How does PAX 3 vaporizer work?

Portable vaporizers are becoming more and more popular every year, and for good reason. Whether consumers are looking for a healthier way to enjoy their product, quit tobacco or access microdosing opportunities, vaping is the general answer to many challenges. Vaping herbs or concentrates allow the consumers to enjoy all the active compounds and terpenes of their cannabis without releasing smoke, nor all the harmful byproducts related to it.

PAX is one of the brands that revolutionised the portable dry herb vaporizer industry, and made it accessible to the public. Since 2007, PAX has been working to bring the best vaporizers on the market, with user-driven design and ultramodern technology in mind.

Discover the PAX 3, the latest iteration of their portable vape device, and how to use it for best results.

PAX 3: The User-friendly premium portable vaporizer  

Less is more: single button use

As stated previously, PAX designs vaporizers to offer ease of use and high quality to the consumers. The user-friendliness is translated by a single button activation system and 4 preset temperature settings to choose from. No need for a complete training on how to use the vaporizer, or for an intensive research on what temperature to use. The 4 presets have been designed to offer enough options to choose from, no matter your preferred vaping temperature. You can of course choose to use precise temperature control through the mobile app if you prefer, but these presets should be enough for most users.

Sleek look, cool in hand

When it comes to quality, PAX vaporizers are made with the best components, including their beautiful anodized aluminium shell. It offers a slick look as well as an efficient protection against potential overheating. Indeed, small vaporizers often tend to overheat due to a minimal separation between the heating element and the hand, resulting in a real discomfort when using the device for an extended period of time. PAX vaporizers make this almost unnoticeable, outperforming most of the other devices of the same size.

Battery and overall performance improved consistently

The battery and heating element are some of the best you can find in a portable vaporizer this size and have been improved consistently with the different PAX iterations. The PAX 3 3500mah battery allows you to enjoy 6 to 10 full bowls (compared to 5 to 8 for the PAX 2), for approximately 3.5 grams of dry herbs without having to recharge it, which should be more than enough for most consumers. The improved heating element makes for a faster release of vapour, now possible in 15 to 20 seconds against more than 40 seconds for the PAX 2.

The charging time has been significantly improved too, and you can now charge your vaporizer in ~90 minutes against 2 to 3 hours for the PAX 2.

How to prepare the PAX 3 for a successful experience?

Before first use: first charge and burn off

To ensure the best possible experience, it’s important to respect a few steps before vaping any material from your vaporizer. First of all, make sure to fully charge its battery. Plug your charging dock to a USB power source and connect the PAX 3 to it (back side down). When the device is charging, 1 to 4 petals turn white (depending on the battery level) and pulsate. All 4 petals are white and stop pulsating when the battery is fully charged.

The next step is often disregarded but is crucial, and that is true for absolutely all vaporizers: the burn off. The burn off is a full cycle on max temperature, without any material in the oven. The point is to remove potential residual oils or other material from manufacturing, and making sure that the device is ready for optimal use. 

How to do a burn off?

Performing a burn off is very easy. 

1. Simply turn on the device with a single press of the mouthpiece / button.
2. Access the temperature settings by pressing the button for more than 2 seconds.
3. Choose the highest setting by giving quick pressions on the button until the 4 petals turn red.
4. Let the device heat a full cycle, and shake it in your hand as soon as the petals turn from green to blue, which indicates the standby mode.
5. Repeat this for approximately 5 minutes, then let the vaporizer cool down for at least 10 minutes.

How to use the PAX 3 with dry herbs? 

Properly grind your herb

The first step towards a successful loose leaves vaping experience is to prepare your material appropriately. The PAX 3 being a conduction vaporizer, you should grind your material finely, and give it an almost powdery consistency. The Krush grinders are ideal for that kind of result. For best result, grind with a Krush grinder both clockwise and anti-clockwise for at least 5 to 10 seconds. If the grind is not consistently fine, keep grinding.

Fully pack it or microdose

Whether you want to enjoy a big hit from your favourite flowers or just some small amount to keep you through the day, the PAX vaporizers allow you to do so thanks to their exclusive feature: the Half-Pack Oven Lid. This included accessory allows you to reduce the size of the oven by half without losing any efficiency from the conduction heating. 

Conduction vaporizers produce vapour by heating your material through direct contact with the heating element. This means the oven needs to be tightly packed for the heat to be transferred consistently through the whole material. With the PAX 3, you can use approximately 0.35 grams of dry flowers at full capacity, or 0.18 with the Half-Pack Oven Lid.

In both cases, it’s important to grind your herbs finely and pack the oven tightly. Don’t hammer it down otherwise the airflow might get too restricted, but firmly push the material in the oven and make sure the Oven Lid touches the material and presses it a bit down.

 Single button operation

1. Turn on the device by pressing the button once. The petals will turn purple to indicate that the vaporizer starts heating.
2. Choose your preferred temperature setting by pressing the button and holding for a few seconds, until the petals flash. Navigate through the 4 temperature settings by pressing on the button. The 4 different settings from 1 green petal to 4 red petals are set to 182 ºC, 193 ºC, 204 ºC and 216 ºC. Hold the button or shake the device in your hand to validate your choice. We recommend starting with the first or second setting and increase if desired.
3. Once the vaporizer reaches its set temperature, the petals will turn green.
4. We recommend taking short and slow hits for best results.

How to use the PAX 3 Vaporizer with concentrates?

The PAX 3 offers another different kind of Oven Lid than the Half-Pack one, available in the Complete Kit or by itself as an accessory: the Concentrate Insert. The Concentrate Insert comes in 2 parts, one small dish where you place your material to be vaped, and one Oven Lid with a little fixation support for the dish. Using extracts with the PAX 3 is as simple as using flowers if you know the good tips: 

1. Place only a small amount of concentrate in the Insert, close it and place it in the oven with its support like you would with the Oven Lid. It’s important not to use too much material otherwise you might just waste some due to inefficient heating.
2. Use a higher temperature than when vaping flowers. Due to the properties of concentrates and their viscosity, you need higher temperature than when using dry loose flowers. So if you plan to vape extracts with a PAX 3, we highly recommend doing so on the highest temperature setting.
3. Keep the PAX 3 upright. Due to the viscosity of concentrates and how it melts during heating, not keeping your device upright might result in your material going all over the place, clogging the Insert or leaking in the oven. This would result in a poor experience and more cleaning to do than you should.

Keep. It. Clean. That is the number 1 tip for all vaporizers, but it’s even more true when using concentrates. A clean device will offer you the optimal overall experience. Keeping it clean after every session will make for a consistent and flavourful experience every time, and it will also help you keep your vaporizer in perfect condition for a longer time. 

The PAX 3 vaporizer is a simple device to keep clean, so whether you are using flowers or concentrates, don’t be afraid to clean it too often, because there is no such thing as giving your vaporizer too much TLC. 

Good thing is, there are a lot of accessories and resources available to learn how to properly clean a vaporizer, so no excuses!