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OK folks.. you know what time it is.. it's #FRIDAY. #Game7 of the #Raptors game about to start. And.. its time for a #new #Spectreview on the #PAX #ERA #PRO! @PAXvapor #paxlife #paxera
Up until now I've been vaping on #510 carts. And for good reason - the #Pax #Era #Pro only came out a few weeks ago. It has a number of superior features over the standard #Pax #Era, including PodID and dose control.
In general, #PAX #Era has a number of advantages over #510 vapes and vice-versa. First, let's talk a bit about #510 carts. For one thing, #510 is an open standard, meaning that you are not stuck to a single system and there are many carts out there for purchase.
There are many battery systems available to power #510 carts - although I would imagine most folks have purchased their batteries as part of a kit with a #510 cart. I purchased the @Redecanca #Trainwreck kit that came with the battery and cart for about $50 CAD - not bad!
When the first "Cannabis 2.0" products hit the market in December/January, there were a plentiful number of #510 carts available to consumers - once again due to the open standard. But, with open standards, there are also issues..
One issue is quality of the product you're getting. Some #510 carts are incredible, while others are awful. Some batteries are incredible, while others are awful. While #510 is meant to be compatible across batteries and carts, it doesn't always work like that very nicely..
Case in point - most batteries that come in a kit with a cart have a fixed voltage that cannot be adjusted. The voltage in this case contributes to the temperature that the cart will receive. Some batteries may provide a specific voltage that only works with certain carts..
One example I've heard is #Canaca batteries only seem to work well their own carts - probably because the voltage is at a very specific level. There's also cases where carts cannot fit onto specific batteries (also #Canaca - notice a theme here?): https://www.reddit.com/r/TheOCS/comments/ib0fqz/problems_fitting_vape_cartridge_to_510_battery/
Remember - #510 is an open standard - with #OPEN being the key word. That means that while everything SHOULD be compatible, there may be issues. And even if your cart works properly with the battery, it may not be receiving the optimal voltage: https://www.reddit.com/r/TheOCS/comments/fdfib9/vape_carts_voltage_and_microdosing_recommended/
As the link above suggests, each #510 cart has its own recommended voltage - and these details are not printed on the cart. In fact, many LPs recommend you purchase their batteries, even though this is meant to be an open standard..
This brings me to the #Pax #Era #Pro, which possesses its own set of advantages and disadvantages when compared to #510 carts. Let's start out with the disadvantages first..
One is that because its a closed system, there will be less pods available with the product first launches. This was definitely the case with #Pax #Era. Even though I wanted to buy one at launch, there just wasn't any particular carts I was interested in back in January this year
Of course #Pax #Era is also more expensive than a #510 battery. BUT if you start looking at higher end third party #510 batteries (the ones that do not come in a kit with a cart that can control voltage) you will find the price gap narrows considerably.
The #Pax #Era also uses a silica wick as opposed to a cotton wick, and does not use a ceramic body construction, as opposed to most #510 carts.
There is speculation that #silica wicks can lead to #silicosis or scarring of the lungs by breathing in dust that contains silica. BUT - if you read this very long forum post - you'll find that this speculation is actually false. https://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/threads/the-dangers-of-silica-wicks.377764/
Long story short - there are two forms of #silica - Crystalline silica which causes the disease, and Amorphous silica which does not. #Pax #Era #Pro uses Amorphous silica (although I'm not sure about the original #Pax #Era - perhaps @Paxvapor can confirm?).
But in short, you have nothing to really worry about with the #Pax #Era #Pro from a safety perspective. The fact that its UL certified further reinforces the safety argument.
With all that out of the way - let's discuss the positives of the #Pax #Era. There's a reason there's less #Pax #Era carts in general versus #510. That's because @Paxvapor reviews all carts as part of their own QA/QC - in essence building a "walled garden" like @Apple/ #iOS.
With #Pax #Era #Pro, you also get #PodID, which tells you exactly what you are vaping. This is a #big #deal, especially since there is such little information that you are provided about #vapes sold in #Canada (not sure if this is a #HealthCanada related issue?)
With #PodID, you get all the information you need right in the #Pax #Era app (the screens below are from the desktop app - I'll explain that one later). With the #FumeCannabis #Orange #CKS pod, I get all the details below and even can access the full testing results.
Another big plus with #PodID is that you get the optimal temperature setting ( #ExpertTemp) right from the app - the #PaxEra Pod will be preset to this temperature by default. This is awesome to see, and eliminates all the guesswork that is associated with the #510 carts.
Don't get me wrong - in most cases, your #510 carts will work fine with your kit battery, as mine (Aurora, Kolab, Sundial, Top Leaf and 48 North x Avitas) have all worked just fine with my Redecan battery. But still - is it the optimal temp? With #Pax #Era theres no doubt.
I also love the fact that #Pax #Era is adjustable by temperature as opposed to voltage. You don't need to use some funky tables and recommendations to figure out how to use it. Its pretty "idiot proof". Sometimes thats a great thing when your high af.
But, to me, the biggest advantage by far with #Pax #Era #Pro is the dose control feature. This new feature - specific to the #Era #Pro, allows you to do microdosing - very similar to @Dosist.
Before writing this article, I attempted to figure out if there are any differences between the @Dosist (which is quite expensive in #Canada), and the #Pax #Era #Pro with dose control. As this photo shows, the @Dosist does have a number of features for dosing.
But from what I understand, the doses produced by a @Dosist vape are still timed - they are exactly 3 seconds long. There's no special mechanical mechanism that precisely measures a "dose" in a separate chamber from what I can see.
The #Pax #Era #Pro from what I can tell is doing the same thing as a @Dosist, except the #Pax #Era #Pro is compatible with hundreds of other carts, whereas the @Dosist is only compatible with their own special carts..
(And don't get me started about how @Dosist carts have funny non-strain names like "bliss", "rest" or "calm". Generally I hate these sorts of naming conventions even more than when LPs rebrand existing strains or rename under other strain names (like #SR71 #Tangerine #Dream ;P )
The #Pax #Era #Pro is ultimately much more sophisticated than a simple #510 battery - its even got its own chipset designed to manage dose control and parental lockout features.
In general, I found dose control to be incredible. I could set it to a "single dose", and it would light up in a manner to tell me how much of the dose was left until it completed - once completed it vibrated and the dose was finished.
You could set #dose #control to 2 or more doses, and stop in the middle and restart the dosing at anytime. Very cool way to manage your intake!! Basically, with the #Pax #Era #Pro, I don't see a good reason to buy a @Dosist.. unless @Dosist would like to convince me otherwise?
The only negative to the #Pax #Era #Pro experience has nothing to do with @PAXvapor at all and everything to do with @Apple and their stupid decision last year to ban all vaping apps. This means, all #iPhone users are stuck using the desktop app, which is obviously not ideal.
I found that the desktop app would logout as soon as you walked away and you'd have to re-pair your #Pax #Era each time. The desktop app only works on your desk/lap-top and not on a mobile device (for some reason?)
Also - the desktop app is only compatible with the #Pax #Era #Pro on the PC and not the standard #Pax #Era. For full compatibly you have to use the app on MacOS. Why is this? Does @PAXvapor really think that all #iPhone owners have a Mac? Not sure..
