Product Review: Da Vinci Ascent Vaporizer

The Da Vinci Ascent vaporizer by Organix is a well crafted and meticulous machine. The age of the vape craze has saturated the market with many portable vaporizers to choose from, and sometimes it can be hard to know which is best, but the Ascent did not disappoint.

The device is sleek and discreet in appearance. I chose the ‘stealth’ version, which is entirely black, and as one friend commented, could pass for a men’s electric razor. For those in prohibition states, discretion is always a plus. However, a unique feature of the Ascent is that Da Vinci also allows for the use of custom skins on their vaporizers, meaning you can tailor it to the look and/or pattern you desire. I found it to be a decent size, which fit well enough in my hand.

Looks alone do not make a great vape, however, the Ascent did not disappoint in the performance department. This is the “smart” vape of portable vaporizers, with an OLED screen that allows for precise temperature control to the degree, with the maximum being 430. Unlike many other vaporizers, once the Ascent reaches the desired temperature, it remains at that temperature, heats evenly and does not fluctuate, unless programmed otherwise. This leads to another interesting feature of the Ascent, which is its ability to be programmed to heat up gradually as it is being used.

What truly stood out most about the Ascent was its glass on glass vapor path and ceramic heating bowl. Never before have I seen such a clean hitting vape. The ceramic bowl means it’s heat safe, and it allows it to heat very evenly and steadily. The mouthpiece is a glass on glass stem which is pulled up from the unit and pushed back in when finished to keep it safe and secure. The hits taste very clean, and I felt great satisfaction in knowing that I was vaping in a healthier way without metal or plastic.

The unit comes with a complete set of tools which made the Ascent very efficient to use. Two glass mouth pieces and inner stems were provided. With these came little rubber caps which can be attached to the end of the mouthpiece and placed over them for travel and protection. It also came with two small metal pokers which can be slipped right into a hole near the top of the vaporizer, allowing it to travel with you easily and be ever available. Finally, it also comes with two glass oil jars.

The oil jars worked well for vaping the hashes and oils I used, however, when using them you must keep the vaporizer in an upright position to avoid leakage. This did not prove to be a hindrance to its use. It does also come with two small lids for the oil jars, which are made out of silicon, and are supposed to allow one to move it around more freely during use. However, I did not see the appeal of using such material in a very hot chamber. I much preferred to keep it simple and healthy, with nothing but glass, ceramic and oils being heated.

Another noteworthy feature of the Ascent is its ability to be used while charging. I did find that the battery was not lasting quite as long as the 3+ hours claimed, but it lasted long enough to generally suit my needs and could certainly be taken out and about for an evening, with few worries about having to charge it. When the vape would run out of battery, I would stick it on the charger, and after letting it get some juice for a minute or two, was able to resume use of it while it charged.  The long cord on the charger made this a great convenience for the times when I did forget to charge it.

As a final test, I decided to see how the Ascent fared against the Pax, another well-known and popular portable vaporizer currently on the market. I called over a friend who owns the Pax and who is a bit of a connoisseur herself. She had done extensive research before buying the Pax and had chosen it because it was the most superior vaporizer on the market at the time. She had not heard of the Ascent before, and after we smoked it (a few times), she was very impressed with it and conceded that the Ascent is the better vape. The precise temperature control, the clean vapor path and the efficiency and reliability of the machine simply makes it the better vaporizer.

All in all, I have greatly enjoyed the Ascent and would definitely not hesitate to recommend it to friends and fellow weedists.