This review was featured in our first edition of VaporTrails the VaporWarehouse newsletter.
By Jason - VaporWarehouse Founder
Game Changer. That's the only way I can describe the O-Phos and Omicron portable vaporizers. As I write this review I am sitting on an airplane with my O-Phos in my pocket. While it is technically illegal to use electronic cigarettes on an airplane by utilizing discretion I have not had any problems. These devices are tiny, discrete, and instant, producing a pleasant non-distinct aroma. This allows you to sneak tokes in places never possible before; on airplanes, in movie theaters, the grocery store, the bar, everywhere! It has almost become a game among my friends to find the most interesting places to sneak a sip where other portables like the Magic Flight may not be viable. The battery life on these units is excellent, the O-Phos will last anywhere from a few days to a few weeks depending on use and the Omicron battery lasts even longer. I personally prefer the look of the O-Phos vaporizer as it looks more like a pen when I pull it out of my pocket and I like ! how I can just plug it into the USB port on my computer to charge whenever I sit down. The Omicron vaporizer has a little more power than the O-Phos allowing for more versatility in cartridge selection and add ons.
With the good inevitably comes some drawbacks. The first one for many people is access to materials that you an use in the cartomizers. To work best they require waxes or oils that can vaporize at fairly low temperatures. There is a new add-on for the omicron that allows dry flower material to be used but we have not tried it yet. I suspect it will be more cumbersome than the cartomizers and likely produce an aroma that might be more distinct and less stealth than the aroma produced by the waxes/oils. This will also require much more frequent changes of materials where a single wax filled cartomizer can easily last a week or much more depending on your use. The second biggest complaint about these vaporizers is with leakage. If your material has a low viscosity or it gets left in hot environments leakage can easily occur out of the top of the unit, and sometimes even out of the bottom of the unit where the threads are. This can be disheartening when your unit empty due to leakage. The best tip here is to keep the cartridge screwed on tight and not to store it on it's side in a warm environment.
My final gripe with this unit is it's unknown safety. I am not sure how much testing has been done on these cartomizers to see what, if any, harmful vapors they may create. I say this because often when I get a new cartridge it will taste bad, almost like burnt plastic, if I do not do a little burn off before filling. It definitely does not seem as flavorful as the Vaporbrothers vaporizer. We are in search of more data in this area to make sure we are not selling something harmful and will do our best to find the highest quality "vape pen" we can.
Edit: Since we first posted this, Jason has been contacted by Tech 9 and the rep he spoke with addressed Jason's concerns about the product. We will post a new blog with info from that conversation. Stay tuned.