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    We want to show you all the Lotus Vaporizer.  It’s a butane powered vape that’s somewhere between a Dynavap and a Sticky Brick.  Like the Dynavap you do not inhale the direct fumes off the torch flame, and like the Sticky Brick, you are heating and getting vapour as you inhale.  It combines these two advantages really well.  See the video for a graphic. 

    Basically, a thin metal plate gets heated by your torch.  The air intakes are below this metal plate and under the vaporizer, pulling in fresh air from underneath the whole setup.  That clean air heats up as it passes under the bottom of the hot metal plate, then it goes into the bowl vaporizing all the goodness in your herb and making a super-flavourful vapour cloud.  It is seriously fun and easy to use.  According to their website, the Lotus was designed by an MIT educated medical device engineer, and it shows.

    When you buy the basic kit it comes with the round vapour cap, which is the metal hot plate and air ports encased in a wood disc that enables you to pull the cap off the bowl while it's still hot.  Also, there's an aluminium stem with a stainless-steel bowl that the vapour cap fits on, and a single flame torch that works perfectly with the Lotus.  You can get some optional accessories like a concentrate pad, a 14mm male or female water pipe adapter, and a J-hook.  The J-hook is arguably the best way to use the Lotus.  The flavour through this setup really sets a standard that other vapes are compared to.

DESIGN AND RUGGEDNESS

    The design of the Lotus is very straightforward.  There are not a lot of moving parts, things to adjust, or little pieces to lose.  Essentially, you have the vapour cap and then either the aluminium stem (you could fight off a bear with this thing) or a very solid 14mm male or female adapter and whatever kind of water piece or J-hook you like.  I don’t really see how the vapour cap is going to sustain much wear and tear over time.  This is one of those systems that if you take care of it then it should last you quite a while.

HOW TO USE

    Aside from the flavour, the best thing about the Lotus is that it’s very easy to use.  There is a very small learning curve with this piece.  They recommend a 1/2” to 5/8” flame length from your torch, which you can measure using the vapour cap itself.  The instruction manual has a good description of this and it is very straightforward. 

    At first, we used it with the aluminium stem.  Load your bowl up about halfway full of herbs.  For our intents and purposes, we used a really fine grind.  However, you can put a whole bud in the bowl and vape it for peak flavour, obviously though you just won’t get as much vapour. 

    Once you’ve got your Lotus loaded up, put the vapour cap back on and you’re ready to go.  Pre-heat the metal plate on the cap for three to five seconds before you begin inhaling.  Go with a medium draw speed, the idea is to get the rate of your pull in step with the heat your putting on the plate.  When you get this down, you’ll find you get great tasting and fairly thick hits.  It will take a little time to perfect your technique, but once you get it dialled in the Lotus is very easy to use effectively. 

    To stir it up there is a handy stir stick built into the bottom of the cap.  It is recommended that you do this between every hit, and stir that stuff up really well.  This will get you the best flavour and efficiency.  It does ok if you only stir every two or three hits, but ideally do try to stir between each one.  It’s worth the extra few seconds to get much better vapour with each hit.

    Now check out how it’s used on a water pipe and a J-hook.  Again, load it up about halfway, then place the water pipe adapter Lotus onto the joint of your glass piece.  When you’re using it with water, you can push it a little bit by holding that flame a little closer to the cap for a little longer.  This will give the big hits that are so great through water.  Alternatively to water, a J-hook really smooths out and cools the vapour but there is zero reduction in potency and no colouring of the flavour whatsoever.  It’s also really nice to actually see the vapour, it helps make it easier to optimize your technique.

FLEXIBILITY

    The Lotus can be used with concentrate by using one of the concentrate pads that fit right into the bowl.  They do sell a high-temperature cap if you want to use your Lotus with concentrate a lot, but you can definitely use the regular cap for concentrates as well.  We recommend putting a small amount at a time on the pad and pre-heating the cap for a full five seconds before you begin your draw, as concentrates will require a bit more heat. 

    Another option is to just add a little concentrate to your bowl of herb.  This is a tried and true method that has withstood the test of time.  Archaeologists have actually found 10,000-year-old cave paintings of ancient humans sandwiching their wax in some ground bud and then vaping it… but this is a conversation for another time.  For the most part, we’d recommend buying the Lotus for dry herbs.

QUALITY OF VAPOUR (TASTE, SIZE AND SMOOTHNESS)

    The flavour of the vapour produced by the Lotus is truly exceptional.  When using it paired with a J-hook it is unbelievably pure and the terps completely coat your tongue.  You’ll still get good flavour with a water pipe or using the regular aluminium stem, but the J-hook is best.  The hits are very smooth no matter what apparatus you use the vapour cap with.  It’s amazing how rarely I use this one through a water piece as that is my usual go to if it’s an option.  The hits I find are medium, I don’t get as big of a hit as I do on something like a Dynavap or a Sticky Brick, though the taste is superior to either of those so whether or not that tradeoff is worth it is up to you to decide.  If you’re a flavour hound, you might just fall in love with this thing, many of us sure as hell have.

    Overall, the Lotus provides a butane vaporizer experience with high-quality and ultra-flavourful vapour requiring very little effort.  The convection heating of the Lotus provides average to slightly better than average effects.  It doesn’t hit me between the eyes like a Sticky Brick, but one hit at a time is usually still good enough for me.

PRICE

    The basic kit sells for about $175CAD and $135USD at the time of the video.  That includes everything you need to get started (even a good lighter) and the device should last forever with proper use and care.  I think it’s a good value, but it’s an even better value if you use the code LOTUS10 which will work on either of our sites.

LOVES

    What was great about the Lotus?  Well first and foremost has to be the flavour.  Using the Lotus through a J-hook has given me some of the purest flavour I can recall getting from herb.  It definitely sets a high bar.  It’s really easy to use.  The very first hit I had was exceptional and I have never combusted or even badly scorched a bowl.  I also like the rugged and long-lasting nature of the Lotus.  If you treat this piece right there is very little that can break or even wear down over time.  This is a piece you buy for the long-term, and that’s a very strong quality to have in any vape.

GRIPES

    What was just “meh” about the Lotus?  The main thing would be that I’ve never been able to get a massive hit from it.  If you are used to butane vapes like the Sticky Brick or the Dynavap, you won’t blow out clouds as thick as either of those.  It’s not like they are tiny, but they are definitely smaller than other butane pieces.  If you just buy the basic kit you don’t experience the full potential of this vaporizer.  Through the J-hook you will achieve the best flavour and smoothest vapour, so be sure to snag one of the Lotus adapters and a J-hook if you don’t already have one.  This is my recommended configuration.  I could be wrong, but the screen seems to be built into the stem and the water pipe adapter.  Do be careful when stirring or cleaning that screen because if you damage it there may not be a way to go about fixing that.

OVERALL THOUGHTS

    I must say I really have been enjoying using the Lotus.  It is a very simple to use butane vaporizer that has little if any learning curve.  It is designed and built to last.  If you take care of it properly this vape should provide years and years of great function.  And again, if you’re a flavour chaser I can’t recommend this one enough, especially when you use it with the adapter on a J-hook.  Freakin' delish 🤤

    If you’re looking for huge clouds this probably isn’t the right choice for you, but I find the hit size is adequate for myself as you can always just take another one.  When I do have an exceptionally flavourful strain of flower, this is the piece I turn to so I make sure I experience the full potential of the strain.  That’s how good it is.

    What do you all think of the Lotus?  Do you think you’d prefer it to something like the Sticky Brick or Dynavap?  Let us know in the comments, and be sure to check out sneakypetestore.com and vapenorth.ca to see all of my reviews and to find the Lotus and so much more!

~KIG, KIS~

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Lotus and Accessories

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J-Hook

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