The Boundless Tera is finally here, and looks to be worth the wait, with a strong feature set for its CAD$226 price tag. The Tera’s full-convection heating can efficiently pump out big clouds that taste great, and sports user-replaceable, dual-18650 batteries. It’s a little big, barely fitting in our pockets, but is shaping up to be a great value that could be the only vaporizer you need for home and abroad.
Boundless Tera Vaporizer (V3)
C$229.95
The Boundless Tera packs a punch with user-replaceable batteries.
- Flavorful hits
- Efficient
- Dual 18650 batteries
- Digital temperature control
- Great on a bubbler!
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The Tera’s strong suit is big clouds - the first draw is all taste and from there it gets thick. It uses full convection heating that doesn’t cook your herbs between draws so the good taste lasts longer, and the heater stays on during the sessions for consistent hits.
The Tera is strong enough to deliver vapor on draws as short as three seconds, but saves the biggest rewards for the biggest pulls. When we draw longer, the heat builds so the vapor gets thicker, and the air flow is open enough to deliver lots of big clouds. This kind of performance really shines on a bubbler, and the Tera comes with an included water pipe adapter that could have you reaching for this vaporizer instead of your desktop.
Take the worry out of battery life
The Tera has battery life covered with around 50 minutes of runtime, or ten sessions, per charge from its two user replaceable batteries (30 amp, 2500 mAh 18650 each), but no pass-through charging. We tried to anyhow and found it will charge while running, but we’re gonna side with Boundless and recommend against it since it’s rough on batteries. It takes about three hours to charge the batteries in the Tera, so we suggest power users get an external charger and one or two extra sets of batteries to avoid down time.
Ready in under 30 seconds
Quick sessions anywhere are the Tera’s strength. While testing for this review, we reached any temperature we wanted in 21 to 27 seconds, and even on its last drop of battery power it clocked a 29 second heat up time. The first pull is light and tasty as the herbs in the bowl reach temperature, but after that the clouds come rolling in.
Easy to use and share
The Tera is pretty easy to use with one LED screen and three unlabeled buttons that do it all including switching between celsius and fahrenheit, flipping the display, and changing temperature and heat modes. It’s a good control scheme, and we flipped the display so the down button was to the left of the screen. Best of all, sharing is a breeze since there’s no technique - just take a draw!
Relaxed, efficient sessions
Stirring can be a real drag in the middle of a session, but the Tera bypasses that issue with the right pack (filled with a gentle tamp). And on those occasions when we overpack, we just pop off the mouthpiece and cover the oven with our thumb, since it doesn’t get hot there, and shake the Tera a couple of times to stir the herbs. Sessions are relaxing since the Tera doesn’t cook your herbs between hits, letting you take the next draw at your leisure.
Inaccurate but consistent temperature control
When you start a draw on the Boundless Tera the actual temperature is significantly lower than the set temperature and it heats up rapidly to make up for it. The temperature climbs during a draw so longer hits can reach higher temperatures than shorter ones, and a ten second hit on 370° F can feel more like 410° F. While the temperature may be inaccurate, performance is consistent so we can use the settings as more of a guide than gospel.
In a surprising twist, the concentrate setting seems to run a little cooler than the 500° F set point and doesn’t get that hot no matter how long the draw. This probably won’t matter to most users as they find their favorite settings regardless of the readout, but medicinal users that need to zero in on specific effects might be better served with something like the Mighty vaporizer.
Needs help with extracts
The Tera shows up ready to vaporize anything, but needs a little help with extracts. Stainless steel mesh pads have become standard with portable dry herb vaporizers that want to crossover into concentrates, but the one included with the Tera is too compact and doesn’t absorb the oils well enough. We had better luck using a Storz & Bickel Mighty Solid Concentrate Pad, which happens to fit snugly in the Tera’s bowl. The concentrate mode is set for 500F, but it felt a little cooler than that and savvy users might find hidden clouds vaping extracts on the highest dry herb setting instead.
Comfortable but barely pocketable size
At a little over four inches tall and two inches wide, the Tera lives right on the edge of pocketability while its curvy shape fits nicely in the hand. It’s about the size of the Arizer Solo 2 but with a better feel, and without the separate glass stems so it’s more portable. The all-in-one design includes a swivel-out mouthpiece so you can throw the Tera into a bag, purse, cargo pants pocket, or even a pants front pocket if you don’t mind the bulge. No, I’m not happy to see you - that’s a Tera in my pocket.
Dimensions
Height 4.25 in / 10.8 cm
Width 2.25 in / 5.7 cm
Depth 1.5 in / 3.8 cm
Weight 10 oz / 284 g
Feels seriously tough
Solid. The Tera is almost the size and weight of a can of soda and feels like we’re picking up a rock. If we threw it at something, we would be as concerned for whatever it hit as we would the vaporizer. The casing is made of metal and plastic, and the magnetic connections are plenty strong. We dropped it on the concrete once and the battery cover and mouthpiece flew off, but it kept on trucking after we put it back together.
With the first two releases of the Tera botched by materials choices, it’s safe to say this vape has undergone as much scrutiny on the internals as any other vaporizer on the market. Today’s version looks really good with nothing but ceramic and stainless steel used in the heater.
A young but checkered past
In case you haven’t been following along, this is the third release of the Tera, sometimes referred to as V3. The first two versions had questionable heater materials causing redesigns, and this third version has been cleaned up with only ceramic and stainless steel in the heater. The entire debacle was embarrassing for Boundless, for sure, but we’ve been impressed with their responses and if you can look beyond those gaffes, we think you’ll find a pretty good vaporizer in the Tera.
What's in the box
Two (2) 2500 mAh 18650 Batteries
Micro-USB Cable
Extra Glass Mouthpiece
Universal Water Pipe Adapter
Cleaning Brush
Stirring Tool
Two (2) Extra Mouthpiece Screens
Five (5) Extra Chamber Screens
Concentrate Pad
Owner's Manual
Warranty Card
Three year warranty
Boundless covers the Tera with a three year warranty on any workmanship and defects, and covers the battery for 90 days. Like all of our products, the Boundless Tera is also covered by the Planet of the Vapes 100% Satisfaction Guarantee.
Typical maintenance
Maintenance for the Tera is pretty standard with only an oven and mouthpiece parts to clean. Everything comes apart and is easy to get to, and deep cleanings are less frequent if you regularly brush out the oven and wipe off the mouthpiece screen after each session. The Tera’s outer plastic coating will dissolve in isopropyl alcohol, so be careful not to get it on the outside of the vaporizer.
Who is the Tera for?
The Tera is a good portable vaporizer for someone who wants to take big draws that deliver big clouds. It’s easy to share with friends and excels on a bubbler with the included water pipe adapter. The performance is strong enough to be the only vape you need for home and the road, and the full convection heating saves herbs and taste for the next draw while the removable batteries keep the party going.
Who is the Tera not for?
The Tera is not discreet with its barely-portable size and big clouds, and people who can only take short puffs less than three seconds long should look elsewhere, like the Boundless CFX or PAX 3. Instead of zeroing in on a specific temperature during draws, the Tera moves through a temperature range, forcing users who need specific temperatures for specific effects to look elsewhere.
Our take
Boundless answers the call for a convection portable vaporizer with the Tera, and we think it brings solid value to the table. It’s a little on the big side, but lower priced than most of the other convection portable choices and is easy to use for big clouds. With several on-demand portable vaporizers coming to market with steep learning curves, the Boundless Tera offers an easier, session-based way to enjoy portable convection heating.