Our AirVape X review takes a look at the hybrid vaporizer from AirVape. They’re aiming to offer a device with performance up there with the best in the category but a much lower price. But have they succeeded?
At the current price-point, the AirVape X is an exceptional vaporizer. With the ability to handle both dry herb and concentrates, a well-executed design and a wide range of temperature options, it does everything you’re likely to need from a portable vaporizer.
It’s easy to use and performs as well as much more expensive devices, and the design is effortlessly sleek and cool. While a bigger battery would have improved things a little, this is a small complaint for a vaporizer you can pick up for $139.
Finding a good weed vaporizer might seem like it’d be pretty easy. All you need is a vaporizer that gets hot enough to vaporize THC and has a good battery, right?
Not really.
The bare minimum you need from a vaporizer is that it actually works, but there is so much more to consider if you want to get a great device. From the importance that different materials can make to the flavor of your vape to the huge range of non-essential but useful features to make you vaping experience more user-friendly, there is a surprising amount to consider. That’s why big-name devices like the Pax cost so much, but many devices try to offer similar or even superior performance for a lower price-point. The AirVape X is trying to fill this niche perfectly, boasting a combination of conduction and convection heating, a super-fast heat up time and great flavor, all for $139.
But does it stack up? Our AirVape X review takes an in-depth look.
What You Get
The kit for the AirVape X is pretty well-stocked. Inside the square-shaped box there are two compartments: one for the device itself, along with the X-Shell case (a waterproof and smell resistant case for the device) and one for the accessories. The range of extras inside the little accessories box is quite impressive: you get a good-quality packing tool, a concentrate pad, a brush for cleaning, spare mesh screens for the chamber, a mouthpiece cover, a pair of metal tweezers and the USB cable for recharging the device. Of course, there’s a little manual too and you also get a warranty card. Overall you get tons of stuff for your money.
AirVape X Review – The Design
Appearance
The AirVape X has a pretty unique look, with a thin, rectangular-shaped body that gets a little wider towards the top, a display screen and buttons around half way up, and a mouthpiece right at the top. The upper section has a row of fan-blade shaped holes cut into the main body, revealing a thinner metal interior with holes cut into it for airflow. The fan-blade design and the buttons protruding from the body of the vaporizer below the display screen are the main things that draw your eye, but everything else about the device is very sleek and understated. The overall impact is quite good, if a little unusual.
You can pick the device up in black or blue.
The Chamber
The AirVape X has an oval-shaped ceramic chamber, accessed through a magnetically-closing cap. There is a metallic bottom plate (for the conduction part of the heating) with holes punched in to allow hot air to pass up through (for the convection heating), and the ceramic walls of the chamber surround it. The chamber isn’t huge, but there is more than enough space for a session’s worth of material. There’s nothing particularly exciting about it, but it’s well-designed and AirVape have made sure to use high-quality materials throughout.
The Adjustment and Power Buttons
The AirVape X has three buttons: to arrows (up and down) with a circular power button between them. They protrude out from the body of the device, and let out a clear click when they’re pushed down. The positioning works well – when you’re holding the vaporizer and looking at the screen, your thumb can reach everything comfortably in the same way as on a cell phone – and the design is simple enough that you’ll get to grips with everything without a manual.
Display Screen
The screen on the AirVape X is well-presented and clear, with a battery life indicator, your main temperature setting, a countdown timer and a fan icon essentially occupying four corners. It’s straightforward, but this is all you really need to see when you’re vaping and you always know clearly what’s going on with the device. In use the temperature readout switches to the current chamber temperature unless you’re making adjustments to your setting, and the fan symbol gives a real-time readout of when the fan is working.
Mouthpiece and Top Cap
The AirVape X also has a ceramic mouthpiece, which attaches directly to the top cap of the vaporizer. The opening in the top is quite thin, but the shape of the mouthpiece means it fits comfortably between your lips, with the ceramic ensuring that it doesn’t get warm in use. A small section sticks out from the bottom that fits perfectly in the chamber opening, with some holes cut out of the underside for the vapor to travel up through. This is part of the isolated “EZ AirPath,” which essentially works to ensure your vapor makes it up to you without anything interfering with the taste.
Micro USB Port
The Micro USB port on the AirVape X is on the underside of the vaporizer. The base is still perfectly flat so you can stand the vaporizer up, with the port recessed in the center. The positioning is really good, because it doesn’t interfere with the aesthetics of the device but it’s still easy to find and use.
Overall
The design of the AirVape X is pretty good, overall. It doesn’t take many chances, but it has a unique but likeable style and AirVape clearly put a lot of thought into making everything as user-friendly as possible.
AirVape X Review – The Features
Temperature Settings
The AirVape X allows you to freely choose any temperature from 200 to 428 °F (93 to 220 °C). This is a substantial temperature range more than big enough to satisfy the needs of vapers, and covering enough ground so that you can control the cannabinoids you vaporize to some extent. Making adjustments to the setting is easy with the up and down adjustment buttons, and it moves in 1 degree increments, and you can hold the buttons down to scroll quicker. You can also adjust in either Fahrenheit or Celsius, which you switch between by holding the power button and the down adjustment button. These are standard features for any quality portable vaporizer, but they’re important nonetheless.
Quick Heating and Vibration Alert
The AirVape X boasts quick heating, with the website saying it takes just 20 seconds to get to the optimal heating level. And the device really does heat up impressively quickly, although in testing, for the top heat setting from being completely cold it took 50 seconds to reach temperature. This is still really good, even if it takes longer than the advertised 20 seconds, but that is to the “optimal” level, which will undoubtedly be lower than the top setting. You know when the device has reached your temperature setting because it vibrates to alert you – this is a really nice feature that means you don’t miss part of your vaping window.
Adjustable Shutoff Timer
From the factory, the AirVape X shuts off after three minutes after reaching your chosen temperature, so this is the default session length. However, you can change this easily: pressing and holding the power button and the up adjustment button changes the session length to five minutes, and doing it again takes you back to three. Although there are only two options, this is better than many devices, which limit you to one specific session length with no choice. You can also press the power button three times quickly to turn the device off at any point in your session.
Concentrate Vaping
Using the metallic concentrate pad included with the kit, you can vape concentrates like waxes and oils using the AirVape X. This is oval-shaped so it fits snugly into the chamber, and you simply apply your concentrate to the pad and start vaping. The packing tool has a curved end to help you do this is you have something with a waxy consistency. Overall this is a really nice inclusion on the kit and feature for the device, because most other vaporizers require an additional purchase if you want to vape concentrates.
Battery and Charging
The AirVape X has a 1,300 mAh battery, which is a little smaller than many portable vaporizers, largely due to the reduced size of the device compared to others on the market. Simply put, the bigger a device is; the more room it has for a bigger battery. This isn’t a huge deal, though, because you do get around five or six sessions from a full battery, depending on your temperature setting (since higher temperatures drain the battery more per session). Of course, other devices offer bigger batteries and more sessions per charge, but there is always a trade-off involved when choosing a device based on battery life.
The AirVape X charges really quickly as well, so you don’t have to wait too long. It takes just over an hour to go from empty to fully charged, and you can vape while charging too, provided it’s not very early in the charge of a completely dead battery. This is a great feature because you basically never have to go without something to vape, even if you forget to charge it up before you want a session. Using the device during charging slows down the process, of course, but it’s definitely worth it if you’re out of battery and want to vape sooner rather than later.
AirVape X Review – In Use
Performance
The AirVape X performs really well. The combination of convection and conduction heating strikes a good balance between keeping the device affordable and allowing even heating of your material and efficient vaporization. Even a three minute session is enough to completely vaporize a bowl of weed to a consistent brown, but you can vape for a little longer than that if you adjust the temperature too. Of course, performance and how long a bowl takes depends on how much you pack it and your specific marijuana, but it’s definitely more efficient than most other devices I’ve tried.
Although vapor volume isn’t a huge concern for weed vaping, the AirVape does a good job in this department, putting out a satisfying amount of vapor after a slow, long draw on the mouthpiece. Generally I hold the vapor in which reduces the amount exhaled, but if you wanted to you could get a substantial amount of vapor with the early puffs in particular. It also performs well with concentrates, although not quite as good as some dedicated concentrate devices.
The flavor from the AirVape X should be great because of the completely isolated vapor path, and overall it does a good job. Although I would say some more expensive options (for example the Pax) offer better flavor, this is still really good, especially for the price.
Ease of Use
The AirVape X couldn’t be much easier to use. All you need to do is grind up your material, pack it into the chamber using the included tool (tight but still loose enough for air to pass through), and then click the main button three times to power up the device. Dial in your temperature setting, wait for it to heat up, and then start vaping. Once you’re done you can empty the ABV and clean the chamber with the included brush, ready for the next session.
Comfort, Portability and Discreetness
The AirVape X’s thin body makes it pretty good when it comes to comfort and portability. It’s easy to hold while you vape, and although the body is quite wide it still fits in your hand comfortably. In terms of portability it’s really good, perhaps a little too big for a standard-size pocket but better than many other devices in the same class. The carrying case pushes it even further ahead of the competition, because the case is water and smell-proof (to a reasonable degree), and it protects the vaporizer more generally from knocks and drops.
The device could be more discreet, because the design makes it a little difficult to pass off as a standard e-cigarette or some generic electronic device and it’s too big to completely conceal in your hand. But that said it definitely isn’t obvious what you’re carrying, unless you’re actually vaping in which case (as always) people in the know will smell it.
Build Quality
The AirVape X is really nicely put together, overall. Everything about the device gives off an air of quality, it uses high-quality materials – the steel body and the ceramic for the chamber and mouthpiece in particular – and little details like the sturdy magnetic closing for the top work well. Overall it feels solid and dependable, and everything on the device works as intended, from the buttons to the gentle vibration when it’s ready to vape.