The Universal Baller ball vape has been upgraded with even more airflow and new materials options.
Terp Chasers Club designed the Universal Baller with flavor purity and modularity in mind, and these new upgrades provide connoisseurs even more control over the airpath materials.
The 2026 Universal Baller comes equipped with the new Ultra High Airflow Quartz Discs.
Black Ceramic Zirconia discs and inserts with the Ultra High Airflow design have also been added as upgrade options.
I tested these upgrades and compared the vapor between quartz and zirconia. The results were inconclusive – but interesting.
Table of Contents
What’s New With the Universal Baller
The 2026 version of the Universal Baller ball vape comes with Ultra High Airflow full-quartz airpath.
It’s still filled with 500ish 2mm rubies, but the new quartz screens drastically improve the airflow while keep the balls contained.
Full 2026 Universal Baller Upgrades:
- All components now SS444 for improved thermal properties
- Ultra High Airflow Disc & Insert comes as default option
- Improved design used tool-free pressure clip instead of threads
Ultra High Airflow Discs – More Air, Bigger Hits?
The biggest benefit of ball vapes is the ability to produce big vapor with a fast and open airflow. Old school vapes required a restricted draw, or a manual slow draw to produce vapor because their heaters didn’t have enough surface area to function with a fast draw. The balls in ball vapes have massive surface area and function with a much faster draw speed.
But even the Universal Baller has its limit and the Ultra High Airflow disc allows you to push the vapes boundaries.
The UHAF disc, as I’m going to call it now, has so much airflow that I can draw too fast and overpower the heat exchanger, giving harsh, thinner vapor.
With the UHAF, I have to slow my inhale slightly to maximize the vapor production. With the previous high airflow disc I could just inhale hard and fast and the flow rate of the screen would keep the vaporizer in the “sweet spot”
I could also turn up my temperatures with the UHAF and give the vape more power with the faster inhale, but this configuration will result in combustion at slower draws – making the vape harder to share and potentially harder to use for myself.
Like Uncle Ben said, “With great power comes great responsibility”
UHAF with the FMJ configuration is much less susceptible to draw speed overpowering issues. The added thermal mass heats the bowl and reduce the convection power needed for massive vapor. I *strongly* prefer the FMJ configuration.
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Fritted vs Original vs Ultra High Airflow
The Original High Airflow disc is tuned for the perfect draw speed. After comparing it to the Ultra High Airflow, it feels restricted, but it has plenty of airflow. I still think the Original High Airflow disc is better for complete newbs because it has a “sweet spot” that makes it easy for people to maintain a consistent draw speed.
The New Ultra High Airflow is so open that it’s possible to draw too fast. This is a blessing and a curse. It’s great for advanced users who can tune their vape to their exact vaping style. It still has a sweet spot, but it has so much range that it’s harder to find.
The Fritted Disc is another “sweet spot” style of an experience, but with an elastic-like restriction. This one feels restricted even with slower draw speeds, but drawing hard and fighting the restriction seems to be the way with the fritted disc.
The Fritted Disc puts the Universal Baller on training wheels. It makes it hard to inhale too fast.
How Increase Airflow Changes the Vapor Performance
Airflow is the one of the main components of convection vapor,
But it’s not as simple as MORE = BETTER.
The balls in a ball vape act as the heat exchanger.
Air rushes through the ball chamber and the hot balls heat the air, instantly turning room temperature air into super hot air capable of instantly vaporizing herb.
Drawing faster than the balls can exchange heat can potentially overpower the heater, resulting in unevenly heated air, unevenly vaporized herb, and harsher vapor.
Is There a Tradeoff in Flavor or Smoothness?
Smoothness can be compromised by uneven heating. Mixed temperature air is highly irritating to inhale because it triggers a conflicting physiological response resulting in rapid airway constriction.
Flavor is also affected as the herb is not completely vaporized.
Again – it’s worth noting that using the FMJ adapter drastically improves extraction and vapor.
Black Zirconia vs Quartz – Does Material Matter?
Terp Chasers is offering the Ultra High Airflow in Black Zirconia as well as the standard Quartz.
Zirconia is often touted by flavor chasers as being a better material than metal. It’s supposedly flavorless, just like glass and quartz, but with better thermal properties and improved durability.
Thermal Properties of Quartz and Zirconia
What Matters | Fused Quartz | Ceramic Zirconia |
|---|---|---|
Heat Transfer | Slightly Slower @ 1.38 W/mK | Faster than Quartz @ ~2.5 W/mK |
Heat Storage | Lower by density | 64% higher |
Heat Emissivity | High | 29% more thermal radiation @ .98 |
Durability / Toughness | Brittle / Vulnerable to cracking | Tougher / Resistant |
Flavor | Inert & Stable / No Interference | Inert & Stable / No Interference |
Vapor Performance | Very Good | Nearly Identical |
Does Zirconia Change the Flavor?
There’s a flavor difference between zirconia and quartz, but it’s difficult to describe and impossible to quantify.
I often describe the ceramic signature as “dry” and the black zirconia has it in its subtlest form ever. I didn’t even notice it until side-by-side comparisons without the FMJ.
My testing used two identical Universal Ballers to compare the difference between the two configurations. Some hits would shine brighter with the zirconia while others better with the quartz. Overall I found the quartz to be more flavorful, but the black zirconia has a different zing when drawing slightly slower.
I think the zirconia outperforms the quartz with slightly lower temperatures because it radiates more heat. This effects my specific testing method because I used the Terp Chasers Micro Dose Bowl where it holds .25 tightly up against the underside of the balls and screen. That black zirconia screen darkened the top of the bowl slightly more than the quartz when I lowered the temperatures and forced a slower draw.
Low temps and slow draw may be where the Black Zirconia shines, but at the harder and faster inhale speeds ball vapes are often used at, the difference between the two is arguable and up for interpretation.
Neither perform as good as metal, but both taste better.
Heat Retention & Recovery
I was hoping to see differences here, because there are thermal differences between quartz and black zirconia.
Zirconia is more dense than the quartz. It can contain more heat, transfer heat faster, and radiate more heat – but does that affect heat up time, retention or recovery? Not in any immediately obvious way.
Different testing will be needed to compare the heat retention and recovery times.
Quartz vs Black Zirconia Upgrade Testing Results
Ya ya, enough of the technical mumbo jumbo and arm-chair sciencing – what do you I actually prefer?
Both materials are full flavor. It’s hard to call the Black Zirconia anything other than “inert” – but side-by-side tests give Quartz the flavor advantage. The Quartz insert and high airflow screens provide the cleanest, purest, unaltered delivery of the flower.
The Black Zirconia setup seems to perform better, thermally, especially at lower temperatures. But due to other variables in my testing setup I’m unable to confirm and can only trust my experience and feelings.
Black Zirconia is more durable than quartz. It performs better on paper, and it’s great for flavor. It’s not as pretty as the quartz, though, and seeing the balls has a special charm.
Ruby Upgrades
The Universal Baller can also be upgraded to an all-ruby heater for the purest airpath possible.
I tested this luxurious setup as well, although I spent much more time on the Black Zirconia testing.
At first I felt like the Ruby was crisper and brighter than the quartz, but during side-by-side testing the differences were extremely hard to detect.
More testing is needed, tbh.
Component Upgrade Costs
Upgrade Option | Includes | Price |
|---|---|---|
Fritted Disc | Single Quartz Frit Disc | |
High Airflow Disc | Single Quarts High Airflow Disc | |
Ruby Kit | 2x Ruby Disc + Ruby Insert | |
Black Zirconia Kit | 2x Black Zirc UHAF + Zirc Insert | |
Quartz UHAF Disc | Single Quartz UHAF Disc | |
Quartz UHAF Insert | Single Quartz UHAF Insert |
My favorite Universal Baller Setup
My favorite way to run the Universal Baller is with the 30mm FMJ and Quartz OG High Airflow insert and screen.
While running the side-by-side tests with the two Ultra High Airflow configurations, I pulled out a 3rd UB and set it up with the FMJ adapter to compare – and it won. Easily.
The FMJ adds an immense amount of surrounding radiant heat, which acts as an extraction rate multipler for the thickest hits possible. The original High Airflow screen and insert have predetermined amount of airflow allowance. They were tuned for the ideal draw speed, making them slightly easier to hit consistently.
Are the Universal Baller Upgrades Worth It?
If you’re running the Universal Baller with any of the configurations and demand more airflow – get the new ultra high airflow insert and screen. Just make sure your vape isn’t the only bottle-neck in the system. 10mm users won’t be able to tell the difference between the fritted disc and ultra high airflow.
The Ultra High Airflow disc doesn’t give the vape more power, but it gives you the ability to overclock it. With more airflow you can run the vape hotter and hit the vape faster – pushing temperatures and extractions that are more extreme than casual.
The FMJ is the biggest performance upgrade you can make to the Universal Baller.
The Ultra High Airflow configuration without the FMJ tips the vape into an airflow configuration that is harder to use.
If you’re not using the FMJ adapter, I wouldn’t upgrade to the Ultra High Airflow discs.
If you want more airflow and plan to upgrade – it’s worth upgrading to the FMJ setup.
