DaVinci Ascent Vaporizer — Mona Lisa’s Favourite Vape?

DaVinci is a vaporizer company that’s been active for several years on market, and their Ascent model is the second offering from this manufacturer.

Since it came out their competition released a couple of vaporizers that are very similar in quality to the Ascent model, but first let’s focus on the most important characteristics of this particular vape.

The thing that separates it from most of its competitors is its ability to handle both whole bud material, but also concentrates and waxes.

There are however some troublesome complications in regards to the cleaning of the device after concentrates have been consumed, but we’ll get to all that a bit later on.

Ascent’s greatest quality is the battery life which is way above average, and the possibility to vaporize cannabis derivatives besides just flower material.

I also encountered some engineering flaws that could’ve easily been avoided, but before we start discussing the pros and cons, let’s follow protocol and first check out what’s in the box.

What’s in the DaVinci Ascent box?

I’ve seen that some reviews tend to rate and analyze the box itself in which the vaporizing unit came in, but I personally consider that to be completely ridiculous and of absolutely no importance whatsoever.

Upon unboxing the Ascent, you’ll find that the box includes:

• The Vaporizer Unit
• Carrying Satchel
• 110-240v Wall AC Charger (no USB)
• 2 Glass Mouthpiece Stems
• 2 Glass Internal Stems
• 2 Glass Oil Jars
• 2 Metal Picks
• 2 Branded DaVinci Stickers
• 2 Metal Screens
• 2 Rubber Heads for closing the mouthpiece

DaVinci Ascent tech specs

Battery life & charging options

Sporting two non-removable lithium-Ion batteries, the Ascent offers around 100 minutes of vaping before you need to plug it in, which is a great track time for a vape tool of this size.

The downside is that the charging lasts incredibly long, which is around 5 hours of waiting until it’s fully charged.

But to be completely realistic this isn’t really too much of a downside, because you’ll already be extremely high from vaping for a full hour, and there’s also the option to use the unit while it’s plugged in.

There’s no option for car charger and USB charging, but all in all the the battery’s lifespan is the most important aspect here.

Flowers, concentrates or both?

The possibility of consuming both flowers and concentrates is without any doubt a wonderful trait of the Ascent, but unlike vaporizing the buds, using waxes, bubble hash and other concentrates leaves the unit sticky and gooey all over the place.

The amount of trouble you have to go through cleaning the device afterwards almost doesn’t make it worthwhile.

Make sure you have some ISO and q-tips near you because you’ll be able to clean all the parts much easily if you start right after your vaping session, but then again you’ll probably be very high at that moment, so you see why this is such a minus for the Ascent model.

But when you consider the lack of this option from its competitors (within this price range), the possibility of using both flowers and concentrates has to be deemed as an advantage, even if it means that you’ll make a hell of a mess in the process.

Temp control and range

As far as the temperature controlling goes, the Ascent has a bunch of dope features. First of all, it allows you to manually choose your temp, which will determine the overall sensory effect of your vaping session. With lower temperatures you’ll generally experience more flavor from your vapor, unlike with higher temperatures where the thickness of the vapor will be the most dominant aspect.

The users can create their own “personalized vape cycle”, which essentially allows you to preset when the device will increase (or decrease) its temperature over a timespan of 10 minutes.

This is pretty much the time required for the Ascent to vaporize the entire chamber, and you can pre-program the temperature intervals to suit your unique needs.

This is definitely a standout feature of the Ascent, and once you figure out the best possible temp range you can stick with it, because you won’t have to program the unit every time you’re using it.

The range of the temperature is between 190°C and 220°C, which is quite optimal for vaping.

DaVinci Ascent vapor quality

The Ascent doesn’t really provide you with a juicy vapor, it has more like an intermediate quality, which is definitely a minus in my book, as it lessens the overall vaping experience.

Even on the maximal temperature settings the vapor still isn’t dense enough, which doesn’t diminish the amount of cannabinoids entering your lungs, it just makes the session far less enjoyable.

So besides the vapor volume which isn’t really satisfactory, there’s also the concern of the silicon taste once you start inhaling from the unit.

Perhaps this artificial odor fades with time because I was using a brand new device, but it definitely seems like an engineering imperfection.

DaVinci Ascent design

As far as design goes, the Ascent can be considered among the top-tier vaporizers on the market.

The appearance is really customizable as the buyer can choose different designs which are placed along the middle part of the unit.

There are five patterns available — Burlwood, Stealth, Croc Skin, Black Skulls and Carbon Fiber, so depending if you’re a dapper businessman or a metalhead, the Ascent has a pattern that will go great with your personal style.

For even more personalization, on the company’s website you can choose from over a hundred designs, which isn’t really necessary because the existing designs are more than adequate in my opinion, but it’s definitely a plus.

The biggest part of the device is made from sturdy aluminium, while the section where the pattern is located is made from rubber-like material.

The dimensions of the Ascent are 11 x 5.7 x 2.6 cm (4.47 x 2.24 x 1.03 in), and the weight is 192 grams, which is makes it quite bulkier than the Pax 3 for instance, but because of these great dimensions the Ascent has such a long battery power, which is one of its greatest advantages.

How to use the DaVinci Ascent

Using the Ascent is relatively simple, and the first thing that you need to do is grind your pot and place it in the glass-coated ceramic chamber, which can take about 0.3 g of cut flower material.

It’s best to fill the chamber all they way to the top, as this will ensure the best possible vapor.

The problem with the chamber is that it has three little air holes and the cannabis tends to fall out from them if it’s cut too much, but for the best possible vapor it’s paramount to grind your weed pretty good. The guys from DaVinci didn’t really think this part of the device through and through.

Another functionality issue is that when you twist the unit in order to place your pot inside the chamber this vaporizer cannot stand on its own because of the curved edges, so you need to hold it in one hand while filling the chamber with the other, which is definitely an unneeded complication and honestly quite a nuisance.

To turn the device on and off there’s a power button on the upper part of Ascent, next to the mouthpiece. It takes about a minute for it to heat up for the desired vaping temperature.

This device requires a lot of cleaning, especially when you’re using concentrates, but it isn’t really complicated to clean it thoroughly.

Make sure you clean it as soon as possible if you’re consuming wax and other concentrates, because once the gooey stuff gets hardened, it’s becomes a much more tedious process.

Use isopropyl alcohol to sterilize and remove all the sticky resin from the glass vapor tube, metal screens, glass jars for the oil and the ceramic chamber.

Another thing to be aware of is that the display can sometimes play tricks on you and not give you the realistic battery indication, but as the battery life is really good, charging it overnight will most likely be enough for the entire day, unless you’re in the Snoop Dogg category of cannabis enthusiasts.

As mentioned the overall quality of manufacturing is great, but the removable glass parts are pretty delicate. If broken they can be bought as spare parts on the company’s website, but aren’t really cheap so it’s best to take good care of the parts that came with the unit.

The Ascent also has a motion detection setting where it automatically turns off after an adjustable number of minutes of being dormant, in order to preserve the battery life.

When I get high I tend to forget all kinds of stuff so it’s really nice that you can program the unit to do the thinking for you.

You can also change degrees from Fahrenheit to Celsius by holding the settings button for five seconds. Manual tampering with the temperature is also possible by clicking on the + and – buttons which are above and below the screen.

DaVinci Ascent standout features

There are three main advantages to the Ascent unit, the first of them being the extended battery life which is truly excellent for vaping on the go.

The negative aspect is that you can only charge it using the wall socket, with no USB or car adapters.

The second advantage is the possibility to vaporize both concentrates as well as whole plant material.

Unfortunately the engineering aspect of this vaporizer isn’t really perfect, and a lot of parts will become quite messy when using concentrates, making it almost not worthwhile to use option at all, but that all depends on your personal dedication to clean your vape.

I’m relatively lazy in this department, so these additional cleaning requirements pissed me right off to tell the truth.

The third and final standout feature of the Ascent is the option to pre-program the temperature of your vape session, which can came in handy if you’re like your vapor to change during the session. The lower temperatures will provide a more potent flavor and fragrance, but with higher temperatures the device will be able to vaporize more cannabinoids, giving you a more potent high. There’s also a 2 year warranty on the device, which is more than fair.