In lieu of spending the money on a GVG, I looked around the internet for a less expensive alternative. Of course I checked one of my favorite sites: Etsy. This was my first purchase from Etsy but I've smoked many things out of Etsy-bought pipes and was never disappointed. This was not the case with Taboo Glass' VapoRx.

I emailed the seller, asking if I could get USPS Priority Mail instead of First Class Mail, and for an extra $2 they agreed to. I received the pipe in the mail 3 days later, and it was shipped in mailing envelope.... I was amazed at how carelessly glass was packed. It was inside a bubble-lined manila envelope, which was inside the priority mail shipping envelope. I was glad it arrived in one piece.

At first inspection I noticed a couple small bubbles in the bulb part, as well as in the downstem. Although not necessarily detrimental to the pipe, it is not a show of good craftsmanship.

The downstem fits nicely into the main chamber, with rubber o-rings used as spacers to create a tight seal. Because of the seal and lack of carburator, there is little to no draw on the pipe.

Eager to test it out, i loaded 30mg of spice into the bulb. Using a bic lighter, held roughly a half inch from the glass with the pipe tilted at a 45 degree angle, I began heating the bulb (rolling the pipe between my fingers to assure even heat distribution and avoid burning). The freebase DMT scattered away from the heat (as somewhat expected), and eventually melted (forming a small puddle in the bulb). Even with heat applied for minutes though, I could not get the DMT to vaporize. No visible vapor formed, and any resemblance of a hit I got brought me to a +.

I then added a little more spice and a filter to hopefully aid in the vaporization. Still no dice. I just couldn't get this thing to vaporize (perhaps a torch lighter was necessary, but I didn't expect to get zero vapor without one). I ended up acidentally holding the flame against the glass, burning the DMT and dirtying the inside of the bulb (which will now prove to be a feat to clean, if I even bother).

What seemed like a good and cost-effective alternative to other more expensive glass vapes was really just a waste of $20 and DMT. I ended up just using my bubbler with screens, and am now planning on just doing it right and getting a GVG.

Don't waste your time with this bowl. Another case of "too good to be true"

Before giving up on it, I'd try it with a torch lighter...seriously, I've chimed in on like 4 or 5 threads where people were using various "bulb" devices with the "use a torch lighter" line and in all cases they went from, "oh man this doesn't work" to "holy crap, that was completely different than with a bic". With a torch, once you initially heat the bowl, you're going to want to mediate the distance between the flame and the bulb or click the flame on and off, so as to maintain a constant heat and avoid burning your spice. It also won't leave that black soot on the outside of the bulb.

Thanks SnozzleBerry, I'll give it a shot (no harm in trying) with a torch an report back.

*thebatman is eagerly waiting*

I noticed this on etsy and for a while considered getting it, interested to know if you've tried it with a torch lighter yet.