When we were first given the Puffco Peak to test, I have to admit, I was excited to review it - but for all the wrong reasons. I'm ashamed to say that, without ever having tried it, I was a member of the "Puffco hater clan." It wasn't without good cause either! Rewind to 2018 when the Peak first launched, and there were negative reviews everywhere.

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Reports of atomizers not functioning out of the box and batteries burning out after a couple of uses were not uncommon. And because of this, I stayed in my lane and avoided spending my money on the product. So when VapeActive reached out to Wikileaf to see if we wanted to review any of the vapes on their site, I took this as an opportunity to see what the Puffco Peak was actually about - and I've barely dabbed out of any other concentrate vaporizer since I got it.

Hit / High Experience - 10/10

Okay, let's get this out of the way: I was wrong about the Puffco Peak. I haven't raved about a concentrate vaporizer as much as this since we reviewed the Dr. Dabber SWITCH. The hit is clean (as it should be) but what really threw me off was how milky the vapor was!

A lot of concentrate vaporizers that are advertised as being portable achieve that portability by cutting corners in the battery and atomizer departments, usually resulting in a less than optimal hit. But the Peak proves that you can have your cake and eat it too. Gone are the days of sacrificing hit quality for size and portability. When you start to play with the carb cap and figure out how to maximize the surface area of the chamber, you'll get massive clouds, which is always a win.

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That being said, to achieve those clouds, you pretty have to take your dabs at the highest temperature settings. And even at high settings, you still maintain the flavor of the concentrate. Needless to say, the flavors are even better at lower settings, so if you're looking chase some terps, you'll want to hit at a lower temp.

Build Quality -  4/5

The Peak comes in three main pieces:

  • Base
  • Glass
  • Atomizer

The base is sturdy, and on the Lucid Lightning edition, it's coated in rubber, making for an easy grip and a dent and scratch resistant surface. The glass is high quality and seems to be made extremely well. I've tipped it over while off the base multiple times, and there isn't as much as a hint of a scratch on it. My main problem with the build quality of the Peak comes with the atomizer.

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The atomizer is ceramic and sits directly under the chamber. As such, oil is naturally going to make its way down into the atomizer, no matter how clean you keep your Peak. After about two months of daily use, enough concentrate had heated up and cooled down to cause the atomizer to crack right down the middle. I'll go ahead and toss an asterisk on this and admit that I wasn't as diligent about cleaning the Peak as I should have been.

But by the nature of the Peak's design, this would have eventually happened. If you're planning on the Peak being your daily device, you should anticipate having to replace the atomizer at some point. A new, single atomizer will run you about $40 if you purchase it through Puffco.

Look and Design - 4.8/5

Puffco Peak Source: Wikileaf
Overall, the Peak is a cool looking device. It has very modern lines and angles, and the colored lights and haptic feedback are great additions to an already functional piece. There are multiple colorways of the Peak available, so you can really find the one that fits your aesthetic. The only reason it doesn't get a 5/5 is that you might have some...ahem, awkward... explaining to do to your friends if you whip this out at a party on a Friday night. But don't let them judge your lifestyle choices.

Maintenance - 3.75/5

The maintenance department is where my biggest complaint with the Peak lies. And before I get into why my score is what it is, let me lead with this: the Puffco Peak is not meant for globbies.

I don't care what anyone tells you. Concentrate gets EVERYWHERE inside this device, and the bigger globs you take, the truer this becomes. If you are consistently globbing on this device, then you need to be aware that it's not enough to only wipe out the chamber with a q-tip and isopropyl alcohol after every hit. You need to be unscrewing your atomizer from the base and wiping off the contact points, as well as the path to the glass after every session.

You also need to be sure to take the chamber out of the atomizer and wipe it down completely (oil on the outside of the bowl will immediately leak onto the atomizer.) Also, make sure to hit the crevices underneath the ceramic base in the atomizer (which isn't a very easy task.)

The most annoying part of cleaning the Puffco is you really need to stock up on the Puffco brand q-tips. The cotton tips are harder and more compact, so they don't unravel as soon as they touch wax. It's possible to clean your Peak with normal q-tips, but its more annoying and you go through way more q-tips.

The Final Score: 4.51/5 Seal Earned: Wikileaf Gold Seal of Approval

How To Use The Puffco Peak

The device looks like a futuristic piece of tech that requires a degree to operate, but I promise it's extremely user-friendly. Follow these steps for a great dab every time.

  1. The first step is probably one of the most important - and if you're impatient like me, one of the hardest to follow. Make sure to fully charge your Puffco Peak before you use it. There is a noticeable difference between how well the atomizer works when the battery is low and when it has a full charge. Try to avoid draining the battery too often, as this will lead to the premature death of your Peak

  2. Once your Peak is charged, it's time to fill the glass piece with water. Do not fill your glass piece while it is attached to the base. There is a lot of volume for water, but don't let this fool you. You don't need to fill it with that much water. The water should be filled up to just above the two air-holes in the glass piece. It's important that you do not get water in the lower section of your glass. There is a hole in this part where the vapor passes from the bowl to the glass (to be filtered by the water.) If water gets in the bottom of the glass, you run the risk of leaking water into your atomizer and breaking your Peak.

  3. Attach your glass to the base. Line up the above-mentioned hole in the lower part of your glass with the atomizer, and pop the glass into the base from the front to the back.

  4. To turn on/off your device, hold the button on the front of your Peak for 3 seconds. Once it's on, you can cycle through the four temperature settings:
    • Blue - 450 degrees F
    • Green - 500 degrees F
    • Red - 550 degrees F
    • White - 600 degrees F

  5. Once you've picked your temperature setting, it's time to load your dab. You can use the included dab tool or one that you already own. Make sure to load your dab on the bottom of the bowl, not the sides. Otherwise, your concentrate won't fully vaporize, and you run a greater risk of it leaking into your atomizer. After your bowl is loaded, place your carb cap on top of the bowl.

  6. Heat up your bowl by double-tapping the button on the front of the device. Your peak will pulse to indicate that it's heating up, as well as vibrate upon initiation of the heating cycle. The device will vibrate again and flash three times when it's finished heating and ready to be hit.
  7. Pull gently from the Puffco Peak. Long gentle pulls will yield the best results.

  8. Make sure to use a cotton swab to wipe out the chamber after each use. Otherwise, the concentrate will leak into the atomizer and the bottom of your glass, which is a pain to clean once the concentrate is in there. Click here to read the full Puffco Peak instruction manual.