Crafty+ Review (by Storz & Bickel)

**The Crafty+ vaporizer has some features only accessible via a smartphone app. On November 15th, 2019, Apple removed all vaporizer apps from its store. Apps that were downloaded before removal will still work. Android users are not affected. Please read our blog post to learn more about the app removal, and how it affects specific vaporizers.**

The Crafty+ is hitting store shelves, as Storz & Bickel continues to revamp their catalog, vape by vape. With a needed update, the pocketable Crafty+ vaporizer has faster USB-C charging and a ceramic coated bowl that doesn't get as dirty. The Crafty+ doesn’t fix everything we wanted with the original, but it’s easy to be excited when one of the best portable vaporizers gets even better!

Crafty+ vaporizer review: Consistently stellar vapor

Easy, consistently stellar vapor is the main reason to buy a Storz & Bickel (S&B) vaporizer, and the Crafty+ is no exception. With its mix of conduction and convection heating, vapor tastes fantastic, whether you start out with a low or high temperature. The Crafty+’s cooling unit conditions the vapor before it reaches the mouthpiece for comfortable vapor that satisfies. Each session will fully extract all the goodies from your herbs, whether you grind them or enjoy them whole. Using the Crafty+ is so simple, even your inexperienced friends will get great hits from the start, with thick, satisfying clouds. Simply put, the Crafty+ puts connoisseur-level vapor in your pocket, without any fuss.

Crafty in hand

What’s new to get excited about?

The original Crafty hit all those talking points, so what’s new about the Crafty+ to get excited about? S&B claims a 30% faster heat up time, improved battery performance, and updated internals to increase durability. Our tests found marginally better heat up times and battery life, but only time will tell if this version can outlast the original.

The Crafty+ dry herb vape has two improvements that affect every session - improved air flow and draw resistance, and a third on-board temperature, called Super-Boost. The Crafty+ air flow is more open than the original, and feels more natural, similar to the Mighty. The third Super-Boost mode temperature is anchored to the highest temperature, so you can instantly finish off any session, no matter what temperature you started at.

Crafty+ top logo

The new logo on the top of the Crafty+.

A few minor letdowns

The Crafty+ is aptly named, with minor improvements that indicate an update, instead of a radically new vaporizer. That being said, it feels like S&B missed out on some opportunities for improvement. Most notably, the Crafty+ still relies on a hard-wired, internal battery, that doesn’t last as long as we’d like, and utilizes a micro-USB charging cable instead of the faster, USB-C standard. It also still has a hot spot on the very top of the vape that, luckily, isn’t located where you’d naturally touch it.

The Crafty+ footprint hasn’t changed from the original, but the included accessories have. This is the first S&B vaporizer to release without everything you need to start vaporizing out of the box. Missing are the plastic grinder and loading tool, and the horsehair brush. At the risk of sounding trivial, these accessories were pretty nice. The grinder was nothing special, but the loading tool gave us a way to load without lodging herbs in the ring around the bowl, and the brush was the best in the industry. It may sound silly, but we use that brush with all our vapes. The good news - the packaging is much smaller, and the price didn’t increase.

Smartphone app and perfect, on-board controls

**On November 15th, 2019, Apple removed all vaporizing apps from its store, including this Storz & Bickel app. It might not be permanent, but we are planning on an extended absence. Android users still have access to the app. To counter this, Storz & Bickel has released their own Web App, available for desktop. Check it out here.**

Unlike the Mighty vaporizer, the Crafty+ on-board controls are limited to one power button that controls power, and toggles through three temperature settings. A full suite of controls awaits, however, for those willing to connect to the smartphone app. The Bluetooth app adds precision temperature control, a battery meter, a vape locator (the Crafty+ will vibrate and blink until you find it), technical information, and support that includes instructions and shopping pages. You can also adjust the alerts on the vape and/or phone, the brightness, the shutoff timer (adjustable from one to five minutes), and reset to factory settings. At launch, the app still has some minor bugs, but nothing major, and S&B has a good reputation for timely software updates.

On-board, the Crafty+ controls are the same as the original, except for the Super-Boost temperature, which perfects multiple temperature vaping, or temp-stepping. Some vaporists like to start sessions at a low temperature, and increase the temperature multiple times, ending on the highest, finishing temperature. The original Crafty only had two on-board temperatures, and the app was required to temp-step with a third temperature. Now, we can temp-step with three perfect temperatures (356° F, 383° F, and 410° F), without ever opening the app!

More durable design

One of the original Crafty’s two major flaws was durability and build quality. The amount of power and heat needed to hit S&B vapor standards pushed the electronics past their limits, with too many failures. We won’t know the effects until later, but several changes have been made, including better firmware, circuit boards, and an improved outer housing material. The cooling fins on the outer shell have a new look, and seemingly direct the heat dissipation away from the battery. As a show of confidence in the new design, S&B offers a three year warranty for anyone who registers their Crafty+.

Crafty+ fins

The Crafty+ has a new look, with curved cooling fins.

A little better battery life

The original Crafty’s other major flaw was battery life. It could run for 30 to 35 minutes on a full charge, and sometimes a little more, which would usually translate to four or five bowls. The Crafty+ isn’t much better, but we consistently got an extra bowl out of it per charge, or around 40 minutes of runtime.

Passthrough charging has been eliminated on the Crafty+. Although it’s a nice feature for a vape with such short battery life, it’s also very hard on the battery. Dropping this feature should add to the vape’s overall durability. You can still use the Crafty+ while it’s plugged into the USB cable, but the charging will stop while the heating system is on.

Respectable heat up time

Our production Crafty+ took 80 seconds to reach temperature when fully charged, and two minutes on the last two bowls of a charge. That’s a little disappointing, and considerably slower than most vapes released in the last two years. To be fair, though, once the Crafty+ is up to temperature, the vapor immediately flows, unlike other vaporizers that claim to be ready in under thirty seconds, but only deliver weak vapor at first. There’s something refreshing about S&B’s approach here - it’s ready when it’s ready.

Health matters

The Crafty+ is built with medical grade materials, like stainless steel and aluminum, without fragile glass or ceramics, and can take a beating. The air path is isolated from the electronics. German engineered and manufactured, the Crafty+ has electrical certifications and has been tested and certified by TÜV SÜD (the “Southern Technical Inspection Association”) in Munich, Germany. Storz & Bickel vaporizers are more thoroughly tested than others, so you can vaporize worry-free.

Crafty+ bottom logos

The Crafty+ logo is painted on one side, near the bottom. The stir tool now has the Storz & Bickel logo on its handle.

Specs

104° F - 410° F (40° C - 210° C) via smartphone app. Three on-board temperatures - 356° F/180° C (adjustable), 383° F/195° C (adjustable), 410° F/210° C
Height 4.4 in / 11.1 cm
Width 2.3 in / 5.7 cm
Depth 1.3 in / 3.2 cm
Weight 4.2 oz / 120 g

Warranty

Storz & Bickel covers any workmanship and defect issues with the Crafty+ for two years, extendable to three years with registration. Like all of our products, the Crafty+ vaporizer is covered by our 100% Satisfaction Guarantee.

What’s in the box?

1 Crafty+ Vaporizer
1 USB Cable Charger
3 small Base Seal Rings/O-Rings
3 small Normal Screens
3 small Coarse Screens
1 Dosing Capsule
Instruction for Use (concise)
Safety Instructions

For best results

One of the main advantages of the Crafty+ is how well it works, no matter what you throw at it. Whether you vape at high or low temperatures, with ground or whole herbs, or with a full or partial pack, it doesn’t really matter. The biggest tip we can give is to play around with different techniques, and all the options in the smartphone app, so you can tweak it to your style. For instance, my favorite way to use the Crafty+ is to temp-step with whole flowers in the dosing capsules. They are easy to pack, keep the bowl sparkling clean, and the herbs cook all the way through without stirring or grinding.

Easy to maintain

Maintenance on the Crafty plus is simple, and is fully covered in the downloadable manual. All you ever need is some rubbing alcohol (iso or alcohol wipes) and soapy water for deeper cleanings (make sure none drips down into the heating element). You won’t have to do that as often if you empty the bowl and clear out the screen with a cleaning brush after each session, especially if you use the dosing capsules.

Is the Crafty+ the best vaporizer?

Possibly, if you hold vapor quality above all else. The Crafty+ vaporizer is more expensive and a little bigger than most portable dry herb vaporizers, but makes up for it in performance with big, potent clouds. Today’s Crafty+ is also more reliable, and has a little more battery life than the original Crafty.

Is the Crafty+ worth it?

If you prize top-shelf vapor from a portable, and can sacrifice a little battery life, the Storz & Bickel Crafty+ vaporizer is well worth it. While most people choose the larger Mighty for longer battery life, it’s not pocketable like the Crafty+. I can’t think of a punchier, more pocketable portable vape than the Crafty+.

Who’s the Crafty+ for?

The Crafty+ is one of the strongest hitting portables we’ve tried, so it’s great for frequent users. It’s also one of the few vaporizers you should consider if you want connoisseur-level vapor. It’s not cheap, but if quality vapor is at the top of your list, the Crafty+ is one of the few vaporizers you should consider.

Who’s the Crafty+ not for?

The Crafty+ is a marginal improvement over the original Crafty, so it’s still a little big, a little slow, and on the short side when it comes to battery life. At $279, it’s also one of the most expensive portable vaporizers you can buy. If you don’t highly prize a consistently easy, top-shelf experience, there are other vaporizers that will hit the mark and cost less, like the POTV ONE, Boundless CF, or the Arizer ArGo.

Final thoughts

The original Crafty was a fantastic vaporizer, but was riddled with reliability issues, a weak battery and slow heat up times. It’s S&B’s most troublesome vaporizer, which made the Mighty the more popular of the two vapes. The Crafty+ is a welcome update that leaves us both excited and disappointed. The third on-board temp and better air flow change every session for the better. Heat up times and battery life have been slightly improved, but it still has internal batteries without USB-C charging, and we won’t know for a while if the reliability issues have been fixed. While we think there is room for improvement, there’s no denying the Crafty+ is still one of the best portable vaporizers available. If the battery life holds up, we’ll probably reach for the Crafty+ more than the Mighty, and that’s saying something.