Hey GC, I bought my Iolite portable vaporizer a few days ago, and have spent some quality time with it. The day I got it I used it with some friends for about 12 hours straight. Few things I've noted for those of you considering the Iolite: -You have to be a little patient with it. It can take up to 5 minutes to come on, and then another minute or so to heat up. -Filling it can be interesting. Butane gets sprayed a bit, but this might just be because I'm not good at it yet. -The mouthpiece gets hot, but not any hotter than hitting a joint or blunt would be. -There is a bit of cooldown time between sessions as the unit expels excess heat and fuel. On to the good: -It rips your face off. After about 10 minutes I was pleasantly toasted. -There are very very faint vapor clouds, so it is very discreet. -The sound is minimal, any background noise at all would drown it out. It is quieter than a running laptop. -The taste is nice when packed with good bud. -It's very efficient - one half bowl pack will go for 15 to 20 minutes and get you very stoned. I was sharing with anywhere between 2-7 people and repacking was few and far between. -I was using it in a room that is constantly smoked in, so I can't comment as to how faint the smell was because the entire room already smelled like pot. There was no distinct odor coming out of the unit, nor the clouds. The high is a bit different than smoking, but is very nice. You can certainly achieve couch-lock status in a few sessions. It really does a nice job of conserving bud - I got very high off two sessions that were maybe .2-.3 grams each. A few cautions: -Make sure you are using high-quality, refined butane. I'm using Xikar, the clerk at the headshop recommended Vector. I got a bottle of the Xicar that's the size of a spray paint can for about $9. -Invest in a grinder. I got a sharpstone 4-piece with clear lid and love it. It was $45, but obviously there are cheaper grinders. I can't wait to put kief in this thing. -Spent $235 on the vaporizer itself. In the box are instructions, a carrying case, and some spare parts. -People that complain about it not working are either not being patient enough, or are using low-quality butane. The manufacturer stands by the product. I've read about plastic mouthpieces breaking off, but mine has not yet. I'm fairly gentle with my expensive items. -Treat it right and it will treat you right. Let it warm up and cool down at the pace the instructions say, don't overuse the button. Friend might want to click it to have it turn on the heating element right away - just have them wait a minute. The built in temperature control will keep it at the right temperature for vaporization. I've also got a few questions for any other vape owners; -Do you use dank, or do regs/mids get you high just the same? I would just assume that you would have to vape more than you would if it were headies. Thoughts? -How often will the screen need to be cleaned? -Is it worth trying to save the vaped weed to make edibles? -I would like to get a whip tube for the Iolite. Would I just measure the diameter of the mouthpeice and buy tubing that would attach to there? I have a fairly large bong (link in my sig, New Setup), and I would love to attach the Iolite to it to cool down the vapor through water and then some ice in the tube. Would I lose any THC by doing this? I would assume I wouldn't but not really sure about the properties of vapor compared to smoke as far as stability and breakdown goes. -Does anybody have ideas for something I could safely attach to the mouthpiece to keep it from being hot on the lips? -My method of hitting involves waiting for the glow to come on, then drawing slowly for 10-15 seconds once it turns off again. Is this efficient? From the way the machine works, I would assume that when I'm not drawing air over the bud, none of it is being vaporized. The time between light-ups is about 30 seconds-1 minute. What technique do other owners use? EDIT: pictures further down the page.
This is a great review. I just picked mine up off of ebay and should be getting it either tomorrow or the next day. I'll be adding some insight when it arrives.
So I got my iolite in the mail yesterday. I opened the box and noticed that there was a very long booklet and a bunch of little parts. Everything was packed nicely in a great quality box. I was a bit discouraged, as it seemed that it would be beyond my learning curve. They really put a lot of thought into this little vape. It used a lot less butane than I had thought at first, and I was ready to vape in about one minute. After a couple of minutes of playing with it, I filled it up with "Dodo" brand butane, its 5x refined. I tested it in a torch lighter first to make sure the flame was good and even. I loaded the bowl with some Willie Diesel and began my first vapor session. I used the vaporizer for about five minutes, inhaling every forty five seconds or so. I could see visible vapor due to back lighting. I noticed no real smell, and it is a little loud. It sounds exactly like a Torch lighter being used. What I wasn't even remotely ready for is how high this unit got me! I had shit to do that day, and it just wasn't going to happen! The Iolite had me totally couch locked! I vaped a bowl of about .2 and was able to get extremely high two times before I decided to bag the vaped weed. I wanted to smoke one more time, but I was still high from the session three hours before; which almost NEVER happens to me. I have to say that this is the best 160 dollars I have ever spent on pretty much anything. I very wholeheartedly recommend this vaporizer!
Good to see you had as good an experience as I did =). The booklet was in like 20 languages, which I thought was kindof funny. You definitely got a better deal than I did on it, nice work. I don't mind supporting the local headshop a bit though, I suppose. Anybody have thoughts on some of my questions?
Ahh I had a friends Extreme Vaporizer for a few months a while back and it was the best thing ever!! I really want an Iolite, they sound amazing great review
Thought I'd throw some pictures up, here they are. Not the best quality camera on my cell phone, sorry. Grinder Grinder again, tried it out with paper today because I've been reading that people are getting metal shavings. I didn't see any, but I tried it out just in case and didn't see any in the paper. The Iolite with a pencil for size comparison. This is without the mouthpeice attached. Here it is with the mouthpiece. It looks like a walkie talkie and is about the same size. Here it is in the case - it could easily pass off as a (sun)glasses case, zipper wallet, or anything you want it to be. Hope this helps anybody considering the Iolite - it really is quite small and portable. I took out most of the cardboard packaging that came in the box and I can fit the whole system (in the case), and my grinder with tons of room to spare. I bought a huge can of propane (spray paint can size), but you could easily fit a small fuel can in there and have your whole kit in one little box with plenty of room to spare for your herbs .