Arizer Air MAX vs. AirVape Legacy Pro

Should you buy the Air MAX for the Legacy Pro?

As two of the newest portable dry herb vaporizers of 2022, the AirVape Legacy Pro and Arizer Air MAX have been at the top of connoisseur’s lists for their powerful convection heating and overall modern features.

With that being said, which should you buy?

In this comparison review, I’ll be breaking down their key features to help you understand how they work and as well what sets them apart so that you can get the best device for yourself.

Without further ado – Let’s strap on some overalls and crawl into this rabbit hole.

Specs and ratings

Heating System Comparison

• For the Air MAX, it uses a glass stem mouthpiece design that has become synonymous with Arizer Vaporizers.

Once you load your chamber filled with herb into the stainless steel oven, a ceramic heater will begin to conduct heat, as well as heat the air that will be pulled up through your dry herb.

• For the Legacy Pro, your air is brought in from the air port right beside the oven and passes through your herb on the way to the glass airpath.

For the conduction side of things, there is a gold-plated oven similar to the ceramic-lined oven on the Mighty+.

Because there are tons of airflow ports in the oven and on the screens throughout the device, it makes inhaling much easier than on the Air Max’s 4 small air intake holes in the oven.

Vapor Quality Review

In terms of vapor quality, the Air MAX produces excellent flavor for half your session before dropping off.

The oven is overall quite efficient and strong, and you’ll be able to finish your bowl within a five-minute timer.

One place where the Arizer excels is ‘temp stepping’ by starting at a lower temperature, then slowly raising your temperature throughout your session. From start to finish, you’ll be able to get big clouds and easier inhales using this method.

For the Legacy Pro, the vapor quality is some of the smoothest on the market, side-by-side with the Mighty+ in my opinion. One thing to know is that the oven tends to run a little hot, so I stick to 30C / 40F lower than what I would normally run on another device.

For both vapes, the air path is quite clean and you’re going to get a lot of taste from your terpenes, as well as huge clouds if you want to.

The mouthpiece on the ALP is made from ceramic and is comfortable to use, while the Air Max uses a lengthy glass stem similar to a straw which helps to cool down your vapor a bit before you inhale.

Which vape has the better extraction?

For overall bud extraction, I would give the nod to the Legacy Pro for the sake of this comparison, as the Air Max uses quite a slow extraction process.

Although the MAX’s oven isn’t as strong as the ALP’s, it does a better job at maintaining your set temperature, leaving how fast you want your extraction completely up to you.

For the ALP, the extraction on your herb is a little uneven. Sometimes you will combust at only 380F / 193C – I’ve even had a burnt taste in the oven as low as 380F / 160C. Despite this, the vapor is for the most part always cool, just know that your herb efficiency and extraction is a little less uneven than the Air Max’s.

Can they both only vape flower?

• In short, the Air Max can only do flowers, while the ALP can do both flower and small amounts of wax effectively.

While you can vape a little bit of hash using the ‘sandwich method’ on the Air Max, sticky concentrates like wax or shatter aren’t recommended as they will melt down into the heating element and possibly cause damage.

For the ALP, you’ll have an included concentrate mesh pad insert for the oven which will help your concentrates melt down. As well as having a high temperature of 464 / 230C in ‘wax mode’ which will give you an overall better experience.

They aren’t the most portable

In terms of portability, these definitely aren’t the best options on the market. Both units are quite bulky, heavy, and overall not the best for pockets. They are better for staying in your house and only traveling between rooms, similar to a desktop vaporizer.

• The ALP comes in at 0.6 lbs, while the Air Max is about half that weight, mainly coming from its hefty 26650 battery.

Two small knocks on both units are that their mouthpieces tend to be a bit hit or miss.

• The Arizer’s glass aroma tube can become prone to falling out over time as the gaskets holding the glass in place begin to wear out over time.
• For the ALP, the ceramic mouthpiece tends to be quite loose and prone to falling because of the loose-fitting rubber gasket. There are even stories of users losing their mouthpieces from small bumps in their pockets that caused the mouthpiece to fall off.

Both bowls can also be a bit annoying to try and change out in public, especially on the Arizer since it’s easy to forget that the bottom of the glass mouthpiece will be very hot after a session.

For the ALP, the bowl is accessed through the swinging door design and can be pretty annoying to load as there are tons of nooks and crannies for your herbs to get stuck into, and you’ll have to retrieve the brush to get it all out. If you run a full session, your herb will come out in a neatly baked ‘cake’ which is quite handy if you like to store your AVB for edibles. Hopefully, Airvape will release dosing capsules soon which will help with chamber reloading efficiency.

Battery Comparison

The Air MAX is the better device for outright battery power as you’ll get close to 2.5 hours from a full charge. That’s not to say that the ALP is far behind, as its 1.5 hours of runtime and wireless charging capabilities are equally impressive.

Build Quality Review

These two vapes are extremely well made, and I say that with confidence.

They both use an aluminum shell, have good quality mouthpieces, and use informative and easy OLED screens for your precision temperature control and other setting adjustments.

• The one complaint I do see repeatedly online about the AirVape Legacy Pro is that the airpath runs right along the 18650 battery, which connoisseurs dislike for the fact that it could heat the battery and damage it over time.

One place where the ALP shines is its ability to run on-demand heating due to its strong oven and fast heat-up times. It’s a trait that the connoisseurs had been asking for manufacturers for years, and Airvape truly delivered without any issues.

Which is easier to use?

For the Air MAX, the key is to get a medium grind gently stamped with your thumb into the glass stem chamber, as this will determine how good your vapor is. After that, it’s as simple as pressing the m and up buttons at the same time and then pressing the up or down arrow once to begin heating. In 50 seconds, you’ll have your vape ready to be inhaled from.

For the AirVape, there are two ways to use the vaporizer which you can alternate between by pressing the up and down arrows at the same time for a few seconds:

1. On-Demand Mode
2. Session Mode

In on-demand mode, your unit will only heat up while you hold the power button down, while in session mode the heating will be automatic. The heating is incredibly fast on the ALP which combined with the strong heating capabilities makes the ALP extremely time efficient for clearing a bowl.

Water Pipe Compatibility

The Legacy Pro isn’t very compatible to be hit through the water as the mouthpiece is far too weak to support the heavy load on something like a Mega Globe Whip Bubbler. Airvape’s current WPA listed on their site is a glass adapter that fits around the ceramic mouthpiece. In my opinion, they should make a version that has four quadrants that wrap around the body of the vape.

On the other hand, the Air MAX comes ready out of the box for water use because of the included Arizer 14mm Bong Adapter Mouthpiece. As well as this, the OLED screen will invert when your vape is upside down so that you’ll still be able to read the information when it’s attached to a bong. Although we only have an improv bong adapter available for testing with the ALP, I can’t see the official version being much more stable anyways.

Tips and Tricks

Air MAX

• Make sure you utilize the swappable battery feature if you’re a heavy user
• Pick up some Orange Chronic to make cleaning the mouthpiece a breeze
• Make sure to utilize the 14mm WPA included in the kit by picking up vaporizer bubblers and bongs like the Mega Globe Whip Bubbler
• Slowly raise your temperature throughout your session to ensure good vapor quality

ALP

• There is an included pick tool on the battery tray door that you can use to help clean out the oven
• The brush will be your main cleaning tool for the ALP
• Make sure to give the on-demand mode a try

Kit Comparisons

Arizer Air Max Reddit Opinion

The Air Max is one of the most loved devices on forums, with the only few complaints I’ve seen is that it didn’t improve too much on the overall design of the Air 2 or the features of the Solo 2.

AirVape Legacy Pro Reddit Opinion

The AirVape Legacy Pro has mostly favorable reviews on Reddit and other popular forums like FuckCombustion and for good reason! The vapor is super cool and the oven is one of the strongest currently on the market behind only maybe the TinyMight 2. It’s been a slow process, but the ALP seems to have finally won more stubborn converts from the Mighty+ recently.

Manufacturer Reputations

Both companies have a solid reputation when it comes to honoring warranty claims, with the main complaint that we get as an Authorized Arizer Retailer being something missing or damaged in shipping, which is almost always promptly replaced by Arizer. Gary from AirVape is also great on the AirVape customer service side of things, replacing faulty parts and answering any questions that you may have.

Air MAX Pros and Cons

• ✅ Clean Air Path
• ✅ Reputable and Reliable Manufacturer
• ✅ Even Bowl Extraction
• ✅Bong Ready Adapter Included + Upside Down Screen Inversion
• 🚫 Glass Mouthpiece Prone to breaking and not being pocketable
• 🚫 Draw Restriction can be tight if Improperly Packed
• 🚫 Flavor goes away halfway through your Sessions
• 🚫 Long charging time
• 🚫 Hard to reload chamber on the go

ALP Pros and Cons

• ✅ Powerful hybrid oven
• ✅ Little draw resistance
• ✅ Effective On-Demand and Concentrate Modes
• ✅ Wireless Charging Capable
• 🚫 Hard to reload chamber on the go
• 🚫 Flimsy mouthpiece
• 🚫Chamber reducer needs improvement / No dosing capsules released yet
• 🚫Steep learning curve for best results

Final Thoughts

As these are two of the best portable vaporizers with premium price tags of over $200, they offer some of the best vapor quality and are great for heavy users that will love to finetune their sessions to find their perfect setups.

With that being said, there are more accessories available for the Air MAX to help your setup than there are with the AirVape.

In conclusion, I definitely wouldn’t say that you’re making a wrong choice with either of these vapes – The Air Max just edges out a victory because it’s been out longer and has better worked out its kinks than the Legacy Pro has.

Overall, there are just a few things missing from the AirVape that hold it back from being the best it can be.

• For me, that means proper dosing capsules, a more sturdy mouthpiece, and better functioning water pipe connections.

If you’ve been sitting on your older model Arizer like the Air 2 or Solo 2, the Air Max is going to be a nice little upgrade, so be sure to look out for promos by signing up for our Tools420 newsletter!

Also be sure to check out the individual reviews:

• AirVape Legacy Pro Review 
• Arizer Air MAX Review