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Utillian 5 V3 vs Puffco Plus Showdown- Waxing Poetic
By
Mariano
Utillian 5 V3 vs Puffco Plus Showdown- Waxing Poetic
October 6, 2023
on
Portable Showdown, Showdowns
Updated: October 6, 2023
With the growing availability of wax on the market, the demand for wax pens has grown as well. Both Utillian and Puffco had skin in this game for a few years, and today we will be pitting their newest offerings against each other. We will compare the Utillian 5 V3 and the Puffco Plus in order to determine which wax pen reigns supreme.
Table of contents
Build Quality
Both devices are well built, with several key differences. The Puffco has a more sleek and discreet design, about as close to a real pen as a wax pen will get. The mouthpiece and button are both made with rubber, while the chamber and loading tool are made with ceramic. My biggest complaint is that the body of the device can run pretty hot with frequent usage.
The Utillian 5 is certainly heftier and thicker than the Puffco, and less discreet. Regardless, the design still manages to feel sleek and rugged, certainly able to survive a drop test (although not recommended). This Utillian wax pen also uses black ceramic rods instead of quartz rods. Black ceramic is more porous and will absorb more wax. This helps prevent all of your wax from collecting at the bottom of your bucket.
Vapor Quality
The Puffco Plus makes use of a ceramic bowl, as opposed to the coils found in the Utillian 5. While this improves the taste of your wax, it will also largely reduce the size and density of your clouds. With that said, the draw is still flavourful and smooth.
The Utillian 5 V3 includes a set of two coils, a single twisted kanthal coil for smaller bowls and flavor preservation, and a triple titanium coil for massive clouds. This helps create extremely dense and cloudy hits, with a strength that rivals that of an E-Rig. While the flavor is less refined than that of a ceramic bowl, the Utillian still provides comparable flavor with lower temperatures using the Kanthal coil.
Both devices are vastly improved when paired with the Utillian 5 Bubbler attachment, which contributes to a very smooth and cool draw. While both devices perform, the Utillian 5 V3 wins this category for its wider range of options.
Ease of Use
Both devices provide one button to operate the device and adjust settings, which helps reduce any learning curve for beginners and first-time users. With the Utillian, rapidly press the button three times to switch between heating cycles and four times with the Puffco Plus.
Loading wax is also seamless, with both devices providing a small scoop underneath the mouthpiece. This feature makes loading concentrates between both devices fool-proof.
Overall, both devices are extremely easy to operate and beginners will certainly find either device to be easy to load and use.
Temperature Flexibility
The Puffco Plus offers three temperature settings: low is green, medium is blue, and high is white. According to our own research, Puffco has stated in support pages that green is 580 degrees, Blue is 650 degrees, and white is 720 degrees.
With the Utillian 5 V3, you have an option of four temperature settings that can be used with both coils. These settings range from 2.2 volts at the lowest, going all the way to 2.8V at the highest setting. Users looking for the widest range of options should go with the Utillian, as it provides a wider range of temperatures, allowing you to choose between flavor and power.
Battery Life
The battery life of the Puffco Plus leaves a lot to be desired. The slim body leaves you with enough space for a measly 520mAh battery. In real world usage, this amounted to a little over an hour of continuous usage, and about a day of semi-frequent usage. Puffco also loses points for requiring a proprietary adapter to charge the device, as opposed to a Micro USB/USB-C port.
The Utillian 5 absolutely demolishes the Puffco, with a powerful 1500mAh battery, which is more than enough to satisfy enthusiasts. This translated to a little over three days of infrequent usage, or an entire day of continuous sessions. So in case you couldn’t tell, the Utillian takes the cake.
Discreetness
As far as discreteness is concerned, I have to give the win to the Puffco Plus. The smaller and slicker design is more pocketable than that of the Utillian. The Puffco is small and thin enough that it can easily fit in a front shirt pocket.
The Utillian 5 V3 looks a lot more like a vape, which of course isn’t a bad thing, because it is a vape. While the size is still pocketable, it’s slightly bulkier and more obvious. So needless to say, this round goes to the Puffco.
Who Wins?
So overall, I’m giving the win to the Utillian 5 V3 for simply providing a wider range of options.With its two different coils, four temperature settings and battery life that’s three times as big, I’m more than willing to forfeit a sleeker, slightly more pocketable device. While the Puffco Plus definitely wins points in portability and discreteness, it seems that the slim form factor acts as more of an achilles heel than anything, with all of the results outside of that category being average at best. Check out our best wax pens blog for more options.
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