Pax offers powerful vapor clouds in a sleek, compact design that closely resembles the minimalist aesthetic of Apple products. Nearly as small as a vape pen, the Pax vaporizer stands out as a stylish and discreet portable device for herb vaporization.
While it excels in portability and ease of use, it’s not without a few minor drawbacks that could affect the experience for some users. Its streamlined design makes it perfect for on-the-go use, but there are a few features and performance aspects that could be further refined in future models. Nonetheless, for those seeking a discreet and efficient vaporizer, the Pax remains a solid choice in the portable vape market.
Designed by Ploom, a San Francisco-based startup focused on innovative smoking products, the Pax vaporizer feels meticulously crafted with attention to detail. From its minimalistic on button to the distinctive glowing light that adds personality, the Pax stands out as a sleek and stealthy portable vape.
In your hand, the Pax feels ergonomic and compact, about the size of a child’s bike handle. As far as battery-powered vaporizers go, it’s both powerful and smooth, boasting a slim profile with rounded corners and a brushed aluminum finish that adds a premium touch. The signature glowing X light on the device changes color as the Pax heats up—turning green when it's ready for use. This light also serves as an indicator for charging and battery levels, changing to different colors based on its status.
Turning on the Pax is as simple as pushing the mouthpiece, and the device operates silently, emitting only a mild scent of herb. However, it’s worth noting that the magnetic oven lid doesn’t create a completely airtight seal, so Pax tends to release a bit more odor compared to other portable vaporizers. This is something to keep in mind if you’re carrying a loaded Pax in your pocket, as the smell may be more noticeable.
Pros and Cons at a Glance
The Good:
- Powerful Vapor Production: Capable of generating dense, robust vapor clouds, delivering an exceptional vaping experience.
- Generous Herb Oven Chamber: The large oven chamber is designed to heat evenly from all five sides, ensuring efficient vaporization with minimal waste.
- Sleek and Stylish Design: With its refined aesthetics, the Pax vaporizer resembles the high-quality craftsmanship of an Apple product—sleek, minimal, and portable.
- Intuitive Mouthpiece: Acting as both an on/off switch and a simple control mechanism, the mouthpiece offers an easy, user-friendly experience.
- Adjustable Temperature Settings: Tailor your vaporization experience with three distinct temperature settings: low, medium, and high, for maximum control over your vapor production.
- Long-Term Durability: Comes with an impressive 10-year warranty, ensuring lasting value and reliability.
The Bad:
- Battery Life: Despite claims of "up to 2 hours of use," in practice, battery life tends to last around 45 minutes, which might be shorter than expected for extended sessions.
- Charging Setup: The charging stand and cord could be more elegant and streamlined; additionally, it lacks USB charging, which may be inconvenient for some users.
- Cleaning and Maintenance: For users who prefer high-quality marijuana, maintenance can be a hassle. The vaporizer may need to be cleaned every few uses to maintain optimal performance, especially if you’re using more resinous herbs.
| Category | Rating |
|---|---|
| Value | 8/10 |
| Pax is on the middle price range for portable vaporizers, but it has the largest herb oven size we know of, which helps it deliver powerful hits of vapor in a compact package. The Launch Box is a better value but the Pax delivers on more. | |
| Ease of Use | 8/10 |
| Load herb into the oven, pack tightly; press mouthpiece to turn on and wait 30-90 seconds for green glowing light. Intuitive to open and turn on/off. Very elegant and simple to use. (When it works. I’ve updated this review to take 2 points off ease of use after numerous and well-documented trouble with the mouthpiece, despite multiple cleanings.) | |
| Design | 9/10 |
| Pax is stylish like an Apple iPod, with its brushed aluminum case but even more minimal and simple to use. Sometimes it draws attention due to its size in my hand, but not like the Arizer Solo. Pax is high-quality, but just shy of the Apple-standard in construction and design; we found the top and bottom edges a little rough, the on light shines thru the mouthpiece, which also wiggles enough to make a slight rattle — all fairly minor points. | |
| Durability | 9/10 |
| The case feels sturdy, but we wouldn’t recommend dropping it to see what happens. The pieces feel solid and well-made. | |
| Setup | 10/10 |
| Load herb; press mouthpiece to heat; vape. | |
| Loading | 9/10 |
| Push on one side of the oven door to flip open. Load ground herb in and shake into hole. Pack herbs down tightly into the oven using the lid for best results achieving dense vapor clouds. | |
| Hits | 9/10 |
| Grid fine and pack the chamber tightly with herb. Gently inhale vapors slowly and consistently for good hits. Pull too hard and it feels like a super thick milkshake, go slowly. The Pax has poor airflow, so inhalation takes practice, but the vapor is thick once you get the hang of it. If the mouthpiece is hot you’re pulling too hard and fast! Let the vapors fill your mouth gently. With the temperature set to medium or high you’ll be exhaling impressively thick vapor clouds for any vape. | |
| Clean-up | 10/10 |
| Dump the oven contents with a tap or two, maybe more if your herb was sticky. | |
| Efficiency | 8/10 |
| Grind your marijuana finely; stir the oven contents every 6-8 hits. Pax is an efficient unit, some herbs can be hit for 20-30 vapor draws before being fully cached, so experiment with your specific strains. Over the long term you’ll be saving about 15% of the herb smoked in a bong or pipe. | |
| Maintenance | 6/10 |
| Official Pax instructions say to clean resin build-up every 12 vape sessions, but our experience is after every four uses, or about every full battery charge; especially if you’re using high-quality medical-grade cannabis. Use pipe cleaners dipped in alcohol inside the air tube and mouthpiece about three times back and forth. Be sure to clean the mouthpiece socket for resin, (try toothpicks or tiny dental brushes) around the tube and especially down into the spring action. Use care not to splash alcohol on the temperature switch — this can glue it stuck. Cleaning the mouthpiece socket ensures good electrical connection when warming up. | |
Photo Gallery
Remove the bottom lid to fill Pax with herb.
Here’s the oven where you pack herb.
Pax — packed with herb.
To turn on Pax, simply push the mouth piece.
Wait 30 seconds, and Pax is ready to vape.
Pax has three temperature settings: Low 370F, Medium 390F, High 410F.
Shake Pax to see the battery level.
Plug the dock in the wall and charge Pax in about an hour. A full charge lasts up to 2 hours of vaporizing, but we get closer to 1 hour of use time in our experience.
Charging
A full charge for the Pax vaporizer takes approximately 90 minutes, which should provide around one hour of vaporizing time based on our experience. While some websites claim that the Pax can last up to 2 hours of use on a single charge, we remain skeptical. This conclusion is based on our personal tests, research from various online forums, and our experience with other portable battery-powered vaporizers.
The Stats
- Material: Constructed from anodized aluminum, similar to the finish found on an Apple MacBook Pro, giving it a sleek and durable exterior.
- Interior: Features medical-grade stainless steel components, ensuring both safety and longevity.
- Design: Slim, compact, and fits comfortably in your hand, making it portable and discreet.
- Heat-up Time: The Pax heats up quickly, reaching vaping temperature in less than 30-90 seconds, so you're never left waiting long.
- Temperature Settings: Three adjustable temperature options: low (370°F), medium (390°F), and high (410°F), allowing you to customize your experience.
- Warranty: Backed by a generous 10-year warranty, ensuring peace of mind with your purchase.
- Dimensions: Measures 4⅛ inches tall, 1⅓ inches wide, and ⅞ inch thick.
- Weight: Weighs less than 1 pound, making it lightweight and easy to carry on the go.
Our Favorite Thing: The Oven
One of the standout features of the Pax is its innovative herb chamber. Unlike most portable vaporizers, the Pax’s oven almost completely surrounds your herb, ensuring maximum contact with the heated air. This design helps draw more THC with each inhale, delivering a more potent vaping experience compared to other vaporizers. For optimal results, we recommend packing the oven tightly with ground herb. The Pax seems to perform best this way, producing thick, dense, and rich vapor clouds with every draw.
The Downsides
While the Pax stands out as one of the best-designed portable vaporizers we've tested, it does come with a premium price tag. If budget is your top concern, you may want to consider alternatives. For instance, the Magic Flight Launch Box is a fantastic portable vaporizer at half the price, and we highly recommend checking out our review of it if you're looking for more affordable options.
What’s in the Box?
- The unit
- Charging dock
- Cleaning kit
- Mouthpiece + lid
- 1 screen
- Manual
Two Techniques for Inhaling
From our experience and after consulting advice from others in the vaping community, we recommend two techniques for getting big, thick vapor clouds from your compact Pax:
- Cigar Puffing: This technique involves using your cheeks to draw the vapor into your mouth before inhaling it into your lungs. It requires practice, but a tight lip seal combined with pulling or sucking from both your mouth and cheeks is key to achieving the thick vapor you’re after.
- Slow, Gentle, Steady Inhaling: The key here is to imagine the vapor gently moving into your mouth and lungs. Focus on drawing air from the mouthpiece slowly and steadily. A long, slow inhale is crucial for maximizing the vapor output and achieving that dense cloud.
The Latest Updates: Pax Plus and Pax Mini - A New Era in Vaping
As we step into 2025, the Pax vaporizer lineup continues to evolve, offering more advanced features, a refined design, and an overall enhanced vaping experience. Let’s dive into the newest updates, focusing on the Pax Plus and Pax Mini, which have quickly become some of the most sought-after models in the portable vaporizer market.
Pax Plus: Simplified Yet Powerful
The Pax Plus is an updated version of the Pax 3, designed to deliver a more intuitive and user-friendly vaping experience. While it shares much of the same core functionality as the Pax 3, it has introduced a few key upgrades:
- Improved Build and Durability: The Pax Plus features a sleek matte finish, adding to its premium feel. The new 3D printed oven screen ensures improved airflow and easier cleaning, reducing the buildup of residue. The vapor path is also redesigned to enhance flavor and vapor quality.
- Faster Heat-Up Time: The Pax Plus heats up quicker than its predecessors, making it ready to vape in just 22 seconds. This rapid heat-up is a significant improvement for those who prefer quick sessions without waiting around.
- Enhanced User Experience: Thanks to its updated design, the Pax Plus is more user-friendly. The single button operation remains intuitive, and the device’s new haptic feedback system alerts users when it's ready to go, providing a more responsive experience overall.
The Pax Plus has done away with the need for precise temperature controls and instead offers four Experience Modes—Stealth, Efficiency, Flavor, and Boost. These modes are designed to cater to different preferences:
- Stealth mode is perfect for low-profile sessions, reducing the vapor output.
- Efficiency optimizes your herb consumption by using lower temperatures, ideal for maximizing battery life.
- Flavor mode provides a smoother and more flavorful vapor at mid-range temperatures.
- Boost mode ramps up the heat for fast, thick clouds of vapor for those who like a more intense experience.
Pax Mini: Portability Meets Performance
For users seeking a more compact and budget-friendly option, the Pax Mini is a great alternative. While smaller than the Pax Plus, the Pax Mini does not compromise on performance:
- Smaller Form Factor: The Pax Mini is significantly more portable, easily fitting into your pocket without drawing attention. It’s ideal for on-the-go vaping, while still delivering impressive vapor quality.
- Simplicity and Efficiency: The Pax Mini offers fewer customization options compared to the Pax Plus but still features an impressive vaporizing experience with its single temperature setting. This simplicity makes it perfect for users who don’t want to fuss with multiple controls but still want an efficient, flavorful session.
- Long Battery Life: Despite its smaller size, the Pax Mini has a solid battery life, providing up to 2 hours of continuous use per charge. It also uses a USB-C charging port, allowing for quicker charging.
- Two-Year Warranty: Unlike the Pax Plus, which comes with a 10-year warranty, the Pax Mini offers a more standard two-year warranty, reflecting its more affordable price point.
Both the Pax Plus and Pax Mini have their own unique strengths. The Pax Plus is ideal for those who want a high level of control over their vaping experience with multiple heat settings and customization options. On the other hand, the Pax Mini caters to those who value portability, simplicity, and ease of use while still providing high-quality vapor.
Whether you’re a seasoned vaper looking for advanced features or someone just starting out in the world of vaporizers, Pax has something for everyone with these latest models.
Pax is a premium portable vaporizer, there are cheaper options. At $200 it’s a decent price. Looking for something a little smaller, faster and easier to clean? Get a Pax 2, it’s worth the upgrade price.
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