Detailed User’s Review of the Arizer Solo II Portable Vaporizer

By Chris
Last Updated on

Detailed User’s Review of the Arizer Solo II Portable Vaporizer

Arizer released the Solo II last year (2017) and we were pretty excited by the highly anticipated update to the widely popular original Arizer Solo.

On the back of that excitement, we published a post on our first impressions shortly after the product was released and I wrote a piece comparing the new Solo II to the Original Solo but we have not published a detailed review of the Solo II… until now.

Sometimes we only get a few weeks to test a vape and we have to move onto other products, however, the Solo II has been under the pump at VapeFuse ever since we got it.

I personally would have used the Solo II for over 500 sessions during this time and have assisted many members of our VapeFuse community with getting started with it.

Based on that experience I’ll share my review with you below.

Packaging and Presentation of the Arizer Solo II Vaporizer

Solo II Portable Vaporizer Boxes

I won’t spend too much time talking about the packaging. If you’d like more details on that, please visit our post on the first impression of the Solo II where Matt talks about the box and packaging in detail.

For now, all you need to know is that the Solo II is packaged very well and it is likely to get to you in perfect condition.

Design of the Arizer Solo II Portable Vaporizer

The design of the Solo II led to a very easy to use portable vaporizer that is one of my favorite portables I ever used.

Just like every other Arizer portable vape, the Solo II incorporates a glass aroma tube as your chamber and vapor path. A glass vapor path is preferred by many seasoned vapers.

Arizer Glass Aroma Tubes

The heating element of the vaporizer heats up a stainless steel heating chamber that houses the borosilicate glass aroma tube to produce great vapor.

As you can see in the above picture, all Arizer portable vaporizers work this way.

Solo II Portable Vaporizer -Chamber

The Solo II comes with 2 aroma tubes in the box, a 90mm and another one that is 110mm long.

Both of them work the same way, you pack the chamber at the end of the tube with finely ground dry herbs.

Wait for your device to reach your set temperature before you insert the aroma tube into the upside-down device as you can see below. The digital temperature control allows you to be as precise as you like.

Loading aroma tube into Solo II vaporizer

What’s in the Box?

Let me quickly walk you through what comes with the vaporizer as you are unboxing your brand new Solo II.

I’ll just share a list of the items and if you’d like more details, please visit the Solo II first impression post where we go through the whole box.

Solo II Portable Vaporizer- What's in the box

Apart from the Solo II vaporizer you get a 90mm and a 110mm aroma tubes.

They both come with silicone stem caps so that you can pre-pack them. You can also use the stem caps to put on your aroma tubes when you cut a session short and not ready to empty your herbs yet.

One of the most common questions we get is what about if I am using it on my own and don’t want to vape the whole chamber in one go.

Arizer Solo II Aroma Tube with Silicone Stem- cap

In those situations, you can simply hold your device upside down, remove the aroma tube and place the silicone cap on the tube.

Be careful not to burn yourself, however, you don’t have to be afraid of using the silicone caps as they are designed to be used when the aroma tube is still hot out of the device.

Alongside the aroma tubes, you also get an aroma dish. This is a glass dish with an open top and no hole on the bottom.

You can use this dish for heating essential oils although, most people would not even know that it is in the box, let alone ever used it.

You also get four stainless steel screens in the kit to use with your aroma tubes if you wish.

I have tried to use the stainless steel screens for an extended period of time and found very little difference with or without.

The only advantage of using a steel screen in your aroma tube is that it keeps herb particles out of your tube a little longer so you may be able to put off cleaning your glass stem a little longer.

After using the screens for months I stopped putting them in. The main reason was that having a screen means that you have to remember to put it in as they tend to pop out when you empty your vaporized herbs.

You also get a clip-on belt carry case with the Solo II, that can house your vape, as well as the 2, included glass aroma tubes.

It is a good quality case that I use every now and then when I take the Solo II out and about.

The case provides great protection to the nice finish of the vape and holds the vape and aroma tubes all in one place.

You also get a stainless steel packing and cleaning tool as well as a wall charger to charge your device.

Available Colours

The Arizer Solo II is available in 2 colors, Mystic Blue and Carbon Black.

Arizer Solo and Solo II available Colours

Using the Solo II Vaporizer

Vaporizing with the Solo II is as easy as packing the aroma tube and turning the device on.

Press the ‘Mode’ button (center circular button) and the upper arrow (upper part of the outer circular button) at the same time and you’ll see the device counting back.

Keep pressing these buttons until you see a smiley face and “Hi” on your screen. At this point, you can let the buttons go.

I suggest starting vaping around 170 or 180 Celsius, based on my experience.

While you are waiting for your device to heat up, you can take a moment to look at your settings.

By pressing the ‘Mode’ button you can customize the following features on your Solo II:

  • Sound (you can have sound off, or on low, medium or high)
  • Session timer (you can adjust your session time between 5 and 15 minutes)
  • Temperature unit (you can change between Fahrenheit and Celsius)
  • Screen light (you can set the display light brightness to low, medium or high)
  • Power on delay (you can change the time you need to hold the buttons to start the device between 4, 6 or 8 seconds)

You don’t have to play around with all the settings at this point however, you may want to set your desired session time.

You have the options to choose between 5 and 15 minutes, after which your Solo II will auto shut off.

Just before, or right after you turn your device on, it is time to pack your aroma tube.

Don’t pack it too tight but feel free to press your herbs a little bit as you pack them.

Wait until your Solo II heats up before you insert the aroma tube into the chamber. The Solo II vaporizer heats up very fast, within about 30 seconds.

Once you have your aroma tube in the device, you can start drawing and vaporizing your herbs.

After vaping on 170 Celsius for a minute or so, I increase the temperature by 10 degrees Celsius every 3 to 5 minutes.

Depending on the herbs, I may run as long as two 15 minutes sessions on one chamber.

Vapor Production of the Solo II Portable Vaporizer

The Solo II produces very high-quality vapor and lots of it. Even 15 minutes into the session the Solo II produces visible vapor as you are increasing the temperature.

I rate the Arizer Solo II as one of the best vapor producing vapes on the market in terms of vapor quality and quantity.

The glass aroma tubes keep the vapor tasting nice long into the session and only the bottom of the herbs (that touch the stainless steel chamber) gets charred by the end.

The 110mm aroma tube seems to deliver a little bit cooler vapor, however, I don’t find the vapor hot using the 90mm aroma tube either.

Battery Life of the Solo II Vaporizer

The battery life of the Solo II is unmatched in my opinion. The powerful inbuilt battery powers the device on for hours.

The first advantage of such a powerful battery is the super quick heat up time. And it also helps that you can keep on vaping for about 3 hrs or so on the one charge.

Most portable vaporizers we test and use need to go on the charger after every few sessions to make sure it does not run out of power halfway into a session. The Solo II is not one of those, it is a powerhouse.

It charges up from empty to full battery in about 70 minutes with its proprietary wall charger.

An optional car charger is available with the Solo II if you often need to charge it on the go. The beauty of it this vape is that you most likely don’t need solutions for on the go charging.

Portability of the Arizer Solo II Vaporizer

The Solo II may not look like the most portable vaporizer and it may not be. I call it a ‘portable vape for home use’ however, it is somewhat portable with the included carry case.

You can pre-pack your aroma tubes and use the included silicone stem caps to ensure your herbs stay in place.

The vape as well as the packed aroma tubes can be loaded into the carry case and can be packed away quite easily.

It may not be discrete enough to use in public with the included longer aroma tubes but, keep it in mind that you can always buy smaller aroma tubes to make it a little more discrete.

Below you can see the Solo II with the 60mm optional aroma tube.

Arizer Solo II Portable vaporizer with 60mm aroma tube

Cleaning the Solo II Portable Vaporizer

One of the most important considerations of a vaporizer for any frequent user should be the ease of cleaning.

Resin builds up on every vape and you’ll have to clean it regularly in order for your vape to function properly.

One of my favorite things about the Solo II (and Arizer portables in general) is how easy it is to keep it clean.

With the aroma tubes harboring the herbs, your chamber stays clean at all times and you only have to clean the aroma tubes.

With most vaporizers, including high-end vapes like the Storz and Bickel Crafty and Mighty, your chamber is gradually building up resin and loses effectiveness after a while.

This does not happen to the Solo II due to fact that the resin from vaporizing with this device builds up on the glass only.

Nothing else has to be cleaned, but the glass aroma tubes and those can easily be soaked in isopropyl alcohol for a few hours or overnight and then rinsed off.

I have used most portable vaporizers on the market and not one of them is as easy to keep clean as the Arizer Solo II.

As a regular vaper, it is a major time saver for me to use the Solo II.

Arizer Solo II Water Pipe Attachment Frosted Glass Aroma Tube

One optional accessory that I would like to mention that might be of interest to you is the aroma tube that hooks into a water pipe.

Arizer Solo II Portable Vaporizer Frosted Glass Aroma Tube

Arizer calls this piece “Frosted Glass Aroma Tube” and you pack it the same way as you would pack the other aroma tubes but instead of inhaling directly through it, you attach it to a water pipe.

The frosted glass aroma tubes come in 19mm and 14mm diameter to suit most water pipes.

Arizer Solo II Portable Vaporizer Frosted Glass Aroma Tube 2

These frosted glass aroma tubes enable you to use your Solo II with your water pipe… if you have one.

I would not rush off to buy a water pipe, however, if you have one and you are used to consuming your herbs with it, then using one of these frosted glass mouthpieces with your Solo II and water pipe might be a good way to transition over from combustion to vaping.

Water bubblers are very popular and many people use their water pipe to enhance the vaping experience. I won’t go into more details here, if you’d like to find out more about using water pipes with vaporizers, you can read this post here.

Conclusion

The Arizer Solo II is one of the best vapes I ever tested and used and I have tested a lot of vapes over my 4 years at VapeFuse.

It is the portable vape that I use most often and the main reasons are that it is super easy to use, produces lots of great quality vapor and it is the easiest vaporizer to keep clean that I ever used.

I use the Solo II over the Mighty, Crafty, Prima, Pax 3, Davinci IQ and many other vapes, although I have to admit that this is not the most portable unit I used.

I don’t often take the Solo II out, although sometimes I do. I look at the Solo II as my main portable at home use vape and it has been working perfectly well for me.

If you have any questions or suggestions about the Arizer Solo II, please let me know in the comments section below.

Chris

Chris

I have been vaporizing herbs for many years and working for VapeFuse in Australia and Europe. I try every vaporizer and fortunate enough to have this as part of my job. I feel like I am living the dream. I love to hear from other vapers, so always feel free to comment on my posts. Keep on vaping.

4 thoughts on “Detailed User’s Review of the Arizer Solo II Portable Vaporizer”

  1. Wondering if you could do a comparison of the ALD Amaze WOW V2 vs the Arizer Solo II Portable Vaporizer. Trying to decide on my first one.

    Reply
    • Hello Tina, I would definitely recommend the Solo II, it is a class above the WOW. Much more expensive than the WOW, but it is one of the best portable vaporizers you can get. I hope this helps, all the best.

      Reply
  2. Hi, thanks for the review, I read in your website that you recommend the Solo for heat not burn with tobacco.
    Is it possible do MTL on it like a cigarette?
    Thanks!

    Reply
    • Hi there Tom,
      MTL would be probably a little hard, mostly due to the herbal vapor being much lighter (less dense) than smoke or vapor from liquids like e-juices.
      Herbal vapor is more of a DTL experience.

      Reply

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