The fascination and rapid development of portable vaporizers for ground, plant-based material is hard to ignore, if you’re not living under a rock. Typically, an expensive gadget, Grenco Science has tasked itself with creating a vape for the people, with specs and science that punch above its sub-$200 weight class.
Price as Reviewed: $169 at Grenco Science
Basics
Ceramic oven- Temperature control from 200-428°F / 93-220°C
- Conduction / convection heating
- Heats up in under 10 seconds
- Charges via micro USB
Experience
Before I dive into the experience of using the G-Pen Elite, let’s talk about the science of heating elements. First: Convection heating, which is basically the heat transfer of energy through a medium such as hot air or water. In contrast, conduction heating is the “simpler” method, where heat energy is transferred through the collision of molecules — usually physical contact.
The best vaporizers tend to use convection heating, but that solution not only means a higher cost (for both consumer and manufacturer) but is more difficult to pack into small, pocket vaporizers. Conduction is much easier, thankfully, since the material that will be vaporized just has to be thrown into an oven and heated at a desired temperature.
Grenco Science technically used both methods of heating elements. This way, you get the both of both worlds, but how?
The interior of the Elite’s oven is ceramic, so the heat transfer is more even and immediate (conduction), but there are also four small holes for air flow, which are used when you inhale (convection). Being in such a confined and hot space means that ground material isn’t only heated by physical contact (conduction), but also as if you were heating a brownie with a hair dryer (convection).
It means that you can get a hybrid of both technologies, thus benefiting from the intensity that comes from heating up the contents of the oven, while also using hot air to make it more pleasurable to inhale.
Besides getting the science mostly right, the Elite is very straightforward when it comes to the controls. Pressing five times on the main button turns the vape on, followed by setting a temperature from the rocker on the side, and finally pressing the main button for one second completes the process. Grenco Science advertises the Elite as being able to reach desired temperatures under 10 seconds, and that’s been the case so far.
An important aspect of using a vape is the cleaning process. Thankfully, that isn’t overly complex: a brush included in the Elite’s box is good for clearing away burn material from the oven and the vent under the mouth piece. Once that is remedied there isn’t too much to worry about.
Battery life? That’s solid as well, but dependent on how the vape is used. What’s most responsible is the quantity of ground material packed into the oven and what temperature setting is used.
So, speaking to battery life can be somewhat subjective, however, I’ve found that when I packed the oven full and set it to maximum temperature of 428° Fahrenheit (220° Celsius), I could use it between two and three times without charging.
That’s good performance, and since the Elite charges with micro-USB cables (which are practically everywhere), it’s easy to take out without worrying about forgetting a proprietary charging cradle or something similar.
Bottom Line
This is one of the best vapes money can buy — under $200. It not only comes with a charging cable, but with a grinder designed as a business card, a pen tool attached to a key ring for managing ground material, and finally that brush I talked about earlier, which is great for maintenance (a necessity).
All in all, Grenco Science has a fine vaporizer with the Elite. Of course, there’s room for improvement,, like an even sleeker design or the addition of different colors, even a different style of mouthpiece for those that are interested.
Overall, for the budget and performance, there’s really nothing that comes this close to being a reliable vape.
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