Arizer just came out with a new Solo 2 Max device. The Solo 2 is an incredible device that came into the market in 2017. The Solo 2 Max is meant to be the replacement for the original Solo 2. They look virtually identical, almost entirely similar. The Solo 2 Max only comes in carbon black; it does not come in blue color. Although it looks the same, there have been a number of changes and improvements to the Solo 2 Max. If you are looking for a quality, reliable, session-style vaporizer, the Solo 2 Max is one of them.
Inside the Box
- Solo 2 Max Device
- Glass Aroma Tube/Stem
- 14mm Water Pipe Adapter
- 2 PVC Travel Tubes
- 2 Stem/end caps
- Stirring Tool
- Pack of 4 Filter Screens
- USB-C Charger with Cord
- User Manual
Using the Arizer Solo 2 Max Device – Loading the Stem
Arizer products are known to be super easy to use, and the Solo 2 Max is extremely easy to use. They call this a glass pod system, and it’s straightforward to load the stem of this device. Just scoop it into the grinder and use your finger to press the flower in there a little bit. Don’t press it down with the tip; instead, press it down gently so it’s flat against the top. It must be kept in mind that when this is brand new. You need to heat this up before you put your glass stems in for the first time. Otherwise, it might feel too tight.
Turning the Arizer Solo 2 Max Device On – Temperature Settings
To turn the device on, press the central and top buttons simultaneously. Press either up or down to get it to start heating up to your last temperature. That will engage the heater and get it going to whatever temperature you had it last set to. Press up or down to change the temperature by a single degree increment, or you can hold the button up or down, and then it moves by 10° increments. When you’re done with your session, this will turn off automatically depending on the session timer, or you can just hold the central button to turn it off otherwise.
Ceramic Hybrid Heater – 30 Seconds Heat Up
The Solo 2 Max has a ceramic hybrid heater/heating chamber. It gets you up to temperature in about 30 seconds. It’s not super-fast, but it’s not going to take you forever. The inside of the bowl is made from stainless steel, but your herbs stay isolated in this glass pod, so it should not come into contact with the stainless steel. They have a slight increase in the proportion of convection with the Solo 2 Max compared to the Solo 2. They claim the Solo 2 Max gives you 75% convection, whereas the Solo 2 gives you 70% convection, and the rest comes from conduction heating.
Various Settings of Solo 2 Max
One of the exciting features of the Solo 2 max is custom session settings. The central button opens the menu, and you can go through it and change different settings. This lets you adjust the audio beep volume if you want it to alert you when it gets to temperature, your auto shut off timer, the length of time before it’s going to shut off on its own, go between Celsius or Fahrenheit, change the display brightness and you can also adjust the power on delay.
Automatic Screen and Control Inversion
Solo 2 Max you get way more custom session settings that you did with the Solo 2 but it also has a couple of other tricks. One of them is the automatic display inversion, as soon as you turn it upside down the screen turns upside down. It’s such a logical thing, but it seems Arizer was the first to do it and they also inverted the controls with the screen.
Dark Mode
This new Arizer device features dark mode, if you hold the center button and down button it goes into dark mode and dark mode gives you a much more straightforward interface. It doesn’t give you all the different controls, the idea is that if you are looking for a stealthy way you can switch it into dark mode. To get back to normal mode again just hold down button with the central button and it will go back into normal mode.
14mm Water Pipe Adapter
The Solo 2 Max comes with a 14 mm water pipe adapter. They just give you one long stem and the water pipe adapter, which is much more useful than giving you the short stem and the long stem because some may find the short stem too harsh.
Stem Compatibility
The Solo 2 Max is a device that you’ll be really happy with. It uses the same stems as the Solo 2, the Air Max, and all those devices. If you have any third-party stems, like the variety of ones available at Haze Smoke Shop, they will all work with the Solo 2 Max.
PVC Travel Tubes and Screen Pack
This device comes with PVC travel tubes so you can take your stems on the go. It also has a pack of filter screens in the box, but many users don’t recommend using the screens. If you hate getting a tiny bit of material in your mouth, you can use the screens, but you really don’t need them; after two or three sessions, this has enough resin in there to grab any little bits of herbs. It also comes with little end/stem caps. You can load your water pipe adapter and stem and put these caps on them for later use.
Battery and Charging – Pass-Through Charging
The Solo 2 Max now features a USB-C charging port instead of the proprietary charger that came with the Solo 2. Like the Solo 2, the Solo 2 Max has no replaceable battery, but you get dual 18650 batteries. It will give you about 3 hours of real-world use, which is absolutely crazy for a single charge. It does have a pass-through charging feature that some people really like.
Flavor and Vapor Quality – Isolated Air Path
This device is capable of giving incredible flavor because your herbs stay suspended in the glass, and you get a very pure flavor. It has an isolated air path as well, which will contribute, too. However, if you do two sessions per load, the first session will have all the flavor, and the second will not. Because they only give you this long glass stem, the vapor is pretty smooth at lower temperatures, but it may get a little harsher at higher temperatures.
Arizer Solo 2 Max – Pros and Cons
Arizer Solo 2 Max has many great features; the 1st is the USB-C upgrade. It might seem like a small thing, but it just makes the device so much more usable. You can charge this up pretty much anywhere because somebody’s always going to have a USB-C cable. The battery life of this device is 3 hours, which is an exceptionally long time for a portable device between charges. It’s one of those features that will come in handy pretty much every time you charge it. Other interesting features include auto screen and control inversion. Arizer is known for making high-quality reliable products that last for years and years of trouble-free operation. They are just like the Honda or the Toyota of the vape industry.
The Solo 2 Max is a great device, but they seem to have put zero effort into making it look different; they didn’t give a different color, screen, button, or anything like that. If you put the new one next to the old one, you really can’t tell which one is which from the front. It’s been seven years since Solo 2 came out so it just doesn’t seem like a massive change in the shape and design though there are some nice improvements and upgrades.
