Zephyr ION Vaporizer vs. Volcano Vaporizer
The Zephyr ION is very similar to the Volcano in many ways, from the balloon inflation to the digital display, but is it a good substitute for the Volcano? Will you be getting the same experience as you would with the more expensive Volcano? These are common question for anyone looking to purchase a vaporizer who wants the best, but doesn’t want to unnecessarily spend too much money. Below we will compare some key parts to these two vaporizers and find out if the Volcano is truly the epitome of what a vaporizer should be, or if you are just paying for a name.
Heating Element and Heat Up Time
The Volcano uses an aluminum heating element, which does heat up faster than most other heating elements but it has also been said that aluminum heating elements aren’t as good for you health wise as most others. The Volcano is usually heated up and ready to go in about two minutes from the time you set the temperature. The Zephyr ION on the other hand has a ceramic heating element, which many consider to be much healthier for you. However, the ceramic heating element is a little slower in heating up. They say it can go from 0 to 200 degrees in about a minute and a half, with most vapes requiring at least 365 degrees to vaporize you will be looking at around 4 minutes total for heat up time. This isn’t a huge difference but a difference none the less.
Ease of Use and Portability
Both of these vaporizers come with a digital temperature read out and both display the current temperature as well as the desired temperature. One main difference though is the Zephyr’s LED back light is red when the vape is not yet at your desired temperature and won’t turn green until that temperature is reached. The Volcano on the other hand has no indication that your temperature is reached other than the temperature being displayed. If you are paying close attention this isn’t a huge deal but I like that you can glance over at the Zephyr, from a distance even, and immediately tell if it is ready to go. Both use mouthpieces attached to the balloons that open up when you are ready to take a hit but I found the Volcano’s was a little more convenient. The Volcano’s mouthpiece is designed so that you can simply place your lips to it which opens it up for direct inhalation. The Zephyr on the other hand requires that you press down a button with your thumb to open up the valve. It’s easy to open but isn’t as easy as just placing your lips to the mouthpiece.
The Volcano and the Zephyr differ greatly in size and weight, thus they differ greatly in portability. The Zephyr is smaller and made of polycarbonate where as the Volcano is larger than the Zephyr and made of a heavier aluminum. Of course this makes the Volcano a little more durable, but also a little more difficult to transport from place to place, or even room to room, should you have the need to.
Vapor Quality and Final Verdict
The Zephyr does offer the option of a whip attachment to use instead of using a vapor balloon or bag so to have the option even if you don’t use it is important to some. I found that when you compared the vapor quality you got from both using the balloon method the vapors were pretty much equal. Overall both vaporizers have their strong and weak points, but with the Zephyr costing you much less out of pocket it’s hard to recommend the Volcano over it. For everything the Volcano does better, the Zephyr has it beat in another category. I definitely recommend giving the Zephyr a long hard look before you commit to the Volcano.
