420EDC started carrying the Arizer portables in 2018 with our primary focus on the Arizer ArGo initially. The form factor, flavor, easy maintenance and removable battery are what we found to be the biggest selling points on this tiny portable 2nd Generation Arizer portable. The lack of an isolated airpath was the primary reason we didn't consider the 1st Gen Arizer Solo or Air beyond the fact that these devices had successors when the ArGo caught our attention.
As of June of 2024, the ArGo is the oldest device in our arsenal and it is still our best selling device to this day. The Arizer Solo II between the Carbon Black and Mystic Blue were also in our top 4 devices until we sunset them in 2022 once the Arizer Air MAX was released. In our opinion the Air MAX was the first Generation 3 Arizer portable because the Arizer Air II was a lackluster release that was prone to display failures primarily. As far as 420EDC is concerned, we felt the Air II was the perfect "solo use" device when the opportunity presented itself for a long, slow flavorful session. The heater was technically the same between the ArGo and Air II, but the added volume and configuration of the chamber made the ArGo slightly more powerful than the Air II when rapidly handing the device back and forth between two people.
Of course we had some bias towards the ArGo, it was a super tiny portable but we decided to initially try the Air II and later the Solo II as 2018 progressed. With the Air II we tried the plastic tipped mouthpiece out of the box and didn't enjoy that experience at all and failed to realize the other mouthpiece in the Air II package was an all glass 70mm Aroma Tube and let the Air II sit in the box. Then we needed to part with our beloved ArGo for warranty service.
Within a week of shipping our ArGo to the Arizer Service Center in Washington State, we had a brand new ArGo returned to us along with some extra glassware for the Air, it was two 90mm all glass Aroma Tubes. Since folks pay to return their device to the service center, Arizer has them include these extra glass pieces to compensate for the postage getting the device to Washington State. We put this glass to work with the Air II and it changed our mind on the device and then we found the all glass 70mm Aroma Tube sitting in the other Travel Tube in a bit of a "D'Oh" moment.
Since we were gravitating toward the Air II, we asked the Arizer Team to send us a Solo II to try out. What impressed us most was the Solo II while at the same time we were put off by the lack of user replaceable battery pack. After talking with the Arizer team, we learned that they would service the battery pack for a fee at their US Service Center for anyone who wanted to replace the hardwired battery pack. The extraction was more powerful than both the ArGo and Air II and it reminded us in terms of flavor to devices we carried prior to adopting the Arizer 2nd Gen lineup.
So what is it that gives the Solo II more punch than the ArGo and Air II? The answer is simple, two (18650) batteries hardwired internally vs a single user repaceable 18650. In our conversations with Arizer over the past half dozen years, we have also learned that the PCBs can be tweaked to compliment the battery power and heater designs. We bring this to light here as this information is vital to understanding the 3rd Generation Arizer portables and the decision on which device of that line-up is best for specific customer needs.
Like mentioned above, the Arizer Air MAX was the first Generation 3 Arizer portable released in March of 2022. It was a welcome upgrade with an array of improvements in a more powerful heater, better airflow, a sleek stainless steel body and an included 14mm Water Pipe Adapter (WPA) in the package instead of a plastic tipped mouthpiece which we feel degraded the Air II experience. Where the Air MAX shines is along the same path of the Air II in a long flavorful experience on lower temperatures with the ability to extract faster and more powerfully than its predecessor at the higher temps. There is a single 26650 battery in the Air MAX which has a higher CDR rating than the 18650 cells used in the Air II and ArGo, hence it is a more powerful device in that regard alone without factoring in any PCB tweaks or the improvements made from Gen 2 to Gen 3 in terms of the heater design.
Fast forward to late May of 2023: Arizer releases the Air SE (Special Edition) in semi-transparent Blue Haze and opaque Reefer White in a durable polymer shell. It's similar to the OG Air in regard to temperature control and more similar to the Air MAX in function of the heater and extraction capability. The Air SE has some PCB tweaks happening as the CDR specification on the 18650 is back to the range used in the ArGo and Air II in terms of power. The bare bones package of the Air SE includes a single 70mm Aroma Tube and micro-USB charging. The warranty on the Air SE is only a year compared to other Arizer portables having a two year warranty. This is why it comes in at less than half the price of the Air MAX beyond the stainless steel shell and included 14mm WPA all of which increase the price point. For easy maintenance and under $100 tier, its easy for 420EDC to recommend the flavorful single button operation experience of the Air SE for anyone looking to get their feet wet with an Arizer portable or individual new to dry herb vaporization.
That brings us to 2024 which has been a BIG year for Arizer thus far as of this publication in terms of our blog. Starting out the year was an upgrade to the Arizer Solo II with the Solo II MAX in February. Arizer incorporated the heater design for Generation 3 into the Solo II MAX and they also abandoned the proprietary charging port from the well renowned flagship Solo and Solo II designs for USB-C charging capability. Looking at the Carbon Black Solo II OG and the new Solo II MAX, they look identical side by side until you spin them around and see the port change. Our guess is that this change was made so that Arizer can keep selling the Solo II (MAX) in the EU as the laws make USB-C charging mandatory with the old ports now extinct under EU law. Is it rapid charging? No. Why? Because a rapid charger will degrade the batteries quicker than a lower amperage charger.
We consider the Solo II MAX perfect for couples who wish to consume while watching streaming shows or movies or lounging reading or playing games. The flavor is tops just like it was on the initial Solo II and the extraction is faster than the Air MAX and Air SE from 3rd Generation portables. For a single user, we would recommend the Air MAX or Air SE for best prolonged flavor whereas the Solo II MAX will cook away volatile terpenes and flavors faster while the single user exhales and recovers from the previous draw on the device. The Air MAX and Air SE will also recover at the same time as the user at lower temperature settings protecting the flavors that can be enjoyed early in a session. There is no need to heat soak on any Generation 3 Arizer portable device, doing so just wastes flavor which should be enjoyed. Inserting the stem upon engaging the heater will do the trick and the user doesn't have to wait for the devices to reach set temp to start inhaling the essence and volatile terpenes you may otherwise lose by waiting for the device alerting you that it is at temp.
For years there have been complaints about Arizer portables being "weak" session style devices and that the draw is severely restricted. This is not the experience found by 420EDC. Draw is primarily dictated by how the stem is packed and with every iteration of portables, Arizer has improved the airflow. In terms of weak session, that has been sidelined in 2024 with Arizer's 4th Generation powerhouse, the Arizer Solo III that launched 4/20/2024 (say that twice forward, then backward;). Why was the Solo II MAX upgrade and Solo III release so close? Our guess would be the legalization of cannabis in Germany and the EU USB-C law going into effect. It would have been better to just drop them both at the same time but hindsight is always 20/20, so our guess is that the Solo III was not quite ready in February whereas the Solo II MAX didn't need the in-depth testing the Solo III did prior to launch.
Arizer has changed the game with the Solo III: It features both traditional Session Mode and a new On-Demand Mode. While the Session Mode is very similar to that of the Solo II MAX, the On-Demand Mode functions a bit differently from other On-Demand devices like the obsolete Grasshopper/Hopper IO, RBT Milaana/Zion/Splinter, MistVape Touch, Tinymight or new Tinymight 2 that is still in production and acclaimed as a top tier portable "heavy". For the Solo III when you power it on, you choose a mode Session Mode or On-Demand Mode. For On-Demand you also specify a "Draw Time" from 5-25 seconds in duration in 5 second increments. Choose a Draw Time from the On-Demand Menu and select from 5 PreSet Temperatures for the On-Demand mini session. Press Up to engage the heater and wait the ≈ 15 seconds (from cold, subsequent draws don't take as long) for the device to get to set temp, it will alert you audibly and you can see visually on the display that the device is ready to be drawn from. Draw for the set duration and feel free to hand the device to another person to draw again as the heater is soaked with energy from the internal 21700 duo comprising the Solo III Battery Pack that is hardwired into the device like all previous Solos.
While Arizer has shifted gears with the Solo III, they've also made some welcome changes to experience with improved airflow, not just in the device itself, but with the newly doubled capacity of the XL Aroma Tube design and 25% better airflow in the glass chamber. A 5th hole has been added to the glass screen to accomplish this. Arizer includes a pair of 14mm WPA in OG size and new XL as well their 90mm Aroma Tubes in OG and XL sizes with the Solo III. We were stoked that Arizer also chose to adopt the Air MAX stainless steel body into the Solo III. The interface is more complex on the Solo III compared to the Solo II MAX as there are three buttons on the latter compared to 5 on the Solo III which also has double clicks for menus, presets etc. Lastly, the Solo III incorporates the ability for users to use and configure 3 customizable Pre-Set temps into the Session Mode so that users can shift from 1st gear, to 2nd gear and 3rd gear to finish off a session.
The choice between a Solo III and Solo II MAX comes down to a few factors: Does the user need an On-Demand Mode or will a Session Mode be sufficient? Does the user need high capacity XL Aroma Tubes or will the OG chamber size do the trick? If On-Demand Mode and XL stems are needed, then the Solo III is optimal, otherwise consider the Solo II MAX or Air MAX and save some coin. Since 420EDC received the Solo III, it's been the "Reach Test Champion" and will likely win this category for 2024 unless Arizer decides to drop a new ArGo MAX or ArGo II within the next 6 months.
Have a look at the comparison from Arizer below:
