The Crafty and the Pax 2 are both widely renowned portable vaporizer units. However, they both fill two different niches in the market.
In this article, we’ll break down the two vapes in the following categories so you can see how they stack up against each other:
- Ease of Use
- Temperature Control
- Vapor Quality
- Pocketability and Discreteness
- Battery Life
These are both high performing devices, but let’s break it down and see which may be the best for you.
Ease of Use
The Ease of Use category of our comparison takes a look at how simple and enjoyable the device is to use as a whole.
In this section, we will look at features like how the device feels in the hand, temperature adjustments, weight, and how easy the vape is to use overall.
The Crafty and the Pax 2 are both simple designs in that they each do not have tactile buttons to adjust the operating temperature like most other vaporizers.
The Crafty
The Crafty utilizes a smartphone app in which you can realtime modify the temperature, set the “boost” temperature, get access to the PDF version of the manuals and product documentation, and see how many hours total the unit has been in operation.
This can be a con for some people having to go through the application for some of this information, however I like this feature of the Crafty personally and have no issues using my smartphone. But everyone is different.
Without the need for tactile temperature adjustment buttons and a physical temperature readout, the Crafty is able to be delivered in a more pocketable and discrete form factor, unlike its big brother, the Mighty.
The Crafty is very comfortable to hold in the hand. It doesn’t feel overly large to someone with small hands, nor does it feel too small for someone with larger hands.
The Crafty also weighs only about 135 Grams. This makes the device a pleasure for people of most shapes and sizes to handle, use, and pass around during a session.
The mouthpiece swivels out and back into place for storage and travel very easily and fluidly with a simple o-ring. The Crafty also has a stirring and packing tool, which is stored in the device for easy on the go use.
The Pax 2
The Pax 2, unlike the Crafty, does not use a smartphone app to control temperature. Everything with the Pax 2 is done with the mouthpiece.
You press in the middle of the mouthpiece once, and the unit will turn on. If you hold it in, you can begin cycling through the various temperature settings. We will expand upon the temperature settings in the next section.
The Pax 2 is a very discrete, modern, and sleek design, and weighs in at only 91 grams. It is even lighter than the already lightweight Crafty vape, making this truly a discrete and portable unit.
This unit is also a very small device; I can see this being an issue for an individual with very large hands, however I do not fall into that category and have no issues with the size of the Pax 2. I’m actually very fond of its compact size and pocketability. Most users shouldn’t have any issues with the compact design and will find it to be a major benefit.
Winner of the Ease of Use category?
They’re both very simple, however in this case I would hand the win to the Pax 2. It’s one of the simplest designs on the market, and the fact that you don’t have to mess around with a phone app just makes the device that much easier to use.
Temperature Control
Here we will just look at the ways of adjusting the temperature of each unit.
The Crafty
The Crafty, while only having two temperature settings that can be changed on the fly without the app, still offers a full temperature spectrum maxing out at 410F via the smartphone app.
The first temperature is the temperature in which the device will heat up to upon powering up. Secondly, we have the “Boost Mode.”
By double tapping the power button on your Crafty, this will crank the temperature to an increased temperature you specify in the app. Once you figure out what you prefer, you can forget about the smartphone app for the most part. However, you still want to have it on hand in case you want to finely adjust the temperature for different flowers or concentrates.
The Pax 2
In comparison to the Crafty, the Pax 2 does not offer a full spectrum of temperatures, but rather 4 different preset temperature settings.
The Pax 2 has operating temperatures of 350°F, 380°F, 400°F, and 420°F respectively.
It is very simple to change the temperature: simply press and hold in the middle of the mouthpiece and the front LED will change. From there, press in the middle of the mouthpiece without holding it in to cycle through the 4 settings. Once you reach your desired setting, press and hold again in the middle of the mouthpiece and the unit will begin heating up to your chosen temperature.
Winner of the temperature control category?
For temperature control, the Crafty is the clear winner. Users have access to a full temperature spectrum allowing the individual user to tailor their Crafty’s temperature to their preference.
However, Crafty users will have to get familiar with the phone app, which isn’t an issue with the Pax 2. I personally love the app idea, but some users may not enjoy it.
Vapor Quality
Vapor quality refers to how hot/cool the vapor is when it reaches your throat, how clean the vapor tastes, and how much vapor the unit actually produces.
The Pax 2 is a conduction vaporizer, while the Crafty is a conduction and convection hybrid.
The Crafty
The Crafty’s vapor quality is very consistent throughout the whole session. Even at 410°F, I find the Crafty much smoother and flavorful, and I believe this is due to the Crafty’s cooling unit as seen in the picture below.
The cooling unit brings the vapor through the various channels and chambers to make the vapor path longer and allowing the vapor to cool.
I found 360°F to deliver some of the tastiest vapor I have had the pleasure of experiencing.
The Crafty can also produce big and flavorful clouds when you take a slow and consistent draw from the device. The unit itself has no draw restriction, so it is up to the user to dictate draw speed.
The Pax 2
The Pax 2 offers outstanding vapor for a portable unit.
Temperatures 1, 2, and 3 I found to be very high quality vapor especially. All of these settings are very smooth, flavorful and produce a good amount of vapor for the temperatures.
However, it was very difficult for myself to truck through a session with the Pax 2 at temperature 4. The unit itself will also get very hot at this temperature and it began to burn my lips and make the session very uncomfortable.
This may not be an issue for everyone, however I would personally avoid this temperature without water filtration.
Winner of the Vapor Quality category?
I would have to hand the win to the Crafty here. It delivers desktop quality vapor in a portable package. This is some of the purest, best tasting vapor I’ve experience from a portable yet.
The Pax 2 is great as well, but the Crafty does have a slight edge here.
Efficiency
The efficiency category discusses how efficient these devices are with your materials.
What is efficiency exactly?
Being able to use smaller amounts of material to achieve good results, and evenly vaping any material that is loaded into each device.
The Crafty
The Crafty is one of the most efficient vaporizers I have used. I am able to load roughly .2-.3g of shredded flower, or if you pack about .1 and use the included concentrate pad to fill in the space in the oven, you can use smaller amounts to achieve the same great results without using as much material.
I like to stir to my pack with the included stirring and packing tool at least once a session, however I found the Crafty to vape very evenly for the most part even without the stirring.
As a concentrate connoisseur, I found the Crafty to deliver the tastiest vapor I have experienced through a concentrate device. The Crafty allows you to truly taste and appreciate your concentrates with the included concentrate pad.
The Pax 2
The Pax 2, while more efficient than the original Pax, does not exactly stack up compared to the Crafty.
Out of the box the PAX 2 wants you to fully load the chamber with finely ground material. As it is a fully conduction vaporizer, if any material is loose or flying around, it won’t vape evenly at all.
For users who don’t want to load large amounts at a time, this can be a con unless you’re interested in investing in something like the Pax Pusher, which allows you to use smaller amounts of flower.
One really cool feature is that the Pax 2 utilizes a lip sensing technology that drops the temperature in the oven when you are not actively drawing from it. This increases the consistency in your draws as the pack isn’t cooking when you are not drawing from the device.
Also, unlike the Crafty, I found the need to stir my packs more often. At certain points, vapor production just tapers off greatly until you stir and pack the load down again.
Winner of the Efficiency category?
I haven’t had an opportunity to try the Pax 2 with a Pax Pusher or some kind of device that allows you to use smaller amounts, but right out of the box the Crafty allows you to do so with the concentrate pad.
The Crafty and Pax 2 both vape evenly, with them both needing to be stirred at least once if you fill the chambers.
In the end, I would hand the win for out of the box efficiency to the Crafty. We plan on testing out the Pax 2 with some recommended accessories soon though, so we will update this when we do if needed.
Pocketability and Discreteness
The pocketability and discreteness category discusses how easy the device is to fit in your pocket, and how discrete its use is on the go.
The Crafty
The Crafty comes in at much smaller size than its big brother, the Mighty. This device can easily be slipped into any pocket for easy transport and concealment.
However, the Crafty isn’t the most discrete for on the go use in public places. I would rather find somewhere out of sight and out of mind before I start a session with the Crafty in public.
The Pax 2
The Pax 2 strides in this category, being very easy to conceal in the palm by someone with pretty much any hand size.
The flush and flat mouthpiece makes the device very inconspicuous, and I had zero issues using the Pax 2 while on the go.
Winner of the portability category?
The winner in portability and discreteness is without a doubt the Pax 2. The Pax 2 offers one of the most discrete vaping experiences on the market today.
Battery Life
The Battery Life category goes over how long the battery lasts, and the overall charging system.
The Crafty
The Crafty’s battery life leaves a bit to be desired in my opinion, and this was my biggest complaint with this unit.
I was averaging around an hour of usage before I had to recharge my Crafty, and then it takes about 2 hours for the device to be fully charged from empty.
While the Crafty’s battery life isn’t the best, it does offer pass through charging so you can use it while it’s charging back up. However, this does not help users who would be using this device primarily on the go.
The Crafty is charged with an included Micro USB charging cable.
The Pax 2
The Pax 2’s battery on the other hand has been treating me very well.
I primarily vape on temperatures 1 and 2, and I found the Pax 2 to give me about 2 hours of usage, with the device taking about another 2 hours to fully charge.
The Pax 2 is charged via an included magnetic charger, and I’ll be honest, this thing has caused me more trouble than it’s worth. The magnet sometimes isn’t the strongest, and it wasn’t uncommon for me to come back to the vape and realize it wasn’t charging the past few hours.
It’s not a deal breaker by any means, just a pet peeve of mine.
Winner of the battery life category?
The winner for battery life would have to go the Pax 2. The battery life on the Pax 2 allows you to sesh throughout the day without having to recharge your vape.
The Crafty I found just died too quick when I had sessions outside and away from home.
Warranty
The Crafty
The Crafty has a 2 year warranty on defective units. Definitely not as good as the Pax 2, but you’re still covered for 2 years nonetheless.
The Crafty anecdotally seems to have a high defect rate with heavy usage, and while this isn’t something I or other users I know have experiences with, it’s something I’ve seen pop up in the community a lot that I feel the need to mention to potential buyers.
The Pax 2
The Pax 2 offers their standard 10 year warranty on defects and faulty units. They will stand behind their warranty so long as you purchase through authorized retailers, and I have never heard of anyone having a bad experience with their customer service.
Conclusion – Which Vape is Right for You, the Crafty or the Pax 2?
(Yes, we realize that rhymes :P)
Overall, it depends on what you’re looking for in a portable unit.
The Crafty offers A+ flavor and vapor production in a portable form factor. It is not as easy to conceal for public use, so I would recommend this portable for someone who is not vaping in the public eye or someone looking for a portable home or car unit.
The Pax 2 on the other hand offers great vapor production and flavor in a very discrete form factor. This is the type of portable you can use while walking down the street with no worries what so ever.
The Pax 2 can easily be concealed in your palm even if you have small hands.
At the end of the day, there is no decisive winner here. It really comes down to how and where you will be using these devices.
We hope you found this comparison helpful. If you still have any questions about which unit you should go with, let us know in the comments below and we would be happy to help!
