Yocan Pocket Review

Background 

The Yocan Pocket is an $85 concentrate device with real-time temp control, and in this review I’ll go over its design, features, performance, plus- I’ll compare it to the slightly more expensive Puffco Pivot.

The Pocket is available from VGEAR.COM for $76 with code VG10- discounted from $85.  

Design

The Pocket has a familiar, compact “wide and short” pen-style design. It’s pretty easy to handle, feels solid while holding and stands firmly on a desk. Its brushed aluminum shell feels premium and comfortable to touch.

The bottom has the charging plug and a silicone non-slip pad, the font has a small screen and a LED strip which I’ll talk about in a minute, and the top has the silicone mouthpiece. 

A couple of features of the mouthpiece are its easy-access cover for the chamber. So I don’t need to remove the entire mouthpiece, I can just pop this open. Plus- the mouthpiece curves inwards which feels really nice on the lips while inhaling. 

Cloud 3 Chamber

The chamber, which Yocan calls the “cloud 3” is a Ceramic bucket without any exposed coils or wires. Much like most modern day concentrate vapes- the heating coil is embedded into the walls of the chamber. 

And much like the new Carta Sport, which I have a separate review of, there is heating wire in the bottom plate as well. How do I know? Because I tore one apart, but we’ll get to that in a second.

Real time temp control

Yocan claims their chamber offers real-time temperature control, but many manufacturers have historically misrepresented “temp control” by using voltage levels that merely correspond to set temperatures (e.g., 450°F equating to 4.1V etc). 

True real-time control requires a temperature probe inside the chamber, feeding data to a microchip that dynamically adjusts power to maintain precise, consistent temperatures. Without a sensor, real-time temperature control isn't possible.

So, does the Yocan packet have a sensor? 

I tore down a chamber, and right here at the bottom plate- these two thicker wires supply power to the heating element, but the thinner two wires go to a small temperature probe that sits under the bottom plate. 

And this is big. Until a few years ago, you had to buy a Peak Pro or a Dr. Dabber to get real time temp control. Then FocusV joined, and a small group of others. But it’s safe to say that you had to spend over $300 to get real time temp control. 

Now, you get it for $85. I’m not saying that the Pocket is comparable to the Peak Pro, Switch 2, or even the FocusV Aeris, no way! Obviously. These are a lot more robust. But, the Pocket marks a significant decrease in the entry price for temp-controlled devices and appeals to a whole new customer base. That isn’t willing to pay $130 for the Pivot, $200 for the Aeris, etc.   

And by the way coupon code VG10 will save 10% on all these devices from VGEAR.com. Including the Pocket- which ends up being around $75 which is amazing value.

The Terp Pearls

The kit comes with ten 3mm glass pearls, and I can place one or two in the chamber. These are often used with concentrate devices and have three main benefits:

• They retain heat so there is more available heat mass in the chamber which then radiates into the oil quickly.
• They increase the surface area of the chamber to improve efficiency.
• And most importantly, they rotate in the chamber to stir the oil and ensure consistent heat distribution. The air intake hole of the silicone mouthpiece is angled, so the airflow helps these rotate, really fast actually, during an inhale. 

How to use

To use the Pocket- five clicks to unlock, three clicks to enter temperature-set mode and then holding the button will increase the temp until I let go. Four clicks will allow setting the session duration in a similar way. And two clicks– to start heating up. It shows a counter and communicates statuses with haptic feedback. 

The lightstrip- is kind of useless. It just shows this rainbow animation, and it pulses while heating up. But it doesn’t communicate temp settings, session timer, or anything else. The same goal could have been achieved with a single LED light. 

Performance

As far as performance, this little “dabster” really surprised me. To be perfectly honest- I’m usually not a Yocan fan, to say the least. A lot of their older stuff is total trash. And yea, this video isn’t sponsored by Yocan so I can say that. But the Pocket- I think is on to something really good. 

I found 460-490°F to be the ideal temp, at least for my “material”. The vapor was thick and tasty throughout the whole session, which tells me that the temp-control works really well and prevents the oil from burning. 

Drawbacks

• One- it only has one button which I need to hold to set the temp- there are no plus and minus buttons. This means that if I want to decrease the temperature by 10°, I have to cycle through the entire range. Having a “minus” button would have allowed me to control the temp more easily.
• Second- the charging plug is at the bottom, which means that I can’t charge it while the terp pearls are in the chamber. I have to remove them before each charge. Having the plug in the back for example, would have allowed it to charge upright.  
• And Third- Yocan is located in china and has basically zero customer service or “post-sale” support. If you get the item and it isn’t working well- good luck reaching them. This is just another reason to buy from a US store, like VGEAR, which you can contact for support if something goes wrong. 

Yocan Pocket vs. Puffco Pivot

When compared to the Puffco Pivot, here are the main differences-

• The Pivot has four pre-set temp levels and doesn’t allow setting a precise temp, the Pocket does.
• The shape is obviously different, but the materials used are pretty similar- Aluminum body and a silicone mouthpiece. 
• The lightstrip of the Pivot is a lot more refined and functional. It actually has a purpose and communicates the preset levels, session timer etc. The Pocket’s, as I mentioned, is mainly a visual show, but has little to no real function.
• And the price- $130 Vs. $85. And again- coupon code VG10 will save you 10% at VGEAR.com.  

Both have a similar style silicone mouthpiece, 3D ceramic coil-less chamber, and real-time temp control that works well. The Pivot is more refined and has a larger ecosystem with glass adapters etc. The two are pretty similar in terms of performance. The vapor quality is pretty comparable. 

Bottom Line-

The Pocket is the first cheap device that actually delivers “real-time” temp control. Sure- the interface is a little clunky, and there are zero bells and whistles, but it puts a temp-controlled 3D chamber in your “Pocket”- for $85. Actually $76 if you use the coupon code. That’s a pretty unbeatable value. 

I’d say that the Pocket is the best concentrate vaporizer for the price– hands down. I predict this to be one of the most popular devices out there in the next couple of years. It’s a well made product at a decent price.