The PLENTY is a non-portable vaporizer that was designed and manufactured by the German makers of the infamous Volcano vaporizers, Storz & Bickel.
Aesthetics
Like most others, my first impression of the Plenty is that it resembles a power tool. The black and orange plastic, plus the large handle, give it the appearance of an electric drill. It looks quite industrial, and wouldn’t be out of place on a construction site, workshop or a garage! Some people like it, while others might find it ugly. When I first saw the Plenty, I was a little disappointed it didn’t have the minimal, stainless steel appearance of the Volcano (from the same company). I think the orange and black plastic makes it look a little cheap, and the overall look of the product seems a little over-complicated. Its not an object I would put display on a shelf or coffee table. On the other hand, I can see how some people would like the industrial look (particularly men), and I see why the makers would design it this way. It does make the Plenty look nice and bombproof.
The packaging is almost identical to the square, flat boxes which come with Volcano bags. The Plenty is well protected inside the box, and all the pieces fit nicely into their own places. The presentation is good, with the instruction manual right on top. The instruction manual is very detailed, clear and well designed. The outside of the box is quite flashy, with full-color logos and pictures of the Plenty on all sides.
Vapor & Taste
The quality of the vapor is good, with thick & tasty hits right from the start. The temperature control means you can dial in the Plenty to produce thinner vapor, or thick, coughy vapor. At the higher temperature settings, the vapor can be extremely potent. I don’t taste any unwanted flavours from the materials used in the device. From what I can tell, the bowl and whip are all stainless steel. The coiled whip does quite a good job of cooling down the vapor. The Plenty has a very good airflow, so you can get large hits very easily, without much drag.
Efficiency
Like the Volcano, the heat of the Plenty is on the gentle side – even on higher temperature settings, the herb tends to finish up a golden brown color. This is unlike many other vaporizers, which can turn the herb to a dark chocolate brown. Although the Plenty doesn’t make the herb dark brown, it does seem quite efficient, and I believe the temperature control is accurate, so it should extract most of the goodies.
I like to start on the lower temperatures (around 170 – 180 degrees), which is more than enough heat for the Plenty to produce tasty vapor. After a few hits, I turn the temperature up to around 190 – 200 degrees to finish the bowl. Even on the highest temperature setting, the herb doesn’t come close to combustion.
One thing I noticed with the Plenty is that is seems to go through weed quite quickly compared to other vaporizers. I think this is because of the high volume airflow, as well as the large bowl size (explained below).
Ease of use
The basic setup of the Plenty is quite easy. You plug it in, push a switch to turn it on, and then choose a temperature setting. The Plenty will start to warm up, which takes around 5 mins, depending on the temperature chosen. The on/off switch glows orange when its turned on, so its easy to see when the device is active, and helps with remembering to turn it off after a session.
The bowl of the Plenty is quite large (you can fit in a half gram quite easily) and requires a little more care to fill correctly. Because the Plenty is designed to be handheld, it is often tilted sideways while being used. Because of this, its necessary to fill the bowl almost completely – otherwise when the device is tilted, the herb falls down to one side of the bowl, and the air passes around it, instead of through it. This is explained with a diagram in the instruction manual, although I can see that many users could still have trouble with this, especially those who want to use smaller quantities. The Plenty also comes with a stainless steel mesh pad which can be used to fill out the bowl when using smaller amounts, which seems to work well. I couldn’t notice any reduction in airflow or vapor quality when using the steel mesh pad. Because of this issue with filling the bowl correctly, I would say there is a slight learning curve to using the Plenty.
Ergonomically, the Plenty does take a little getting used to – I think this is also because its a totally different form to any other vaporizer I’ve tried. At first, I couldn’t work out how to put it down in-between hits, because it doesn’t stand up on its own. After some use I noticed that one side has a few small rubber pads, and that it was designed to be laid down on its side when not in use. This works ok, but it does feel a little awkward somehow. When laid sideways, the Plenty takes up quite a lot of room on your table. But again, I think its just something to get used to, because this is a different kind of vaporiser, which isn’t really designed to sit on a table. When used sitting on a couch, the Plenty does sit nicely on your lap.
Durability
The industrial look of the Plenty does make it seem quite durable. The plastic feels very hard, and high quality. I think the Plenty could survive a small drop (eg. chair height) without damage, but dropping it from standing height could crack the shell. Overall, the Plenty is designed for long-lasting durability, and should last a very long time if looked after. The manufacturer already has a good reputation from the Volcano, which are well known for their longevity. The stainless steel elements such as the bowl seem to be top quality, just like the Volcano.