The Firefly vaporizer is a dynamic convection portable vaporizer with almost instant heat-up time and produces some of the best vapor quality of any vaporizer I’ve tested. The pure convection allows the unit to heat up in as little as 5-7 seconds and that’s with the pre-heat included. It also requires very little maintenance and cleaning which is nice for daily users like yours truly.
UPDATE: The OG Firefly has been done for a few years now and they have since made the Firefly 2 and my Firefly 2+ Vaporizer is out now. The OG and the Firefly 2 are no longer being sold.
The Firefly 2 Plus is the 3rd version of the Firefly vaporizer it’s everything you wanted it to be. It’s smaller and easier to use, you get more temperature control which makes it much better with concentrates, and last but definitely not least, it’s cheaper!
OG Firefly Vaporizer with Firefly 2 and Firefly 2+
You can check out my Firefly 2+ Review to get all the details or read more about my top picks for the best portable vaporizers.
This Firefly vaporizer review will breakdown all the features plus a how-to and then go over some of the cons like battery life and unit weight.
I feel like the Firefly is the perfect vaporizer for someone who needs instant sessions and wants the best vapor quality that you can currently find in a portable vaporizer.
The Firefly retails for $269. In my opinion, the Firefly has the best vapor quality and engineering of any portable vaporizer currently on the market.
Size, Portability & Concealment
OG Firefly (Left) and Firefly 2 (Right)
The Firefly is a portable vape but it has some good size and weight to it. It’s comparable in height to a Galaxy S4 but about half the width. The reason the Firefly is a bit heavier is that the entire unit is designed around stainless steel heat sinks. The heat sinks add weight to the unit but also allow the Firefly to remain cool under extreme heat.
Accessories
The Firefly comes with some great accessories for cleaning and travel. It includes a very nice travel bag with the name “Firefly” on it. It helps conceal it, protect it, and provides a little extra space to store some items. No one would be able to know what it was. It could be sunglasses. It also includes a multi-sided brush. The brush is perfect to use with the Firefly and all the rest of your portables. It’s very handy. You get 5 replacement screens, 5 cleaning picks and a few cleaning wipes.
Firefly Convection Heating Element & Vapor Path
Firefly 2 (L) and Firefly 2 (R) Chamber Comparison
The Firefly uses an all-glass heating chamber. The heating element can reach temperatures as high as 400F (200C) in seconds. The best part about instant heat is your herbs aren’t being wasted as the unit heats up or cools down. Your herbs are only heated when you want to use the unit. One of the Firefly’s unique features is the warm glow it produces while being used. This is the heating element getting to max temp and glowing through the glass heating chamber. It’s pretty cool to see at night.
Cleaning & Maintenance
Firefly (L) and Firefly 2 (R) Vapor Path & Mouthpiece
Cleaning the Firefly is a breeze. I’ve only had the unit for a couple of months and just did my first screen change and a good cleaning. The Firefly is much easier to clean if you do it immediately after a session. This way the stainless steel and the window on the cover are still warm. I recommend just taking a paper towel or handkerchief and wiping out all the residue. If you don’t clean the Firefly regularly, then you could get away with a good clean about every 15 bowls.
I’ve found that after heavy use, you’ll begin to get a build-up of residue on the window and the area around the bowl. If you wait for the unit to cool down, then you’ll need a little bit of alcohol to help wipe all the gunk out. I always save my AVB for desperate situations or to throw in some yogurt on a rainy day. It’s important to clean your unit because the damage caused by neglect of cleaning will void the warranty.
Battery Life & Charging Times
Firefly Vaporizer Battery Removed
The Firefly has a “High-Powered” Lithium-ion battery. I get about 45-60 minutes of continuous use and the Firefly fully recharges in about 45 minutes. The batteries can be easily removed by sliding off the back. This is nice so you can buy an extra one to take with you on long trips. You can also pick up the Firefly car charger adapter for an extra $30.
Firefly Warranty Information
The Firefly comes with a 5-year limited warranty covering against defects in materials and workmanship.
From NWT Holdings, LLC (Firefly) – …provides a limited warranty on the Firefly device and accessories against defects in material and/or workmanship under normal use for a period of (5) years from the date of purchase. They go on to say: The Limited Warranty does not apply to normal wear and degradation of the batteries.
Firefly Review Summary
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Over the last couple of months, I’ve really enjoyed using this vaporizer. It’s simple to use, it produces great vapor quality and it requires barely any maintenance. There are no extra pieces or external batteries. Everything is attached and ready to go. The 5-year warranty is a testament to the quality of this portable vaporizer. The battery life is decent for a portable unit and recharges fast.
The Firefly is my go-to vaporizer right now and I’m guessing it will be that way for a long time. The only thing better would be the Volcano but that’s a desktop vaporizer.
Thanks for checking out my Firefly vaporizer review and if you have any questions about the Firefly or any other vaporizer feel free to leave a comment below.[/one_half][one_half_last][/one_half_last]
Video Transcript:
Introduction
Hey guys Buzz here with VaporizerWizard.com. Today I will be going over the Firefly portable vaporizer.
The current price at the time of this video is $269. You can click the link below in the about section to get the current price and a full review on my website.
After some thorough testing I have to admit that I think the Firefly is a contender for the best portable vaporizer on the market. Despite being skeptical at first, the Firefly has earned its spot as my go to portable. It has an incredible build quality, It’s elegant, easy to use, and very easy to maintain. It comes with some great accessories including a high quality discreet black travel bag and a double sided brush which makes cleaning out the bowl super easy. It is a bit bigger than some of the other portable units because of the convection design and engineering. But it’s also one of the most efficient units because it’s only being heated when you’re pressing the heat button. It heats up fast, automatically controls temp to eliminate combustion and produces great vapor quality. So first I’ll get into the features and how to use the Firefly. I’ll do a quick vape session, give you the pros and cons followed by some quick cleaning tips, and then suggest the best place to pick one up.
Ok guys so here is the Firefly vaporizer. It’s a portable convection vaporizer with an all glass heating chamber and stainless steel vapor path. The Firefly has the highest vapor quality of any of the portables I have tested all while being simple and easy to use.
How To Use:
Let’s go ahead and jump into how to use the Firelfy. The power switch is located here on the side and to turn the unit on, you just flip the switch. The green LED on the side will illuminate showing the unit is on and ready to use. The method I use to hold the Firefly is to put my thumb over the charging hole and I use my middle finger to press the heat button. Once you press the heat button, the Firefly will reach near 400 degrees F in less than 10 seconds. You can see the glow from the window of the lid. You will also know the unit is heating by the blinking green LED on the left hand side. Now the Firefly will only heat for 30 seconds continuously no matter how long you press in the button. It uses advanced software to limit the temp to no more than 400 degrees but also keeps the bowl hot enough to produce vapor. The longer you hold the button, the thicker your clouds will be. I’ll get more into methods for use later on in my vape session.
The lid is magnetic so it attaches nicely to the bottom of the unit. To remove the lid, find the grooves on either side and lift up. I recommend just lifting up on one side because it’s a lot easier. The magnet is actually pretty strong. Once you have the lid off, you can see the where the bowl is located and the grooves along the lid where the vapor travels to the mouthpiece. The window on the lid is very useful because it allows you to see the unit heating up and it also allows you to see the color of your herbs. This helps when determining if the bowl is done or not.
Now the bowl holds about .15 grams of dried herbs, which I’ve found to produce between 5-8 hits depending on your herbs, the length of your draws and how you pack the bowl. Now I’ve found the best method for packing the Firefly chamber is to build a mound over the bowl. So you would fill the bowl completely and then add a little more on the top as well. When you are loading your bowl, try to keep all the herbs inside the ring so it’s not touching the stainless steel. This makes it a lot easier to clean and helps you get a good seal when you reattach the lid. If you leave enough out of the bowl it can affect the vapor path along the top of the lid. After you are done loading, you can re-attach the lid. I like to start the lid on the top edge to guide it and then let the magnet do the rest. You can still adjust the lid after to make sure it’s a good seal. The mound helps keep the herbs in place while you’re inhaling. I also recommend that you use a coarser type grinder for your herbs. I’ve found that the Firefly doesn’t do too well with fine herbs. I use a Santa Cruz Shredder and it works perfect. It also helps to shake the Firefly around a bit after each session or give it a couple smacks like you would with the MFLB. This helps move around the herbs and will help you get more of an even vape.
Firefly Battery Info:
The battery is a lithium ion high powered battery, and to get to the battery you just slide off the backing like you would on a cell phone and place your finger in the grove. Lift up a bit and it should pull right out. This is really convenient because the batteries can be easily replaced or you can pick up extras for long trips. Firefly also has a portable charging adapter available for your car. Now, I usually get between 35-45 minutes of continuous use which usually produces about 30 draws. The battery life all depends on the length of your draws and how many draws you take per session. Another thing that I noticed is that the Firefly LED doesn’t have a low power indicator. It will just shut off on you which sucks when you’re in the middle of a session. Luckily, after a few sessions and continued use, you’ll have a pretty good idea of when it’s going to die. Just make sure you give it a full charge before you head out for the day. It recharges completely in about 45 minutes which is currently the fastest for a portable vaporizer. This helps make up for the lack of battery life. To charge the unit, make sure the power switch is in the off position and plug in the adapter into the charging port. The LED indicator will glow blue while the Firefly is being charged and a solid blue light indicates the unit is completely charged. It’s better to charge the Firefly before the unit dies completely. I recommend just throwing it on the charger whenever you have the chance.
The Firefly includes some really great accessories. It comes with a very high quality black sleeve to carry the Firefly in. It helps with traveling, it’s discreet, and it has a little extra room for other items. The firefly comes with 5 replacement screens, 5 cleaning picks and a few cleaning wipes. It also includes this multi-sided brush that comes in super handy when cleaning out the bowls on all my portable vaporizers. It comes with a standard charging adapter to plug into the wall and you can also pick up the car charger adapter for $30. If you wanted to make sure that you’ll never have a dead battery, you can pick up the external wall charger and an extra battery. This way you could use the battery in the Firefly and keep the secondary battery charging in the wall. Now one battery is plenty if you aren’t planning on taking any long trips but it’s always nice to have a spare when you’re out and about.
Firefly Vape Demo Session
So let’s go ahead and jump into the vape session. I’ve already loaded a fresh bowl with some herbs out of my Santa Cruz Shredder. Remember to pack the bowl with a mound. I have the best results with this method. Turn the unit on by sliding the power button. The green LED on the side will stay illuminated.
I’ve gotten the best results by pre-heating the bowl for about 4-6 seconds and continuing to hold the button for the entire 30 seconds. This gives you a good draw with great vapor taste but won’t generally give you dense vapor. Be sure to shake around the unit or give it a light smack to move around the herbs in the bowl. I do this after each draw to get an even vape of the herbs in the bowl. The second draw you will push down on the heat button and begin drawing immediately. If you can make it through the entire draw time on the second hit then you will get a very dense hit. I don’t typically need a third draw but it’s the same method as the second draw. Begin inhaling as soon as your press the heat button. The best hits are earlier in the bowl which is similar to other portable and desktop vaporizers. One fully packed bowl will last you about 8-10 hits depending on how long your sessions are, the type of herbs you are using and how many people are using it.
Pros
Ok so now we’ll jump into the pros and cons. The first pro would be the ease of use. Other than a quick couple bowls to get completely used to the technique, all you need to do is press a button. The Firefly automatically heats to the best temp, maintains it, and doesn’t combust your herbs.The next is the vapor quality. I’m a big fan of convection vaporizers because of the vapor quality they produce. The Firefly has the best vapor quality of any portable I’ve tried. The only vaporizers that produce equal or better vapor quality are desktop units. The cleaning and maintenance is also a pro because it’s very easy compared to other portable vaporizers.. It comes with some great accessories including a high quality travel bag and multi-sided brush. The next pro is the replaceable battery which swaps out in seconds. You can pick up extras to take on long hiking trips or beach days. It also recharges in as little as 45 minutes which is the fastest charging portable vaporizer I’ve tested so far. Another pro is the ability to turn it on, vape, and put it away before most portables even finish heating up. Due to the convection heating, this is one of the most efficient portable vaporizers. The firefly only heats your herbs while the heat button is pressed so it doesn’t waste herbs when you split a bowl into multiple sessions. This prevents waste that you would normally encounter with a conduction vaporizer when splitting a bowl into multiple sessions.
Cons
Moving on to the cons, the first being the overall size and weight. The Firefly is a medium sized unit but due to the stainless steel design, the firefly carries more weight than the average portable vaporizer. It still fits perfectly in my pocket whether I’m wearing shorts or jeans and everything stays concealed in the included travel bag. Another complaint is that I can’t fully palm this vape like the MFLB or Pax for maximum discreetness. Another con would be the battery life. I love that the batteries are replaceable and charge very quickly, but the battery life is a bit shorter than I would prefer. One charge will last me a full day when I am using it myself, but when a second or third person joins, the battery will only last for a 3 to 4 hour hike. If you are planning on doing a multi-person all-day adventure then I would suggest picking up an extra battery.
Summary:
So I’d like to thank you for watching my Firefly Vaporizer review. If you’re looking to buy the Firefly, you can click the link below to get the current price from the authorized dealer I bought mine from. You can also find a link to my full Firefly review, and links to my social media where I post outdoor pictures with my vaporizers around beautiful Montana and surrounding areas. Don’t forget to subscribe to my Youtube channel for new vaporizer reviews, modifications, and cleaning tutorials. I really do appreciate all of your support and if you guys have any questions about the Firefly or any other vaporizer, feel free to leave a comment below or contact me on my website vaporizerwizard.com. Thanks again and have a great day.
About Buzz Danklin
I am a USMC Veteran and a Montana Medical Marijuana Card holder. I've been testing and or reviewing vaporizers for over a decade and I currently have over 200 different portable, desktop and pen style vaporizers.