Arizer Solo 2
Has the good gotten better?

The Arizer Solo 2 is the latest version of the world famous Solo Vaporizer. The Solo 2 is upgraded with a sleeker design in a new package and features full digital temperature controls. The Solo 2 is everything you loved about the original version and more! Precise temperature adjustments mean that you make the most of your herbs and maximize performance.

The Solo is known for high quality and performance and the Solo 2 does live up to the same standards. High quality, durable and made in Canada, thumbs up to Arizer for producing another great quality vaporizer! Let’s dive in to a little more detail on the Arizer Solo 2.

Overview

The Arizer Solo 2 is a portable dry herb vaporizer for dry herbs. It is on the medium to larger size for portable vaporizers and might not look as sexy as a Pax 3 or a Firefly 2, but what it does is perform consistently.

Part of the reason Arizers have been so successful is that they produce solid products that are always going to work the same, simple to use and great quality, made in Canada Eh! So we expect this from the Solo 2 as well.

Built-in features include Li-Ion batteries, which are charged via AC adapter, only. So charging is definitely not as convenient as other vapes which offer micro-usb charging or even interchangeable 18650 vape batteries. But, I will say without a doubt that once it is charged up, no need to stress about the unit dying on you, the battery life is amazing with this vape!

So the Solo 2 may not be the most convenient vaporizer, but it is an absolute beast when it comes to performance. I’d make a similar comparison with the Mighty Vaporizer by Storz & Bickel with a large size and no USB charging, it is an example of a unit with similar downsides that are completely outweighed by the incredible performance and reliability.

Lets go in to a little more detail about the Solo 2, what you get in the box, operation, performance, accessories and cleaning.

What comes in the box?

The box is quite large, a lot larger than I’d expect for the size of the unit but it is very sturdy. When you open the box, you should have the following items:

Operating the Solo 2

Here’s what I recommend as best practice for using the Solo 2. You can choose either one of the short or long stems. Then pack the bottom of the stem (which acts as the herb chamber) with ground materials. You want to fully pack this area but not too tight, that would restrict your airflow and lose performance.

What’s really nice about this vape is that you can also pack whole buds directly into the bottom of the glass stem. I will say though, that the performance in doing this in terms of vapor production or efficiency with the materials, will not be as good as using ground materials to pack the chamber.

Once you have the stem packed, turn it upside down, so that you can insert the stem into the heating chamber of the unit without spilling your bud.

One thing here I’d definitely not make light of (and this is something that is relevant for the Solo, Air and Solo 2), is that on first use, the stem might be very tight and difficult to insert into the vaporizer. If this is the case, what you need to do is let the vape heat up to temperature first and then insert the stem. The heat causes expansion that will help if this happens to you.

You’ll probably only need to do this once or twice. Anyway, once you have the stem packed and inserted into the unit you can go ahead and turn the Solo 2 on.

To turn on the Solo 2 you’ll hold the center and top button on the control panel at the same time. As you hold them down, you’ll see the display come on and will give you a 6 second countdown before it actually turns on and allows you to engage the heater.
This of course is a safety mechanism that would stop the unit from heating up accidentally in your pocket or bag.

Once the Solo 2 is on, you’ll see a really nice display screen where you can set your desired temperature. The unit is compatible with both Celsius and Fahrenheit, so you can switch between the two

I’ll use the Solo 2 at around 375 degrees which I feel produces a good combination of vapor production and flavor. Once you select your temperature you can engage the heater and the unit will reach set temperature in about 30 seconds.

Once the unit reaches the set temperature you can then start to inhale from the glass mouthpiece. You’ll want to play around with your draw technique and see what you like best. Long slow draws that will generate denser vapor, or light puffs.

Let’s talk a little bit about the performance though and how I think it compares to the original Solo as well as some other vapes.

Overall Performance

As mentioned earlier, the original Arizer Solo was known for performance and durability. With so many high tech vapes on the market featuring smart apps etc. there’s a lot more that can go wrong. What I’ve always respected about Arizer products is their ease of use, reliability and performance.

The Solo 2 vape is much the same in my opinion. It performs amazingly well. The fact that you pack in a small amount of material and the vapor just pours out of the unit, is really impressive.

From one fully packed chamber I would probably get 7-10 really big hits from the Solo 2, maybe more. It literally kept going and going and going, and one session did me in.

The vaporization efficiency is very good. The materials were fully extracted which you could see when the ground bud changed from green to brown. The Solo 2 will perform, in my opinion, at least as well, if not better than the Arizer Solo original.

In comparison with other vaporizers in the same price range, I would give the Solo 2 a 7/10 for performance.

Cleaning

One of the most important factors when buying a vaporizer is to consider not only performance but cleaning and maintenance.

Depending on your level of usage, materials from the chamber, through to the vapor path and mouthpiece will build up residue. Some vaporizers require a lot more cleaning and up-keep in order to keep them performing well. The Arizer Solo 2, like the Solo and the Air is very simple to clean.

The only 2 parts which require cleaning are the stainless steel heating chamber and the glass stems. Since the herbs don’t come in contact with the metal sides of the heating chamber, the only possibility is for them to touch the bottom. In order to clean the bottom of the chamber I recommend using a cotton swap with some rubbing alcohol (while holding the unit upside down) to gently clean any residue build-up.

Cleaning the stems is also very simply. Just fill the stem a third to half way with alcohol and give it a good shake. You can add a little salt to the mixture as well that gives a little grit for the extra tough residue that may build up. The more often you clean the vape the better it will work.

I’m very particular about vape cleaning. It will keep performance up and improve the lifespan of your vaporizer. Very important to clean your vape!

Best Accessories for the Solo 2

The absolute best thing about the accessories for this vaporizer is that the Solo 2 is cross compatible with ALL the Arizer Solo and Arizer Air accessories. So if you already own a Solo or an Air you should keep all your accessories as they are 100% compatible for use with the new Arizer Solo 2 vaporizer.

My favorite accessory for the Solo 2 in this case would be the Arizer 14mm Adapter. This allows you to connect your Solo with any standard water piece or bubbler that has a 14mm Female connection. Adding a bubbler to your vaporizer setup has HUGE benefits that include extra filtration and cooling, allowing you to take bigger hits with less irritation on your throat and lungs.

I’m also a big fan of the new carrying case that comes with the Solo 2 in the box. Since the Solo 2 is very rugged and durable, with the exception of the stems, its a vaporizer that I would take with me hiking or camping. The new carrying case is absolutely perfect when you’re going to be traveling with your Solo 2 on the go.

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Get an Arizer Solo 2

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