Hey guys, Max here from Australian Vaporizers and today we’re looking at the Gpen Elite
by Grenco Science.
Not gonna sugar-coat this.
Grenco got off to a rocky start.
They released a series of pen vapes a few years back that were pretty sub-par.
Public endorsements by Snoop Dogg led to more or less instant popularity but in my opinion,
it was definitely misplaced.
Since then they’ve released a bunch of G Pen variants, then the G Pro, which was a
lot better but still not something I would actively recommend.
Then, finally, the Gpen Elite.
So you’ll forgive me for not expecting too much from this one.
Wasn’t too keen on trying it at first to be honest.
Let me tell you though, after seeing some positive reviews and giving it a go, I’m
pretty glad I did.
Just how good is it?
Stick around and check it out.
First up, let’s have a look at what you get with the kit.
Nice packaging.
Opening it up, here’s the vape itself.
Much smaller than I was expecting, even though I’d seen photos and size comparisons, they
really don’t do it justice.
It’s slightly bigger than a Pax 2 which is ones of the smallest units available at
the moment so it’s definitely pocket friendly.
Overall Feel Another expectation I had was a cheap plasticy feel like the G Pro which
certainly isn’t the case.
It’s got a nice weight to it which really gives it a sense of quality.
Very interesting layout and shape too.
As you can see we’ve got a power button, temp select buttons on the side and, you can’t
see it now but there’s actually a display here for temperature and battery life.
Micro USB port on the base for charging.
The herb chamber is located straight underneath the mouthpiece which can be a little tricky
to remove.
There we are.
Pretty massive ceramic bowl here with no screen at the bottom, just four holes for air intake.
Grenco claim that it’s the largest filling chamber of any portable on the market.
I’d say it’s a close one between this and the Boundless units.
The mouthpiece, which consists of a removable stainless steel screen and a high-temp plastic
interior makes up the rest of the vapour path.
While most people prefer glass to most other materials; the quality of thermoplastics has
improved quite a bit since the early days of portable vaping so it’s not as taboo
as it used to be.
Moving on to the little box of accessories here we have a micro USB charge cable, a cleaning
brush, a stir tool / scraper kinda thing and a grinder card (which is basically a herb
grater).
Let’s fire it up hey?
5 presses of the power button to start it up, once this happens the G logo down here
will light up and so will the display on the side.
Before you go ahead and use it for the first time, it’s definitely a good idea to crank
it all the way up to the maximum temp setting and let it run for as long as you can.
This helps to get rid of any factory materials and artificial tastes.
When you first power it on, it’ll sit in stand-by mode until you hold the power button
to start heating so don’t freak out if the numbers aren’t changing straight away.
The Elite shuts itself off automatically after 5 minutes but try your best to run it through
as many of these cycles as possible before your very first session.
Don’t worry, you’ll only ever have to do this once.
Once you’ve finished the dry runs let the unit cool down and if the battery’s starting
to run low I’d charge it up too.
Filling the chamber’s pretty straight forward, no need to pack it tightly but unfortunately
it doesn’t work too well with smaller amounts so, like the Pax, you’ll have to load quite
a bit in there for best results.
As far as grind consistency goes, finer is better.
Once you’re done, pop the mouthpiece back on.
Next up, set your temperature.
The Elite has a nice broad range of 93 to 220c so you’ve got heaps of flexibility.
It tends to run pretty hot so it’s best to start at about 175c and work your way up.
You can make adjustments by the single degree so it’s nice and easy to fine tune.
Now don’t go anywhere while you’re waiting for this thing to heat up.
30 seconds and you’ll be ready to go.
Of course, like most units with a quick heat up, it’s best to leave it a little longer
for best results, but I’m still quite impressed.
Airflow is surprisingly decent.
When I looked at the 4 outlet holes on the base of the chamber, I was thinking it’d
be like sucking through a thick shake straw ala the Solo.
Yes, there is some restriction and while it’s not as free-flowing as the Crafty or the Mighty,
it is better than most other portables, especially smaller ones.
Vapour production is quite good.
You can get away with short or long draws which is a plus.
The main problem though is that the chamber’s just so massive that I usually don’t want
to fill it right up.
So if you’re someone who enjoys smaller sessions, this might not be the vape for you.
Cooling capacity isn’t the greatest.
I’d say it’s on par with the Pax 2.
The mouthpiece does have a silicone casing but it still heats up enough to make it uncomfortable
to draw on, especially if you’re having back-to-back sessions.
If you want something to use heavily or pass around, I’d steer clear.
The taste isn’t great, especially when the unit’s fairly new.
Much like the Boundless CF and CFX though, it does dramatically improve after the first
couple of uses.
As I mentioned earlier, an extended burn off will help with this.
I’d also be inclined to take the mouthpiece off and soak it in some hot water for a while
when you first unbox it.
The Elite uses an internal rechargeable 2200mAh lithium-ion battery which is not user-replaceable.
How long does a battery last?
You’ll get roughly 4x 10 minute uses per charge depending on your temp setting.
This is fairly average for a unit of this size but just bear in mind that the capacity
will degrade slowly over time so it’s probably not suitable for a heavy user.
It does charge via Micro USB which is nice and handy and you can use it while it’s
charging.
It’ll take about 2 hours to charge from flat which isn’t too bad so I would probably
avoid using it until it’s done just to preserve the life of the battery.
Cleaning the Elite is fairly simple.
The vaporpath doesn’t run through the entire unit which I’m definitely a fan of.
This means that you don’t need pipe cleaners to give this thing a good once over.
So let’s get started.
As with most portable vapes, the filling chamber, top screen and mouthpiece will need the most
attention.
Start by taking your mouthpiece off and disassembling it.
The screen here just slides out and the silicone casing can be separated as well.
Soak these parts in some Isopropyl alcohol for a few minutes.
While they’re soaking, dust out the filling chamber with the included brush and then use
a q-tip dampened with some more Iso to scrub away at the ceramic surface.
If you try your best to keep the top screen and chamber dusted out after each session,
you should only have to do this once every 2-3 weeks, depending on your own usage patterns
of course.
Not a whole lot to replace on the G Pen Elite.
It might be worth-while grabbing an extra mouthpiece so you can have them on a bit of
a cleaning rotation but it’s definitely not 100% necessary.
As long as you take care of it and don’t lose the screen, the only upkeep cost would
be the Isopropyl alcoholwhich is cheap as chips.
The Elite is covered by a 1 year warranty.
Opinion I’m a bit torn about this one.
On one hand; great temperature control, build quality, it’s pocket-friendly, fast heat
up time.
On the other hand I was disappointed by the taste, cooling capacity and efficiency with
smaller loads.
In short, if you’re after a stealthy portable and you’re already using a fair bit of material
for your average session, then the G Pen Elite could be the vape for you.
The battery life could be a limiting factor if you’re a frequent user so if you’re
tied to something of this size then it’s probably worth spending the extra money on
a Pax 2.
That’s all from me guys.
Thanks so much for watching and hope you enjoyed it.
If you’ve got any questions or comments, shoot them at us below and as always, don’t
forget to like and subscribe.
This is Max from Australian Vaporizers.
Have a good one.