Maybe you remember these guys from their Indiegogo campaign, but if not, here’s the deal. Designed by Hopper Labs in Boulder Colorado, this portable vape pen is made to look, well, like a pen. In other words, it’s discreet as hell. But plenty of vapes are discretely built nowadays, so what makes it so special?
Unlike most vape pens, which seem more or less the same, the Grasshopper has a huge amount of innovation packed into its slim figure. Size-wise it’s a lot like a regular pen. The Grasshopper vape measures 5.6″/142 mm in length and a little more than a half inch (15 mm) in diameter. It weighs just 2.3 oz./65 g, lighter than just about every other portable vaporizer out there. They also have a titanium model that clocks in at 1.9 oz./55 g. Second, it heats up insanely fast, like within a few seconds – faster than the ultra speedy Firefly 2, even! I shit you not, this might be the fastest heating vape I’ve used!
In the vaping community, there’s been a great deal of hype over one new portable vaporizer called the Grasshopper. Designers of the Grasshopper claim that they wanted to create the most stylish and efficient portable vaporizer of all time. Those are some pretty big words to live up to, eh? To top it off, they also claimed that their use of aerospace design techniques allowed them to create this perfect portable product. When I got my own Grasshopper to try, I was immediately impressed with its discreet and light design. Each Grasshopper is only 5.5 inches in length and 0.55 inches in diameter. These pen-like vaporizers weigh just 2.35 ounces each, and you simply click the top of the Grasshopper like a pen whenever you are ready to start heating it up. The LED lights change from red to blue when it’s done charging. You also get an awesome lifetime warranty with your purchase of the Grasshopper, so no worries there. Stainless steel Grasshoppers are around $175 right now, and their classic titanium models are around $225. With all that being said, should you put the Grasshopper on your Christmas wish list this year? Well, hopefully by the end of this review you’ll be able to answer that question for yourself.
Not Necessarily Best For People On The Go
Although this is touted as the best portable vaporizer on the market, I would only really recommend this vaporizer for people who like to use glass rigs. Although this titanium vaporizer is super chic, you will most certainly burn your lips and look like a fool in front of friends when pulling this vaporizer out for a straight vape. If you are going to do that at all, you need to put the silicone guard over the mouthpiece. Yet, even with the silicone mouthpieces, you won’t get the high quality hits you can get with a glass rig. So, if you are in the market for a vaporizer you can just pop in your pocket and take with you to work, I’d look elsewhere. However, if you love to use water rigs with your vaporizers, you can get some of the best hits from any portable device out of this little guy.
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About the Battery Life
These blue Grasshopper batteries are approximately 0.5 inches x 2.5 inches. Grasshopper’s official website says these batteries can handle about 3-4 full chambers. I was only able to get about 12-15 good draws before my battery went out on me, which is not really that great for a portable device in my opinion. Although, I will admit that this device certainly uses its battery life to provide some powerful hits. Also, the re-charge time is not dreadful (around 40-70 minutes), and you can use this device while charging.
However, it’s worth noting they included an extra battery with the unit, and you can buy more if you want, so you’ll just need to have a few spares on hand if you’re out and about.
Powerful Portable Convection Heating
This is a pure convection heating product. In fact, I think this is the only portable vaporizer on the market to offer pure powerful convection heating in such a light design. Grasshopper designers are very proud of their patented heat exchange mechanism, which they say heats air on-demand and as you take a draw. Yes, it’s true, this product heats up very fast – like 5 seconds fast.
You can fit about ¼ teaspoon of packed herbs in Grasshopper’s chamber. I’ve seen bigger bowls, and smaller ones too. Just a few of the approved herbs you can use in this device include coffee, ginger, peppermint, green tea, and tangerine peel – of course you’ll use none of those.
You can change the temperature by turning the top of the vaporizer between 266 degrees Fahrenheit and 410 degrees Fahrenheit. Each line on the dial indicates a 20 degree Celsius increase (or around 68 degrees Fahrenheit). One feature of this temperature gauge I didn’t particularly like is that there is no confirmation when you hit a certain temperature. The dial won’t even click after you’ve passed a certain temperature, so you can never be exactly sure what temperature you are at. Maybe that’s something they can improve upon in future designs.
Powerful Draws
As I alluded to earlier, you will get GREAT vapor quality and taste when using the Grasshopper. I had absolutely no complaints with the amount and quality of vapor produced whenever I used my glass rig. For those of you wondering how to use a glass rig, it’s pretty simple – just place the tip into the female piece and inhale. There aren’t any fancy attachments you need to buy or anything. One reason I might prefer using a glass piece with the Grasshopper is that the mouthpiece tends to heat up pretty quickly. Of course, that’s why they include the silicon cover.
This little device is super strong. Trust me. With a glass rig you could get the Grasshopper up to around 390 degrees Fahrenheit. However, with a silicone mouthpiece you might be able to get the Grasshopper around 350 degrees Fahrenheit at best. I tended to use my Grasshopper in between these two temperatures.
A Few Accessories
Since Grasshopper is such a popular vaporizer, you’d better believe they offer a ton of accessories to their customers. Heck, they even offer stickers and t-shirts with the grasshopper logo. If you are in the market for some more “practical” accessories, you can order extra batteries, an extra USB charger, and even an extra silicone mouthpiece. Personally, I think Grasshopper’s stainless steel case and leather sleeve are some of the nicest accessories currently offered. With this device, you will automatically get a silicone mouthpiece guard, a USB charger, and a user’s manual.
Ok, now I’ll leave you with a few pithy pros and cons to sum up my experience with the Grasshopper. Hopefully this review helped you make a decision whether or not his product is right for you.
Pros:
- The most powerful and satisfying portable vaporizer when used with glass rig.
- Sleek, light, and very discreet design.
- Lifetime warranty.
- Re-charge time not too bad.
- Not difficult to load or clean chamber.
Cons:
- Can’t just pull this out and use it on the go.
- Even with silicone mouthpiece, can’t get super draws from this device.
- Weak battery life.
- No clear “clicking” indication when you try to set temperature using dial.
At a Glance
- Retail Price: $175.00 (stainless); $225.00 (titanium or colored)
- Dimensions: 5.6 × 0.6 inches (142 × 15 millimeters)
- Weight: 2.3 ounces (65 grams); titanium: 1.9 ounces (55 grams)
- Battery Life: 3 hours
- Heat Up Time: 5 seconds
- Warranty: Lifetime (Based on responses from folks on their Reddit board, they seem to offer great customer service)