Arizer Solo Review

The Solo is a portable vaporizer by Canadian manufacturer Arizer, and while it’s been out for several years it’s still one of the best portable options around. In this review, we’re going to tell you exactly what we think about it, both the good as well as the bad.

When it comes to portables, there is an ever growing selection to choose from, but in our opinion, only a select few of the models we’ve tested have been impressive. While it may come as a surprise to some, the somewhat bulky Solo is one of those options. It doesn’t matter that it’s been around for a while, it still maintains its status as one of the best portable vaporizers on the market, and the primary reason is simple: it just works…and reliably so. This might sound trite, but the fact of the matter is a lot of the portables on the market just don’t work that well. They either produce poor tasting vapor, or thin vapor, or they operate at least partially by way of conduction than true convection vaporization. With the Solo, none of these variables are issues.

The Arizer Solo uses an intelligent vapor pathway design that ensures the vapor is always clean and tasty, which is definitely something we cannot say for every portable we’ve tried. The reason for this is due to basic fundamentals – build quality and construction materials. The bowl itself, or heating chamber, is constructed from stainless steel and the mouthpiece is glass, both inert materials that do not affect vapor taste. This combination ensures that the entire vapor pathway is devoid of any materials that might adulterate or distort the flavor and purity of the vapor. With this in mind, we give the quality of vapor it produces one of the highest ratings possible for any portable tested.

But purity and flavor aren’t the only variables we took into account when analyzing the quality of the Solo’s vapor. We also examined density. While many of the portables we’ve tested just don’t seem capable of producing dense vapor, the Solo does not fail this test. If you’ve ever taken a puff off a portable and been displeased with the light and thin vapor you’ll be pleased to know that this particular portable can actually produce the thick, dense vapor clouds you’re after.

Although we believe the Solo’s vapor to be amongst the purist around, we’re not oblivious to the complaints of some users who claim it emits a somewhat rank odor upon initial use. With this in mind, we want to state that with many vapes there is an initial odor upon first use, and the Solo is no exception. When you first heat it up you may notice this odor. But as we advise with all new vapes you should always make a point to run it through an entire heat cycle before loading and vaping. Simply turn it on, set it on the highest temperature setting, and allow it to run without using it. Do this until any odor you may notice is gone. Any odor that you may perceive is primarily due to oils leftover from the manufacturing process which may remain inside the heating chamber. Simply burn them off before loading your blend for use. While the initial odor that we noticed was somewhat faint, it was there. Fortunately, with some heat cycling we were able to quickly get rid of it, and after that, it was nothing but dense and delicious vapor for all to enjoy.

It’s not clear what percentage of the new units are affected by this but regardless of the number we always advise anyone who purchases a new vape to heat cycle it before use. This will help ensure a pleasant vaping experience the first time it’s used. So if you just picked one up, remember to do this or you may otherwise be in for an unpleasant surprise during your initial session.

The Solo has multiple temperature options ranging from 122°F to 410°F. In total, there are seven different settings to choose from so finding a setting or settings that work for you should prove to be a non-issue. For us, we like to start out low and get some really tasty initial draws, but as the session progresses, we like to bump up the temperature and really get our money’s worth. By the end of a session, the remains of our blend always look nicely browned, indicating they’ve been efficiently vaporized.

When loading the Solo, we always grind our dried blends before loading. And to ensure an efficient vaporization process we always pack it loosely. We suggest you do the same.

Solo vaporizers come with a couple of different stems to choose from. The one we like most is the angled variant, as opposed to the straight tube. They both work great but the angled one is a little more comfortable for us. Whichever one you choose to use, you should always insert a screen. While there is a built-in glass “screen”, the holes are big enough for some debris to make it through, which is why we suggest placing an additional screen in there. Your typical pipe screen should do the trick.

Using the device is really easy and relatively straightforward. You load it up, turn it on, select your temperature, and once it heats up, you begin to vape. Simple as that.

As far as portability is concerned, the Arizer Solo isn’t the smallest or the lightest, but it is highly portable. It’s a bit bulky, but you can still fit it into most pockets or any backpack or purse. As it runs on a rechargeable battery, it’s nice to keep the charger handy if you have room. But even if you don’t, there’s no need to worry as a fully charged battery offers about 4 hours of vape time, which is plenty to get the job done, and then some.

With all things considered, the Solo is one of the best portable vaporizers for the money. It tastes great, works well, and is everything that it claims to be. Best of all, it’s relatively inexpensive. If you want to pick one up for yourself, we suggest you buy it from this store.