Airvape Legacy Review: On Demand Heating & Clean Vapor Path

Airvape Legacy

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What is the Airvape Legacy?

The Airvape Legacy is a convection-based vaporizer designed for cannabis and various concentrates, and the latest edition to the Airvape lineup. According to Apollo, it’s the product of 2 years of research and development, and it’s packed to the gills with new design twists at every turn. For starters, it boasts an impressive 15-second heat up time, a fully removable glass vapor path, and a gold-plated heating chamber. It also does wireless charging. One of its most exciting features has to be its attractive hemp textile and vegan leather body.

The box comes with an awesome holographic image on it and includes everything you’ll need to get started. And we haven’t even got to all of its features yet! Keep reading to find out how it compares to the best portable weed vaporizers we’ve tested to date.

The Airvape Legacy was sent by Apollo for the purpose of this review.

Price: $249.00

Product features

There is a lot going on with this device. As soon as I pulled it out of the box, I was a bit surprised. It reminds me of a hybrid between a full-sized mod and a portable weed vape. The device stands at 119 mm in height, 52 mm in width and 21 mm in depth, and weighs a whopping 244 grams with the included battery installed. So, I wouldn’t call it a lightweight device—and it sure feels very sturdy. The hemp textile and vegan leather add such a classy and unique aesthetic.

The Legacy is jam-packed with features like a 15-second heat up time, haptic feedback, a digital display with adjustable temperature control up to 464° F, Type-C charging, and a removable glass vapor path. It features two modes that include both constant and on-demand heating. It also has a built-in session timer that shuts it down after three minutes, and a puff motion sensor that will shut the device off after one full minute of inactivity during a session.

The mouthpiece is made of a shiny ceramic material and the heating chamber is gold-plated, which is good news for flavor chasers. The device flips open to reveal the herb chamber and battery door. Inside of the battery compartment is an included 3000 mAh cell and a glass vapor tube. On the bottom of the device is the air intake slot. The screen, power button, adjustment buttons, LED screen, and USB-C charge port are located on the side of the device. The device also has wireless charging abilities, but the wireless charging dock is sold separately.

Last but not least, the Legacy kit also includes a mini basket for micro dosing, a pad for concentrates, and a built-in packing tool which serves a variety of purposes. Overall, the device has such an elegant appearance with a lot going on under the hood.

How to use the Airvape Legacy

Using the Legacy is pretty straightforward; here are some tips to get you started. The device comes with on-demand heating mode turned on, but you can turn it off by pressing the up and down buttons at the same time. Then it will just heat up automatically for a 3-minute duration.

Performance

I tested the Airvape Legacy with some diamond sauce concentrate, and a variety of THC and high-CBD strains. I did my testing the new smooth edge chamber component and gold microdose basket. Here’s what my experience was like with the Airvape Legacy.

Flower

The flavor on the Legacy is great. It’s definitely up there with the better vaporizers I’ve tried. I wasn’t shocked because the vapor path is made of materials that are conducive to flavor. I started to get a bit of a smoky taste beyond 385° F, so I prefer using it around 360° F. It tends to run a bit hot compared to other vapes I’ve tested—385° F is usually my minimum preferred temperature for bud. Even with the new smooth edge gold piece installed, there were spots of the flower that came out pretty dark. For vapor purists, stick with 360° F and below. I think inhaling lightly could also help avoid scorching, since the device utilizes convection heating.

The vapor production was also very impressive on the Legacy, considering I was using it at low temperatures. I was getting really nice hits of vapor down to the end of each session. The flavor drops off towards the end, but that’s expected. I found that the 3-minute session time seems to be just right for a regular session on it. You can always stir up the bud and crank out a round two, preferably on a higher heat setting to extract the remainder of the cannabinoid content. But the flavor isn’t going to be as good as that first hit of tasty terpene goodness.

It was a pleasure to test out some of my favorite strains on this device. Even though it heats up in 15 seconds, I end up giving it an extra 15-20 seconds and a few primer puffs to get the vapor flowing. You can really get some massive rips off this thing that can knock you out. Even on low temps, it hit me much harder than I expected, with noticeably smooth and pleasant effects.

With the microdosing basket, I was able to go to higher temps without the bud getting too hot. You can only pack a tiny bit at a time, and I found it works better with a coarser grind because it’s hard to get shake into the tiny chamber, but it’s a nice option for the vapor purists out there. The vapor production isn’t as good, but it runs a bit cooler and won’t scorch your bud.

Concentrates

With concentrates, the performance was pretty similar to the performance with bud. It actually vaporizes my concentrate and provides some really good flavor in the process. Using the on-demand heating setting, it felt almost like a dab pen. I preferred using it in auto-heat mode—you can just relax and take a nice puff every now and then, without having to hold the button. It’s not intense like a dab rig, but it’s smooth and extremely flavorful.

If you want to enjoy the clean taste and high potency of cannabis concentrates, the Legacy vape provides a good option for that. It’s not for everyone, but if you can’t handle a dab rig or wax pen, then this is your best bet. Just put a tiny dab, less than 0.1 grams, on the center of the pad. I never had any leaking issues, the concentrate was gone by the end of the session. I prefer cranking it up to the highest temp for dabs, but you can go at your own pace with it.

Cleaning and maintenance

Cleaning the Legacy isn’t much of a hassle, especially if you give it a quick brushing after each session. You’ll typically get a few loose pieces of bud that you can just wipe off with a brush or Q-tip. Most of the parts are removable, except for the chamber itself. If you use the gold edge component, then the chamber never actually touches the flower, so it’s easier to keep clean.

Soak everything (the screens, glass tube and mouthpiece) in alcohol, or dip a cotton swab in alcohol and use it to get in all of the nooks and crannies of it. All of the little screens are replaceable. The kit comes with extras, but I don’t think I’m going to replace them for a while if I keep up with maintenance. The key to maintaining any vaporizer is always regular care.

Charging

Since the battery is removable, you can use an external battery charger with the Legacy. The on-board USB-C charging works fine too and charges the included 3000 mAh battery in under three hours. The cool part about vaporizers with removable batteries is that you can always have a fresh battery ready to go in your device and one on the charger. So it’s always ready to go. It felt good to put some of my old 18650’s to good use. If you don’t have a heap of them laying around, it makes sense to buy an extra Legacy battery, or a pair of good 18650’s.

As for battery life, I was able to get a day or two worth of sessions using it on the medium to low heat settings. The included Legacy battery is rated at 3000 mAh. If you are using higher temps, it’s going to drain the battery quicker, but I’ve been getting at least 5-10 full sessions out of it. I doubt the included cell is really 3000 mAh, but in any case, it works well with the device.

Pros / Cons

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Verdict

The Airvape Legacy offers a lot in terms of value. The gold-plated chamber doesn’t just look great, it does a good job conducting heat and providing good flavor. The only cons I could find is that it can run a bit hot on the higher settings because I noticed a few scorched bits of flower. But I found that this can be avoided by puffing on it lightly and sticking to low temps. Just go about 20-30° F lower—or just use the micro dose basket and you won’t have to worry about it at all.

Overall, it’s an attractive and powerful vape that delivers dense and tasty vapor. I appreciate the attention to detail that was put into it. The features are off the charts! I love the built-in dab tool that it comes with, and the 15-second heat up time is pretty insane. The hemp textile, vegan leather, and gold trimming give it a defined look that pulls it all together—just stunning.

The Legacy works just as well with dabs as it does with dry herb. I like using it more with bud because I prefer other devices for dabs, but it would serve just as well for somebody who wants to slow cook their concentrates and consume them in a smooth-hitting and discreet way. I’d recommend it for both.

What do you think about the Airvape Legacy? Leave a comment below.

Airvape Legacy