Description
The Pax 3 vaporizer is the latest release from Pax Labs and is the successor of the very pretty Pax 2 vaporizer. Featuring a slim feminine look to the chassis, your girlfriend may mistake this vaporizer for one of her beauty products. The Pax 3 now heats in 30 seconds or less, features 4 pre-set temperatures, a bigger battery and introduces Bluetooth connectivity to customize your settings through an app. The stainless steel oven and vapor path have not changed much from the Pax 2 and still tends to mute the overall flavor of your herb. Though not much has changed on the outside (it still looks like a stick of lipstick) the changes on the inside are fairly significant. So let’s jump right in.
How It Works
If you have seen or used a Pax 2, you pretty much have an idea how to use the Pax 3. They certainly did not reinvent the wheel. For those who haven’t, you remove the magnet cap at the bottom of the device to expose the heating chamber, fill it with your favorite herbs and snap the bottom back on the unit.
You turn the device on by pressing the center of the mouthpiece on top of the unit. To select your temperature press and hold the power button while the device is on to enter the temperature “menu”, a short press on the power button will cycle through the now 5 temperature settings, the first 4 are the same as the Pax 2, but the 5th is a custom temperature which can be set through the app.
Once you have selected your desired temperature setting press and hold the power button again to set the temperature and exit the temperature select menu. The device will now begin to automatically heat up to your set temperature. Heat up time has been improved on the Pax 3 and should only take about 15 seconds to reach set temperature. Once it has reached temperature the device will vibrate, the lights will turn green and you can begin to take draws from the mouthpiece.
To use this unit with concentrates take the included concentrate container, fill it with your favorite wax or concentrate and pop it into the oven of the Pax 3. It will stick out a bit at the bottom so you can easily remove it, this is completely normal. For concentrates, we recommend setting the Pax 3 to the highest heat setting (setting 4)
Not only does the Pax 3 app allow you to set a custom temperature with the app, it also offers different heating modes which will drastically change how you interact with your unit. The following modes are currently available through the app:
Standard – This is the basic setting used for the Pax 3, it will boost the ovens temperature 5 degrees Celsius as you take your draw to help maintain temperature and then drop back down until you draw again.
Flavor – This setting works similar to the Standard mode but provides more on-demand heat. What this means is once the unit has done its initial heat-up, as soon as you begin to draw, the temperature will ramp up more quickly to maintain temperature and will immediately begin to cool down after your draw. This profile does a better job at preserving flavor between draws because of the rapid cool down and will waste less herb if you forget to keep drawing from the unit.
Boost – This heating mode works by increasing the aggressiveness of the heating while drawing from the unit and decreases the cooldown time when you are not drawing. This setting is best for people who want to get in quick sessions or are a session with more dense vapor.
Efficiency Mode – This mode will slowly increase your temperature by 1 degree over the course of your session while using the Standard Mode heating algorithms.
Stealth Profile – This mode is how it sounds, it dims the light and has a more aggressive cool down between draws to help keep odor to a minimum.
Temperature Flexibility
The Pax 3 like the Pax 2 comes with 4 pre-set temperatures; 182C, 193C, 204C, 215C, but now also includes a 5th temperature setting which can be customized to be anywhere between 182 celsius to 215 celcius.
While I like the idea of being able to set a custom temperature, I would have liked to have been offered a couple temperatures outside of the already determined range. The Zeus Arc goes up to 230C and the Firefly 2 can reach 235C with the power tuning option for a more full extraction. This setting is meant more for the user who would prefer to vape right at temperatures between the 4 pre-set temperatures.
Ease of Use
The Pax 3 is fairly straightforward to use when not using it with the app. It functions exactly the same as the Pax 2 so if you are making the switch it will feel virtually seamless.
Where the learning curve kicks in is with interacting with the Bluetooth app. It will take some playing around to understand how to change all the available settings and to learn what certain modes actually do.
If you really don’t see yourself ever pulling out your phone to use your vaporizer we really suggest getting the Pax 2 instead, because without the use of the Bluetooth app this unit is just a glossy Pax 2.
We also wish Pax would have changed there screen setup in the heating chamber to promote easier cleaning, but it appears it is exactly the same as the Pax 2. Which means you really have to keep on top of cleaning or you will notice a significant reduction in performance over time. Also the longer you leave the unit without cleaning, the harder it is to clean when you want to clean it.
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