Today we’re going to review the Titan-1 portable vaporizer from the manufacturer Vapor Source. The Titan 1 looks suspiciously similar to Grenco Science’s G Pro Herbal and the K-Vape from Kandy Pens. So, we suspect, as do other reviewers, that these units are merely just branded versions of the Titan-1, with a couple variations here and there. The Titan-1 is a great unit to re-brand because it is easy to use, sleek in design and offers newbie connoisseurs a fairly inexpensive and simple starter unit. With so much hype surrounding its branded counterparts, we were curious to see what the original model could offer us. So without further ado, read on to see what we think of the Titan-1.
Editors Note: Let’s face it, the Titan 1 has not aged well, but many people still see it as a viable option as a starter vaporizer because of the price. If you are one of these people, we would encourage you to take a look at the Utillian 420 first. This unit almost defies what a budget vaporizer should be, offering users a digital display, glass mouthpiece and ceramic heating chamber, features normally reserved for intermediate units. For under $100, the 420 is a steal and will serve you much better than the Titan 1 ever will.
Review: Titan 1 Vaporizer
How it Works
To get vaping with the Titan-1, first just pop off the mouthpiece and load freshly ground botanical into the heating chamber. With a unit like this, we found it’s best to slightly pack your botanicals in there to get even conduction vaporization, without restricting airflow or over filling the chamber. Then just pop the mouthpiece back on. To turn the unit on, press the button 5 times quickly. The unit will automatically start heating to the medium heat setting and the button will glow red as the unit is heating. To toggle between temperature settings, just press and hold the button for 3 seconds. Once the Titan-1 is heated, the button will glow green and you are ready to vaporize!
Temperature Flexibility
The Titan-1 has 3 pre-set temperature settings, which isn’t bad for a 1 button unit. The unit will automatically turn on to the medium setting, indicated by the green light. This heat setting is 380 ° F or 193 ° C. The lowest heat setting is at 360 °F or 182.2 ° C, indicated by the red light and the highest heat setting, 420 ° F or 215.5 ° C, is indicated by the blue light. These temperature settings are stretched out over quite the range and we really noticed the difference in vapor quality between the settings. We always recommend vaporizing between 190- 210 ° C and so with this unit, found that the middle setting at 193 ° C was the most efficient.
Vapor Quality
The vapor quality of the Titan-1 isn’t terrible by any means, but it certainly what we’d call enjoyable or endorse. Our first major quam was the fact the vapor tasted and smelt of plastic. This odor and flavour isn’t uncommon with vaporizers, but it usually disappears after sterilizing the unit or after a couple sessions. Unfortunately, the Titan-1’s plastic aroma still lingers to this day, even after much testing. Not only is this a bit unpleasant, it’s also concerning for health reasons. When we first tested the Titan-1 vaporizer we started out on its medium setting of 193 °C. The vapor was distinctly warm and the first few draws were OK, but as the session continued the vapor became increasingly harsh, making us cough. The lowest heat setting was less dense, but the vapor was so wispy and unsatisfying, we quickly realized we were not going to get a decent session with this setting. The highest heat setting was way too harsh for our liking and quickly tasted over-cooked, producing a slightly burnt flavour mixed with plastic.
Manufacturing Quality
The Titan-1 is a Chinese manufactured unit and its low price tag is pretty reflective of its quality. The entire unit is pretty much plastic, from its exterior to mouthpiece. This does have the advantage that the unit is very lightweight, but as we mentioned, it really affects the vapor quality. In addition, it means there is very little insulation around the heating chamber and the area around the chamber gets very hot to the touch. Ouch! Because the mouthpiece is made of hard plastic and only snaps on, it also comes off very easily. Another interesting thing we noticed was that the Titan rattles when shook. This means internal components, most likely the heating chamber or battery, are moving around in there which could definitely cause issues down the road. However, the manufacture did take care to design a pretty functional stainless steel, conduction-based heating chamber which actually vaporizes really evenly. In addition, the LED lights and buttons are actually pretty nice and do add a higher quality look to the unit. Overall the manufacturing quality is not great by any means, but it’s pretty average for a unit in this price range.
Battery Life
The Titan-1 features an internal, USB rechargeable 2200 mAh battery which the manufacturer claims to provide 80 minutes of continuous use. We are guessing this estimation was based off vaporizing strictly on the lowest temperature setting because we were only able to get 5 cycles (at 10 minutes per) by vaporizing on the medium heat setting. 50 minutes of vaporizing is pretty underwhelming, considering other vaporizers like the Smite can offer 3 hours of use off one charge. With vaporizer tech quickly advancing, we are pretty disappointed when a unit offers less than an hour of use.
Portability
The Titan-1 is a fairly portable unit, mostly because of its sleek design and light weight. It is a bit too awkward to sit in one’s pocket, but because the plastic makes it pretty durable, you can toss it in a bag without worrying it will break. We do caution against pre-loading the unit however because the plastic mouthpiece is sure to come off during travels exposing the chamber and spilling its contents. Also, because the battery life sits just under an hour, you will quickly be looking for a place to charge your unit after just a few sessions.
Ease of Use
The 1-button operation offered by the Titan-1 makes the unit pretty simple to operate. This one button controls both turning the unit on/off and toggling between the temperature settings. One thing not very intuitive however, are the temperature settings. The medium setting is indicated by the color green, which also is the LED light color used by the button to indicate the unit is fully heated. The lowest heat setting is red, which in most other units indicates the highest temperature setting. This red color is also used by the button to indicate the unit is heating. The highest heat setting is blue, which seems unusual too, considering blue is thought of as a cool color. So, without doing a little digging, it was a bit perplexing to figure out which temperature setting was which. On the bright side, loading of this unit is super simple because the chamber is easily accessible and fairly large, and cleaning and maintenance are also a breeze because the Titan-1 vaporizer has minimal removable parts to worry about. The 10 minute auto-shut off is also a nice safety feature, although if we’re being honest, 5 minutes would have been plenty and saved more on battery life.
Discreetness
The Titan-1 is about the length of a pen, but it’s about the thickness of a glue stick, so it’s certainly not as discreet as your average pen style vaporizer. Furthermore, the LED lights make a large middle proportion of the unit glow while in use, which is pretty attention grabbing. With a little strategic hand placement, you can almost fully conceal the unit in your hand, but to comfortably hold the unit during a session, the top and bottom would definitely stick out. The black unit is considerably more discreet than the wine red color we received, but in any case, this unit’s discreetness level is fairly average for a portable unit.
Overall Experience
If you were just getting into the world of vaporizing, we can certainly understand why the Titan-1, or one of its branded brothers would be appealing to you. It’s pretty small and portable, simple to operate and does what it’s supposed to. However if you’ve been exposed to other vaporizers, you will quickly realize that the Titan’s vapor and manufacturing quality are less than desirable. The Titan-1 vaporizer certainly has potential but it could definitely use a quality overhaul. So, if you are new to vaping or just want a lower cost unit, we certainly recommend checking out the Utillian 420. It has tripled the battery life and vapor quality that truly satisfies.
Thanks for reading and as always, keep vapin’! 😉
Alex is a cannabis enthusiast, long time vaporizer lover, writer and filmmaker. He is also a board and video game nerd with a penchant for hosting a weekly board game night. Partygoers have been heard saying things like “is anyone else going to show up?” and “I don’t think I can make it next week”. He strives to make people laugh at every opportunity and sees cannabis as a helpful tool in doing so.
The reviews and ratings are based on personal and decade-plus of industry experience. Such content is based on the opinion of the Editor/Author. They are solely provided as a basis for research and should be used only as guidance. We encourage thorough research by all visitors to attain the most objective viewpoint before purchasing.
How it Works
Temperature Flexibility
Vapor Quality
Battery Life
Portability
Ease of Use
Discreetness
Overall Experience
