Gary Fisher, CEO of Zone Vapor – Interview Series

Gary Fisher is the CEO of Zone Vapor, a pioneering company in vaporization technology dedicated to reshaping the vaping experience. With a team that includes a former Pax developer and vape pioneers from the world’s largest tobacco company, Fisher is leading the charge in bringing cutting-edge innovation to the industry.

Founded in 2024 and based in Alaska, Zone Vapor combines decades of expertise in product development, quality assurance, and advanced engineering. Its first product, the Zone Opto, is an industry-first vaporizer that gives consumers unprecedented control over consumption, flavor profiles, and usage tracking—all at an accessible price point. With revolutionary new products set to launch in 2025, Fisher and his team are pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in vaping technology.

What inspired you to launch Zone Vapor in Alaska, and how has the location influenced your vision and operations?  

I chose Alaska for its beauty, its freedom and its remoteness, as the place I want to continue doing business but in a new environment, more connected to my spirit, to gradually age in.  Alaska is a wonderfully creative, inspiring environment for product concept development.  And these days, working remotely is normal so I am in regular touch with the engineers, purchasing manager and senior staff guiding product development whether I am in Alaska or Hong Kong.

With decades of experience in vaping and consumer electronics, what motivated you to move into the THC and CBD vape sector specifically?  

I dabbled lightly in the combustible (joint) weed scene in the late 60’s and early 70’s, took a break in the 80’s and 90’s except for an occasional joint among friends and began smoking once a week or so during parts of the early 2000’s.  So I was familiar with THC and its medical and recreational merits.  Having learned the science and engineering behind vaping with our pioneering work in nicotine vaping for the world’s largest tobacco company, it was a natural step to look at cannabis vaping and see where we could contribute technology and innovation.

As pioneers in vape technology, what gaps in the market did you see that Zone Vapor aims to fill with products like the Zone OPTO?  

We believe that vaping power units (batteries) should have a user friendly and informative UI (User Interface).  So, we designed OPTO with three algorithms-controlled heating profiles that base on your cartridge resistance.  It’s intelligent and simple.  And delivers a superior vaping experience in all modes, because we don’t burn your liquid.  On the easy-to-read OLED screen we also tell you how many puffs you have left before needing to recharge.  There’s also a puff counter that you can use to count puffs in cartridges or monitor daily, weekly or monthly consumption.  OPTO comes with a recharging stand with a 4′ charging cable, so it has a home where its always ready to go.  OPTO also comes with a Cart Cover, a clear polycarbonate cover that protects your cartridge in transit and slides over the body during vaping.  In short, we designed OPTO to solve consumer pain points and advance the user experience in cannabis vaping.

The Zone OPTO is described as revolutionary, with features like consumption tracking and flavor profile control. Could you elaborate on the technology that makes this possible?

We basically give our power units (batteries) a brain.  When the pressure sensor detects a puff the brain kicks in to gear, turns on the heat and controls it according to the cartridge resistance to modulated power profiles which deliver Flavor, Zone and Vapor modes.  At the same time the brain’s counter and timer is working to measure the puff count and duration.  Then we calculate the power consumption and reduce the puff count accordingly.  We also remember the puff occurrence and add it to the Puff Counter.  The goal is to make it seamless and effortless for the consumer.  With a superior result.

Your engineering processes are inspired by space exploration technology. Could you explain how this approach influences product reliability and performance?

The space program taught us in real time the essential requirement of redundancy in design.  So we build redundancy into critical circuits.  We also have a patented new water detection sensor design/kill circuit that will be built into future models as an added safety feature.

What do you think sets the Zone OPTO apart from other 510 thread vape batteries on the market today?

Zone OPTO will deliver a superior vaping experience, and a better-informed experience.  THC terpenes love OPTO’s heating algorithms, so the flavor experience is like tasting and appreciating a fine wine.

Your experience spans over 30 years, including leading innovations that became industry standards. How has your background shaped Zone Vapor’s approach to product development?

We understand the product development process well: from product identification based on consumer needs and desires; to developing the best electronic engineering solution to designing the Industrial Design and Mechanical Engineering to be functionally elegant.  Our manufacturing innovations center on product quality management systems with full component and assembly traceability.  Our nicotine vape assembly factory passed a rigorous FDA site inspection.

Can you share more about the quality control processes you’ve implemented at Zone Vapor, particularly in light of your history with FDA manufacturing audits?

Our Quality Assurance program starts with rigorous Incoming Quality Control inspection of all components.  In production we have numerous In Process Quality Inspection Points for sub-assemblies; and to track and reduce assembly defects.  At the end of the production line, we have a 100% Final Inspection.

What shifts or trends do you see shaping the vaping market in 2025, particularly in the THC and CBD categories?

Consumers are becoming more sophisticated.  Some are becoming connoisseurs of cannabis oil strains with live resin leading the trend.  For connoisseurs and aspiring connoisseurs, OPTO delivers a superior flavor experience in all puff volume modes.  It also has helpful user information.  Most importantly, you’ll never run out of puffs.

With vaping under scrutiny in various regions, how does Zone Vapor plan to contribute to responsible consumption and community education?  

Foremost, we will not direct our marketing at underage consumers.  We will encourage responsible consumption with use of OPTO’s puff counter function.