The Heat Island is a log-style vaporizer from Alan, aka Toasty Top.
I purchased a unit from Alan last week and it arrived today. I am very happy that he is still around and making things.
My unit is a 7/16” square HI in walnut burl and maple burl.
The Heat Island was first introduced in December 2011, although Alan had been producing the toasty top for a bit by that point with a different heater design.
The heat island was the first to use “heat island technology”, a new heater design that uses a small and narrow heater cover with the air intakes at the base also acting as a heat break, keeping the wood safe from the heater. This solved the cracking and unreliability issues of the log vapes that had been around for over a decade by that point, and this approach would later be adopted by many.
Underdog, E-Nano/epicvape, the woodscents, as well as jackrod’s halogen logs all use a similar heater cover design.
The current version of the heat island utilizes an efficient and durable stainless steel cartridge heater.
The Heat Island is available in many heater cover styles and sizes:
- 7/16” stainless steel, compatible with dynavap tips along with the other stems
- 3/8” stainless steel
- 10mm glass
- 12mm glass
Various stem types and materials are available from Alan for each size, those are made to order at the same time as your main order.
Materials vary, many woods are available. Bamboo is the cheapest.
Alan primarily works made to order, he has both a custom list and a non-custom list. The custom list is several years, the non-custom list less so.
He will occasionally have units in stock, as of writing this he has several 7/16” bamboo heat islands for sale.
This is how I acquired my unit, he happened to have one in stock, and it was exactly what I wanted. I love using dyna tips with convection devices.
All ordering is done via email, his website is https://toasty-top.com
Ordering from him was a simple and quick process, and wasn’t nearly as bad as I expected. It’s been 15 days total since I sent my very first email, without even knowing what I wanted exactly. One week from PayPal to package delivered.
His pricing is very affordable. Each body style, heater cover, and wood can vary, the round are more, but most seem <$200. My exact unit was $125 
extremely good price for craftsmanship like this. The bamboo 7/16” units are $80.
Accessories, like power supplies, are available at an additional cost. I already had power supplies and cables so didn’t need anything.
Included with every log:
- Travel stir tool/debowler
- Beeswax beads to condition the wood when needed
The device itself is extremely efficient and the flavor is tremendous. Very similar to my jackrod 1010, which jackrod has been open about his inspiration from Alan. Very pure convection, and has plenty of oomph. I get great effects, as a simrell daily user, for a dose comparison.
Overall, this thing is both a piece of vape history and a piece of art. It’s great to see someone who has been doing this for this length of time, still at it and still making kickass stuff.
Other devices of note are the toasty top, now made with the same heaters as the HI, and the GTR, which uses glass stems either 14 or 18mm and male or female depending on the exact unit.
