So I’ve been comparing the Solo 3 with my ten year old 2014 Air and thought I’d leave a few impressions for you fine folks.
Right off the bat I’m finding this one is 100% exactly what I expected it to be in every way. As suspected and stated, the convection dominant claims seem rather generous. I honestly think people are mistaking the increased airflow as the device now being convection leaning. I mean technically speaking, more airflow does mean more convection (transport), but most of us on here are thinking of evaporation via hot air when we use the term “convection.”
What it does have is much more power than previous generations. There’s no real recovery time necessary. If I had to make a guess I’d assume the S3 electronics are monitoring the temperature better, applying more power to keep the oven at vaporization temperature. The glass stem could smooth and buffer out that increased thermocouple feedback just like a cold start dab from a quartz banger can buffer a big powerful blowtorch. Obviously the temperature reading is not contacting the glass stem itself, so there’s still some thermal lag in the system, but it’s been minimized pretty well compared to previous generations.
Performance is pretty consistent, like all Arizers it can benefit from a heat soak, especially if you want that extra dense first inhale. But overall it heats up “fast enough.”
The “On Demand” title is perhaps a bit superfluous, having used prefilled cartridges and wax pens for over ten years it’s hard to consider this true on demand as it’s definitely not quite an instantaneous experience, but if you only like to take one hit at a time this usage mode has a role and a place, just adjust your expectations. I’m mostly using session mode on my preset settings of 1 (360F) and 2 (400)
Ease of use is overall pretty great. The menu system itself was a little confusing to me and I had to quickly read the manual to figure out how to access the secondary settings, but after one read most will have the device mastered. The unlock sequence is maybe a bit over the top, for reference I don’t think my Air has ever come on by accident with the simpler power-on sequence.
The vapor itself is extremely beginner friendly, the conduction focus means you can take short puffs and still achieve a satisfying plume. Its definitely not like my TM where you need to really pull some air through to coax a hit. I’ve been sharing with some beginners and smokers and nobody has had any issue at all getting a good hit off the S3.
The vapor is perhaps a little harsher than previous generations but that’s to be expected when inhaling twice as much herb as previously models were capable of. With the classic size bowls I personally find the performance to be typical Arizer portable vapor and nearly identical in overall vapor quality to my legacy Air.
The conduction focus also means the aerosol is fairly tame for a steamroll style direct inject mouthpiece with zero cooling features. Despite zero cooling components, stock for stock right out of the box, when sharing with beginners, the S3 is noticeably easier on the respiratory system than my regarded convection portable.
I would say flavor is right on par with this series of vapes, in my opinion it’s improved over previous takes as you can finish a bowl quicker - for me that means better flavor; but the metal oven that heats the stems has the same potential issue this lineup has always had: if/when any crumbs fall out and contact the hot oven floor they tend to taste charred and burnt, especially at the higher temperature range.
Battery life is fantastic, probably the best of any dry herb device I’ve used. If you’re out of the house a lot it might be worth picking this one up for that reason alone IMHO. The onboard capacity is excellent, but paired with a USBC power pack, I expect the solo 3 would make a great device for camping and extended outdoor exploration even for heavier tolerance users. That said, this is a somewhat large and hefty device for a portable. It’s definitely something I would carry in my backpack, not my pants pocket.
Like every electric portable I’ve used, it doesn’t have desktop power so high tolerance heads take heed; but IMHO for most folks other than the most serious hardcore enthusiasts I imagine it would be sufficient and powerful enough.
Overall I wouldn’t really call this a groundbreaker in innovation but the improvements for the most part are all quite real world useful. Getting “electric anvil” vibes from this one. It’s a solid vape, dudes!
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