Boundless CFX Review

I've been testing the new Boundless CFX for the last several weeks and am really impressed. It heats up in only 20 seconds, uses conduction and convection heating, has a big chamber for larger loads, enough battery power to keep you going on the go and produces solid, satisfying vapor. A young company out of Los Angeles, Boundless’ freshman releases of the CFX has brought a pretty serious, robust vaporizer to the market at under CAD$200. The easy-to-read display tells you everything you need to know about your session, and did I mention it hits max temp in under 20 seconds!

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Boundless CFX Vaporizer

C$143.96 Regular price: C$179.95

The Boundless CFX is an affordable, simple-to-use powerhouse.

• Fat, flavorful clouds
• Large oven
• Quick heat up time
• Full digital display
• Easy to use and share

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All about the vapor

First and foremost, I want my vaporizers to produce good quality vapor that satisfies with taste and effectiveness, and the Boundless CFX delivers!  It uses a unique hybrid of conduction and convection heating.  The result? Big clouds and nice flavor throughout the session.  The lid and mouthpiece do a great job of cooling down the vapor to a nice, comfortable level even at the highest temperatures.

Fast heat up time

The Boundless CFX is one of the quickest heating vaporizers on the market with a heat up time of less than 20 seconds.  With this kind of time freedom you can use the CFX as a session vaporizer (it has a 5 minute auto-shutoff feature) or for when you are looking for just a quick inhale.

Grind or no grind

Pack the CFX any way you want, it will vaporize it!  I have gotten similar and consistent results from ground or unground herbs, small or large loads, as well as packed or fluffy loads.  The herbs are always evenly cooked and I was very surprised at how well it worked with really small amounts.

Ease of use

What learning curve?  This might be the easiest, most foolproof vaporizer I've ever used.  If you can put herbs into a chamber and push a button, you can be vaporizing in seconds!  You won't need to break out the instruction manual or hold a class to share it with your friends.  If they've ever used a straw before, they are fully equipped to use the CFX!

Build quality

The CFX has a solid feel with just the right amount of weight (7.3 ounces, or 206 grams). The plastic outer shell has some textured lines that feel good in the hand. The mouthpiece has a wide, flat shape instead of like a straw.  The unit can be charged with either a microUSB or a wall charger. The air path is completely sealed from the electronics and can be verified by covering the air intake holes on the bottom of the unit.

Display

The CFX comes with a 1.7 inch screen that displays two dashboard speedometer style readouts, one for temperature and one for session time, as well as a four bar battery indicator.  The temperature ranges from 100F to 430F (28C to 221C) and the session timer ends at five minutes.  Next to the screen are the up and down buttons, and around the corner on the side is the power button.

Airpath

The sealed air path starts with air entering through holes at the bottom of the plastic outer shell and up through a stainless steel intake tube. The heated part of the air path is stainless steel and ceramic. The after path (the air path after the heating chamber) is ceramic, silicone, stainless steel and plastic.  All of the materials are rated for their particular use.

Battery life

The CFX comes with two internal, non-replaceable lithium batteries that provide anywhere from 10 to 15 sessions, depending on the temperature used during the session.  The unit can be charged via a microUSB cable or the supplied wall adapter for a faster charge time (between thirty minutes and an hour).

Hybrid heating

When you turn on your CFX, the ceramic bowl gets heated below the herbs and the heat conducts up the ceramic walls of the loading chamber. This conduction heat quickly brings the herbs to temp and produces the first, flavorful draws.  As the session progresses, the stainless steel heat exchanger below the bowl gets heat-soaked and starts to warm the air before it gets to the herbs. This is when the convection heating starts to do its work and preserves the taste.

Modifications I’ve tried

Update: since writing this, Boundless has put a new screen in the CF/CFX that has much more open airflow leaving this modification unnecessary. The first thing I did was change the mouthpiece screen to a more free-flowing one like a typical pipe screen. Often restrictions are necessary for a vaporizer to not get overwhelmed and continue to produce vapor, but I found the CFX didn’t need this restriction and it was able to keep up with the stronger draw that the new screen allowed.  The Boundless team is looking at this modification making its way into production.

Cleaning

Cleaning the CFX is simple, standard and really the only things needing regular cleaning with  are the oven and the mouthpiece.  

Use the supplied brush to wipe out the oven after every session while it is still warm and the unit won’t need anything further for a long time.  However, sometimes I forget to unload the chamber when done, and a cleaning with isopropyl alcohol (ISO) works fine.  Dip a q-tip in ISO and rub the inside walls of the empty chamber while holding the unit upside down so the ISO doesn’t leak down into the unit.  Then wipe it down with a damp cloth followed by a dry one.

If you find your draw getting more restricted, or if the unit smells, it’s probably time to clean the mouthpiece.  It comes apart, revealing oil inside that can be reclaimed by scraping.  Then the pieces can be soaked in ISO until they are clean as new.  Reassemble the mouthpiece and get back to vaporizing!

Who’s This Vape For?

I think the CFX is one of those vaporizers that is good for just about anyone.  Beginners will love how easy it is to use.  Experienced vaporists will love the quality of the portable vapor that comes at this price with this quick of a heat up time.  It’s inexpensive, works really well and is very easy to use.

Things you might hear

When the CFX was first released it was marketed as a convection device.  Early user testing showed it to have a high amount of conduction heating.  Boundless has since changed their marketing to more accurately describe the heating technology.  At the end of the day, this is the first vaporizer I’ve liked that uses mostly conduction heating, so I don’t care how it is heating things up anymore...it just works!

The Boundless CF and CFX bear a physical resemblance to the Storz & Bickel portables (Mighty and Crafty) and, therefore, will be compared to them often.  Both companies have big and little brother versions with similar sizes, looks and mouthpieces.  

Surprisingly, the Boundless units aren’t copies, as they actually improve on some things like having a much quicker heat up time (twenty seconds compared to eighty seconds) and a price point that is more than half what the Storz & Bickel vaporizers cost.

In my opinion, the Boundless vapes taste more like conduction heating than the Storz & Bickel vapes.  While I prefer the vapor quality from the Storz & Bickel units slightly more, the frugal buyer will really appreciate the quality of the Boundless vapes at their low price point.

Are Boundless vapes good?

Boundless vaporizers are designed with a specific purpose in mind - cloud up the room at an affordable price! Their very first releases were the CF and CFX - and the “CF” stood for “Cloud Factory”. Expect most Boundless vaporizers to lean towards the cloudy side, at the expense of a little taste, but to your wallet’s benefit

Conclusion

When I first received the CFX for testing I was not excited about having to use another conduction vaporizer since I am a big fan of convection heating.  To say I was pleasantly surprised would be an understatement, as the CFX uses just enough convection heating to keep me satisfied.  The vapor quality is excellent for the price point and the Boundless vapes are already my first recommendation for an effective, low cost  vaporizer.  For years, the Flowermate vaporizers have led the way in quality and price, but I think the Boundless vapes perform better and quicker while keeping the price very reasonable. We just might be looking at the next big hit in affordable, effective, portable vaporizers!

Thanks for reading,