The MV1 is Ghost Vapes first entry into the world of handheld vaporizers. It’s packed with modern features which include a fully convection heating system, 20 second or less heat up times, Bluetooth connectivity for fine tuning temperatures, haptic feedback, and an easy-to-swap removable battery. For the portable vape that seems to have it all the MV1 also has a few downsides, mainly the portable but less-than-pocketable shape and size of the MV1 as well as the steep learning curve that needs to be mastered before you can really tap into the full potential of the vape.
It’s all about the vapor
What’s a vaporizer that can’t produce vapor eh? Lucky for us the MV1 excels at producing some of the highest quality vapor out of any portable vaporizer. Hallmarks of high-quality vapor are great taste, ease of draw, and a clean aftertaste. The only criticism I have is that getting very thick and cloudy hits comparable to a hit off a glass pipe is rare and is very strain dependent. There are some strains that will only produce thinner wispy vapor, although that vapor can still be potent it won’t be as visually appealing or have the lungfeel of heavy vapor that some users crave. I’ve run the MV1 through the entire temperature spectrum and am still finding new surprises every time I run a new strain through it. When my goal is to enjoy the flavor of a new strain, or a reliable favorite, the MV1 is my go-to portable every time. While there are other portables that can provide a similar taste experience they tend to come with an even steeper learning curve or a very sensitive and finnicky draw process that requires heavy concentration to get a desirable hit. I’m looking at you Firefly.
Most vapes fall into one of two categories, conduction heating of the herb chamber, or convection heating. Handheld vaporizers most frequently fall into the conduction category because conduction is a more battery efficient heating method. The MV1 is a convection vape, the benefit being that convection provides a more even heat to the herb chamber and therefore a more even vaping experience.
It’s worth pointing out that while the Ghost Vapes MV1 is handheld it’s hardly a pocket friendly vape. You’ll be able to stow the MV1 in the pocket of your sleek khaki cargo shorts, but there is no way you’re comfortably transporting this vape in the pocket of your skinny jeans. This is an important distinction to be made, as the general vaporizer archetypes of “Desktop Vape” and “Portable Vape” are being blurred. There are more around-the-house style portable vapes available today, and while all would be classified as portable I wouldn’t categorize these together with the smaller more discreet vaporizers that are frequently associated with portable vapes. Examples of ulta-portables include the Pax line of vaporizers, the DaVinci IQ and MIQRO, and the Grasshopper. Vaporizers that more closely relate to the MV1 would be the Mighty, MiniVap, and Arizer Solo.
A large portion of the MV1s bulk is the battery. The removable battery pack has a micro-usb charging port and battery management hardware built into it. This means you can charge up spare batteries without needing an external charger, a big boon compared to most other portable that require an additional external charger in order to do that. An optional fast charger is also available from Ghost Vapes which can charge an empty battery to full in about two hours compared to the approximately eight hours it takes to charge a battery using the built-in charging port.
One of the biggest hurdles for a portable vaporizer to clear is finding the right balance between size and battery life. The MV1 approaches this challenge by cramming more battery into the equation and as a result the removable battery pack accounts for about 1/3 the total weight of the vaporizer. The MV1 may be portable in the sense that you’re not tethered to the wall when you’re using it, but its design is more geared towards being a handheld powerhouse than it is an incognito vape to bring along for a night on the town. I can’t stress this enough, the MV1 is portable, but not discreet, even the “stealth” version is about as discreet as a submarine in a koi pond.
Function
Being an on-demand style vaporizer the MV1 only runs the heater while you’re holding the activation button. Operating the MV1 involves holding the button on the back of the unit (the activation button) and waiting a few seconds until the vaporizer buzzes in your hand to let you know it’s ready, once you’ve heard or felt the buzz you can begin to draw from the mouthpiece while continuing to hold the activation button on the back. When you’re done with your draw you release the button and the MV1 goes into standby mode where it is no longer heating the herb chamber.
When you’re starting up a completely cold MV1 it can take up to 15 seconds before you feel the buzz that tells you it’s ready, but once it’s warmed up subsequent draws will only take 3 or 4 seconds to heat up before you feel the buzz.
The MV1 has light draw resistance, it’s one of the lighter draw resistances I’ve seen on a portable vape. This may not make a difference to most folks who don’t care one way or another about draw resistance as long as they can get a good hit, but some can’t handle a very restrictive draw like that of a tightly packed Pax 3 as it taxes their lungs too much. When considering the MV1 for medicinal herbs the light draw resistance may be an especially attractive feature, vaporizers with a more restrictive draw resistance could end up being too taxing on the lungs for many folks.
Stealth
The black one is black. You’ll never find it in a really dark room.
Crucible
Ghost Vapes refers to the small ceramic herb chamber as the crucible, I’m not a big fan of that name, but I can see where it comes from. The crucible system is both a boon and a curse for the MV1. Having multiple crucibles means you can rapid fire sessions back-to-back without needing to fiddling with reloading ground up dry herb. Once you’ve fully depleted a crucible and there is nothing left to vape in it you can quickly pop that sucker out and replace it with a fully loaded fresh crucible in a matter of seconds.
An optional accessory called the crucible dispenser can pack five fully loaded crucibles in one convenient package. This is handy for pre-packing the MV1 for a few sessions without needing to find a way to comfortably reload the crucibles.
On the subject of loading the crucibles, easily my least favorite part of the MV1 system. First and foremost, if you only have one crucible handy then you can’t immediately reload it after you finish vaping from it because the ceramic holds onto the heat fairly well and it can be too hot to handle for a few minutes. This shouldn’t be a common issue since the MV1 comes with multiple crucibles, but I’ve found myself in a situation where I can’t comfortably reload the crucible immediately because I’m out of the house and only have the one crucible that was loaded into the MV1 when I grabbed it. A rare occurrence but a pain the in the ass nonetheless.
My second gripe with the crucible system is the lids. Perhaps it’s more accurate to say I have 2.5 gripes with the crucible system as I have multiple issues with the lid. Firstly the lid rests loosely on the ceramic crucible. Loose in the sense that there isn’t anything gripping the lid to the crucible and if dropped it’ll go flying off, on the plus side the lid has no lateral play when it’s on the crucible and there really is only one way of putting it on, it’s hard to get wrong. My second gripe, and really this is half a gripe at best, is that the holes in the lid are easily clogged and the lids need to be cleaned on a semi regular basis in ordre to get the absolute best performance from the MV1. The problem of the lid getting clogged used to be worse with the original design, Ghost Vapes has since updated the lids with larger holes that are less likely to clog after one use.
Can the MV1 be your only vape?
Yes, there is no question that the MV1 can fill the role of primary vape in many different use cases. If you’re looking to make the MV1 your only vape I’d recommend picking up a few accessories that’ll greatly improve the quality of your overall experience. The crucible dispenser, an extra battery, and fast charger will greatly improve the overall MV1 experience. Between the three added accessories you’ll be able to run the MV1 for close to an hour straight and can manage to use the MV1 repeatedly all day with only short ~45 minute downtime between fully charged batteries.
Learning Curve
I mentioned earlier that the MV1 has a prohibitive learning curve, especially for users new to vaporizing. What constitutes a prohibitive learning curve? Due to the especially light draw resistance it’s very easy, and somewhat intuitive to rip the MV1 hard when you’re first using it, as if you’re trying to suck all the herb directly out of the crucible and into your lungs. So what the problem is? Well in some cases ripping the MV1 hard can have great results, and in others you’ll get a whole lot of nothing. If you don’t dial in the process of prepping the MV1 for a big rip you’ll find the inconsistency of the draws to be a big point of confusion.
I can’t exactly share the recipe for perfect hits every time since it’s a touch-and-go experience that can vary from one session to the next, but the basic principles remains the same. If you plan on trying to get a huge rip make sure that the MV1 is pre-heated and
Verdict
The MV1 is more than capable of standing alongside the heavy hitters like the Mighty. It’s emphasis on on-demand vapor along with taste make for a truly convection vapor experience which in a portable vaporizer is rare. Be ready to spend some time dialing in your draw speed and getting used to the rhythm of how long the MV1 takes to heat up once it’s up and running, once you’ve put a few sessions under your belt you should be getting a much better experience than when you started. Having an extra battery (and fast charger) is handy if the MV1 is going to be your only vape, it takes a while to charge these batteries using Micro USB.
The Ghost MV1 sells for $295 and can be purchased from Planet of the Vapes.
