VaporFi Atom Dry Herb Vaporizer Review

I have recently been testing the VaporFi Atom, a dry herb vaporizer from VaporFi, who expanded into the dry herb vape market with the VaporFi Orbit a few years back. They have now returned with their second dry herb vape, the VaporFi Atom. I had already read some good things about the vape quality of the Atom, particularly when you consider it’s low cost and eagerly awaited my parcel in the post.

When it arrived I got down to some serious testing and was not disappointed. Yes it clearly looks like a PAX 2 and naturally there will be a VaporFi Atom vs PAX 2 comparison. So to be clear from the outset, at $139 it just isn’t going to be as good as the PAX, if you don’t have over $200 to spend though I would certainly consider the Atom as a worthy option as it can do almost everything the PAX can but lacks some of the finesse.

What’s in The Box and First Impressions of the VaporFi Atom

When the VaporFi Atom arrived, I opened the box and to my surprise the Atom looked even better than the pictures suggested. It has smooth lines, fits my hand perfectly and isn’t as heavy as I expected it to be. There are few parts, so little time is needed to assemble and get started. In the box, there is A Micro USB charger, a spare screen for the oven, two pipe cleaners, a packing tool, a mouthpiece and a magnetic oven door. So excited to get vaping I put the Atom on charge and retired to read the booklet. The booklet took all of two minutes to read as it turns out the Atom is simple to use and doesn’t contain lots of complicated instructions to enjoy the experience.

First impressions – 9 out of 10.

Battery and Charging Time

VaporFi Atom Battery Life

The battery is a 3000 mAh which is sizeable for such a small item, so you will need to leave around 2 hours for the initial charge before getting started. Not good if like me you are impatient and just want to try out your new toy! After two hours, the blue charging light changed to green and I was ready to begin testing. Once the vape was up and running the charge lasted comfortably throughout the evening, refilling the bowl on no less than 5 occasions trying as many flavours as possible. The combined usage time must have been at least 2 hours and still had battery remaining for another bowl the next day.

Battery Life – 9 out of 10.

Packing and How To Use the VaporFi Atom

VaporFi Atom Oven Lid

The setup of the Atom is very easy and has a couple of smart features. The oven door is magnetic and if you push on the side with your finger the elliptical edges make it easy to open for even the clumsiest (or highest) person. It feels pleasing to open the chamber, as you push it in and it slides upwards you pinch it and pull it out all in one smooth action. The chamber isn’t as big as I expected but comfortably holds 0.2g – 0.3g of finely ground herb. I use the packing tool to tamp it down and then put the lid on. Always tamp it down as this ensures a good firm pack and the highest amount of vapor production. Too lose and vapor production is non existent.

To turn the vape on, there is a single button on the side, you press once and it begins to heat immediately, remembering the temperature you used during the last session. With a choice of three temperatures 360°F (Blue), 410°F (Yellow) and 464°F (Red) I quickly figured how to change it by holding down the button. Do this for around 3 seconds and then flick through the temperatures and select the coloured light that corresponds to the temperature, hold the button again to start the oven heating. The light turns purple indicating it is heating. This takes around 40 seconds; the light then turns green and you are ready to vape.

Additional Features

The Atom also has a motion sensor, meaning two additional features. The first, if you shake the vape, the lights flash, indicating how much battery life remains. The second, I am not sure whether I like it or not, is that if left for 30 seconds the Atom goes into standby mode and needs to be shaken to wake up and heat again. I have always been a steady smoker and if gaming or chatting with friends will frequently put my vape down, I found when I picked it up again to take a puff I had to shake and wait 10-20 seconds before I could draw again. On the other hand, this is useful in that I don’t burn up my dry herb whilst being distracted, hence I am unsure whether this is a good or bad feature.

Using the Atom at 360°F

I began using with the lowest setting, as I wanted to focus on the flavour of my dry herb. Instantly I was surprised at the quality of flavour produced, I had chosen a dry herb that was peppery and strong in flavour and was not expecting such depth using a vape that cost so little. Using the 360°F temperature was excellent for tasting the Terpenes within the herb but I knew that I was only taking in minimal THC and CBD at this range. So, I held the button on the side and selected the yellow light for the next temperature.

Using the Atom at 410°F

According to Dr Arno Hazekamp, the head of research at Bedrocan BV in the Netherlands, 410°F is the ideal temperature to get the best balance between vaporizing Terpenes, CBD and THC. After a few seconds of waiting for the light to go green I began to inhale. The flavour was not as good as it was at 360°F but I felt a heavier hit and could now see the vapor I was exhaling. This was ultimately my favourite temperature to use the VaporFi Atom and after the initial few days I now pretty much exclusively use this setting.

Using the Atom at 464°F

For testing purposes I then increased it to the maximum temperature. At this point flavour wasn’t as good but for those looking for a heavy hit of vape and wanting to exhale large clouds this is the temperature to go for. This temperature will also ensure the most CBD in your vapor. 464°F does expose a small flaw in the oven lid. Every so often you can see small plumes of vape leaving the bottom of the oven. The lid itself with all its great features is slightly loose and could be expanded for a tighter fit.

Overall the quality of the vape is excellent. I enjoyed the flavours and after the first week where there was some tainting of the taste (it had a bit of a new vape taste to begin with) it settled and gave a consistent experience with a great range of temperature options.

I would have given this a 8 out of 10 but dues to the oven lid being slightly loose I could only give – 7.5 out of 10

VaporFi Atom Build quality

The vaporizer itself is very sturdy and as mentioned looks much better in your hand than it does in the pictures. There is a well-designed oven lid but this could certainly be a tighter fit to prevent vapor escaping when in use. The lights on the front look good and when you remember all the different colours and what they mean it is very easy to use. The heating chamber is at the bottom of the device and this means I never found my lips getting hot and could happily use the Atom for hours on end.

Build Quality – 7 out of 10.

Maintenance and Cleaning the VaporFi Atom

VaporFi Atom cleaning implements and accessories

There really isn’t too much to clean on the VaporFi Atom and I can clean the whole vape in a few minutes. There are pipe cleaners which are used to clean the tube that brings the vapor from the heating chamber to your mouth and I recommend doing this every day, if not the quality of flavour can become tainted. The heating chamber doesn’t really get too dirty but using the packing tool I clean out any remaining pieces of used dry herb. One downside is that the oven screen does get covered in oils quickly and is a bit fiddlier to take out and clean properly. These need changing often if you use the Atom regularly and it does cost $8.99 for 3 of them which seems a little high when you consider it is such a small part.

Cleaning the Atom – 9 out of 10.

Value for Money

For $139 the VaporFi Atom is a great purchase. It has features that normally you will pay $200 plus for and the quality of the Vapor was better than any other product I have tried for a similar price.

Value for money – 9 out of 10

Pros	Cons
Excellent portable Vape for the price	Oven lid could be a slightly better fit
Long battery life	If used regularly will incur extra costs replacing oven screens
High quality vape flavour
Three temperatures to choose from
Surprisingly cool looking design