Some people believe that the stems provided with the Arizer Solo don’t do the vaporizer justice. Ed’s TnT provides an alternative stem style that looks to improve the experience in a variety of ways.

This stem is dead sexy. The dark wood blends perfectly with the black Solo. The same wood that gives the stem its characteristic pattern is also responsible for its incredible durability. My stem has already survived one fall that I’m convinced would have shattered a glass stem.

Stem

The taper at the top of the stem is designed to fit a 14mm female glass joint perfectly, so this stem doubles as a wood-on-glass Solo adapter. The bottom herb chamber part of the stem has a stainless steel exterior with a stainless steel pin used to fasten it securely to the wood. Inside a 1/2″ screen is held in place by a c-clip. Four notches at the bottom of the stem allow the user to control how restricted they want the draw to be. If the notches are rotated to be positioned directly above the four holes in the Solo heater the draw becomes much less restricted.

My Experience

Right out of the “box” I wasn’t able to get the stem into my Solo without first heating up my Solo to 7. Once I slowly slid the stem in, I let it warm up to the same temperature as the Solo.

The first few times getting the stem in and out of the Solo was difficult because I wasn’t used to the added resistance, now I don’t have much issue with it. If you draw on the stem while spinning it inside the Solo you can quickly dial in your preferred draw resistance, although your only options are high and low.

I learned completely by accident that Ed’s stem fits perfectly into a 14mm female glass joint. I had just loaded the stem (by sucking up herb into the chamber part of the stem) and had nowhere to put it down, so I placed it in a 14mm joint stand I normally use to hold the Underdog glass-on-glass adapter when its full.

The wood adds a rich texture to the taste of the vapor. Its taste can best be described as “woody”, the way you’d expect a log cabin to smell. The metal herb chamber conducts heat better than the glass, I believe that this will make the solo more effective at lower temperatures.

Wrap Up

  • The stem comes in four different wood varieties:
    • African Blackwood (really a super dark brown wood)
    • Mexican Cocobolo
    • Granadillo
    • Bog Oak
  • All wood varieties are available in four-inch stems, Bog Oak is also available as a three-inch stem.
  • All stems will fit in a 14mm female joint perfectly, making this a water pipe adapter as well as a stem.
  • A few replacement screens are provided with each stem.
  • Stems are handmade by Ed.

Pros:

  • This thing is very durable, I have no concerns about breaking it
  • It’s also a 14mm water pipe adapter
  • Added conduction heating

Cons:

  • Screen held in place by c-clip, need a special tool to remove and replace
  • Not as easy to clean as glass, probably a bad idea to soak the entire stem in alcohol to clean it

Anybody interested in checking out the selection which starts at $38.89 can do so over at Ed’s Tote ‘n Tokes.