PAX Is King

I have three dry herb vapes. I’ve had the Cloudious9 Atomic9 the longest, it was my first dry herb vape. When I got it I really kind of thought it was a toy. After I used it about five or so times I figured out it very much isn’t a toy. It does the job it’s built to do for basically sixty dollars. Honestly it’s a steal at the price listed. It has a full ceramic chamber, decent battery, and it has a pretty reasonable design. It’s no-frills, but decent enough. Instead of displaying temperature with a digital screen it lights LED’s along a number line on the edge of the device when you set the temperature. When I first got it, I did take a while to get used to the notion of dry herb vapes. It took me more than ten sessions to figure out that the device had to warm up past the “green light” signal. No vibration notification here, the LED just changes from red to green to let you know the chamber is up to temp. You’ll notice the first handful of rips won’t even feel like clouds. But you can definitely get decent rips. The chamber is ceramic, which I absolutely appreciate, but it’s not wildly fancy.

The second device I ever purchased was the PAX 3. I didn’t use it for the first year I owned it. I thought it was a prank at first. I tried over ten sessions with the PAX 3 and I never got any vapor. Oddly enough, after the first year I gave it another ten sessions, and eventually it started to really rip. Ever since it started really ripping, it has been an absolute tank of a device. The battery can hold a ridiculous amount of charge. The design is incredibly simple and wildly elegant. The chamber is ample and the draw length is short. The oven is steel, but that doesn’t seem to hamper it. The 3D screens you can purchase for it really do put it over the top.

The third device I bought was the “OG Jams”. Holy hell, what a quality device. Excellent and enormous ceramic chamber. The glass cooling tube is really short but has an interesting flow path. You can connect the neck of the device to glassware. It has a great screen and is easy to configure. It really rips like crazy. For the longest time it was my favorite device. Over time I’ve had difficulty finding replacement screens, and cleaning is a bit of a challenge.

For whatever reason, though; The PAX 3 has proven that it’s a fucking TANK. I used to think it was a lame device. But this thing has really been incredible. The go-to, honestly, for the longest time. The OG Jams, now, a few years later, has shown some issues. The PAX 3 however has incredible longevity via the incredibly simple design. I just can’t get over this thing. The OG Jams no longer rips. The PAX 3 still rips like it’s at peak performance. I’ve heard stories about these things going through the wash and surviving. I’m honestly surprised these people can stay in business given how hardy these things are. Every one they make is one less customer. This thing is a beast, and honestly, this thing is the king vape. I think I’m going to buy the top adapter that allows you to connect it to a glass piece. It’s not official, but it works.

I’ve owned all these three vapes for years, nearly simultaneously. By the numbers, the OG Jams has seen more use than any other vape. It’s been a workhorse for me, but it is not built to last. It’s relatively robust, but the design is not as robust as the materials used. The air path shutters will be the first to go on your device. They’re nice while they last, but mine were glued shut a few years ago because the knobs broke off and the doors would just slide open and shut randomly. It wasn’t worth it to me at that point to try and preserve them, so I popped the panels out and dressed them up with some cyanoacrylate.

The Cloudious9 Atomic9 is actually a decent device for the price. The battery is small but decent enough. It charges quickly. Neither the PAX nor the OG Jams can charge as quickly as the Atomic9.

So the title of this post isn’t as clear cut as it might read. I’ve honestly enjoyed the OG Jams more than I’ve enjoyed any other device on this list for the longest time. However, I can’t discount robustness as a feature. Over time, the PAX has shown that superior design, superior materials, superior assembly; these have all lent themselves in great measure to the PAX. I bought mine at the original retail price of $299 and honestly I’ve wrought my money’s worth out of it a few times over. The OG Jams went hard for a while, but its starting to sunset. I can’t even buy screens for it anymore. I’ve checked the Kind Pen website over and over and I don’t see screens listed for sale.

The PAX 3 has absolutely proven itself to be one of the best made dry herb vapes on the market, and now that the price has basically halved, it’s even more of a steal than when it was newly released. Go get you one.

Side note: The PAX 3 benefits tremendously from installing and using the “3D Screens” they sell. I really thought it would be a gimmick until I bought a few and tried them out. Honestly this was the thing to push me over to PAX fandom. Such a simple yet genius design and it makes a hell of a difference, not just compared to the other PAX screens but comparing the PAX 3 with these screens to other devices.

*with the app.

Cloudious9 Atomic9 - Excellent device for the money. You won’t cry super hard if you lose it. Does one job and does it well enough for the money. Keep an eye on that red LED for it to turn green or you’ll accidentally miss some of your session.

PAX 3 - Absolute tank of a device. Big battery. Big chamber. No USB-C charge port, but there are ample third party chargers on the internet available for pennies on the dollar. Lots of third party accessories available to make it do the same tricks as the OG Jams can do out of the box. Cheaper than the OG Jams now. No idea why my unit decided to wait to work for as long as it did. I literally changed nothing about how I was using it. PAX tool is also an excellent tool that I use for every other dry herb vape.

OG Jams - Well made. Frills are in the right direction. Decent battery and decent chamber. The design is great, it’s thoughtfully made, but has more weak points than the other vapes reviewed. This thing also rips like crazy from time of purchase and onward.