Pax 3 Review & Vaporizer Tutorial

Today we're taking a deep dive on the Pax 3, which is a sleek portable vaporizer from PAX Labs. It's their third rendition of the Pax and their best yet.

I'm going to show you:

• Pax 3 review
• How the Pax 3 works
• How to clean the Pax 3

In the Box

Keep in mind that the Pax 3 offers the Basic Kit and Complete Kit. The complete kit is a bit more expensive and offers a few extra things.

Basic Kit and Complete Kit include:

1 x Pax 3 Vaporizer
1 x Charger
1 x Flat Mouthpiece
1 x Raised Mouthpiece
1 x Cleaning Kit
1 x Standard Oven Lid

Extras for Complete Kit:

1 x Half-Pack Oven Lid
1 x Concentrate Insert
1 x Extra Screens
1 x Multi-Tool

Pax 3 Review

✅ Amazing Design

Starting with the pros, I think the first thing is it's really an amazing design. It looks fantastic, like Apple designed this thing. Even the LED lights look really, really good.When it's heating up, you can tell what temperature you're at just by using the lights which is minimalism at its best. I don't think there's a better looking vaporizer out there, so if you care about looks you’ll definitely want to check out the Pax 3.

✅ Perfect size

The second thing that I like about the Pax 3 is its size. I've been taking this everywhere with me, to the park, on bike rides… I haven't been camping yet, but I think it'd be great for camping with a portable charger. The size fits right in your hand. It can easily fit in your pocket. You can throw it in a bag no problem. I am in love with the size of it.

✅ Long-lasting battery

The third thing I like about it is the long-lasting battery. The battery lasts me about six or seven bowls. There are other portable vaporizers that just don't have the long battery life that you want. With the Pax 3, that's not a problem. I find myself just tossing on the dock every night just to make sure it’s topped up. During the day, I don't have to recharge it. Keep in mind that I’ve been using it pretty heavily.

✅ Vapor production

The number four thing that I really like is that it has fantastic vapor production. For a vaporizer this small, you can really get some big clouds out of it. I’ll go over a negative I’ve found when it comes to vapor but overall it delivers some nice big clouds from herb.

✅ Easy to use

All you have to do is pop open the bottom and put your herb in there. It’s a big oven and easy to load. Then press the button for it to heat up. With haptic feedback you know exactly when it’s ready to go.

I've given it to friends who know how to use it intuitively. I think that's a big thing because with other vaporizers like the Firefly 2+, it's not easy right away to get how to use it. So if you want to impress your friends and show them that the vaporizer is the way, then the Pax 3 is a great way to do that.

✅ Even burn / efficient

The number six pro that I found is that it burns the herb very evenly. Every time I get the herb out of the chamber, it's a nice dark brown, which means that you're getting a lot of vapor out of the herb and it's quite efficient. That means you don't need to mix it around a lot. I hate to bring up the Firefly 2+ again, but with that, you need to mix the bowl halfway through your session. Not a problem with the Pax 3, especially if you're using a half-pack lid.

✅ Quick charging dock

The number seven thing is the nice charging dock. It’s magnetic and snaps right on when you put down the Pax 3. With the LED lights you can tell exactly how much charge is in there. You can put this on your bedside table and nobody will bat an eye. It looks really good. The cord could be a bit longer but that’s my only complaint when it comes to charging.

✅ Good warranty

And the eighth thing that I like about the Pax 3 is that they backup their product. There's a 10-year warranty that we’ve seen people use years into their warranty. That covers their workmanship and some of the build quality. I have customers that have returned their Pax 2 after three or four years, and they've actually helped fix it.

And, obviously, that doesn't cover if you break it yourself. It's just like an iPhone. If you drop it on the floor, that is your fault.

❌ Restricted airflow

The first thing is the airflow can be a little bit restricted. It's not as free-flowing as another vaporizer like the Mighty. With the Mighty, it feels like you're just breathing in air. With the Pax 3, you know you're breathing in a vaporizer. It's a little bit restricted compared to a more expensive model like the Mighty.

❌ Big first puff

The second thing I don't really like is I usually get a very big first puff and then smaller second puffs as you go. And that, you can see it in a lot of vaporizers, but I think it's pretty noticeable with the Pax 3. It's okay, but I'd rather it be more consistent throughout the bowl.

❌ Meh flavour

The third thing is the flavour is just meh. With other vaporizers, like the Firefly 2+, the flavour is much better and is noticeable almost right away. While I think it lacks in flavour, the portability and the vapor production make up for it. It depends on your use case… If you're going to use it a lot at home, maybe I'd go with a Firefly 2+ or Mighty. If you're going to be using it over at friends' houses or whatever the case may be, then I would maybe get the Pax 3.

❌ No capsules

The fourth thing I don't like is there aren't capsules. I've gotten really used to using capsules with the Mighty and the Healthy Rips Fury Edge. They’re nice because you can put a few in your pocket and then pop them in there as you see fit. It makes it a really nice experience for when you're out of the house. So I hope in the Pax 4 or whatever the next Pax is called, that they consider capsules, so you can throw a bunch of them in your pocket and just replace them as you go in a little canister.

❌ Apple app

And the fifth thing, which isn't really Pax's fault, is that there is no app for the Apple store anymore. All of them got removed, whether it's Storz & Bickel or Firefly, there's no app anymore so it's not Pax-specific. But if you are an Apple user, you cannot use the app, but you can control everything from it. You can still change the temperature from the device itself without an app though.

How to use the Pax 3

So now I'll just give you a little demo of how the Pax 3 works. To start, grind up your herb in your grinder of choice. Then pop off the oven lid at the bottom of the vaporizer.

Next, pack your herb in there. Although it's definitely not necessary, I prefer to use the half-pack lid with my Pax. It just lets you put less herb in there for one go. 

Once your herb is in the bottom and the lid is back on, all you have to do is press the top which is the button. 

Now it's heating up, so now we're waiting for it to get to temperature. It will give us a little buzz so you know when it's ready. When it's fully green that means it's ready to go. Take a puff!

If you want to change the temperature on it, all you have to do is hold down the button once it’s on. Press down again and the lights will flash from green (lowest temperature) to dark red (highest temperature).

How to clean the Pax 3

Now I'll just show you how to clean the Pax 3. Every time you use it with herb make sure you brush out the bowl. Don't let it sit overnight. While it’s not a big deal the first few times, consistently letting it sit in there will gunk it up. You really need to maintain it in order to keep up performance. So just make sure you brush out that bowl every single time.

And then if you're using it often, I would recommend doing a deep clean about once a week. If not often, maybe once every other week depending on usage. Regular maintenance will keep it in tip-top shape.

The first thing you should do is take the oven lid off of the bottom. Toss that in a bowl with isopropyl alcohol. Then pop the mouthpiece off of the top and put it in the bowl as well.

Then you can poke out the oven screen. You can do this by putting a thin metal object through the vapor path. There is a long brush included with the complete kit which will work, or you can use something else. Put that screen in the bowl too and let those pieces sit there for 5ish minutes.

Now that everything is disassembled you can clean out the vapor path. Push a pipe cleaner through the vapor path a few times. It should come out dirty as the vapor path gets gunky with use. Make sure that the vapor path is really cleaned out.

The next thing to do is dip a q-tip in isopropyl alcohol and wipe out the inside of the bowl. Scrub it down and get all of the gunk out of there. 

Now that the pieces in the bowl with isopropyl alcohol have been sitting in there for a little while, you can wipe them with a q-tip too. The grooves in the mouthpiece get dirty so wipe those down.

Finally separate all of the pieces and let them dry. Usually I let them sit for 10-30 minutes before assembling again. The Pax 3 is quite simple to do once you get the hang of it, but it’s far from the easiest vaporizer to clean.

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