The vape pod market is slightly smaller than the conventional vape cartridge industry, but some cannabis consumers strongly prefer the simple drop-in design that vape pods offer. Among vape pod manufacturers in California, STIIIZY and PAX stand out as the two most popular, and each brand offers batteries to go along with their trapezoidal-shaped cannabis pods.

The highest-capacity battery PAX offers is the Era Pro, and with STIIIZY, it’s the BIIIG Battery. These two batteries offer such similar value that we’ll be honest from the outset: We can’t decide which is better.

Even though we think they’re equally desirable, the STIIIZY BIIIG Battery and PAX Era Pro are quite different from each other. Explore the differences between these two popular THC vape pod batteries in this guide.

What is the BIIIG STIIIZY Batttery?

The BIIIG STIIIZY Battery is a high-capacity, rechargeable vape pod battery produced by California cannabis producer STIIIZY. This battery is designed to be paired with STIIIZY pods, but it’s compatible with any type of THC or CBD vape pod.

BIIIG STIIIZY Battery tech specs

  • 11 color options
  • 550 mAh capacity
  • Comes with USB cable
  • 3.4V maximum voltage
  • Compatible with standard vape pods

What is the PAX Era Pro?

The PAX Era Pro is a heavy-duty upgrade of the PAX Era Life, which used to be called just the “PAX Era.” Beloved among high-tech cannabis users for its Bluetooth-connectivity and deep customizability, the PAX Era has nonetheless been held back by its comparatively wimpy battery life, which is countered for in the high-capacity PAX Era Pro.

PAX Era Pro tech specs

  • 5 color options
  • Battery capacity not listed
  • Maximum voltage not listed
  • Comes with USB cable
  • Compatible with standard vape pods

BIIIG STIIIZY vs. PAX Era Pro: Side-by-Side

Now that you have a basic idea of what the BIIIG STIIIZY and the PAX Era Pro are, let’s compare these two vape pod batteries across seven different categories: Price, power, hardware, capacity, design, price, and availability.

1. Price

  • BIIIG STIIIZY: $35
  • PAX Era Pro: $70

There is a huge disparity in price between the BIIIG STIIIZY and the PAX Era Pro. In fact, the Era Pro costs twice as much as STIIIZY’s option, but you get a lot more bang for your buck as well.

The main added benefit of the PAX Era Pro is the pinpoint-control offered by the PAX mobile and desktop apps. Also, the PAX Era Pro is undeniably better-looking and smaller than the BIIIG STIIIZY.

2. Power

  • BIIIG STIIIZY: Up to 3.4 volts
  • PAX Era Pro: Not disclosed

A voltage of 3.4V is generally considered to be nearly optimal for cannabis concentrate. We don’t know exactly which voltage the PAX Era Pro offers at full charge, but we assume it’s somewhere in this range. Most vape batteries, regardless of their design, offer somewhere between 3.3V and 3.7V at maximum capacity.

3. Hardware

The BIIIG STIIIZY vape pod battery has an attractive design and features powerful components. Compared to the PAX Era Pro, though, this vape battery loses out in the hardware department due to its lack of Bluetooth connectivity.

Also, the BIIIG STIIIZY is far less customizable than the Era Pro since it only offers a few temperature options. With the PAX Era Pro, on the other hand, you can control the temperature at which your pen vaporizes cannabis concentrate down to the degree.

It’s a little bit concerning that PAX discloses so little technical information about its Era Pro battery. Based on what PAX has put out there before, though, we trust that the Era Pro contains top-tier components. At $70 MSRP, not doing so would be highway robbery.

4. Capacity

  • BIIIG STIIIZY: 550 mAh
  • Pax Era Pro: Not disclosed

At over 500 mAh, the BIIIG STIIIZY is one of the highest-capacity pod batteries ever made. Even though the exact mAh capacity of the PAX Era Pro is undisclosed, we must assume it is lower than the BIIIG STIIIZY simply because this STIIIZY vape battery is, well, “biiig.”

In terms of physical size, the PAX Era Pro doesn’t hold a candle to the BIIIG STIIIZY. That might be a plus for some users who value slim form-function over functionality. If you’re tired of having to charge your vape battery all the time, though, the increased capacity of the BIIIG STIIIZY is what you’re looking for.

5. Design

The design of the BIIIG STIIIZY Battery is quite a bit different from the design of the Era Pro. Both batteries are intended to be high-end, high-capacity pieces of hardware, but the BIIIG STIIIZY ends up looking slightly bulky while the design of the PAX Era Pro makes you wonder if it’s up to the task.

We’ll be honest: The BIIIG STIIIZY Battery is kind of ugly. It’s blocky, squat, and somewhat awkward to hold in your hand. The Era Pro, however, looks just like the original PAX Era: so much so, in fact, that we wonder how big the difference between these batteries truly is.

According to PAX, though, the Era Pro offers nearly double the number of puffs as the original Era. Even so, we’d hazard a guess that the BIIIG STIIIZY is still a little bit more powerful overall.

6. Number of puffs

  • BIIIG STIIIZY: Not disclosed
  • Pax Era Pro: 250

The original PAX Era is listed as offering around 150 puffs at a medium temperature setting. The PAX Era Pro, however, offers up to 250 puffs between recharges, a significant increase.

STIIIZY doesn’t say how many hits its BIIIG battery will offer before you need to plug it in. Simply based on the design of the battery, though, we’d say it would probably be treated as offering 300-350 puffs between charges.

These puff estimates are all pretty inaccurate, though. I don’t think I’ve ever gotten anywhere close to 150 puffs from an original PAX Era before recharging. I’d personally rate this battery at around 30 puffs, so the PAX Era Pro might offer 50-60 puffs between charge cycles.

7. Pod price

PAX Era pods are usually more expensive than STIIIZY pods, and that’s not all: While STIIIZY makes its own vape pods, PAX doesn’t produce any cannabis extract itself: instead, it sells its pods to cannabis producers, who fill them with their own extract and sell the finished pods under their brand names.

So, while there’s major price variation between different PAX pods, there are also significant differences in quality. STIIIZY’s extract doesn’t quite reach the apex of perfection that some other California cannabis concentrate producers have attained, but this brand’s pods are offered at predictable prices and always offer the same quality.

8. Availability

STIIIZY pods are just about as popular as PAX pods, but PAX batteries are often more available than STIIIZY batteries. PAX’s batteries, even though they’re compatible with the same types of pods as STIIIZY batteries, are nonetheless not associated with a particular brand, making them easier for retailers to pair with non-STIIIZY pods.

STIIIZY is now incredibly popular throughout California, but it’s far from the Golden State’s only cannabis concentrate brand. Even on the off chance that a dispensary doesn’t carry any STIIIZY products, they’ll probably have at least a few PAX batteries and PAX-based pods on hand.

Which THC pod battery is the best?

The STIIIZY BIIIG Battery and the PAX Era Pro are easy to compare, but it isn’t as easy to come up with a clear winner between these high-capacity vape pod batteries. They’re designed too differently and do such widely different things.

Some of the pros of the STIIIZY BIIIG Battery include its:

  • High capacity
  • Clear technical information
  • Low price
  • Large number of color options

Yet, the PAX Era Pro remains a viable competitor because the BIIIG battery has cons like:

  • No Bluetooth compatibility
  • Bulky design
  • Reduced number of temperature options

The PAX Era Pro, on the other hand, is desirable for a wide variety of reasons. Some pros of this battery include:

  • Sleek design
  • Connectivity with mobile and desktop Bluetooth apps
  • Deep customization options

All the same, this vape pod battery is undeniably weaker-looking than the STIIIZY BIIIG Battery, and an annoying lack of public technical information makes it impossible to directly compare the voltage and amperage of these two batteries.

In the end, we’d recommend the PAX Era Pro if you:

  • Already like PAX
  • Want to be able to customize your vaping experience
  • Prefer sleek, slim designs over large boxy lines

On the other hand, we’d recommend the BIIIG STIIIZY Pro if you:

  • Don’t want to spend a lot of money
  • Are looking for the most powerful battery on the block
  • Don’t mind if your vape looks kind of chunky in your mouth

Consider picking up both pens and comparing them directly. Most vape cart users end up having multiple batteries on hand anyway for backup, and you might find one pod battery to be perfect for home use while the other is ideal on the go.