SLX
SLX sent me both of their grinders to test out. They have ceramic coated grinders and claim to be friction-free and the future of grinders. I used and abused both sizes to see just how well they work and if they will stand the test of time.
What’s in the box?
Inside the box is the 4-piece grinder, a kief shovel, and a guitar pick styled ‘coin’ which I assume is for the ground herb chamber to help knock off the kief.
How do you use it?
The grinder is used like any 4 piece grinder. You load it up and grind it until the bud has gone through all of the holes, then you collect your ground up bud from the screen below. The herb chamber also simply lifts out to reveal the kief chamber. I keep the kief shovel in the ground herb chamber to help knock off the kief for the collection chamber. If you want to use the kief then you just use the kief shovel to scrape it up and use however you wish. I prefer to collect it into a puck to make it easier to handle.
You are also able to use the grinder by removing the kief screen and using the kief chamber as the ground herb chamber. This works really well and this is how I use the full-size grinder.
How well does it work?
This grinder worked really well for me. It gives a very fluffy grind and it hasn’t gunked up at all in the month I have been testing it. You can grind it upside-down and it will allow you to grind it as fine as you want it.
The ground herb chamber just lifts out and isn’t threaded in so you can easily pick it up to dump it where you need it. I dump it straight into my vaporizers and this way you don’t lose any kief by tipping it upside down and having it go back through the screen.
Throughout the month of testing, I have been very impressed with how smooth it works. It still works as smoothly as it did when it was new and it has never stuck or bound up on me.
Here you can see the build-up from over a month of daily regular use. There is very little build-up and it does not change how smooth it is. They have never been cleaned or scraped out. The small grinder was recently used with really wet, fresh bud that I hadn’t dried yet so that is why you can see a small amount of residue stuck to it. This will wipe off with a paper towel and isopropyl alcohol easily. I wanted to test it out with something that would ruin most grinders, and it managed it with no issues.
Pros and Cons:
Pros:
- The non-stick surface never needs cleaning
- Non-threaded kief chamber
- Multiple sizes for multiple uses
- Kief screen is optional.
Cons
- They are expensive
Conclusion
I am very impressed with SLX and these grinders. They have managed to stay smooth and fresh even though I used them in ways that grinders should never be used. I have used a lot of grinders in the past, but none have managed to accomplish a non-stick surface like SLX grinders. The teeth of the grinder give a very nice fluffy grind and holding it upside down will let you grind anything from a rough chop for joints, to a near powdery grind good for vaporizers like the Pax. I will give the SLX grinder a passing grade and I recommend it to everyone looking to upgrade from a cheap grinder to something better.