Storz & Bickel Volcano Review

Despite many options available in the market right now with hundreds of brands and models for vaping dry herbs, Storz & Bickel Volcano is still one of the options to go for as it produces consistency in their vapour that extracts quicker and more thoroughly than other vapes. Despite being an older model and design, it is still highly capable with its medical grade and German engineering leading the way as it has been lab-tested and certified. Bottom line is, nothing can go wrong or inconvenient with German products such as this device. In 2020, we have confirmed that the Volcano has 2 versions: the Classic and the Hybrid. Some of you may have heard of the Volcano Digit, and to clarify that would be that the Digit has been discontinued and redesigned that became the Volcano Hybrid.

Classic or Hybrid

The best way to describe the difference between the Classic and the Hybrid would be that the Classic is like an analogue watch whereas the Hybrid is like a digital watch, they both work and function the same, it’s just that the Hybrid packs more of the digital functionality like being able to adjust through a smartphone application. Other than that, would be that the classic would fill up to 4 bags but the Hyrbid would only do 2 bags. Overall, the differences between these 2 are very minimal and it all comes down to personal preferences, however, I do have to note that to gain more accuracy in adjusting your temperature, the Hybrid would be highly recommended over the classic.

Excellent, effortless vapour

The Volcano produces excellent performance every time you fire it up, easy to set up with no fuss at all. Everything you do with the Volcano is easy and simple, fill bags quickly, making delicious vapour that stays cool and comfortable while drawing your vapour out with the bag system and convection heating. Versatility, in this case, refers to the ability to go through a full bowl of three to four bags at once, or just blow up for one powerful hit, save the rest for later on.

Herb Usage

The Volcano’s functionality actually has the option for you to preserve your herbs into a bag. The large heat exchanger and convection air stream deliver as measured, and your herbs only cook on-demand with your choice of temperature whenever you want. Other than that, you can also remove the bowl and use the bag system to collect all the vapour to ensure nothing is wasted, unless you have more control then I guess you could blow up partial bags instead of more than you need.

Slow heat up, Fast Blow Up

Since the Volcano is a desktop vaporizer, like some medium-sized machinery, it takes certain to warm up so the Volcano Classic is no different. Based on observation, it takes up 3 minutes to 6 minutes (350° F –  446° F) based on your choice of temperature. However, the Volcano Hybrid speeds up the heat-up process and it will be ready within 2 minutes, so once it hits the chosen temperature, it’ll be a horse race, you’ll need to get that filling bag ready for around 30 seconds. Moreover, the Volcano Hybrid has an auto-shutoff timer which is also adjustable between 5 minutes to 6 hours, but not for the Volcano Classic.

Easy to Use

It doesn’t matter if its the Classic or the Hybrid, these devices are actually quite easy to use. Now the Hyrbid uses Heat and Air buttons, however, the Classic uses Switches, with a heat indicator light. The Classic uses a knob to adjust the temperature whilst the Hybrid uses an LCD readout displaying the temperature settings. Basically, the Classic is like an analogue watch and the Hybrid is digital like a sports watch. Regardless of which version you choose, you will still have the assurance that you won’t burn your herbs. The Bag and Valve has a very interesting feature where it fits at the top of the volcano, clips on it, and starts collecting the vapour up-right, then you could use that bag, pass it around like a joint. Since the Volcano needs to stay plugged into the wall, you could just fill the bag and carry it around with you. Simple as that.

Dry Herbs & Concentrates

Not all dry herb vaporizers are flexible as in certain devices are only compatible with dry herbs or concentrates but not both together but the Volcano is one of the devices that actually allows you to do both which is an awesome feature to appreciate. So the loading chamber carries about half a gram of dry herbs, it works with loads as small as a tenth of a gram using the stainless steel extract pad as a pacer, or dosing capsules. For concentrates or extracts, you’ll need to cover roughly two-thirds of the pad and turn the temperature to the max but if it’s too harsh for you, you’ll need to adjust the load or drop the temperature. Basically, just play around with it and you’ll get the hang of it.

Filling Bags

The cool thing about the filling bags is that they’re easy to share in groups, and it never gets hot because there’s no atomization process whatsoever, as it’s stored in a bag to prevent wastage and such. The bag is sealed by a valve at the top of the bag, which is also where you place your mouth and start inhaling, you don’t really need to do an aggressive draw on the valve, just breathe it in like you normally would with air. You’ll also get around 4 full hits and you could fill it to however much you want as long as it’s not too full otherwise it’ll pop like a balloon.

Accessories

Grinder

Cleaning Brush

Easy Valve Bag System

Solid Valve Bag System

Dosing Capsules

Filling Chamber

Filters

Mouthpiece

Liquid Pad

Material & Safety

All products by Storz & Bickel are tested and certified for consumer use, designed and manufactured in Germany, using an aluminium heat exchanger which will not be mixed into the vapour, therefore, safety is assured. Additionally, It’s safe to say that the Volcano is one of the dry herb vaporizer to be considered a medical-grade device which many can use for therapeutic purposes. Certified by DIN EN ISO 60 335 and TUV SUD.

Dimensions

Height 7.1 in / 18 cm

Diameter 7.9 in / 20 cm

Weight 3.5 lbs / 1.6 kg Classic

Weight 6.5 lbs / 3 kg Hybrid

Low Maintenance

It isn’t that troublesome to take care of the Volcano really, plus you don’t really have to clean it so often but it still depends on how heavily you use the Volcano. Like some dry herbs, the thing you’ll need to pay really close attention to are the screens in the filling chamber, so my advice, just brush out the chamber after each use so it doesn’t stain or create any congestion. Use isopropyl alcohol if you’re thinking about cleaning the filling chamber to really get into it. Overall, the level of maintenance is still fairly low compared to other devices.

Final Thoughts

In my honest opinion, the Volcano is crazy good, it’s so chunky and extreme but performance-wise, it’s awesome. The only thing that surprises me would be the ability to store your vapour in a bag, carry it and share it with your friends. In terms of flexibility, it’s always good to have a device that is compatible with both dry herbs and concentrates. There’s also not much of a difference in the temperature adjustments between the Classic and the Hybrid, to me it’s all about the flexibility or the convenience of adjusting either with the knob or with buttons but I can say that I’m more comfortable with the buttons. The accessories that came with it were amazing and like the Volcano, Storz & Bickel really made all of their stuff simple to use, not once have I thought badly about anything. Overall, I rate it 9/10 just because its an insane machinery to use with friends and none of my friends have complained so far.