“…one of the best pen vapes for under $100.”
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Overall Rating - 81%81%
SPEED REVIEW (SUMMARY)
The Hypnos Zero by Linx is a compact and discreet portable pen-shaped vaporizer that vaporizes waxy concentrates in seconds while producing minimal reclaim. It's fast heating, efficient, and capable of producing tasty vapor that's thick when you want it to be and light when you don't. While its battery life and oven capacity could stand to see some improvement, it's hard to complain given how well it works, how small it is, how easy it is to use, and lastly, how cheap it is. For the money, this is one of the best compact pen vapes for concentrates that you can buy. We recommend it to anyone in need of a cheap, hassle-free vape that does what it's designed to do: produce delicious vapor on the go. If you want to buy it, you can buy it from this store here.
*This is a quick summary, in-depth review below.
Temperature
The Hypnos vaporizer offers 4 temperature settings to choose from, the lower of which result in very flavorful vapor and the higher two – larger clouds. Changing the temperature is easy, just press the power button 3 times and it’ll rotate to the next setting. Do this to cycle through the various temperature settings, each of which corresponds with a different color light. The color of the light emanated from the power button and the temperature setting that each color code corresponds with is deciphered as follows:
- Blue = Low
- Green = Medium
- Yellow = Medium-High
- Red = High
This might not seem ideal in light of the range offered by other vaporizers, but in comparison to other wax pens, it’s actually pretty good seeing as quite a few others offer either no temperature settings to choose from in a one-size-fits-all kind of mentality or less settings to choose from than this one offers. And as it turns out, the 4 settings that it offers are actually more than enough seeing as we typically only use 2 of them. Still, the extra options mean more of you will be able to find vaping temperatures that work with your own preferences.
Heat Up Time
This is a fast heating portable, as most vape pens designed for concentrates are. In this case, due to the design in which a ceramic plate replaces the typical coil, it does take a bit longer to heat up but nothing that you’ll complain over. Now while we do note that it does take a smidge longer to heat up than your typical fast-heating coil atomizer, the reality is that it heats up so quick there’s virtually no wait time. In other words, it heats up in a flash with its nearly instantaneous heat up time.
Battery Life
The Zero uses a standard 510 threading that makes it compatible with virtually all 510 threaded vape accessories, which means you could use its powerful and aesthetically pleasing battery to power just about any other 510 threaded atomizer or similar accessory that you might have. You can also use a different 510 battery to power its ceramic plate, the choice is yours. But as it stands, the atomizer and battery combo that it offers is capable of providing about a day of moderate use before it requires a recharge. And as for recharging, it takes about 1.5 hours to fully recharge once depleted. This is a bit longer than the roughly 1 hour average recharge time we see in other devices of this type, portable vape pens designed for concentrates.
When it runs out of juice, the power button will flash white 10 times to let you know that it’s time to throw it on the charger. At which point, you can use the charger that it comes with or you can use your own. It is possible to use a third-party charger to charge the battery quicker than the stock charger is capable of.
While we’re content with what the battery offers, it would have been nice to see a quicker recharge time and more battery life. However, for the average user, its battery life is probably more than enough to make it through the day.
Weight & Size
Super portable is how we’d describe this vape, which is somewhat expected given it’s a vape pen. Still, at only 10.7 centimeters in length and with a weight of just 46 grams, this is undoubtedly one of the more portable vapes out there right now.
The exact dimensions are 14 millimeters in diameter and 107 millimeters in length. With that in mind, this is one vape that you won’t have any problems slipping in your pocket as it’s 100% pocket-friendly.
Problems
Unfortunately, this is not the perfect vape from our perspective. While the battery life could obviously see some improvement, so could the oven capacity as it only holds a small amount of blend. But those aren’t are primary concerns as those are minor details in our book, the real issue that we have with this vape is its auto-shutoff feature, which has been incorporated in a fashion that we find somewhat annoying. Sure, we found a workaround, but still, it’s a bit annoying. We’ll explain.
The auto-shutoff timer, a safety feature that automatically shuts the vaporizer off after 10 seconds, causes the vape to shut itself off after 10 seconds of use. In turn, this requires you to turn it back on to take another hit. To avoid this, take your thumb off the power button before 10 seconds of continuous use has been reached and it won’t turn itself off, which will allow you to keep on vaping without having to turn it back on. Not a big deal, but a little annoying given that not all vape pens work like this. Still, it’s not enough of an issue for us to stop using it so it’s probably best not to let this minor nuisance discourage you from picking one up because this aside, it’s still a really nice vape.
There is one other minor concern with this vape and that’s with its reclaim momentarily clogging the holes that allow vapor to travel through the mouthpiece to your mouth. Fortunately, all you have to do is power it up for a few seconds and once the heat hits it, all of the holes unclog in a flash and it’s ready for use. In other words, it does get clogged, but it’s no big deal because all you have to do is heat it up for a few second and it’s ready to go.
Cleaning & Maintenance
For a concentrate vape, the Hypnos Zero is surprisingly easy to clean, which is in no small part thanks to the minimal amount of reclaim it creates when vaping. When it comes to cleaning, there are two main components that need to be cleaned: the mouthpiece and the atomizer.
To clean the mouthpiece, unscrew the glass tube from the component that contains the metal filter. Then, take the filter component and drop it in isopropyl alcohol and allow it to soak for a couple of hours or so before removing it from the solution. For the tube, use a q-tip dipped in ISO to scrub inside and outside. You can also use the q-tip to scrub the metal base. Once clean, rinse components in warm water and allow time to dry before reusing.
In order to clean the atomizer, drop it in a small amount of ISO. Make sure the side that has the ceramic plate on it is facing down and make sure to only use about 1 centimeter of ISO solution so that the plate is resting in the solution. Allow it time to soak before rinsing and drying. Ensure that it and all other components that you clean are completely dry before reattaching them to the vaporizer. Here’s a video put together by Linx that will help you understand exactly how to clean the Hypnos Zero vaporizer, in case you had any concerns after reading this cleaning tutorial.
Usage Tips
Here are some tips on how to use the Linx Hypnos Zero that we’ve put together to help you get the most out of it. If you have your own tips and tricks, feel free to contact us to let us know what they are.
- For the biggest clouds, use the highest temperature setting that it offers. This results in the fattest hits you’re going to see with this vape. Draw long and steady.
- For the best taste, use the lower temperature settings. This will help conserve your blend while maintaining the flavor profile for longer. Keep in mind, the lowest temperature settings produce non-visible vapor.
- Keep it charged. The Zero is your best friend until it runs out of juice, at which point it’s just another object needlessly taking up space in your pocket. So do yourself a favor and charge it when you’re able. This way, when you need it, it’ll be ready for you.
- Try using your favorite 510 threaded accessories and attachments. You might be surprised by what it’s capable of when you combine it with your favorite vape accessories and attachments.
Accessories
The Linx Zero comes with a 650 mAh rechargeable battery, atomizer, a filter section, two glass mouthpieces, and a USB charger. In addition to this, it’ll work with just about any 510 threaded accessory, opening it up to a whole range of options.
Warranty
Tampering with any of the vape’s parts or the vape itself will void its 1-year limited manufacturer’s warranty, which is why we suggest using it as Linx intends for it to be used. While we haven’t had to contact the manufacturer to exercise our warranty coverage, it is our understanding that their customer service teams is one of the best in the industry – always ready to support their customers and products.
Vapor Quality
The Zero uses a ceramic heating plate that differs from the typical coil used by most concentrate pen’s atomizers. Now while the coil is known for larger cloud production, the plate is known for producing tastier vapor. In this case, the Linx Hypnos is no exception to this rule as it produces extremely tasty vapor while sacrificing a bit of cloud production. However, on the higher heat settings, it’s still more than capable of producing some pretty impressive clouds. Not quite as dense as the clouds we see from vape pens using coil-style atomizers, but definitely thick enough to keep us happy. Plus it tastes phenomenal. As for efficiency, the ceramic atomizer that it uses is one of the most efficient designs we’ve seen to date. What happens when you heat your blend is that the post in the middle heats up the blend, causing it to melt and pool around it, allowing it to easily vaporize everything you put in it. And as far as reclaim is concerned, something that dabbers will know all too well, the reclaim produced by its atomizer is minimal. For those that don’t know, this is a good thing. All in all, the vapor quality that this Linx vaporizer produces is exceptional. Tasty, pure, and thick when you want it to be, light when you don’t. And to top things off, it also has surprisingly good airflow – not restrictive like some of the other vaporizers its size.
Final Thoughts
This is an incredibly slick little device. It’s discreet, pocket-friendly, easy to use, efficient, and effective. While its battery life is limited and its auto-shutoff feature a bit annoying, it more than makes up for these downsides with its quality of vapor, quick heat up time, and low cost. This is one of the best pen vapes for under $100. We highly recommend it to anyone in need of a cheap and reliable portable for waxy concentrates. Interested in buying it? We suggest you buy it from this authorized retailer.
