FocusV Aeris Review

Background

The new FocusV Aeris concentrate vaporizer is compatible with dabs and solid extracts right out of the box, plus it has a dry herb attachment that's available separately. 

It retails for a steep $230, and coupon code TVG10 will save you 10% at vape-smart.com. You also use my search tool to find the review page of any vape you're interested in, which I keep updated with the latest coupons and promo codes. 

In this review, I'll overview the design and features and use the Aeris with concentrate and dry herbs. I'll also talk about what would have been better, and lastly, I'll give you guys some tips to make the most out of your Aeris if you already own one. 

In the Box

The kit includes a small “backpack-looking” carry case, the Aeris unit, a USB-C charging cable, cleaning swabs, a dab tool, and the user manual. 

Two extra accessories that I'll be using which are not included in the kit are the Saber hot knife and the dry herb chamber, which can be swapped with the included one. We'll come back to these shortly. 

Design

The first thing you'll notice is that it's shaped like a thick vape pen. The body has these vortex lines, and the housing is wrapped in some type of silicone that is soft and pleasant to touch. 

The vape is made of four main components- the battery, body, mouthpiece, and heating element. Let's look at each one separately. 

Battery

The battery sits at the bottom and can be unlocked with a quarter twist. The Aeris uses a replaceable battery, which can be directly plugged into the charger. So you can purchase an extra one and keep one plugged in while the other is in use, swap as needed, and never have to worry about running out of power. The locking mechanism feels strong and sturdy. 

Base

The next component is the base. It connects to the battery at the bottom and to the mouthpiece and heating element on top. The base has a single activation button and an embedded LED strip that communicates device settings and status. The base also contains a microchip and functions as the brain of this smart vape, regulating the temp in real-time. 

3D Heating element

The heating element of the Aeris is the same one FocusV uses for the Carta 2 eRig. They call it intelli-core, which basically means that the chamber “intelligently” regulates the temperature, making real-time adjustments to keep a precise and consistent temperature in the coil.

The coil is made from Ceramic and features 3D heating. If you look closely, you'll be able to see the heating wire embedded into the walls of the chamber. This is a familiar design that is used by the Peak Pro, Proxy, and even Core 2.1. It ensures more consistent and precise heating. And just a reminder, coupons for all of these are on the review pages linked below. 

Mouthpiece

The heating element screws into the base and is covered by the magnetic mouthpiece. The mouthpiece has the same silicone cover as the body of the vape, but it's external, so it never comes in contact with the vapor path. 

The mouthpiece also has a Black Ceramic insert that cools down the vapor and can be pulled out for cleaning. The fitting is pretty tight, tho, and it's not so easy to remove. You'd need to push it down with both thumbs from the sides until it slides down. But be careful, as it is very fragile; I almost broke mine, so I will not attempt to pull it out again unless I have to clean it. 

The mouthpiece also has two air intake holes that can be used as a carb cap or to reduce the airflow by blocking with your finger. When I cover both holes and try to inhale through the mouthpiece, I feel a strong vacuum without any air leakage. The magnets of the mouthpiece are strong and create an airtight seal around the chamber. That's pretty impressive. 

Usage

To load the Aeris, I'd need to drop a tiny amount of concentrate right in the center of the coil, which, depending on how sticky your concentrate is, can be challenging to do with an ordinary dab tool. The last thing you want to do is scrape your dabs on the walls of the chamber. It will heat up and get into the vapor path, and you'll get sticky reclaim everywhere.  

Using a hot knife makes it a lot easier to load the dabs into the coil. It has a heated tip that can easily cut through concentrates and slide them right into the center of the coil. 

This specific one is the FocusV Saber, which also has a small LED spotlight at the tip, three temp levels, and USB-C charging. It retails for $40, and as always, coupons are below. 

Once loaded, I'll close the mouthpiece back up and click the power button five times to unlock the device. 

Interface

Then, I can click the button once to cycle through the five preset temps- Blue is lowest at 400°F, and Red is the highest at 525°F. A double tap will start the heat-up process, and the LED plus the haptic feedback will let you know the desired temperature has been reached. 

Smartphone app

The Aeris can also connect to a smartphone via Bluetooth and has a web app that allows deep customizations of everything about the device.

You can view general settings, battery level, usage, and change the LED display colors and patterns. You can also customize each of the five presets to have a duration of between 20 and 60 seconds and any temp between 365-635°F. You can save it to the device so it is accessible from the button without opening the app. 

Performance & Vapor Quality

The Aeris produced top-notch vapor. The flavor and smoothness were incredible. It is obvious that this heating element's temperature regulation is precise and consistent. The vapor tasted exactly the same at the beginning of the session and at the end of the session. It did not overheat at any point, and the flavor of fresh terpenes was preserved exceptionally well. 

Dry Herb Performance 

As I mentioned, the Aeris is also compatible with the dry herb atomizer that was originally designed for the Carta 2. You will have to strip down the silicone ring, as it wouldn't close otherwise. Once installed, it shows up on the app with its own dry herb presets and options. The default starts at 300°F and goes up to 420°F, but again, this can be customized. You can also change the session duration to between 1 and 4 minutes, with the default being 3 minutes. 

As far as performance with dry herbs, I got mixed results. The flavor was very good, but there was very little vapor production. Even when I bumped it up to 400°F, which would produce huge and strong clouds on my Venty, there was very little visible vapor. But the Venty is double the price, has a much stronger battery, and is a dry herb vaporizer as its primary function. So, it's not a fair comparison to begin with. 

While I appreciate the dual compatibility of the Aeris, I don't think it is robust enough to be used primarily as a dry herb vaporizer, and I wouldn't recommend it as one. Check out my list of the best dry herb vaporizers if that's what you're looking for. 

Could have been better

Now, while the Aeris is an excellent concentrate vaporizer, let's take a second to talk about a few of its cons: 

1. One, the interface is a little clunky. The app froze on me a few times, sometimes disconnecting and reconnecting for no reason. It is not the most stable. Also, the LED light presets, which are different from the temp presets, are confusing to set up and are not even needed. But, to be fair, once you set it up, you won't need the app anymore, so the usage becomes more straightforward. 
2. Two, the Ceramic mouthpiece insert is super fragile. I feel like if you pull it out the wrong way, it can easily crack or break. This is also stated in the manual. But for their defense, new mouthpieces are $35, which is reasonable, all things considered. 
3. And Three, with a price of over $200, it may be out of reach for many users. But as Puffco already figured out, people are willing to pay for a good dab experience. 

Other useful features

A couple of other things I liked about the Aeris are:

1. One, it is stable and sturdy when standing on the table. Unlike thin wax pens or even the Puffco Proxy, the Aeris stands up tall, doesn't wobble around, and is very easy to load. 
2. And two, the coil is huge. A lot larger than the Proxy's. It's around the same size as the Peak Pro's Chamber. Large chambers retain the heat well and are more robust.

Bottom line

The Aeris is a top-tier concentrate vaporizer. It provides rig-like performance in a pocketable design. Thanks to its precise temperature control and real-time adjustments, the vapor is pure and flavorful throughout the entire session. 

The Ceramic mouthpiece insert cools down the vapor substantially without the use of glass pieces or water filtration. It blurs the lines of what performance you can expect from a “dry” or a “bubbler-less” dab vaporizer. 

At $230, this is not suitable for everyone, but it is ideal for users who value vapor quality and would rather spend a large sum on a long-lasting vape vs. buying a cheap dab pen for $80 once every few months and getting annoyed that it stopped working. The Aeris is easily one of the best concentrate vaporizers of 2024.

Tips for best use

1. First, use the app to set the session duration to the duration of your draw. My inhales are short, around 20 seconds, so I will set that, but set yours to your own duration. This will preserve the concentrates and extend your battery life. 
2. Second, use a tiny amount, smaller than a grain of rice, and avoid overfilling the bowl. Also, avoid using the device while it's tilted. The Dabs are in a liquid state and can easily leak out, so keep it upright. 
3. Lastly, swab your coil after each session. Leaving concentrate to cool off and stick to the chamber is the fastest way to ruin it.