When the staff reviews were brought to my attention I knew exactly what I wanted to go for - I wanted to try out a dry herb vaporizer. Not only were there options at my disposal, but the Da Vinci was one of them. I jumped.
The Da Vinci is a hybrid vaporizer intended for use with aromatherapy, but also with tobacco and various oils. The manual describes optimum temperatures for a variety of dry herbs like tobacco, genko and essential oils. The emphasis is clearly placed on dry herbs, despite the two oil canisters it comes with. One of the things that sets it apart from other vapes is the ability to set a specific temperature and easily move along a heat spectrum, as opposed to being locked down to one of 3 heat settings like many others.
Once the time came to review it, it took a while to get the hang of it. Because of that, I have some trouble recommending the Da Vinci for people completely new to vaping. It does have qualities that would appeal to a new user, but for the most part the Da Vinci is a device someone would upgrade to after getting used to a pen vape. If its complexity doesn't make this clear, its price tag does.
I was pretty familiar with e-liquid vapes, but dry herb vapes were a complete mystery to me. I read the manual and reviews, and watched a few videos to get a grasp on it. I still wasn't positive of exactly what I was doing, and for a while I thought mine was defective and wouldn't heat up enough- even though, as many other reviewers will tell you, it can get extremely hot to the touch. I talked with my coworkers and no, this is just the point at which vape technology currently allows for dry herbs. You’ll probably have to fill the oven to the brim to get what you need out of it. Well, alright. Back on the horse.
With that knowledge in mind I kept at it and found I enjoyed it much more than I initially thought. All I had to do was disregard reviews and draw my own conclusions, and the first conclusion I drew was that the massive clouds shown in some review videos weren't going to happen. Maybe they were using oils, who knows, but I could neither achieve a cloud like that, nor would I want to once I got the hang of it. Not only is it effective when used properly, but you can get more out of your dry herbs and tobacco - since the vaporizer only heats it up, you can reuse it the old combustion way afterward. I couldn't find anybody talking about this online but I tried it and yes, although it's less effective, you can totally vape it and then light it later.
After some trial and error I got what I wanted out of dry-herb vaping from the Da Vinci - a discrete dry herb device, because it's cold outside and I don't want to fog up my apartment. It also gave me a chance to enjoy the taste, and not destroy my throat and lungs with smoke. That part, in particular, instantly placed the Da Vinci above all my glass. The manufacturer claims that you can avoid carcinogens by keeping the temp below 392 degrees- and you probably won’t need to go above 360. The downsides, such as exterior heat and flimsy straw, are minor compared to the benefits the Da Vinci provides. While it isn't the most mobile vaporizer in the world, and maybe not the number-one-best-ever based on other reviews, it does excel on the at-home front for personal use, in many ways.
