The same year the new Millenium was ushered in 20 years ago, there was a major breakthrough in cannabis innovation when the Volcano vaporizer hit the market.
Invented in Germany by Marcus Storz in 1998 and patented the following year, the orignal Volcano stood seven inches tall. Made of stainless steel, it was shaped like a mountain, or in this case a volcano. Connect a turkey bag to the device and it would fill up with vapor.
Up until then most vaping was done using smaller models that trapped vapor inside a dome and was inhaled with a tube. By filling up a large turkey bag with vapor, the bag could be passed around from person to person.
In 2002, Jurgen Bickel joined Storz and they founded Storz & Bickel.
Nobody does vapes better than Storz & Bickel.
By 2003, 110-volt Volcanos were bult for the U.S. market, Even at the high cost of $699, they became all the rage. Volcano parties began to, uh, erupt across North America. In 2005, Storz & Bickel opened up an office in Oakland. Two years later, they launched the digital Volcano (the original was analog).
They've since added portable vape devices like Mighty, Crafty and Plenty to their product line.
In 2018, Storz & Bickel GmbH & Co. was acquired by Canopy Growth Corporation for $157 million.
The 2019 Volcano Hybrid has a dual inhalation system (a tube or a balloon) and can be operated via the Storz & Bickrel app. It costs $699. The classic is now $479.
Known as the gold standard for medical patients, the Volcano remains an engineering feat and a work of industrial art. Nobody does vapes better than Storz & Bickel.
