Hi, folks. I'm in the market for my first dry herb vape. In the past, my consumption preference has always been combusted flower in a glass bowl, but I'm a heavy enough user that the regular smoking is starting to get to me. I find edibles too unpredictable and I worry that concentrates will just shoot my tolerance to the moon (based on experience with cartridges.) This led me to consider dry herb vaping.
My wife bought an XMAX V3 (POTV edition) a while back, but hasn't been using it regularly, so I borrowed it this week to see how I liked the experience. With some practice, I've been able to really enjoy using it and I'm now I'm sold on vaping and ready to make the switch away from combustion.
After a few days of research, I'm really leaning towards the Tinymight 2 for myself, but with its price, I'm hesitating. So I'm here in the hopes that someone will either push me off the cliff into vaping bliss or pull me back and push me towards a more reasonably priced alternative.
My requirements and things I like about the TM2:
Must be portable, but not necessarily in a pocketable or stealthy way. I don't plan to just carry it around when I'm out and about, but I'd like to be able to quickly grab it to use around the house or take it to a friend's place.
Removable batteries. I want the ability to just swap batteries and use an external charger instead of needing to plug the device in.
Power. While I am able to get good hits from the V3, it involves a long draw, steadily increasing in strength, while covering one set of air holes entirely and feathering a finger over the other set. Even then, it takes several hits to get me where I want to be. I love the idea of just taking a big rip or two and being good. I'm not really after a "session" experience most of the time.
Flexibility in use. This might just go hand-in-hand with being a portable device, but I like how easy it is to change your experience just by changing stems, adding a bong, etc. I'd like to completely switch to vaping and I think having those options will help.
Reliability/repairability. While I'm new to dry herb vaping, I have been vaping nicotine for over a decade, so I'm broadly familiar with similar devices. I really like what I've read about Tinymight 2 in this regard. I even saw the guy say that if the threads on the battery compartment strip (very common in my experience with nicotine vapes,) he'll just send out a new top piece with instructions on how to replace it yourself if you don't want to ship your device in for repair. That is very attractive to me, especially considering the price of the device.
Ease of use. I don't mind an initial learning curve at all, but once I've figured the device out, I don't want to continue fiddling with it. I'm not interested in anything requiring an external heat source for this reason. I appreciate that this is a fun hobby for some, but I just want to dial in the settings I like, push a button, and get high, not build a mad science lab on my desk.
So with all those considerations, is the TM2 the device for me?
Oh no I totally get where you're coming from. But I think you're under-estimating just how hot the TM2 gets on your throat. You're going to want mods to make it smoother.
Other vaporizers like the Mighty have a fancy cooling unit built into the design which yields a very smooth rip.
Keep in mind that you can't really restart a device at the same temp with the same load (you can but vapor production and taste take a big hit). So keep in mind that you'll want to temp step or microdose and reload if your goal is only to take few puffs and put away the vape. Even with a fully preheated desktop, it's hard to fully extract everything from 0.10g in a few short puffs - the herb just doesn't cook that fast since it's not an oil concentrate with a heater wrapped around a wick - we never get instant complete vapor extraction.
Have you ever looked at a Dynavap Vapcap? Its ok if the torch turns you off - they sell or you can build your own electric induction heater which is essentially a fancy electric coil that heats the metal surface of the vapcap almost instantly to vaping temperatures. No torch needed. Just saying - there's a very big reason why they have a cult following and it's not just the price