Volcano creator Storz and Bickel celebrates success with the Crafty+

This article is brought to you by Storz and Bickel, celebrating 20 years of iconic vaporizers.

Even if you don’t know Storz and Bickel, you probably know their flagship product: The Volcano, a groundbreaking tabletop vaporizer known for its potent hits and distinct vapor balloon. Many consider the Volcano to be the gold standard for vaporizers, and the device is one of the most widely utilized for the scientific study of cannabis—especially the Volcano Medic, the first medical cannabis vaporizer put into circulation.

After the company built one of the world’s most iconic vaporizers, they still had plenty of room to grow, including different formats of high-quality vaporizers. Their success with the Volcano led them to create two lines of portables, called the Mighty and the Crafty.

The Crafty+ is the latest in Storz and Bickel’s lineup of portables for vaporizing flower. It’s improved design showcases the brand’s commitment to continuous change on behalf of consumers.

Building the perfect portable

While the beloved Volcano has maintained (and even gained) popularity for two decades, Storz and Bickel identified the need for a more convenient experience in 2014. Company founders Markus Storz and Jürgen Bickel had a deep desire to expand their empire with portable herbal vapes that could deliver a quality experience on-the-go.

“They’re always the first customers to try the product—and they’re very picky,” explains Vatra Syla, head of marketing at Storz and Bickel. “It takes time, sometimes years, until they are satisfied with the design of our portable devices and approve them for international release.”

The founder/inventors prioritized the aspects of other devices that consumers seemed to love most, like convection heating. The smaller size of portable vaporizers presented a challenge that the brand had to take on headfirst.

“They realized that you need two or three hits if you only use convection to actually get the temperature of the herbs to where they should be,” says Syla.

Many portable vaporizers end up using conduction since those heating elements take up less space, but it doesn’t heat the chamber as efficiently, causing inconsistent airflow. So Storz and Bickel patented a hybrid of conduction and convection for their lineup of portables. It keeps the device at a travel-friendly size, without sacrificing a dense hit.

“People that have tried a lot of vaporizers immediately get the difference when they draw,” says Syla. “There’s very little draw resistance, so you can just breathe in instead of experiencing difficulty sucking and pulling on a device.”

Portable flower vaporizers are tricky, and airflow isn’t the only issue that could be a pain for users. Different herbs have different temperature requirements, and it can be hard building that kind of fine-tuning into a pocket-size device.

This is why the Mighty and Crafty took so long to build. The devices not only had to meet the performance standards of a tabletop model, but they also had to be effortlessly portable. When they were released in 2014, the vaporizers were such a hit that the company doubled in size within one year.

Above and Beyond Usability

Six years later, the Crafty+ improves upon the original Crafty, with longer battery life, improved grip, and improved heating efficiency. It still uses their trademark mix of conduction and convection but heats up about 30 percent faster.

The new and improved device has a button for switching between three presets, and an app for fine-tuning the temp. With a Bluetooth connection, the app can even help you find a lost device by making it light up and buzz—a feature that is, frustratingly, missing from most other vape apps.

With the Crafty+, there’s no need to carry around your herbs and grinder. Specially-made metal dosing capsules let you load up your flower in advance, providing the convenience of an oil-cartridge with the versatility of an herbal vape. Accessories like magazines and keychains make them easy to carry around.

“When you’re on the go, you don’t have to fill the device itself—you just pop out your previous capsule and pop the new one in,” explains Syla. “It’s really convenient and keeps like the device cleaner, you don’t have to clean it so often.”

Still setting the standard

Storz believed in his original Volcano product so much that he financed its original production 20 years ago on his own—and with that kind of commitment, the brand will never be content resting on its laurels. It’s why their portables are so meticulously designed, including the new and improved Crafty+.

Get yours today at storzandbickel.com.