The IQ is a pretty easy vape to use successfully . Expect a good combination of taste and clouds without much fuss. As always we have a couple tips to help get the most out of your vape.
Grind fine
Conduction vapes like the DaVinci IQ like your material to be ground to a medium to fine consistency so the heat can conduct evenly throughout your pack. Finishing grinders like the Magic Flight Finishing Grinder or New Vape’s Fine Grinder will work great. If not, you can also turn your regular 3 or 4 piece grinder upside down for a finer grind.
For a 2 piece grinder, just give your material some extra time to get it finer.
If you don’t have a grinder or don’t want to use one, try loading whole flowers like I sometimes do. The hits start out weaker but more flavorful!
Medium pack, tamp light
You’re going to want to lightly tamp the top of your load to help the heat make its way through the bowl of your IQ. I like to fill it to the top of the white ceramic, just below the black gasket, and then use the IQ’s lid “Pearl" to tamp it down as I close the oven.
The IQ is pretty forgiving with your pack, but I didn’t get very good results with a loose pack or a really tight pack. Shoot for somewhere in the middle.
Smaller loads still need to be packed well and the "Pearl" can be extended to reduce the oven size by about 30%. For loads smaller than that you can pack it really tight to the bottom of the bowl and it will work, but your hits will be wispier.
EASY DRAW
Easy does it with a slow to medium draw speed. Most conduction vaporizers get overwhelmed if you pull too hard, and the IQ is no different. A gentle, cigar-like puff is best to start, and I like to settle into short gentle draws like I’m sipping on a glass of hot tea.
Also, if you're filling the Flavor Chamber it can affect the vapor density and make it thinner. If that bothers you go with it empty like I do.
Should I stir?
Conduction vapes don’t typically need to be stirred, but sometimes you can get a few last hits to finish the load if you stir a bit. The IQ heats from almost all sides with the "Pearl" being the only part that isn’t heating the herbs, so the top of the load might be lighter than the rest. You can stir to get this part cooked more but it’s small enough to not make much difference.
If you decide you want to stir, you can use the Flavor Chamber removal tool under the mouthpiece.
Anything else?
Spend time figuring out how you like to use the Flavor Chamber. It can be used to add herbs to further flavor your session, or as a collector for oils that settle on your herbs for a stronger session later. I like to use it empty so my current sessions are more potent, and it allows the oils to collect on the inner sides of the Flavor Chamber instead of on any herbs packed into it. When I go to clean the unit I can easily scrape the oils off the inside for easy reclaim. Yummy!
Give this a run, I'm excited about it!
The IQ has a Boost Mode so you can hold in the power button and the temp will rise for as long as you hold it in. Once you let go, it goes into sleep mode and cools down. If you push any button it will go back to the power setting before you activated Boost mode. I think there is a whole lot of hidden potential with this feature, like this method here:
- Set the IQ to a very low temperature of something like 200° F (even lower might be better), so that the oven is warmed but not yet cooking your herbs. Play with different temperatures here to find your sweet spot.
- Then hit Boost mode and start your draw when it gets up to a higher temperature. If you intend to take boost all the way up to 430, start your draw around 390 on the way up.
- Let go of the power button midway through your draw so you can finish it on the way down to help it cool quicker.
- At this point the IQ is in sleep mode, so push any button and the IQ will go back to your low, warm waiting temperature until you do another Boost hit.
I’ve been playing around with this and I think it preserves taste even more and doesn’t cook my herbs too quickly. I’m still playing around with what temperature I like to rest at, and how much heat I apply during the draw, but so far this is fun and something my other vapes don’t allow me to do!