Today we’ll be taking a look at the Hippie Rebel Dry Herb vaporizer. This is one of the lowest priced convection vaporizer on the market, which may make it an interesting option for people looking to get great flavor from their herbs. Then again, the low price may mean that it’s not as good as it seems. We’re about to give it a test run and see if it’s actually worth the money… Also if this is your first vaporizer be sure to check out our Vaporizer Buyers Guide for helpful tips.
Review: Hippie Rebel
How it Works
The Rebel has a simple design. It is a hybrid vaporizer with full temperature control. There is a power button that you click five times to turn the unit on and off, plus up and down buttons to set the temperature to a precise degree.
It only takes about 15 seconds to heat up to the temperature you set, then you simply draw the hot air through the chamber to create the vapor. There is a glass chamber above the heating chamber that seems to be designed to cool the vapor before it reaches your mouth. The heater is powered by a 1600mAh lithium ion battery.
Temperature Flexibility
The Rebel offers great temperature flexibility like the Utillian 621. You have full temperature control and it doesn’t max out until 430F. Setting the temperature is as simple as using the up and down arrows.
In other words, this provides a great temperature range and it’s very easy to choose what temp you want.
Vapor Quality
The vapor quality from the Rebel is good. The heating style is fully convection, and the result is flavorful vapor with every draw. With that being said, don’t expect this to perform like the Crafty or Mighty Plus just because it has convection heating.
This is good, but nowhere near the league of top tier portables, regardless of the heating style. Overall vapor production is above average as well. Convection units can sometimes deliver thin and wispy vapor, but this does a good job of creating visible clouds.
If you are looking for a reasonably priced portable with enjoyable vapor, this fits the bill. There are others in this price range that do even better though, and I will mention some at the end of this review.
Manufacturing Quality
I’ll be honest, I’m not a big fan of the Rebel as far as the manufacturing quality goes. It feels cheap to me.
There is a lot of plastic, and the writing on it doesn’t look nice. Even the buttons seem low quality.
There’s nothing glaringly wrong with it, but the combination of a bunch of little things gives me the impression that this is probably not a vaporizer that had a lot of effort put into the design as is evident with other vaporizers such as Zeus Arc GT3.
Battery Life
The battery life is below average for a portable. There is a 1600mAh battery inside, but its only capable of delivering 7 to 8 uses per charge that beats the LITL1 which is just a fraction of what the Hippie Rebel costs so it does not matter much.
The auto-shutoff engages after just 4 minutes, which means you’re really only looking at 30 to 40 minutes per charge with this. This is not much at all, and well below the industry average of an hour and a half.
Portability
Two things contribute to the portability of a vaporizer, the size and battery life. When it comes to size, this is very portable. It’s easy to carry in your hand, pocket, or bag.
Unfortunately, the short battery life that I mentioned above is very limiting as far as taking this with you places.
If you just want something that will allow you to enjoy a few sessions throughout the night, this will work fine.
If you want a vaporizer that will provide all day or multi-day vaping, you’ll need to get something with a more robust battery like the Utillian 723.
Ease of Use
The Rebel is extremely easy to use. There are three buttons in total, and the bigger one is the one that engages the power. The two smaller ones control the temperature.
Other than that, all you have to do is load your chamber. Even that is easy, as all you do is slide the mouthpiece part off the top. Users that prefer units with one button control usually tend to like devices like the Utillian 723.
Discreetness
The size makes this very discreet. You can easily conceal the whole thing in your hand just like the Davinci IQC, which means you can make sure no one knows what you are doing.
If you turn the temperature down low, you won’t have any visible vapor either, or at least not very much. Both of these factors combine to make this a good option if you don’t want to draw attention to what you’re doing.
Overall Experience
The Hippie Rebel is a pretty okay vaporizer.
I’m not sure what else to say. It works well, but it doesn’t strike me as especially durable or well built. The vapor quality is good, though not exceptional. The price is in a range that makes it a potentially decent purchase.
As you can probably tell, I’m not particularly excited about this vape.
If I were going to be buying something in this price range, I’d go with the Zeus Arc GT3 or Utillian 421. The Smite Plus is cheaper and better built, and has a way bigger battery. The Utillian 722 is a little more expensive, and but it has better vapor along with a much better build quality.
If you try this and disagree with my conclusion, please let us know your opinions. For that matter, let us know if you agree as well!
If you have questions about our review or just want to let us know what you think, feel free to drop us a comment below! Thanks for reading and as always, keep vapin’!
