The first classic Volcano Vaporizer from Storz and Bickel entered the market officially nearly 20 years ago. In all that nineteen years, Storz and Bickel have stayed on a steady rise and brought to the world a premium vaporizer: The Volcano Hybrid Vaporizer.
Introducing the Hybrid
Storz and Bickel stuck to their signature metal pyramid for this new tech. Sleek and practical, the design has worked for more than a decade. With a modern touchscreen and a digital face, the Hybrid sits at the apex of desktop vaping. It is not necessarily a collector’s item; for both amateurs and professionals, the Hybrid is something you want standing at your table.
The Hybrid is the most advanced desktop vaping vaporizer right now and has many improved features from previous iterations. This time around, Storz and Bickel sought to improve on practically all the problems (little as they were) in the earlier versions. As the best in the series, it is the most expensive. It commands a steep price but is still very much worth it, as you will soon discover.
What Makes the Volcano Hybrid Vaporizer So Different?
Now, this is the exciting part. There are two perspectives to contrasting this product. The first would be with older Volcano Vaporizers, and the second would be with other electronic cigarettes.
A Design that Catches Eyes:
The Hybrid features the age-old pyramid design that has lent the Volcano Vaporizer its signature look. It is easy to see how Storz has applied his creativity to designing the vaporizer to retain its relevance even after two decades. Even though the Hybrid may take up a lot of room on your desktop, the bigger size allows for more herb intake and powerful heating elements. The Hybrid vaporizer is improved with touchscreen buttons. It gives the Hybrid a very modern feel and practicality.
It also, like the Digital Volcano Vaporizer, sports a digital screen where you can monitor the temperature and the apparent settings.
The Hybrid has a detachable power cord that adds an extra dimension to ease portability and logistics. It seems like the manufacturers are listening to our pleas.
It’s a Hybrid
As the name implies. Whip and bag, the hybrid does both. Suffice it to say Storz and Bickel patented the detachable balloon chamber design years ago and have since used the bag to increase the quality of vaping. Because you do not need to inhale directly from the whip, there is less air resistance, and the balloon gives the vapor more room to expand so that you might inhale whiffs like you are breathing. The bag also allows for measuring intake for those on medication and those without a prescription who want to keep track of their information. The advantages are limitless.
The whip, on the other hand, allows for more air resistance because the hybrid uses fans
to pump out vapor through tubes made of a neutral material that does not taint the flavor.
It is seemingly basic, but many take for granted the ease of being able to load both wax concentrates and herbs into their vaporizers. You would want to get a vaporizer that can handle both. All you need to do is take off the filling chamber cap, load herb or concentrate, then close the cap and let it heat. Wax or herb, it doesn’t matter.
And if you wish to retain quality and the filling chamber is too large for you to vape with, you can get a filling chamber reducer from GypsyVapes.
A Heating System that is Hybrid:
Now the Hybrid isn’t called a hybrid just because it has both the whip and the balloon; it has earned this title on two fronts. The second front is the heating system. The Hybrid uses both conduction and convection heating. The metal ring of the filling chamber is heated up while hot air passes through, optimizing the healing process of the herb to allow better results. Compared to the older Volcano Vaporizers, it is faster to heat up in 75-90 seconds.
Customizations that Make Sense:
One of the most comfortable features of the Hybrid is its flexibility and customization. The Hybrid can be controlled via Bluetooth with iOS and Android devices through an app. Aside from the fact that you can easily control the device with ease from your smartphone, the app allows you to create a profile and presets for vaping sessions.
The app allows you to create iterations that help regulate temperature over a definite amount of time without you having to do anything. This only works with the whip. For example, I can create an iteration that allows the temperature to rise by 3 degrees Celsius every ten minutes over thirty minutes. It might be convenient for medical reasons and accessibility for the disabled.
The app also boasts workflows that are restricted to not only the whip but also the balloon. Since it controls the fan and is especially useful in maintaining and keeping preset time and temperature, it leans towards being more relevant for the balloon. The volcano vapes also allow you to make a bag of your choice with the help of solid valves. Additionally, reading about the dosage before putting it in the vaporizers is always recommended.
Easy on Your Wallet:
I know what you are thinking; you feel this is where the Hybrid won’t hold water, but let me surprise you. Due to its healing process, the Hybrid retains the quality of herbs and concentrates through its thorough heating system. Using both conduction and convection heating systems, the Hybrid is very thorough in giving you a quality vape so much that you can easily save money in consumption before your third month runs out. But this, of course, depends on how much you use.
Extra Accessories for a Better Experience:
You are dosing Capsules that allow you to fill your filling chambers more efficiently beforehand. A filling set that will enable you to serve multiple double capsules at once. The chamber reducer optimizes the amount of herb you can put in for more efficient use. It also works with dosing tablets.
A vape bag is another accessory that may not facilitate using volcano vapes directly but certainly makes it easier to carry e-liquid or its weed. These vapes are food-safe and do not affect the performance of the vaporizer.
Filling the vape is not easy if you are not used to it. Vape-filling accessories ensure that this re-filling process is not a challenge to you. You can check out the numerous vaporizer filling accessories that will make refilling much simpler than it may seem without it.
No Losing Time on Maintenance:
It doesn’t demand too much maintenance. The cleaning brush should easily handle most of the residue that may come off in the filling chamber and the screen. As for bags and tubes, replacing them will become apparent as they begin to change color and compromise flavor and quality. Just make sure to change them before they break. If this happens, it has a 3-year warranty. Without further ado, you can cop your own Volcano Hybrid Vaporizer here.
The Volcano Hybrid Vaporizer is worth its price, and some of you may be asking yourselves how long it’ll stay with you after you buy it. Based on the older models, it is clear that the S&B vaporizers aren’t temporary companions; they are ready to stay with you as long as you want them to.
Parameters Volcano Hybrid Review
Here are some of the parameters of the Volcano Hybrid:
Price: $350
Heating System: Convection
Heat-up Time: 40 seconds
Temperature Range: 104°F - 446°F
Storage Capacity- 0.75g
Weight: 1.8kg
Dimensions: 18cm x 19cm X 1.98cm
Compatibility: Dry Herbs and Concentrates
Warranty: 3 years
Volcano Hybrid Workflows From My Experience
The fundamental things you need to know are:
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How to load your herb.
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How to use the balloon and mouthpiece.
If you’re using the tube kit, you only need step 1!
But first, there are two setup steps: you’ll want to do an initial burn-off session, and you’ll need to prepare your herb.
The Burn-Off: When you first get any new vaporizer, it’s recommended that you do a quick session without herbs and without inhaling the air to prep your machine. This helps burn off any residue that may be in there and any plastic fumes. Doing this before your first session will prevent plastic or chemical taste from leaching into your vapor.
To do this, turn on your machine and the heat for 10-15 minutes without anything in the chamber, and just let it run. Meanwhile, you can prepare your herb.
Preparing Your Herb: It’s worth noting that the herb grinder with the Hybrid works awesomely. While I have another hero I had been happily using, I tried the one included with my Hybrid. I was pleasantly surprised at how thoroughly and evenly it grinds my material. I recommend sticking with this grinder rather than going out and buying something else, although if you already have one you love, by all means.
I’ve found the Hybrid less demanding about how coarse or fine your material is relative to other vaporizers, so this isn’t an area to worry about much. However, I still like going with a finer grind because, generally, that helps heat the herb most efficiently.
Loading Your Herb: On the top of the Hybrid, you’ll find the filling chamber. This comprises two pieces - one orange and one black - which you unscrew to access the bowl inside. Fill that lightly with your material (you don’t need a ton, especially if this is a solo session), and try to keep it even and level. Then screw it back together and back on the device. Press the ‘HEAT’ button to turn it on, and use the “+” and “-” buttons to adjust it to your desired temperature, and you’re ready for the next step.
Note: A lot can go into finding your perfect temperature setting. It depends on a few factors, but in general, I’d say to stick within the 350-385-degree F range. Or, start in the 300-350 range if you’re new.
Attaching/Detaching the Balloon: Take the black mouthpiece off the balloon, then place the orange piece on the Hybrid. It just pops on and off, with no release button or anything. Turn on the air, and once the balloon is complete (or quite a bit less total if this is a solo session), turn off the air and lift off the balloon via the orange piece.
The valve will close when you lift the balloon off the device, so you don’t have to worry about air leaking. You can take your time. Remove the two-piece filling chamber from the device and set it aside (more on that below). Insert the black mouthpiece into the balloon’s orange piece. The valve opens when you push on the mouthpiece, so try not to push it toward the balloon more than necessary when you’re putting it in.
Using The Hybrid: Inhaling vapor from the balloon feels quite natural. Your mouth will push the mouthpiece towards the balloon, opening the valve and allowing vapor to be inhaled. When you stop making the mouthpiece in, the valve will close again.
The balloon method is excellent because you can easily control how much vapor you take in at a time. This means you can enjoy your session at a slower pace or take more enormous hits if desired.