My Next Vape - The Firewood 2.1

 
I certainly will! Just checked on the tracking. It got into the post office this morning at 6:45am, so I should be receiving it today! 

 

Well, great news everyone! It arrived today and I'm totally stoked to try it out! Right now its charging up. According to the instructions I have to charge it for 4-6 hours. Not a big deal, so for now, I figured I'd post up some pics of the device.
 
Here is a pic of the initial unboxing:
 
View attachment 140074
 
The standard kit comes with the Firewood Vape, a glass capsule with a screen, and a charger. The charger is plugged into the vape in this pic so what you're seeing in the box is the power adapter. Marc ran a special last week that threw in a free power adapter so figured I'd take advantage of it.

 
It wasn't a cute little tin like the MFLB, but everything was packaged safely. Marc took great care to make sure all the glass components were protected during shipping. Honestly the USPS could have punted it across the warehouse and it wouldn't have broken... gotta love it.
 
My impressions of this device so far: its great and I'm chomping at the bit to use it. The wood design is very smooth not a single spot that looks like it wasn't sanded. Everything fits just right on it. The glass pieces seem very sturdy for their size, and I appreciate the included silicone sleeve to place over the glass mouthpiece. It is heavier than I expected it to be, but its not much heavier than my Pax. The whole thing is built with great care and it shows in its precise construction. It also feels very durable, but I'm not going to drop test this thing on purpose lol.
 
There are 2 switches and 2 LEDS on the flat side of the device. The first switch is to turn it on. It sunken enough into the device that you won't accidentally turn it off. There is a Green and a Red LED that sandwich the switch. Under the switch you'll see the wood is raised a bit, and that houses the button that triggers the heating element. Turn it on, the Green LED turns on, push the heater button and the Red LED turns on. Pushing the heater button and looking at the LED's will also tell you when the device needs to be charged. The device comes available in Maple, Walnut and Cherry, or unfinished (and he sends you the stuff to finish it yourself). I got maple to match my MFLB lol.
 
Heres a pic of the heating element:
 
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</div>Looks interesting yeah? 
 
And here are some side by side comparisons with my MFLB and my Pax:
 
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View attachment 140077
 
</div>As you can see its comparable in size to the Pax, and you can see it matches my MFLB; in color but not in size 

 
And here's what it looks like in my hands waiting to be toked on:
 
<div> View attachment 140078
 

In about 3 hours this thing will be ready rock'n'roll. I would use the power adapter right now but its the early afternoon and my little ones are running around so charging it and using it outside is ideal (until tonight for the smell test). 
</div> 
UPDATE: First Usage!!
 
LOADING AND PREPPING
 
Ok, so the charger went green shortly after I made the initial post. Being anxious to try this sucker out I just figured "Green means ready", like the instructions said. Loading it is interesting and different from the few vapes I've used so far. It comes with a glass capsule with a small brass screen in it. You fill it to 1/4 to 1/2 full. So for me, its just about the size of an MFLB load. Full for me in the MFLB is about 1/4 of a teaspoon; usually I do less than that. The instructions and tutorials I've seen say a medium grind is good for the vape. Mine is a fine grind so that will have to do.
 
Once the capsule is loaded, you drop it into a glass tube and it sits above the heating element. Next, pop on the top piece with the glass mouth piece (make sure its pointing straight down and goes into the capsule), make sure the O-ring seals into the glass tube where the capsule is, and you're ready to go. It should be noted too that the glass mouth piece has an interesting spring style screen at the end of it. I would have liked another brass one but we'll see how it goes later on. 
 
ACTUAL VAPAGE
 
So now we're ready to go and vape. Flip the switch on the side, and see the green light go on. Under that switch you will notice the wood is slightly raised. It is concealing another button thats used to activate the heating element. Simply push down on the wood "button" to get the heat going. Instructions say to hold the button for 20 secs (start drawing at 10 secs), and hold the button down for another 10 secs while drawing. Release the button, draw a little bit longer, hold in, exhale. I did exactly this, got some wonderful flavor but minimal vapor. I pressed the button again, this time for 10 secs while drawing, released the button and continued to draw.... this is where it got interesting. I held in and exhaled and got some decent vapor off it, but similar to my MFLB maybe a little thicker. But that wasn't the interesting part.
 
What was interesting was when I released the button. I could feel the heat in the glass mouthpiece. Even though I wasn't applying heat, the heat in the tube was causing the convection effect, keeping the glass mouthpiece hot. As I drew faster, the tube cooled... there was the learning curve part, mastering the feel for the device similar to the MFLB. Similar to the MFLB, you'll want to give the device a shake halfway through the session so you can mix up the load a bit and get the greener stuff closer to the element. I found that you could skip the shaking part since it is cooking your load convection style (after the conduction part). I packed up another capsule and did a lot better that time (I semi-combusted the first load). No combusting, and full on convection vape action going. The results..... well, I was pretty baked after the 2nd capsule. The spent load was pleasantly mostly evenly cooked, and looked light brown. It should also be noted that if you let the device sit idle between hits, you'll have to heat the load back up again... no biggie, just hold the button in for longer than 5-7 secs. 
 
EDIT: Upon further usage, use the MFLB technique of preheating for 5 secs while holding in the button then taking a 20 second draw, releasing the button before you feel the vapor get too hot. Increasing your draw rate with this vape will also help control the temp on the load.
 
BATTERY LIFE, ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES, and SMELL
 
I did grab some spare capsules, and I recommend you do if you want to keep the device going. Its too soon to tell what the battery life is, but the instructions say about 5 sessions, that usually last about 7 minutes. Also in regards to smell, I didn't notice a smell coming out of it. It seemed very MFLB-like but then again I haven't used it indoors (which I will tonight). But, I didn't notice a smell from it like my Pax. I'll keep you posted on the smell.
 
EDIT: OK, this thing has the smell of the MFLB. Been using it at my desk for awhile and my wife doesn't smell a thing! Not that I need to hide anything lol.. but it is again, a pleasant surprise.
 
CLEAN UP
 
The only minus is cleaning it up. Its not nearly as involved as the Pax, but right now I have to clean up my 2 capsules and the mouthpiece. Its not bad, I just have to get the proper tools around to clean them. I'm so used to just brushing out my MFLB, that I'm used to that method. I can brush out the capsules between sessions, but every so often, you'll want to give them a bath in ISO and wipe them out with a q-tip. Not really a big deal, I'm just used to the MFLB so it will take some getting used to.
 
TLDR/BOTTOM LINE
 
Bottom line folks, this is a great vape and I was pleasantly surprised by its efficiency and effectiveness. While it definitely looks like this thing is going to get more refined as time goes on, what it is now is great and it can only get better. The dugout form factor is really cool, easy to hold on to and fits nicely in your pocket. The way the vape works takes some getting used to, but once you get used to it, the rewards are very nice. MFLB or Firefly users will be right at home with this device as their workflow is almost similar. 
 
Vapor production is pretty decent; but keep in mind I'm not a cloud chaser. Efficiency is a big thing for me so I'd rather see a thinner cloud as opposed to a big thick cloud. This thing could produce a thick cloud if you worked it right to do so.
 
Flavor from this vape is great, the all glass air path is what makes this possible. And the flavor lasts a while and takes a bit to taste burnt. With this vape, when it tastes burnt the load really is done. 
 
I'm still testing out the battery life, but the device lasted from 2:30pm Saturday afternoon all the way up to 1:30am. I had maybe 4 sessions with the device in that time period. 
 
....WAIT, WILL THIS REPLACE YOUR MFLB?
 
Well, right now its new and I'm learning the vape. So for the next couple of days, the MFLB will be parked for a little while. Down the road, I don't really see this vape replacing my MFLB, but I will have both of these devices being part of my rotation. I like them both equally. They have their own way of producing vapor and functioning. I see this to use along with my MFLB. But not replacing it (I really don't think anything will replace the MFLB for me... I like it too damn much).
 
There you have it... I'll post more after I've had it awhile... Think I'll go enjoy this new vape!
 
Wanna enjoy one too? Go here and check them out. It costs:
 
Unfinished - $94.95 (he sends you stuff to finish it off with)
Maple Finish - $114.95
Walnut/Cherry Finish - $134.95
 
EDIT: **Scroll down further to see my usage updates as I own this device longer. I'll comment on battery life and how its holding up.** 

 

First impressions and first usage experience is now posted folks!

 

 
I'm not really a cloud chaser but I was getting what I considered to be decent vapor out of it. The vapor production is similar to the MFLB, since its manually controlled you're just getting the vapor you want. Now where this thing is a bit superior to the MFLB is that it can produce a thicker cloud if you heat up the load a bit more and use good control with button or draw rate. Overall I am satisfied with the vapor it produces. 

 

Modified my MFLB tin to hold the capsule for the Firewood. Guess this shows I like this vape and its earned a place in my collection.
 
View attachment 140079

 

Ok!
 
So after a full weekend with the Firewood 2.1, I have to say SUCCESS!!! Usually after I buy a vape, I'll use it for a weekend and see what happens. When this happened with my Vaporblunt, within 36 hours, I started to hate it so I gave it a few more days. Then I really hated it and gave it away to a friend. I was afraid this would happen with the Firewood, so I left my initial impressions and first usage. Now we're at the point where I've used it for a couple of days now and have everything mostly dialed in with it. 
 
Do I hate it? Absolutely not... As I said before the vape has earned its place in my rotation of main vapes. In fact yesterday I used both the Firewood and MFLB because I had to charge the Firewood (more on this later). 
 
Now, I've got this thing mostly dialed. I posted my initial review about usage and actually vaping with the Firewood. I have made some tweaks to my draw technique, and even asked for Marc's advice on his personal technique.
 

• First off, this vape really likes an extremely slow draw rate. Almost a bit slower than when you pull from the MFLB in native mode. Its really sensitive to your draw rate as the vapor path is VERY air tight.
• Don't cover the hole above the switch lol. Its essential for airflow.
• In the capsule that holds the load, theres a screen at the bottom. Its shaped to allow the screen to poke out flush with the edges of the capsule. I pushed the screen up a bit so it was more inside the capsule. This helps with accidental combustion, and pretty much eliminates it.
• I found I had to preheat the Firewood a little longer than recommended. Its recommended about 20 secs for preheat, I push it to about 25-35 secs, and start drawing slowly at 25 secs. After that, all I have to do is just push the button for 5 secs before I take a toke, and I can maintain the temperature in the capsule.
• If you let the vape sit for awhile between hits, you'll have to preheat it again as it will cool off pretty good. 
• After awhile, I just started using it like my MFLB (after the preheating step).. engage the heater button for 5 secs, start to draw till about 15-20 secs, release button at around 15 secs or so, speed up my draw rate a bit to clear and cool the vapor path, hold in and exhale.

There was only one downside to the device that I've found so far. It's not a deal breaker for me and I know Marc is slowly improving the product but heres what I ran into:
 
SEPARATE CHARGER AND AC ADAPTER
 
While we're all used to our devices having chargers that also double as AC adapters, this does not have one of those. Currently they are 2 separate pieces, with the power adapter being sold separately. I got this on a special from FC where he was giving away power adapters till the end of May. Either way its only $15.95 so its not a big deal. I've used the power adapter a couple of times this weekend, just to test it out, and also to power up the device after I had run the battery almost dead (instructions recommend you do a fully charge and almost full discharge 2 times to make sure the battery stays at capacity). In fact, Sunday afternoon I had to take the MFLB out as I had to let the Firewood charge, and I was going out somewhere and wanted to toke a little.
 
Again, this is not a deal breaker for me at all as I charge my devices when I'm away at work anyway so its ready to use when I get home. I talked to Marc a bit and waiting to hear if he's going to release a combo charger/power adapter. But this still works great for me. It a small detail I can work around to use such an awesome vape.
 
 
ANY SURPRISES?
 
There was one surprise that I really wasn't expecting; efficiency. I was expecting this vape to be just about as efficient as the MFLB. I was not expecting it to be better at efficiency than the MFLB. I found that in the Firewood, I can put in less than 1/4 of a teaspoon and get quite a few hits off it. Later today I'm going to see just how far this will go. But so far, its pretty damn efficient and that blows me away. Also the fact that it follows the MFLB principles of usage (applying power first to preheat, then toking and letting off the power mid toke), makes it really easy to learn for any MFLB user.
 
Theres little to no smell! While its slightly smellier than the MFLB when you're preheating it, you can offset this by preheating the device with no capsule in it for about 30-40 secs, then drop in the capsule, put the cover and mouthpiece on and now you're ready to vape. But due to its design, you can get vapor in the path, and clear it all out and cool it all at the same time. 
 
So there you have it folks! After a couple of days with the vape its awesome and growing on me. For the week its going to be my GOTO vape and daily driver. Its now time for the longevity test and see if I have to entertain any warranty issues. I'll keep you guys posted as usual and if you have any questions feel free to ask me. Again this isn't going to replace my MFLB, but these 2 are just in rotation now. I can definitely see where I'd be more apt to take my MFLB out and about with me, but then again I own both and love both lol.
 
Overall, I'm impressed with the Firewood 2.1 vape, excited to see what the future holds for it, and I would recommend it to anyone on this forum that wants a good low priced, conduction/convection vape. Marc fully supports his product however, so if you have any issues, just contact him and he will be more than happy to assist you.
 
Darn, I'm at work right now and can't enjoy my new vape lol.....

 

 
Yeah it took some tweaking and just handling the vape "what happens if I do this? what about this?" etc etc lol... 
 
Yes, I'm guilty of the "hard and fast" method myself. Found vaping in general, even with my e-cig I can't really go hard and fast lol... but just gentle and slow.

 

Forgot to add this:
 
BATTERY LIFE
 
I know some of you are wondering what the battery life is on the Firewood 2.1. At this point I can't give you a real number or a metric to follow on. But I can tell you how its all worked out so far. The instructions tell you to "fully charge and fully discharge the battery 2 times for optimal performance". So I figured I should follow the instructions and went along with said charge/discharge cycle.
 
The device does have a battery indicator of sorts. Its a little rudimentary but it works nicely basically if the battery is weak, after you turn on the device and push the button to crank up the heater, the green LED will start to go dim if the battery needs to be charged.
 
On Saturday I charged it up from what appeared to be a 50% charge. I used the device about 4-5 times between 4:30pm and 1:00am. After you are done using the device, you should always turn off the switch. I was bad about it on Saturday and didn't turn off the switch. Sunday morning went to use the vape, and I noticed it wasn't heating up as well. I checked the LED's and they went dim almost instantly so I hooked it up to the charger. It charged for about 4-5 hours and was full at around 4 hours or so. I used the device off and on from 4pm - 11:30pm about 4 or 5 times. 
 
I was smart about turning off the device after each use and before I went to bed. This morning the LED's were dimming just a little... but since I want to use it when I get home from work, I hooked it up to the charger.
 
So I would say battery life will last you about 5-6 sessions before you have to recharge or hook it up to the power adapter.

 

And the success of this device continues. Last night I tested efficiency. And let me tell you this is one efficient vape! Couldn't believe it lol.
 
I'm not sure of my exact measurement for the MFLB. But I typically use about 1/4 of a teaspoon depending on the grind quality and the strain; maybe a tad less. In the MFLB this would fill up the trench. In the Firewood, 1/4 of a teaspoon fills up one of the capsules about 2/3's of the way! Thats a bit too much in that vape so naturally I have to pull some out. 
 
Last night I had 2 capsules with 1/8 of a teaspoon... the sessions were spread out about 2 hour apart. And both 1/8 teaspoon capsules got me pretty high, about as high as I would be with the MFLB. So for efficiency, this thing gets a huge 2 thumbs up from me! 
 
I thought it was funny last night. My wife and I were discussing the vapes and I was telling her about the differences between the devices (again, she doesn't partake, but she supports the cause). She asked me which one I liked better and I told her I like the Firewood right now because its new, and I'll probably use it exclusively until the weekend. I also told her after this week I'll have my flow down with it and at that point I'll be able to rotate the vapes.
 
Her response? "Good... I bet that little Launch Box is just sitting there crying. You really need to show it some love..." Too funny really lol. I can honestly say that between the Firewood and MFLB you can't go wrong owning either of these vapes. Their workflow is about the same, but the Firewood takes longer because you have to preheat it for about 25-35 seconds. After the preheat, its almost your standard MFLB workflow. But, I hold the button in on the Firewood a bit longer before I start to draw; 7 - 10 secs as opposed to the MFLB that is just a 5 sec primer before drawing. 
 
Thats one of the 2 things the MFLB has going for it over the Firewood; no preheat time (I dont count the 5 secs a preheat for the MFLB), and of course size and stealth. 
 
I'll post more about the vape in about a week and a half. If anyone has any questions just let me know!
 
Thanks for reading this multi-day review!

 

 
Yeah I know what you mean. Thats part of what made me want it too. I heard about it through word of mouth on here (thanks Yosh139!), found out I could only get it directly from the website, watched a tutorial video and I was basically sold lol. 
 
Plus I like the all wood construction. I'm a real sucker for that "rustic" look especially on a device like this.

 

 
Thats a really good question. I've sent off an email to Marc asking him whats up with that. So, I'll let you know his response when I hear from him.

 

 
Ok, Just heard back from Marc on this, and you're gonna like the answer....
 
 
The charger works with 240v but has a USA style plug so it just needs a simple plug adapter (not a transformer)
 
Marc
 
 
So all you need, is just a plug adapter and you're in business. He just addresses the charger and I've replied asking him about the power adapter. But judging from the electronics he's using, I can assume that the same applies to the power adapter.
 
EDIT: Verified with Marc that the Power Adapter also just needs a simple adapter for the 240v plug. So you're all good on that end.