The Enso is a portable hookah that uses battery power instead of the traditional hookah charcoal.

It’s made by Airvape, a brand with a history of making quality vaporizers and thermal extraction devices.

The Airvape Enso is $420 and works with Shisha, non-tobacco shisha, dry herb cannabis, cannabis concentrates, traditional hash, or any combination. This thing basically works with everything!

Enso shines with Shisha – with or without weed. It can work without shisha, too, but that’s not the Enso’s strength.

Use code 420vapezone to save 10% on the Enso

What’s Included

The Enso Hookah comes well packaged and presented. It’s one of those hard to throw away boxes because it looks so nice. Enso accessories are tucked away in protective foam padding beneath the hookah. My battery came in a separate box.

• Enso Hookah / Vaporizer
  1. Glass base
  2. Rubber Heat Valve
  3. Purge valve / ball cap
• USB-C Charger + Cable
• Enso Battery
• Cup Removal Tool
• Poking tool
• 2x metal lids
• 2x Ceramic Cups
• 10x Disposable cups
• Wire Brush Cup Scrubbing Tool
• Wire Brush Enso Cleaning Tool
• Bristle Brush Whip Cleaning Tool
• 5x Silicon mouthpiece tips
• 1x Silicon mouthpiece guard

Build Quality & Design

Airvape built the Enso like a tank. It has a rugged metal body and a slender easy to carry body. The Vegan Leather carrying strap on top makes moving the hookah very easy – even while having a hookah sesh!

The glass bottom is the water tank and it twists off with a quarter turn. The glass is thick and there are protective feet on the bottom so it’s safe to set down pretty much anywhere.

The Enso uses a removable battery that’s easy to swap. It uses a heavy duty quick release latch that feels great. The battery even has its own USB-C charging port.

Enso Hookah has two swiveling whip connectors on each side. It comes with one whip that can be attached to either side. A small valve pushes onto the unused side to purge blowback pressure. Sometimes with excessive tugging these connectors come loose and need to be reseated.

This device has a stainless steel vapor path and a ceramic chamber. These are quality materials that have become standard for medical vaporizers and the Enso is designed in a way that is easy to clean.

The combination power button control wheel is a pleasure to use and the Enso’s lighting adapts to the power level.

The Enso looks classy and badass while in use. The pulsing lights create a vibe without looking tacky.

Heating & Temperature Settings

The Enso is very easy to control. The single button wheel is the only controls on the front.

Hold it for 3 seconds to turn it on. Turn to the right or left to change the temperature. Push it 3 times to change modes.

The Enso has a temperature range of 356F to 636F. The knob clicks as it turns to the left and right and there are 34 different click positions. The light bar shines more intensely while using higher temperature settings.

Skipping the Shisha? Three clicks of the button put the Enso in G mode. This mode works best with the optional gold-plated dry herb cup or the glass concentrates dish. G mode uses a linear power distribution designed for shorter sessions and quicker extraction.

While in Orange mode (standard), the Enso uses a heating algorithm to control the heater and chamber temperatures. Both Orange and Green modes have a 5 minute warm-up time. Green mode pre-heat is less aggressive as to not burn herb.

Enso Heating Chamber Info, Cups & Loading Tips

This portable hookah uses small cups to contain the shisha. It comes with two reusable ceramic cups and 10 disposable aluminum cups. I’ve found that I can reuse the disposable cups 3 or 4 times if I clean them carefully.

The included cups work best with Shisha, or with Shisha and weed. They’re too big to use with only cannabis. One cup will hold 3+ grams of dry herb – it’s not a good use of herb. Mix it with shisha for the better experience.

Pack the cups tight. They don’t need to be completely full, but the shisha should be packed tightly. I like to pack shisha around the outside of the cup and fill the center with .25g of dry herb.

The Enso is not picky with cannabis ratios. half and half works great, mixed or not. It even works with whole nugs, as long as the cup is filled with shisha, too. I’ve mixed shisha with hash and concentrates for a very good time.

Vaping weed or concentrates with shisha still tastes and smells like a shisha experience. Very little cannabis flavor comes through with shisha.

Optional Dry Herb & Wax Cups

Dedicated cannabis users will likely want to purchase additional accessories to improve the Enso’s performance with cannabis without the presence of Shisha.

The Gold Plated Dry Herb Cup is $19.99. It’s a 2-piece design that reduces the chamber size down to 1.5g instead of 3g+.

The Glass Hash Dish is $14.99. This dish is used for precious meltables and hash.

I wasn’t impressed enough to include these in the initial review. They work, but the performance isn’t magical. There are much better herb and concentrate vapes out there. The Enso Hookah shines with shisha and I don’t see myself ever using it with only cannabis.

I plan to cover the Enso Dry Herb cup and Wax Dish in a separate video.

Vapor Quality & Performance

The Enso takes 5 minutes to heat up, which is basically the standard heat-up time for modern desktop vaporizers and ball vapes. The bottom light of the bar will pulse as the Enso preheats. When its ready, both the bottom and the top of the little light bar will be lit.

Vapor from the Enso is smooth and cool, especially on the front half of the temperature range. Shisha comes in a wide variety of flavors and some are nicer than others. I’ve become a fan of Mint and Grape flavored shisha.

Towards the end of the sesh, or in the hotter temperatures, the vapor can start to get a little harsh. This is normal and to be expected.

Shisha sessions typically last 30-60 minutes for me, with or without weed.

Portability & Usability

The Enso is truly a portable hookah. It’s even usable while on-the-go.

It weighs as much as a newborn baby, but it has a handle! Babies don’t have handles. Enso is more portable than a baby!

The slim design with a carry handle on top is easy to walk around with. It hangs to the side like a briefcase or a bug sprayer.

The Enso design is more portable than any desktop vaporizer.

Hook has never been this easy. Or this portable.

Packing shisha cups and dealing with clean-up is messy – but it’s no messier than any other hookah / shisha experience. In many ways the Enso is easier to clean and pack, more convenient to use.

For even more portability, Airvape sells a fitted Enso Backpack for $99.

Battery Info & Charging Options

The Enso has a massive 5000mAh removable battery to power through 2+ hours of portable hookah.

The battery pack has a quick release latch that keeps it neatly tucked into the back of the Enso. This is probably the nicest battery pack I’ve ever seen. The latch is so smooth and the fitting feels perfect.

The battery pack has its own USB-C charging port and Airvape sells additional batteries for $50.

The Enso also has a USB-C charging port and the device can be used while charging. I noticed a drop in performance during the last third of battery power and this is accounted for in my battery test. On lower temp settings the Enso can push 3 hours of usage, but the last hour isn’t as powerful as the first 2. I can reliably get 2 hours of powerful shisha vapor.

The charge port on the battery will charge the battery faster than the charge port on the Enso.

Airvape Enso has a Lifetime Warranty

Airvape offers a lifetime warranty on their vaporizers! The vape must be purchased from an authorized retailer and registered within 30 days of purchase to be eligible for the lifetime warranty.

Airvape charges $20 for each replacement. I’ve never used their warranty replacement service and I can’t find anyone who has – but it’s been there for a few years at least!

Cleaning & Maintenance

The Enso will need to be cleaned after 2 or 3 hookah sessions. Vaping shisha leaves the chamber caked with blackened crusty stuff that will taste bad if left to accumulate.

Deep cleaning the Enso takes about 10 minutes. I like to clean it in the sink so I can run water directly through it and flush out all the gunk. Remove the battery before getting the Enso wet, and try to minimize water over the body of the Enso.

Airvape includes 3 clieaning brushes with the Enso. One for the vapor path, one for the cups and chamber, and one for the whip and mouthpieces. The wire scrubber for the cups and chamber works very well – don’t lose it.

Cleaning the ceramic shisha cups can be tedious, which is why I like to use the disposable aluminum cups. Airvape sells 20 packs of these disposable hookah cups for $8.99. Replacement ceramic cups $19.99 for 3.

Soaking the cups in warm water with a mild soap or vinegar helps to soften and release the cooked on shisha. Isopropyl alcohol helps if there’s a bunch of weed gunked in there, but alcohol doesn’t seem to cut the shisha at all.

Enso Review Conclusion: TL;DR

The Enso is incredibly fun as a Hookah. With or without weed.

It’s very well made and it performs like a champion. This device was made by someone who cares about the experience, and it shows. The Enso delivers a wonderful shisha experience and I expect this device to deliver for many years.

The Enso is great as a hookah, and pretty good with just weed.

I wouldn’t buy it just for weed. It shines with shisha.

Buying Options

Airvape sells the Enso for $420. Click Here to buy directly from Airvape.

You can save 10% off the Enso with code 420vapezone.

Airvape also offers a trade-in program for even more discounts on the Enso.
– Save 50% off Enso by trading in an Airvape Legacy Pro (portable dry herb vape)
– Save 30% off Enso by trading in an Airvape X (portable dry herb vape)
– Save 20% off Enso by trading in an Airvape XS Go

Technical Specs

• 5000 mAh removable battery
• Running time: 2+ hours
• Charge time: 3.5 hours
• Nominal Voltage 11.1V Max Discharge current: 15A
• Magnetic mouthpiece
• Size: 13×4.7 inch, 33×12 cm
• Weight: 2.55 kg, 5.62 lbs
• Water capacity: 0.2 L, 6.7 oz
• Cup capacity 15-25 gr (shisha) / 2-4g dry herb
• Temperature range: 180-330 C°

Airvape Enso

The Enso is a portable hookah that uses battery power instead of the traditional hookah charcoal.

Editor's Rating:
8.89

Pros

• No Charcoal
• Long Battery Life
• Strong Performance
• Looks Classy & Cool
• Great Build & Design
• Can be used while charging
• Includes special cleaning tools

Cons

• Slow Charging