Here’s what actually moved off the shelves this year, not what a brochure reckons should have. We sell a lot of dry herb gear, and by December a clear pattern shows up in the orders. A handful of devices did the heavy lifting in 2019, and most of them earned it.
Quick caveat before we start. This is a snapshot of the year as it stood in December 2019. Prices shifted, a couple of these have newer versions now, and the “best” pick depends on whether you want a pocket unit or a desktop. So take it as a record of the year, not a shopping list.
The portable that everyone asked about: the Mighty
The Storz & Bickel Mighty was the device people came in already knowing the name of. Word of mouth did the work. It’s a chunky thing, no question, you’re not slipping it into skinny jeans, but the vapour quality is the reason it kept selling. Big, even clouds, proper full extraction, and a battery that lasts most of a day.
The cooling unit is the clever bit. The vapour runs through a long plastic mouthpiece that drops the temperature before it hits you, so it’s smooth even up around 200°C. Set it to 180°C for flavour, push it to 195-205°C when you want density. It’s not cheap and it’s not subtle, but nobody returns one disappointed.
The value pick: the PAX 3
If the Mighty was the heavyweight, the PAX 3 was the one people actually carried. It’s small, it’s quiet, and it looks like a USB stick someone polished. That discreet shape sold a lot of units to people who didn’t want a gadget announcing itself.
It runs hot and fast, so a session is short. The trick most owners learn is to pack the oven properly and use the half-pack lid when you’re not filling it. Skip that and you’ll wonder why the draw feels thin. The app lets you dial in an exact temperature, which is more useful than it sounds once you find your number, usually somewhere around 190°C.
The desktop that converted people: the Volcano
The Volcano Hybrid landed this year and it turned a few die-hard portable users into desktop converts. It’s a balloon vaporiser, you fill a bag and breathe from it, and it does that better than anything else going. The Hybrid added a whip option and a faster heat-up, so you’re not standing around.
It’s a sit-at-home device and priced like one. But the experience is in a different league, and for a household where a few people share, it makes sense. A full bag at 190°C is a genuinely social way to vape.
The quiet achiever: the Arizer Air II
The Arizer Air II didn’t have the hype, but it kept selling all year to people who’d done their homework. Glass vapour path, swappable batteries, and a flavour that punches above the price. The glass stem sticks out the top, which feels fragile and looks a bit odd, and that put some people off in the shop.
Get past the look and it’s a cracker for the money. The flavour off a glass path at 185°C is cleaner than most plastic-pathed units, and being able to carry a spare battery means it never dies on you mid-day.
What it all says about 2019
The theme of the year was people wanting better vapour and being willing to learn a device to get it. Conduction units that needed a careful pack, desktops that asked you to sit down, portables with apps. Buyers got fussier, and the gear that respected that did well.
If you’re reading this later and wondering whether these still stack up, some have been replaced or refreshed since. Have a look through the current vaporizers range for where things landed, and treat the picks above as a fair record of what a good year looked like.