The ZEUS Arc GT4 enters the premium portable vaporizer market with ambitious claims and a high price tag. While it offers strong battery life and compatibility with a range of accessories, it struggles to match the ease-of-use, simplicity, and refinement of competitors like the PAX lineup. After extended hands-on time, the GT4 presents a mixed experience—feature-rich, but hampered by design decisions that complicate daily use.

Design & Build Quality

The GT4 is solidly built, finished in a scratch-resistant gold coating that gives it a polished, premium appearance. The device was designed in Germany and manufactured in China. Compared with devices in its class, however, it is noticeably larger and wider. Despite the increased bulk, the oven itself is relatively small, which undermines the advantage of the added size.

ZEUS includes two lids: a standard mouthpiece and another designed for use with your own water-pipe or bong and the Zeus Iceborn 3 device. The inclusion is thoughtful, though it contributes to the overall sense that the device comes with a lot of small components.

User Interface & Controls

One of the first drawbacks becomes apparent immediately: powering the device on requires holding down the button, and powering it off requires the same. Given that turning a vaporizer on and off is the most frequent interaction a user has, this choice feels unnecessarily inconvenient. Single-press controls, like those used by PAX, are significantly more intuitive. Maybe a small thing but when you are using it regularly, it feels slow.

The GT4 also vibrates to indicate that it is ready for use—but in practice, the vibration often occurs before the device has fully reached a usable temperature. Heat-up times are longer than expected, and the feedback is not reliably synchronized with actual performance.

Heating & Temperature Options

The Arc GT4 offers nine preset temperatures—six for dry herb and three for concentrates. While the flexibility may appeal to enthusiasts seeking fine control, the abundance of levels makes everyday operation feel more complicated than necessary. Cycling through all nine is cumbersome, and most users will settle on one or two preferred settings.

Battery Life

Battery performance is a genuine strength. The 3500 mAh battery significantly outlasts that of comparable compact vaporizers, including the PAX line. For users who need extended sessions without recharging, the GT4 delivers.

Oven & Airpath Design

The oven design is one area where ZEUS lags behind its competitors, especially PAX.

The PAX oven is wider and shallower than the ZEUS oven, which allows for much easier cleaning.

In contrast, the GT4 uses a smaller, deeper square oven where debris tends to accumulate and cling. Beneath the oven sits a wire-mesh insert and a narrow metal tube for the airpath—both very small, both easy to lose, and both tricky to handle when cleaning or adjusting airflow.

While ZEUS includes a removable airpath chamber that users can push debris through, it is still more finicky and less accessible than the straightforward vapour tunnel of a PAX.

Included Tool & Pods

The magnetic packing and scraping tool that attaches to the bottom of the device is a clever idea in theory. It makes stirring and emptying the oven easier, something PAX users often resort to keys or improvised tools for. However, because it doubles as the cover for the charging port and is extremely small, it is also easy to misplace—potentially exposing the USB port.

ZEUS also includes Arc Pods: four for dry herb and one concentrate pod. These help minimize oven mess and simplify switching between materials. They work well in practice but introduce yet another set of small pieces that must be kept track of.

A particularly questionable accessory is the oven reducer insert—a loose piece of heat-resistant plastic intended to decrease chamber size. Compared to PAX’s elegant half-pack oven lid, the ZEUS solution feels like an afterthought and adds yet another loose item for users to manage.

Cleaning & Maintenance

The GT4’s cleaning kit includes pipe cleaners, wipes, and poking tools—standard fare for this category. The real issue lies in the device’s design: the numerous small parts, narrow passages, and multi-piece airpath make maintenance slow and often frustrating. Users who value easy cleaning will find the experience a noticeable downgrade from simpler, more integrated designs.

Iceborn 3 & Water-Pipe Compatibility

One of ZEUS’s selling points is compatibility with the Iceborn 3 cooling system and a wide array of water pipes and bongs. The Iceborn 3 includes tubes and rubber adapters for several setups and does deliver significantly cooled vapour.

However, the system is bulky and not particularly convenient. While some users may appreciate the option, it is unlikely to become part of most people’s daily routine. Traditional bong users, who often have strong preferences about their devices, may also find the experience subdued compared to combustion.

Price & Value

With a price around $500 CAD, the ZEUS Arc GT4 sits firmly in the premium tier—nearly double the cost of a PAX device. While it offers long battery life and extensive accessory support, the high price is difficult to justify given the usability issues, the abundance of small components, and the less intuitive design.

Conclusion

The ZEUS Arc GT4 is a well-built vaporizer with strong battery life and plenty of optional attachments. It clearly aims to be a high-end device for users who want modularity and flexibility. However, it falls short in several key areas: ease of use, cleaning, heat-up behaviour, and overall ergonomics. The large number of small, finicky parts makes the device feel less refined and more cumbersome than competing products.

For users who prioritize battery life and accessory versatility, the GT4 may have appeal. For those who value simplicity, compactness, and a more seamless experience, devices like the PAX remain the more polished choice.