DaVinci IQ Vaporizer Dry Herb Review
Presenting the DaVinci IQ Vaporizer. The Vaporizer with an interchangeable 18650 battery! If you don’t know what a 18650 battery is… Well, it’s just the most popular battery size on the vape market. An 18650 holds around 3500mAh which is a ton of battery life, needless to say, you can carry around as many backup batteries that can fit in your pocket. Hold on, I’m getting way ahead of myself. Queue the intro:
Many people seek out the DaVinci IQ Vaporizer because of its aesthetics, features, and solid construction. DaVinci is one of the leading brands in the field of portable vaporizers.
Let’s take a look at what we received for this review and then tell you what we think of the DaVinci IQ.
Disclosure: This product has been provided for free for the purpose of review.
IQ Vaporizer Box Contents
As Usual, the device was packaged and shipped very quickly straight from DaVinci.
Inside the neatly organized box with the magnetic door, we found the following goodies.
- IQ Vaporizer – With one 18650 Installed (NCR18650GA 7827). From these markings, it looks to be a Sanyo Li-Ion rated at 3500mAh and 10 amps. A great battery in terms of 18650 specs.
- Dry Herb Key chain – Travel size herb holder.
- Extra Mouthpiece – Extension with an extra rubber stopper.
- USB Cord – For charging the device from the micro USB port located in the back.
- Pipe cleaning tool – Clean up dry herb residue.
- Key Chain Pick – Extra pick for stirring herbs.
- Alcohol Wipes – Great for cleaning up messes.
- Manual – Guide to getting to know your vaporizer.
- DaVinci Sticker – Official DaVinci fan seal.
The package included everything that one would need in order to vaporize some herb and care for the device in between sessions.
Let’s take a look at the IQ design and features.
DaVinci IQ Vaporizer Display
In terms of design, DaVinci did a very good job making sure all of the components fit seamlessly together. The DaVinci IQ is smaller than its predecessor and its curved edges make it very comfortable in the hand. It feels nice and heavy and has a strong body made of anodized aluminum. But the best part is the LED display that DaVinci has devised for the IQ.
Unique LED System
The LED display of the DaVinci IQ is very original. Where many other portable vaporizers use an LCD screen, the DaVinci IQ Vaporizer tells you everything you need to know while using a truly unique and cool LED display.
There are 51 Clear LED diodes of the front face that indicate the temperature at which you are vaporizing. Along with the status of the battery and which of the four Smart Paths you’re currently utilizing.
You can easily switch to degree mode by tapping on the top button. The up and down buttons located just below will allow you to switch the smart path modes or change the temperature in degree mode.
If you need a little extra boost you can also hold down the top button while vaping to gradually increase the temperature to the maximum.
DaVinci Zirconia Components
The DaVinci IQ uses zirconia ceramics. Zirconia ceramic is heat resistant and stronger than the glass used in many other vaporizers.
The great advantage of the material is that it is totally odorless and tasteless and therefore provides a great taste. The interchangeable mouthpieces and adjustable packing pearl of the IQ are both made of this material. This means that no matter how hot the chamber gets your lips will always stay cool.
IQ Flavor Chamber
The most important zirconia part of the IQ is undoubtedly the air path or Flavor Chamber as DaVinci calls it. This flavor chamber is located on the top portion of the IQ, directly below the mouthpiece. Flipping back the magnetic door on the top gives you easy access to removing and cleaning it.
The Flavor chamber has a top cap which is held in by a silicone O-ring and removable. The flavor chamber does not vaporize dry herb but the herb may be placed inside to help increase the overall flavor of the vape experience.
When you place dry herb inside the flavor chamber the hot vapor passes the herbs. The vapor is not hot enough to evaporate these herbs, but warm enough to extract additional flavor.
We first tried the Flavor Chamber with dry herb, which ensured that the session was much tastier than usual. Fresh flavor mixed with vapor, it was like a double shot of the herb goodness.
Flavor Chamber accentuated the lavender and peppermint herb that we used. It turned vaporizing experience into a form of aromatherapy. A wonderful innovation, not only for the taste but also because of the medicinal effects of lavender which is meant to calm the mind.
Inside the top portion of the vaporizer is also find a handy removable metallic pick to stir or empty the evaporator after use. The Flavor Chamber connects directly to the vaporizer’s herb chamber that is accessible from the bottom door of the DaVinci IQ Vaporizer.
Convection Chamber
Filling the chamber is easy and fast because the dry herb chamber is surrounded by a kind of shiny slide for directing extraneous herb directly down in to the white-walled chamber.
This is a convection vaporizer, so it is fairly important to grind the dry herbs or make them smaller before filling it. To fill, you simply open the lid on the bottom, drop the dry herb and let it slide into the chamber.
The pearl you see above is also made from zirconia ceramics. It is fully adjustable and helps compress the dry herb. For smaller sessions, you can unscrew the pearl about a centimeter to shorten the height of the chamber. When you close the lid of the DaVinci IQ Vaporizer the pearl reflects the heat back into the herb chamber for even convection heating.
IQ Smart Path Temperature Settings
If you are a vaporizer enthusiast, then you probably know what temperatures will produce the best taste from your dry herb. The best temperature for the lavender and peppermint herbs that we tried was the first smart path setting.
The temperature seems very accurate and can be set to the degree accurately in Celsius and Fahrenheit. Each Smart Path setting has a range of 20 degrees and gradually rises until it reaches the max temperature for the corresponding Smart Path setting.
- Smart Path 1 : 350-370 degrees
- Smart Path 2 : 370-390 degrees
- Smart Path 3 : 390-410 degrees
- Smart Path 4 : 410-430 degrees
You have the option to use one of four built-in Smart Paths. In that case, the IQ starts to vaporize at a low temperature and automatically increases it in steps over a period of 10 minutes.
IQ Temperature Ramp-Up Time
The DaVinci IQ Vaporizer is equipped with a ceramic dry herb chamber which is located at the bottom of the vaporizer. It takes a little longer for dry herb chambers with the ceramic to reach the desired temperature, but it is barely noticeable and the taste is much cleaner.
To turn on the Vaporizer just click the top button 5 times. The LED display shows you the rising temperature during the warm-up, but you do not have to keep an eye on that, the IQ automatically gives you the signal. It takes about 30-40 seconds for the IQ Vaporizer to reach temperature, less for lower temps. Once the temperature is reached the vaporizer vibrates once and the LEDs stop blinking.
So a fairly long warm-up time, but 30-40 seconds is nothing when you can vape for one to one in a half hours. We have not had to deal with an empty battery in any case, and the taste is phenomenal. When it comes to taste vs. heating time, the taste will always win. The charging of the DiVinci IQ Vaporizer is indeed fairly fast and takes a maximum of 3 hours when your battery needs to be fully charged.
DaVinci Bluetooth app
When you download and install the DaVinci App you can overwrite one or more of the preset Smart Paths with your own temperature settings and even monitor your session. A graph on your phone shows how the temperature cools down after a fetch so that you know exactly how long your session lasted.
With the smartphone app, you can set Smart Paths yourself and keep track of sessions.
We have of course downloaded and tried the app. The mobile phone and the DaVinci IQ Vaporizer connect without any problems. Setting the temperature or a Smart Path was a bit tricky to figure out, but very manageable for anyone. Personally, we find the smartphone app a nice addition, but it feels a bit more excessive then needed for simple vaping. It’s definitely a personal preference, but luckily the app is not necessary and you can use all functions of the IQ without the Bluetooth app.
Vaporizer Wrap Up
Vaporizing is a wonderful experience with the DaVinci IQ. We often even chose this portable vaporizer over our much more expensive devices because it is simply perfect in terms of taste and ease of use. It is a convection vaporizer, which means that the dry herb is vaporized by hot air. Convection vaporizers are known for their great taste and the same goes for the IQ and its smaller version the DaVinci MIQRO Vaporizer.
You have the choice of two different mouthpieces, but we have mainly used the nozzle mouthpiece because the IQ just looks even better. Inhaling with this mouthpiece feels like you are using an E-Cig, and was so recognizable to us.
DaVinci has placed itself again at the top of the ladder in the vaporizer industry. The IQ is really a very good vaporizer for herbs. They clearly chose to make a top-quality vaporizer for dry herbs instead of adding a moderately effective buy-me product.
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