EuropeStylish and tasty! Previously known for their high-quality concentrate pens, Linx recently introduced their first dry herb vaporizer, the compact, innovative and well-styled Linx Gaia.
The new Linx Gaia features a next-generation (patent-pending) quartz heating chamber, air insulation, hybrid heating technology and single degree temperature variability (200º – 428º F).
Incoming air bypasses internal electronic components and flows directly through the quartz chamber to Linx’s signature glass mouthpiece – a clean air path that brings out the smoothest and purest flavor.
The Linx Gaia features an OLED screen, 2200 mAH battery, signature glass mouthpiece, magnetic cap, and tool, cleaning brush, and a dual head Micro USB/lightning port charger.
In-depth – Good Looks
The Linx Gaia vaporizer is really nice looking, sits solidly in the palm of your hand and no part of it feels cheap. There’s clear attention to details and the vertically brushed casing crafted from quality metal makes
the Gaia a sleek and elegant device.I really like the size, which sits between the FlowerMate Mini Pro and the DaVinci IQ. The Gaia is shorter, fatter and more ‘boxy’ than the rounded IQ, but fits in the back pocket just as easily and matches it for taste.
Gaia a sleek and elegant device.
High-Quality Vapor
Linx makes some pretty bold statements about the quality of the Linc Gaia’s vapor, and use some innovative approaches to air path, chamber and insulation. From the company’s product development experience, three factors affect the efficiency of a heating chamber:
- Thermal conductivity of the chamber material
- Contact area between the heating elements and chamber
- Insulation of the heating chamber
The latter two factors are even more essential to the heating performance of a chamber.
The Chamber of Quartz
Most dry herb heating chambers are made of steel or ceramic, and while they do a good job conveying heat they have the tendency to affect the terpene flavors. The Gaia uses a revolutionary quartz heating chamber (first in the market) that eliminates steel and ceramic for a purer and healthier flavor.
This chamber is deep and narrow (20mm x 10mm) and works well when filled tight or loose, though of course with a full chamber packed tight, the draw resistance increased, but not hugely; it was still okay to pull from. Just don’t tamp the load too tightly.
All Air Insulation
As for insulation, most vaporizers have a thin layer of white or black fiber
materials wrapped around the outside wall of the chamber as a way to insulate heat. This raised concerns about the possibility of inhaling those synthetic materials to Linx.
The Gaia uses 100% air to insulate heat from the vaporization process. With the lowest thermal conductivity, air performs better in insulation than other materials. It is a technology used in other industries, but Linx has pioneered its application to vaporizer design.
Superior Air Path
When it comes to health and taste, a clean air path is of the utmost importance, and the design and materials used in the Gaia ensure just this. Its innovative air insulation technology eliminates all unhealthy insulation materials used in most dry herb vaporizers.
The incoming air flows directly over the heating element, avoiding contact with plastic parts, electronic components or other unhealthy materials, making it one of the most health-conscious and fine-flavoured vapes on the market. Air is drawn in through the side slots, through the air holes located on the top of the steel cylinder that surrounds the quartz chamber, and finally through the holes at the bottom of the chamber to reach the herbs.
Hybrid Heating – Fast & Even
This air path enables the hybrid heating: the quartz chamber heats up to warm the herbs via conduction heating, while the hot air is drawn between the steel cylinder and quartz chamber for an even distribution of heat (convection heating).
Combining convection and conduction heating technology allows for fast, efficient and even heating.
Variable Temperature, Unique Charger
An OLED screen indicates battery status and temperature settings, which adjust in single degree increments between 200º F and 428º F (93º C and 220º C).
I personally prefer this fine-tuning ability to pre-set temperatures.
The charging cable is unique in having both Micro USB and Apple Lightning male chargers. It features pass-through charging so that you can vape while charging
Built in battery for ease and safety
The Gaia has a built-in 18650 rechargeable, 2200 mAH Lithium-ion battery.
Linx considered offering a swappable battery when the Gaia was in the design and development stage, but opted for the simplicity and safety of a built-in soft pack battery.
The best way to maintain any lithium-ion battery is to ensure you don’t over-charge nor over-drain it. So when possible, do not empty the battery completely before the next charge, nor charge the battery over time. Observe these rules and Linx reckon the Gaia’s battery will be good for 3 years or longer
Heating speed
The Gaia heats up pretty fast, achieving 375º F in 20 seconds and 428º F in 30 seconds from a room temperature start. This is comparable if not faster than most metal and ceramic chambers on the market. I like that I don’t detect an odor from the unit when it’s heating up.
With the oven being directly below the mouthpiece, I expected really warm vapor and a hot mouthpiece. But the draw is surprisingly cool up to 400º degrees.
There is an optional bubbler that connects to the mouthpiece used in all Linx vaporizers ($20, sold separately) if vapor smoothness is a major consideration for you.
Pack snugly
I was loading about .2 grams of herb, ground medium/fine and snugly packed and this works well; you don’t want to go below about 0.15 grams as the Gaia’s conduction heating needs some physical contact between oven and herb.
Stepped heat suggestion
A good heat path is to start at 360º for a couple of hits at maximum taste, then bump it to 380º, 390º, 400º over the course of 3 sessions of pretty decent clouds. The Gaia is not really a sippers vape but requires more like a 10-12 second draw.
Flavour does degrade with most terpenes already vaped, but it never tastes bad or scorched. Give your load a stir with the on-board tool and your ABV will be an even, coffee grounds color, with no combustion even at 420º degrees.
Safety shutoff
There is a 4-minute auto-shutoff to conserve battery life, and if you stick to that the Gaia does not really get too hot. Keep it cranked up for 5 minutes or more and it will get very warm and the quartz oven may start to scorch your herb.
Magnetic top and bottom
A magnetic cap protects the glass mouthpiece, and the packing tool that slides into the base of the unit and is held in place magnetically. A small steel funnel that screws into the opening of the oven for easy filling is another nice touch added to the Gaia since its launch.
Spic and span
Cleaning was easy and straightforward. Brush out the chamber and soak the filters in isopropyl alcohol for an hour or two to resolve any clogging.
Subtly Stealthy
The styling of the vaporizer is excellent, as is the stealth factor. The shape looks like a regular e-liquid ‘box mod’ and fits in your palm. Most people will not know what it is if they aren’t herbal vape aficionados.
Conclusion: Linx Gaia
Overall: a good buy!
Not only does the Linx Gaia vaporizer hit well and deliver a fresh, full taste, it also looks chic and feels solid yet small in the palm of your hand. This quality distinguishes it from the cheaper comparisons such as the FlowerMate, and matches more expensive comparably sized vapes like the DaVinci IQ and S&B’s Mighty.
With a free one-year limited warranty, the Gaia is a great first herb vape from Linx.
Pros:
- Compact design and build
- Single degree temperatures
- Quartz chamber and hybrid heating
- Clean air path & flavor
- Glass mouthpiece
Cons:
- Slow battery charge
- 4 min auto-shut off too quick
- Mouthpiece occasionally gets hot.
The Linx Gaia is a compact, attractive and affordable dry herb vape using a unique quartz oven and very clean air path for high quality vapor.