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Today we’re going to look at the Splinter by RastaBuddhaTao aka RBT. The Splinter is an on-demand 510 threaded vaporizer that provides full convection heating, massive power, and an intensely terpy flavor. You need a 510 mod to use this, the one I’ll be using in here is the ReuxLeaux RX Gen3 with the my_evic software, but you can use almost any mod with this vaporizer.
Unboxing
When you buy the Splinter, you get the vaporizer itself plus two stems, screens for the stems, and a mixing stick to stir your bowl. If you’re not going to be using an old mod and will be purchasing a new one, double check if it comes with batteries. They are usually sold without, so you may need to pick up a couple of those as well.
Charging & Preparation for First Use
It’s a good idea to fully charge your batteries before you use them for the first time. They typically recommend charging them in an external charger for maximum safety, though I’ve certainly used the USB cord myself. The Splinter doesn’t need much prep, I just gave the screens and stems a quick wash in some isopropyl alcohol, used a q-tip with iso to clean the glass section, and it’s ready to vape.
Design/Size/Weight/Cleaning
The Splinter itself is tiny, it’s made from wood with a glass inner section, and then the heater lives below the mesh. The airflow comes from these holes on the outside, then you can either use it with the included short stem or add on a water pipe adapter or the XL8R stem like this one (I highly recommend this upgrade!). The Splinter is very low maintenance and doesn’t need much, I fish around with the stirring stick to get little bits of bud out, and then the glass can be cleaned in iso to retain the best and most pure flavour.
Different Modes
You can essentially use this vape with two different modes, with a lot of people using wattage mode. If you’re using wattage mode, people use it between 15-40, the average being somewhere in the 20s for your first hit, and maybe less on subsequent draws when the heater is warm. This mode can work great and I get the biggest hits using it, but after discovering TCR mode I haven’t gone back to wattage.
TCR Mode
If you have a mod like this, you can download the my_evic software on it, and I highly recommend that you do. It’s a bit of a pain on a Mac and it took me a bit, but it is very doable. On a PC it is even easier. This custom software lets you enable log mode, which means a quick button hold turns it on, and then you press again to turn it off, so you don’t need to hold it down.
You can also get TCR mode set up which is more like a traditional vape. The heater gets to a certain temp and then it’ll spike the power up or down as you inhale or as it sits to maintain that temperature rather than retaining the power like in wattage mode. Like the XL8R mouthpiece, I haven’t gone back since using this mode. I find it so much more consistent and it takes a lot of the guesswork out of the experience. For TCR mode I’m set to 120, 375F and 40W, and shout out to Colin he made me a killer video on how to enable this mode and you can find that link in the description.
Loading/Demo Session/Efficiency
The screens fit in the stem but I just pop one out and scoop it into my grinder. I’ve used both a coarse grind and a really fine grind. They both work great, but the finer grind is easier to stir between hits and it vapes a bit harder so that’s my jam. Fill the bowl totally full and then gently pack it down, even with fine ground material it shouldn’t fall out after you pack it. Finally, place that back in your stem and you’re ready to vape.
Hold the button down for a second to engage the heater. You’ll see the numbers jump around as it tries to regulate the heater and arrive at 375F. I usually wait about 8-12 seconds until I stop seeing the larger spikes and then I inhale. If I’m using the short mouthpiece I just inhale slowly. I usually do about three hits per heat cycle then I press the button to turn it off.
If I’m using the long mouthpiece or vaping at lower temps, I’ll do a cigar style puff to warm the herb up and then slowly inhale those draws. After that session, I give it a stir, another pat-down, and then hit it again. I usually do two sessions per bowl, and then tap it out into my ABV jar. It’s a very easy and very similar hit every time once you’re set up on your mod. It’s also super-efficient with your herb. I usually just do 2 sessions as I’m a big time flavour junkie, but I’ve certainly pushed it further or up at higher temps. Just keep stirring and you’ll get every last bit of vapour out of your herb.
Vapour Quality (Taste, Smoothness, Size, Strength) and Draw Resistance
The Splinter provides full convection heating, so the vapour on this device really stands above many others. The flavour is outrageously good, you will 100% for sure get terp tongue with this one. The taste is pure as can be and at the lower temps, you can harvest every last bit of it. With the shorter stem, the vapour can be warm. I don’t consider it especially harsh, more dry than anything, but it definitely gets hot if you’re hitting it at those higher temps.
Once I used TCR mode with those settings and this xl8r stem though it was a night and day difference. I went from liking the Splinter in Vape Talk Episode 29 to loving this vape now. It is so much smoother because this stem absorbs much more heat from the vapour. The size of the hits can be tremendous if you use the short stem or the water piece. This one can blast out clouds. I did a Skype session with RBT and he was showing me hitting it through a water piece, it was magnificent I couldn’t believe what he could do.
As far as the strength of the Splinter... just see my last Vape Talk video! Full convection vapes tend to produce the strongest effects, and the Splinter fits into this category. It will floor you when you push it to the limits of what it can do. The draw resistance isn’t bad at all, but I do recommend hitting it nice and slow unless you’re ripping it at higher wattages then you might need to draw really fast.
Battery Life
Battery life when you use this mod is insane as this one has 3 x 18650 batteries in it. I’ve been using this as my daily driver for a bit now and it’s a charge it every few days kind of situation. If you do have a smaller two-battery mod, you’ll need to charge it more often.
Strong Points
The vapour is outstanding on the Splinter, especially with the XL8R mouthpiece. The flavour is ultra-pure and super smooth with the long mouthpiece. It’s still reasonably smooth with the shorty too. The hit size can be basically as big as you want it to be. The convection heating gives super strong effects, this one is among the champions for a heavy hitting device!
The on-demand heating function makes it a super convenient vape, within seconds you’re ripping a huge full convection hit at a reasonable price. The final strong point is that reasonable price. The Splinter is selling for $129.97US on www.sneakypetestore.com and $158.97CAD on vapenorth.ca, so even when you add the mod and the mouthpiece if you want, it’s a really affordable package for an on-demand full convection vaporizing setup.
Weak Points
This is a vaporizer with a learning curve for sure. If someone handed it to me on TCR mode like this when it was heated up and said inhale gently ok yeah it’d be easy, but it took me a while to get there. Expect some less than perfect bowls along the way, maybe even some scorching, but it’s worth the journey. The included mouthpiece is fine but the XL8R is much better, I want to see this come bundled I prefer it so much more, it's much cooler and super smooth. The bucket screens could have a tighter fit. I haven’t had them fall out, but they sit in there looser than I would like to see. It’s nice that it’s flexible, and lots of people already have a 510 threaded mod, but some people want to see a bundle that has the Splinter and includes a mod pre-loaded with this software.
Overall Thoughts
I think this will be a huge year for 510 vapes. They offer some real advantages and the Splinter really has the technology figured out. You get on-demand, full convection vapour that is incredibly flavourful and potent as can be. Also, the Splinter is super-efficient with some stirring, which isn’t too much of a pain, and the fact that many people already own a 510 mod means that you can get a crazy powerful setup for around $130US. Overall, this is one I’ve really enjoyed testing and it’ll definitely find a place in my regular rotation for its power and convenience!
Check out vapenorth.ca and sneakypetestore.com to find the Splinter and it’s accessories and be sure to visit our review section where you can find all of our written reviews.
~KIG, KIS~
Check out the RBT Splinter, tons of other cool vapes and accessories, as well as all my reviews at either of our stores!
CA 🍁 - vapenorth.ca
US 🦅 - sneakypetestore.com
The Splinter by RastaBuddhaTao
CA - Splinter on GWN
US - Splinter on SPV
