Tempest 2 Slim: MAD Heaters' New Slimmer Ball Vaporizer Explained
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The Tempest 2 Slim is MAD Heaters' new battery-free ball vaporizer for dry herb, and, according to the price-comparison site VapoChecker, it went on regular sale on 30 September 2026. It keeps the Tempest 2 heating cap but moves it onto a 14.5 mm stem, adds a smaller 0.05 g bowl setting and comes in 316 stainless steel or Grade 5 titanium. MAD Heaters lists it from £119 in the UK and $139 in the US. The Vapetrix doesn't stock it, so this is a plain-English explainer rather than a sales pitch.
What is the Tempest 2 Slim?
MAD Heaters makes the Tempest range of "stick" vaporizers: no battery, no buttons, no screen. You heat the cap from outside with a torch or an induction heater, watch a visual gauge and click indicators, then draw through a stem with a built-in cooling unit. The Tempest 2 launched in 2025. The Slim is the same idea in a thinner, lighter body, and in a cheaper stainless steel version for the first time.
A leaked product page set off a thread on the 420 Vape Geeks forum in late August, and MAD Heaters' own product page has been live since the end of that month. According to the price-comparison site VapoChecker, which cites the maker's launch newsletter, regular sales began on 30 September. We haven't handled a production unit ourselves, and no independent long-term reviews had appeared at the time of writing.
Key specs at a glance
These figures come from MAD Heaters' own product pages and its Tempest 2 and Tempest 2 Slim manual.
| Spec | Tempest 2 Slim |
|---|---|
| Type | Battery-free ball vaporizer, heated externally |
| Size | 122 mm long × 14.5 mm wide |
| Weight | 61 g (stainless steel) or 42 g (titanium) |
| Bowl settings | Approx. 0.05 g, 0.1 g, 0.15 g or 0.2 g |
| Heat-retention balls | About 40 × 3 mm: quartz in stainless steel, zirconia in titanium |
| Heat sources | Torch, YLL 3.0 induction heater or iSpire Wand |
| Temperature feedback | Visual gauge plus click indicators |
| Water pipe fit | 10 mm adapters; some 14 mm adapters work if at least 45 mm of the stem fits inside |
| Cooling | Titanium cooling unit (Medium) included; Low and High sold separately |
In the box MAD Heaters lists the device, spare O-rings, bowl and ball screens, a bowl-setting tube and tool, a few spare balls and a screwdriver bit. A heat source isn't listed, so you need your own torch or induction heater.
What's new compared with the Tempest 2?
MAD Heaters names three changes on its UK page, and a fourth on its US page:
- A smaller 0.05 g bowl position, for very small sessions. The Tempest 2 starts at about 0.1 g.
- An improved track for the twist-to-lock ball screen.
- Improved locking-tab grooves where the bowl meets the stem.
- "Enhanced heat distribution" for more thorough full-bowl sessions. This line appears only on the US page, and MAD Heaters publishes no measurements to back it up, so treat it as a manufacturer claim.
The bigger differences are in the body:
| Tempest 2 Slim | Tempest 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Width | 14.5 mm | 18.5 mm |
| Length | 122 mm | 122 mm |
| Weight | 61 g steel / 42 g titanium | 46 g (aluminium shield) / 43 g (wood) |
| Smallest bowl | About 0.05 g | About 0.1 g |
| Water pipe fit | 10 mm (some 14 mm) | 10, 14 and 18 mm |
| Body material | 316 stainless steel or Grade 5 titanium | Grade 5 titanium |
The practical catch is the water pipe fit. If you use an 18 mm adapter, the original Tempest 2 is the one that fits. The Slim's stem is built for 10 mm.
How you heat it
The manual gives starting points for each heat source. They assume you start from room temperature, so treat them as a guide.
- YLL 3.0 induction heater at 80 W: about 39–43 seconds for a stainless steel cap with the default quartz balls, and about 35–40 seconds for a titanium cap with zirconia balls.
- iSpire Wand (V3 adapter): 310 °C for stainless steel with quartz, 280 °C for titanium with zirconia. MAD Heaters says that figure acts as a timer, not a real temperature reading, and you heat until the Wand shows "Timeout".
- Torch: hold the flame about 1 cm from the cap, rotate it slowly and watch the gauge. Never point the flame at the indicators.
For a reheat, the manual says to take 8–12 seconds off the induction timer, or stop one marking earlier on the gauge. It also recommends long, slow draws with the stem's air intake mostly covered.
The cap stays very hot for several minutes after use. MAD Heaters says not to touch it, not to put the device in a pocket while hot, and that it is for adults aged 18 and over and for dry herb only.
Stainless steel or titanium?
This is the new choice the Slim brings. On MAD Heaters' figures, the stainless steel version is heavier at 61 g, comes with quartz balls and needs a little longer on the induction heater. The titanium version is lighter at 42 g, comes with zirconia balls and needs less time on the induction heater. Titanium is also the only one offered in the coloured finishes (Lime Green, Purple and Aqua), while "All Black" comes in both metals.
In its UK shop MAD Heaters lists stainless steel from £119. Its US shop lists $139 for stainless steel and $159 for titanium. The All Black and coloured finishes cost more. These are the maker's prices as of 4 October 2026, and import costs come on top outside the UK.
Is the Tempest 2 Slim available at The Vapetrix?
No. We don't currently stock the Tempest 2 Slim or the Tempest 2 itself. We do sell replacement bowl screens listed for the Tempest 2 (V2). We haven't confirmed that they fit the Slim, so check with MAD Heaters before ordering them for one.
Who is it for?
The Slim looks like a good fit if you:
- want a battery-free device that is slimmer and lighter than the Tempest 2
- like the idea of a 0.05 g setting for short sessions
- already own a YLL 3.0, an iSpire Wand or a suitable torch
It is probably not for you if you want a button-press device with a digital temperature setting, if you rely on an 18 mm adapter, or if you don't want to learn the timing that induction and torch heating involve.
What we don't know yet
- Cooling over back-to-back bowls. One pre-production user on the 420 Vape Geeks forum, quoted by VapoChecker, found the narrow stem warmer than the Tempest 2's after one or two heat cycles, even with the High cooling unit. That is a single report on an early unit, not a measurement.
- Taste and vapor density versus the Tempest 2. Owner comments on MAD Heaters' site are positive, but they are customer opinions, not tests.
- Parts compatibility. Some owners say the cap is shared with the Tempest 2, and VapoChecker reports the same from the launch newsletter. We haven't seen a full official compatibility list.
If you want a battery-free alternative we stock
If the Slim's price, import costs or learning curve put you off, we carry other battery-free options. The DynaVap UniDyn ball vape is a titanium unibody device with a convection-focused cap and native 10 mm water pipe fit, heated with a torch or induction heater. The DynaVap M 7 is the click-style classic. Our HyperDyn explainer covers DynaVap's larger-bowl option, and the DynaVap stems, bubblers and parts collection has the add-ons. You can also browse the full dry herb vaporizers range.
Final Thoughts
The Tempest 2 Slim is a focused update rather than a new design. It takes a heating cap that owners already rate, puts it on a slimmer, lighter body, adds a 0.05 g setting and brings in a cheaper stainless steel option. In exchange you lose 14 mm and 18 mm water pipe fit, and early reports suggest the thin stem may run warmer when you chain bowls together.
If you already enjoy the Tempest 2, the Slim looks like a sensible companion. If you're new to ball vapes, factor in the heat source, since none is included, and wait for independent reviews of production units before you decide. We'll update this article if more verified details come out.
Sources: MAD Heaters' Tempest 2 Slim and Tempest 2 product pages (UK and US), the Tempest 2 and Tempest 2 Slim manual, VapoChecker's Tempest 2 Slim page (updated 2 October 2026) and the 420 Vape Geeks forum thread. Prices were checked on 4 October 2026.