The Pax family has had a firm grip on the portable vaporiser market, while the Mighty casts a shadow in the portable vape market. It wouldn't be wrong to say the two are perhaps the best portable vapes in the market.
What’s surprising is despite attracting so much attention, have contrasting design and features. The only notable similarity for sure is the fact that both devices deliver incredible vapour quality.
If you’re in the market for a new vape device and you’re torn between the Pax 3 and the Mighty, this comparison between the two should help clear things up.
What’s in the Box
Mighty Vaporizer
- User manual
- Spare seal rings
- Power adapter
- 3 spare screens
- Mighty vaporiser
- Dosing capsule
- Filling aid
- Cleaning brush
- Herb grinder
- Liquid pad
Pax 3
- Pax 3 Vaporiser
- USB charger
- Multi-tool
- Flat mouthpiece
- Maintenance kit
- Standard oven lid
- Raised mouthpiece
- 3 screens
- Concentrate insert
- Half-pack oven lid
Both devices are pretty even on what you get inside the box. Pax 3 is more thoughtful and packs what you need to get started vaping and the tools that will help you clean and maintain the device.
Why not also read: dry herb vaporizer guide
Other than that, both devices are well-organised, with everything you need to set up for your first vape in a matter of minutes after receiving the device.
Warranty
The warranty is the first gaping difference you will notice between the Pax 3 and the Mighty. The Mighty comes with a 2-year warranty, while the Pax 3 has an outstanding 10-year warranty.
Verdict: The outright winner in this category is the Pax 3. It’s not often that you get a portable device manufacturer that is bold enough to have a 10-year warranty on their device.
Design
Putting together a vaporiser is a complicated balancing act. You have to balance the power, size and performance of the device, which explains the diversity of vaporisers in the market.
The Mighty Vaporizer
The Mighty definitely leaves up to its name. It's all about power, vapour quality and battery life. On the downside, it's huge and barely meets the portable standards. The upside of its size is the screen which is easier to read and is paired with an intuitive control panel. It also doesn’t have the best looks in the market.
The Pax 3
Unlike the Mighty, which seems to throw aesthetics to the wind, the Pax 3 is the opposite. It is sleek, discrete and portable, measuring only four inches long. It’s the perfect portable vape. The Pax 3 trades the sizeable screen for a small LED indicator that serves as the main display. It has different coloured LEDs that indicate battery life, status of the device and vape temperature.
Despite the miniature size, the Pax 3 is far from fragile. It has an anodised aluminium shell that makes it just as tough as the Mighty.
Verdict: The Pax 3 has a more stylish design with a stature that best fits the portable vaporiser category. It’s easy to carry and just as easy to use. It checks on all the right boxes for a portable vaporiser.
Ease of Use
Being consumer electronics, portable vaporisers need to be easy enough for anyone to use yet pack enough features to deliver a fantastic experience.
The Mighty Vaporizer
At first glance, the Mighty is intimidating, with a chunky build and industry-like aesthetic. For a first-time user, it looks like a difficult device to master. Once you start using it, you realise nothing could be farther from the truth.
The Mighty is incredibly easy to use. Its huge and clear display comes in handy, making everything easy to see and delivering all the vital information you need to run the device efficiently.
The simple and intuitive control scheme at the front of the device and the system of buttons all work harmoniously, allowing you to adjust the device to your preferred settings without making you feel like an engineer.
The Pax 3
Most of the design aspects that make the Pax 3 an excellent portable vaporiser work against its usability. It's a small device and doesn't have anything close to a screen or the control the Mighty has. It is controlled by a single button and the LED petals.
Once you fire the device, the display glows. Each of the four petals lights up to indicate which of the four temperature setting you have selected and activated. For vapers that prefer a higher level of control, the Pax 3 has a Bluetooth feature that you can use to pair the vaporiser with your smartphone for more control.
Verdict: The Pax 3 might have the cool Bluetooth feature, but the Mighty takes this round. It’s the simpler device to use because of its size, its handy and sizeable screen and the digital controls that are easy to use.
Temperature Options
Most dry herb vaporisers come with adjustable temperature settings that allow you to customise your experience. You can get this level of control from any other method of herb consumption. This functionality can change your vape experience, ensuring a smooth or mild vapour, or you can opt for hotter temperatures that produce thick clouds of vapour.
The Mighty shines in terms of the temperature range. You can choose the temperature you want, starting at 400C to 2100C. Using the digital controls, you can adjust the temperature range in small increments to find your sweet spot. The clear screen will show the selected temperature and the chamber temperature.
The Pax 3
The Pax 3 is slightly shorthanded in the temperature range departments. Unlike the Mighty, which gives you more control, the Pax 3 comes with four preset temperature. You can only choose from one of these by holding down the control button. Each of the petals has a corresponding temperature preset.
If you use the smartphone app, you can unlock more features, including the boost and stealth modes. But in terms of temperature range, you're still limited.
Verdict: Once again, the Mighty outshines the Pax 3 with sheer diversity in temperature range and ease of operation. It's worth noting, though, that the Pax 3 also offers decent variety, just not as broad as the Mighty in the temperature range department.
Vapour Quality
The Mighty Vaporizer
For all its size and power, you should expect the Mighty to deliver thick clouds of vapour. It does exactly that. It has a unique hybrid heating system that utilises both convection and conduction heating to create smooth, thick, potent, tasty and pure vapour.
Pax 3
The Pax 3 has rapid heating times on its side of the ring. The temperature in this device peaks in just 30 seconds. Although it is a small device, it doesn't hold back on the vapour producing dense, tasty and smooth vapour. Its surprisingly good, cool and unique design with the herb chamber at the bottom of the device ensures you can keep vaping for as long as you want without worrying about the device running too hot for your lips to handle.
Verdict: The Mighty will once again take this round. It has better power, has an excellent hybrid heating system and therefore produces superior quality vapour. The Pax 3 still holds its own especially considering its size but the unique features of the Mighty edge it out of this round.
Maintenance and Cleaning
Thorough cleaning and maintenance are a critical part of keeping your vaporiser performing its best. When making the purchase, you have to consider how easy or difficult it is to maintain and clean your preferred vaporiser.
The Mighty Vaporizer
The large size and intricate construction work against the Mighty. Cleaning and maintaining the device can be tedious. Cleaning and maintaining the chamber will take you a reasonable amount of time and even more when it is time for a deeper clean.
You need to remove several parts and let them soak in a cleaning solution, then remove them and wipe the excess grime down before putting back the device.
Pax 3
The Pax 3 has a simple approach. Maintenance is a breeze. With as little as isopropyl alcohol, cotton swabs and a soft cleaning brush, you can have the device dismantled and cleaned in no time. There are not as many pieces to disassemble, and the reassembly is simple.
Verdict: For the second time on this comparison, the size and design of the Mighty work against it. The Pax 3 scores another round because of its simplicity and compact size.
Final Remarks
The Mighty is called the "mighty" for a reason. It's one of the best, if not the best, vaporisers money can buy. As you have seen in this comparison, it scores points in most of the categories. But the Pax 3 isn't shabby either. It's a workhorse that will get you an excellent experience on a budget.
If you’re going all out, the Mighty is a worthy choice. But if you have a restricted budget but still want a proven device that will deliver beyond expectation, the Pax 3 is the next best choice. In this case, I wouldn’t consider it a downgrade but more as the second-best option on the list.