AirVape Xs GO ultra-portable vaporizer review

AirVape Xs GO review - Performance

Hybrid conduction/convection herb vaporizer

The AirVape Xs Go’s oval ceramic oven is heated through conduction but also through convection, with cool air being warmed by a heating element before it enters the oven through a number of holes. Your herbs will be heated directly through the oven’s sides (the bottom being protected by a metal screen, effectively shielding your herbs from direct contact with the bottom part of the oven). For a more terpy, less cloudy vape session, you can go for a coarse grind, packing your herbs loosely which allows for the convection effect to dominate. If you’re chasing clouds, go for a finer grind and pack your herbs tightly, allowing for maximum conduction efficiency.

Vapour quality

Flavouristas will enjoy nice long draws via convection heating for better taste. On the other hand, a tightly packed oven and shorter draws will activate conduction heating, which will envelop you in a misty haze in no time. The oven was borrowed from the AirVape X and fits about 0.25 grams of herbs which is not that bad for a vape whose claim-to-fame is its portability. The ceramic lid at the end of the mouthpiece is kept in place with a silicone gasket and the good folks at AirVape have made sure that the vapour runs into a number of bends, turns and obstacles before reaching your mouth, rendering the vapour less harsh. This design choice also makes for a nicely balanced draw resistance. The vapour is still pretty hot on higher temperatures, which comes as no surprise for such a tiny vape with an oven practically hugging the mouthpiece. Thankfully, the ABS plastic mouthpiece hardly conducts any heat and feels relatively cool against your lips. The AirVape Xs GO pales a little in comparison to its predecessor, the AirVape Xs, in terms of vapour smoothness and taste but it does a reasonable job anyway.

Integrated battery

The 1200 mAh integrated battery is tiny but will fight for your right to vape before yielding. It’ll allow for a couple of sessions with about 12 draws per bowl on a medium setting which is not bad at all. It also allows for pass-through charging, so vape away while your battery’s charging, which it does in under an hour. We haven’t counted draws on the lower 2 temperature settings but it would be safe to assume that you’ll be able to wander around on a festival site, sipping cool, terpy vapour for quite some time before this baby gives out.

AirVape Xs GO review - Build quality

Resilient

The ABS plastic that constitutes the main material of the vape has been ergonomically shaped to fit in the palm of your hand. The plastic's known shock-resistant properties along with the magnetic mouthpiece - a known sensitive part in most vaporizers - puts our minds at ease about the device’s survival potential. The downside of a magnetic mouthpiece is that it might become detached in your trouser pocket or belt bag, leaving your precious herbs exposed.

Groovy

This vaporizer feels light and sturdy at the same time and we suspect it might just bounce back unscathed from a medium fall. Your thumbs and fingers will fit nicely in the large, oval-shaped indents while the grooved pattern on the back will keep it from slipping. This is definitely a vaporizer to hold and cherish.

AirVape Xs GO review - User friendliness

Just the one button

As with most smaller vapes, the AirVape Xs GO relies on a single button. Pressing the button three times powers the device on or off which immediately shows remaining battery life through blinking indicator LEDs. Press and hold the button to cycle between temperature levels. The devices shuts off automatically after 3 minutes, giving you ample time to enjoy a session.

Temperature control

The AirVape Xs GO  is quite flexible when it comes to temperature control, whether you’re going for a low-temp terpy session, an immediate smokestack on higher temps or a slow-build up across a 5-level temperature range between 180°C and 215°C. The 5 temperature levels (180°C, 190°C, 200°C and  207°C) are neatly spaced out and going from zero to the highest setting will take only 20 seconds on average.

AirVape Xs GO review - Maintenance & accessories

Scrub-a-dub-dub

The bottom of the ceramic oven is separated from your herbs by a removable metal screen that fits rather loosely in the oven. This will cause herbal residue to stain the oven’s floor. Wiggle the screen a little, pop it out, set the vape to its highest temp setting and remove the residue with isopropyl swabs. The mouthpiece’s removable components can rest a little in an isopropyl bath while you’re scrubbing away at the oven.

No bells or whistles

The AirVape Xs GO comes with an integrated flat metal tool you can use for stirring your herbs and for removing and inserting the metal screen into the oven. Very thoughtful. The box includes a spare metal screen, a USB-charging cable, an instruction manual, a cleaning brush and a pair of tweezers. Not quite sure what to do with those tweezers but it’s always nice to have a pair of them lying about. Thanks Apollo Vaporizer Inc.! Other than that, the AirVape Xs GO doesn’t come with any fancy accessories.

AirVape Xs GO review - Pros and cons

Pros

- Featherweight (57 grams) but sturdy
- Seriously small and ergonomically shaped
- Decent battery life and quick reaction time
- Flexible in terms of vapour output thanks to its hybrid convection/conduction technology
- Five temperature settings, an impressive feat for...wait for it...such a small device
- Affordable

Cons

- Integrated battery will wear out quickly on high temperature settings
- Magnetic mouthpiece could do with some stronger magnets
- Acceptable flavour but nothing to dwell on

AirVape Xs GO review - Who is this for?

If you’re just getting into electric vaping and feel you need to test the waters before spending a few hundred euros, this vaporizer is a very good choice indeed. You’ll be able to experiment with packing the oven to emphasize either conduction or convection heating, test different herbs on different temperature levels and carry it around wherever you go.  If you’re already a seasoned vape-veteran and you’re looking for an inexpensive, secondary vape, the AirVape Xs GO won’t let you down either.