From Business Insider to Forbes, the verdict on the latest Pax vaporizer seems clear: this ain’t your grandpa’s corn cob pipe.
The new Pax, version 3.0, came out last November and when it hit the market, we knew immediately that a new standard in portable vaporization had been set. With its release we saw the adaptation of technology from the e-cigarette industry, which should come as no surprise given that Pax Labs started out as Ploom – a company that was originally founded as a San Francisco-based electronic cigarette company. But that is, in our opinion, hardly how the company made a name for itself (e-cigs). No, it wasn’t their Model One that cemented the company in the vaping history books – it was the Pax, the first one, Pax 1. While it was somewhat revolutionary for its time, it’s the latest model, the Pax 3 that really sets the bar for portable vapes the world over.
The original Pax was pretty straight forward, simple even. What it entailed was a small oven that could be packed with loose-leaf blends, which would then be heated to one of three predetermined temperature settings. It was small, it worked, and it looked great. For a lot of folks at the time, the only question was where to buy it. But did it work? It did, but not nearly as well as some of the vapes that have come out since and for that matter, not even as well as some of the vapes that were already on the market at the time of its release. But even still, it did well. With a massive marketing push behind it, a product aesthetic that easily captivated many, and a design which adhered to one of the basic philosophies behind portable vaporizers (make it compact), it sold like crazy. And with its success, more was sure to follow. Enter the Pax 2.
When the Pax 2 arrived, lots of folks, ourselves included, were excited by the mere notion of a new entry into the portable vape market from Ploom. For reference, Ploom has since, more or less, changed their name to Pax Labs. Now while the second Pax did well to improve upon the first, it was the Pax 3 that really got us going – here was a vape that brought more to the table than most portables could ever dream of. Here it was, a stellar manifestation of what a portable vaporizer could be. The best? Debatable. But good? Absolutely, at least according to the numerous Pax 3 vaporizer reviews we read before we wrote this.
Curtis Silver, writing for Forbes.com as a contributor covering consumer technology and social media, referred to it as a “piece of high-grade technology” while noting that it’s not “some cheap pipe that you picked up at the Dollar Store or made out of a Coke can”.
“This isn’t some cheap pipe that you picked up at the Dollar Store or made out of a Coke can and a ballpoint pen.”
And if you thought Silver was the only one who thought the new Pax was a worthwhile vaporizer, think again. Business Insider named it the best vaporizer for techies.
Pax 3 is a “dual-use” vaporizer, which means it can handle extracts/concentrates and dry blends. In order to do this, it relies on a new insert, its concentrate insert, which takes it from a single-use (dry blend only) vaporizer to one that boasts the ability to vape it all.
Vaporizer Shark, a vaporizer website behind some of the most insightful reviews we’ve seen of vaporizers and their related accessories, called it “one of the best portable vaporizers on the market right now” in their review, which was published earlier this month on August 21, 2017. They also noted in their review that given all that it entails, it truly is a vape that “offers some serious bang for your buck.” Or in other words, it’s well worth the money.
So what does it offer? A lot. It has lip-sensing technology that helps conserve blend, among other things. This is something that we hadn’t previously seen in the vaporizer marketplace, only in the e-cig space. Perhaps it existed, but those of us here at Vaporizer Wire were not aware of it. With it, the Pax 3 is able to detect while it’s in use, which plays into the way it heats up and cools down – a feature controllable to some extent via its various “modes.” In its Boost mode, it uses this haptic feedback technology to aggressively increase the heat while it’s in use and to rapidly decrease the heat once it’s no longer in use. It also has a Flavor mode in which it reacts more quickly in this regard while boosting the oven temperature by just five degrees — the goal being to maintain the blend’s flavor profile, resulting in the tastiest vapor that the vape can produce. Or at least, that’s the idea. Does it work well? If you ask the reviewers, it works, but just how well seems to vary from one reviewer to the next.
Does it work with liquid? We mentioned earlier this it’s a dual-use vape but does that mean that it can vaporize liquids or are the liquid blends a no-go with this vape? The answer to that does not seem readily apparent. Some claim that the Pax 3 can be used with liquids such as e-juice but only a very small amount should be applied to the concentrate insert – one or two drops max. Others say that liquids are not intended to be used with the vape and that it’s really designed for waxy types of blends, ones that won’t run as much when they’re heated.
In total, Pax version 3 offers four preset temperatures and then a fifth option that can be programmed to whatever temperature, within its range, that you prefer. So for the fifth setting, you can use anything between 360 and 420 degrees Fahrenheit.
Adding to its overall consumer appeal, the makers of this popular portable decided to include a few games along with their app. The app, which is intended for use with smartphones and similar devices, is not required to use the vape but it does open up a number of options like the ability to lock the vape and, of course, the games we just mentioned. Although, with the games, you can actually access them without opening the app but the same is not true for the device locking feature nor the fifth temperature setting. So for those who want to lock their vape to keep others from using it, the app is a necessity. And for those who want to stray away from the preset temperatures and choose their own, the app, again, is a necessity. But who is really complaining here? The fact that this vape comes with an app is just another feature that, while unnecessary, it touts.
The time it takes for the vape to reach vaporizing temperatures, which is known as the heat up time, is one of the many selling points of this vape. Why? Because it’s fast. How fast? Well, according to the manufacturer, Pax Labs, it takes 15 to 20 seconds. But according to vaporizer reviewers VaporizerShark.com, it takes “closer to around 30 seconds” for it to reach vaping temps. This isn’t bad, not bad at all in comparison to most other portable vaporizers, but it’s also not the quickest as vaporizers such as the Firefly 2 take less seconds than one has fingers to heat up. Still, half a minute is a far cry from the days when it took many modern-at-the-time dry blend vapes a matter of minutes to heat up.
With all of the advanced technology that the Pax 3 ships with, it comes as somewhat of a surprise to some that its battery is not designed to be replaced by the user. Instead, the internal battery must be recharged each time it runs out. Contrary to this design, some vape manufacturers opt for something a bit more cutting edge, which is to say that their internal batteries are actually user-replaceable – a nice feature for those who want to keep vaping when their battery’s juice runs out. Switch out the dead one and replace it with a fully charged one – can you see the benefit? Beyond this, we haven’t noticed much in way of complaints and if this is a problem, well, it’s not a terrible problem to have. Have you had issues with the Pax 3 portable vaporizer? Let us know about them in the comments section below.
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