The Venty beats the Frolic, 9.2 to 8.7, even though vapor is level at 9.5 each. The gap comes from ease of use and portability, where the Venty leads by a full point each. Choose the Frolic if you want on-demand hits, a swappable 21700 battery and even wider airflow.
Key differences
- Heat-up and range: the Frolic heats in about 5 seconds and runs up to 220°C in Session and 240°C in On-Demand. The Venty takes about 20 seconds and tops out at 210°C.
- Modes: the Frolic offers Session and On-Demand. The Venty is a session vape, with Boost and Superboost on a double-press.
- Battery: the Frolic takes a removable 21700. The Venty's two built-in cells are replaced by S&B service.
- Airflow: both adjust, up to 25 L/min on the Frolic and 20 L/min on the Venty.
- Heater: the Frolic runs a 120 W convection-dominant heater. The Venty's hybrid heater draws up to 130 W and adapts to your draw.
- Extras: the Venty adds a web app, firmware updates and dosing capsule support. The Frolic has none of these.
- Shape: the Frolic is short and wide at 105 mm tall and 63 mm across, a jacket-pocket vape rather than a jeans-pocket one. The Venty is tall and slim at 157 mm, only 7 g heavier, and its tapered body grips well and stands upright, so it scores higher for portability, 8.8 to 7.8.
- Price and warranty: $399 US list price and 2 years for the Frolic. The Venty lists at $449, with a third warranty year when you register.
Frolic vs Venty: vapor and airflow
Vapor quality is dead level at 9.5, and both make thick clouds, but they get there in different ways.
The Frolic rewards a heavy hand, and at 205°C its clouds turned thick and milky while staying cool. At high temperatures, a full 0.2 g oven cleared in 2 or 3 hard draws. Its On-Demand mode also reaches 240°C, which works best through glass. Session mode stops at 220°C. The Venty caps out at 210°C, so if you like finishing bowls hot, only the Frolic goes further.
The Venty rewards any draw, because its flowmeter reads your inhale and adjusts heater output to match. We mixed gentle sips and full lung pulls in one session, and every draw came out visible and flavorful.
Ease of use: where the Venty pulls ahead
The Venty leads ease of use, 9.5 to 8.5, and this decides the pair for us. Its cooling unit twists off with a quarter-turn, you hold one button to start, and the display turns green when it's ready.
The Frolic's cooling unit needs a firm pull and some wiggling. Loose cannabis also migrates into gaps around its oven rim. The screen and plus and minus buttons sit on the bottom, so you flip the vape to check them. On our unit, refitting the cooling unit often pressed both buttons and opened the settings menu, and backing out and powering down took 7 presses.
Battery and long-term ownership
The Frolic's 5000 mAh 21700 comes out in seconds, and you can carry charged spares. That makes it the better vape for long days away from a charger. Neither vape heats on the charging cable. The Frolic switches itself off when you plug it in, which is exactly why the spare 21700 matters.
The Venty's built-in cells are listed at 11 sessions per charge. A 27 W USB-C PD charger reaches about 80% in 40 minutes. The web app adds ECO charging to protect battery health. Our battery guide covers the swappable versus built-in trade-off.
Limelight backs the Frolic for 2 years, and it's the brand's first cannabis vaporizer. Storz & Bickel gives the Venty 2 years, plus a third when you register within four weeks.
Price and value
The Frolic costs $50 less on US list price, yet the Venty leads value, 8.5 to 8.0. For us, the Venty's easier loading, app, capsules and longer warranty justify the difference. Both earn a spot in our best portable vaporizers ranking: the Venty as Best Overall, the Frolic as the pick for power users.
Which should you buy?
- Your first premium portable: the Venty, the easiest portable we've tested.
- Single hits through the day: the Frolic, with its hold-to-heat On-Demand mode.
- Weekends away from outlets: the Frolic, with spare 21700 cells.
- Sharing with beginners: the Venty, since its heater adapts to any draw.
- Dosing capsules and firmware updates: the Venty.
- Maximum airflow: the Frolic, at up to 25 L/min.
- Water pipe sessions: the Frolic, with On-Demand up to 240°C and Limelight's 14 mm and 18 mm adapters or Direct Output Adapter (sold separately). Our guide to using a vaporizer with a bong covers the setup.
