XMAX V3 Pro vs Arizer ArGo

Which dry herb vaporizer should you buy?

If you’ve been in the market for a new budget vapor, then most likely you have come across the XMAX V3 Pro. It’s a great option that runs on a powerful pure convection heater. As the lesser-known of the three popular Arizer portable vaporizers, the Arizer Go has been quietly becoming a fan favorite across the community for its super consistent results in a super portable vaporizer. Each vaporizer has a very close price and vapor quality – So what sets them apart from one another? In this review, we’ll be comparing and contrasting each vaporizer to keep you to do date and informed on the latest and greatest comparisons hitting the markets.

Key Features Comparison

First, let’s start with their similarities. Each vaporizer sports a swappable 18650 battery that will last 90 minutes of use on the ArGo, and about 45 minutes on the XMAX V3 Pro. Each vape is extremely easy to use, and their vapor quality are top-notch. One of the only major differences is that the ArGo is a much more laid-back type of hybrid (convection and conduction) extraction whereas the XMAX focuses much more on THC extraction in a short period of time with pure conduction heating.

XMAX V3 Pro Convection Heating vs. ArGo Hybrid Heating

The ArGo uses a hybrid heating system that first relies on hot air passing through the chamber at first to begin the THC extraction which then becomes conduction with time as the glass chamber heats up with what the community refers to as a ‘heat-soak’. After about a minute from the point that the display temperature first reached its set temperature is when the vapor quality will really go up as the conduction heating increases and the hybrid heating really begins to take effect. You’ll be able to control the temperature with the small OLED screen display and up and down arrows between a wide range of 45 – 220°C (112ºF to 428ºF). While the oven material is made from stainless steel, the ArGo uses the same glass stem chamber mouthpiece design that Arizer has become well known for that works by loading the chamber with about 0.2g of a medium grind. Included in the kit are four-chamber screens, and you can choose to use these if you’d like for use with a finer grind so that it doesn’t move past the four air intake holes on the stem that can also become clogged.

The XMAX uses a more straightforward design for its heating by relying on supercharged hot air that will run through the massive air intakes, up into the heating element below the chamber, and then right up through the chamber. While there have been some doubts about if the electronics are fully air-tight sealed to make it a true isolated air path or not, the fact remains clear that this thing is a #BowlDemolisher. The max session timer only runs up to six minutes for a reason, as this thing can clear its 0.3g bowl in around four minutes without rushing.

XMAX V3 Pro vs. ArGo – Dab Compatibility

With the ArGo, you’ll be able to use small amounts of concentrates by using the sandwich method which entails placing a small amount of dab in between clumps of the ground flower. It’s still going to gum up the bottom of the stainless steel and the vapor quality won’t be the best, but something’s still better than nothing.

Using dabs with the XMAX V3 Pro is much easier than the ArGo with the help of an XMAX V3 Pro Wax Cup. This will let you keep all of your concentrate in one secure spot that won’t dirty your chamber up. With longer inhales, the bowl will get continually warmer above the set 430F meaning that long and slow inhales using the wax cup is a super good way to vaporize your dabs.

Arizer ArGo Vapor Quality

As a brand, Arizer vaporizers have become well-known for their flavor due to their isolated air paths of glass air paths providing no flavor interference with your dry herb. There aren’t going to be any cheap materials that could affect the taste of the vapor, a problem that the old GPen devices had by using parts like cheap rubber mouthpieces. Seeing as most users will wait 30 seconds past the device reaching its set temperature for a proper heat soak of the chamber, your first few inhales are going to be packed full of terpenes, and you’ll get a quality roast that you’ll get from quality dry herb vapes. As the session goes on, you’ll get more of the conduction heating kicking in as opposed to just the hot air passing through the chamber, which means that vapor production will really ramp up the longer a session goes. You’ll still have to wait a few seconds if you’re wanting to take back-to-back big hits, but overall you’ll have great terpenes throughout your session.

On the XMAX, the heating exclusively relies on convection as hot air is taken in, heated under the chamber, and then sent up through your cannabis and up through the mouthpiece as vapor. As we mentioned in our XMAX V3 Pro Review, the vapor tends to run much higher than what you have set as during inhales the temperature will continually climb with the rushing air through the chamber. As a tip, we recommend running the temperature 20C/F lower than what normally would on other devices while using long and slow inhales to get the best vapor quality possible. While the powerful convection heating does take away from the overall vapor quality due to the loss of terpenes, the V3 Pro can pump out some of the biggest clouds on the market thanks to its supreme airflow.

XMAX V3 Pro vs. Argo – Battery Life

With the Arizer ArGo, you’ll get 90 minutes of battery life from the 3400mAh battery & on the XMAX V3 Pro, you’ll get about 45 minutes of battery life from the 2600mAh battery.

The main difference here is the XMAX is much more focused on pumping out heat. The ArGo sessions come with a session timer of ten minutes out of the box and if you’re sipping casually, you can easily hit that number. The XMAX session time of six minutes will rarely be needed as you’ll be able to clear a fully packed bowl in as little as four minutes. The good thing about the V3 Pro in this comparison though is the USB-C port which will allow you to charge your vape with a battery bank if you carry one in your vape case.

Ease of use comparison

By far, the easier vaporizer to use in this comparison is the ArGo as the glass stem mouthpiece design is almost foolproof. Just take out the glass, load it in your 0.2g of medium grind, and then place it back into the vaporizer. From there, just hold the M and + arrows for five seconds, set your temperature with the up or down arrows, and the device will automatically begin heating. With a heat-up time of 30-60 seconds and sessions lasting around 8 minutes, users can lay back and have a relaxing session. By pressing the M button while it’s on, you can also tweak settings like screen brightness, power timer settings, and volume.

With the XMAX, there is much more of a learning curve to perfect your sessions. Operating it though is quite simple as all you’ll need to do is remove the plastic magnet-attached plastic mouthpiece to have access to the 0.25g chamber. Finding your ideal temperature, grind style, and right mouthpiece for yourself will be a whole other task, though. As the mouthpiece can be a bit awkward, the first one I’d suggest trying is the XMAX Glass Mouthpiece. It’s a lot more practical and just feels better to inhale from, as well as being compatible with the DynaVap Fat Mouthpiece for an easy 14mm water pipe adapter. To turn the vape on, just press the power button three times and it will automatically begin heating in session mode. To swap to on-demand mode, just press the up and down arrows at the same time. Swap between Fahrenheit and Celsius by pressing the power and down button, and once your temperature has been reached, you can swap between session timers of 4 to 6 minutes by pressing the power and up button.

Which is easier to clean?

On the Arizer ArGo, the only thing that will get dirty is the glass mouthpiece and bottom of the stainless steel oven. An iso Q-tip will do the trick for small resin buildups and knocking out the chamber, and when your stem becomes yellowed, you can give it a quick rinse in some Orange Chronic Glass Cleaner to get it back to looking normal in just seconds.

With the XMAX V3 Pro, you’ll also be able to simply use Q tips on everything that may get dirty including the mouthpiece, metal mouthpiece filter, and the stainless steel oven. For a more thorough cleaning, if you’re a heavy user, you can remove the rubber gasket on the mouthpiece insert to wipe down the ceramic air path and inside the plastic mouthpiece cover.

Warranty

On the Arizer, you’ll have a 2-year warranty that will cover against manufacturer defects not related to normal wear and tear, and on the XMAX V3 Pro, you’ll have a one-year warranty.

Conclusion

This comparison ultimately comes down to personal preference as they are extremely similar by nature. You can choose the pen-like design of the XMAX or the calculator-shaped ArGo. While they both have an awesome design that is super portable, I’d vote for the ArGo as the overall more practical vape to take with you on the go. The V3 Pro does have its winning categories in the comparison though, as the power convection heating will let you clear bowls much faster than on the Arizer, as well as having a much larger choice of accessories for customizing sessions!