Under $300 is the sweet spot for a first proper portable. You’re past the disposable junk and the pen-shaped things that cremate your herb, but you’re not yet paying Mighty money. The catch is that every device at this price has cut something to get there. The trick is knowing which cut you can live with.
So here are five we’d happily put in someone’s hand, what each does well, and the corner that got shaved off. Prices are AUD and roughly where they sat in early 2020, so treat them as a guide, not gospel.
What actually matters at this price
A few things separate a good cheap portable from a frustrating one.
Convection versus conduction is the big one. Conduction units heat the herb against a hot wall, which is quick but can scorch if you pack tight. Convection pushes hot air through, which tastes cleaner and wastes less, but usually costs more. Most of this list is conduction or a hybrid, because pure convection under $300 is rare.
After that it’s the boring stuff that decides whether you keep using it. Battery you can swap or at least charge over USB. A draw that isn’t a workout. Vapour that doesn’t taste like hot plastic for the first week. And whether the thing is a pain to clean, because a portable you dread cleaning is a portable that lives in a drawer.
The five
Arizer Air II: best vapour for the money. Glass vapour path, so the taste is clean and cool, and it runs replaceable 18650 batteries. That last bit matters: when the cell dies in two years you swap it for a tenner instead of binning the whole device. The catch is the glass stem sticking out the top, which is fragile and a bit awkward in a pocket. Best for someone who vapes at home and cares about flavour more than being discreet.
DynaVap M (with a torch): cheapest way in, if you don’t mind a ritual. No battery at all. You heat the tip with a butane torch until a click tells you it’s ready, then draw. It’s the cheapest entry on the list by a mile and basically indestructible. It is also the most hands-on, and you’ll want a decent torch, so factor that in. Suits the tinkerer, the person who wants something pocketable that never needs charging, and anyone curious about vaping without dropping real coin.
POTV/Boundless-style conduction unit: best all-rounder. This is the slot a lot of mid-range conduction portables fill: solid battery life, USB-C charging, big enough chamber for a proper session, and a price that leaves change from $300. Nothing here is class-leading, but nothing’s bad either. Flavour is fine, draw is easy, and it’ll take a knock. The cut is usually the vapour quality at the very top of the temperature range, where it can get a touch toasty. Best first portable for most people.
Arizer ArGo: most pocketable of the Arizers. Same clean glass-path taste the brand’s known for, shrunk into something you can actually palm. The screen and controls are simple and the stem tucks inside the body, which fixes the Air II’s biggest annoyance. You pay for the size in battery life and a smaller bowl, so it’s a few-draws-at-a-time device rather than a big group session. Good for someone who wants Arizer flavour but needs it discreet.
A hybrid-convection unit at the top of budget: best taste, if you stretch. Spend right up near the $300 line and you start getting hybrid heating, where convection does more of the work. The reward is cleaner flavour, more even extraction, and less of that scorched edge. The trade is a fussier learning curve and, often, fiddlier loading. Worth it for the person who already knows they’re in this for the long haul and wants the taste to match.
The verdict
If you just want one that works and forgives mistakes, the all-rounder conduction unit is the easy call. If flavour’s your thing and you’re mostly home, the Arizer Air II is hard to beat for the price, and the ArGo if you need it smaller. Want pocketable with zero charging and a bit of theatre? The DynaVap. And if you’ll happily spend the full budget for the best taste in the bracket, stretch to the hybrid.
None of them is wrong. They’re just built for different people, and the worst buy is the one that doesn’t match how you’ll actually use it.
For the wider line-up and where each sits, have a look through our portable vaporizers collection. If you’re trying to work out the heating styles before you commit, our piece on convection vs conduction vaporisers lays it out plainly, and how to get the most out of your portable vaporizer covers the habits that make any of these vape better.