Elev8 started making vapes in 2004 with the Silver Surfer as our first design. We've been manufacturing vapes ever since!
There have been many great vaporizers entering the market, let's see how the new DaVinci IQ2 stacks up!
DaVinci IQ2 Portable Dry Herb Vaporizer
Why we reviewed it
Well, we have made desktop dry herb vaporizers since 2004.
The DaVinci is an impressive portable conduction vaporizer with a lot to offer!
Final assembly and testing (not) in USAThe company that sells the DaVinci IQ2 is located in Las Vegas, Nevada, but the unit itself is manufactured at a foreign production facility and then imported into the United States for retail. |
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Long Lasting Ceramic Heating ElementThe DaVinci IQ2 uses a ceramic-lined heater chamber. This is the second best material for flavor-neutral vapor production (the first being glass of course). The ceramic tastes much better than the metal-lined heating chambers offered by various other portable vaporizers, so this is a plus for us! |
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In bowl Stir System?The DaVinci IQ2 does not include any sort of built-in system for stirring your dry herbs while the vaporizer is in use. As such, the user will need to open the heating chamber to stir their herbs. This isn't that unusual however, as the only portable vaporizer which offers an in-bowl stirring system is our own SideKick Portable Vaporizer! |
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Factory Customizable?The DaVinci IQ2 comes in range of color options for the outer housing. Beyond this, the unit itself isn't really customizable from the factory. It's always nice to have color options though! |
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Carry Case Included?The DaVinci IQ2 does not come with any sort of carrying case included, which is a bit disappointing! That being said the unit itself is quite durable and could probably fit in a variety of case types that you may have on hand. |
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Removable batteriesThe DaVinci IQ2 uses an 18650 battery which is removable! This is great because it means that you can purchase extra 18650 batteries so you can always have a charged battery on hand! Unfortunately the DaVinci IQ2 does not include an external charger, you can only charge the battery by plugging in the unit itself. |
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Comes with replacement set of batteries or purchasable at a discountThe DaVinci IQ2 does not include a replacement set of batteries, but since the battery is a removable 18650 it is easy enough to acquire extras. Still, we think that an extra battery, or even a discount on extras from the manufacturer at the time of purchase, would be more ideal! |
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Variable temperature settingsThe DaVinci IQ2 has a variety of options for controlling the temperature of the heating element, which is a nice feature! In addition to direct temperature control, the DaVinci IQ2 has 'smart path' settings which automatically increase the temperature of the heating element as you vape. We like that! |
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Water Pipe AttachmentThe DaVinci IQ2 doesn't include a water pipe attachment, but that's fine most other vaporizer companies sell their water pipe attachments as an additional accessory. A water pipe attachment for the DaVinci IQ2 is available to be purchased directly from the manufacturer! |
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Heat-Up Time Less Than 45 SecThe DaVinci IQ2 boasts a fast heat-up time of about 1 minute! This is nice because it means that you'll spend less time waiting and more time vaping! |
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Easy to useThe DaVinci IQ2's user interface is a little unusual but once you get the hang of reading the display and using the controls it's actually quite intuitive. |
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Easy-Clean BreakdownThe DaVinci IQ2 is pretty easy to clean! Parts can be removed to access the interior sections, and the heating chamber itself is fairly easy to clean with a Tidy Tip. On top of this, the vapor pathway is well sealed so you shouldn't have to worry about vapor residues working their way into the precious electronic components. |
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Auto Shut offThe DaVinci IQ2 has an auto shut off that engages after two minutes without the vape being used. This ensures that the battery life is preserved and is not wasted powering the vape when it is not in use. |
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Cool vapor (1-10, 10 being the coolest)The DaVinci IQ2 produces cool vapor, but not the coolest that we've tried. The air pathway is only a little more than 4 inches long. The DaVinci IQ2 mitigates this with a zirconia ceramic vapor pathway which helps to cool the vapor before it reaches the user's lungs, but the resulting vapor still isn't quite as cool as other portables on the market. |
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Vapor Path Length in inchesThe DaVinci IQ2 has a vapor pathway which is a little more than 4 inches long. The unit uses a zirconia ceramic vapor pathway inset to help cool the vapor, but it's just a straight tube of zirconia so the vapor doesn't have much time to cool off before reaching the user's lungs. |
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Vortex CoolerThe DaVinci IQ2 does not have any sort of vortex insert to increase the length of the vapor pathway. We think something like this could have been implemented in place of the zirconia ceramic vapor path insert, but it's not a huge deal! |
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LCD DisplayThe DaVinci IQ2 does not use a traditional LCD display. Instead, the DaVinci IQ2 has a unique LED-based display. This display is unusual, and you will definitely need to read through the manual to understand all of the information that can be displayed through the LEDs. Once you get the hang of reading the display it's pretty ergonomic, but still not the best.
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Uses Per Full ChargeThe DaVinci IQ2 gets between 8-10 sessions per charge. This is on the upper tier of battery life as far as portable vapes go. There are only a small handful of units that are more battery efficient, but we think the battery life of the DaVinci IQ2 is plenty plus it uses standard removable 18650 batteries so you can always have a charged spare on hand! |
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Can Use with HerbsThe DaVinci IQ2 was designed to be used with dry herb. DaVinci even offers their own version of a dry herb dosing capsule for the DaVinci IQ2, plus they sell a special grinder which is designed to fill those capsules. In our testing, the DaVinci IQ2 vaped dry herb quite well! |
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Can Use with ConcentratesThe manufacturer claims that the DaVinci IQ2 can do concentrates without any issues. In our experience this isn't exactly the case, with the proper insert the DaVinci IQ2 can vape concentrates but only in very small amounts. Most portable vaporizers can only do either dry herb or concentrate, it is very rare for a portable vape to be able to handle both, so this isn't unexpected. Generally concentrates should be saved for a dedicated concentrate vaping device like the Wax Maxer Pro Dab Pen. |
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WarrantyThe DaVinci IQ2 carries a 10 year manufacturer's warranty. This is one of the longest warranties available in our industry, so clearly the company behind the DaVinci IQ2 feels confident in the quality of their product! |
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Cost to fix No haggle after warranty (not including shipping)We weren't able to find a lot of information about the repair process for a faulty DaVinci IQ2. From what we understand, DaVinci does not actually offer repair services for these units. Instead, when a unit is faulty it should be claimed under the 10 year manufacturer's warranty, and then the manufacturer will typically just replace the faulty unit with a new one. |
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The DaVinci IQ2 is a solid contender on the portable dry herb vaporizer market!
Obviously, we are biased towards our own SideKick V2, we think the SideKick has some features that give it a bit of an edge over the DaVinci IQ2.
That being said, the DaVinci IQ2 is still a great unit and should perform admirably during the 10 year warranty period. That's awesome for peace of mind!
