The Plenty is one of those vaporizers that makes more sense once you stop thinking of “portable” and “desktop” as the only two options. It weighs about 1.5 pounds and plugs into the wall, but there is no base to leave sitting on a table while you use it. You pick the whole thing up and draw through the stainless-steel cooling coil.
There is also no battery in the Plenty. I like that for a home vaporizer because there is nothing to recharge before another session, and an aging battery isn’t something you eventually have to deal with. The downside is pretty obvious too. Wherever you want to use the Plenty, you need an outlet.
The actual vaporizer is very simple. There are seven temperature settings from about 266°F to 396°F, an analog thermometer on the front and a large filling chamber at the top. Heat-up is slow at around 4.5 minutes to 356°F, so this isn’t something you turn on when you want a quick draw.
Storz and Bickel currently has the Plenty on sale for $199.20, and I think that’s a pretty good deal for what you’re getting. The Volcano Classic costs more than twice as much, and with the Plenty you still get the powerful S&B hybrid heating system without having to mess around with balloons. At $199, I think the Plenty is still a great option if you want a powerful Storz and Bickel vaporizer for use at home.
The Plenty comes with the vaporizer, long and short tubing sections, three normal screens, a herb grinder and cleaning brush. The stainless-steel cooling coil and filling chamber are already part of the setup. There really isn’t much else you need to get started.
The one accessory I would consider is the Dosing Capsule Adapter. The standard Plenty chamber is massive, and the adapter lets you use smaller amounts of herb or the regular Storz and Bickel dosing capsules. If you don’t want to load that big chamber every time, this gives you another option.
Storz and Bickel still sells all the replacement parts for the Plenty, which is nice considering how long this vaporizer has been around. You can pick up a new cooling coil, mouthpiece, tubing, screens or even replace the entire filling chamber. If something gets worn out or lost over time, you don’t have to replace the whole vaporizer.
Build Quality and Design
The Plenty definitely has the old-school Storz and Bickel design. The body is mostly plastic with the big analog thermometer on the front, an orange temperature dial on the side, and the stainless-steel cooling coil coming out of the top. It looks more like something you would find in a garage than sitting next to a Volcano.
The handle is part of how the Plenty works too. You squeeze the orange grip to activate the heater, and once you let go, the heater eventually shuts off again. I like the safety idea, but it also means you have to squeeze the handle again when you want the Plenty to start heating back up.
One thing I don’t like is how awkward the Plenty is when you put it down. It doesn’t have a proper flat base, and Storz and Bickel actually shows the cleaning brush being inserted into the body to work as a stand. It works, but I would rather have a vaporizer this big just stand up on its own.
Heating and Temperature Control
The Plenty uses a hybrid heating system with both convection and conduction, and you get seven temperature settings from about 130°C to 202°C (266°F to 396°F). There are no buttons or digital temperature controls to mess with. Turn the dial to the setting you want and watch the analog thermometer while the Plenty heats up.
Heat-up time is around 4.5 minutes to reach 180°C (356°F). That’s pretty slow compared to most vaporizers now, and you definitely have time to grind your herbs and load the chamber while you’re waiting. I would get the Plenty heating first and then start getting everything else ready.
I like starting at one of the lower settings and moving the dial up as the vapor starts to fade. You get the better flavor at the beginning and can finish the bowl at a higher temperature. With seven settings available, there is plenty of room to work your way up through a session.
Vapor Quality and Airflow
The Plenty puts out some seriously good vapor. You get good flavor at the lower temperatures, and the vapor gets much thicker as you start moving the temperature up. The heater also has enough power to keep producing through a long session, which works well with that big chamber.
I really like the airflow on the Plenty. Storz and Bickel rates it at up to 30 liters per minute, and you don’t have to pull very hard to get a good draw through the cooling coil. You can take a long, hard draw without feeling like you’re pulling through a restricted portable vaporizer.
That big stainless-steel coil does a good job cooling the vapor too. It looks a little ridiculous sticking out of the top of the Plenty, but there is a lot of metal for the vapor to travel through before it reaches the mouthpiece. I like how smooth the vapor stays too, even when you start moving up to the higher temperatures.
Chamber, Loading and Efficiency
The standard Plenty chamber is huge compared to most portable vaporizers. You can load quite a bit of herb in there, and I like the larger chamber if you want to sit down and go through a full session. It also makes more sense when you’re passing the Plenty around with a couple of people.
You don’t have to fill the entire chamber every time. Storz and Bickel makes the Dosing Capsule Adapter for smaller loads, and you can use the regular dosing capsules with it too. I would go this route if you’re mostly vaping smaller amounts and don’t need that big chamber.
Extraction is pretty even with the Plenty and you shouldn’t need to stir the herbs halfway through the session. I like a medium grind and wouldn’t pack the chamber down too tight. Give the hot air some room to move through the herbs and let the heater do the work.
Cleaning and Maintenance
The Plenty is pretty easy to keep clean after a session. I would empty the chamber while it is still easy to brush out and clean the screens once they start collecting material. There isn’t a complicated cooling unit with a bunch of little pieces to take apart.
The cooling coil is the part I would spend most of my time cleaning. Storz and Bickel recommends taking the coil off and soaking it in isopropyl alcohol overnight, then rinsing it with water before using it again. The mouthpiece, tubing and filling chamber all come apart too, so you can clean those separately.
I wouldn’t let the coil get too dirty before cleaning it because there is a lot of vapor traveling through that long piece of stainless steel. Replacement coils, screens, tubing and filling chamber parts are still easy to get directly from Storz and Bickel. If one of those parts gets worn out, you can just replace it and keep using the Plenty.
Reliability and Long-Term Ownership
The Plenty has been around for a long time, and there are still owners using units that are many years old. I like how simple the design is for long-term use. There is no battery, charging port, display or app to worry about as the vaporizer gets older.
There are some owner reports of heater problems and the Plenty eventually having trouble cycling back on, but I wouldn’t call that a common problem based on what I found. Most of the long-term feedback is pretty good, especially considering how old some of these units are. Storz and Bickel still supporting the Plenty with replacement parts helps too.
The Plenty comes with a two-year warranty from Storz and Bickel. After that, a lot of the parts that normally get dirty or worn can simply be replaced. For a vaporizer that has been around since 2009, I think the Plenty has held up pretty well.
Price and Value
The Plenty normally sells for $249, but Storz and Bickel currently has it on sale for $199.20. I think $249 is getting a little harder to justify for a vaporizer with a 4.5-minute heat-up and analog temperature control. At $199, I like the Plenty quite a bit more.
You’re still getting the part of the Plenty that has aged well.The Plenty still puts out excellent vapor, and I really like how open the airflow is. You can take long draws without the heater struggling to keep up. The two-year warranty is nice too, and replacement parts are still easy to find.
There really isn’t much modern tech in the Plenty, but I don’t think that’s what you’re paying for anyway. You’re paying for a powerful heater, that big cooling coil and a simple plug-in vaporizer that does its job really well. If those are the things you care about, $199 is a good price for this vaporizer.
Who Should Buy the Plenty?
I would get the Plenty if I wanted a vaporizer that was going to stay at home and I cared more about vapor quality than having the latest features. Plug it into the wall, give it a few minutes to heat up and you’re ready for a long session. There is no battery to charge or worry about running out halfway through.
The large chamber also makes more sense if you normally use a decent amount of herb at once. You can use the Dosing Capsule Adapter for smaller loads, but I wouldn’t buy the Plenty specifically for microdosing. There are better options if most of your sessions are small.
I wouldn’t get the Plenty if I wanted something for quick sessions or something I could take outside the house. The 4.5-minute heat-up and power cord make both of those pretty easy decisions. If I wanted something from Storz and Bickel that I could actually take with me, I would look at the Mighty Plus instead. But if it is going to sit at home near an outlet, I think the Plenty still does its job really well.
Plenty vs Volcano
The Volcano Classic is a different kind of session. You turn on the air pump, fill an EASY VALVE balloon, remove the bag and then vape from it wherever you want around the room. I really like the balloon system for sharing because you can just pass the bag around instead of passing the vaporizer.
The Plenty keeps everything in your hand. There is no pump and no balloon to fill. Put the mouthpiece to your lips and your draw pulls the hot air through the chamber and out through the cooling coil.
The Volcano also gives you a bigger 6.5 cm³ chamber compared to 3.4 cm³ on the Plenty, and it reaches 230°C while the Plenty stops at 202°C. Both are pretty slow to heat up, with the Classic taking around five minutes to reach 180°C and the Plenty taking about 4.5 minutes. Neither one is the S&B desktop I would buy for quick sessions.
I would get the Volcano Classic if I wanted the balloon system or regularly vaped with a few people. If I wanted a Volcano with both balloons and direct draws, I would look at the Volcano Hybrid. For using around the house by myself, I like the simpler direct-draw setup of the Plenty, especially with the current price difference.
Result: Depends on the user – Volcano Classic for balloons and sharing, Plenty for direct draws and the much lower price.
Final Verdict
The Plenty is an easy vaporizer for me to recommend at $199.20. You have to be okay with the slow heat-up, the cord and the old analog controls. If you want something you can turn on and start using in 30 seconds, this isn’t it.
Once the Plenty gets up to temperature, it is still a beast. The draw is wide open, so you can take big, long hits without feeling like you’re sucking through a straw. I really like the cooling coil too. You can crank the temperature up and the vapor still stays surprisingly smooth.
I also wouldn’t worry much about buying a vaporizer this old. Storz and Bickel still sells the Plenty, gives it a two-year warranty and has a long list of replacement parts available.Once the Plenty gets up to temperature, it is still a beast. The draw is wide open, so you can take long, slow pulls without feeling like you’re sucking through a straw. I really like the cooling coil here too. You can crank the temperature up and the vapor still comes through surprisingly smooth.
For $249, I would think about it a little harder. At the current $199.20 price, I think the Plenty is a really good deal if you want a powerful plug-in vaporizer and don’t care about newer features. The design is old, but the vapor really isn’t.
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