Categories
Articles Miscellaneous

Product Review: Source Vapes

Product Review:  Source Vapes…

source7-20--7_large

As Twitter is the arbiter of “leveling the playing field” I bring attention to the plethora of smoking mechanicals that litter the marketplace.  With all due reverence to the companies that make high end products, there are many others that are not up to snuff.  I will not be reviewing those.  Just like when I offer liquor reviews, if your product sucks, I’m not going to write about it. Benign Neglect is what this is called.

So you make what I consider the top in your class?  Well then- not to worry.  I want to say nice things about your craft.  If your product is easy to use- all the better- and if it makes my life easier- well, this is a small victory in life.  Because not everything is easy.  Far from!

I received a lovely little metal box in the mail from Source Vapes.  Not knowing what to expect, and with full disclosure- I use cannabis daily by smoking it (the old fashioned way…) – so my experience level is quite advanced from nearly 40 years of smoking pleasure… Yet I had never used a Source Vape product before.  I had no idea what all the parts did, and with that said, I headed over to their website and I was still quite confused.  What goes into the Source Vape?  Dry herbs?  (NO!!!) Something else? (YES!!!!!!)  but what is that something else.  Evidently you cannot say what goes into it.  Is there a law prohibiting this disclosure?  I doubt it.  But here in my state where I know no one who uses such a contraption, well I had no clue what to do, nor how to do it!

Not that this is bad.  I just didn’t have a good teacher to walk me through the process.

Suggestion to Source Vapes- I’m visually oriented and a good YouTube instructional goes a long way for me.  Show me what goes in it.  How much to use.  What those temperatures mean for each product.  What goes in it?  How do you get that icky water out of that bong looking thing?  And what is that glass globe?  What does that do?

Argh… I guess at 55 I’m just old-school and I have no use for electronics or dare I say, concentrates.  My skill is rolling a joint with one hand like my stepbrother Drew taught me about forty years plus ago.  Electronics?  Nice for the millennials who have no patience.

Ok… With that said, the Source Vape, when I finally figured out myself, what went where and when is a well-built contraption.  I imagine that those in the healing cannabis world will find it very ingenious… no burning flame is even necessary! But I am a bit concerned about the high heat settings.  There really is no explanation for this.  Practice is not good enough when you have limited supplies and less patience.

The globe?  Fragile.  Strange design (for me) I’m not comfortable with it- the globe gives an amazing hit- but it may be too strong for me.  Maybe the temp is too high?  No idea and no one to ask.  Sure they have customer service, but I could not determine anything from the conversation and I got frustrated immediately.

The bubbler?  Very fragile.  Glass is not metal, it’s pretty enough, but without good instructions- well- you know that story already.  Fill the tube with some water.  Add your concentrate (which one? I have no clue…) and hit the button five times… (why five times?  Never explained fully…. Why not just once or twice?  But FIVE TIMES?)

Ok.. so I did that.  The hit was pretty flavorless.  Lots of vapor, but no real taste.

Am I doing something wrong?

Am I using the wrong type of concentrate?

Why can’t I figure this out?

(no one to ask is a good start)

Not a bad product.  Seems to be in the mid-range on price (about $150)

Would I recommend it?  Probably yes- I’d say the operation is quite advanced.

For me, it’s way beyond my comprehension…

I’ll pass until I figure out how to use it better.

Because I cannot easily find what goes in it… What goes in it?   (again. no idea because this is not explained at all and I know there are so many different types of concentrates on the market)

From a visual standpoint, the machine is lovely.  Looks like the key to a very expensive automobile.  But I’d never leave the house with it.  Way too difficult to fill in any wind.

The Source Vape is not easy to clean.  Bits of my (limited supplies) …of…concentrate fell out of the ‘bowl’ and were impossible to get out because the space between the ‘bowl’ and the glass is very tight- and that ‘bowl’ gets extremely hot… (read: burnt fingers)

Better instructions for those of us who are old and infirmed. (far from, but you get the gist)

My advice?

Buy one.  You already know what to do with it.  Carry on.  It’s probably the best one of its type on the market, I couldn’t figure it out easily- but that’s just me.