Looking for a good portable vaporizer -- First time vaper, regular smoker

[imtp]

Hey guys,

I apologize for the size of the post in advance. I would rather explain it all in one go than sound rude by coming up with new "requirements".

Since I have been smoking herb for the last 4 years and my lungs just don’t appreciate the smoke at all, I am looking to switch to vaping instead. Also, where I live, it is not so easy to come by herb and is therefore rather pricey if and when I get lucky. So I am hoping that the switch to vaping can help me burn through the stash a bit slower.

After reading and watching a lot of portable vaporizer reviews, I just confused about what to get. What I do understand is that I need to set down at least €250 for a decent portable vape. While that is not a problem, I am not able to narrow down on one or two options so that I can go ahead and get myself one! Here are my requirements:

1. Maintenance is not a problem for me as I tend to take care of my stuff, particularly expensive ones. So the Pax 2 and Firefly also started sounding like good options.

2. Since I exclusively smoke in a group (at least with my girlfriend for company) it WILL be passed down in a circle. So something that doesn’t require a lot of repacking and would be ready to go instead of needing a “technique” to optimize the hits. Quite frankly, this is the only aspect of it that turns me off to the Firefly from what I have read.

3. The high needs to be good! I am quite frankly confused by the labels “Good flavour”, “Good vapour production” and “Great taste” because, it hasn’t been clarified anywhere as to what actually translates to a good high. Sometimes I prefer head highs and sometimes I just crave a body high, so the device needs to at least have preset temperature profiles that can vaporize the cannabinoids to either of these highs. I have certainly over time, built a level of resistance to grass and so I need a vaporizer that will provide an intense high and won’t waste material by just releasing the Flavonoids (My understanding is that, they merely provide the flavor, so please correct me if I am wrong).

4. The product needs to be durable; it should at least last a couple years and should have decent battery life. I always prefer to smoke outdoors because it makes it very interesting for me when it finally hits! So, the cold temperatures shouldn’t drastically alter battery lives. I have been reading extremely good things about the Crafty and Mighty with regards to the vapor production, while at the same time, I have been hearing extremely negative reviews about the durability of the devices from many people, some of whom have claimed to take good care of the device. Somewhere on the Fuckcombustion forums, there was a dude who claimed to have gotten a response from S&B when he complained about his crafty breaking down, that said that the product had been designed for not so heavy duty use. If that is true, it’s not cool considering that the device is significantly more expensive than the rest.

5. Discreetness is not too important to me, but I would be unhappy if the vaporizer kept reeking hours after use. I would rather my place not smell of burnt herb all the time. Anything that is not too strong or that disperses soon, would not bother me.

6. I exclusively smoke herb. Concentrates are not easy to come by in Germany.

Considering these factors, I have been trying unsuccessfully to narrow down on one vape. What would be a good choice out of the Pax 2, Haze V3, Arizer Air, Firefly and the Alfa? I'm open to other suggestions as well guys..

Thanks a lot.

 

[scottg402]

Hi, I am the sales manager for Haze. Thanks for putting us on your list for consideration. I won't try to sell you on us over the others. You look like you have a pretty solid list put together there. All I will say is that our product checks a lot of the boxes and I am happy to answer any questions you may have. Stop by our thread too. Some of those folks may be willing to put out their opinions on the differences but I don't feel its my place to discuss things like this in the forum.

 

[justcametomind]

You narrowed pretty much to the best electric portables out now.
I don't own any of them since I have a Crafty. It's maybe better than your favorites overall, but reeks a lot just to begin with.
Your choices are pretty much the best and most affordable at the same time.
I'd say Haze or Air from what I've read.

 

[Philreal187]

I vote the haze, they just reinforced the housing unit for durability, interchangeable batteries, dual bowl, simple to pass around.

 

[imtp]

Stop by our thread too. Some of those folks may be willing to put out their opinions on the differences but I don't feel its my place to discuss things like this in the forum.

I've already been there. I am really impressed by what I am reading over there. Both with regards to the product quality and the kind of support that you guys offer!

 

[imtp]

@ Justcametomind - Thanks dude.. I really wanted one of the S&B devices at the beginning and then I was rather disappointed by the number of issues that people had! And the after sales guys haven't really been treating the customers all that well.. even local ones in germany.. that was worrisome..

Maybe once they have addressed their design and quality issues, the mighty would be a good idea!

 

[imtp]

I vote the haze, they just reinforced the housing unit for durability, interchangeable batteries, dual bowl, simple to pass around.

That's one of the things I have been hearing positive things about.. I was blown away by the Pax 2 at first, but after reading a lot more about the "thermodynamics" of vaporizers, I was not so sure that it would be the most efficient one.. and hence part of the confusion..

 

[little maggie]

I vote Haze also. I have the air and I like it a lot. But with the Haze, the customer service is great. There are many options with the Haze and how you use it. With the upgrade option you'll have a vaporizer that will last for years and will include improvements.

 

[spoutti]

I switch to vaporizing because my lungs always felt irritated when I combusted. I just get a fraction of it IF I binge vape the previous evening.

Im still satisfied with my solos after 2+years. I just changed my batterie packs. I treated them poorly, but they still run perfectly. Its basically the same vaping process than the air. Really efficient, doesnt reek ( you just need https://www.planetvape.ca/travel-tube.html to put you glass stems in it), no tech needed to use. Minimum maintenance. I got a mighty a few months ago and didnt experience any problems with it. Better airflow than the solo, more powerful. It vapes equal size bowls about twice as fast maybe? But it reeks.

For more than 2 person groups, the solo might not be enough. A 0.07g load take me about 12min to vape camly. It feels like a 0.2g combusted imhe. Extrapolating from that, it would take 1h for a 5 people group to get a little medicated.

I havent tried the other vapes you mentionned.

I can safely suggest the solo (air or reg). If your friends do decide to switch to vaping themselves, they can try it with you and buy one themsleves; its called a solo afterall

 

[CarolKing]

@impt Buy a Solo and an Arizer Air one for you and one for your girl friend. Then you will be set and have a back up vaporizer. The Solo can be used as a desk top as well as a portable. The Air is quite stealth if needed. It would be the same price as 1 Mighty and you would have 2 vaporizers.

You might even have enough leftover for some top shelf.
Both the Solo and the Air are made by Arizer they make a well made product.

 

[phattpiggie]

I'm going to say Zion. It's convection so great flavor, wooden body so no worries about plastics, very easy to clean 18mm male glass bowl, load size can be set by the user. I see Scotg402 has one incoming. The Zion is power adjustable so can give wispy flavor or full thick couch lock. You would have to contact them on delivery to the EU as some international orders seem to have been placed. The main reason I would suggest it to you is it was designed with the cold weather in mind so you shouldn't have any concerns there. It uses readily available 18650 batteries with a good usage time at room temperature. All portables will have less run time when used in the cold.You've missed out on the lifetime warranty but it comes with a 3 year one now. Oh and there is a foto on the thread with a car parked on top of one how's that for durability.
If @RastaBuddhaTao is accepting international orders, you would need to contact him and check, then with delivery it should be it should be within your budget.
I would also say that the Zion and stable mates are on demand. When you want a Zion hit it's just a matter of a short pre-heat, 5 seconds or so, and inhale. No waiting around for the oven to heat and no worries about baking a full load and losing all that goodness to the atmosphere. The single battery version is coming soon in it's new guise, and the dual power house will follow both being available to the EU.

 

[1DMF]

I'm new to vaping and have little experience of the many vapes to choose from, so I know exactly how you feel and where you are coming from. Its a minefield of different terminology, different products, various form factors as well as quite a broad range in pricing.

I tried a few cheap Chinese vapes to get a feel for what they were about, and found I preferred taste over clouds, all glass pathway and adjustable temp control.

Having then purchased a Da Vinci Ascent and an Arizer Solo, I can safely say, I am so glad I did.

The Solo has changed my mind slightly over enjoying clouds, as you get great taste and big clouds from a glass pathway, but it can get a little harsh / hot near the end of the session / higher temps.

The Ascent when packed right, can produce decent clouds, tastes amazing (once robot fart has gone), and stays cooler at the higher temps (probably due to size of mouthpiece diameter which is much smaller than the Solo) - however, it's a royal pain to keep clean!

Neither device is perfect, but nether do I regret buying either device and as mush as the Mighty might be the best on the market considered by many, I'm glad I own two vapes for the price of one Mighty!

The Haze still tickles my fancy, but am trying real hard to not get VAS fever - be careful, getting carried away is real easy.

One thing no portable has is a decent battery life. I use mine at home mainly, so I'm never far from power, but even then I've been caught out of an evening, where the device has died on me, because I forgot to plug it in - I was aware of this issue, so ensured I got devices that could be used while charging!

1-3 hours battery life on a single charge is still pretty rubbish in the grand scheme of things, so if portability and longevity of battery life while on the go is one of the important factors in your buying decision, then you need to consider a device that allows you to replace the battery easily, not find a plug socket!

You also need to consider oven size, this is probably the biggest bug-bear I have with the Ascent, the oven is huge, and am awaiting glass spacer that are mean to hep with this issue.

Where as the Solo works great with as much or as little herb as you want to use, it doesn't care, which makes it very efficient and less hassle to fill, without additional glassware / flowers to faff around / burn yourself with.

So if you are short on cash or in a herb restricted environment, you want to check out the oven size to efficiency ratio, to ensure you get the most from your herbage.

If you are one of the lucky few in a legalised area, with easy access to as much weed as you could possibly wish for, then perhaps the amount you shove in the oven isn't so important.

Only you can truly decide what is really important to you; which should then help guide you to the appropriate vaporiser for your needs.

 

[mikeben]

I was in your shoes my friend, I did weeks of study as I wanted to get off of a semi cheap so-so pen vape for a long time. I wanted to quit smoking as well. I find the Haze V3 is perfect for me, go to the Haze thread to see my new review why, but basically it's a well built easy to use machine that has good battery life, gives you good flavor, gets you as high as anything, and gives you three ways to use dry herb. Plus if you ever do come across anything else (even dust from a grinder ie kief) it will take it as well. Go for it, it really is everything you could want. You will never have to smoke again, and man you won't miss it. I really love this thing.

 

[Tommy10]

Groups, good high, durable and not too worried about discretion... Arizer solo my friend, that full charged two stems and some bud will get 2-4 people nice if they have low tolerance or if you really crank the temp up. Way bellow your budget too, maybe solo a gong and a cheap bubbler? Still bellow budget.

You way find something that suits your style a bit better after some time but they are just so well priced. I lent mine out a while back and while I haven't missed it too much, I'm glad it was my first "proper" vape purchase:

 

[rshetts]

Looking at your list I, too, would recommend the Haze V3. Ive been using a Haze exclusively for my vaping after discovering the 2.5 and the 3 is even better. All the models you mentioned are decent to good and a lot of how you rate them is subjective but the Haze seems to hit the sweet spot for what I want more than the others I have tried. Add in the fantastic support from the company, the equally fantastic support we get here in the forums from Scott ( read the Haze thread and you will see why Scott gets major props around here ) and the beyond belief pay it forward program and you can not go wrong with the Haze V3.

disclaimer: I am an unabashed Haze supporter because the Haze is, quite simply, just that good.

 

[CarolKing]

I have the Ascent and the Air they both are good portables, I use the Air more often because ease of use and portability. I like the Air's user replaceable batteries.. They each have their strong points and are good at providing tasty vapor flavor as well as medicating quite well, depending on your cannabis.

The portables that I still use in the line up are the Solo, Air and the Ascent. I have other portables but haven't been using them lately.

Edit
I have thought about buying the Haze too. If it's good enough for celebrities it's good enough for me. I need to think of a vaporizer to buy myself for Christmas.

 

[His_Highness]

Arizer Solo or Arizer Air. Easy on the wallet, easy on the maintenance, easy on the first-time user but flexible enough for the experienced, easily fits a myriad of additional accessories, efficient tasty flower use, good battery life and built like a tank. My wife and I use it together and can get 2 sessions per fill. When I use it alone I get 4 sessions per fill. I only require 4 good draws per session depending on the quality of the MJ.

 

[Edric al-Fali]

I've only used the Firefly and the classic iolite. Everything else I mention is based on reviews and the message boards. I have been looking for a new portable for a while and have a list based on what I want. I decided to buy the Zion, but I am aware of the risks involved with an untested product line.

If you don't mind waiting a little and want a reliable on demand portable, the Zion seems very promising. Good bowl size, fairly common batteries, glass parts. A dial to adjust power; has a wide range. Can be used for a person or shared in a circle. Everyone on the thread seems satisfied.
I've also heard good things about the Elevape as far as on demand heat goes. I don't know what the bowl size is tho.

If you got the money, you can't go wrong with a Crafty. You can adjust two temperatures with a phone. I also seem very confident in recommending a Prima over the Crafty especially in terms of price. The prima, however, has four preset temp settings that I don't think can be changed. They do the job well, but some people believe the range is too narrow. They both have similar bowl sizes I believe. The crafty is a proven product while the Prima is still new, however.

Nobody really complains about the effort needed to draw from these.

I don't recommend a Firefly personally because of the return rates. The vapor path is a little tight too, but it does give good vapor (if you don't notice any funny taste/smell).
The others you mentioned like the Ascent, Pax and Haze all get good mentions.

 

[imtp]

Thanks for all the inputs everyone. I went ahead and bought the Haze V3 after all. Fired it up for the first time yesterday and boy did it blow my mind!! At first k thought it wasn't working as it should because the quantity of vapor we were exhaling was way too little.. 10 minutes in, we were tripping balls! I highly recommend it not just as a first vaporizer. I only kept getting good flavor all the way till the end. No burnt popcorn smells!

 

[CarolKing]

I've read up on the FireFly and it appealed to me in the beginning but quickly lost interest. It seemed like a high learning curve. I like easy. The battery went down quickly and some folks were getting combustion they said. I quit reading after a while. I thought the red unit was beautiful.

I prefer performance over beauty.

With the Haze I hope to get performance and beauty. I haven't ordered yet but have decided that's my next vape.

I'm not interested in ordering something that I won't be able to get for a long time, like the Grasshopper. I do hope eventually to be able to get one. Maybe next 4/20?

 

[mikeben]

The Haze does look nice, but of course a lot of vaporizers do. The thing that's important is that it really performs. You mentioned combustion and battery problems with the Firefly, but I have had neither with the Haze.

One thing I really like is no auto turn off in the middle of a session, yet I have never been close to burning materials or feeling like they were wasted. I also really liked getting the charger and batteries with the basic unit. The recharge time is pretty quick so I never had to wait which allowed me to finally FC for good. A month today!

 

[imtp]

@mikeben - agreed dude! Every aspect of the haze screams simplicity and modularity! It's amazing how efficiently it works. Although this is my first vaporizer ever, I can still tell for sure that the herbs are not getting burnt or heated ineffectively. Giving it a little stir though during the session helped greatly because there were some green spots among the browning lump of herbs.

@CarolKing - Exactly!! It's one thing to have to pick up a technique. But it's quite a pain to expect everyone in the group to be able to use it just as efficiently! Plus the cleaning between draws and the size of the bowl are a couple of other turn offs. I would strongly recommend the Haze for its size, efficiency with herb and the taste, even though I don't have any other reference to compare it to. One thing that surprised me is how warm the device got towards the end of a session. It was a little uncomfortable to keep holding in my palm! Not sure if that's normal. I need to check with other experienced users I suppose.

 

[mikeben]

@mikeben - agreed dude! Every aspect of the haze screams simplicity and modularity! It's amazing how efficiently it works. Although this is my first vaporizer ever, I can still tell for sure that the herbs are not getting burnt or heated ineffectively. Giving it a little stir though during the session helped greatly because there were some green spots among the browning lump of herbs.

@CarolKing - Exactly!! It's one thing to have to pick up a technique. But it's quite a pain to expect everyone in the group to be able to use it just as efficiently! Plus the cleaning between draws and the size of the bowl are a couple of other turn offs. I would strongly recommend the Haze for its size, efficiency with herb and the taste, even though I don't have any other reference to compare it to. One thing that surprised me is how warm the device got towards the end of a session. It was a little uncomfortable to keep holding in my palm! Not sure if that's normal. I need to check with other experienced users I suppose.

Glad your experience has been good. On one hand I wish all my vaping had been of Haze quality, but I guess the lesser ones makes me realize how lucky I am to have it. Here are a few dry herb tips that may help you get a more even burn.

I never have really had to stir it like I had to with many older machines. I make sure the herb is even grind wise, and slightly patted down. I always fill it about 80 percent, and that seems to get the most out of it.

My personal favorite is the conduction screen which is powerful even at setting one. The convection and cans work well too, for those I turn up the temp to two and they get going nice. Of course a kind bud makes a difference too.

Last, as far as holding it, just keep your hand on the solid part and you won't feel a thing. It cools off pretty fast, but if you use anything other than dry herb I recommend cleaning the can while still slightly warm.

 

[boroboro]

I bought a Solo four years ago, and used it nearly every day until recently. Only one battery change, and a few new stems due to breakage. It was very reliable, and I nearly purchased another until ...

The Haze thread on this forum convinced me to try a Haze instead of a replacement Solo. I liked a few features of the Haze over the Solo:

• Replaceable batteries
• Stem and pre-loaded chambers store in the unit, all in one piece
• Much easier to carry in a pocket
• 10 year warranty, and a company that seems to be strongly involved here

I just got my Haze a week ago, and have used it with good buds and with ice-water hash that we make at the farm. Wow! No offense to the Solo, but I much prefer the Haze now. Great flavor, huge clouds, and warm-up times are similar. Battery life may be an issue, resolved with high-capacity batteries and carrying enough spares.

My old-school, joints and hash-pipe partner thinks the Haze cartridges/cans are much too small and difficult to deal with, but I think it's well worth the effort.

 

[natural farmer]

Hey guys,

I apologize for the size of the post in advance. I would rather explain it all in one go than sound rude by coming up with new "requirements".

Since I have been smoking herb for the last 4 years and my lungs just don’t appreciate the smoke at all, I am looking to switch to vaping instead. Also, where I live, it is not so easy to come by herb and is therefore rather pricey if and when I get lucky. So I am hoping that the switch to vaping can help me burn through the stash a bit slower.

After reading and watching a lot of portable vaporizer reviews, I just confused about what to get. What I do understand is that I need to set down at least €250 for a decent portable vape. While that is not a problem, I am not able to narrow down on one or two options so that I can go ahead and get myself one! Here are my requirements:

1. Maintenance is not a problem for me as I tend to take care of my stuff, particularly expensive ones. So the Pax 2 and Firefly also started sounding like good options.

2. Since I exclusively smoke in a group (at least with my girlfriend for company) it WILL be passed down in a circle. So something that doesn’t require a lot of repacking and would be ready to go instead of needing a “technique” to optimize the hits. Quite frankly, this is the only aspect of it that turns me off to the Firefly from what I have read.

3. The high needs to be good! I am quite frankly confused by the labels “Good flavour”, “Good vapour production” and “Great taste” because, it hasn’t been clarified anywhere as to what actually translates to a good high. Sometimes I prefer head highs and sometimes I just crave a body high, so the device needs to at least have preset temperature profiles that can vaporize the cannabinoids to either of these highs. I have certainly over time, built a level of resistance to grass and so I need a vaporizer that will provide an intense high and won’t waste material by just releasing the Flavonoids (My understanding is that, they merely provide the flavor, so please correct me if I am wrong).

4. The product needs to be durable; it should at least last a couple years and should have decent battery life. I always prefer to smoke outdoors because it makes it very interesting for me when it finally hits! So, the cold temperatures shouldn’t drastically alter battery lives. I have been reading extremely good things about the Crafty and Mighty with regards to the vapor production, while at the same time, I have been hearing extremely negative reviews about the durability of the devices from many people, some of whom have claimed to take good care of the device. Somewhere on the Fuckcombustion forums, there was a dude who claimed to have gotten a response from S&B when he complained about his crafty breaking down, that said that the product had been designed for not so heavy duty use. If that is true, it’s not cool considering that the device is significantly more expensive than the rest.

5. Discreetness is not too important to me, but I would be unhappy if the vaporizer kept reeking hours after use. I would rather my place not smell of burnt herb all the time. Anything that is not too strong or that disperses soon, would not bother me.

6. I exclusively smoke herb. Concentrates are not easy to come by in Germany.

Considering these factors, I have been trying unsuccessfully to narrow down on one vape. What would be a good choice out of the Pax 2, Haze V3, Arizer Air, Firefly and the Alfa? I'm open to other suggestions as well guys..

Thanks a lot.

Nice writing there mate! Having tried many portables and having read most of the threads around here I would suggest you get in the short waiting line for a Zion ASAP and use a company like shipitto.com to get yours in Germany… Greetings from Greece!

EDIT: Just saw you went for Haze after all, nevertheless Zion would blow your mind if you like the Haze! Maybe gift the Haze to a friend in need later…