best personal (dry herb) vape?

Title I'm in the market for a dry herb vaporizer, prefer something somewhat small as I'm likely the only one to use it 90% of the time. 0-$200 ish preferring something on the cheaper side but will consider pricier units.

Not looking for a volcano or other huge tabletop units. The goal here is not necessarily to be portable but just not be HUGE and obnoxious. Appreciate any info and firsthand experience.

 

I've used a Magic Flight Launch Box, which is meant to be good, but I think the unit I used was faulty. Nevertheless they're meant to be good. I've also heard very good things about the Arizer Air and Arizer Solo.

 

Have a look at DD's thread, it may help.

http://www.sythe.org/general-discussion/1833827-dry-herb-vaporizer-under-100-need-suggestions.html

 

Big derp on my end appreciate the input. Thanks swan I'll look into the arizer.

One major difference between DD's thread and my own is the need for portability. I LIKE the idea of portability but its not a deal breaker. I'd prefer to not be reliant on batteries. I just don't want a big volcano or hot box type unit. I want a discrete vaporizer.. Not a druggie centerpiece for when I have company over.

 

A friend of mine managed to make some weed ecig at home. Should be a few videos on youtube to help you out

 

To be honest I think a lot of "Stealth and portability" is just marketing. The size is only going to differ a couple inches. Some might fit easier in your pocket if they don't have a stem, but how often are you going to need it to be in your pocket and not have a bag/your car to just hide it in?

Obviously you don't want one of those monstrosities that sit on a desktop but anything portable is going to work about the same I'd imagine. The one Tmoe recommended is awesome, if not a little expensive.

Also having batteries is definitely a plus in my book. Its a lot better if you can just pop a new one in instead of waiting hours for it to charge. But as far as I know the one I have has pass through charging so you can vape while its plugged in and charge the battery while its inside.

 

I have to recommend the Pax vaporizer

 

The alternative to spending a lot of money is also to make your own; it's not hard really, especially if you use a butane torch as your source of heat. All you need is a ceramic or metal chamber and a stem and you're set really.

One of my projects for later is actually to make a proper electronic vape of my own design. It's just a habit I have as an engineering student to look at things and go "how can I make this?" I guess.

 

Ive used the PAX and its nice but the battery life and vapor quality aren't what I'm looking for. Its a great portable unit but portability isn't my #1 concern. Right now I'm looking primarily at arizer (the solo, air as well as extreme Q) as well as the Zeus smite.

I'd really prefer a small tabletop bag unit. The remote on the extreme Q is very appealing to me, wake up turn it on hop in shower come back to a 4' bag before work any firsthand experience with the units I mentioned would be appreciated.

 

Do you have any experience with a FireFly?

In my opinion, it can't see how it would be beat. I've used other vapes, but haven't seen anything quite like it before.

I've smoked two or three times out of it (my friends)
The main difference I noticed between it and others was the heat up time. Others I've used will take a few minutes, the FireFly is seconds and it's on full blast. Which makes me think that you can save a lot more herb at least.

Turn on, puff, off, and you're good.

I'll probably be buying one soon. Haven't looked at price but I'd assume it's up there.

 

Glad you like it


Building on the Arizer Air, it does use batteries, but these batteries are removable and you can use the Arizer why it is plugged in.

I pretty much looked into every high-quality/highly-reviewed portable vaporizer. While portability is not a concern, here are some reasons I did not go with various other vaporizers:

- Firefly, works great, high vape quality, but very heavy and is very hot when filling the chamber. You need to let it cool down or you will burn yourself. Also, you need to ensure that the lid closes flat and there is nothing prohibiting it from forming a tight seal

- PAX, it is a great vape, but it is VERY high maintenance. You have to clean it constantly or it will not work. I do not remember the issue specifically, but something along the lines of the chamber being clogged. This is both annoying and expensive. Also, the vape itself is incredibly expensive.

- PAX 2, I looked into this and it looked like a great vape. Problem was, all the information was coming from PAX and there were no reviews out (the device itself just came out.) I did not want to wait to purchase one (I believe it came out in late April), nor did I want to spend that much. The PAX 2 is just as expensive - if not more - than the PAX when it came out. Yeah they're nice, but I'm not going to drop an astronomical amount on it when I can get a comparable vape for almost half.

- Magic Flight Box, also a good vape, but I thought it was overly complicated. I did not want to put a battery in to cause the plate to heat up. It has a learning curve and you can potentially combust whatever herb due to holding the battery too long. I do not think it's user friendly & if you're sharing the vape when people are over, they're going to mess up.

- Arizer Solo, it is the pre-cursor to the Arizer Air and the air is just a newer, skinnier, more-portable version of it. If you do not care about the portability, but want such a vape, look at a Solo. They are now a year out-of-date and you may be able to get a deal on one. I wouldn't of considered the Solo due to the size (I was looking at the Firefly before I found the air), but if you do not care for a portable vape, I would say it's a great choice.

Also, eBay and coupons/sales are your friends. Many third party sites/forums will have specials with coupons, or buy this get % off of this. eBay just provides a chance to buy from resellers/authorized sellers for a discounted price.

 

I love my Pax but Tmoe is right, I need to clean it about every two weeks or the mouthpiece starts to gunk up. If neglected, this leads into a few problems because you basically turn the unit on and off by clicking the mouthpiece, so if that doesn't work neither does the heating element. Definitely one of the more needy vapes but it isn't awful by any means. The nicest thing about the Pax though is the 10 year warranty. To get the warranty though, make sure you go directly through ploom, or go for an authorized reseller - NOT eBay, they are anal about this. Pax labs will fix your pax for pretty much any reason besides battery failure, it just has to be from an authorized reseller.

If you don't want the stealth / portability of the Pax your next bet would be the Airizer Air. Great vapor quality, you just have to be careful not to shatter the glass stem in your pocket / dropping it.

I would also advise looking into the grasshopper. Reviews on it are calling it the best vape at the price point, and production on the units is finally starting to move fast, they should be shipping sometime this summer.

 

Pretty excited for it, it looks awesome.

Any idea on how much smell is produced when using? Also, any idea if you can keep the chamber packed w/o releasing significant smell if? If I go hiking and pre-pack it, I don't want the scent just oozing off of me.

 

FireFly +1

 

I'll look into the firefly. I've decided I'm leaning towards a desktop unit over a portable one. Right now extreme Q and Da Buddha are looking pretty good.

I used a buddies PAX on Saturday and it has somewhat soured me on the idea of a portable unit. It was nice but I feel I get more from combusting than I do "vaping" with that particular unit.

As far as req's for my ideal desktop unit is size (I don't want a huge volcano or obvious vape) vapor quality, and price. Still shooting for $200 or less.

The extreme Q is a very versatile unit being able to do bags and whip where as da Buddha only does whip. However the buddha 's vape from whip is supposed to be quite a bit better than the EQ's.