ISSUES:
A lot of new product innovations involve cramming as many features as possible into a single device, as though our view of future-tech is about adding more stuff instead of making things better. But sometimes, when innovation is at its best, it’s about taking a simple idea and being a little clever with it.
A lot of new product innovations involve cramming as many features as possible into a single device, as though our view of future-tech is about adding more stuff instead of making things better. But sometimes, when innovation is at its best, it’s about taking a simple idea and being a little clever with it.
At a glance, the Ardent FX seems complicated. It’s a spacey, purple tube that claims to be an all-in-one device for decarboxylating cannabis, infusing oils, and, as if that weren’t enough, you can also use it to bake or cook real food, making it the world’s first Easy Bake Oven for adults. But once you realize all three features—decarb, infuse, bake—are just taking a certain amount of heat and applying it for a specific amount of time, the brilliant simplicity of the FX becomes clear.
And simplicity is absolutely the guiding principle behind this thing. The device is built around a single stainless steel chamber, big enough to hold up to 4 ounces of bud, 28 fluid ounces of liquid or one small loaf of, well, whatever you like inside a small loaf. The controls are limited to just four settings and one button—choose whether you’re decarbing bud or kief (one setting is optimized for THC and CBG, a second is for CBD), infusing an oil (or butter or milk or whatever) with your decarbed material, or baking/cooking something, press Start and then go do something else for a while. If you’re a more experienced cannabis cook, you might have reservations about giving up control over temperature, but Ardent has put in the work, thoroughly testing different temperatures to determine what’s optimal. You really don't have to worry about it at all.
Baking is notoriously messy work, as is dealing with weed—it’s sticky and stinky and tends to get everywhere. Ardent thought of that and streamlined the FX's cleaning, too. The stainless steel drum can be quickly washed by hand, but better than that, you can pop the entire unit off of its power base and just throw it into the dishwasher. This, in my opinion, is the real killer feature, because nobody ever enjoys cleaning up, especially when there’s chocolate zucchini bread to be eaten.
So is the FX worth its not-insignificant $400 price tag? If you’re infusing your own oils and edibles, whether for fun or even a daily CBD regimen, the answer is almost certainly yes. Even if you prefer your own oven and pans for baking (although don’t dismiss these smell round loaves—they are charmingly adorable), the decarboxylation and infusion features alone are fantastic, especially with a 4-ounce capacity (one issue people had with the older Ardent Nova decarboxylator was its limited 1-ounce maximum).
The company even has enough faith in the durability and flexibility of their device that they encourage creativity—they want you to show them all the things you can make with it. If cannabis is part of your kitchen, an Ardent FX is as necessary an appliance as your blender or crockpot.
Please increase the height of your browser to see all content.
