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Years ago I tested and reviewed the Utilian 621 and 721 devices and was actually quite satisfied – I personally didn’t expect much from the brand compared to the big players in the game like Arizer, Pax, S&B, etc.
I was offered a Utillian 850 in exchange for my opinion and so here we are. Yes it was free, but no I’m not paid to promote or endorse the unit. These are just my pure thoughts.
Table of Contents
Build quality
The unboxing wasn’t anything special – simple packaging but it did include a spare set of o-rings and WPA, which, should be standard at this price range.
The unit itself has a sort of rubberized-matte coating, which to my surprise doesn’t keep oils or smudges at all. I’ve thrown it in my bag loosely with ultra-fine sand, keys, and other gunk and it has taken on minimal wear and shows zero scuffs. I’m not very kind to my gear and it has held up very well thus far.
The adjustable airpath is indeed 100% isolated, the chamber does seem to be indeed gold, and the zirconia mouthpiece/cooling unit works very well at giving a nice feeling.
The built-in stir stick is useful, the unit requires very little upkeep/maintenance to keep clean, and overall “it just works”. It doesn’t feel ‘luxury-premium’ like some other high-cost units do, but in no way does it feel cheap. In fact, it feels hardy and sturdy and I much prefer it over the PEEK plastic on S&B units.
It’s the kind of premise of “keep it simple, stupid” – there is nothing complicated or extra here and I actually like that. My only gripe is that the screen/o-ring assembly does like to slide off the cooling unit a bit too easily, but that’s all I can really complain about honestly.
Oh and the ‘robot farts’ were pretty bad at the beginning – I did a half dozen+ burn-off cycles to properly get rid of that aroma.
I guess the marketing of ‘gold vapor path’ is superfluous and tbh doesn’t need to be there because the only gold is the chamber and screens (not the cooling path itself). I think it’s unnecessary to lean into that marketing angle considering it’s actually a very minor part.
Performance
To be clear, I wasn’t expecting it to stand up to my various high-end units like the Venty or Solo 3. However, it genuinely does.
In fact, I prefer the performance quite a lot over the Solo 3, and in some ways, the Venty/Mighty.
Why is this? The vapor profile itself is certainly that of hybrid, but with a healthy amount of convection and avoids that conduction popcorn flavour unless you crank it to about 210°c/410°F or more, and even then it doesn’t taste like burnt popcorn.
The adjustable airflow is simple and works well. You can choke it down to very tight and tiny, however I pretty much always leave it full-open and it’s a nice low-restriction draw. The Venty at full-open does have less restriction, but the U850 at full-open is still quite-free flowing and easy to draw from.
In fact I would say it feels more fresh and bright than the Mighty, Venty, or Solo 3. It’s smooth, soft, yet dense and flavourful. The vapor is cool and even though the cooling unit isn’t complex in any way. I don’t get that “Bickle Tickle” irritation nearly as much with the Utillian 850 as I do the Venty. I love zirconia mouthpieces for many reasons and in this case it’s executed well.
The bowl itself is quite large. I’m guesstimating around 0.3g+ of material. I’ve used ground and whole/coarse nugs inside and it does just fine with both. I’m sure with compression you can pack 0.5g. Its a perfect size for sharing but not wasting.
On a bubbler I’m able to get dense production. Excellent – don’t really need more than that!
I ran it through the Zeus Iceborn at max temp and it was indeed very smooth without removing the flavour like a bubbler might. However I think it’s unnecessary as the stock cooling is certainly good enough. I ran it at max temp in direct sunlight in summer and has no issues.
I didn’t try it with concentrates yet but there is a concentrates mode. I think better a dedicated wax pen though anyways for that.
It is session only, which, I think at this price it’d be nice to see an on-demand mode. I’m sure the heater and battery can support it. The heat-up is ~30 seconds and cooldown is quite fast so not too much residual heat seems to be stored by the heater.
Overall, the vapour quality of the Utillian 850 is great! Really, I would absolutely be satisfied having it as my only device. The only portable units I prefer for vapor quality is the Bowle 2 and the MiniVap. Neither of those are as convenient and simple as the Utillian 850.
Battery life
It’s a 5,000mAh cell inside.
I’m averaging about 8 sessions at 8 minutes long running at about 180°C/356°F.
The USB-C fast-charging is good. It doesn’t have pass-through charging but with my USB-C PD fast charger it went from 0-100% in 2 hours.
No removable battery, but even though I’m an 18650 fanboy, I don’t really mind. Not the absolute most efficient unit out there, but I’m not encountering any battery issues with daily use.
Portability
It’s the size of a small power bank. It’s pocketable and fit nice in my large hands. It’s by no means as tiny as a Pax or so. It’s a medium sized portable unit. Any bigger and it’d be cumbersome (like the Mighty). The way it is now is totally fine.
It’s about the same as the Crafty in stature, just a bit heavier. It can mostly pass as an e-cig and doesn’t gather much attention when used in public. Fits in the pocket fine and I have no complaints.
Cleaning
This is where I really appreciate the unit. Those of you with Pax’s, Airvape Legacy Pros, Ventys, etc, know how much gunk can accumulate in the airpath, around the chamber, in little nooks and crannies, etc. It grows tiresome after a while, believe me.
Nope, not here. Every session I just blow the bowl out, wipe the screen, and it’s ready to go. I’ve probably ran 50+ sessions at this point without any sort deep cleaning yet and it doesn’t seem to need any still. That’s with some pretty sticky 31% flower, too.
The Arizer glass stem system is still the best for cleaning, but this one is very low-maintenance and simple. Loading it is also nice with the large curved bowl area and magnetic top part – no rogue crumbs running amuck. Overall, a very good unit for ease of use and cleaning.
Overall
The Utillian 850 did in fact surprise me and performed better than I thought it would.
Yes, there are more powerful, more beautiful, more feature-rich units out there, definitely. But at this point in my life and ‘vapo-career’ I actually don’t care about that. I just want something simple that works very well and doesn’t need much upkeep. I turn it on, it produces flavourful clouds, it doesn’t cause me frustration or require fiddling – I’m happy.
It will end up being a gift for my nearly 70 year-old father with arthritis and bad dexterity. It’s easy to use, performs great, needs minimal upkeep. It just performs very well and honestly I wish I would keep it for myself instead.
It’s a great daily driver and if you had to ask if I’d rather keep a Venty, Bowle 2.0 or Utillian 850, it would be a very hard choice for me to make. That says a lot.
The price is a bit high if I’m honest and I’d love to see an on-demand mode added in there. Aside from that I literally have zero complaints about the unit. In fact, only graces.
So I hope you liked this Utillian 850 review – if you have any questions please feel free to ask!
Do check out my Unbiased Dry Herb Vaporizers Buyers Guide to see my top picks and learn more!
Vivobarefoot ESC Tempest
A swimrun hybrid barefoot shoe made for trail running and swimming. Overall a great shoe with a unique design but a little fragile due to the buoyant foam.
Product Brand: Vivobarefoot
4.7
Pros
- [Fast drying],[Lightweight],[Great grip]
Cons
- [Funky look],[Expensive]