And long at last, the wait is over, MY PAX 3 HAS ARRIVED!!!
(now if only the Sticky Brick Jr. I ordered from vapefiend will follow suit tomorrow I'll be one happy camper)
I digress, first off a huge shout out and props to PAX's resident support team here on FC -
Ojan the man. He was extremely helpful at making sure my order got fast tracked once a delay was discovered, and always was on top of answering my inquiries immediately. So thank you sir, you are an excellent ambassador for the excellent support reputation established by your company - so kudos!
Moving along....
First impressions:
- Really like the look and feel of this thing in my hand. The polished metallic finish gives it that oh-so-sleek-n-sexy look, but alas moments out of the box and I've already seemed to rack up some minor abrasions, smudges, etc. so indeed as others have said, when scrutinized under light it does not hide its battle-scars well.
- The changing between settings took me a minute and a wasted concentrate chamber of Shoreline Crumble to get down, but now I've figured out that I need to exit temp selection again to get it to change to the desired setting. So hopefully smooth sailing from here on out!
- Speaking of, take two on the concentrate adapter with some
"Lemon Drizzle" shatter (s5 Haze x Hyprom Amnesia nug-runs blasted together) yielded quite satisfactory results. If you enjoy concentrates a lot and not just in conventional dabs, then this offers a refreshing alternative experience. The vapor density is quite lacking, but the first 2-4 hits pack really excellent and diverse flavor (terpenes that likely get burned off by most dabs), and the subsequent 8-15 hits don't really slouch on flavor as much as this thing does with herb after the "green hits". Aside from the augmented flavor aspect, it really turns the dab experience into a "sesh" experience and stretches the potency across several still powerful drags. As I said vapor density not there exactly, but you can really feel the cannabinoids setting in like rocket fuel as you make your way through the bowl. I think it offers a bit of a cleaner buzz than traditional dabs. All in all, I'm still very new to this concentrate adapter experience but I certainly think it's less gimmicky than the steel wool mesh pads for the S&B portables. I give this aspect of the 3 a big two thumbs up for now, still more use needed to give the final verdict – ultimately I think it'll come down to regular cleaning/maintenance being the difference between an mediocre versus excellent flavor/extraction experience. Of course insert cliché gripe about the adapter not sitting flush, I now see and understand why that can be aggravating, but it's not a deal-breaker type gripe by any stretch either, and I imagine/hope it will be handily nipped in the bud for the PAX's next generation.
Edit: second go with the shoreline crumble showed that this vape favors haze flavors not only in flower format but concentrates as well. While the shoreline was effective and tasty for the first few puffs, it wasn't nearly as tasty as the lemon drizzle. Man haze is about to become even more of a staple than it already is in my medicine cabinet. #flavorchaser
- To the main course -
dry herb use:
My first chamber loaded was some finely ground Amnesia Haze (used the upside down trick with the three-piece grinder to get as fine of a grind as possible), I synced up the app and device and set it to "flavor mode"I packed a half-pack so full it was on the cusp of not sitting flush, cranked 'er up to setting number two and waited what seemed like 10 second before the blinking haptic feedback alerted me that my medication was heated to desired temp. I took a long steady sip and exhaled, flavor was better than anticipated. It's brand new so as clean as can be granted, nonetheless I found the debut exhale to be as tasty as a crafty draw, albeit certainly with less full-bodied vapor/density. The following few hits and then subsequent drop off in taste after reminded me of par for the course with my friend's crafty I've had on loan the past 3 weeks. My main gripe and where the experience begins to differ, is more the subsequent after smell (of vaped weed) than the taste. The smell of the spent herb is not very pleasant at all a bit cat pissy and rotting foliage, that said the after small doesn't smell particularly "cannabis-esque" imho (the warming up odor is another animal). Again the vapor is also less full-bodied than the mighty or crafty, however I've only taken it up to setting two for flower thus far (did the BHO on 4 obviously), I notice a lot of posters and other users I've read accounts of, seem to be most partial to three, although I suspect that's where the trade-off of better vapor density at the cost of flavor factors in, I'm about to pack an oven at setting-3, and I'll do my best to offer some more feedback if I'm not entirely too crispy for such things.
In conclusion (of these initial impressions/thoughts): my impressions are mostly positive for certain, I certainly love the way this thing looks and feels, and the heat up time is hard to beat. Concentrate function is enough for me and I'm a daily-dabber so take that FWIW. Hope to update with more
- I like: flavor, look, concentrate pad, heat up time, battery life
- nitpicky gripes: concentrate adapter not flush, easily picks up abrasions on its sleek-sexy finish; after smell even with this thing being brand-spankin'-new is not exactly pleasant.
Verdict: I'm a happy camper thus far!
again mad props Ojan for all your help and swift you responses! #fistbump
update: the second oven full o' flower was a bit of a flop too. I attribute that to two factors. One the second chamber of Polar Bear OG I packed was not dense and packed in enough (even for the half-pack) needed to put more herb in, which adds my final little gripe - unlike say the crafty because teh lid impresses upon the packed oven it's hard to gage how much you've filled it to the given lid's "brim" so to speak, so it's a little learning what truly full and packed down properly looks like for the two different lid-sizes, so something to keep in mind So that one on setting 3 gave like one or two moderately dense puffs, that were reasonably flavorful (still lacking) The second contributing factor is, I believe like the volcano this vape is both more strain dependent (as well as maintenance dependent) for producing optimal flavor. Like the volcano, once I switched back to the haze the flavor was much more transferred from bag-aroma. I will say I think this thing certainly lasts longer for a pack (even half-lid) than the crafty so it is a better session vape in that aspect. I've think I've nailed it down, fine grind, dense pack, proven flavorful in the volcano weed, keep the mofo clean, start at 2 on flavor mode, boost up to three to spend the chamber. BOOM!
And I know that might be asking a bit much but curiosity has been the source of my pain since birth. XD
