Pulsar APX 2 Vape Dry Herb Vaporizer Review – Improved?

How it Works

One great thing about the Pulsar APX 2 Vape is how easy it is to use. It has a simple build with minimal parts, making it a great vaporizers for first-time users or those looking for low tech tools. To pack your vape, first remove the ergonomically-improved mouthpiece. Load your flower into the chamber, making sure not to pack too tightly, and replace the mouthpiece.

Press the power button five times to turn on the vaporizer. To change between its 5 temperature settings, hold the button for 3 seconds to begin cycling through and release to choose your setting on the LED screen. To hit the pen, hold down the power button and inhale through the mouthpiece. You can also change the temperature settings while vaping, which is a great feature when searching for your desired temp.

Temperature Flexibility

Like the Utillian 421, the updated Pulsar APX 2 Dry Herb Vaporizer comes with 5 temperature settings, beginning at 180°C and increasing by 10° up to 220°C. Again, we appreciate the wide range of temperature options. Having pre-set temps also saves us time, as we don’t have to go through as many options to find our sweet spots.

However, the fact that we had to circle through temperatures by holding down the button rather than maneuver them with one simple press took a while to get used to. It’s frustrating to mess up, miss your desired temp, and have to wait for the LEDs to cycle through again.

Vapor Quality

For what it’s worth, the Pulsar APX 2 has average vapor quality. But let’s face it: if you’re looking to make some clouds, we would suggest going with something more like the Utillian 722. We weren’t expecting anything crazy from the vaporizer considering what we paid, but we were still content with the clean taste it produced.

The APX Vape features what Pulsar calls an “improved silicone cooling system,” though vapor doesn’t have much time to cool down at all. Unlike the Firefly 2+, which places your herb chamber at the opposite end of the vaporizer from the mouthpiece, the APX Dry Herb Vaporizer is packed right underneath the mouthpiece. This results in hits that are sometimes too hot, but we found this can easily be fixed just by putting the temperature on the lowest setting.

The silicone-lined mouthpiece also gets really sticky really fast, which affects the flavor of the vapor as you inhale. It’s also pretty tricky to clean, which is a major downfall to the vaporizer’s performance.

Manufacturing Quality

The APX has added many improvements to its manufacturing quality, and though we’re not crazy about the cleanliness of the silicone-lined mouthpiece, it does beat the original stainless screen. The new shape feels more natural in your mouth, and the design improves airflow, which results in better hits.

We love the new LED screen user interface. Being able to read the temperatures on a screen beats the first version’s LED lights, which indicated temperatures marked on the back of the vaporizer. Though temperature selection can still be irritating at first, it’s also made easier (and definitely more readable). Nevertheless, we’re still hoping to see a full on digital display on future versions similar the one that can be found on the Arizer Solo ii.

As we mentioned, we definitely think Pulsar paid attention to customer reviews when redesigning their APX Dry Herb vaporizer. It still has just one button, which was a fan-favorite for its ease of use, but the button is now rubber rather than metal. It’s a small change, but a simple one that results in a better feel and a more confident user since you can more easily hear the button being pressed.

The vaporizer also comes in 9 different colors, ranging from black to rainbow tye-dye, so there’s sure to be a style that you like on the market. Users usually tend to prefer the Zeus Arc GTS Hub for its exceptional manufacturing quality featuring a gold plated vapor path.

Battery Life

Pulsar really didn’t change anything about the battery, sticking with the standard 1600 mAh lithium battery. Charge time is around 90 minutes, which is also about the length of its battery life. But considering that the pen is only 4 inches tall, it’s not a bad usage time.

However, if you’re in the market for something that lasts you the whole day, we suggest checking out the Zeus Arc S Hub. This unit can offer up to two times the battery life of the APX Vape.

Portability

One of the most appealing features of the APX Vape is how portable it is just like the Davinci Miqro. At just four inches, it’s only a little bigger than your standard lighter.

It’s easy to take with you on almost any occasion, and the wide range of color choices allows you to show some of your personality off in the vaporizer.

We think the price makes this an even more portable vaporizer — you don’t have to fear dropping or losing it as much because it wasn’t such a heavy investment. Either way, you can use a Zeus Armor to avoid any loss at all.

Ease of Use

There’s one button on the side, an LED screen displaying two different colored icons (temperature and battery level), and a mouthpiece on top. In the world of technologically-advanced vaporizers, the Pulsar APX 2 Vape really doesn’t get much simpler than this.

We had some trouble cleaning the silicone-lined mouthpiece, but we appreciate that Pulsar includes both a cleaning tool and an extra mouthpiece. The chamber is made of ceramic similar to the Focus V Pro, which is easy to maintain. Overall, we think this is a great vaporizer for first-time users because of its simplicity.

Discreetness

Fitting in the palm of your hand, it’s hard not to be discreet with the APX Vape. Unlike some vaporizers like the Arizer Solo 2, it fits anywhere, it’s easy to carry around, and, if you clean it regularly, odor won’t stick to it. We suggest vaping at low temperatures to avoid more pungent vapor clouds, though.

Overall Experience

If you read our older Pulsar vape review, you’d know that the OG APX had some glaring issues. Pulsar has done a nice job with this face lift addressing some of the issues we had with the original APX 2, it does still feel cheap overall and we don’t love the silicone mouthpiece and airpath but it does the job.

Those who’ve read our Pax review or are familiar with Pax vaporizers will find some similarity in their overall aesthetic and functionality albeit with slightly better build quality.

The updates to this vaporizer are sweet and noticeable, but may not be worth it for users who already own the original APX. And first-time buyers would be advised to check out the Utillian  420 or our Solo 2 review, both of which offer a coveted glass mouthpiece for optimal flavour and a true digital display to monitor temperature settings and battery life.

For those looking for a dry herb vaporizer with the same form factor and portability that the APX 2 offers, consider checking out our DaVinci Miqro review.

We’ve also made some recent changes for this year’s best portable vaporizer rankings so you should definitely check that out if you’re looking for the latest scoop on what to get right now!

If you have questions about our Pulsar APX 2 Vaporizer review or just want to let us know what you think, feel free to drop us a comment below! Thanks for reading and as always, keep vapin’!