After reviewing The Mighty by Storz & Bickel, we challenged the Vivant Alternate, a similar dry herb vape, to prove itself to us as well.
Vivant is a fairly new contender to the dry herb vaping market. Vivant originated from Orange County, California and started making products in November 2016.
The name of the company comes from the French saying, Bon Vivant, which translates to: one whom enjoys a sociable, yet luxurious and high-end lifestyle.
We decided to test a Vivant vaporizer, the Alternate, to see if it is a key to a Bon Vivant lifestyle!
Design & Features
The Vivant Alternate is designed to vape loose leaf cannabis, but also serves as a combo vaporizer. It has the ability to vape cannabis wax concentrates and oils as well.
Although the Vivant Alternate may not be the slickest looking vape (the PAX for dry herb is pretty damn slick), it does pack quite a punch.
The Vivant Alternate has many of these great features that most vapes lack:
- Interchangeable LI-ION battery
- Adjustable airflow for the preferred hit
- OLED display that shows current battery life and temperature settings
- Adjustable temperature settings to the exact degree Fahrenheit (or Celsius)
- Blowback prevention which is a huge safety measure
- Hybrid convection/conduction heating
The exterior of the Vivant Alternate vape is designed with a glistening, charcoal finish that’s reminiscent of The Mighty vape. The handheld-sized design of the Alternate gives us Déjà vu of The Mighty’s little sister, The Crafty by Storz & Bickel.
While The Mighty’s mouthpiece swivels out in a side-to-side fashion, the Alternate’s mouthpiece pulls out and rises upwards like a cannon ready to unleash some potent vapor!
Despite the visual similarities, the materials in the Alternate are different. Aluminum makes up the exterior walls of the vaporizer’s bowl, with a polyether ketone plastic for the mouthpiece, cooling chamber and overall exterior of the product. This form of plastic, commonly used in vaporizers, has been designed specifically to withstand high temperatures.
In addition to the analogous physiques of the Vivant Alternate and the Storz & Bickel vapes, the Alternate also has some features common to the Mighty. The Vivant Alternate has the ability to adjust the heat to specific temperatures. With a range from 158 °F (70°C) to 428 °F (220 °C), the Alternate vaporizer actually surpasses The Mighty’s maximum temperature range of 410 °F! You also have the option of displayed the temp as Fahrenheit or Celsius.
The loading chambers are practically twins, with The Mighty’s chamber being slightly larger than the Alternate.
Both vapes include concentrate pads which are placed inside the heating chamber to allow for vaping of cannabis concentrates like waxes and oils. Both vapes also use hybrid conduction and convection heating which allows for maximum heating efficiency.
The last main feature, the automatic shutoff timer, prevents you from wasting cannabis. This is great for those occasions when you get hit with cannabis-induced amnesia and forget to turn off your vaporizer while not in use.
What’s Included
- 1 x Alternate vaporizer
- 1 x Stainless Steel Concentrate Pad
- 1 x Brush
- 1 x USB Charging Cable
- 1 x User Manual &
- 1 x Four Piece Grinder Tool
- 1 x Seal Ring (Top Cap)
- 2 x Seal Ring (Airflow Director)
- 2 x Stainless Steel Mesh (Mesh Number: 200)
- 2 x Stainless Steel Mesh (Mesh Number: 50)
- 1 x 18650 Battery (Discharging Current > 30A) (Optional)
Tech Specs
- Materials: Aluminum oven, PEET polymer plastic exterior/mouthpiece/chamber
- Temperature Range: 158-428°F (70-220°C)
- Oven Chamber: Holds 0.1 – 0.2 grams of coarsely ground flower or 0.5 grams of fine ground flower
- Dimensions: 4.4 x 1.8 x 0.6-1.1 inches (12 x 4.5 x 1.5-2.7 cm)
- Battery Type: Rechargeable 18650 LI-ION battery
- Battery Capacity: Sony 30 amp, 2100 mAH
- Screen: LED
How to Use
Installing & Charging Battery
The first thing that the instruction manual states to do, is to make sure that the battery is installed in the proper way with the + facing up to the mouthpiece, and the – facing downwards. You can check the battery’s placement by removing the mouthpiece/cooling chamber, and sliding the battery cover upwards to reveal the battery.
Making sure the vaporizer is charged is a must, as the battery life, in our personal experience, can be dwindled down fast if the battery is lower than 40%.
The battery is easily recharged by USB cable.
Grinding & Loading Chamber
After verifying that the vaporizer is set to be used, you can use the handy four part grinding accessory included to begin shredding the flower into a coarse consistency that allows for an evenly distributed vaporization.
Just like The Mighty, the Alternate includes a funnel like attachment that can be placed under the grinder to allow for clean transfer of the ground cannabis material from grinder to bowl/chamber.
After filling the chamber up to 0.3 – 0.5 grams of dry herb (or dropping some oil onto the concentrate liquid pad, that can be placed in the bowl), the vaporizer is ready to show off its capabilities!
Power & Setting Temperature
Simply turn on the vaporizer by pressing the middle power button on the bottom of the vaporizer five times. You can then use the plus or minus buttons to select a precise temperature to begin with.
We personally recommend starting at 325 °F to present your taste-buds with the best flavor profiles.
Once your temperature is set, simply hold the power button for approximately three seconds. The oven will begin to heat up. When the chamber reaches your desired temp displayed on the LED screen, you can start puffing away!
Our Experience
This vape has quite a learning curve to get the hang of. It was one of the biggest drawbacks for us.
For experienced vapor users, the Alternate vape will take a few minutes to get the hang of its various temperature controls, settings, and features. For those new to vaping, this vaporizer may not be as simple to use right away.
Heat Up Times
When heating the Alternate vape from the lowest to highest temperature, the heat up time is definitely slower than other vapes we have tested.
We noticed that at lower battery percentages (specifically 25% or less) the vape will either shut off half way when heating up or will take longer to heat up than when fully charged.
From start to finish, the average heat up we recorded is anywhere from 2-3 minutes. While this is a plus over desktop vaporizers that can take as long as five minutes or more to fully heat up, it’s kind of slow to heat up when compared with similar portable vaporizers.
Battery Life
We found the battery life on the Vivant Alternate vaporizer to be somewhat short.
In our experience, we have seen the vaporizer’s battery life range from 30-45 minutes or last less on a full charge. For this reason, you might want to carry some spare 18650 batteries.
However, carrying extra batteries can be inconvenient, especially if you’re on the go and require both portability and discreetness. In this case, dry herb and loose leaf vaporizers such as the PAX, FireFly, or V2 PRO Series 7 vapes may be more appropriate options.
The Vivant Altnerate battery is rechargeable by USB cable. It takes about 60-90 minutes to fully recharge the battery.
Vapor Quality
Dry Herb Vaping
We thoroughly enjoyed using the Vivant Alternate for both dry herb and concentrates.
Despite the plastic mouthpiece, the overall flavor of the cannabis we vaped was not affected. The Alternate transferred a mouthwatering array of flavors from the cannabis we used.
We used multiple strains to experiment with how different flavors, consistencies, and terpenes are transfused. Some flower strains we used in the vaporizer included: Green Crack, Super Silver Haze, and Blue Dream.
We also tested the production of vapor when using a super fine grind, and a coarser grind. After some lovely experimentation, the Alternate definitely does better with fresher flowers than drier ones, and vapor production is noticeably thicker with a coarse grind than a fine one. The coarse grind is easily achieved when using the grinding accessory provided.
Lastly, it is worth noting that at temperatures above 375 degrees Fahrenheit (190 degrees Celsius), the vaporizer can get extremely warm to hold. This may come in handy during those cold Winter days, otherwise it’s too warm for comfort.
Concentrate Vaping
RSO (also known as Rick Simpson Oil) is the concentrate that we used in the Alternate to test its capabilities in vaporizing concentrates.
To do this, we bought Black Diamond’s 1:1 CBD:THC RSO Oil. With the concentrate pad placed in the bowl’s chamber, the CBD oil was then carefully dropped onto pad. We set the temperature to 375 degrees Fahrenheit (190 degrees Celsius), and after a couple draws that mainly consisted of sweet flavor, the vapor production increased, resulting in some potent and thick luxurious clouds!
Final Thoughts
Overall, the Vivant Alternate vaporizer is definitely worth purchasing if you are looking for a lower priced portable vaporizer. While the Alternate’s vapor, battery life, and build quality may not match the level of the notorious Mighty vape, it definitely packs a strong punch for its affordable price tag.
If you do decide to purchase a Vivant Alternate vape, we highly recommend purchasing a couple extra 20 amp or higher 18650 batteries, in order to resolve the disappointing battery life. It will also save you a lot of headaches and frustration, if you read the user manual fully.
In the end, the Alternate vaporizer could use some improvements, but for its cheap price and ability to vape both concentrate and loose leaf cannabis, it’s a decent value. This combo vaporizer is definitely a solid, budget friendly alternative to the top loose leaf and combo vaporizers which will run you several hundreds of dollars more.
If you do end up purchasing the Vivant Alternate, we wish you a Bon Vivant experience!
Price & Where to Buy
You can buy the Vivant Alternate directly from Vivant’s website, for $129.99.
You can find this vape at My Vapor Store for a cheaper price of $99.99.
Vivant Alternate Vape
$129.99
Pros
- Affordable
- Vapor Quality
- Concentrate & Dry Herb Compatibility
- Extremely Useful Grinder accessory
Cons
- Battery Life
- Product gets hot to hold at higher temperatures
- Complicated features for beginners
Shops for Dry Herb & Flower Vapes
Dry Herb Vapes from Smoke Cartel
Dry Herb Vapes from TCVS
Curated selection of the best e-rigs and concentrate vapes, and glass rigs. Unique policy for vape rentals and buybacks.
