It's hard to say you need another vape when you already own a few, but the best weed vapes these days are truly unique in their design that I keep collecting. I’ve owned a DaVinci Miqro for a few years now & love it despite the small battery quirks. And I talked myself into buying the DaVinci IQC after I took my Arizer Solo II camping. While the Solo II is an outstanding vape — it's more built for reading video game codexes than venturing into the outdoors.
When released in 2021, the IQC ($199) was marketed as a slight step down from DaVinchi's feature-packed IQ2 ($295). The IQC didn't have the adjustable air pathway and dosage monitoring capabilities that come with the IQ2 — thus, the smaller price tag.
After testing the IQC for a few months now, I can say it's no downgrade, it's the vape best suited to share with friends. It's the vape that's rugged enough to take camping and sleek enough to take to a wedding. Whether or not it's the best weed vape for the money– the IQC is sure to stand out in any collection as one of the strongest and most unique.
To learn more about our testing methodology and how we evaluate products, head here.
What I Like About the DaVinci IQC
It’s ultra sleek
DaVinci has come a long way from their first walkie-talkie-looking vape from 2011 & looking at their vape design history you can see how a lot of the design elements from the original IQ (released in 2016) are still present on the IQC. The body of the IQC is made of a sandblasted aluminum that doesn't show fingerprints, the buttons are as premium as a high-end tv remote and the display is a minimalist led dot matrix that's quite unique.
As a full package, the IQC is incredibly sleek, pocketable, easy to hit, intuitive to use, and easy to pack and service. While the Arizer Solo II is still an outstanding daily driver, the IQC is a sports car of a vape.
The mouthpiece is designed to share
Although the mouthpiece on the IQC may appear like plastic at first glance, it’s actually the coolest feature. The mouthpiece is made of an innovative antimicrobial polymer called ShareSafe(™). The polymer was developed in-house by DaVinci and approved by the FDA in 2021 with the release of the IQC.
While Dyson was innovating on air purifier headphones that fell on deaf ears, DaVinci was making innovations with some stoner material sciences. The ShareSafe antimicrobial mouthpiece makes the IQC truly a vape designed to share. I bring this antimicrobial feature up every time I pass the vape to a friend.
Easy to pack and keep fairly clean
Loading flower into the IQC is easy thanks to the funnel leading into the glass-lined ceramic chamber at the bottom of the device. I found that the glass-lined chamber on the IQC is easier to clean up than the strictly ceramic chamber on previous models like the Miqro. As with all ceramics, you will still get some discoloration of the chamber with use.
As with all vapes, it’s best to dump the contents of the bowl while the flower is still warm. In my testing, this significantly reduces the buildup of resin in the bowl of any dry herb vape. If you want to cut down on the mess, DaVinci has dosage capsules and accessories for easy use on the go.
A wide vapor pathway
Leading from the bowl on the bottom of the IQC is a removable 1.5-inch ceramic long zirconium vapor pathway that's about the diameter of a blunt. This wide pathway contributed to a fuller pull, cooler vapor, and of course easier cleaning.
A cool feature DaVinci advertises you can do with this vapor pathway is to fill it also with weed. You know, as a "dube tube" "flavor chamber" to get the most terps outa your bud (various cannabis compounds and terpene profiles are released at different temperature ranges– the variable temperature ranges of a dry herb vape is the best way to access those flavors and compounds).
Filling the pathway up with weed makes for wild flavor applications like sending your kinda reggie summer harvest outdoor grow through a path of tasty Forbidden Fruit. It’s a funky feature that some may like, however I didn't. In my experience, the restricted draw from the tube full of bud did feel more similar to the pull of a blunt– which you may like more than me. I still think this feature is cool and continue to try it out.
Excelsior vapor quality
At this point any of the top weed vapes will give you some outstanding vapor. Taking a step back to compare traditional smoking to all vaporizers, atomizer/cartridge style vapes always had the leg up above convection and conduction weed vapes when it came to smoke volume and taste. Thanks to artificial flavoring and harmful chemicals like propylene glycol and glycerol, atomizer vapes have birthed great memes and FDA bans.
How does the IQC stand out in vapor quality? It's a $200 conduction vape that does smoke tricks with straight flower. The vapor output is incredibly full, cool, flavorful, and highly concentrated when sipped on. As a bit of a lightweight, the IQC’s default 8-minute session can get one elevated to a level higher than one would like to be while writing a vape review. Possibly because of this, I found myself enjoying the smoking experience of relearning how to blow o's. All said, the long session length, quality, and volume of hits make the IQC suitable to get a whole group toasted.
Solid battery life
The IQC boasts one hour of use with the removable 18650 3000 mAh lithium-ion battery. It’s fair to say this is enough battery life to not leave you stranded. With sessions on the IQC lasting about 8 minutes, 7-8 sessions of battery life can get you through a heavy night out and the hangover the next day. This analogy is a good time to mention that DaVinci is headquartered in Las Vegas and the IQC would seem very at home on the strip.
The battery indication and onboard charging is great on the IQC and with a USB-C charging port, it’s easy to find an opportunity to charge. It’s also worth noting that the USB to USB-C cable included with the IQC is surprisingly awesome.
There’s an app (if you want it)
Do app designers conduct usability testing with users who are stoned? It never feels like it. If you're a nerd for stats, adjust features like session length and temperature intervals with an app on your IOS or Android smartphone. And, If you're looking for the simple smoking experience of leaving the device on 420F or a set smart path mode– the IQC will remember that. You aren't told how to best use this vape, you’ll figure it out for yourself.
Easy battery replacement
What’s great about all of DaVinci's vapes is the ease of battery replacement. Just behind a hinged door on the top of the IQC is the previously mentioned 18650 battery. You can buy a new 18650 from DaVinci for 12 bucks or find it on DigiKey for the same price.
This may not seem like a big factor to consider, but it’s incredibly important to note when you want to avoid planned obsolescence with your vape. Lithium-ion batteries have a set number of charge cycles (300 - 500 for the 18650 battery) so easy battery replacement options ensure you aren't stuck with a dead vape in two years.
What's Not Ideal About the IQC
It’s not a discreet vape
Unlike the ultra-discrete magic flight box or DaVinci Miqro, the IQC makes it incredibly obvious that you're toking the kush. In my testing, the environment you're vaping in will somehow smell louder than whatever fire strain you put into it. And as long as the flower stays in the chamber the device itself will smell dank.
As previously mentioned, the vapor the IQC puts out is also huge, and will definitely make it obvious that you’re smoking something. All that said, this only solidifies how the device is designed to share. If people see or smell the dank clouds, they can ask for a hit. And you can tell them about innovative antimicrobial materials.
ShareSafe polymer isn't as durable as metal
Instead of the metal shrouded mouthpiece and bottom bowl seen on the Miqro and more expensive IQ2, ShareSafe antimicrobial polymer is used. The durability of the IQC quite literally hinges on the strength of ShareSafe – as the hinges are made of it.
The issue with the polymer's durability comes up in a review of the IQC by MannY Kumi whose bottom hinge broke when the IQC was dropped. Normally this would be a buyer beware moment, but it isn't. DaVinci has included a failsafe in the design– strong magnets. Even if the ShareSafe hinge breaks, the magnets will still hold the device together. It's features like this that truly make the IQC awesome. Because despite already owning the Crafty, MannY Kumi still likes his broken IQC more.
The Verdict
Without a doubt, the IQC is the strongest conduction vape in my collection for the price point. It's the vape I take into the outdoors and the one that feels at home at parties. Although I haven't taken a look under the microscope, the FDA approved antimicrobial mouthpiece offers me enough peace of mind to safely share with friends.
If you're looking for a hard-hitting weed vape that's designed to share, the IQC is a solid choice.
