Vaporizing In Short
Vaporizing, or conversationally referred to as vaping, is by definition the process of heating cannabis to the temperature just below it’s point of combustion. This achieves the activation of the psychoactive compounds from THC to CBD and all of your favorite terpenes within the weed that give you your high. This is just one of the reasons why so many people are opting to vape over other forms of consumption.
Why Not Just Roll Up or Pop an Edible?
Even for the more cautious cannabis users who lean towards edibles, vaporizing can be a really easy way to start enjoying the strain specific highs you hear so many people raving about. Additionally, vaping gives you the ability to dose distinctly, with a standard 3 second pull being a single dose it’s an easy entrance for those new to inhalation.
For everyone already blazing away, you might want to consider making your vaporizer a more prominent part of your rotation. Proper vaporizing really doesn’t combust the material so it’s not as harsh on your lungs and has the added benefit of a reduced smell. Since vaping activates the terpenes without combustion it results in a clean high with specific effects, such as creative, tranquil, or sedating.
Early Days of Vaping
Over time vaporizers have kept changing to become more sleek, advanced and dialed in to exactly what the user wants. This was not always the case, most started out bulkier and more cumbersome. A few to note include:
- 2000 – The Volcano. This was meant for dry herb and was a several pound conical tabletop vaporizer which was meant to fill up large plastic bags full of vapor.
- 2010 – Magic Flight Box which was made almost entirely out of wood and featured an external AA battery which the user inserted by hand to heat the chamber. These also were used with dry flower.
The Tech Got Better
Vaping has come a long way in the past decade, the introduction of portable vaporizers was a turning point and gained widespread popularity. The “Vape Pen” made vaporizers fully portable and pocket sized, and by 2014 there were dozens of companies trying to get into the vape market. Additionally we saw a big shift into vaporizing concentrates instead of dry flower as it’s form factor is more suited to vaporizing.
- 2012 – Onto the scene came the G-Pen, a self loadable vaporizer as sleek as ever with the ability to vaporize concentrates and fit into your pocket.
- 2013 – Many plastic wick and other cheap early versions of 510 cartridges are gaining traction on the black market, but much less refined and often used lower quality oils.
Vaping Now: Better than Ever
We are currently at the apex of vaping, with two main types of vaporizers being the most common these days: The 510 vaporizer and Pax Pods, both cartridge style vaporizers. We suggest avoiding one piece disposable vaporizers with throw away batteries, these are much less environmentally friendly and not as satisfying.
- 510 Vaporizers: These are the screw top cartridges which fit into a “510 thread” screw on the battery, hence the name.
- They often come in a both half and full gram options depending on preference
- Can contain any form of concentrate from CO2 Distillate to Liquid Live Resin
- Easily attach to any brand of battery, most having multiple heat settings in order to customize how heavy of a pull is taken.
- Pax Pods: An incredibly smart type of vape cartridge which inserts directly into the slot in a Pax brand vaporizer battery.
- These smart cartridges actually talk to the battery and can automatically set the temperature of the battery to what is best for that particular strain.
- Also available in many different forms of concentrate
- Extremely smooth and controlled hits, with maximum expression of terpenes.
Both are modern marvels as far as vaporizing goes, especially when compared to some of their older counterparts. Now you easily have access to every strain or effect you could possibly desire and are able to custom set the temperature to best suit that strain. Who knows your battery might even do it for you! So don’t pass it by next time you’re browsing for your favorite high, you might even find it is a little more true to the strain.
