The Boundless CFX is a portable, mostly conduction, session-vaporizer. It’s manufactured by Boundless Vape Technology, which is a very new kid on the block.
The Boundless CFX and its smaller brother the Boundless CF are their first vaporizers.
It’s one of those ‘portable’ vaporizers which is big and not pocket-friendly.
Looking at the Boundless vaporizers, the first thing you can’t help but notice is their similarity to the MIGHTY and CRAFTY from Storz and Bickel.
Now:
Interestingly enough, they are less than half the price of the Storz and Bickel powerhouses.
Does half the price mean half the quality?
Continue below to find out.
Or go straight to the pros and cons and conclusion.
Where to buy the Boundless CFX:
US – (PlanetOfTheVapes / PuffItUp)
Europe – (VapoShop)
UK – (Amazon – UK)
Quick summary:
[wp-review id=”2063″]
Design (7)
In the introduction, you already read that the Boundless CFX looks quite similar to the MIGHTY.
It has the same rugged plastic design, a similar mouthpiece and a LED display to control temperature.
I do feel the Boundless CFX looks a bit sleeker and more modern than the MIGHTY.
However, the build quality feels less, especially the buttons used to control the functions of the vaporizer feel a bit cheap. The overall build quality is still very good though.
Also, Boundless Vape Technology doesn’t really go out of its way to promote the materials used in their vapes as food-safe and heat-resistant. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the materials aren’t food-safe and heat-resistant. But it’s strange why they wouldn’t promote the materials as such if they truly were.
Portability (6.5)
Although it is a portable vaporizer, the Boundless CFX isn’t exactly the most ‘portable’ vaporizer because of various reasons.
Size & Weight
For starters, this is a large and heavy vaporizer. I can fit it in my pockets, but fitting anything next to it is really hard. It’s just a little bit smaller than the MIGHTY, meaning it cannot qualify as a pocket-vape.
Its exact dimensions are 5 x 2.5 x 0.5 inches (12.7 x 6.4 x 1.2 cm) and it weighs 0.46 lbs (208g).
So if you’re going to want to conveniently carry the Boundless CFX around, you’re going to need a bag of some sorts.
Discreetness of design
The rugged plastic design, its size and the mouthpiece that sticks out like a sore thumb when in use do kinda give away what the Boundless CFX is. At least for anyone with some common sense. Can’t really fool people with a device like this.
It gets better:
Its quick heat-up time of 20-30 seconds does help in getting a few semi-quick hits in.
This heat-up time isn’t bad for a session-vape. It just won’t be as convenient as a true on-demand vape like the Firefly 2 for example.
Also, keep in mind it is a mostly conduction session-vape.
Why does this matter?
It won’t be very efficient or tasty to stop a session half-way and then continue later on.
Smelliness
Since it’s mostly a conduction vaporizer and conduction vaporizers tend to smell worse than convection vapes, it’s quite a surprise that the Boundless CFX doesn’t really smell that bad…if you keep it clean.
The major takeaway here:
- Keep it clean.
Tip: If smell is an issue for you when you’re inside, blow your vapor out of your window and make sure there’s enough air circulation. You could also try exhaling into socks or a blanket.
Battery life
The battery life is decent. A bit less than the PAX 2 or MIGHTY, but definitely more than the CRAFTY for example.
I get 10-12 sessions of 5ish minutes with the Boundless CFX. This means it’s good for 60 minutes of continues use. Also, it has a 5 minute auto shut-off mechanism, which is cool for us peeps with short-term memory problems.
Its charge-up time is absolutely outstanding. With the wall-charger, it charges up in a whopping 30 minutes from empty to full. With the USB charger, it naturally takes longer, but still an acceptable 3 hours.
Safety (8)
The Boundless CFX is kind of similar to the MIGHTY in that its exterior is fully made from plastic.
So from the outside, it doesn’t look and feel like the safest vaporizers. But never judge a book by the cover.
Let’s see what’s inside.
Heating element and vapor path
The heating chamber is made from ceramic, which is fine as long as it’s really only ceramic (that’s why we advice against using fake and no-name vaporizers, ‘ceramic’ isn’t always really ceramic). And currently, there’s no reason to think the heating chamber in the Boundless CFX is anything else but ceramic.
The heating element is made from aluminum, which is also completely fine, as long as it’s of the right quality.
It probably is of the right quality. Aside from the marketing slip (advertising their vaporizers as full convection vaporizers), Boundless has been pretty transparent. So I do think they deserve some trust in this.
The vapor path is a mix of different materials:
- Part of the air path is made from stainless steel;
- The chamber through which the air gets pulled and vapor gets produced is ceramic;
- And the mouthpiece is plastic (polycarbonate).
The air that’s used in this vaporizer gets pulled from the bottom of the vaporizer through stainless steel air path into the ceramic bowl where your vapor gets produced (mainly through conduction heating). Lastly, it goes through the plastic mouthpiece.
The only potential safety issue that could arise with this vaporizer is the mouthpiece that’s made of polycarbonate.
Polycarbonate starts to soften at 297 °F (147 °C).
I haven’t measured the temperature around the mouthpiece, but I doubt it will get anywhere near that. That’s why I say ‘potential’ safety issue. It’s unlikely that the mouthpiece reaches temperatures anywhere close to 297 °F (147 °C).
Separation air path and electronics
Multiple sources have proven that the air path of the Boundless CFX is completely separated from the electronics. So no worries there.
See the picture below (the stainless steel cylinder is where the air path starts)
Vapor Potency (9.5)
If the Boundless CFX is going to be any type of competition to the MIGHTY…
There’s one thing it HAS to perform well in: vapor potency.
And it does perform really well in this area.
What can you expect with an 80-watt heating element?
Yes, an 80-watt heating element is unheard of in a portable vaporizer.
It seems Boundless Vape Technology decided to brute-force its way into the ‘hard-hitting portable vaporizers’ market.
Compared to The MIGHTY Vaporizer, the MIGHTY actually only has a 30 watts heating element, but it too produces hard-hitting clouds of the 1st order.
How’s this possible you might be wondering?
The convection/conduction ratio for the MIGHTY is favorable towards convection compared to the Boundless CFX.
The Boundless CFX has hardly any convection heating going on, and conduction-style heating just requires more watts to produce hard-hitting clouds.
Another reason could be that the MIGHTY is just a more optimized vaporizer.
In any case:
The Boundless CFX does hit really hard.
Tip: If you want MASSIVE rips, use a water-pipe adapter and a nice cheap bubbler from dhgate like this one for example:
Vapor Flavor (6.5)
Like with all conduction (or high conduction ratio) vaporizers, the flavor that the Boundless CFX produces is just not top notch, mostly because it lacks consistency in delivering good flavor all throughout your session.
The first 3-4 hits taste decent, but the taste deteriorates really fast after that. I can’t distinguish the subtleties in taste between different strains after the first few hits, but even the first few hits aren’t that pure.
It’s not atrocious, but bad enough that it is a big con for me (I’m a flavor-Nazi mind you).
If you’re an average user, it won’t break your experience. But the connoisseur that’s looking for hard-hitting clouds, would be better off with a MIGHTY or CRAFTY.
Tip: If you want to preserve taste put less herb in your bowl, this way your herb will keep more of its terpenoids before your bowl is fully finished. It’s always after the first few hits that the flavor deteriorates.
Efficiency (7.5)
If you’re a Herbonaut regular, you know conduction-style heating is bad news for efficiency.
Here’s what I mean:
Conduction-style heating keeps your herb cooking while you’re vape is on, whether you’re drawing or not. This leads to waste.
Also generally speaking conduction vapes have less powerful extraction, but not so with the Boundless CFX:
It has extremely powerful extraction (read the potency paragraph).
Its bowl has a regular capacity for a portable vaporizer: 0,3 grams and the minimum amount you need to produce satisfying hits is 0,1-0,15 grams. This is not too bad actually. It’s better than the PAX 2 for example.
So even though the Boundless CFX is not a very efficient vaporizer by its core design (conduction, large bowl)…
Because its extraction is so powerful, you will get medicated PROPERLY with 0.15 grams.
Ease of Use (8.5)
Learning curve
There’s not much to learn in using this vaporizer properly. If you use the vaporizer as it comes out of the box, that is.
Let me explain:
You can enhance the performance of the Boundless CFX with a few modifications (read them in the tips and tricks paragraph at the end of the review). But these modifications add to the learning curve.
Don’t get me wrong:
It works well straight out of the box, but if you’re obsessed with maximizing performance (like we are), these modifications are a must. Some people just want maximum performance straight of the box, but that’s impossible with the Boundless CFX, it needs modding for best performance.
Now:
Of course, there are standard tips for using any vaporizer and specifically a conduction vape, but here’s the kicker:
One of the usual suggestions for conduction vaporizers doesn’t apply the Boundless CFX. To fully pack and compress your bowl actually doesn’t work well with the Boundless CFX. Because the hot air that gets pulled from the air path to the bottom of the bowl, seems to be the cause of uneven cooking when you fully pack your bowl and compress it.
With regards to packing your bowl, the Boundless CFX is a bit of an outsider among conduction vapes.
Draw resistance
There’s quite a bit of draw resistance when you inhale from the Boundless CFX (I rate it medium). It’s definitely not completely free-flowing like the MIGHTY or CRAFTY. But it has slightly less draw-resistance than the PAX 2 or Arizer portables for example.
The average user wouldn’t find it annoying in an experience-breaking manner.
Maintenance/cleaning downtime
Cleaning the Boundless CFX is straightforward:
Always clean the bowl after your session. Just use the included brush, but always do it while your bowl is still warm, otherwise, the resin will stick onto your bowl, and it will be hard to brush it off.
That’s it for the after-session clean-up.
Deep cleaning isn’t really needed with this vape. However, you should clean the bowl and mouthpiece with ISO alcohol and a Q-Tip every 3 sessions to keep your CFX in optimal condition. The screen in the mouthpiece can be soaked in ISO alcohol.
Really do this otherwise the flavor and airflow will take a massive hit. The bowl is hard to clean once you let resin build up, don’t let this happen!
You could soak the mouthpiece in ISO alcohol as well for a short period. I try not to do this too much though.
Here’s why:
Even though polycarbonate should be safe to clean with ISO alcohol, I’m a bit of health-obsessed creature, and it just doesn’t feel right for me to coat any type of plastic in ISO alcohol (plastic in general just has shown to leach unwanted substances, and a chemically powerful agent like ISO alcohol can only help this process is my reasoning).
Note: NEVER soak anything else than the mouthpiece and the screen in the mouthpiece in ISO alcohol. The plastic that’s used in the unit itself is not made to soak in alcohol. It’s ok to rub the other parts with tools that are dipped in ISO Alcohol though.
Tip: The VapeXhale EZ load bowl (ELB) modification significantly reduces cleaning downtime of the bowl. Read what this mod is at the end of the review.
Temperature Control (9.5)
The Boundless CFX works with a precise temperature control system.
The only reason why it doesn’t get a 10 in this area, is because it can’t reach 446°F (230°C). This is the temperature you dangerous vaping rebels like to play with when you’re testing the combustion gods and want to get as close as possible to a smoke-like experience (combustion of marijuana starts at 464°F / 240°C).
On the other hand, it might be good they kept the max temp well below 464°F / 240°C, because without super-accurate temp control, chances of combusting are very high when you got close to combustion temperatures.
Its temperature settings range from 100°F-430°F (38°C-220°C), which is a wide enough range of temperature settings to vape any kind of dry herb.
So if you want absolute full control over the effects of your herb and vapor, the Boundless CFX has got you covered.
What about the heat-up time?
It’s only 20-30 seconds!
Reputation and Reliability (8)
“Boundless Vape Technology”, actually I don’t think anyone heard of them until recently.
The Boundless CFX and CF are their first vaporizers, and they came out in the beginning of 2016.
Their reputation did take an immediate hit because they advertised their vaporizers as full convection.
Some handy vape geeks proved their vaporizers are almost full conduction. They later changed this and stopped advertising their vaporizers as full convection and said there was some misunderstanding between them and their engineers.
I do think they more than made up for their mistake by having an outstanding customer service. I literally couldn’t find a bad word about their customer service, which for a new company is remarkable.
It’s still kind of early to talk about the long-term reliability of this vape, but so far so good (in 2019). I never found anything crazy about the defect-rate of the Boundless CFX and it seems a solid unit overall.
Its warranty is on the short side: 2 years. It seems this 2 year warranty is starting to become the industry standard for portable vaporizers, not a good development.
Conclusion
The Boundless CFX is a BEAST of a portable vaporizer.
It produces very impressive clouds and does it as good as the portable vaporizers that I rate the highest in this regard: the MIGHTY and CRAFTY…
But here comes the best part:
It does it for 1/2th of the price!
The flavor is not as good though, and a true cannaseur, unfortunately, won’t be satisfied with the Boundless CFX. The first few hits are good, but after that, it deteriorates (like with most conduction vapes).
Its design is rugged, not elegant, and the build quality is excellent. Plastic is what dominates this vape…so it doesn’t feel super luxurious. But the quality of the plastic is good, and it doesn’t feel cheap either.
Even though I can fit it in my pocket, if you’re looking for a true pocket vape, look at its smaller brother: the Boundless CF. The battery life is decent though; you won’t quickly run out of battery when you’re out in the wild.
For you temp control Nazis:
The Boundless CFX has precise temperature control and a large temp range that’s adjustable in 1-degree increments.
Up until now, this vape seems reliable, horror stories are few and far between. Plus the customer service of Boundless Vape Technology is superb.
If we’re comparing the Boundless CFX to the MIGHTY, you should go for the Boundless CFX if:
- You want an as potent vaporizer as the MIGHTY;
- Want an as easy to use vaporizer as the MIGHTY;
- Want better reliability (although the new (2016) versions of the MIGHTY seem to have improved upon the reliability issues)…
…and all of this for almost 1/3th of the price!
You’re getting sick value for money with this vaporizer.
For everything else, especially flavor (which is extremely important for me), I would recommend the MIGHTY.
Where to buy the Boundless CFX:
- US – (PlanetOfTheVapes / PuffItUp)
- Europe – (VapoShop)
- UK – (Amazon – UK)
Boundless CFX Tips and Tricks
How to grind your herb:
Even though it’s mostly a conduction vape, it doesn’t seem to matter. You can even use no grind and still get an excellent performance…strange enough.
How to pack your bowl:
Don’t fully pack your bowl, 3/4th at most and don’t compress it. The minimum amount you’ll need to produce satisfying hits is 0.1 grams. Just cover the bottom surface area of your bowl and then some extra.
How to draw:
Draw slowly, controlled and for at least 5-10 seconds to produce the best hits.
Stir your bowl:
Stirring does help a little to really extract everything out of your but is not really needed. It works perfectly fine without stirring.
The VapeXhale mods:
Some bright individuals on fuckcombustion came up with this trick, and all the credit goes to them.
I will explain them here though:
The EZ Load Bowl (ELB)
You can actually get an EZ Load Bowl (or Herb Basket) from the VapeXhale Cloud EVO.
What you do with it is the following:
- Replace the original mouthpiece screen of your Boundless vaporizer with ELB cap;
- Attach the ELB itself onto the ELB cap;
- Attach your mouthpiece onto your unit like you usually would.
The ELB fits PERFECTLY into the regular bowl, so now you effectively have a new bowl.
What this does is:
- Increases the convection ratio of the vaporizer (for better taste and efficiency);
- Improves airflow so reduces draw resistance, and;
- Keeps your regular bowl clean, and since the ELB is much easier to clean than the regular bowl, maintenance time goes significantly down.
Note: This mod is HIGHLY recommended!
A pictured guide can be found here.
