Arizer XQ2 Review – How Much of an Improvement is the XQ2 Vaporizer ?

Arizer is a Canadian manufacturer of dry herb vaporizers. One of the original entrants into the space they have become known for quality herb vaporizers that are straightforward with no frills or complex intricacies.

As you will see in our Arizer XQ2 review, much of the design draws on the simple but effective blueprint of past Arizer Vaporizers. 

The Arizer XQ2 is a desktop vaporizer for herbs that offers slight improvements on it’s predecessors (the V Tower and Extreme Q Vaporizer). It operates with a simplistic convection desktop approach of placing your herb in a chamber above the heating element and inhaling it through a whip or using a fan which pumps hot air through your herb and into a bag which is then consumed.

The Arizer XQ2 retails for $239.99 which is more than a reasonable price for a brand new 2022 desktop vaporizer from an established and trusted brand. The only desktop vaporizer more quality than this is going to be the Volcano Vaporizer which is considerably more expensive. 

We do have some refurbished Arizer XQ2 Vaporizers starting at $169 if you are looking for an even better value.

Lately alot of companies have been opting to make their packaging double as a carrying case. The new Ispire Daab comes in it’s own pelican case and Grenco Science has started including hemp carrying cases on their G Pen Vaporizers. Others are utilizing a design which allows for easy use of the packaging as the primary storage for the vaporizer. 

The XQ2 does not have such packaging. While everything is easy to get out, the packaging is like their vaporizers, simple. It does the job for delivering the vaporizer, but you should just as soon throw the packaging in the closet when you receive your XQ2 as this is a desktop vaporizer that should be sitting on your coffee table. Typically Desktop Vaporizers are a pain to take out and put away, but do save the packaging as it will give you more trade in value. 

The Arizer XQ2’s most notable improvement is the updated modern appearance. They have added some neon LED lights at the base and surrounding the heating element (which can be changed) and made the user interface more streamlined and straightforward. Both which make the unit more aesthetically pleasing  and modern looking than the original Extreme Q.

The XQ2 comes with a heap of accessories and moving parts. We can break it down with the essentials.

The Arizer XQ2 Base is made from a sturdy heat rated plastic that leads to a cylindrical steel alloy body and ceramic heating element. It’s LED display and colored lights add to its aesthetic and modern appeal. It’s is lightweight which can be both good and bad. it is no hassle to move around from place to place with one hand; desktop items of very little weight can also go flying across the room when even minorly bumped into. 

It’s control panel is easy to understand and can be utilized using the remote control included with the same ease. On the bottom is the air filter insert and on the backside is the charging port. 

The Cyclone Bowl is where you input your herb and place it on top of the heating element. The XQ2 comes with two of these cyclone bowls. Supposedly one cyclone bowl offers less volume for your herb than the other. I must have had too many sessions with the XQ2 as these are both the same cyclone bowls. You can flip it one way for a larger chamber capacity and closer proximity to the heating element or flip it the other way for less chamber capacity and greater stand off distance from the ceramic heating element.  Arizer says one is for flavor and one is for clouds. Which checks out, you get much greater vapor production when the small end is input over the heating element. 

The Cyclone Bowls offer added convenience with the internal glass screens, but Arizer does offer an included stainless steel screen for those who wish to add it. 

The three foot silicone whip comes with a glass mouthpiece and a half dome screen which you can find in the elbow of the whip. If you really want flavor try not even packing the cyclone bowl and just packing the small screen in the glass elbow. The whip is the preferred method for myself as being 37 I am not blazing it up with my buddies like I was 15 years ago in college. Adult life has me doing a lot more solo sessions and the whip is easy to grab and fire up compared to the bags. 

The Bag Components are comprised of the glass adapter, bag mouthpiece, bag clamps and the bag itself. The glass adapter is placed into the cyclone bowl which then serves to fill the bag.

Making the bag requires you to insert the glass mouthpiece into the bag and seal with the two part clamp system. The piece by piece breakdown is on page 19 of the XQ2’s Manual. From assembly the bag mouthpiece inserts and you hit the fan.

The Arizer XQ2 also comes with a bunch of other parts which accommodate and support the main components. A potpourri dish and sample of Lavender, bag mouthpiece cover, heat grips for the cyclone bowl. You have alot of parts with the XQ2. This is great for customization, not so much if you like to remain organized. 

• Two Glass Cyclone Bowls 
• Aromatherapy Dish 
• 3’ (ft.) whip 
• Glass Bag Adapter 
• Balloon Mouthpiece 
• Balloon Connector 
• Vapor Bags 
• Air Intake Filter 
• Indented & Regular Screens 
• Stirring Tool 
• Potpourri Blend 
• Instructions

The XQ2 is a pure convection vaporizer. Your herbs are at a stand off distance above the heating element and hot air being drawn through the herbs is what creates the vapor. These are typically seen as healthier given the lack of contact with the heating element, however the raw materials used are much more important than the heating method (conduction, convection or induction) in determining health score. Point in case, the Mighty+ Vaporizer uses conduction and convection and would be considered a healthier vaporizer than the XQ2. All that aside, Arizer makes the grade for producing some of the healthiest cannabis vaporizers. The XQ2 is able to do so with the ceramic heating element, glass components and convection heating. 

Whip, Vapor Bag or Aromatherapy. There are two great ways and one way which  most will never use that the Arizer XQ2 Vaporizer offers. The whip lets you enjoy your herb by drawing at your own convenience, however this can be passed amongst friends pending the Covid paranoia has passed ;). The Whip also serves great for those who like to take advantage of water purification via running the whip to a hydratube. 

For those who have trouble drawing you can use the fan assist with the whip at the lowest setting. Using the fan on high speed with the whip will pump out too much vapor. The three speed fan is one great setting on the Arizer XQ2. If you try and use the industrial grade fan with the whip on the Volcano Hybrid, you are going to get alot more vapor than you bargained for and no point in wasting when you are buying a vaporizer in the first place to conserve your herb.

The XQ2 vapor bags offer ample volume for those who want to take advantage of the three speed fan on XQ2. The bags do require using the adapter piece and closer supervision over the whip but are better suited for social events or using the XQ2 in groups.

The vapor from the bag will not be as fresh as from the whip, but makes it much easier to fill a bag and monitor your intake or share with friends at a party. 

To  fully fill a bag even on the highest fan setting takes about 90 seconds, so this is not the powerful  fan you find on the Storz & Bickel Volcano. But also to be noted is that you never need to fill up any bag 100% of the way. 

The bag full will provide roughly 3 cubic feet of vapor so it is more than enough to pass around large groups and not miss a buddy.

The aromatherapy glass dish is great for yoga or kicking back and reading a book. The wide open dish combined with the low heat emits fragrant scents into the air while you relax. The lowest fan setting is also ideal here in carrying the scents throughout the room.

You turn the XQ2 on with the main power button on either the XQ2 remote or on the user interface. From there select the temperature and the unit will begin to heat up automatically (however a delay can be selected in the settings). 

Ensure to get a good grind for your herb before you input into the cyclone bowl and place over the heating element. As mentioned previously, you can choose if you want to fill up the larger portion of the cyclone bowl for greater vapor or the smaller end for more emphasis on taste. The larger end can fit damn near a straight gram in, but there is no need to fill all the way. The smaller end of the cyclone bowl also has a large capacity and can accommodate about .4 grams of ground herb while still seating with your bag or whip. 

With the cyclone bowl over the heating element you can decide your path. Bag or Whip.

One of the pain points we noticed during our XQ2 review was that the vaporizer will reach temperature in 90 seconds, but  if you start drawing immediately the vapor will be non-existent to really light. This is due to the rather large stand off distance between the herb and heat source. After about 1-2 minutes the herb has had enough exposure to the heat and the heat has had enough time to transfer into the glass cycling bowl. In a   way this heat transfer does give it a a small element of conduction. Arizer desktops are the only desktop vaporizers that will hit temperature but not be fully ready for another 1-2 minutes.  

The vapor quality on the XQ2 is good but leaves alot to be desired for a newly released upgraded model. With the whip and using the smaller end of the cyclone bowl you need to draw for 6-8 seconds if you want complete hits. This end of the cyclone bowl felt like I was getting light vapor when going for a quick pull even in the 400°F range.

I also thought the 100% glass cyclone bowls and large standoff distance would provide exceptional flavor. While the flavor was good it is nothing not provided by the much cheaper original Arizer Extreme Q and I might even say their portable Arizer SOLO 2 gives off better vapor quality.

Where the Arizer XQ2 shined was the consistency of vapor quality through out the session. On .4 grams packed into the smaller (taste) section I was able to get north of 20 hits – I’ll admit I did lose count. All these hits from start to finish were similar in taste and texture. I was impressed by the consistency of A-OK quality vapor over the entire session.

Another aspect of the XQ2 I wanted to test out during the review was the fact it goes to 500°F.  Generally anything over 450°F you run the risk of combusting and burning your herb. The XQ2 is able to get away with this in part due to the stand off distance between the heating element and the herb. However if you are using the larger cyclone chamber (closer to the ceramic heater) and let your herb sit there for a few minutes, it will in fact combust when you draw.

Amazingly enough I churned up to 500 °F for a session with the smaller chamber cyclone bowl and while the flavor was absolutely atrocious, I really got every last drop out of my herb and it did not combust.

The XQ2 control panel allows you to program pre set temperatures for the 1,2, and 3 for use with the remote. You can adjust the neon LED lights or turn them off altogether, switch between the 3 fan speeds and program an auto shut off to power the unit down after a certain amount of time. Of course you get the [standard on most vaporizers] ability to change between Celsius and Fahrenheit, turn off noise alerts, etc.

The Arizer XQ2 is a good vaporizer. The improvements over the original are mainly cosmetic with a slight edge for heat up time.  The original will provide better value with the same vapor quality, but if you want to have that more modern look and feel we recommend buying the newer XQ2.  A desktop vaporizer that would give you better vapor in this price range would be the Da Buddha Vape by Elev8 (formerly 7th Floor Vapes). The Da Buddha is even more basic than XQ2 in design –  no fan, bag, temperature readout. With far less features it lacks the pleasing to the eye look of the XQ2. The Volcano is going to be much superior to the XQ2 but the Classic at $479 versus the XQ2 price tag of $239, is twice as much.

Ultimately there is not much when it comes to desktop vaporizers on the market. People like to consume on the go or at least have the option to pick up and head to the patio without the need to plug in. We have seen two amazing desktop vaporizers in the Herbalizer and the VapeXhale Cloud Evo. Both of which companies went out of business due to slow sales.

The XQ2 is in a sweet spot, It is a mid range desktop vaporizer that provides quality on par with it’s price made by a reputable company. For more information, check out the latest Arizer promo codes for savings on the XQ2 and all other Arizer Vaporizers.