Simrell Vaporizer Review

Background

The Simrell Collection stem is super good looking, but more importantly, produces some of the best vapor you’d find in the “manual” or battery-free category. In this review, I’ll look at the design, take it apart to show you how it works, and I’ll also compare it to its closest two competitors- the Tempest 2 and Vestratto Tornado, to find out if it’s worth the hefty $300 price tag.    

Design

First things first, the thing is pretty. It’s made almost exclusively from Titanium, and comes in either this sandblasted finish I have here, or a shiny finish that will look something like the Tornado.

Let’s take it apart and understand how it works.

The Cap

First is the cap. And before I go further, take a second to appreciate the precision and quality of machining here. Titanium is a super hard metal. I’m sure it was very challenging making these threads in both the cap and the bowl. Beautiful. 

The Bowl

Next, the bowl. Again, made from Titanium. It has a heat sink here to help dissipate heat, and the bowl. This is where the herb goes. And again, look at the fine details here, like the tiny text here around the airpath. 

Other parts

Then, a little heat shield, made from Olive wood in this case. 

The spiral airpath. And this end of the spiral is used as a small tool to unscrew the airpath from the body.  

The same tool can be used to unscrew the cap, to separate the titanium “heating engine” plus the two small “click” discs. These create the famous “click” sound when battery free devices get to temp.

The heating engine

The heating engine is a piece of solid titanium that acts as a thermal mass. It heats up via conduction and stores that heat. With each inhale, it transfers the heat to the air around it to create a jet of conduction heat. The threads increase its surface area and therefore improves its efficacy when transferring heat to the air around it as it travels through these threads.

Assembly Tips

Now I’ll assemble it, and one thing to pay attention to is the orientation of these discs. They should be stacked with their centers touching, not their sides. Alright I’ll put it back together here.     

Usage

To use it, I unscrew the cap, and load the bowl. One thing to note about the bowl here- it is narrow and deep. This is how it compares to the Tempest 2 which is wider and more shallow, or the Tornado which has a fairly large cup that is part of the cap. 

Then, as will all battery-free devices, the heat must be applied externally with a torch or an induction heater, like the YLL 3.0 here. I have a separate review of this induction heater but basically I can’t live without it. I hate torches, and use this 100% of the time. I have a separate review for this, google “vape guy YLL induction heater” to find it- I have 10% posted there as well. 

I set mine up to 60 watts and 45 seconds, and just pop it in. And since I dialed in the exact time and power, I ignore the clicks altogether and only pay attention to the timer. 

During use, I like pulsing my finger on the carb, I feel like that creates denser vapor. Which gets me to the next part- performance and vapor quality. 

Performance 

This is where the Simrell truly shines. The vapor quality is outstanding. It’s a lot better than the Tornado for example, and pretty much on par with Tempest 2. The vapor is dense, and subtle notes of the flavor are preserved remarkably well. 

I usually get around 3 good hits, then I go for a 15 second re-heat and get one or two more. Obviously the first hit is the best and the last is the worst, and how far you go is a personal preference, but overall the vapor quality of this thing is pretty amazing.   

Drawbacks

Let’s take a second to talk about drawbacks, which- there aren’t many, but the ones it has are hard to swallow. While the Simrell is a great performer, usability isn’t its strongest suit. 

First, unlike the Tempest [pause] and the Tornado [pause] which are highly magnetic, the Simrell isn’t. I like using the magnet of the YLL or the Reload to unscrew my cap and empty the bowl right after a session. With the Simrell, since it is not magnetic, I need to wait until it’s cold to uncap it. 

I heard some people use the stand to get some leverage and then unscrew while hot, but doing that even twice created a visible scratch around my new cap. Not ideal for a $300 device that focuses on aesthetics.  

I know there are some leather straps and accessories to help with that, but for $300- one should have been included in the kit. Just a small ring to help open while hot. Even silicone would have been fine. 

Second, the chamber is deep and narrow. So the material likes getting stuck in there, and needs a sharp tool or something to actively “debowl” it. The Tempest for example, has a wider chamber, so at the end of a session, the cap sticks to the YLL with the magnet for easy unscrewing, and one or two taps on a hard surface are enough to eject the cashed material. A lot more simple “end of session” procedure. 

Simrell VS. Tempest 2

When comparing the Simrell to the Tempest 2 and Torando–

1. It’s easily the most visually appealing one. The Tempest 2 and Tornado look like tactical gear. The Simrell is actually good looking. 
2. It has the smallest chamber, and as I mentioned- deeper and more narrow than the other 2. 
3. As far as performance- both Simrell and Tempest produce better tasting vapor than the Tornado, but the Tornado has a “heavier” hit and denser vapor. 

Google “vape guy” and Tempest 2 or Tornado to find the full review videos on my website for more details about these.  

Bottom line

Bottom line, the Simrell is a Premium device, that may not have the most convenient usage process (or just one that needs some “getting used to”) but when it comes to vapor quality and performance- the thing is a beast. 

Is it worth $300? Maybe. Not as your first device if you ask me, there are devices out there with better value (my top rated portables | top rated stem vapes | top rated herb ball vapes), but if you’re a flavor chaser and have a growing collection of devices and know what to expect, the Simrell is one of the best performing battery-free devices available this year.