Hey guys, it’s Sneaky Pete here, and today I want to give you a first look at the newest portable vaporizer from Canadian brand Arizer - the shiny new Arizer Air MAX. Arizer is one of the original manufacturers in the vaporizer space, they’ve been around since the early 2010s and the first portable I ever owned was actually the original Arizer Solo, which is still a killer device to this day. They released the significantly smaller Arizer Air a couple of years later, and followed that up with the much improved Arizer Air 2 several years later. The new Arizer Air MAX is the latest iteration of the design, so let's take a look at what’s new and how it compares to previous versions. I will be reviewing the Air MAX in more detail in the future, this is intended to just be a first look overview of the new unit.
Arizer Air MAX Overview
Arizer have made sure that this latest model lives up to the ‘MAX’ in its name by including a plethora of new features, such as Arizer’s latest innovations in their portable multi-purpose diffuser technology, upgraded custom session settings, automatic screen inversion, dark mode for the screen, new rapid-heating ceramic technology, fast USB-C charging, and a high capacity 26650 lithium-ion battery.
It maintains the aspects that people loved about Air 2, like the simple operation, high quality vapour production, the small form that makes it easily pocketable, and the pre-loadable glass pod system.
Thanks to the advanced rapid-heating ceramic technology, it heats up in less than 60 seconds and allows for precise single-degree temperature control within a wide range (50° - 220° Celsius / 122° - 428° Fahrenheit).
What's In The Box?
The first thing I noticed about the Arizer Air MAX is that it comes in a much smaller box than the Air 2, Arizer has done a much more efficient job of packing things in here, which is nice to see. It's a lot cheaper to ship something this small and it cuts down on unnecessary packaging waste. They did eliminate the little belt pack that is included with older models, but honestly, I'm not going to miss that and there's a lot of third-party solutions if you will.
When you open the box you’re greeted by a great instruction manual which gives you a very detailed explanation of everything you're going to need to know about the device. It's always good to see detailed instructions like this, as you really shouldn't need to go online to figure out something that isn't explained properly in the manual, but you should still watch my videos to pick up any extra tips I may have that aren’t in the manual! 😉
The Air MAX itself arrives with the battery already inside, although you do need to remove the little plastic tab shielding the battery before it will turn on. It’s a beautiful looking vaporizer, it has a sleek smooth and shiny grey finish, it’s low-key but stylish. The buttons have been moved onto the sides of the device, on each side of the screen, this makes it a lot easier to operate with a single hand.
On the back of the Air MAX you will find a USB-C charging port, where the included USB-C cable and wall adapter plugs in. There’s a short glass aroma tube with its own travel case and cap, so you can pre-load it and go, and you also get a 14mm water pipe adapter, with the same travel tube. I’m really excited to see that they include a 14mm water pipe adapter in the box, it’s such a useful accessory, and it makes so much sense for it to be a standard inclusion. I do wish they included a long stem though, as it would make a big difference in terms of vapour coolness at higher temperatures when you’re not using water cooling.
The package includes a stirring tool and filter screens for the stems. Personally I wouldn't recommend using the screens, without them you will get a little flower in your mouth on your first bowl or two, but as soon as they get a little bit sticky that will stop. You also get a glass aroma dish with a little tube travel case for it, as well as a pack of botanicals if you're into that sort of thing.
Favourite Features
I've been using the Arizer Air MAX for a couple of weeks now, and there's a few features I'm a big fan of, the first being the auto screen-inversion. When you turn the Air MAX upside down to use it with the water pipe adapter, the screen also inverts so you're not looking at an upside-down screen. The screen will also invert while the device is charging, if you’re doing so in a bottoms-up manner. It may seem like a relatively minor feature, but it’s a super useful one considering how many people use their vaporizers inverted on a water pipe. I think this is going to become a standard on all vapes; it’s a fantastic detail for them to pick up on.
The next thing I really appreciate is this significant improvement to the battery life. Looking at the device itself, it is super thin and when you open it up you’ll find that almost the entire internal space is consumed by the massive removable battery. This big battery upgrades the pretty good 90 minute battery life of the Air 2 to an excellent 135 minutes on the Air MAX. It’s a massive increase that you will absolutely notice, so you can feel comfortable taking this one on a weekend trip and you might not even need a charger. If you do run out of juice the fast USB-C charging provides a 90% charge in two hours, and you can also use it while it’s charging, so you’ll never be caught out by a flat battery.
Finally, the new dark mode is a cool thing to see included. For me, stealth isn’t a very important factor since I live in a country with legalised cannabis, but if you’re not so lucky and you do want to use your device in a more discrete fashion, this will be useful for you. What’s extra great is that you can turn it on directly into this much stealthier mode, you don’t have to go through menus or button combinations to enable it. You press the menu button and then either the plus or minus button to choose between stealth or normal mode, you can also switch back and forth between the modes at any time while it’s turned on. It’s also a cool detail that you can have a different set temperature for each mode, so you can essentially have two preset temps available from turn on of the device, otherwise the device will just heat up to the last used temperature when you press a button.
Air 2 vs Air MAX
The Arizer Air MAX is slightly taller than the Air 2, I would estimate it’s about 0.5 cm taller. Overall, I think it has a much more refined and mature look, due in large part to the subdued and stylish shiny grey exterior, compared to the blue plastic exterior of the Air 2.
The Air 2 featured an 18650 battery, while the Air MAX uses a higher capacity 26650 battery. Also, on the Air 2, you have micro-USB charging built into the device, while on the Air MAX you have USB-C charging on board. Possibly due to huge increase in battery capacity, it seems that Arizer have enhanced the vapour production of the Air MAX as well. To me, the Air MAX feels closer to the Solo 2 in terms of power and vapour output instead of the Air 2, and the battery is much more similar to the Solo 2 as well. If I’m using it dry, I like to set the oven to around 380°F, while through a water pipe I like to bump the temperature up to between 400°F and 420°F where it performs valiantly.
The Air 2 has the screen and the three buttons all on the front, while on the Air MAX only the screen is on the front, and the three buttons have been split up and moved to the sides. I find this makes it easier to turn the Air MAX on and off compared to the more awkward positioning on the Air 2, and it just looks tidier having the buttons somewhat hidden from view.
Overall, the Arizer Air MAX is a nice evolution of the Air 2, I’m particularly enjoying the much-improved battery life and the screen inversion when I turn it upside down for use with a water pipe.
Keep your eyes peeled for my full review of this vaporizer coming up soon. Thanks so much for reading and watching, I really appreciate it.
Keep it green, keep it sneaky!
