Fernand

I love ABX's strain-specific carts, because I'm a strain nazi. They are tasty and mellow, each type is distinct, and that's a gift from the gods. This here is a little different. In my humble opinion, the Loud & Clears cater to the less discerning, perhaps younger, stoner. For ABX, it's smart economics to address that market too. Cool.
Want more more THC? Need to get there, faster? This be your ride.

Beboe makes great stuff. Their pastilles are wonderful and responsibly packaged in an attractive biodegradable child-proof cardboard box with a steel tin inside. It actually makes me smile every time I reach for them. Enter these vape pens. They look gorgeous. But now we not only have a disposable cartridge to toss, but even a disposable lithium battery to contaminate the planet.

Reusable rechargeable batteries are widely available, and more responsible. I'm not an eco-freak, and I certainly don't want to single out Beboe, but this joins the ranks of top 10 offensive drug litter underfoot, next to discarded sharps. Let's be smarter, set a better example and avoid this type of product, from any vendor.

I don't much like Select's carts because they strike me as a blast of fruity-flavored generic THC. But now I'm really unhappy, to see them promote the disposable pen fad. That's all we need, more toss-able lithium batteries. Top 10 drug litter underfoot, next to the sharps. . I can already see the do-gooders sneering, and for good reason. Not cool.

There's an arms race taking place. Now that carts are a leading delivery system, the vendors feel compelled by market demand to chase the highest possible THC level, along with the most appealing taste. Yeah, but for whom? This review applies to several Select carts I've tried.

I heard it from less experienced users, that Select carts are very strong and taste the best. The problem is that they don't taste anything like the strain they are labeled as. The immediate impression on taste is an oddly strong fruity flavoring. Then the harshness hits. Then it just feels like a tsunami of generic THC, though not like the purest THC I've had, either. I felt dizzy, and was nursing a headache the next morning. Was it strong? Yes. Was it enjoyable? not.

I don't claim to know their process, they talk about re-introducing terpenes. But terpenes are only a part of a strain's personality anyway. Nobody that I know of fully understands which of the plant's 150+ components determine a strain's unique effects. Sublime have access to the technology, and I don't aim to disrespect them; I trust they can/will make a better cart. As it stands, It's not really a strain-specific product.

Does it matter? Experienced users look for a strain's very specific effects that you get with flowers or a strain-specific concentrate. The surprising difference between strains is one of the great accomplishments of plant geneticists and growers over the last 40 years. I feel sorry for the nubies who've never had a chance to sip on a real Red Congolese with morning coffee, or a fine OG Kush after dinner. A flavored blast o' THC doesn't cut it.

I'll probably try sinking the 2 grams I got into an edible, hoping it's fully decarboxylated, but this isn't something I'd ever buy again.

I'm not usually an Indica fan. They tend to sedation, then couch lock - though at least you're not heading for Sativa type anxiety. There aren't many pure Cannabis strains available, it's all mostly hybrids, so the terms "indica" and "sativa" are indicators more than anything. But the difference is real. GrandDaddy Purple flowers have a fine Indica profile. Mellow and calming. But it's not a brow-beater. In fact, it's got enough Sativa genes to be gently alerting.

Enter cartridges. Very very few carts on the market offer a strain-specific experience. Where if you've loved say Durban Poison flowers you'll recognize them in a cart labeled as such. It's mostly BS. The current practice is to take a THC distillate and maybe add some lesser cannabinoids, but mainly flavor it with terpenes from wherever and essential oils so it tastes oh so lovely and it gets the kids stoned. And, I admit, some of those are nice, the way a peppy wine cooler compares to a vintage Cabernet.

Carts have great potential. But experienced cannabis lovers are after specific effects. You might want to pick say a speedy Congolese in the morning, or a happy go lucky Durban for a party, or a laid back Granddaddy Purple, and not just a blast of industrial strength THC in Fruity Loop flavoring. So far, the most strain-specific carts I've found are ABXs. They somehow retain each varietal's taste and (especially) effects. What a gift a little presentation case with one of each type would make. So thank you, guys, some of us care!

This Granddaddy Purple cart feels like the real thing. Not a wake and bake run to work type strain. Great in the evening, or on a lazy Sunday, smooth without grounding you. A great Indica like this can be tuned to the situation, make you better, not blasted. I imagine that when you're after something more ... dense, you can push the dose and get there too.

The carts are about 1.2 ohms. I wish you could vape down to the last drop, I think they're working on that. If you don't have one of their custom battery bases, use an adjustable mod. I think they work best preheated at a couple of watts, then vaped at 5-7 watts. Don't overheat. Don't burn it. Take your time. That's the Indica spirit anyway, right?

I don't think this is an exact Sour Diesel, but it's not worse. It tastes very fine, and it's got some specific effects, with way more personality than pure THC distillate, so they've seemingly restored something of the minor cannabinoids, flavonoids and/or terpenes. Or just terpened it to the max. However they did it, it's just like they say, an upbeat strain, exuberant, recognizably Sativa. Very tasty flavor and head, like a morning in a Fuji film orchard before going out on the (technicolor) town.

Any old 3.7 volt battery can work with it, because it's a 2.4 ohm cart. I've used it on an old non-adjustable Joyetech eGo battery I had. The cart works OK if you pulse it a bit to preheat it, and run it around 5 watts. Not as many tokes as some other carts., maybe more efficient.

The glass tip came off twice and I had to hot glue it back on, but it's so golden pretty and juicy fruity that it was well worth repairing.

This does not feel like any strain I've ever had, for good reason. Dosist reconstitutes cannabis oil after first disassembling it into the individual compounds. Those of us who favor Sativas will naturally want to try this "arousing" formula.

I expected more "up". But the most surprising part is that there was ZERO element of anxiety or Sativa style critical self exploration, you know THAT drill. This stuff puts some wind in your sails, without being at all racy. I'd say it's even OK for people who are very sensitive to the anxiety associated with overdoing Sativas.

It's a bit like a Durban Poison, in that it has a mixed up/down and friendly profile, but clearer. It's the strangest feeling, a bit like having one foot on the gas and the other on the brake. It's hitting a lot of receptors from different sides, in ways that you don't usually encounter. Clever formula. And a single dose isn't weak, just don't waste it, slowly inhale the wispy vapor all in.

The pen is beyond amazing, smooth like a pebble, drop it in a jacket pocket, that's all you need. No propane torch, no welding gloves, no matches. no papers, no glassware. No odor. A light scent from the vapor, not quite like cannabis. I'm hoping it holds up, and meters out accurately to the end. So far? Best pen in the world. The formula? Jury's still out on this atypical profile, I'm not really drawn to it, but it's not useless.

I do wish there was an inexpensive way to sample small amounts of all the formulations, like a swappable part, to help find one's best choice(s) before buying a big pen.

This isn't easy to review. I'm a veteran of vaping in general, it got me off cigarettes almost 10 years ago. I've purchased, modified and, built all manner of vaping devices. I can testify that the dosist pen itself is AMAZING, second to none. If it continues to meter out doses reasonably accurately to the end, I'll be beyond impressed.

That said, I've also tried a lot of cannabis strains, and the dosist Relief formulation is not effective on my lumbar + sciatica chronic pain. It works better "higher up". I think everyone might have to do their own strain-hunting to get a handle on what works best for them.

The Relief formula feels like a heavy-handed indica, the CBD keeps yer head down. These are not weak doses. It's a non-specific analgesic action, and it's dependent on the psychoactive effect too. As I vaped the second toke of the hour, I drifted towards couch-lock, and a bit of dizziness. And it lasted a pretty long time. It's not what I'm after, it's too ... stunning.

But with the miracle pen, it's a 4 star product. If the $100 package gives you 100 effective (double) doses, that's not even way over-priced. A lot of people may well be happy enough with this effect. After comparing with the Arouse formula (that I prefer), I understand the idea better, and I'm impressed with, the "re-constituting" approach that dosist takes.

As to Relief, I've found plain flower strains that, vaped at the right temperature, work magic on my neuropathies, and ping a little extra spirit without scrambling or mashing my head, and that's my idea of perfect relief. A bit cheaper too.

But the practicality of the little pen -- if you find a dosist formulation that's useful to you -- is un-beatable. No edges, all rounded and smooth, It just slips in your pocket like magic. The vapor doesn't even smell quite like cannabis. Certainly worth trying. I do wish they made swappable parts so we could inexpensively sample small portions of ALL the formulas.

I got a couple of these as my initiation bonus at CBCB. They said it was "light", and "pretty Sativa", and around 10mg THC. Good thing I checked, and someone, maybe the baker, ran an assay, as they're around 30mg per.

For my wife a quarter cookie on an empty stomach was perfect. I ate a half, and it felt like 15mg. What was accurately presented was that it's unthreatening. Mellow. Felt no unbalanced Sativa flutter/anxieties. No extensive experience yet, but it looks like it's a much better way to spend two fifty than say a Frappucino.

The cookie side is an uneventful butter cookie with a cannabis note. Beats eating a tenth of a Black Bar and struggling with the overwhelming taste temptation to devour the rest.

I've been building my own carts of different types, using 100% dark oils, clear oils, with or without EJ-Mix, with all sorts of different atomizer mechanisms. People complain about carts whose contents are allegedly cut with "glycerin" or "anti-freeze glycols" without having the foggiest idea of what they speak.

[This review was about the 2015 cart. Of historical value. In 2018 carts are much much better]

Glycerin doesn't dissolve cannabis oils, and propylene glycol separates from oils too. There ARE specific blends of glycols that can make a suspension with oils, the way cosmetic makers blend oily and watery elements. Where glycols are used they are used not to cheat the user but to make wicking possible. You cannot directly apply e-cig technology to cannabis oils, it's tricky. Folks, please stop bitching and look at what's technically possible. I personally don't care for the taste of glycols, but if adding 25% of EJ-Mix makes a cart wick 2x better, so be it.

It looks like Absolute Extracts has managed to create a system that works pretty well with its CO2 oils without adding glycols. They somehow make the oil just thin enough to feed/wick ok. I've only had this a few days, so far so good. But please be realistic.
-- Do not carry such carts in warm weather right side up, or they WILL leak out the bottom.
-- Let the cart warm up gradually at low voltage on an adjustable battery. As the oil warms up it starts wicking much better.
-- Then draw slowly, pulsing the battery. If you are in a hurry, or take big drags, you WILL burn the oil, and that is irreparable. It's different on a titanium nail or mesh.

Once the silica wick gets crusted with burned oil, it wicks and tastes like road-kill, and the only thing you can do is try to promptly pull the remaining oil out and into a different atomizer before it too turns to road-kill. The resistance, BTW, on this cart is 2.2 ohms, but I would still try to run it below 3.4 volts if you can.

For me carts are a great way to inhale a couple of tokes, helps me walk better. They don't replace a nail and torch, or the legendary "8 back to back bong hits".

Now as to the specific strain, it does seem rather like a Diesel type, not yet sure which, but thankfully the brain-shuffler effect of many other Sativas isn't prominent. It's true that if you push the dose on any Sativa type, you'll likely enter anxiety territory. A really good Diesel IMHO offers a wide margin between feeling energized and feeling ill at ease. Vaping SD flowers, even SD waxes, is mellower for me. With this oil 4 hits feels a bit too racy.

[Later]. WAY too racy. In fact, if I can't get by on one toke, the second one starts scrambling, the third adds anxiety, the fourth is definitely regrets. This review is positive on the Absolute Xtracts oil and cart system, but this strain, this batch, gets a thumbs down.

These sorts of carts go for a buck or so empty, so is this a good deal? And it seems a bit shy of a half gram. But the convenience is definitely there, the oil looks clear and lovely, the quality is there too, it just tastes much better than any of the carts filled with opaque trim-leaf stew and glycols.

I prefer smaller portions in the carts, because they do invariably fail - they're disposable. If you don't burn them, the positive terminal tends to get pushed in. When you try to pull it out a bit, say with a toothpick, sooner or later it breaks the connection to the coil, and that's all she wrote. Repair is very difficult on these; lucky if you can even salvage contents.

Overall I'd say these carts are a win. Just remember not to rush. And try to pick a low risk strain.

This oil is fine. Test(ed) at 78%. For $15 a g(!). But this is a subtle gorilla. It's serious medicine, I don't think it's for the get fucked up crowd - because the effect is so specific. I don't really notice the high THC much. It's rather masked or antagonized by other components. So there's no squirrel cage shutter-flutter, no anxieties, no confusion, and some might say "no big high". For social anxiety, it would be a good choice. It's balanced, more on the Indica side -- that unquestionably comes through with a good body melt, and I can believe the reports of couch lock w/ large amounts. Thing is, I wouldn't dream of wasting it that way.

In small amounts it's a blessing for those living with pain. It's the most atypical cannabis I've ever sampled. It almost feels like puffs of ope, or like those hash&ope balls we'd once upon a time get from Afghanistan. Calm and measured, uplifted mood, and with significant pain relief, not limited to the legs and back. Long lasting. After a while I notice a subtle secondary boost, sensory, and mildly psychedelic thoughts come in. I haven't fully figured it out. On the negatives, I'd say it's not as clear-headed as e.g. my favorite Diesels. It lasts, but as it decays I get a little fuzzy and sleepy, with a tiny bit of headache maybe, eyes a bit redder than I'd have guessed (so it's relaxing blood vessels well).

Focus? I judge that by time perception. If time seems to expand, so that I look at my watch and I'm surprised that only 10 minutes have gone by, it means my head is running "at a higher frame rate". More thoughts per second. Focused. Diesels stretch time a lot, this Gorilla Glue stretches time a little. I can focus on tasks, maybe a smidge slowed down and side-tracked, but keep going. The pain relief allows all sorts of heroic feats, like walking around without wincing and enjoying it. Thank you, Gorilla!

As I read many more reviews, I'm thinkin' this oil may not have been a typical Gorilla Glue #4. Many other people report a less body-centric effect from this strain. So, somebody, get some from a later batch and tell us how it affected you.

One of the great Indicas. It's a warm and friendly cocoon POV, and not just sedation. It was one of the three exemplaries my first time bud-tender suggested: GDP for the Indica, Red Congolese for a pure Sativa, and Harlequin for a high CBD strain. Smart guy, no? There are interesting Indicas that can get you moving, and there are some that lay you out, this one is one elbow up off the couch. Nice.

No question this a good quality H2O-separated trichome hash. It's generously cost-effective. With a little heat it crumbles nicely, just the thing to sprinkle or knead into some herb or tobacco (London style). Excellent in a micro pipe. In most vaporizers it's gonna be tricky. I tried crumbling 0.020 g of it (that's $0.20) into a powder and pulse vaping it straight off the standard screen of a Magical Flight Launch Box, and that worked reasonably well.

As far as the strain goes, it's got a fair body effect, but also enough of that runaway card-shuffler effect that it's not my type. If the question is, with increasing amounts, whether couch lock or confusion will get you first, I'd say confusion. Good for those "let's get f**ked up" occasions. I think they call that "recreational".

One insight it gave me, as I stood in the shower wondering if I'd lathered my head once or twice, is that since it takes an effort to keep your brain together while you're dosed with THC, THAT strengthens your mind, much like resistance training, or running with a 100 lb backpack, develops your muscles.

I don't know where to register my humble complaint, it applies to all the Honey Oils. Nothing wrong with the oils. The Master Kush I got is both flavorful and strong. The syringe is terrible. The problem is that you can't transfer the oil to a lot of small devices because the syringe tip is bleh. For instance, you could mix in say 1/2 the contents to a O-Pen-Vape cart and end up with something better.

But if you try to put a thick needle on it, say a 14 gauge, you find that a lot of hypo needles cannot fit this syringe. I understand cost constraints, but why, and how how are you supposed to transfer the oil? I sure ended up with a big sticky waste. A standard syringe, a Leuer-lock that holds the needle would be great. Or a little globule with a tip like PureGold uses. I suppose one could try tapering the syringe end with a razor blade. Anyway, plan before ya squeeze.

.. but dissing Pure Gold as overpriced hash oil is like knocking everclear for costing more than vodka. It's a mix of completely separated cannabinoids in a ratio that provides a specific bright and undopey but not long lasting effect. The taste is unique. If heated carefully it vapes well and it's more economical gram for gram than dabbing a wax or oil. The Plus has some plant terpenes added in addition to or in place of the 5% Limonene to broaden the spectrum, and and tastes/smells different yet.

Let's see, there's how much cannabis oil in here? At what strength? They do say 70 mg of THC. Divide by 12 gives 5.8 mg THC per gram of candy. So around 18 mg per 1/4 of the whole 12 gram "Quad dose" package. Seems about right.

It melts nicely in the mouth, which speeds up absorption. Relatively short acting that way, say 2-3 hours for a lighter 2 grams o' gummy (~12 mg THC), with a fast, manageable and agreeable sort of head. Good if you had plans in the physical plane. No idea what happens if you eat a whole package, the dude that did hasn't reported back yet, but his eyes are moving and everything.

I just don't know if edibles are for me. It's always a bit of a crap shoot. And unless you DO overdo it, it's just not all that anything. I guess this one is more Indica, it brings a significant degree of stupor. I took one, thought that, hey, at an hour and a half, it's fairly tame. Took another. One of those potentially memorable "big mistakes".

By a great effort I was able to handle a number of office activities involving copiers, computers, people and cars. But it wasn't a lot of fun, whereas my favorite vapes would have made it a gas. The strange thing is that I felt diminished enough to not bother observing the effects all that carefully. It was just a "wasted" kind of afternoon, no vivid anything. Maybe this is what they mean by "relaxed"? So, it's just not my thing, I guess. Maybe a Sativa would at least throw a little Cerebral Video Circuit overload into the mix.

But a caramel is indeed a solid "half dose", if by "full dose" you mean something like a brontosaurus settling down by your head. So it's indeed fairly economical. [Not quite as much as the Cannabis in Coconut Oil, which in a 4 oz jar (120 ml), contains 24 5 ml teaspoons, each carrying 30 mg of THC. At $40 a jar, that's $0.83 per 15mg dose].

The candy is delicious, with little chunks of nuts, it melts to divine caramel in your mouth in such a way as to suggest another. As in "get it over with, eat 'em all". Don't give in. Do not leave out for guests either, as a friendship is a terrible thing to waste. Do not use to test how obedient your dog is when left alone with a big tempting bowl of yummies on the bed, as you'll never know what he might have been.

... but a lackluster offspring. I shoulda known, the fragrance was weak. It's a Sour Diesel (SD) of sorts, there's that diesely taste, and it hints at it too, i.e. focused, with positive energy, pain in lower spine and legs is reduced, but the whole thing is diminished and off base, compared to a top shelf SD. So you'd think you could just vape more to overcome the weak effects, but then the characteristic right temporal headache, that's barely noticeable on a good SD, will get (more) unpleasant. In the context of the superb buds on hand, this is largely a wasted $10. Maybe we'll find a way to use it, he said, glancing at the household animals. Gentle reader, get a real Sour Diesel, or a Chiesel, for a few bucks more, and be amazed.