DynaVap VonG (i) Review And Q & A With Josh From DynaVap

When you buy the VonG (i), it comes in a cool new storage tube that looks like an extra chunky VonG (i), it’s similar to what is seen with the Obsidium OmniVap. It’s quite small overall, so it’s fairly pocketable as a travel case. The shiny middle section of the tube is made from aluminium, and is precisely machined like all other DynaVap parts. The barcode and VonG graphic are lasered directly onto the aluminium, so there’s no printing on the package. It has wood on each end of the tube, and the removable wooden cap can also be used as a VonG stand for your desk.

The VonG (i) features a Captive Cap, and mine had a perfect fit out of the box, needing no adjustment at all, which was convenient, DynaVap seems to be getting better at this over time. The cap covers the same tri-sected five fin tip seen on the VonG, and the Adjust-a-Bowl which allows you to put your CCD in the smaller bowl position if you’d like. But you know me, the first thing I did was remove the CCD, put in a Sneaky Pete Half-Bowl Converter, and then put the CCD back in, locked securely in half bowl position. That is how my tip will remain because that’s how I prefer to use a DynaVap, the extra thermal mass that the Converter adds to the tip helps to supercharge the heating and the smaller bowl means you change your herb out a lot more often, leading to more frequent fresh tasting hits.

The body of the VonG (i) has a matte finish like the new OmniVap, and when I compared them side-by-side the Vong (i) seemed a tiny bit darker, which looks great. I think the lighter metal on the VonG plays better with the wood, but I like the slightly darker pure metal look for the VonG (i). The geometry on the tip crown has been modified on the VonG (i), I would say it has a slightly more aggressive pattern, and it’s designed to give you better grip while you’re taking the device apart. On the sides of the titanium sleeve there are now three cut outs instead of the single large teardrop of the VonG, and the lower crown now has a little V shaped pattern around its circumference. These are more just cosmetic changes to update and differentiate the devices, they have positive effects on how you use the VonG (i). The VonG (i) maintains the same 10mm and 14mm sized male mouthpiece that’s perfect for dry use, or with 10mm and 14mm female water pipes.

Aside from the cap, which is made from stainless steel on all DynaVaps, and of course the o-rings, the entire VonG (i) is now made from titanium. This means that even if you have no interest in changing out the middle sleeve, it’s still a worthwhile upgrade since you can now just put the entire device in isopropyl alcohol to soak for cleaning, it’s much easier than cleaning the original VonG. One note about the o-rings is that the o-rings DynaVap uses are non-reactive to alcohol. That means you can soak these o-rings indefinitely in alcohol, and it won’t damage or degrade them. So if your VonG (i) is filthy, don’t feel bad about leaving it to soak for as long as you want. That being said, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend soaking the cap for too long, some people have said doing so has caused problems with their caps, although I’ve never encountered this, and I’ve soaked mine for a long time.

The real magic on the new VonG (i) is in the sleeve and the ability to disassemble the device to change it out. The first thing you’ll notice when you try the sleeve on the VonG (i) is how smoothly it turns on the device. I never thought of the rotation of the sleeve on my VonG as rough, until I tried this new one. The reason it’s so smooth is that there is no metal-on-metal friction taking place, the titanium sleeve glides very freely on o-rings, but also stays securely in whatever position you leave it in. I like to leave my air port about 30% uncovered and then use it hands-free in a water pipe, but if I’m using it dry, I prefer to leave it almost completely uncovered without using the airport as a carb, so fresh air will mix with the vapour to cool it down.

I always like to disassemble my DynaVaps to clean them in isopropyl alcohol before I first use them, and the new VonG (i) is easy to disassemble. I grab one of the crowns with each hand, then I find it easiest to do a simultaneous pulling and rotation motion to remove the bottom crown and expose the inner section and the condenser. To remove the sleeve, hold the upper crown in one hand and then perform the same motion to pull it right off. You’ll notice that each crown segment has its own o-ring, these are actually just the standard o-rings also found on the tip that have been stretched over. I figured they would be differently sized o-rings, but it’s super convenient for maintenance purposes that they’re the same as the tip ones. After you’ve finished cleaning and it’s dry, reassembly is as simple as just reversing the disassembly process. My sleeve spins just as freely after I reassembled it as it did when it was brand new, which is a relief because I hate it when you take something apart and you can’t quite get it back to optimal operation.