The Arizer Solo 2 Max edges the Arizer Air Max, 8.2 to 8.0, at the same $219 US list price. It's close. Buy the Solo 2 Max for richer sessions at home, or the Air Max for a slimmer body and a battery you can swap yourself.
Key differences
- Battery: the Air Max runs a user-replaceable 26650 cell. The Solo 2 Max battery is built in, so a worn cell goes to Arizer's service.
- Size: the Air Max is a slim 30 mm tube weighing 160 g. The Solo 2 Max is chunkier at 210 g.
- Heat-up: about 30 seconds on the Solo 2 Max, about 60 on the Air Max.
- Load: a 0.2 g oven on the Solo 2 Max, 0.15 g on the Air Max.
- Shared: hybrid heating, an all-glass vapor path, 50-220°C in 1°C steps and a 14 mm water pipe adapter.
Vapor and flavor
Both vapes put your cannabis inside a borosilicate glass stem, and that same glass carries the vapor to your lips. Flavor is clean on either, with the most terpene detail below 190°C.
The Solo 2 Max scored higher on vapor, 8.5 to 8.2. Its stronger heater gave us denser clouds, especially at 200-220°C. The Air Max needs more patience: slow 8 to 10 second draws after a short oven soak work best. Its clouds never reach the density of pricier hybrids, but its flavor punches above its price.
Size and portability
The Air Max is the one to carry. It scored 8.5 on portability against 7.5, thanks to a slim 30 mm aluminum tube, 128 mm tall, that slips into a jacket pocket. The glass stem still adds length, so it works best as a backyard or home portable.
The Solo 2 Max is a bag vape, with its stem sticking up well above a 113 mm body that's 46 mm wide. It sits stable on a table, though, and scored higher on build, 8.2 to 7.5.
Battery and long-term ownership
On paper the Solo 2 Max goes further, rated at 15 sessions per charge against 13 for the Air Max. The Solo 2 Max runs two built-in cells, the Air Max a single 26650. Both charge over USB-C in about 3 hours and keep running while plugged in, but the Solo 2 Max hits 80% in an hour against 90 minutes for the Air Max.
The real split is serviceability. On the Air Max, a tired 26650 cell slides out and a fresh one goes in within seconds. Arizer sells replacement cells, so stick with those. The Solo 2 Max needs Arizer's battery service instead. If you keep a vape for five years or more, that swap matters. Both carry Arizer's 2-year warranty, and the Air Max's ceramic heater has a lifetime warranty on top. Our vaporizer battery guide covers what to look for.
Controls and cleaning
Both run three buttons and an OLED screen, with no app. Both have a Dark Mode for low-light sessions and a 5 to 15 minute auto-off timer. The Solo 2 Max scored 8.5 for ease of use against 8.0 for the Air Max. Loading works the same way: dip the stem into ground cannabis and seat it in the heater.
Cleanup is an isopropyl soak for the glass on either vape. Both screens flip when you run the vape upside down on a water pipe, and our water pipe guide walks through the setup.
Which should you buy?
- Home sessions through glass: the Solo 2 Max, for denser vapor and a steadier stance.
- Short on patience: the Solo 2 Max, ready in half the time.
- Taking it outdoors: the Air Max, slimmer and 50 g lighter.
- Keeping one vape for years: the Air Max, with a battery you replace yourself.
- Bigger bowls: the Solo 2 Max, with its 0.2 g oven.
- More flavor for more money: step up to the Arizer Solo 3 at $299, which adds an on-demand mode neither of these has.
