Buying a vaporizer: A quick guide

There are different vaporizers available for every taste and budget. But buying a vaporizer comes down to what you want to vaporize — dry herb or concentrates.

The two main categories of vaporizers are desktops (for home use) and portables, which can be as small as the size of a pen. In fact, pen vapes are a type of portable.

Here’s a quick guide to buying a vaporizer:

Step 1: Figure out what you need

The choices are numerous when it comes to vaporizers, so before making your decision, you should first figure out your needs. It’ll help you select the model that perfectly suits your personality.

If you plan to vape on-the-go, then a portable device might be best. But if you’re more a sofa-toker, or you like sharing the vaping experience, then you might consider a desktop device.

Step 2: Decide what you want to vape most

Another thing to consider is what you regularly smoke or vape. Is it concentrates or loose leaf marijuana? There are vaporizers that only work with dry herb and others that only work with concentrates.

If you’re new the vaping scene, you might want to start off with a portable vaporizer that works well with dry herb. Keep in mind that concentrates are a much more potent option.

Looking for dry herb? Find the best deals in your area with our cannabis price comparison tool.

Step 3: Consider price

Price, naturally, plays a decisive role in choosing a vaporizer. How much are you willing to shell out?

Vapes for concentrates are a tad cheaper than flower vaporizers. Desktop vaporizers, on the other hand, are bigger and offer a vape of better quality, but they are usually a little more expensive than others.

Step 4: Look for even heating

To be able to release the active ingredients of the plant, including tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD), and at the same time prevent combustion, vaporizers need accurate heating. The optimal temperature for vaporization is between 360⁰F to 390⁰F and should not exceed 420⁰F.

Accurate temperature regulation may be one of the most important features to look out for in one of these devices, otherwise the cannabinoids can get burned. You’ll find vapes that are either set digitally or with an analog dial.

It’s important to reiterate that the heating method matters. Conduction heats by touching the substance, and the risk of combustion is bigger (in cheap-made vape models, your weed can get burned). Convection heats the cannabis by passing hot air into the chamber, ensuring that nothing gets burned. Terpenes are safer and offer a better taste.

Here’s a breakdown of the differences between desktop, portable and pen vaporizers:

Desktops:

• Desktops provide a more comprehensive vaping experience, offer many options and are big enough to share the experience with others.
• Usually the Desktop vaporizer models include a fan that forces air. That sends the vapor to a nylon balloon or directly to the user’s mouth through a whip.
• Two of the most popular desktop models are the “Arizer Extreme Q” (around $233) and the silent but robust “Plenty”(around $252).

Portables:

• Portables are also whip-like. Their technology provides a wonderful experience to those for vaping dry herbs. They perform better when it comes to heating and they produce a tasty vapor.
• Portable vaporizers usually have rechargeable batteries.
• You can connect many of these to your smartphone’s apps and get a perfect control of their function. Crafty (around $316) and the Pax 2 vaporizer (around $201) are two popular portable models.

Pens:

• Pen vaporizers work best with concentrates.
• Pen vapes are designed to be well-suited to either oils or wax.
• If you aim to vape mainly dry herbs, you shouldn’t choose a pen vaporizer. Instead, buy a portable one — some oils can be more fluid than others and you might need some extra small accessories to be able to use them.
• “Storm” (around $106) is a popular pen vaporizer that could be used with herbs and concentrates also.