Iolite Portable Vaporizer

[cfo]

I've had mine for about a year. I love it. I had an early harvest due to a snowstorm last fall. Buds were very small and not many trichomes. I dried it, cured it, and tried some in a one-hitter. Not good. Tried it in the iolite and the vapor smelled and tasted good and I still got pretty high.

 

[K.J]

KJ, ur scarin' me.. I hate the thought of having to ever send mine off for service, but when and if I do, I'll just buy another one to have to use while my other one is being repaired. Good luck man.. I'm hopin things come around for you.

mgk

I feel ya...I too considered buying another while I wait, but then they irked me with their horrible customer service and I decided I didn't (yet) want to send another $250 to them.

I sure hope my experience is an anomaly and that normally they handle their warranty better.

Update: I emailed the new care center AGAIN for status, this time CC'ing the original person I was in contact with. The original person responded saying that the new customer care center was having a problem receiving emails, of all things (get a freaking Hotmail account then!) and that this person would try and contact them internally for status. I'm soooooooo irked at this whole thing. I just want my vaporizer back!

 

[cfo]

The only negative comment about my iolite is this- if I leave it in my vehicle in the winter time (cold as a witch's tit in the winter here), it won't ignite until it warms up a bit. Once it ignites, it stays lit but it can be a pain in the ass if you want to leave the bar for a few minutes to vape in your car.

 

[rrog]

KJ they said the same email crap during the "melting mouthpieces" episode. That's BS in my opinion. Very flaky.

 

[MaynardG_Krebs]

I feel ya...I too considered buying another while I wait, but then they irked me with their horrible customer service and I decided I didn't (yet) want to send another $250 to them.

In case it comes to something like that, there's a guy selling them on eBay for about 170 shipped.. brand new.

mgk

 

[K.J]

Great news this morning...my Iolite is en-route and should be here in a few days (early next week I surmise). Finally! Woooohoooo! Apparently their new center is back online and operating, so hopefully their customer service and warranty woes aren't going to be an issue again for others like it was for me. I can only hope, because I love this device and only want to see them improve it and succeed!

 

[rrog]

KJ we'd all like this technology to succeed and expand. In the last 1.25 years I've seen them have great response and service as well as pitiful service. That whole mouthpiece melting fiasco started with "user error" and outright denial of a problem. Reminds me of Toyota. Yes they fixed the problem, but only after a internet-wide effort by users to shame them into a fix.

Now this horseshit. I have heard where they turned around repairs in 14 days including repair. I'd like to see more of that level of service.

 

[dddownlowww]

I got mine today. So far so good. It is good to read your experiences with how much to fill, how long a bowl last, how to hit it, etc...

It's been a long time since I did much vaping, but this does seem to be doing a good job. I can see the desire for a variable thermostat, however i have thought the settings on this one are good, and the herb is getting spent. After smoking this average commercial for weeks, it was getting tough to catch a buzz, and I immediately got stoned off the iolite. Vaping does not feel like smoking, and appreciating the differences is something I'm sure my lungs will come to enjoy.

Do most people smoke their spent vapings?

ddd

 

[K.J]

Do most people smoke their spent vapings?

ddd

First off, welcome to the Iolite club. You'll love it!

As for smoking spent vapings, doesn't that kind of defeat the whole purpose of vaporizing in the first place? If you're going to smoke, why smoke spent vapings, why not just smoke good stuff? Now, if you're trying to make use of those vapings and not let them go to waste, I'd suggest trying to cook with them...they should be decarboxylated, and therefore active, so throwing them in a shake or something should work to some degree (I've tried it, can't say it's totally medicating, but it does seem to have an effect...though I only used about a tablespoon).

 

[intel2000]

KJ - did you get your vape back yet? I just rad this whole thread and my confidence is shaken a lil - but I have wasted $200 before so I will probably give this thing a shot

 

[K.J]

KJ - did you get your vape back yet? I just rad this whole thread and my confidence is shaken a lil - but I have wasted $200 before so I will probably give this thing a shot

I haven't received it yet, but it was mailed to me last week, so I should see it sometime this week (crosses fingers). Even though I've had some issues with warranty service, and the device itself, I would still HIGHLY recommend it to anyone as long as they were aware that it was still a work in progress and wasn't perfect. But overall, I'm very pleased with it and I can't wait to have mine back!

 

[dddownlowww]

First off, welcome to the Iolite club. You'll love it!

Thanks!

As for smoking spent vapings, doesn't that kind of defeat the whole purpose of vaporizing in the first place? If you're going to smoke, why smoke spent vapings, why not just smoke good stuff? Now, if you're trying to make use of those vapings and not let them go to waste, I'd suggest trying to cook with them...they should be decarboxylated, and therefore active, so throwing them in a shake or something should work to some degree (I've tried it, can't say it's totally medicating, but it does seem to have an effect...though I only used about a tablespoon).

Throwing the spent vapings into cooking materials is a fine idea. I was curious about what other do with them, if anything.

ddd

 

[MoldyFrogToe]

A quick update on my warranty repair: It's been about 2 months (or more) since I mailed mine in...I contacted them and they told me they had it, but that it was still being worked on. That was a month ago. Supposedly the delay is because they started up a new customer care center, or something, so now I have to contact them instead of the person I've been in contact with for a month. So I emailed them a week ago, and nothing yet. I'm seriously starting to get pissed.

Wow, that is 100% unacceptable, I'd be pissed

These things sound pretty cheap, an pretty likely to break
But this thread helped, seeing as this is the only TRUE portable vaporizer, thanks

How do they ignite? Piezoelectric ignition like a grill ignitor?
That would be scary seeing as those things ALWAYS break

The other strike is them clogging from using anything but Vector
That's really lame, and disappointing

Since it's the only portable vape out there ya almost have no choice but to get it

Just a heads up.. The Darkside has Iolites on sale again for $179.. this is a great deal from THE fastest shipper I've ever dealt with..

http://the1darkside.com/store/index.php?route=product/product&path=58&product_id=398

mgk

Is this a new model? An old one?
Does it have a plastic mouthpiece or a steel one?
How many different models have they made, which is the newest?
That's what I wonder
Considering they sell some for $250 out there...something is up..$170 is too good to be true

 

[MaynardG_Krebs]

Is this a new model? An old one?
Does it have a plastic mouthpiece or a steel one?
How many different models have they made, which is the newest?
That's what I wonder
Considering they sell some for $250 out there...something is up..$170 is too good to be true

Well, mine came as the 'old' model, but I got mine right at the cusp of the changeover. Regarding the plastic mouth pieces.. mine are plastic and I've had NO problem with them at all. I think a lot of the problems regarding the mouthpieces was user error and trying to force a cold resin filled joint to let go without heating it up first. I just turn mine on for one cycle when I want to disassemble it and have had NO problems. And regarding new vs old design, I'm kinda glad I got the old one.. it has a removable spike which makes it much easier to clean. The spike does need to be cleaned periodically in order to get uniform vapeing. Regarding the butane, it's not that big of a deal. Most cigar shops carry the better brands of butane. I've found the Colibri butane to give the best performance, however, a good 2nd choice and a great deal on price is Lucienne brand (great big can for 5.99).

mgk

 

[K.J]

my are plastic and I've had NO problem with them at all. I think a lot of the problems regarding the mouthpieces was user error and trying to force a cold resin filled joint to let go without heating it up first. I just turn mine on for one cycle when I want to disassemble it and have had NO problems.

Bingo!

 

[intel2000]

Thanks K.J. Ima get one too. Let us know how the repair went.

 

[MoldyFrogToe]

Well, mine came as the 'old' model, but I got mine right at the cusp of the changeover. Regarding the plastic mouth pieces.. mine are plastic and I've had NO problem with them at all. I think a lot of the problems regarding the mouthpieces was user error and trying to force a cold resin filled joint to let go without heating it up first. I just turn mine on for one cycle when I want to disassemble it and have had NO problems. And regarding new vs old design, I'm kinda glad I got the old one.. it has a removable spike which makes it much easier to clean. The spike does need to be cleaned periodically in order to get uniform vapeing. Regarding the butane, it's not that big of a deal. Most cigar shops carry the better brands of butane. I've found the Colibri butane to give the best performance, however, a good 2nd choice and a great deal on price is Lucienne brand (great big can for 5.99).

mgk

I hear ya on butane & the mouthpiece
Ask your local cig shop if they wanna sell you crates/boxes of butane
It will be much cheaper, 12 Vectors can be 60 bucks
Thanks for the info btw

5 star thread !

 

[K.J]

Ok, so a few of you have been waiting for this for a long time (I know I have!): my Iolite finally arrived!!!!!!!!!!!


I've had it for a few days now and boy am I glad it's back. I received a brand new model, with some of the latest modificatoins they've made:

The first one is the stainless steel threads on the mouthpiece stem...a very smart addition (though the old ones breaking is mostly user error, considering all that's needed is for the device to go through a few cycles and warm up to un-stick the threads).

And then they changed the bowl and heating pin. It's all of one singular piece now, curved to perfection for easy cleaning. The pin used to be a screw out, but now it's on piece with the bowl making it impossible to remove. Some would immediately think this is a bad thing, but they've taken care to curve and shape the bottom of the bowl so that there are now no crevices for stuff to hide in....therefore, no need to remove the pin for cleaning, just use a Q-tip and rubbing alcohol. Iolite's reason for this change is that it makes the heating more efficient and better able to vaporize, which upon use I found quite correct...the unit just seems to vaporize better and quicker than before. You can't tell from the pic below, but it also seems to be a tad longer than the old one allowing further reach into the herb chamber.

The also recessed the grip pads a bit more it seems (or made them less puffy). Mine came off completely on the last unit, but these might stick around a bit longer as they're not so prominent and easy to push around. We'll see.

I'm very happy that my service nightmare is over and I can only hope that with the new N. American Care Center, they'll do a better job from here out. I also hope they continue to do R&D and make the unit even better with every iteration. I love it!


Edit:

Here's a pic of the new bowl

 

[MoldyFrogToe]

nice, good info, thanks, and enjoy!

 

[draco]

well KJ, ya got me all hopped up on this... mine comes fed x tomorrow and i can't wait!
a friend told me he uses his just about everywhere (in a restaurant?) - it looks like a radio or something other than a smoking tool. most peeps don't know what it is...

it's a vaporizer for the respiratory condition don't you see... lol