Portable Vaporizer Review: Ascent By DaVinci

The DaVinci Ascent is a second generation portable vaporizer brought to you by Organicix, LLC. While staying true to the “rugged portability” offered by the original DaVinci vaporizer, the new model incorporates a glass-covered ceramic bowl and glass mouthpiece for an all-glass air pathway. That being said, the DaVinci Ascent is most often applauded for its ability to vaporize both dry herb and essential oils.

DaVinci Ascent Vaporizer: Available In Various Finishes

Based in Las Vegas, Organicix has made a name for itself in the world of portable vaporizers. Their sales are made largely through relationships with more mainstream vaporizer retailers like Vapor Nation, though their presence is consistently felt at trade shows.

Organicix, LLC was founded in 2011 by Cortney Smith in an effort to bring consumers a health conscious vaporization option. The company has two distinct brands, each focused on a slightly different aspects of the same end goal. Essential Earth Blends (EEB) makes a number of herbal blends tailored to have various effects on the end consumer, whereas DaVinci Vaporizer’s focus is on developing high-quality vaporizers for patients and recreational consumers alike.

The standard model comes in 4 different finishes (stealth, burl wood, carbon fiber, and skulls), and the company offers the ability to customize your unit for an extra $50. I decided to go with the carbon fiber model.

Upon arrival, I quickly took notice to the well-branded packaging – the cardboard bow wrapped around the box is a nice touch with Leonardo Da Vinci’s classic vitruvian man pictured on the red seal. Inside the box, you can expect to find the following:

• 1 Fully Assembled DaVinci Ascent Portable Vaporizer
• 1 User Manual
• 1 Extra Glass Straw Set
• 1 Screen Set – Contains 3 Screens & 1 Extra Metal Pick
• 2 Glass Oil Jars
• 1 Ascent Charger
• 1 Black Velvet Carrying Case
• 1 Ascent Sticker
• 1 DaVinci Social Card

How Is The DaVinci Ascent Different Than The Original?

Of course, the first question that most people will ask about the DaVinci Ascent is, “How is it better than the original DaVinci vaporizer model?” With this thought in mind, I have taken the liberty of listing a few new features below.

• All-Glass Vapor Path
• Longer Battery Life – Rechargable batteries offer 2+ hours of continuous run time
• Improved Straw System – Glass trumps plastic any day of the week
• Relocated Bowl – Moving it from the top to the bottom makes it much easier to load
• Ceramic Bowl – This is a much healthier option for patients
• Sleek Design – The original DaVinvi looks incredibly block-like in comparison
• More Intricate LED Screen
• Personal Vaporization Settings – Allows for a completely customizable experience
• Auto-Shutoff Timer

The DaVinci team has uploaded a number of informational videos about the Ascent to their YouTube page, and I’ve taken the liberty of posting one of the most helpful videos below.

How To Use The DaVinci Ascent Portable Vaporizer

The first thing you’ll want to do upon opening the DaVinci Ascent is charge it… the charging port can be found at the bottom of the unit. It’s always best to let your portable vaporizers reach their optimal charge. Unfortunately, the charging process takes as long as 5 hours with the DaVinci Ascent.

Next, press the power button found beside the glass mouthpiece. At this point, the LED light screen will light up with a welcome message that says DaVinci. Once the unit is turned on, the glass-lined ceramic bowl will begin to heat up.

Because of this, it’s recommended that you turn off the heater before loading your herb/concentrate jar. You can do this by pressing the settings button followed by the (-) button – an icon of a bowl with no vapor raising from it will appear on the LED screen to let you know the heater is turned off.

“Once the bowl is loaded, turn the heater back on by pressing the settings button followed by the (+) button.”

Now you can load the your dry herb into the glass-lined ceramic bowl (it’s recommended that you fill it no more than half way so as to avoid too much conduction).

In order to use the Ascent with concentrates, simply drop your desired concentrate into the oil jar and place that into the bowl.

Once the bowl is loaded, turn the heater back on by pressing the settings button followed by the (+) button. You will see a thermometer appear on the LED screen to let you know that the unit is heating up to the desired temperature. In order to adjust the temperature, simply press the (+) or (-) button – the LED screen will tell you what the temperature is set for.

With the DaVinci Ascent being up to heat, all that remains is to pull out the retractable glass mouthpiece and start enjoying your vapor. It can be difficult to pull the mouthpiece out from its port, and I ended up using the pick to help make it more accessible. It is possible to use the DaVinci Ascent without extending the mouthpiece, but I much preferred the mouthpiece when it was extended.

Cleaning the DaVinci Ascent is a relatively simple process: Simply remove the retractable mouthpiece from the top of the unit and the internal glass straw (can be found when the hinge is open), then soak them in every glass collector’s best friend – isopropyl alcohol. The same can be done in order to clean the oil jars.

What I Liked About The Ascent Vaporizer By DaVinci

• Good Portability – The Ascent is roughly the same size as your average smart phone
• Able to vaporize both dry herb and concentrates
• Precise temperature control – you are able to accurately adjust your vaporizing temperature in 1° intervals for consistent and repeatable extractions
• Rapid heat-up – The DaVinci Ascent is capable of reaching the desired temperature in around 30 seconds
• All-glass vapor path makes for an easy-to-clean, inert surface – Great for medical marijuana patients
• Relatively easy to clean
• Auto-shut off timer – The Ascent allows you to set a timer for your vape session between 30 seconds and 20 minutes; press the settings button 2 times and a clock icon will appear – you may now adjust the timer using the (+) and (-) buttons
• 3 Personal vape cycles – Patients are able to program their unit to heat the ceramic bowl to a specific temperature for a specific amount of time; press the settings button 3 times to adjust the first vape cycle – you may now adjust the temperature and timer for each cycle using the (+) and (-) buttons
• Dual temperature display – Hold the settings button for 5 seconds to change between Farhenheit and Celsius
• Nicely branded, aesthetically-pleasing packaging
• Quality design and feel
• Produces pure, flavorful vapor
• Comes with a velvet carrying case
• Inconspicuous design – It would be near impossibile for the unsuspecting passerby to know the the Ascent is a vaporizer when the retractable mouthpiece is not extended
• DaVinci offers a variety of personalization options for the Ascent
• DaVinci offers 2-year limited warranty on the Ascent

How Could The DaVinci Ascent Be Improved?

• It could be difficult for older patients to pull out the retractable mouth piece, especially if they suffer from arthritis or joint pain
• The power button was not as responsive as I would like – Its position near the mouthpiece makes it somewhat difficult to press the button at the right angle
• 5 hours to charge the Ascent seems excessive, especially when you consider that this only buys you about 2.5 hours of vape time
• The bottom of the unit tends to get pretty hot – Some way to limit heat transfer from the ceramic heating element to the external portions of the Ascent would be much appreciated
• It’s far too easy to burn yourself when loading dry herb into the glass-lined ceramic bowl with the unit turned on
• It could be difficult for older patients to remove the oil jar from the bowl with the pick; the same could be said for patients suffering from Parkinson’s disease
• The design of the ceramic bowl leads to a good bit of conduction (not convection), and quite possibly combustion if you fail to stir your dry herb at higher temperatures – The introduction of a small fan may help solve this problem
• When vaporizing with dry herb, small particles of plant matter made its way through the straw system and into my mouth – This is never something that I expect to experience when vaporizing
• Patients have complained that the oil jars leak into the unit, making it difficult to open the hinge and access the ceramic bowl – I was able to avoid this by holding the unit upright when the oil jar is in the bowl and removing the jar as soon as I’m finished.

Ascent By DaVinci: A Portable Vaporizer For The Masses

Overall, I have to say that I was happy with my DaVinci Ascent experience. It’s clear that the company put a great deal of work into their second generation unit, though there are still improvements to be made moving forward. The DaVinci Ascent is most likely to draw comparisons to the Arizer Solo, yet despite the slightly higher asking price, I would personally choose the Ascent over the Solo.

Each unit has its own strong points and drawbacks, but the Ascent’s ability to offer precise temperature control down to 1° intervals makes it superior in my mind. Further, it is able to vaporize concentrates, whereas the the Solo specializes in dry herb vaporization only.

My belief is that the Ascent is a better unit for dry herb than it is for concentrates, so you will want to consider your intended use before purchasing.