Extreme Vaporizer

[Sett418]

I ordered the vaporizer on a Wednesday afternoon, it was shipped on the Thursday and arrived on the Friday so I have had a few days to play around with it and I am very impressed. I purchased it from Aussie based www.vapourama.com and the transaction went very smoothly with extremely fast replies. It is unfortunate in Australia we don’t have places like Vapour Lounge where we can go to compare products like these. It makes it hard to review a vaporizer like this when you really don’t have anything to compare it to and it seems like vaporizers can either be really good or really bad. The other “vaporizer” I have used was junk.

 

The Extreme tries to do everything for everyone. It blows up bags as is trendy and popular in some places, feeds you a stream of vapour with three speeds and has a direct draw method, all for a very reasonable price (as far as the vape market is concerned anyway). It is rare for a Jack of All Trades to be the master of all of its trades and the Extreme is basically not an exception but it comes very damn close to being an exception, I think.

 

The bag mode I really enjoy using. I let it “pre-heat” for ten minutes at 210 then put the herb in and let it go another five or 10 minutes so the herb is the same temperature as the bowl. I use fan speed one (after changing the temperature to 190. I let it fill for about 2:30 and get 3-5 HUGE lung fulls) and depending on the quality of the herb I have been getting dense (so dense you can’t see through them) bags of ultra clean, tasty vapour (no popcorn taste at all). The first bag is always the best. The second and third bags are usually thinner and not as tasty but that is to be expected. The only very minor downside to the bag method is the air/vapour ratio can sometimes be a little too thin for my taste, but for me it is still very much worth it. This is apparently the same for most/all bag style vapes.

 

The direct draw mode is very good, however I think because the product needs more air flow to blow up bags the air/vapour ratio suffers a little for a “whip” style method of inhalation. I know if it was just a tad thicker it would be ultra smooth and more satisfying but I still need practice myself so we shall see. I can see myself using this the most in future as it is almost like a bong hit when executed perfectly.

 

The vapour “shooter” method with the fan based delivery is pretty cool. You can sort of just sit back and let it fill your lungs. It is a nice feature and I suppose for some medicinal users it could come in very handy indeed. For the lazier of us we can just sit the mouth piece in our mouth, press the fan button on the remote and keep playing xbox. This idea makes me want to make a longer hose. I’m also going to try feeding the hose into my bong and turning the fan on 3 as apparently it can be really cool.

 

The remote is something that I really didn’t care about that much when I bought it and thought it was kind of gimmicky and, to be honest pointless. But after using it I can see why it was such a great idea. You can control everything with it and it is much easier than using the LCD display to set it up. Another pretty good idea for teens or people living with parents and what not is the potpourri warmer that comes included. Put that in for a little while and whatever odours that are left will be taken over by the potpourri.

 

The bag method is pretty much flawless and from what I have read matches the Volcano in every way. This is just half the price and has these other features (it is also uses glass wherever possible and there is no Teflon, unlike some other units). As I said, not having used the Volcano I can’t say it authoritatively but I am getting bags like I described above very consistently and I just don’t see it getting better than that, as far as a bag can go. The only possible downsides as far as I can see is that some vapes like the Silver Surfer Vape apparently give better experiences with the direct draw method than the Extreme. I haven’t used the SSV but apparently it is very good for “whip” style fans.

 

Not being able to really compare it to anything makes it hard to say how effective it is or give it any specific ratings but I will say that from my experience with it and the other reviews and comments I have read it seems like if you want a bag style vape, or a bag style vape as well as a direct draw style/vapour shooter that is very decent (but not head of its class, just a tad off) then this is worth buying. From everything I have seen people say so far it really isn’t worth paying $800 for a Volcano when you can get this for $300-$400. On the other hand, if you prefer a “direct draw” some people report more satisfying results with the SSV, but say the Extreme comes very close.

 

I think for a first vaporizer (or an upgrade if you started at the bottom like me, or aren't satisfied with what you have etc etc) it would be absolutely perfect as it gives you a near perfect vaporizer experience in every way and is piss easy to use. The first vaporizer I got put me off vaping for months as it was such a shitty experience and felt like a waste. If you want a bag style vape go with this or if you like the idea of being able to do all three features it offers (like I do) then I highly recommend it. If your only interest in vaporizing is a whip method then there *may* be a better model out there for you, but if you know you prefer that method you probably already have the vape you want, I guess hehe. I STRONGLY suggest that whatever you do, you don’t buy the cheap, Chinese models you see everywhere, the ones that cost $110-$150. While they are better than nothing they really are terrible compared to what you can get if you save a bit more and spend $250-$400 and from my experience you will be put off vaping by them. I imagine it would be a much easier transition from bongs to these thick, milky clouds than furiously sucking on a shitty hose connected to a lead painted Chinese piece of crap.

 

*I don't want to put whip lovers off, this is still great and above average and will far from dissapoint!*

 

Sorry for such a long review but I wanted to be thorough and tried to be fair and honest. The vast majority of vaporizer reviews seem to be written by people justifying their few hundred dollars and I hope I haven’t come off like that. In conclusion (and to repeat myself for the third time being as blunt as possible), if you like bags buy this. If you like bags and also like whips buy this. If you only like direct draw methods of vaporizing specifically you could look at something more specific. Sets a standard for well built, multi purpose vapes as well as being astounding value (as far as this industry is concerned) in my opinion.

Edited February 24, 2009 by Oz

[Frazz]

Great review sett thanks for taking the time to share with us ... just a Q cause the website isnt even open yet , how much did it cost you inclusive?

 

[Sett418]

Hey mate,

 

Glad you liked the review. I paid $451 GST included ($410 without), excluding postage. When I emailed a week ago I was informed they were purchased before the market crash/plummeting Aussie dollar, so it is as cheap as they will come. I have seen on some forums back in March there were a few people in Aus getting them for around $350 but ah well.

 

Take it easy,

 

Sett

[urbanfarmer]

I've had my Arizer Extreme for about a month, $422 delivered to Adel from karl@vapourama.com. Service was prompt and communication good. I use mine in whip mode mostly and thoroughly enjoy the freedom of being able to put it down and come back to it later. I like to use mine set at 180C on the display. I love the flavor and the lovely clean stone. ooooo best i rush off and perfect my technique. . . .

[cheeba]

Good to hear it's working out for you then.

I had the same feeling when transferring over from smoking to vaping, it was like you felt "kinda" stoned, but not really, but after going exclusively with vapour for a while, it DOES in fact get stronger and stronger...to the point you feel good after one bag, great after 2...I usually load up with about just a bit over 2 nice big cones worth chopped roughly, get about 6 bags which myself and the girl share, more'n enough...as well as being stronger after the initial changeover period, I find it lasts longer too.

Seems like this particular vapo is rising in the ranks, eh?

 

@urbanfarmer - so 180 eh? Heh, I usually go 200, but it does tend to like "run out" a bit quicker, thicker vapour though I suppose. I've still not tried the direct draw method...I mean, how does it compare? Can it just be left on...etc?

[Sett418]

Thanks, cheeba. It certainly is an odd change. Another thing I noticed over the first two weeks of vaping (using my old vape though) is I would get very, very high but feel sort of disoncerted because my throat/chest felt so normal. It was almost like an itch in my throat that felt like it needed a scratch with a bong hit to make things right, hehe.

 

Glad you're enjoying the Extreme as well urbanfarmer! Today will be a day of the whip for me, hehe. Must. Get. Perfect.

 

One thing I didn't touch on in the review is the efficiency at vaporizing herb. I feel it is very efficient, especially when it is producing such tasty vapor. The "leftovers" are a very light green/golden yellow turning brown and there isn't any real sign of trichomes left on the material. In comparison to my old vape that would leave stuff dark brown in some places, totally uncooked in others, arrrg what a waste.

 

There is also 3 models of the Extreme, for those who don't know. One has a max temp of 350, the second one goes up to 250 then the third model goes to 260. I am under the impression if you have the first model to set it maybe 100 degrees hotter than we would so 280-310 I guess. Which would have been confusing at first I guess. Hail Arizer for using Celcius.

[Nooby]

Cheers for the review.

 

How noisy is this unit?

Like would it wake someone in the next room?

 

Noobs

[Sett418]

Howdy Noobs,

 

With a door shut I doubt people will hear fan speed 1, they may hear 2, let alone wake them up. Fan speed 3 is a tad louder and if someone walks by they may hear a fan but I really don't think it would wake someone up in another room. I asked my mum just then if she has heard anything and she said no unless my door is open.

[Nooby]

Hey thanks guy.

 

also "and the transaction went very smoothly with extremely fast replies."

 

I emailed him early this morning and no replies as yet. ?

[Gnobong]

Why are these things so expensive? Materials are pretty cheap these days. Are they gold plated or something