Everyone loves a sequel, and the PAX 2 in particular brought a number of important quality of life improvements to an already successful vape. Whether you’re just joining the PAX family, or upgrading from the old model, our quickstart guide will take you from unboxing, all the way through your first session, with a few tips along the way.
What’s in the box
- PAX 2 Vaporizer
- Charging Dock
- USB Cable
- Cleaning Kit
- Two Mouthpieces
Charge before use
To charge your PAX 2, plug the cradle into any USB charging port, then set the PAX 2 on top, contacts down, and LED petals up. The magnets will guide it into the correct charging position. The number of lit petals indicates the current charge level. When they’re all lit, the battery is charged, and you’re ready to go. PAX claims this will take about three hours the first time around, but it will take less time on subsequent charges.
One button controls
In addition to displaying the battery charge, the petals also indicate the PAX 2’s current temperature status and setting. Press the button on top of the mouthpiece to turn it on. The lights will turn purple and flow upwards as the PAX 2 heats up, and turn green when it reaches your target temperature. To change the temperature, hold down the button for one second, press it to cycle through the different heat options, and shake to finalize your selection. The PAX 2 has four temperature setting to choose from:
One yellow petal - 360ºF (182ºC)
Two light orange petals - 380°F (193°C)
Three orange petals - 400°F (204°C)
Four red petals - 420ºF (216ºC)
Burnoff cycle
Before using the PAX 2 for the first time, we recommend running a burnoff cycle to make sure there’s nothing left in the vaporizer from manufacturing or shipping. With nothing in the oven, turn the PAX 2 on, and up to its highest heat setting (4 red petals). The PAX 2 automatically lowers its heat when it isn’t being used, so move it around occasionally to keep it active. If you set it down for around 30 seconds, the petals will turn blue and the oven will start to cool off. Picking it up, or touching the mouthpiece with your lip or finger, will cause it to heat back up quickly. Do this for 3-5 minutes, or until you don’t smell anything coming off the vape.
Very fine grind
The PAX 2 works best with a very fine grind, and we find the best way to achieve that is with a two-piece grinder. If you’d rather use your four-piece grinder, you can turn the top two tiers upside down to give your herbs more time between the teeth.
Packed extra tight
When you’re loading the oven, which is just the lower, bare metal portion, you really can’t pack it too tightly. You can use the edge of the oven lid to push it down and create a nice tight pack. If you don’t want to use enough to fill the oven, the half-pack lid can take up the extra space and keep everything from moving around.
Three to start, four to finish
For your first session, we recommend starting out on the third heat setting, or three red petals. That should produce a decent amount of visible vapor. As the session starts to thin out, you can raise it to the fourth heat setting to finish it off.
Short, light puffs
Once the lights turn green, you can start taking some puffs on the PAX 2. If you’re using the flat mouthpiece, place your lips around the edge of the vape, over the hole in the mouthpiece. Start with some short, light draws, like sipping on a cup of hot tea.
No stirring
As long as you space out your hits and stick with the slow, sipping draw speed, you shouldn't have to stir the PAX 2. If you notice your herbs aren’t coming out as dark as you’d like at the end of a session, leave it running at the hottest setting for fuller extraction.You may find that the herbs on top of the oven have a lighter color than the rest of the oven. This is normal.
Clean up right away
We’ll have a cleaning and maintenance guide up soon, but if you want to save yourself some time, make sure to dump out the oven right after each session, to prevent any buildup. The oven lid in particular tends to gather a lot of debris, and benefits from frequent cleaning. It’s normal for the oven’s color to change after the first few uses, and it won’t go back to that original look, even with cleaning.
Check out our PAX 2 Review for more information.
