Background
The Linx Vapor (Visit Store) provides above-average vaporizers such as the Ares (Review) and the Blaze (Review), which both bear great value for their price. The Gaia (which means ‘Earth' by the way) is a stealth-looking portable weed vape that features a Quartz heating chamber and precise temp control that ranges from 200-428°F.
It has an intuitive design and interface, so beginners won't have a hard time using the Gaia. It also has a 2200mAh battery, a magnetic packing tool, and a hybrid convection/conduction heating method, which is unusual for a $160 vape. Let's look into the comprehensive review to see how well it handles my herbs.
Kit & Accessories
The kit comes with everything that you need, plus a few things that you'll find useful:
- Linx Gaia Vaporizer – The Gaia Vaporizer comes with three color variants: Onyx Black, Steel Gray, and Rose Gold.
- Magnetic Mouthpiece Cap – This protects your mouthpiece when you're traveling or when the device is not in use.
- Loading Funnel – You can screw this accessory for easy loading.
- Linx 2-in-1 Lightning and Micro USB Charger – The USB charger is compatible to charge iPhone and any micro-USB devices.
- Packing Tool & Cleaning Brush
Additional Accessories
The Gaia has an impressive set of accessories that add some extra versatility to the device:
- Water Bubbler – If you want a cooler vapor, you can buy the water bubbler mouthpiece from their website.
- Water Pipe Adapter – With this accessory, you can put your Gaia Vaporizer on any 14mm or 18mm water pipe.
- Lava Plates – These allow the Gaia Vaporizer to vape solid concentrates, but I must warn you that the temperature won't be high enough to vape the wax and be messy to clean afterward. So if you're planning to vape wax concentrates, I suggest you buy a vape pen for your wax.
Aside from the accessories mentioned above, you can also get replacements for all Gaia's various accessories from Linx (Visit Website).
Design & Features
The Gaia has a standard-box design that you see in a lot of weed vapes. It's a little over three inches tall and has rounded edges, so it slips easily into any pockets. Usually, I would warn you about the glass mouthpiece getting dirty or broken, but Linx took care of that problem. They included a magnetic cap that protects the mouthpiece, so portability isn't an issue with the Gaia.
The Gaia has a brushed aluminum finish that looks great in all of the available colors, though I prefer the raw steel finish since I like how the chrome accents on the base and the top stands out.
It has an OLED screen on the side and is paired with a power button and a temperature dial. It also has a magnetic tool located at the bottom of the base, so you don't need to worry about grabbing one when you take the Gaia with you. The minor issue I have is that the temperature control buttons are small and a bit less satisfying to click than some dry herb vapes. Otherwise, this is a pretty well-optimized device.
Mouthpiece
The Gaia features a glass mouthpiece that's screwed on top of the device. It's comfortable to use, and since it's glass, it helps preserve the vapor's flavor and purity. However, the mouthpiece is short, which makes it harsh on higher temp settings. Another thing is that I wished that the mouthpiece is magnetically connected so that it will be easier to load/unload herbs.
Heating Oven
The Gaia featured a Quartz heating chamber and paired with Hybrid Heating. It means that the herbs will be evenly vaped and results in a more refined and tastier vapor. It can hold up to 0.25g of herbs, which is suitable for solo sessions.
As you can see, most dry herb vapes typically have either stainless steel or ceramic ovens. So, I was a bit surprised that Gaia would effectively use Quartz as an oven material. However, even though it can produce good-tasting vapor, it's prone to breaking, especially after each session. So if you want to preserve the oven's longevity, handle it with care and avoid taking nonstop multiple sessions.
How To Use
The Linx Gaia is pretty simple to use as most dry herb vapes. Before starting your session, make sure to grind your herbs with a good-quality grinder like the SLX Grinder (Review) to increase the surface area and cause the herbs to burn evenly. To use the Linx Gaia, you need to:
- Unscrew the Glass mouthpiece to expose the heating chamber.
- Place the herb in the chamber and replace the mouthpiece.
- Press the power button five times to turn on the device
- Use the plus and minus buttons to adjust the temperature.
- Once the temperature has been set, hold the power button to start the heating process.
- Once heating is complete, inhale from the mouthpiece.
Temperature Range: The temperature can be set in single-degree increments from 200°F to 428°F.
Cleaning and Maintenance
To get most of the vapor from your weed vape, you must clean it regularly. To clean the Gaia vaporizer, you need to:
- Remove the mouthpiece
- Unscrew the filter from the bottom of the mouthpiece
- Disassemble the filter into three separate pieces and submerge it in the isopropyl alcohol
- To clean the mouthpiece, use a Q-tip dipped in isopropyl alcohol.
- As for the heating chamber, use a cleaning brush and gently sweep the chamber. For a more stubborn residue, you can use a Q-tip to clean the chamber. Repeat the process until it's cleaned.
- Allow the filter pieces to air dry before putting them back together.
- Replace the parts and do a burn-off twice before using it.
- To do a burn-off, crank the temperature to the highest setting and let it heat up for thirty seconds.
Performance & Vapor Quality
The Gaia only takes about twenty seconds to heat up, which is pretty quick for a dry herb vape. It also has a low draw resistance, plus the body never gets hot, even at higher temperatures. After each session, the herbs were cashed, which indicates that the herbs were efficiently and evenly vaped.
As for the vapor quality, the flavor is good because of the purity of the materials and the hybrid heating system. The quartz chamber keeps the flavor pure, and so does the glass mouthpiece. I got the best result when loading 0.2g of herbs and vape around at the 350-370°F range. In this way, the flavor is better, the battery will last longer, and the vapor will be much easier to inhale.
Overall, the Gaia vaporizer gave me a fantastic experience. However, due to a short vapor path and no cooling system, vaping on higher temp settings is quite harsh and causes more lung irritation than usual. Also, after a few sessions, some debris gets stuck on the threads, making the mouthpiece hard to unscrew.
Battery Performance: The battery has a capacity of 2200 mAh and can last for about two hours of average use, which is quite good for a portable vape. Unfortunately, it takes about three to four hours to charge, which is a little on the long side.
Bottom Line
After two years of use, I must say this is a decent mid-tier vape for beginners who tend to travel more and do solo covert sessions. The Gaia's compactness, durable build quality, ease of use, and above-average vapor quality make it a suitable choice for a portable vape. However, there are some cons to using this device, such as the fragile heating chamber, below-average recharge time, and the vapor could be harsh on higher temp settings. So if you're looking for a premium quality vape that can withstand intense sessions, the Crafty+ (Review) | Mighty+ (Review) are definitely the top-tier choices.
