Pax 3

ooooooooooooooooo Shiny! First words that come to mind when opening up our new PAX 3 from the folks over at PAX Labs.  In true PAX-Apple fashion, there was a lot of hype around this new vape.  Even though it seemed very similar to its older brother the PAX 2, I felt intrigued and compelled and immediately had to check out what was new with the PAX 3.

First Impressions / Unboxing the Pax3 Vaporizer

Typical of PAX packaging the PAX 3 came in a nice white box with a single image of the Pax3 vaporizer on the front of the box.  The PAX 3 box was quite a bit bigger than the previous PAX 2 or the Original because of all of the included accessories with this kit.  The box includes;  (1) Pax3 device, (2) Oven Lids, (2) Mouthpieces, (3) Screens, Charging cable and dock, Multi-tool, a maintenance kit, and the all-new Concentrate Insert.  Pax also offers a “device only” kit that includes; (1)Pax3 device, (2) Mouthpieces, Charging cable and dock, and a maintenance kit.

Like all of the PAX vaporizers before it, the device is fully assembled and constructed of premium materials giving it a very exclusive feel.  Every accessory is a form fit in its own specific place inside the box and the box even includes a small compartment to store some herbs should you choose to keep all of your PAX items and accessories neatly organized and stored right in the box.  Personally I think I’ll be using it too often to be worried about keeping it organized in a box.

First Bowl

At face value, the PAX 3 doesn’t seem that different than the PAX 2 besides the new chrome paint job. For our first sesh, we’re going to stick with the old-fashioned dry herb and see how the PAX 3 compares to the PAX 2 predecessor. Automatically we notice how fast this little vape heated up. On setting 2 in under 20secs the oven light switched from green to purple and we were ready to vape. Right away you taste a great terp-filled hit with a light vapor cloud. This was quite a surprise compared to the PAX 2 which heated up slower and while still having the good flavor, it seemed like most of the good terps were heated up and boiled off before the oven was ready. The speedy heat of the PAX 3 seems to save some of the lighter cannabinoids and terps.

As expected the flavor did taper off after 4-5 hits but the vapor production held steady through the session. To this day one of my favorite features of the PAX products is the herb saving feature, when you’re vaping and you get distracted and set down your vape to deal with whatever has you off your game, the PAX has your back and has both a lip sensor and motion accelerometer that detects if you have forgotten about your little buddy. The vape will automatically cut the heat to the bowl and begin cooling and preserving terpenes and cannabinoids in your bowl until you come back to keep the sesh rolling. The bowl did need a stir to keep even but the newly included pax tool made the job quite easy. I was able to stir it with the metal pick and tamp it back down with the silicone tamper.

Concentrates & Oils

The PAX 3 concentrate insert or “oil can” time for real fun! For our Second sesh, we’re going to check out this new concentrate insert! I’ve seen a lot of vaporizers try to claim dual concentrate and dry herb functionality and not deliver in one way or another, so I’m going into this kind of skeptically. The insert is made of steel and will be very hot when you remove it from the oven after use and will take a while between bowls to cool down and refill. It’s important to note that you need to load your oven with enough concentrates to satisfy you but not overfill the insert. To load the concentrate insert you will need to remove the lid and place your concentrate in the middle of the insert between the two airflow vents; remember don’t overfill the insert or it WILL leak. Replace the lid and place the concentrate insert into the PAX oven. For concentrates, I set the PAX 3 to setting 4 the highest setting for max heat to heat up my concentrate to a proper temperature. After the first draw, I already knew I was going to eat my words about vaporizers not being about to be “dual use”. The vapor was cool, smooth, and delicious. Not only that but it continued to give large thick clouds hit after hit. Albeit the vape was getting very hot on the highest setting but such is expected with such a compact aluminum shell vaporizer like the PAX 3. You will immediately know when your insert is empty of concentrate when the hits you take begin to taste like burning fats. This usually indicates all of the terpenes, cannabinoids, and THC has been vaped away and all that remains are the lipids and wax residues. From there you will need to turn the PAX 3 off and allow that insert to cool before removing it or you can risk burning your fingers.

The PAX 3 also cam integrated with Bluetooth to be paired with the Official PAX App. The app brings new features that we have never seen from PAX before and some old favorites with an easier more user-friendly access point. From the app you can; Set precision temperature, Change your color theme, access 3 different games, and the heating profile of your oven. PAX traditionally has been more of the beginner or straight-to-the-point kind of vaporizer but the PAX 3 now gives its users the freedom to customize their device and more experienced users an avenue to explore unique buzz crafting.

The Pax 3 also cam integrated with Bluetooth to be paired with the Official Pax App. The app brings new features that we have never seen from Pax before and some old favorites with an easier mouser-friendly access point. From the app you can; Set precision temperature, Change your color theme, access 3 different games, and the heating profile of your oven. Pax traditionally has been more of the beginner or straight-to-the-point kind of vaporizer but the Pax3 now gives its users the freedom to customize their device and more experienced users an avenue to explore unique buzz crafting.

First Week

After the first week, we’ve found that it is quite a bit smarter and turbocharged to boot. We spoke on the heat-up time of the PAX 3 earlier. It was something I got quite used to finding myself reaching for the PAX 3 in quick snapper situations where I needed a few quick hits before changing pace and moving on to what I was doing. The battery life is also nothing to snicker at pulling in a full hour of use on a full charge with the built-in 3500mAh 18650 battery.

Bluetooth App

[wds id=”3″]Ahhhhh the app. I know what some of you are thinking “I hate apps!’. Brotha me too ok it sucks when companies try to get fancy with apps when you feel like your product doesn’t need it. Some companies have almost crippled their products by depending on app integration. Not the case I feel with the PAX 3. The product line from PAX Vapor has been traditionally simple with a few fun extras along the way, with their app they were able to add new features to enrich your vape experience without taking away from the traditional simplicity of the PAX lineage. If you don’t want to use the app you will NEVER have to with this vape.

One new feature that the app brings is the ability to switch between flavor modes. So far there are 5 unique flavor modes; Standard, Boost, Efficiency, Flavor, and Stealth.  

• Boost mode keeps the oven hotter for longer with less auto cooling.
• Efficiency mode ramps up the oven temperature throughout your session so this is an enjoyable setting to use.
• Stealth mode cools quicker and allows for stealthy light quick hits.
• Flavor Mode is all about preservation and only heating your herbs when you are drawing, flavor is favored over vapor in this setting.
• Standard mode temp boost when you draw and auto-cools when you don’t.

First Cleaning of the Pax 3

Cleaning the PAX 3 is simple and is exactly the same cleaning procedure as the PAX 2 in almost every way. It comes with a cleaning kit with both a thin brush and a pipe cleaner for cleaning the internal air path of the vape. The mouthpieces, oven lids, and oven chamber can all easily be wiped clean with alcohol wipes or q-tips dipped in alcohol. There is just one new tiny little inconvenience………Oil reclaim build-up. Oh did I say tiny? I meant giant pain in the a$$.

Cleaning concentrate residue can be one of the easiest things to do if you can directly apply and/or soak the piece in alcohol or cleaner to remove all of the reclaim build-up. Scrubbing or wiping only makes things worse with concentrates. The mix of concentrate resin and dry herb particles is also a nightmare to deal with as it creates a paste-like substance. The dual function of concentrate and the dry herb is a flaw period. If you are going to use concentrates in your PAX 3 I recommend only using concentrate and cleaning after each use.

The Verdict

After looking at the PAX 3 carefully it’s still kind of hard to tell you how I feel about it. On one hand, I don’t feel like there is too significant of a lead forward from the PAX 2 to current owners need not run to upgrade. On the other hand, if you are new to vaporizers or are on the lower end of things and you’re looking for a sleek, sexy, simple, yet versatile little vaporizer then the PAX 3 is a great option to consider.

Ultimately the 10-year warranty and the overall quality of the PAX 3 make it well worth the new lower price tag of $249.99.  It comes included with several fun little accessories to customize your vaporizer experience. In addition, its Bluetooth app brings you the freedom to be able to tune your PAX 3 to the beat of your own drum making it truly one-of-a-kind addition to any vaporizer collection. If all the extra lids and oil features don’t interest you the good people at Pax Labs have their “device only” kit that comes in at a stunning $199.99 which is a steal for a vaporizer of this quality.

What are your thoughts?

Leave a comment below, and/or rate the PAX 3 yourself in the sidebar.  We’d love to know what you think and hear your comments!