PAX Plus Review: The Dyson Hair Dryer of Vaporisers

The Hook: The Dyson Argument

The Dyson Supersonic costs £330.

A perfectly good Remington costs £30. Same job. Same result. Wet hair goes in, dry hair comes out. If you're running spec-sheet comparisons, the Dyson loses embarrassingly.

And yet Dyson sells millions.

Because specs aren't the point. The point is how it feels in your hand. The point is how it looks sitting on your bathroom shelf. The point is that when your mate spots it, they don't ask "what's that?" — they ask "is that a Dyson?" with a hint of respect.

The PAX Plus is that argument, translated into vaporiser form. It's not the best vaporiser. The vapour quality doesn't touch the Mighty+. The extraction efficiency loses to devices half its price. If you're doing performance-per-pound calculations, the Plus fails embarrassingly.

At £130, you could have an XMAX V3 Pro (£79.99) and enough left over for a nice dinner. You could nearly have a Crafty+ (£186.99). You could have a Solo 2 MAX (£128.99) with better vapour and change to spare.

But none of those devices fit into skinny jeans unnoticed. None of them look like an MP3 player when security glances at your bag. None of them sit on a coffee table without screaming "VAPORISER" to anyone who walks past.

The PAX Plus does.

Vapour Quality 7/10

Let's get this out of the way: the PAX Plus produces adequate vapour, not exceptional vapour. It's a pure conduction device in a world that's moved to hybrid and convection heating, and that gap shows in every session.

The vapour is smooth. The flavour is present. The experience is pleasant. It's like a mid-range hotel — not bad, not memorable, effortlessly adequate. You're not going to forget your Mighty+ after a session with the Plus. You're not going to tell your mates about the flavour. You're going to have a perfectly fine session and move on with your evening.

The Plus is a sipper. Slow, cigar-style pulls — let the conduction oven do its work, don't rush it. If you try to rip it like a bong, you'll get weak vapour and a mouthful of hot air. "Sip it, don't rip it" as PAX themselves say, and they're not wrong.

The four Experience Modes give you range without precision. Stealth Mode (182°C) keeps clouds invisible. Efficiency Mode (193-204°C) stretches a bowl. Flavour Mode (204-216°C) is where I live 80% of the time — best balance of taste and clouds. Boost Mode (216°C+) finishes bowls properly but flavour has packed up and left by that point.

On pure vapour quality, the Plus is an £130 device that happens to cost £130. But the Plus doesn't live in your hand — it lives in your pocket.

The Strain Test

Two strains, two personalities, one conduction oven. The question isn't whether the Plus can extract — it's whether it can show you the difference between what you're vaping.

Gelato #33 (Hybrid — 20-25% THC)

The Flower: Modern dessert hybrid — limonene-forward with caryophyllene and linalool underneath. Sweet, creamy, the kind of strain that rewards smooth extraction and punishes harsh devices. Dense, frosty buds that told me they were quality before I'd even opened the grinder.

The Pack: 0.3g, fine grind, tamped firmly with the included tool. Used the full chamber — the Plus likes a proper pack.

Low Temp (Flavour Mode — 204°C): The limonene lifted first — clean citrus, distinctly sweet, unmistakably Gelato. Creamy undertones developed after the second draw. Wisps of vapour, barely visible, but the flavour was there. This is the Plus at its best: quiet, smooth, flavour-first. The conduction oven warmed evenly and the first two minutes were properly terpy.

Mid Temp (Boost Mode — 216°C): Clouds thickened. The caryophyllene came through — peppery, earthy, a bit of warmth at the back of the throat. Flavour started transitioning from "dessert" to "warm biscuit." Effects settled in properly around draw six. The Gelato's creamy character was still present but fading. This is where the session shifted from flavour to function.

High Temp (216°C sustained): Popcorn territory by draw twelve. Still producing vapour but the sweetness had gone. Pushed through another three draws for completeness — the Plus extracted what it could. ABV was evenly toasted, medium-brown, which tells you the conduction heating is at least consistent.

The Verdict: Fifteen draws over about seven minutes. The Gelato showed its dessert character in the opening minutes, which is all you can ask from conduction. The Plus didn't ruin it — it just didn't amplify it either. Through a Solo 3, the same flower would've given me another two minutes of flavour. Through the Plus, it was pleasant. Adequate. The word keeps coming back.

Bubblegum (Indica-Leaning Hybrid — 17-20% THC)

The Flower: Old-school Indiana Bubblegum — myrcene-dominant with caryophyllene and limonene. Your mate at sixth form had this one. Unmistakable candy sweetness, slightly floral, nothing complex but everything nostalgic. Lower THC than the Gelato, gentler effects, a different test entirely.

The Pack: 0.35g, medium-fine grind, tamped down with the half-pack lid off. Wanted to see what the Plus did with a strain that doesn't demand precision.

Low Temp (Efficiency Mode — 193°C): The bubblegum sweetness was immediate and obvious — myrcene doing its thing, coating the palate in something that genuinely tasted like the name suggests. Barely any visible vapour at this temp but the flavour was stronger than the Gelato's opening. Simple strains sometimes outperform complex ones through conduction because there's less to lose.

Mid Temp (Flavour Mode — 204°C): This is where the Bubblegum lived. The candy notes held steady for a solid three minutes — longer than the Gelato managed. Clouds were modest but present. The caryophyllene added a peppery backbone without drowning the sweetness. Simpler terpene profiles suit the Plus better than complex ones — there's less nuance to flatten.

High Temp (Boost Mode — 216°C): Pushed into full extraction. The sweetness faded but the earthy indica character emerged — warm, settled, slightly herbal. Effects were gentle and even, exactly what you'd expect from 18% THC through a slow conduction session. Not a knockout. A Sunday-evening unwinder.

The Verdict: Seventeen draws over eight minutes. The Bubblegum actually performed better through the Plus than the Gelato — the simpler terpene profile survived the conduction treatment with more integrity. If you're vaping straightforward, myrcene-heavy strains, the Plus will treat them well. If you're chasing complex terp expression, look elsewhere.

Design & Build 8.5/10

That's the PAX energy. It's not just about staying under the radar — it's status. Same energy as seeing someone with a Dyson in their bathroom. You know something about them immediately.

Anodised aluminium. Clean lines. No buttons, no screens, no visible chamber. It looks like something from a design museum — the kind of object photographers use in lifestyle shoots because it doesn't need explanation. Sarah thought it was a portable speaker when she first saw it. I didn't correct her for a full week.

The build quality is excellent. Solid aluminium body, satisfying magnetic lid, haptic feedback that actually feels intentional. At 93g, it weighs less than a pack of cards. The matte finish resists fingerprints better than the glossy PAX 3. The proportions are perfect for palming — you can close your fist around it and it vanishes completely.

Battery & Charging 6.5/10

The battery is fine. The charger is infuriating.

Real-world performance: about 75 minutes of runtime, roughly 10 sessions at 6-8 minutes each. For moderate users who charge nightly, it's adequate. Heavy users will need to charge twice daily — but heavy users probably shouldn't be buying a PAX anyway.

Spec	Detail
Battery Type	Sealed lithium-ion
USB-C	No (proprietary magnetic dock)
Pass-through Charging	No
Replaceable Battery	No
Charge Time	~2 hours to full
Real-world Sessions	~10 per charge

I've since bought a spare dock for work. That's the PAX tax: you need backups of proprietary nonsense, or you accept occasional paperweight days. The PAX Flow fixes this with USB-C. The Crafty+ uses USB-C. The V3 Pro uses USB-C. Everyone uses USB-C except the Plus, and in 2026 that's not charming — it's stubborn.

Ease of Use 8/10

One button. Four modes. Shake to check battery. That's the interface.

Press the mouthpiece to turn on. Wait for haptic buzz. Inhale slowly. Press again to change modes. Long press to turn off. You could figure this out drunk, in the dark, with no instructions. My mum could use this, and she still calls every smartphone "the iPhone."

The haptic feedback tells you when it's ready without looking — useful in situations where you can't check the screen. The lip-sensing technology heats when you bring it to your mouth and cools when you set it aside. It's genuinely clever engineering that justifies some of the design premium.

Loading is where technique matters. The Plus is fussy about packing. Fine grind, tamp it down firmly, use the half-pack lid if you're not filling the chamber completely. Loose packs give weak vapour and uneven extraction. Tight packs give consistent sessions. The learning curve is "one session to understand, one week to master." Not steep. Just present.

The Experience Modes are simple but limiting. Four presets, no app customisation, no precise temperature control. If you're the type who dials in 187°C because that's where your flower's limonene peaks, the Plus will frustrate you. If you're happy picking from four options labelled by colour, it's all you need.

Cleaning & Maintenance 7.5/10

The Plus rewards regular maintenance and punishes neglect more sharply than most portables.

The people who love their PAX devices all say the same thing — clean it regularly, pack it properly, and it performs consistently. The people who hate them all say the same thing — "it stopped pulling properly and tastes burnt." The difference is cleaning frequency.

The Process: Heat the device briefly to soften resin. Brush out the oven with the included tool. ISO-soaked pipe cleaner through the vapour path. Wipe the mouthpiece area. Let everything dry completely. Takes about five minutes.

The 3D-printed screens pop out easily — much better than the old PAX 3 screens that seemed designed to fight you. That's a genuine improvement that doesn't get enough credit.

If you're someone who cleans their gear regularly, the Plus is manageable. If you ignore your vape until it stops working, the Plus will punish you with restricted airflow and burnt flavour faster than most devices. It's not the worst cleaning experience — that honour goes to the Crafty+ cooling unit — but it demands more attention than the glass-path simplicity of an Arizer.

Portability 9.5/10

This is where the Plus earns its price tag.

The thing genuinely disappears. Front jeans pocket, back jeans pocket, jacket pocket, palm of your hand — wherever you put it, it's gone. The flat profile sits flush against your body. There's no brick-bulge, no obvious outline, no "what's in your pocket" moments.

Every other portable I own announces itself. The Mighty+ looks like a medical pager from 2009. The Solo 3 is a cylinder the size of a Red Bull can. Even the Crafty+ has that brick energy when you're trying to slip it into slim-fit trousers.

The mouthpiece is flush-mounted. The LED petals are subtle. The device makes almost no noise. For cinema use, concert use, family gatherings where visibility matters — the Plus is best-in-class.

How I Actually Use This

My Default Setup: Flavour Mode (three petals, ~204°C), fine grind, half-pack lid for solo sessions. I keep a WPA adapter on it approximately never — this isn't a water pipe device, it's a pocket device, and treating it otherwise misses the point entirely.

When I Reach For It: Heading out. That's it. Gigs, cinema, the pub, Sarah's parents' house at Christmas, any situation where having a vaporiser visible would be a problem. The Plus is the "going out" vape. Friday evening, jacket pocket, front door — that's the workflow.

When I Don't: Home sessions. If I'm on the sofa with nowhere to be, I'm reaching for the Mighty+ or the Solo 3 every single time. Better vapour, better flavour, better extraction — at home, the Plus's one advantage doesn't exist.

The Honest Cleaning Reality: I clean it after every 5-6 bowls, which is more often than most devices because I have to. Skip a cleaning and the airflow restriction reminds me within two sessions. I've accepted this as part of the deal.

Session Frequency: Three or four bowls a week, almost exclusively out of the house. It's a role player, not a starter. That's not an insult — it does its specific job better than anything else I own.

Medical Use Notes

I'm not a doctor. I'm a bloke with chronic pain and ADHD who's been using cannabis medicinally for years now. What follows is personal experience, not clinical evidence. Individual responses to cannabis vary significantly — what works for my pain and focus may not work for yours. If you're considering medical cannabis, talk to a prescribing clinic like Sapphire, Cantourage, or Zerenia. HerbVape sells hardware, not cannabis.

For Pain Management: The Plus works for mild-to-moderate pain sessions when you're away from home. The slow conduction extraction gives a gradual onset — not the immediate relief of a TinyMight 2 on-demand hit, but a steady build over 6-8 minutes. For chronic pain users who need something portable for daytime management without drawing attention, it does the job. For acute pain where you need fast, strong relief, you want something with more extraction power.

For ADHD/Focus: Not my first choice for microdosing. The preset temperature modes lack the precision I want for low-temp focus sessions, and the minimum temp (Stealth Mode, 182°C) is higher than I'd like for careful daytime dosing. The V3 Pro with its precise degree-by-degree control is better for ADHD management.

Session Timing: First draw to noticeable effect: about 3-4 minutes through the Plus. Full effects build over the session. Duration is strain-dependent but typically 1.5-2 hours from a full bowl on Flavour Mode.

Value for Money 5.5/10

This is where I have to be properly honest.

The PAX Plus costs £130. For that money, you could have:

• An XMAX V3 Pro (£79.99) — better vapour quality, precise temp control, swappable batteries, USB-C, £50 cheaper
• A Solo 2 MAX (£128.99) — better vapour quality, better battery life, glass vapour path, £1 less
• A Crafty+ (£186.99) — meaningfully better vapour, S&B ecosystem, £57 more
• A PAX Flow (£259.99) — hybrid heating, USB-C, better performance, £130 more but a genuine upgrade

On pure performance-per-pound, the Plus loses to all of them. It's not close.

The PAX Flow elephant in the room: The Flow exists now. Hybrid heating, USB-C, better airflow — everything the Plus should have been. If you're buying new and want maximum performance in a pocket-sized form, the Flow is the smarter money at £259.99. You get a meaningful upgrade in extraction and you lose the proprietary charger nightmare.

So who does the Plus make sense for? At £130, the Plus has become genuinely competitive if your primary concern is form factor over performance. It's no longer the overpriced vanity purchase it was at launch. If you need something that fits slim pockets and doesn't look like a vape device, the Plus does the specific job no other device can do at this price point.

It's the Dyson argument. You're not paying for performance. You're paying for the privilege of owning something that looks and feels premium while doing its specific job without announcing itself.

Vs the Competition

Vs PAX Flow (£259.99)

The obvious comparison. The Flow adds hybrid heating, USB-C charging, and better airflow — fixing the three biggest complaints about the Plus. If you're buying new and can stretch to £130 more, the Flow is the smarter choice. But at £130 more, the gap needs to justify itself, and for casual users the Plus still does the core job. The Flow is what you upgrade to, not what you start with.

Vs XMAX V3 Pro (£79.99)

The value killer. The V3 Pro delivers better vapour quality, precise temperature control, swappable 18650 batteries, and USB-C charging — all for £50 less. It's less disguiseable and less pretty, but it's a better vaporiser by every functional measure. If form factor isn't your priority, the V3 Pro is the obvious choice. If form factor is your priority, the Plus justifies its premium.

Vs Crafty+ (£186.99)

Better vapour, worse battery, less portable. The Crafty+ produces meaningfully superior vapour through its hybrid heater, but it's thicker, heavier, and less pocketable. The Crafty+ also has notoriously poor battery life — Tom's degraded noticeably after 18 months. If vapour quality matters most, the Crafty+ wins. If you need a compact device, the Plus wins. Different tools for different jobs.

Vs Arizer ArGo (£123.99)

The other compact option. The ArGo's recessed glass stem makes it properly pocketable, and the glass vapour path delivers cleaner flavour than the Plus's conduction oven. But the ArGo is slower to heat, has a smaller chamber, and doesn't have the Plus's premium-tech aesthetic. The ArGo achieves stealth through engineering; the Plus through design. Similar destinations, different routes.

Feature	PAX Plus	PAX Flow	V3 Pro	Crafty+	ArGo
Price	£130.00	£259.99	£79.99	£186.99	£123.99
Overall Score	7.5/10	8.3/10	8.0/10	8.0/10	7.7/10
Vapour Quality	7/10	8/10	8/10	8.5/10	8/10
Battery Life	~75 min	~75 min	~60 min	~45 min	~75 min
Heat-up Time	20-25s	20-25s	30s	60s	60-90s
Portability	9.5/10	9/10	7.5/10	7/10	9/10
Ease of Use	8/10	8/10	8/10	8.5/10	8.5/10
Cleaning	7.5/10	7.5/10	7/10	6/10	9/10
Charging	Proprietary	USB-C	USB-C	USB-C	USB-C
Battery Type	Sealed	Sealed	Swappable (18650)	Sealed	Swappable (18650)
Session Style	Session	Session	Session/On-demand	Session	Session
Reliability	Mixed	Too new	Solid	Mixed (battery)	Solid

The Verdict

Eight months in, the PAX Plus still lives in my rotation.

Not for home sessions — that's Mighty+ territory. Not for raw performance — that's Solo 3 or V3 Pro territory. But for the specific moments when stealth matters more than power, when I need something that fits my life without announcing itself, when I'm heading somewhere that demands discretion over everything else — the Plus comes out of the drawer and into the jacket.

The PAX Flow exists now, and if I were buying today, I'd probably get the Flow instead. USB-C alone is worth the premium for the sanity it preserves. But at £130, the Plus has become genuinely competitive — no longer the overpriced vanity purchase it was at launch, but a legitimate stealth option for people who need exactly this specific thing.

The PAX Plus is the same argument. You're not paying for the best vaporiser. You're paying for the one that disappears.

Just one more bowl.