Zeus Arc GTS Hub Review: Perfectly Podtastic

It’s been a long time since we’ve got wind of any news from the wizards over at Zeus Arsenal so you can imagine our surprise when they decided to drop the bomb on us in the form of the Zeus Arc GTS Hub. Belonging to the new wave of 3rd generation vaporizers, the Zeus Arc GTS Hub has a lot to live up to. With advanced technology comes a slightly higher price tag, if the Zeus Arc GTS is over your budget limit, another similar and great option is the Zeus Arc S. It may not have all the features that the GTS provides but comes at an extremely affordable price.

If you haven’t seen it already, we did an experiment to show the difference between vapor and comparison to smoke in a synthetic lung and the experiment was performed with the GTS. It went viral, so check it out.

Editors Note: The Zeus Arc GTS has been updated to the Zeus Arc GT3 Version.

Review: Zeus Arc GTS Hub

Table of contents

1. How it Works
2. Ease of Use
3. Temperature Flexibility
4. Vapor Quality
5. Manufacturing Quality
6. Battery Life
7. Portability
8. Discreetness
9. Overall Experience

Zeus Arc GT3

Rating:

95%

324  REVIEWS

USD 249.99

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How it Works

To get things started, we’ll have to take a good look at what comes included with the Zeus Arc GTS Hub and oh boy is there a lot to cover.  The Hub itself is a premium-feeling storage solution that holds the Zeus Arc GTS itself, a glass spacer, 15 Zeus ArcPods, and another new Zeus Arsenal creation, their patented Zeus Xtruder. The Hub itself also contains a tray that functions as a tool for opening or delidding already used ArcPods and gaining access to that yummy AVB (already vaped bud) which the tray is also conveniently designed to store.

One of the biggest changes that comes with the Zeus Arc GTS is its use of Zeus Arsenal’s own patented ArcPods which function as a sort of dosing capsule (but according to them, a lot more convenient). The key difference apparently is instead of loading the ArcPods manually or by hand, we’ll have the included Zeus Xtruder to help make the process more convenient. Spoiler alert: It’s awesome and makes grinding and loading dry herb a whole lot easier and more convenient but we’ll get into the details of that later down below. The paper lids on the ArcPods can also be bought separately in a Lid Pack for quick replacement.

Ease of Use

The Zeus Arc GTS is a no-brainer to use. The single power button functions as an off and on switch while also enabling to easily cycle between the available temperature presets by holding the power button.

Among all the dry herb vaporizers in the market, here’s where things get a bit interesting with the Arc GTS; the included Zeus Xtruder which functions as a grinder also directly loads freshly ground up dry herb straight into the ArcPods which very conveniently attaches to the tail end of the Xtruder. Another neat trick that Zeus Arsenal has somehow pulled off is that once the ArcPod has reached its optimal capacity, it simply pops off, letting you know that the ArcPod is ready to be loaded straight into the Zeus Arc GTS.

Using our caveman-like yet straightforward methodology, we weighed the ArcPods before and after filling them with dry herb via the Zeus Xtruder and the results were amazingly consistent. Exactly 0.3 grams of dry herb were loaded into the ArcPods each and every time.

We’ve found this to be incredibly convenient as loading up multiple ArcPods for numerous consecutive sessions has now proven to be a joy rather than a chore. With no mess or guesswork involved, the included Zeus Xtruder and ArcPod tandem does a great job at consistently grinding and loading dry herb with spectacular results. This fact alone makes the Zeus Arc GTS one of the best portable vaporizers to date. To check out the official rankings you can view our best of portable vaporizers ranking here.

For those that still prefer to do things manually, the Zeus Arc GTS does support loading dry herb directly into the heating chamber without use of the ArcPod. While the process is still relatively convenient compared to other dry herb vaporizers out there, using the ArcPods with the Zeus Arc GTS  really is a game changer when it comes to easily prepping your device for a session. Another thing to take note of is that a lower priced variant of the Arc GTS exists in the form of the Zeus Arc S Hub, which works exclusively with the Zeus ArcPods and does not support loading of loose dry herb. 

Getting smooth and satisfying draws from the Zeus Arc GTS mouthpiece is effortless. If you are looking to add water purification to your vapor, you can pair the GTS with the waterpipe adapter and Utillian 2 attachment that is included with the Utillian Bubbler. The added water filtration will enhance your vapor quality and provide smoother hits.

Temperature Flexibility

Straight out of the box, the Zeus Arc GTS features the same default temperature presets that its predecessor offered (205°C,| 215°C, and  225°C). The firmware can be updated and configured to suit your personal preferences via heading over to their website which allows you to select from a good variety of heating profiles depending on what works for you best. Even profiles best suited for use with the Zeus Iceborn are available.

The Zeus Arc GTS ramps up in temperature relatively quickly, averaging out at around 80 seconds before your session is ready to start which it conveniently informs you of via its haptic feedback or vibration feature. A motion sensor is also baked into the Zeus Arc GTS which shuts off the vaporizer after sensing 180 seconds of inactivity which can prove to be quite handy for the more forgetful folk out there.

Vapor Quality

At the risk of being labeled as shills, we really do have to say that the flavor and vapor output produced by the Zeus Arc GTS is unparalleled and most likely the best we’ve tried to date. Even at the max temperature setting of 225°C, we never found the vapor to be too harsh or warm. We believe most of this has something to do with the improved mouthpiece and vapor path design that comes with the Arc GTS. It does a great job at isolating the heat away from the components closest to your lips. 

Despite the Zeus Arc GTS being a portable vaporizer at nearly half the cost of expensive options such as the Volcano (which is the crème de la crème as far as dry herb vaporizing goes), it manages to keep up with the far more bulkier and more expensive counterparts in the market.

We do have to mention that the Zeus Arc GTS is a conduction-style vaporizer therefore if more vapor and flavor is what you’re concerned about then a device like the Utillian 722 is a much better option since its mechanisms are more geared towards providing more flavourful vapor. You can read our article on convection vs conduction to learn about the differences between the two.

Manufacturing Quality

Just like the old Arc GT, the Zeus Arc GTS Hub spares no expense when it comes to the build quality of the entire kit. The Zeus Hub which everything comes neatly packed is a plastic enclosure that manages to be lightweight yet incredibly rigid at the same time.

The Zeus Arc GTS itself features the same gold branding that we’ve come to know and love from the older Arc GT.  The outer shell of the Zeus Arc GTS features the same lightweight yet premium feeling alloy with a black hard-anodized finish that is very durable and can withstand a lot of abuse before scratching. In our opinion, it also plays very well with the gold accents found throughout the vaporizer and we’re huge fans of this design.

The included Zeus Xtruder features a predominantly plastic build (yes, it is food-grade)  with precision-made blades on the inside that work to quickly and effectively grind up dry herb. While the Xtruder doesn’t offer the same premium feel that the Zeus Arc GTS evokes, we do appreciate that it’s lightweight which brings down the overall weight of the entire Hub kit.

Battery Life

Considering the size of the Zeus Arc GTS is exactly the same as it’s older brother, the Arc GT, we weren’t really expecting any upgrade in this department and that’s just fine. The internal 3500mAh does a great job of going the distance and supplying more than enough sessions to get you by in a single day’s worth of use.

The Zeus ArcPods don’t hamper the heat up time at all and manage to facilitate heat transfer from the chamber to the dry herb stored inside fast enough so that you’ll spend more time vaping and less time waiting for your device to get up to temp. 

One thing left us slightly miffed though; the fact that the Zeus Arc GTS still uses a dated micro USB charging port. Zeus Arsenal mentioned however that an updated version is already in the works and USB C charging will be one of the included improvements to watch out for soon.

Portability

With the dimensions of the Zeus Arc GT measuring out to a mere 87mm x 42mm x 22.5mm, it’s easily one of the most compact dry herb vaporizers to fall under the high-powered vaporizer category. Carrying the Zeus Arc GTS in your pocket instead of the Zeus Hub is easily done as it’s roughly ? the overall size of equivalently capable portable dry herb vaporizers in its performance bracket such as the Mighty+.

Using the Zeus Hub does simplify things however as it already features custom cut outs for all the included components such as the Zeus Xtruder and up to 30 ArcPods altogether. The Hub also features an AVB storage tray that doubles as an opener for used ArcPods for easy delidding, even when on the move.

Discreetness

With the sleek black exterior finish of both the Zeus Hub and the Zeus Arc GTS, the entire kit easily flies under the radar when taking it on excursions outside the privacy of one’s home. The smaller form factor of the Zeus Arc GTS greatly contributes to this and medium to larger palmed users should have no difficulty with keeping their vaping sessions on the down low when used in public.

Make sure to keep that vapor output in check however, as the Arc GTS does pack quite a punch. Bystanders are surely going to notice the clouds that this thing produces if you decide to vape with the high temperature settings offered.

An important metric to take into consideration when ranking a device based off of discreetness is the odor that it leaves. Keep in mind, 3rd generation vaporizers are the best when it comes to hiding smell and overall staying clean, the reason being that they use Arcpods. If you’d like to learn more about vaporizers and their smell, you can check our article here.

Overall Experience

There’s a whole lot to love and not much to complain about with the Zeus Arc GTS Hub. 

Price is important to most vaporizer users. Considering vaporizers help save you money, I still prefer the GTS to the S hub, despite the price difference. The GTS offers the option to use ArcPods as well as dry herb, making the GTS the more versatile option.

We’re hugely appreciative of the fact that it serves to be an all in one solution that provides everything you’ll ever need for a dry herb vaporizer. Everything from the Zeus Hub that functions as storage, to the Zeus Xtruder that provides high-quality grinds straight into the ArcPods for easy loading. It all just warrants a huge chef’s kiss. Let’s just hope that the USB C version comes soon enough.

If you’re looking for a portable and high powered alternative to stationary desktop vaporizers that doesn’t compromise on quality one bit, the Zeus Arc GTS Hub is it, chief. Let’s not forget that compared to every other portable vaporizer, the Arc GTS is a lot easier to use. The entire package is just so well thought of and amazingly put together we can’t help but fanboy even harder for what the folks over at Zeus Arsenal have yet to offer. 

If you’re looking for the pod-only variant of the Zeus Arc GTS which offers a more budget-friendly price point, head right on over to our Zeus Arc S Hub.

Still on the fence with regards to vaporization? Check out our vapor vs smoke demonstration for a cool sneak peek of the potential effects of both when inhaled!