The Volcano by Storz & Bickel is one of the most iconic vaporizers of all time. With its volcano-shaped base and plastic plume full of vapor, this desktop vaporizer went viral before going viral was a thing.
Having permeated stoner culture in the late 90s and early 2000s, it remained nestled in the soft folds of our collective nostalgia, frozen in the ashes of the past like Tamagotchis, low-rise denim, and the ancient city of Pompeii. That is, until the respected vape gods at Storz & Bickel delivered us the Volcano Hybrid, a sleek, smart, and future forward upgrade that’s getting the cannabis industry erupting with excitement once more.
By toning down the hokey-ness of the original design — without making the device too serious — and adding intuitive technological controls, the Volcano Hybrid feels like a grown-up version of the classic model.
Just as the past twenty years saw us mature and make it to the other side smarter, cooler, and (much) better looking, so it did our trusty old friend. Here’s everything you need to know about the Volcano Hybrid.
What is the Volcano Hybrid vaporizer?
The Volcano Hybrid is a flower vaporizing system with a volcano-shaped base that uses convection heat to vaporize ground material. In the original design, a large plastic easy-valve balloon bag was filled with vapor before being inhaled and passed around. While the Volcano Hybrid obviously does this as well, it also includes a tube kit to take the silliness of the giant vapor bag out of the equation, letting you hit it like a normal vaping system.
Aside from technological upgrades like LED controls, app capability and other trimmings that take it from the analog age to our current digital era, the addition of the tube kit is the biggest change to the overall aesthetic and functionality of the device. It elevates the Volcano experience, and this elevation particularly lends itself to a Storz & Bickel device, as they produce some of the highest quality vaporizers on the market that are specifically designed for everyday use.
What can you vape with the Volcano Hybrid?
The Volcano Hybrid is compatible with finely ground flower, and also contains a drip pad for use with concentrates.
How do you use the Volcano Hybrid?
Now that you’re familiar with the Volcano Hybrid, how does it work?
Parts
- Volcano base (hot air generator)
- Drip pad
- Normal screen set
- Easy valve balloon with mouthpiece
- Tube kit
- Filling chamber with cap
Assembly of the tube and balloon elements
- Plug in the Volcano base making sure you put the Volcano on a sturdy, level surface near an outlet.
- Remove the filling chamber cap. Unscrew the top from the bottom.
- Grind flower. Make sure the flower is ground completely so the hot air has as little surface area to vaporize when the air moves through as possible.
- Fill the chamber with the ground flower, then screw on the filing chamber cap. Do not fill too tightly, it should be loose enough for air to pass through easily, not completely packed.
- Attach tube kit or balloon to the top of the filling chamber.
How to use the tube kit
- Tap the heat button to turn on.
- Choose temperature using the (+) and (-) buttons.
- Preheat for 5 seconds — it will vibrate when ready.
- Tap the air button.
- Inhale from tube mouthpiece.
How to use the balloon
- Tap the heat button to turn on.
- Choose temperature using the (+) and (-) buttons.
- Preheat for 5 seconds — will vibrate when ready.
- Tap the air button.
- Stay conscious of vapor density in the balloon.
- It’s important that the balloon does not become too full of vapor, if it’s getting taught to the touch it’s time to stop filling.
- Remove the full balloon unit. Never leave the filling chamber on the Volcano — beware, as this is a very hot surface.
- Attach the mouthpiece to the valve on the balloon.
- Inhale — passing optional.
Temperature controls
The Volcano Hybrid arrives set to 356°F, which is a great place to start since the ideal temperature to vaporize ground flower is around 350°F. While it’s true that the higher the vaporization temperature, the faster the person vaporizing may experience their high, it kind of negates the entire point of vaping in the first place. Not only do you sacrifice important factors like flavor and vapor smoothness, it’s easy to scorch the flower and eviscerate all the terpenes this method of intake is designed to preserve.
Note that when using the tube, it’s a way more intense delivery method than the balloon, so keep the temperature around 350°F to ensure the best-quality vapor and overall experience.
Storz & Bickel App
If you have an Android, the Storz & Bickel App is pretty cool. You can control your Volcano Hybrid, get firmware updates, adjust auto shutoff, create workflows, and personalize settings. However, if you don’t have an Android 6 or above, there is a web version users can access.
Is the Volcano Hybrid worth it?
The appeal of the Volcano Hybrid is that it’s a really fun and well-executed upgrade of one of stoner culture’s favorite vaporizers. While it has hugely improved tech-wise, it’s still a really simple and straight-forward device, making it great for any level of user from novice to expert. The improvement on the analog version made it better and more current without all the unnecessary tech-y add ons.
With the addition of the tube, the Volcano ascends from the hazy den of your parent’s house to the coffee table of your very chic and adult apartment. Potent, discreet, and sexy, the Volcano Hybrid’s all grown up.
Find the Volcano Hybrid on storz-bickel.com.
