The Kannastor GR8TR V2 just landed on the bench, and the short version is this: it’s a four-piece aluminium grinder that lets you swap the grinding plate and stores your herb in the body itself. If you’ve ever wished one grinder could do a fluffy vape grind one day and a coarser one the next, this is the clever bit.
It’s been a while since a grinder gave us something genuinely new to talk about. Most are a variation on the same teeth-and-kief-screen theme. The GR8TR plays with that formula in a way that actually makes sense for anyone running a dry herb vaporiser.
The swappable plate is the whole point
Instead of teeth machined into the lid, the GR8TR uses a removable grinding plate that drops into the grind chamber. Out of the box you get the standard plate. Pop it out, drop in a finer one, and the same grinder now produces a different consistency.
Why does that matter? Because the grind you want for a conduction vaporiser isn’t the grind you want for a joint. A vape likes it on the finer side so the heat gets through evenly. Roll the same fluff into paper and you’ll fight a tight draw all night. With the GR8TR you keep one tool and change the plate to suit the job.
The plates themselves are diamond-cut rather than the usual pointed pyramids. The feel is less of a tearing crunch and more of a steady shear. Takes a turn or two to get used to if you’re coming off a teeth grinder, but it chews through stickier material without gumming up as fast.
The jar body is smarter than it sounds
Here’s the trick that won people over. The bottom section isn’t just a collection cup, it’s a proper storage jar with a screw lid. Grind straight into it, screw the lid on, and that’s your stash sorted in the same unit. No tipping ground herb into a separate container and losing half of it on the bench.
It keeps things tidy and it keeps the smell down while it’s shut. For anyone who grinds a batch ahead of time, that’s genuinely handy. One thing to flag: ground herb dries out faster than whole, so don’t grind a fortnight’s worth and expect it fresh. A day or two ahead is the sweet spot.
Kief, build and the bits that annoy people
There’s a fine mesh screen and a kief catcher in the base, same as you’d expect. Nothing revolutionary there, but it does the job and the screen lifts out for cleaning without a fuss.
The body is anodised aluminium and the threads are clean. It’s got a bit of weight to it, which I like, though if you want something pocket-light this isn’t it. The other small gripe is the same one every multi-part grinder has: more pieces means more places for resin to build up, so you’ll be cleaning it a touch more often than a simple two-piece.
On that note, a quick run with a brush after each grind and the odd soak in isopropyl keeps it turning smoothly. The same care you’d give any of your gear, really. If you want the full routine, our guide to vaporizer maintenance covers grinders and devices alike.
Who’s it for
If you only ever roll, or you only ever vape, a single fixed-grind unit will do you fine and cost less. The GR8TR earns its keep when you switch between the two, or when you’re fussy about consistency and want to dial it in.
It also suits the vaporiser crowd specifically. A consistent, even grind is half the battle with dry herb, and being able to choose a finer plate for conduction sessions is a real advantage. Pair it with a decent portable and you’ll notice the difference in how evenly the bowl cooks.
That’s the GR8TR V2 as it stands in April 2019. A grinder that finally treats grind size as something you’d want to change, plus a storage jar you didn’t know you needed. Have a look through the rest of the Kannastor range to see where it sits, and there’s more on getting the most from your gear over in vaporizer maintenance.