The Pax 3 is the third portable dry herb vaporizer from PaxVapor. This version maintains its sleek Apple’esque design and small size which is what made the first 2 so popular.
However, there are a few substantial upgrades with the Pax 3. First, we have the 3500mAh battery, up from 3000mAh, The 15-second heat up time, down from 45 seconds and most noteworthy, a brand new mobile phone app which gives you lots of control over the heat settings and lights.
There is also the option to add the Brand New Pax 3 concentrate pan and the half pack lid when buying the full kit. We will discuss all of these and more below.
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Quick Pax 3 Kit Overview
The Pax 3 comes in an excellent range of colors, 5 matte(one of which is the new limited edition fuchsia pink seen in the picture I borrowed from PaxVapor) and 1 gloss gold color.
When purchasing the device, you will have 2 different options. You can buy the ‘device only’ for around $199, or the full kit for $249 direct from Pax at the time of writing this.
The full kit also comes with the concentrate insert, the multi-tool and the half pack lid which is pretty much all I used in the beginning(more on that later).
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Pax Warranty and Customer Care
All PaxVapor devices comes with a limited 10-year warranty which above all covers any defects in the materials or workmanship of the device.
I haven’t had any issues with my Pax 3 device that has required me to contact support, so I can’t really comment on that. Having a browse through some forums, I did see that it can be a bit ‘luck of the draw’ whether you get a quick reply or not.
The Pax 3 Experience
I bought the Pax 3 about 5 months ago so have had a long time to play around with it. First of all, I wasn’t all that impressed with the device, but after a few adjustments and mods, I was able to find a happy medium.
In our review, we will try to give you a clear overview of what to expect from this smart little device.
As with all our reviews, we have divided the next part into different sections where we will address specific aspects concerning our experience with the Pax 3 vaporizer.
Build Quality
I am quite pleased with the build quality, it is sleek and feels nice in hand, the mouthpieces fit on snug and both standard oven doors click into place nicely thanks to 2 strong magnets.
The concentrate oven lid is the exception to this as it protrudes out the bottom of the device by a few millimetres. It’s not really that much of an inconvenience. Please see concentrate pan section for photo.
I have used it quite a lot and have had no major problems in this department so far.
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Discreteness and Portability
The size and the look of the Pax 3 are all about the stealth. It’s small, slim and fits in the palm of your hand with ease. It is also quick and easy to load, It heats up in 15 seconds and has a stealth mode so as a result will cool down faster.
The device does tend to smell a little. Especially if you are travelling around with it pre-loaded. This can be easily rectified for a few dollars by purchasing the end caps for the pax 2 from Delta 3d Studios as seen in the picture.
You could also buy a smellsafe case to help with this issue.
It is also worth adding here that the addition of Haptic feedback(vibration) can help up your stealth game because you can keep the device hidden until you feel it calling your name.
Overall I love this device for discretion. Spend a few bucks on the end caps or a small smell safe bag from Amazon or Namaste Vaporizers and you could take it anywhere… almost.
Vapor Quality
I find the vapor quality of the Pax 3 ‘out of the box’ too hot for me to handle. I just didn’t enjoy it as much as some of my other vapes like the Tubo Evic or the Arizer Go.
Even my Friends budget Spirit Storm has cooler vapor which was surprising since the oven is at the top on it.
The flavor quality definitely suffers due to the conduction oven. From my experience, I don’t really get much flavor after the first few draws which is slightly disappointing, But it does chuck our some clouds we can improve things with a couple of additions.
Both of the heat and flavor can be improved with the NewVape vented oven lid bundle which includes the pusher for a half pack and the grooved screen. These enhanced the use of the device dramatically for me and were the sole reason I didn’t get rid of it.
Get 5% off at Newvape with Code: VITH5
I also purchased the water pipe attachment from Delta 3d Studios which helps cool down the vapor substantially when used with my bong.
It is worth noting that I had better joy with this when using the standard pax oven doors. The vented NewVape door was too airy so it is difficult to milk the bong which is what I’m all about.
Also on reflection, I’d buy the Newvape version which goes on the outside of the vape.
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Efficiency
The chamber has stayed the same size as the Pax 2 with the exception of the 3 oven doors. The standard, the half pack and the concentrate insert.
Personally, I like to use the half pack door with approx 0.2 grams of medium grind cannabis from my Kannastor Gr8tr V2 Grinder. I’ll get about 4 large draws with a half pack which is ok, Not great but ok.
With the standard oven door, the Pax 3 will hold up to .40 grams of dry herb.
The concentrate insert can be a bit temperamental if you’re not careful. I’d advise you stick to micro-dosing because it can and will get messy very quickly.
Efficiency on this is good, you feel like you get a lot due to the lower temperature with more draws. Obviously, it won’t kick your ass like a dab rig or my Dr Dabber Switch but it is a pleasant experience.
Well, that is until it comes to cleaning. The need to give it a clean will go up exponentially if you start using the concentrate pan.
Potency
I’m pretty happy with the High I get when using the Pax 3. I’ll start it off on temperature 2(380F/193C) which gives me a few tasty draws then I’ll ramp it up to temperature 3(400F/204C) to finish it off with 2 big, not so tasty clouds.
At this point, I’m feeling pretty good. It doesn’t compare to my Grasshopper through a waterpipe, but it does the job and has a few advantages over it. You could pull some more draws from the Pax after this but I like to save my AVB for later use
Battery & Charging
The Pax 3 now has a 3500mAh battery compared to the 3000mAh in the Pax 2. I have thoroughly tested the battery on this device and have gotten between 8-12 light sessions per charge and 5-7 when hitting it on boost mode.
I feel that there has been small battery degradation in the short time that I’ve owned the device, but that is to be expected.
Still, it is disappointing for the reason that you can’t easily replace the battery and from my research, I don’t think it is covered under warranty after a certain period.
My biggest gripe with the Pax 3 is the charger. It comes with a magnetic charging dock on one end and a USB on the other. The magnets that hold the dock onto the device are not great, so if you accidentally knock it without noticing.
It can come off charge, but not entirely of the dock, so you don’t notice.then you’re out of luck.
Real life example, I was heading to my friends, decided to put the Pax on charge. I only needed it to last a couple of bowls, one for the drive there and one for the road back. Someone(probably me) knocked it off charge and didn’t notice.
So, in my rush, I grab it without checking. I jumped in the car, get halfway down the road before I turn it on, have a few draws, and it dies, Absolutely no way to charge it other than the charger I didn’t think I needed while in the car.
The standard charger is also no use for traveling because it will just fall off unless you use a rubber band. Or you can check out Deltas portable charging dock.
Cleaning and Maintenance
The Pax 3 is one of the most time-consuming vapes to clean from my experience, also it needs to be cleaned a lot. With the standard setup using the regular or half pack lid that comes with it, I’ll notice the draw resistance increase as often as I charge the battery.
You will see some resin starting to build up around the screen, and if you pop the mouthpiece off, you will see some in there also.
This is the ideal time to clean it, but after a while, I just can’t be bothered so I soldier on through, until I can no longer handle the bad the taste haha.
As you can see it gets pretty messy and this thing is stinking about now, or maybe I’ll get a few more bowls.
When it comes to cleaning you will need to remove the mouthpiece and the oven door, then get either the pipe cleaners or wire brush that comes in the box, push it down the tube from the mouth end, and you’ll pop out the screen.
Following this, you can then take some cotton swabs and some alcohol and start to clean in and around the oven, around the mouthpiece and down the tube.
Once done, remember to run a few heating cycles on the highest setting to burn off any excess alcohol.
If you are using the concentrate lid, you will need to separate all the parts and soak them in alcohol.
I would advice removing the silicone gasket and giving it a quick rinse otherwise it will lose it’s stability like mine did when i left it soaking for to long. Fortunatly there is a spare in the box.
Pax 3 Accessories
PaxVapor Accessories
Pax Half-Pack Lid – One of the biggest annoyances of the Pax and Pax 2 was the size of the oven, it wasn’t really efficient for someone to blast away on it alone. You could purchase some 3rd party add-ons, but nothing was offered by Pax.
Thankfully that has now changed, and as standard, the half pack chamber is the way I like to use it. You get less draw resistance and a lot more efficiency.
Pax Concentrate Insert – One of the most anticipated customization’s for the Pax was the concentrate chamber, and it certainly doesn’t disappoint. Although, it does have its time and place it certainly beats sandwiching the wax concentrates between some weed.
When it comes to using the Pax 3 for concentrates, it is advisable to go easy. I have gone with what I thought was a small dose, then after my sesh I noticed it had started coming out the air holes on the little oven.
However, If you get it right, you will get quite a few, nice tasty draws that will hit pretty hard but smooth. You will see how much I use in the photo.
A few of the downfalls with this lid is the need to keep it upright at all times, It doesn’t fit snug in the device and consequently cleaning becomes a bitch when using it regularly.
Pax Mouthpieces – The Pax 3 comes with 2 mouthpieces, a flat one and a raised one. I gave the raised one a go, but I didn’t like it so have stuck it out with the flat one.
Third Part Accessories
NewVape Pax Accessories – Newvape has a bunch of toys for the Pax 3 such as the cleaning kit, loading tools, water pipe attachments, and my favorite, the vented lid and pusher bundle which I own and would highly recommend. They also have a lot more cool stuff.
You can check out their Newvape Pax 3 Accessories here. and get 5% off with code: VITH5
Delta 3d Studio Pax Accessories – These guys also have a fair amount of accessories for the Pax 3 including the water pipe attachment that I own and the all-important end caps to increase that stealth level to the max.
You can have a look at Delta 3D Studios Pax 3 Accessories here.
How to use the Pax 3
The Pax 3 isn’t going to blow you away with the heat-up time, potency and simplicity of use as something like the Grasshopper Vaporizer, but at 15 seconds it comes in as the fastest heating portable conduction vape, and it is relatively easy to use in the standard mode.
It does get a little more complicated with the app, but once you figure it out, it’s easy.
How to use in Standard Mode
The Pax 3 comes with 4 standard heat settings out of the box. These are easily navigated by clicking on the top of the device. You will feel the button under the mouthpiece when you push down in the centre.
To access temperature select mode, you press and hold the mouthpiece down, then once the light stays on you use single clicks to navigate the different heat settings.
Temperature Options:
Temp-1 – 360F / 182C – 1 Green light
Temp-2 – 380F / 193C – 2 Yellow lights
Temp-3 – 400F / 204C – 3 Orange lights
Temp-4 – 420F / 215C – 4 Red lights
I recommend having a play around with these settings first then when you find which ones you like, advance onto the App and have a play around.
The Pax 3 App
Now, this is where the fun begins. The Pax 3 APP allows you to customize your session with individual temperature settings and different heat profiles.
The five different profiles are standard, boost, efficiency, stealth mode and flavor mode. We will discuss these in more detail below.
Boost mode:
Keeps your device in high gear. This is the mode I personally use if I am looking to have a quick and heavy hit. If you are wanting to punch out a couple of dense clouds or even hit it through a water pipe, then this is what I’d recommend using.
Efficiency Mode:
This mode is similar to standard mode except it ramps up the heat by 1 degree every 2 seconds that your lips are detected. This mode also works with the Pax 3 hidden 5th mode which is worth a look at in the manual.
Stealth Mode:
This mode maintains lower temperature and cools down quicker between hits ensuring you can get medicated discreetly.
Flavor Mode:
This mode preserves the flavor of your cannabis by only heating when you are taking a draw. This is nice if you want a good flavourful and smooth draw but lacks density so definitely not for me.
My preferred methods of using the Pax 3 are on efficiency mode with the NewVape vented lid and pusher giving me a half pack. Or with the Standard half pack lid on boost mode through a water pipe.
**I’d just like to add that a phone is not a requirement. The device works on the standard mode out of the box. Just follow the settings as above in the Standard Mode Section.
The Final Puff
Although the Pax 3 isn’t my favorite cannabis vaporizer, it may keep
There is a good amount of accessories out there so plenty of experiments to be had. And, in my opinion, the vented lid, and pusher bundle are a must so you should probably add that to the price when factoring in what you can afford.
I have tried to be completely honest with my review and gave you all the dirt I have picked up over the last 5 months. If like me, you are not too fussed about portability, I’d recommend the Tubo Evic. So far it is has been my favorite “portable” device.
If you need more portability but don’t mind waiting approximately 1 minute for the device to heat, my top recomendation would be the Arizer Go. The flavor on both these devices is excellent for an extended period of time.
If you are still interested in the Pax you can check out the latest prices below by clicking the relevant link
If you have any questions or a difference of opinion I would love to hear it, Maybe I’ve been doing it all wrong and you have some tips for me? Or maybe you just want to say Hi.
You can also come join us on our facebook group here: mrbaked.co 420 and on Instagram here: @mrbaked.co420
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