Welcome to High Tech, iDigitalTimes’ new cannabis-focused gadgetry review column. Each month, we’ll have updates on new/popular vaporizers, electronic smoking devices and other cannabis-related gadgetry, always with the same thoroughness you’ve come to expect from all of iDigi’s gadget reviews
The QuickDraw 300-DLX was clearly intended to be a jack-of-all-trades, with e-liquid, concentrates and loose-leaf plant matter cartridges all included in the box, but the latest iteration of the QuickDraw can't quite live up to its own ambitions. While I’ve yet to use the device for any e-liquids, since I’m not a regular nicotine user, both the loose-leaf and concentrate cartridges fell short of my expectations.
We've looked at several portable vaporizers over the last few weeks, of all shapes and sizes, but this might be the first time I can't recommend purchasing the vaporizer I'm reviewing. It's not that the QuickDraw is a particularly terrible device. It's more than capable of vaporizing cannabis, along with a handful of cannabis concentrates. It just doesn't do a particularly noteworthy job with either medium.
And in some cases it outright fails to do the job.
The QuickDraw 300-DLX isn't a completely lost cause. I may not be the biggest fan of QD Products' latest portable vaporizer but that doesn't meant the $140 bundle is entirely without merit. As far as packaging is concerned, the QuickDraw 300-DLX might be the classiest looking vaporizer of the bunch, with a box that wouldn't look out of place at a Barnes & Noble or Apple Store. But packaging isn’t why we’re here.
Inside the box, you’ll find the QuickDraw 300-DLX, the previously mentioned set of three of swappable cartridges, a cleaning kit, USB charging cable and a wall adapter. Setup is simple. Identify the substance you want to vaporize, load up the matching cartridge and slide it into the top of the QuickDraw. Each cartridge even comes with its own mouthpiece, so you don’t have to worry about swapping.
Operation is as straightforward as you'd expect. Like many modern vaporizers, the QuickDraw 300-DLX can have its lone input locked/unlocked by pressing the button five times in rapid succession. Once the 300-DLX is unlocked, preparing the vaporizer is as simple as loading your preferred cartridge and then following the corresponding instructions included in the QuickDraw 300-DLX box. The only operational difference is whether you'll be holding the button while you draw or pressing the button for a short period and then waiting for the 300-DLX to finish heating.
Provided you’ve chosen a substance the QuickDraw 300-DLX is actually capable of vaporizing, that is.
Over the last few weeks, I’ve tried a variety of cannabis products with the QuickDraw. In some cases, like traditional loose-leaf marijuana, I’ve been successful. The same can be said for sessions when I loaded the concentrate cartridge with low-potency THC products, like hash or “earwax”. But it seems the 300-DLX doesn't get hot enough to vaporizer shatters, budders or other high-potency concentrates. I even tried combining the highest-potency concentrates with their lower-tier counterparts, hoping the extra heat from the melting hash might be enough to get the shatter cooking. But still no luck.
Thankfully, the QuickDraw 300-DLX doesn’t struggle the same way with loose-leaf cannabis. I’ve tried several different strains, none of which seemed to give the 300-DLX any trouble. As far as heating time, the QuickDraw is typically ready within 30-60 seconds of activation. But a $140 vaporizer doesn’t get points just for being functional and the vapor I’ve pulled from the 300-DLX leaves much to be desired.
My disappointment with heating chambers continues, thanks to the underwhelming size of the reservoir in the QuickDraw 300-DLX's loose-leaf cartridge. As if that weren't irritating enough, I can't seem to pull a sizable vapor cloud of the QuickDraw 300-DLX without turning the device's oven temperature up to its highest setting. Seeing as the vapor produced on the lowest settings isn't exactly winning any awards for its taste, it's probably not hard to figure out why that's not really an acceptable solution. I don't know about you but I can pretty confidently say I don't enjoy the taste of burned popcorn.
There are great ideas here. I’m not sure you could ask for an easier swapping process, if/when you need to change cartridges, and the QuickDraw 300-DLX is small enough to fit in just about any purse, pocket or carried bag. The oven might be underwhelming, but it's about the same size we’ve come to expect from portable vaporizers, and still good for at least 6-8 hits. I’m also fan of the magnetized USB charging cable included with the 300-DLX, although it’s not quite as convenient as a micro-USB cable.
And I'm a big fan of the maintenance, or rather the lack thereof, required to keep the QuickDraw 300-DLX functional. Unlike many portable vaporizers, cleaning the QuickDraw is as simple as blowing any loose-leaf matter back out of your cartridge and occasionally swapping the mouthpiece's filter with isopropyl to keep it clean and obstruction-free. But even with that being the case, I can't recommend the QuickDraw 300-DLX to anyone on the market for a new vaporizer.
It might sound harsh, but there is not a scenario I can imagine -- short of every other vaporizer ceasing to exist -- that would get me to make the QuickDraw 300-DLX my everyday carry. QD Products’ latest vaporizer might get the job done, particularly if you live in an area where loose-leaf cannabis is all that’s available. But it’s hard not to be disappointed with the QuickDraw 300-DLX, thanks to its concentrate struggles, now that so many other great vaporizers are on the market.
To be clear, picking up a QuickDraw 300-DLX would hardly be the worst purchasing decision of your life, particularly if you're also planning to make use of the e-liquid cartridge included in the package. But if you're a fan (and/or regular consumer) of high-potency cannabis concentrates, the QuickDraw 300-DLX will only bring you disappointment. And a really difficult cleaning job.
Full Disclosure: The QuickDraw 300-DLX vaporizer used for this review was provided by a VapeWorld representative; however, neither the distributor nor the manufacturer (QD Products) was given any sort of editorial oversight/privileges.
Be sure to check back with iDigitalTimes.com and follow Scott on Twitter for more cannabis-related gadget reviews throughout the remainder of 2015 and for however long the industry continues to churn out new/interesting gadgets in the years to come.
