PAX Plus Portable Dry Herb Vaporizer Review

Final assembly and testing (not) in USA

The company that makes the PAX PLUS (Pax Labs) is located in San Francisco, California, but the unit itself is manufactured at a foreign production facility and then imported into the United States for retail. 

5

Long lasting ceramic heating element?

The PAX PLUS uses a metal oven chamber to vaporize via conduction heating. 

The metal oven chamber itself is long-lasting and relatively easy to maintain, but the flavor leaves a lot to be desired. 

5
 

In-bowl Stir System?

The PAX PLUS does not include any sort of built-in system for stirring your dry herbs while the vaporizer is in use. 

As such, the user will need to open the heating chamber to stir their herbs.

This isn't that unusual however, as the only portable vaporizer which offers an in-bowl stirring system is our own SideKick Portable Vaporizer!

5

Factory customizable?

The PAX PLUS can be ordered in four different housing colors, and with the My PAX program the unit can be further customized before ordering. 

The My PAX program allows you to add custom engravings to the housing of the unit, but don't expect any extreme customization options. 

10

Carry case included?

The PAX PLUS does not include any sort of carrying bag beyond the box that it ships in. 

The box itself is pretty sturdy and works okay as a carrying container, but something more portable would be nice. 

5

Removable batteries?

The PAX PLUS does not have removable batteries. 

This isn't a deal-breaker as the battery which is built into the unit can be used many times before needing to be recharged, but removable batteries are always better in our opinion. 

5

Comes with replacement set of batteries or purchasable at a discount?

The PAX PLUS has a built-in battery which cannot be removed. See above. 

5

Variable temperature settings

The PAX PLUS achieves temperature control through four intelligent 'experience modes': Stealth, Efficiency, Flavor, and Boost. 

The user cycles through the Experience Modes by clicking the button which is hidden beneath the rubber mouthpiece (the mouthpiece itself is pushed inward to click the button underneath). 

10

Water pipe attachment?

The PAX PLUS can be used a water pipe attachment which is sold separately. 

The Pax Water Pipe Adapter is a 'universal fit' attachment designed to be used with 14mm female or 19mm female water pipe joints. It cannot be used with a 10mm female joint. 

10

Heat-up time less than 45 seconds?

The PAX PLUS reaches the desired temperature in an impressive 20-30 seconds. 

This is definitely one of the PAX PLUS's strongest features!

10

Easy to use?

The PAX PLUS seems a little complicated at first, but once you learn what each piece is for and how they are properly maintained, using the device basically becomes second nature. 

There are a lot of pieces to keep track of though, so keep that in mind! The PAX PLUS has various oven chamber inserts for different applications. 

10

Easy-clean breakdown?

The new 3D Oven Screen on the PAX PLUS makes cleaning the device much easier than on older models. 

This is also one advantage of the metal construction, the metal components are always fairly easy to keep clean as long as you keep the concentrate usage to a minimum (if at all). 

10

Auto Shut Off?

The PAX PLUS shuts itself off in stages when the unit is not actively being used. 

First it enters a standby mode, and then it cuts power to the heating element after one minute of inactivity. 

Two minutes after entering standby mode, the unit powers itself down completely. 

10

Cool vapor (1-10, 10 being the coolest)

The PAX PLUS has a short and fairly direct vapor pathway, so producing cool vapor isn't exactly it's strong point. 

With dry herbs the resulting vapor is relatively cool though certainly not the coolest, but concentrate vapor is always exceedingly harsh on the throat (the metal oven chamber may play a roll in this).

4

Vapor path length in inches

The length of the PAX PLUS' vapor pathway is no more than 4 inches, and that's being generous. 

As a result, the vapor does not have a lot of time to cool before reaching the user's lungs. 

5

Vortex Cooler?

There is no dedicated cooling device in the PAX PLUS. Again, this is disappointing if you're used to using portable units like the SideKick V2 which includes a titanium vortex cooler. 

Still, a dedicated cooling device would likely make the PAX PLUS more bulky so it's understandable that Pax Labs would exclude such a feature. 

5

LCD Display?

The PAX PLUS doesn't have any sort of screen display. Instead, the PAX PLUS has an LED display that changes based on which Experience Mode is currently active, and it can also display the battery level. 

This isn't the most intuitive display, so read through the manual so that you can be sure about what information is being displayed by the LEDs. 

5

Uses Per Full Charge

The PAX PLUS boasts an impressive 8-10 uses per full charge, or around 2 hours of continuous run time. 

In testing we found these estimates to be fairly accurate. 

9

Can use with herbs?

The PAX PLUS is designed to be used with dry herbs almost exclusively, and this is where it performs the best. 

More about using concentrates in the PAX PLUS below. 

10

Can use with concentrates?

The PAX PLUS can technically be used with concentrates. The manufacturer includes a concentrate insert for the metal oven chamber. 

In practice, the PAX PLUS is not a great vaporizer for concentrates. You are limited to only the tiny amount of concentrates indicated by the insert, and the manufacturer strongly advises against overloading the insert.

Regular concentrate use will result in tons of gunk buildup throughout the unit, and if there's too much then the PAX PLUS will leak on every surface regardless of how you set it down.  

5

Warranty?

The PAX PLUS includes a 10 year manufacturer's warranty, this is one of the longest warranties in the industry!

With this warranty, Pax Labs will basically replace any defective units. They seemingly do not offer repair services, but with this warranty that's not an issue!

10

Cost to fix, no haggle after warranty (not including shipping)?

Pax Labs does not offer any sort of repair services for their units, but they do give them a 10 year manufacturer's warranty.

When you make a warranty claim, Pax Labs inspects your unit and replaces it if they determine that the issue is covered under their warranty. 

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