Vaporizing your cannabis can be a great alternative to smoking. Not only is vaping a more health-conscious way of enjoying cannabis, but cannabis vapor can also be much more flavorful than smoke.
But not all vaporizers are equal. In today’s world of modern cannabis, there are many different vaporizers for you to choose from, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. Here are the most common types of vaporizers and what you need to know about them!
Vape Pens
Vape pens are perfect for quick and convenient on-the-go vaping. You will commonly find vape pen units being sold in dispensaries either as two separate pieces – a filled cartridge and a 510 battery – or as one unit in the form of a pre-loaded disposable vape pen.
Vape pen cartridges are usually loaded up with a concentrated cannabis oil like distillate, CO2 oil, or live resin. These pens work by screwing the cartridge into the battery to make the connection and pressing a button, or simply inhaling, to produce vapor. Thanks to their small size and ease of use, vape pens provide maximum convenience in terms of on-the-go portable vaping.
Portable Vaporizers
The technical limitations of vape pens render them unable to vaporize dry herb flower or other concentrates besides oils. But thankfully, there are many other portable vaporizer models that can.
Portable vaporizers come in all shapes and sizes but they are ultimately handheld devices that are designed to fit in your hand. These vapes have a built-in battery and heating system, as well as a bowl for you to place your dry herb or concentrates. They can take a minute to heat up, and battery life can oftentimes be short, but portable vapes are the best (and only!) way to vaporize cannabis flower on-the-go.
But not all portable vaporizers are designed to vape concentrates. Most are actually only made for vaping dry herbs. Enter wax pens.
Wax pens, also known as dab pens, are one of the most unique types of vaporizers. These vapes have been specially designed to work with wax-based concentrates and pretty much nothing else. If you’re looking for a portable concentrate vaping option, a wax pen is a perfect choice.
Desktop Vaporizers
Before portable vaporizers, there were desktop vaporizers. Plug-in desktop vapes are the OGs of cannabis vaping. They were the first cannabis vaporizers produced and are still among the best vapes on the market today.
These vapes must be plugged into a wall in order to work, but they remove the battery out of the equation entirely. No more worrying about whether or not your vape is charged! Just plug it in and vape. If you don’t mind having to vape at home out of a larger unit, a desktop vaporizer is one of the most consistent and reliable types of vaporizers out there.
Types of Vaporizers: Convection vs. Conduction Heating
It’s important to note that not all vaporizer heating elements work the same. While some vaporizers use convection heating to produce vapor, others use conduction heating. Still, others rely on a combination of the two.
Conduction vaporizers work by using a solid heating element to heat up the herb or concentrate in your bowl. Convection vaporizers work by producing hot air below the heating element, which is then sucked up through the bowl, producing vapor as it passes up into the mouthpiece.
Many people prefer convection heating, but conduction is no slouch either. If you’re thinking about buying a vaporizer, take some time to learn more about these healing methods and which one you would prefer in your unit.
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