The Linx Gaia is classy. It’s well made and offers its owner no nonsense convection (with a little conduction) vaping on the go.

I have a memory as a kid of going through my recently deceased grandpa’s belongings. He was a classy gent, a successful business and sports man. He drove a Range Rover, played golf and cricket to a high level. Amongst his golf and cricket cups and medals I found a beautiful old lighter.

When I opened the box of the Gaia from Linx Vapor it reminded me of that lighter.

The solid build quality and classic retro looks set the Gaia apart in a crowded segment of the vape market. This is a mature product from a quality manufacturer.

Linx Gaia – has a nice weight and quality feel

Linx Gaia Performance

When loaded with your favourite ground herb the Linx Gaia produces great tasting clouds thanks to the convention vaping and the quartz heating chamber. The all quartz chamber means that the taste remains pure and is it not compromised.

Convection is where the air is heated before it passes through the oven chamber. This also helps to keep the taste clean and also ensures the herb lasts a little longer as it is not toasted as the oven chamber heats. In actual fact there will be a combination of convection and conduction. Over time the sides of the chamber heat up. The responsive temperature control allows you to aim for your own personal sweet spot or alter the temperature over time.

Linx Gaia Value For Money 

The Linx Gaia is reasonably priced. It sits around the mid range for portable vapes. There are a couple of cheaper models that offer more or less the same but I would happily pay that little bit extra for the great taste, beautiful looks and solid build.

The Gaia comes with three spare filters, a cleaning brush, a USB cable and an integrated poker and tamper tool (I wish all vape manufactures did this). As far as vaping flowers goes you have everything you need except a grinder.

One thing I found strange was that the supplied USB cable comes with an integrated lightening cable. It’s a dongle that slides off the micro USB plug. As an iPhone user it’ll be useful to me but I found it an odd inclusion. Those of us not in the Apple ecosystem will find this gift useless. A simple classy fabric USB cable would’ve made me just as happy. In fact, it would’ve been more in keeping with the aesthetic. But as my grandmother used to say “Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth”.

One thing I miss is the ability to change the battery. The unit is completely sealed. For those who like to bring a spare battery for extended breaks away from the mains you may need to look at other products, such as the DaVinci IQ or XVape Fog which both have a similar form factor, although I prefer everything else about the Gaia.

Linx Gaia – What’s in the box?

Linx Gaia Build quality

This is a precision piece of kit. Even the cap that protects the glass mouthpiece has a nice weight to it. It snaps into place very satisfyingly thanks to the fact that it is magnetic. The mouthpiece unscrews from the main body to open the quartz chamber. The base of the mouthpiece unscrews again to allow for a good clean. It then unscrews again to enable you to swap out the metal filter. They all screw out well and have the feel of a well engineered product.

Linx Gaia – Removable magnetic cap

The body is completely metal and has a nice weight to it. The coloured brushed metal in my review unit was a bit scratched. I found that the high gloss finish on the metal trim was scratching up as I was doing my photoshoot.

Linx Gaia – Tool in place

Don’t expect it to look as pristine as it did when you opened the box for long. As everything is solid metal small scratches will only add character over time, they won’t expose another coloured material underneath like some other cheaper vapes out there. Just remember to put it in another pocket to your keys.

The metal buttons are all nice. The screen is bright. The metal around the USB socket is a nice touch and the removable magnetic poker is a sight to behold. It fits snugly in the base and looks like a screwdriver. It’s big enough to not easily lose and the magnet ensures it won’t slip out inadvertently. I love it.

Linx Gaia – Impressive magnetic poker / tamper tool that is concealed in the base

Linx Gaia User friendliness

Over the years portable vapes seem to have nailed what it takes to make a user friendly experience. Load, turn it on, set the temperature draw until satisfied then turn off. The Gaia has a subtle variation on this process that makes sense. You can turn it on without heating – this is great! It means you can check the battery and what your desired temperature is without racing against the oven to protect your precious cannabinoids from being vaporized.

– Loading

Unscrewing the mouthpiece exposes the oven chamber. This action is emotive of opening a hip flask. It’s these emotional experiences that the Gaia offers a plenty that helps you get an emotional bond to it.

Linx Gaia – Quartz heating chamber

The flat base and weight of the device give you a solid platform to load into. The rounded front gives your hand something to wrap around as you guide in your ground herb. Ergonomically this is great. You can buy a loading funnel separately which screws into the thread of the mouthpiece.

I love the fantastic integrated poker tool. The base of the poker tool is round and flat so is perfect to use as a tamper to pat your ground herb into place after you have loaded it.

– Setting Temperature

Press the button five times to turn on the Gaia. You then see the battery level and your chosen temperature. After a few seconds the view changes to the actual oven temperature. Press the plus or minus button under the screen to adjust the desired temperature. Then depress the power button for a few seconds to start the heating process. It all makes perfect sense. I very much like the ability to access the info without heating the oven chamber.

Linx Gaia – Fine design, adjust the temperature with buttons below screen

– Ease of Use

Once the Gaia is loaded, turned on, temperature is set and oven is activated it’s just a case of waiting for it to heat up. It takes a few seconds depending on the ambient temperature and your desired temperature.

There is no haptic feedback to let you know when it is ready which is a shame. This means you need to keep an eye on the indicator to know when it is hot enough. Thankfully as it heats so fast this is not a major issue.

Their is also no bluetooth – so no smart phone connectivity. Personally, I prefer it this way as I find having to fire up an app to adjust the temperature of your portable vaporizer a pain. I much prefer having all the control I need on the device itself. So for me this is a plus point.

– Charging

The Gaia charges via USB which is more or less industry standard. It’s my preferred solution as it means you don’t have to worry about docks or carting around specific charging devices.

The battery is sealed into the device. On the positive this keeps everything clean and simple but it does block those who want to go for an extended break away from USB ports. I imagine this demographic is a minority. For most users they will not miss the removable battery and will most likely upgrade their portable vape before they would have any problems. You could also bring a USB charging pack with you to boost the charge.

Linx Gaia – Charge via USB

Linx Gaia Maintenance and Cleaning

To empty spent herb the integrated poker tool is handy. After extended use you could clean the oven down with a Q-Tip dipped in alcohol or use a handy preprepared ISO swab. The mouthpiece comes apart to clean out any small pieces of herb or can be soaked in alcohol to remove residue. There is nothing else to “maintain”.

Should you lose the cap, mouthpiece or poker you can buy replacements.

Linx Gaia – Glass mouth piece is easy to clean

Who Is It Good For?

Someone who appreciates good design and likes their devices to have a quality feel. They want a no nonsense portable vape that’ll look great in their Jaguar. It’s ideal for both new and experienced vape users. The quartz heating chamber serves up fine tasting vapour.

Pros

• Looks great
• Feels great
• Performs great
• Creates great tasting vapour
• Easy to load
• Easy to use
• Easy to clean
• Integrated poker/tamper tool
• USB charging

Cons

• No way to vape concentrates
• No removable battery
• No haptic feedback
• Prone to scratches