"As a budtender, I get asked a lot of questions about cannabis e-vape technology, and have to inform people that it's still somewhat limited, even when it comes to new innovations like C cell batteries. Think of vaporizers a bit like cell phones -- we started with giant bricks and moved into slicker and slicker versions. That's why it was a pleasure to sit down and talk to Seibo Shen, inventor of the Vapexhale, about the new vape device his team is about to launch, The Hanu Stone.
Seibo's first vaporizer, Vapexhale, is an award-winning desktop vaporizer, which was just listed in the Forbes holiday guide. He says that with the Vapexhale, they wanted to learn the science and physics of vaporization of oil and flower. Now they want to apply that to something smaller like the Hanu Stone. Seibo believes that if you build the best thing, customers will come, His concern is that many producers that keep making prettier vape-pen systems, but the atomizer is really just Wick-Based Coil Technology, which is cheap in cost, but also cheap in quality.
Vapexhale Vaporizer
The turning point for him was when his in-laws, who love using Vapexhale EVO, told him they liked it when he set everything up for them to take dabs at his house, but that when they went home, they just used vape pens. He thought his in-laws were a good indication of what future users might look like. They might have no desire to learn how to use new products, so Seibo didn't want them to waste their money. ""Most vapes look super cool on the shelf,"" he says, ""but it's like buying a Mercedes and finding out you have a Honda engine, and ours is like buying A Mercedes and finding out they put a Ferrari engine in there. It's like really massive horsepower."
Seibo's designer is from Africa, and when he moved to America five years ago, he found a river rock at Ocean Beach. He was about to skip the rock, but it felt really soothing in his hand, so he decided to keep it. He even drilled a hole in it and wars it around his neck as a pendant. The second was Seibo and his wife were getting hot stone massages and before the gave massage they said hold the stone and did this weird little blessing and he was just playing with it and felt relaxed already.
"These were the two things we wanted: when a person picks [the Hanu Stone] up, it evokes some sort of response or emotion," Seibo says.
Huan Stone Vaporizer
He made the Hanu Stone asymmetrical, because even though we live in a land of technology, "people are sick of technology". We're practicing meditation and yoga more; we're hiking more, trying to camp more and get more in touch with Mother Nature and our inner selves. Seibo wanted something that reminded users of the imperfect perfection of nature.
The stone has a mouthpiece for public use; you remove the cap and reveal an inner private mouthpiece for personal use. In the spirit of 420, we want to share with everyone, but we don't want to get sick. Most vape pens are long and skinny, which mimics cigarettes. All the research shows only seven percent of cannabis consumers smoke cigarettes. And we're always talking about health and wellness, so why are we giving people things that remind them of cancer sticks?"
Not only does it have a unique design, the Hanu Stone also has a 500-milliamp battery, which is roughly twice the size of a 510, the standard vape battery on market, when battery capacity drops below 50 percent, the voltage begins to drop. Seibo has also added a voltage regulator and integrated circuit, so when the battery drops below 50 percent, it starts pushing out more juice to compensate for the drop in voltage. This means the amount of hits you receive remains consistent, and the consumer isn't left guessing if the pod or cartridge is burnt out. Best of all, there are no settings to worry about.
We have lots of members bring their vape pens to our dispensary, and we have to troubleshoot. In our How to Vape class, we provide vaporizer-maintenance tips. Seibo feels we shouldn't have to teach those classes, because it's a simple battery you put in pod and it works. It wasn't a tough problem to solve; you just have to buy slightly higher-quality technology, like a vape with an integrated circuit.
The moment of truth arrived, and I got to try the Strawberry Banana he had just brought from Blue River. The flavor was amazing. You could really taste the strawberry and banana notes of the terpenes. Seibo suggested I take a longer pull, like 10 seconds. I was surprised to discover it was like taking in and blowing out large clouds of vape, like I do with the Vapexhale.
The Hanu Stone provides a multilayered experience, looks amazing on the shelf, feels good in the palm of your hand, and performs better than any other vape pen on market. Its sleek shape isn't cumbersome, so it's great on the go. I have to give a round of applause to Seibo and his genius team, who came up with this brilliant evolution in cannabis e-vape technology. The Hanu Stone is set to launch mid-January.
