The original vapor stone
Health Stone Glass is the brainchild of entrepreneur and concentrate-connoisseur Chad Soren. Since 2009, Health Stone Glass has created high quality vapor stones for dabbing concentrates. The Health Stone offers an immensely flavorful and smooth dabbing experience when used correctly. Health Stone Glass are dedicated to providing their customers with a healthy and stress-free alternative to smoking flowers in a bong. For an in-depth guide to Health Stone Glass, check out our knowledge base article! Here's how it all happened:
How did Health Stone Glass get started in the industry?
It was born from desire. I got introduced to concentrates at an early time, in 2001. They weren’t really anywhere yet. I knew one person who was making it available to a handful of people and I was lucky enough to be one of them. The easiest way to use concentrates before concentrate utensils existed was to put a little bit on top of a bowl of herb— doing that immediately inspired our products.
At that time I used a single flame windproof lighter, similar to the triple flame we recommend for use with any Health Stone. I used those lighters to take my bong hits everyday and noticed when I applied the heat to concentrate, the oil would kind of melt and absorb into the herb a bit.
I realized if I removed the heat at the right time before the herb started burning, that those hits were the best hits that I had experienced at the time. They were rich in vapor and light in smoke. It made me think of a bowl that would never burn, so you could continuously apply your hits of concentrate to the top of a bowl and take a hit without generating any ash or anything.
From the time I first thought about it, I tried to make a couple versions that weren’t really “it.” I didn’t put much energy into it, because it wasn’t a business venture at the time. Because concentrates weren’t well known, I couldn’t imagine people needing it. But for me it was the perfect hit and I wanted to make it happen.
Early in 2009 I saw the first manufactured concentrate utensil. I think it was called Labworks, it was a skillet. I saw that and realized that concentrates had progressed to the point that there was a demand for dedicated utensils. That got me thinking about it with more energy and as a business venture.
How do you guys create the inert vapor stones?
Our vapor stones are ceramic. I work with ceramic material manufacturers to create them.
What were the challenges of bringing the Health Stone to the market?
One of the biggest challenges was our very strict specifications regarding how our ceramic vapor stones and glass go together. I envisioned it one way, and my manufacturers tried to change my direction a little bit because they thought it was nearly impossible to create the product the way I wanted it.
They said it wasn’t possible to produce something that small with less than two one-thousandths of an inch variance anywhere. They said we’d need to change the glass instead of the ceramic, so the stone would be easier to make. But I knew if we did that, counterfeit products would be easier to produce. Since we started in 2009 to this day, there have not been exact replicas of our products.
The biggest thing we have is honesty. We’re patients ourselves. This product is for patients by patients. The first word in our name is health and we use this product to improve the lives of other people. Our ceramic goes through an extra purification process to make sure that it's free of any contaminants. This makes stones significantly nicer than any Chinese import of our product that doesn’t care who is using the product or whether it’s purified. That sort of care would eliminate the desired margin for the kind of people who try to make knock offs of our products.
Overseas, they don’t care and unfortunately a lot of smoke shops don’t know enough to make educated decisions. There’s not a big difference between clear glass water pipes made in China and America. A glass pipe is a glass pipe, it’s not dangerous to use. But the ceramic heating element is something that people are literally applying direct heat to and inhaling from. Making that in China by people who don’t care is pretty scary.
What are the advantages of using a Health Stone?
The Health Stone is the most efficient and convenient accessory to use for vaping concentrates, by far. The word health in our name refers to the health benefits of vaporizing oils compared to smoking all of the plant material.
What drives the aesthetic of your glass?
A big part of my vision was initially inspired by older pipes that I was familiar with. It’s a discontinued model, but we offered a pipe called the Standard Hand Vape. It had two marias and was designed to look like a little chamber pipe. Back in the day that was what everyone had. Those were some of the initial inspiration for the shapes, and functionality has always been the biggest inspiration. The Intercooler is essentially an allen condenser, this forces the vapor to restrict and expand five to seven times between the stone and the mouthpiece which makes for a cooler, smoother hit than a pipe with one restriction at the bowl.
What gives Health Stone the staying power you’ve demonstrated in the market?
I’d have to accredit that to our products, we’ve done very little marketing in our time. Our product has grown organically by people liking it, showing it, and sharing it, making others want to purchase a Health Stone. On top of that i’m an entrepreneur, this is the most important thing I have in my life. There’s no quit in me. Not to say that running a business doesn’t come with difficulties, but the alternative at this point just doesn’t make any sense.
We have tens of thousands of people who use our products habitually, for a medical need. We need to keep on keeping on for all of those customers. People who are about the Health Stone know how to use it properly and know how quick and effective it is— it’s an instant feel better.
Now with CBD concentrates being unrestricted and able to be manufactured and shipped, there’s finally something that is completely legal and inarguably good for everybody. They go hand in hand with our products to the point that we might start distributing for one really good company that does a great CBD concentrate. The Health Stone is an excellent device for CBD products.
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Thanks to Chad Soren for taking the time to speak with us! Remember to frequently check Smoke Cartel for new Health Stone Glass products.
