HOW DOES A VAPORIZER WORK?
The functionality of the vaporizers, including those used in the test, is similar, regardless of the device type. Medicinal herbs, powder or medicinal oil are put into a chamber provided for this purpose, which differs according to the consistency of the plants. To do this, the herbs should be well chopped and dry.
The chamber for healing oil is equipped with a cotton wool-like material that soaks up the liquid. Powder is filled into a chamber that has a fine perforation at the opening.
These chambers can be purchased as accessories for high-quality vaporizers.
Once the chamber is filled with the herbs, the temperature required to reach the optimum boiling point of the respective herb, oil or powder can be regulated via a digital display or a rotary switch.
It is an advantage to find out about the different herbs and their degree of warmth in advance. For example, mint needs 130 degrees Celsius, chamomile and sage 190 degrees Celsius. However, not all vaporizers have this option. Such devices have a fixed, preset number of temperatures.
The warm-up phase of the vaporizer depends on the efficiency of the vaporizer and the type of plants and herbs.
The evaporation process is started by pressing the power button.
The herbal material is heated by an integrated heating spindle, a ceramic heating element or a heating gun. The heating is done by conduction or convection. During conduction, the corresponding plant substance has direct contact with the heat source.
Here it can happen that the herb burns. If the herbs are heated by heated air, it is called convection. It is more effective than conduction, as the herb is heated from several sides in the herb chamber and thus more aromas are released.
The test showed that too. Once the boiling point has been reached, the steam, which contains the herbal ingredients, is produced. This is then inhaled through a mouthpiece or hose with a mouthpiece.
Vulcano Vaporizer
But there are also vaporizers, such as the Vulcano Vaporizer, which collect the vapor in a balloon (mostly made of food-safe oven foil) and through which it can then be inhaled.
Here you can buy an e-cigarette. Electric vaporizers are also available that burn the herbs in direct contact with a hot surface. These have a glass cover. To fill in the plant substance, it is removed. For inhalation, put it back on until enough vapor has accumulated under the glass cover to be inhaled. The sieve in the filling container separates the steam from the herbal substance.
THE MIGHTY
The Mighty is a portable hybrid convection vaporizer that can best be compared with the Crafty, which also comes from Storz & Bickel, but it is twice the size and has twice the battery life.
The vaporizer is manufactured by the German company Storz & Bickel, which also produces the Plenty table vaporizer, a so-called plug-in vaporizer, and the well-known Volcano, a so-called table vaporizer.
The Mighty offers the best battery life compared to any other portable vaporizer I have ever tried. I gave the Mighty a top rating of 92.5%, which makes it second out of the more than 100 portable vaporizers I’ve tried so far.
The Mighty Vaporizer has a small LCD screen and 3 easy-to-use buttons for temperature control, making it very user-friendly and one of the most reliable portable vaporizers I’ve ever used.
As you won’t easily see when you read this review, the only thing I don’t like about the Mighty is its size. So, if you don’t rely on discretion, want first-class battery life and have no problem with putting your vaporizer in your jacket pocket or, if necessary, in your backpack, this vaporizer is your best choice.
The taste is bombastic, authentic and neutral and the vapor development is one of the best I’ve had when vaping so far.
Size and handiness / portability
The Mighty is one of the largest portable vaporizers currently on the market. The exact dimensions are 14 x 8 x 3 cm with a weight of 230 grams. For comparison: The Crafty weighs 135 grams, the Pax 2 90 grams and the Firefly 140 grams.
Despite its size, I always use the Mighty on the go. Especially when I meet friends, I like to take it with me, because I know that its battery will not run out and that even a total noob can cope with it without help. Because the operation is very easy!
Accordingly, you then unfortunately have to forego the aspect of discretion. The Mighty can be easily put in a backpack, a handbag or in a larger jacket pocket. Although it fits in one or the other trouser pocket, it doesn’t feel very comfortable because you can compare it with the size of one of the first cell phones from the 90s. Or the size of a pack of ready-made noodles.
The Mighty is therefore best suited for situations such as meeting friends and less for use on the go, when discretion is important. The housing itself doesn’t heat up too much either, so that the vaporizer sits comfortably in your hand and can be easily passed around.
The corrugations on the outside serve to dissipate heat and allow the device to constantly cool the case, no matter how it is held.
Heating element and temperature scale
With the Mighty Vaporizer, you use both conduction and convection for heating. Hence it is called a hybrid vaporizer. The combination of both heating methods constantly produces extremely tasty and dense steam without having to stir the chamber. Brilliant!
The vaporizer has an LCD screen and 2 buttons on the side with which the temperature can be regulated – very similar to the Volcano Digit, only in a much smaller version. You can set the temperature to the exact degree at any time during your session on a scale from 40 to 210 degrees Celsius. Having such precision available is a huge plus when vaping the various herbs – different temperatures mean different results and targeted extraction of the desired active ingredients.
Unlike the Crafty, there is no smartphone app for the Mighty. Everything can be easily set on the device itself.
The Mighty took me around 1.5 minutes to heat up on average – faster than the Crafty – but slower compared to the rest of the Vapor competition. As soon as the device has reached the temperature, it remains constant until the device is switched off.
Chamber size, correct use and filling techniques
The Mighty’s chamber holds around 0.5 grams of dry herbs, but this depends on the coarseness or fineness of the plant material and the type of filling. With very fine material, even a tick more fits into the herb chamber. I vape a full chamber in up to 12 puffs, which makes the sessions shorter than other vaporizers.
However, the Mighty is extremely easy to use: as soon as you press the power button, the device automatically begins to heat up to the set temperature – neither buttons nor the battery have to be pressed. You just have to wait a little and you’re good to go.
The Mighty comes with a filling aid that makes filling and emptying the herb chamber child’s play. Fill in the herbal mixture, stuff it a little with the filling aid and screw the mouthpiece back on. Then just attach the cooling unit again and you’re good to go! (The filling process is exactly the same with the Crafty, with the Mighty only having a slightly larger cooling unit.)
Battery life, charging methods and charging times
The Mighty is particularly impressive in this category! In terms of battery life, the Mighty gets the best rating of any portable vaporizer, and I doubt anyone else will overthrow it anytime soon.
On average, I was able to vape 8 sessions before the battery ran out completely – that’s an average of more than 90 minutes of constant use.
The Mighty also has a passthrough battery mod, which means it can be used while charging.
With the Crafty and most other vaporizers, the device can be used while it is charging, but the battery – albeit slower – will still run out, but cannot be used at all when the battery level is at 0%. However, you can plug in the Mighty and use it without any problems even when the battery is completely empty.
Due to its extra battery and long battery life, the Mighty requires a lot of charging power. Unfortunately, the Mighty cannot be charged via a USB cable as with the Crafty, but only via the socket. The device takes about two hours to go from 0% to 100%.