Zeus Arc vs Pax 3 – Featherweight Title Match

As we mentioned off the top, the Pax 3 has been on the market for several years now and it’s stainless-steel heating chamber while capable is starting to show its age. Vapor from the Pax 3 is decent but lacks overall flavor and character, with the default settings, the first 2 heat settings struggle to produce much visible vapor.

Settings 3 & 4 are where the Pax starts to produce decent clouds, however, it takes a couple of draws before the vapor becomes visible.

The Pax 3 requires a super tight pack and a stir during your session to maximize the efficiency of your cook, failing to do so will result in herbs on the bottom being cooked, while the herbs closest to the magnetic lid remain green.

Like almost every other Zeus vaporizer, the Zeus Arc is very impressive when it comes to vapor quality, for best results the Zeus Arc requires a medium tight pack, you want to lightly tamp down your herbs but ensure there is space for some airflow. The Arc is fairly flexible though and will handle both tight and loose packs, but for optimal performance, a medium pack is best.

At the first temperature setting the Zeus Arc produces smooth, satisfying and flavorful vapor, while also producing a decent sized cloud on the very first draw (no more ghost hits!). What is impressive is that the Arc’s vapor path is shorter than the Pax 3 but the vapor is just as cool and smooth, while retaining a better flavor profile. Another thing to note is water filtration is also a possibility with the Zeus Arc GT water pipe adapter which lets you hook up the Arc to your water rig for even cooler and smoother draws.

This is due to the unique heatsink housed in the Zeus Arc’s mouthpiece, the GT version which features a gold heatsink is the most efficient when it comes to extracting the heat from your herbs while maintaining flavor, but the stainless-steel variant does a good job as well.

Airflow in the Zeus Arc is much more free-flowing than the Pax 3 which can have a bit of a restriction requiring a slower draw. It still is not as free-flowing as a convection unit, but for a conduction unit, we are very impressed.

Temperature setting 2 is where the Arc starts to pull away from the Pax 3 in the vapor department, producing ample amounts of clouds which are more reminiscent of convection-based units.  Kicking the Zeus Arc up to temperature setting 3 will kick the vapor production of the Zeus Arc into overdrive. Vapor on temperature 3 is ample, rivaling units like the Mighty in terms of how much vapor it can produce.

The Zeus Arc has a built-in stir tool to stir your herbs mid-session, however, a lot of times stirring your herbs is not necessary and the Zeus Arc gives an even cook without your assistance.

One last thing to note is that we found the extraction of the Zeus Arc much more efficient than the Pax 3, a 5 – 10-minute session on the Zeus Arc produces better results quicker than the Pax 3, which can take almost 20 minutes to fully extract your herb.

When the Pax 3 was released we were a bit underwhelmed. There were not many improvements made to separate it from the Pax 2, it looked exactly the same but now featured Bluetooth functionality and increased battery life.

The Bluetooth functionality is a decent addition, allowing you to custom set the pre-set temperatures and change the heating profile but we found we largely ignored the app and just relied on the Pax’s default settings.

The Pax itself is well built but can suffer from an uneven cook as we mentioned because of the way the heater is built.

The manufacturing quality of the Zeus Arc is very impressive for the companies first foray into the ultraportable market. The exterior shell is made from hard-coat anodized aluminum that has a satin black finish that feels very nice in your hands. In fact, the Zeus Arc feels more robust in your hands than the Pax 3 does, which can come across as a bit dainty. The curves in the Arc remind us of the curves on a sports car and feels ergonomic in your hand.

The Arc GT really shines when it comes to manufacturing quality, featuring an old gold vapor path, a first in the industry, which not only adds a luxurious feel to the unit, it also does a better job at transferring heat to your herbs while removing it before it hits your lips.

The Zeus Arc opts for a standard micro-USB charging port which we think is worth noting, this makes the Arc easier to charge than the Pax 3 which requires a proprietary charger. If you lose your Pax 3 charger you will need to replace it in order to start charging your Pax 3 again. For the Zeus Arc, it’s as simple as finding another micro-usb cable (and we all have a drawer full).

Of course, that micro-usb port can be found underneath the included multi-tool, which is magnetically connected to the bottom of the Zeus Arc, another great feature which makes stirring or emptying the Zeus Arc a breeze.

Overall, while the Pax 3 build quality is good and offers users Bluetooth functionality, but the Zeus Arc wins this section. It looks better and feels better in the hands, the Arc GT’s all gold vapor path cannot be ignored in terms of performance, the micro USB charging port is super convenient, and the built-in multi-tool constantly comes in handy during a sesh (you can even use it to clear the screen in the mouthpiece). You can tell that Zeus built the Arc with user feedback in mind and tailored everything to the user experience.

The Pax 3 is a fairly straightforward device and this is why people have flocked to it for years now. However, it does have a slight learning curve to get the most out of it, mainly in how you pack it. With the Pax 3, a tight pack is required for best results and your draw needs to be fairly slow in order to get good vapor.

The Zeus Arc is far more forgiving for users when it comes to the pack, as we discussed the Zeus Arc does best with a medium pack, fill the chamber full of herbs and lightly tamp your pack down. You don’t want the herbs moving around, but you also don’t want to restrict airflow.

However, the Zeus Arc is able to handle a loose pack and a super tight pack without much issue. A tighter pack will bring the airflow closer to the Pax 3 and a looser pack will open up the airflow creating a freer experience similar to the Utillian 722.

When it comes to cleaning and maintenance the Pax 3 is a bit of a pain to work with. Airflow gets clogged fairly easily as oils and debris build up around the edges of the stainless steel screen. The longer you neglect to clean the Pax 3, the more the crud builds up and chars to the stainless steel chamber and screen. Cleaning a Pax 3 takes a lot of patience and arm power, you will probably want a metal poker to help chip away built-up deposits.

The Zeus Arc, on the other hand, is a much more straightforward cleaning process, especially on the GT version. The gold does not allow the material and oils to adhere the same way they do on the Pax 3 and airflow does not suffer as much from lack of cleaning. Periodically you will need to clear your screen with the multi-tool but that can be done rather quickly. The chamber can easily be cleaned with a cleaning solution or q-tip with 99% alcohol. The mouthpiece and heatsink can all be soaked in a cleaning solution for a hassle-free clean. For an even easier time with the Zeus Arc GT cleaning, the Zeus Purify Cleaning kit is another handy accessory that’s worth considering.

The Pax 3 also introduces Bluetooth to the vaporizer like the Crafty plus, which adds a bit of a learning curve for the non-tech savvy among us and will most likely be ignored by most. The Zeus Arc puts function first offering 3 perfectly calibrated heating cycles with just a single button to switch between them. And of course, the built-in multi-tool which is invaluable to emptying a chamber and other various maintenance.

Portability

Battery Life

When it comes to temperature flexibility the Pax 3’s Bluetooth app gives it an edge over the Zeus Arc which has pre-set temperatures. The Pax 3’s app will allow you to custom set your temperature down to the individual degree, but it does require the app to do so. However, this method of temperature control forces the users to be dependant on the app which is not desired by many hence inclining them to get other units like the Focus V Pro that too allow the temperature control via the device instead of using a mobile app.

The Zeus Arc will have an option to change your pre-set temperatures through a firmware update, however, it will be another set profile rather than custom temperatures and firmware is currently in the works and not readily available. However, this will eventually allow users who prefer lower temperatures to have a “Low Temp Profile” that they can apply via a computer when the firmware is available.

For now, though the Arc is locked at its 3 pre-defined heat cycles, which do an ample job on their own.

If you’d like to see a comparison, check out our recent showdown between the Zeus Arc and DaVinci IQ and to see how these 2 units stack up against the field, be sure to check out our Portable Vaporizer Ranking Chart.