A Beginners Guide To Different Types of Cannabis Vapes
Over the past few years vaping has become one of the most popular ways to consume cannabis. Vaping cannabis is easy, discreet, and arguably healthier than traditional smoking methods. But figuring out how and what you want to vape for the first time can be complicated since both flower and concentrates can be vaporized using a wide range of devices.
Benefits of Vaping over smoking
- Less odor, meaning a more discreet experience
- Customizable temperature and intake levels, meaning users have more control over their high
- Lower temperatures, meaning:
- Inhalation is free of toxic carcinogens that come about from flame combustion
- Inhalation is not as hot or harsh as it would be from a joint, pipe or bong
- Less of the favorable compounds (terpenes and cannabinoids) are destroyed from high temperatures. About half of the cannabinoids are burned off when using an open flame!
- A richer, more noticeable flavor as a result of undestroyed terpenes
Types of Cannabis vapes
Dry herb vapes, or herbal vaporizers, are used to heat up and vape dry cannabis flowers. Many consumer choose to use a herbal vaporizer as it heats and evaporates the cannabinoids and terpenes in cannabis without combusting it, meaning no smoke. They work like convection ovens in that they circulate hot air around your herb. In doing so, they gradually and evenly heat your cannabis, allowing the compounds within to evaporate without combusting.
Unlike the other vapes on this list, dry herb vapes don’t use any liquid or cannabis concentrate. While cannabis concentrates are limited to certain strains, herbal vaporizers allow consumers to vape any strain they want.
Vape pens are used to vaporize cannabis distillate and oils. They’re called vape pens because of their compact size and shape that resembles that of a traditional pen.
A vape pen consists of 2 parts, the battery and a cartridge. Cartridges are usually bought pre-filled, either 0.5g or 1g of distillate, and are meant to be thrown out once you vape all the oil inside. They consist of a mouthpiece, chamber or tank, and an atomizer to heat the liquid inside.
The most common weed pen batteries are the 510 thread, which is compatible with a majority of pre-filled vape cartridges. While the most common battery shape is a simple cylinder, either with a button or draw activated, they come in many different shapes and sizes. Vapers can find 510 thread vapes that come with larger batteries, display screens, and the option to adjust the vapes voltage.
Wax pens are very similar to vape pens, however the generally have a stronger battery inside, making them a bit bulkier. The main difference between the two is the ability to choose what concentrate you put inside.
While vape pens often use a lower temperature, wax pens can reach anywhere from 315-700℉, allowing users to choose the best option for their specific concentrate. Consumers opting for wax pens typically select a thicker style of concentrate such as wax, shatter, live resin, and more. Wax pens require significantly more maintenance than vape pens, are the chamber is meant to be cleaned and reused instead of thrown out.
Because wax pens don’t come pre-filled, consumers have much more options in terms of what type of concentrate and strain they want. They’re meant for concentrate enthusiasts who enjoy the process and not just the end result.