficult to combust, but not necessarily impossible if you push it by holding the trigger for an excessive amount of time (at that level would probably be over a minute, and no longer than 30sec is advised in the manual). The way it climbs in temp allows the heater to keep up with any draw really, it does not need to recover temp like a log or Evo after a hit, but like Evo it really doesn't seem possible to outdraw it during a hit.
The way you load and draw is glass stems much like a log, used UD basket style or E-Nano adjust-a-bowl style, but they use an 18mm US joint GonG connection instead of glass to steel (or glass in a HIbrid) so they sit in securely. When the trigger is pressed, you will be drawing from the glass straw, air will enter the hole in the wood at the bottom and travel right through the steel mass heater (which may or may not be sheethed in glass, unsure on final design there) in some sort of vortex, through the steel heater screen at the bottom of the 18mm female bowl, and then the herb loaded in the stem. To produce optimal smooth tasty cloudy vapor, it helps to start slow and build turbulence (like a Daisy and its carb) through the load as the heater is climbing in temp and then increase your draw speed along with the heater, letting go of the button as you feel the vapor in your throat (or even seeing it in the long glass tube) and continuing to draw to pull residual heat and clear the hit. Used in this manner it is very pure convection, and as such the first hit can be more tasty wispy before becoming a fog machine, but this also depends on where the knob is set of course, along with inhalation and herbal variables. It doesn't have a fan or precise temp control, so it is still very manual pure convection despite the regulation (Milaana is even more manual)
When hits are taken back to back, the steel mass becomes more heat soaked so temp rises more quickly at the same dial setting. This is why many do a quick preheat of 5sec at max temp to get things going before lowering the dial down low (or wherever they want it) and then beginning their session. Of course it can be used on demand at any %, but you may need to draw slower at first or even preheat a few seconds without drawing depending where you are on the knob. The knob also works very well for temp stepping, though some level of that can be controlled with a user's draw and the trigger as well. With back to back hits, particularly at a high %, there can be some slight conduction to the glass chamber, similar to the Evo you described, even in the Firefly and logs sometimes. This can also help prevent the need to stir, and allow the Zion the vape pretty much any herb not matter how poor the quality. For me it could actually reveal a strain with poor taste and/or effects, it always seemed to produce solid vapor regardless, but it made me more of a snob for quality as well (Firefly and Evo can do this as well, but I find the Zion more effective at it personally, have not tried an Herbalizer, but Elevape is also very good at this, just has more quirks otherwise).
This is why I like to describe Zion as the MFLSV. It's simple style and on demand nature, coupled with the voltage control knob and pure convection power from a large heater and strong power source. For me it outperformed the LSV in speed and control, plus even extraction now with that vortex in the production heater, ofcourse it is far more portable as well, nowher
e near as stealth as the MFLB, but worlds more powerful than that obviously. Similar to Evo it somehow excels with hydratubes, and can milk up a bong or bubbler easily, but I also use it dry mostly as that is the goal for any portable. That is also how Zion and Milaana were designed to be used, and they do it exceedingly well.
Manual convection vapes aren't for everybody (clearly neither is pre ordering), but in my experience they often provide the greatest reward, getting you as close to combustion as possible at any temperature. Even a low temp hit in Zion or Daisy can provide a more full bodied signature than a similar hit from an automatic vape like Evo in my opinion (one shared by a few friends who used Triihouse to fuckcombustion themselves). There are ofcourse pros and cons to each, and that is part of why many of us have such vast collections, but when it comes down to it, vapes like Daisy/Lily and Zion/Milaana are exactly what I think vaping should be, judging purely on performance, the end result of each hit or session, whatever you wish to get out of it... But the competition is getting fierce and I still have more to try of course!