DaVinci Artiq Review

Background

DaVinci's latest release is the ARTIQ 510 battery, which is a surprising release from a brand that until now only released dry herb vapes. Dry Herb “purists” usually snob away from 510 carts, and it used to have a good reason- most carts use solvents and are considered more “processed” than herb or even dabs. 

But extraction methods have come a long way in the last couple of years, and these days, dispensaries sell live rosin carts that are cold-extracted without using any solvents. Plus, carts are easier to use and have no learning curve when compared to herb or wax, so it looks like carts are making a comeback.

Design & Features

Most carts use a universal connection called a 510 thread to connect to a battery. It just means that there are ten threads with 0.5mm in between them.

So carts from all brands are compatible with a variety of batteries. 

Super-stealthy 

The DaVinci ARTIQ is a little different than most 510 batteries, as the cart is completely concealed inside the body. Pen-style batteries are the least stealthy, then there are semi-concealed ones where only the tip of the battery is visible, and there are very few batteries out there that fully conceal the cart. 

Obviously, the advantage of such a battery is that it easily flies under the radar and can pass as a pod vape or an eCig, which has nothing to do with weed or carts. It can easily pass an external hard drive or a power bank. The bottom has an air intake hole, USB-C charging port, and an activation button.

The DaVinci has an Aluminum body that slides up, and the cart sits here with a magnetic adapter. There are two of these adapters included, so you can swap carts easily, and the mechanism works flawlessly. 

Cooling mechanism

The ARTIQ also has a cooling mechanism that, according to DaVinci, will reduce the temperature of the vapor by up to 90%. But we'll get to that in sec.

The vapor comes out of the cart here and goes through this elongated vapor path here which cools it down vs. if you inhale it directly from the tip of the cart.

But to be honest, I never have issues with hot vapor unless I rip on the vape nonstop back to back, which I really never do. This type of use is also called “blinkers,” as the battery shuts off after ten seconds or so, and the light starts blinking. 

So maybe if you do multiple blinkers, you will feel a substantial difference in the temperature of the vapor, but in everyday life, this cooling feature doesn't make a huge difference. And just to be clear, there is no “active cooling” here. It's just the longer vapor path that cools down the vapor. 

Bubbler adapter

The kit also includes a raised mouthpiece that can be used as an adapter for glass rigs or used with DaVinci's glass bubbler, that's available separately. 

Using the bubbler obviously improved the flavor by order of magnitude. Shipping the ARTIQ with the raised mouthpiece included instead of shipping separates shows a lot about the brand and how they cater to both beginners and experienced users.

Usage

It has three voltage settings, with a triple tap to toggle, and I'll set mine on Blue, which is the lowest. 

Then I can inhale through the mouthpiece for draw activation, or I can click the button twice to start preheating. I use preheating for the first inhale of the session, but if I take a few inhales back to back, I just inhale without preheating in between. 

When inhaling, the ARTIQ has this heartbeat-haptic feedback that lets you know that the draw is registered and the device is working. 

Pressing and holding the button will function as a carb cap and stop activation so you can clear the remaining vapor from the air path.

Bottom line

I've been using the ARTIQ for a couple of weeks now, and it is definitely well-made and cleverly designed. The cooling feature, in my opinion, is more of a marketing gimmick than a real-life feature, but regardless of that, the ARTIQ performed very well in my testing. 

I especially like how the cart is concealed here. First, it is protected from damage, plus it is a lot more discreet than exposed carts. 

With preheat mode, carb mode, and haptic feedback, the ARTIQ is easily the most feature-packed 510 battery I've ever used. And I think at $60, actually $48, if you use the coupon code listed below, it provides great value over other options. 

The Yocan UNI, for example, which is made in China, is not fully concealed, has basically zero options except for voltage levels, and it costs $50. The ARTIQ is head and shoulders above it, in my opinion, and easily the smarter buy, especially if you value stealth and discretion.