Storz and Bickel Crafty - a power pack
The Crafty Vaporizer, a powerful portable vaporizer made in Germany by the Storz & Bickel company.
S&B is the manufacturer behind the famous Mighty , Volcano and Plenty Vapes. This vaporizer is made with the same precision as its parents and this company is the ultimate example of attention to detail.
General feel and build quality
Not surprisingly, the Crafty feels very well made. The outer case is made from some sort of solid plastic material (which doesn't feel cheap) and is mostly vented, meaning it almost looks like a heatsink. I suspect this design helps dissipate the heat generated so the device doesn't get too hot to hold as it never gets hot, just a little warm.
Measuring 4.3″H x 2.2″L x 1.3″W and weighing 135g, this vaporizer fits comfortably in one hand and doesn't feel heavy at all. The shape of it is quite ergonomic and its aerated design actually helps you and it is much better compared to many other vaporizers that have smooth surfaces.
The design of the mouthpiece is special. It's 100% external so when you carry it around it won't be exposed to the elements. The cool part is how it swings out when you're ready to use it and back into the saved position when you're done enjoying.
Battery Life & Charging
The Crafty is powered by an internal rechargeable lithium-ion battery. If the battery is completely discharged, it only takes about 2 hours to be fully charged again. On a full charge I seem to get around 45 minutes of actual usage time on average. 60-90 minutes of use is the acceptable battery life range for good portable vapes. So the Crafty vaporizer is one of the best in its class.
The charger is also excellent as it uses a standard micro USB adapter. You can easily and inexpensively buy additional chargers and charge the Crafty wherever it suits you, for example in the car.
Use, performance and vapor quality
To use the Storz and Bickel Crafty, the first thing to do is unscrew the top part that reveals the herb chamber. It's a really cool design, just swing the top part to the side and it comes apart, and after you load it just swing it back in place, it's very easy and the action of it is very smooth.
Once you have loaded the chamber, replace the top part with the mouthpiece and hold the power button for two seconds to turn on the device. The vape will vibrate and the LEDs will flash, then the lights will turn red as the device heats up. After about 90 seconds, the device will vibrate again and the light will turn green to indicate it has reached vaporization temperature.
cleaning and maintenance
After each session you should definitely grab the brush that comes with it and wipe down the chamber and top screen, nothing crazy just to get rid of any little bits of herb left behind. The part that needs to be cleaned from time to time is the upper part, which can be detached. The whole vaporizer can be disassembled into several smaller parts so that you can clean all corners and edges. It's not difficult and doesn't need to be done often.
smartphone app
Storz and Bickel decided to develop a free app for this device. They are available for Apple and Android phones and are really helpful.
The app connects to your Crafty via Bluetooth and can then conveniently control various things on the Crafty. The temperature is included as well as other cool settings. You can also control the brightness of the LED lights on the front of the Crafty Vape.
When you have the app open and the Crafty is powered on, it actually shows the true temperature of the heating chamber in real time, pretty cool right?
