I have been looking into dry herb vaping as a reusable some what healthy way to consume trees but I have seen some mixed reviews. Some say that vaping is even more potent that combustion while others claim that most dry herb vapes suck and only giant ball vapes can compare to a bong hit. Is it purely subjective or are there ways to figure out what is a worth while rig before buying it?
I started smoking with massive bong hits and I’ll never move away from that, so I needed to find a vaporizer that was able to provide what I was looking for. I’ve been through a long list, all with their own pros and cons and various “best” ways to use them.
I started with the FM V5.0s, then the Grasshopper, Arizer Air, Solo 2, VapeXhale Evo, then Mighty family with the Volcano and Plenty, Arizer V-Tower, then the Fury and the Tiny Might.
For bongs, most of these suck or have shortcomings. The Grasshopper (no longer available and should honestly be avoided) was incredible and served me very well, but the company was mishandled and effectively scammed people. However, it was the pinnacle of portable bong vaporizers - seriously unparalleled and its only shortcoming for me was you’d have to reload it if you wanted more than ~2 or 3 very large dense hits (i.e. group sessions). It’s too bad it’s unavailable, because it really was the best (“when it worked”, as the users memed).
The VapeXhale Evo, also no longer available sadly is the next best, only “second” to the Grasshopper for bong rips because it’s a desktop vape and it has a heatup time. But the pros outweigh those “cons” that make it “second”, easily reloadable baskets and the best convection bong rips on the market at the time. Alas, the company grew old and repurchased and rebranded until a new unit never released and they folded. The biggest loss aside is the ez-load bowls, since they are compatible with a number of devices. Anyway… it was nifty, it heated a glass element that heated the air and made it a full convection vape.
The Mighty is ok for bongs. I differentiate them via the actual glass and pressure of the bongs. Imagine a beaker bong or any bong that you hit and the smoke/vapor condenses in the glass before you carb it and get it all. The Mighty does not do that at all. The Mighty is a bubbler that you when you hit it you get some smoke/vapor - no condensing. It’s not my preference, so I personally am not very satisfied with the Mighty as a bong ripper when compared to my other options.
The Volcano is just loud. It’s fine, it’s fun to have the bong percolate itself but, well meh. It’s expensive and loud, it uses a lot of bud but it does put out a lot of vapor. The older V-Tower model is in a similar boat, it’s quieter but a little less efficient than the Volcano. I use them for gatherings. The Plenty is fairly disappointing.
The Arizer portables (I have the Air 1 and Solo 2) are weaker than the Mighty through glass so not what you’re looking for for bong rips.
Finally, for portables worth mentioning that leaves the Tiny Might. It’s a great vaporizer, I find it fairly comparable to the Grasshopper and I’m pleased with it overall. My only shortcoming for it is that I’m constantly reloading bowls, but otherwise it’s a strong consistent vaporizer.
But for you OP, I would suggest looking into Ball Vapes. I personally can’t 100% recommend any particular one as I’m unfamiliar with the specifics of each and what they all entail, but as a brief overview; ball vapes are desktop vapes controlled by an e-nail PiD controller and are essentially e-nails for convection heating. It’s actually just the exact concept of the VapeXhale Evo just inverted, since we are moving the heating elements to the top of the bowl (rather than it being confined).
You can build your own for about $100, but there are plenty of kits available from Cannabis Hardware or Vgoodiez (and I’m sure others, but you can’t go wrong with these two.)
Aw, I’ve been using my evo for a while and didn’t realize they’d gone out of business. They were always great to deal with for me. It’s a nifty device, and I like the all glass air flow. That really only stayed true when using it with extracts in the glass nails though.
Have you found a reasonable clone for the baskets? I love those little things and used them in my portable as well.
I’ve yet to unfortunately, I bought the very last stock available and inquired a few sellers (like Vgoodiez) for any potential but no luck. Treat the ones you have with care :(
Actually, I should reach out to the company though. They may have the contact for the basket manufacturer. I was lucky enough to always have good experiences with them as well, near the end I bought some glass from them and one of their shipments was eternally delayed but I was talking with the owner and they sent me a more expensive piece for free, which I still use today (the “Halley”). Really a shame their other version didn’t release, although, it didn’t look particularly… well ahem, it was more unique.
For now if I ever run low my solution is going to be something along the lines of Tiny Might/Arizer “ELB” basket screens (the small lids that we use as the cap) with some metal mesh and figuring out how to fashion it to work lol. Not looking forward to that sad day.
Do you mean combustion vs. vaporisation? Because you can run a dry herb vape through a bong no problem.
Sure.
Ok, well combustion and vaporisation are 2 very different things.
If you want a big cloud hit off a vaporizer, you look at vapes like the cloud evo, volcano, the tiny might 2, ball vapes, log vapes. You can either attach or not attach any of these to a bong.
Ball vapes are top of the line for fast extraction of vapour, but you can get large cloud hits off the other style of vapes i mentioned.
But i wouldn’t expect to get massive clouds off sipper vapes like a mighty, crafty, mflb, vmax, potv one, etc.
You’ll likely get higher off a dry herb vape, because you can control the temperature while extracting the active compounds, instead of just buring them up into carbon like with combustion.
But i wouldn’t expect to get massive clouds off sipper vapes like a mighty, crafty, mflb, vmax, potv one, etc.
While generally true I’ve gotten some pretty thicc clouds off my potv one with a long draw. Regardless, a couple hits from my Arizer xq2 or my potv one get me pretty solidly high even if I’m not getting big ol clouds.
Agreed, im just not sure what OP referes to as a “bong like hit”. Potv and Arizer xq(1 and 2) can produce some nice clouds, same with my mighty through a bong. But they are still lacking in fast vapour production from ball and injector style vapes. But thats just my experience with the vapes i own.
But they are still lacking in fast vapour production
Literally only complaint with them! My One doesn’t take too long but my first hit is always low vapor. The Arizer takes a hot minute to heat the flower up. Once it’s going though it’s my favorite way to smoke.
I let my XQ1 heat up for 5 or 10 mins, then pack the little corner screen and connect the whip to my bong and I can get decent bong hits at 230C. It’s the first vape I’ve had that actually works with my bong and gets me baked like smoking through my bong. The downside it that it takes so long to heat up to the point where bong rips can be had.
My own experience has been wax pens and edibles. I was watching this youtube guy called Cewpins complain about dry herb vapes. He claimed he couldnt get as high as when he used a combustion bong.
No hate on that dude or anything, but that just fundamentally doesn’t add up on a physics and chemistry level.
Few scenarios where someone might feel that way: They maybe using a different amount of product or a different product entirely in each delivery method.
They maybe incorrectly using the dry herb vaporizer.
They maybe just prefer the dirtier high, due to the flash combustion of the material releasing CO and PAH. It may also destroy some terpens and canabinoids in the combustion process.
How does. The dry herb vape through a bong compared to the regular combustion bong ?
There are vaporizers that you can connect into a bong and get the best of both. But for a single device, a Volcano is the vape equivalent of a bong rip. The sensation and flavor are different but, to me, it feels cleaner than smoking out of a bong.
As an owner of two Volcanos and an Arizer Extreme Q, I don’t really think the cost justifies the marginal improvement in vapor quality over the Q.
That said, if money really is no object, the Volcano can’t be beat in terms of quality and feature set. Replacement parts are wildly pricey too.
After decades of nearly exclusive use of a bong and very occasional disappointing experimentation with various vaporizers, I never really found a vape device that could replace a bong for me.
That changed about a year ago. I bought a Tiny Might 2 and don’t use anything else now.
The device is expensive but is a great piece of hardware that works very well. Most importantly it can deliver massive hits. With a good cooling stem you can use it anywhere and it will allow you to do a hit that will rival a good bong hit and it tastes so much better.
But the best is that it comes with a glass water pipe attachment (WPA) that allows you to use it with a bong or water pipe. When I’m at home I use it exclusively with a bong. It uses less herb than combustion for the same or better effect with dramatically better flavor. It will produce very thick vapor and will give you a very satisfying bong hit - at higher temperatures it will produce very thick clouds. In fact you can turn the temperature up enough to combust whatever is in the chamber if you are so inclined. Another benefit is that your bong stays cleaner too.
I use the dosing capsules which keeps the device clean and helps a bit with efficiency. Specifically I use .10 grams in a dosing capsule and am often unable to finish in one hit. (I am a runner and can do huge hits) On the same bong with the same herb I would use a little bit more - maybe .13 grams if I were combusting it.
For me it is pretty close to the ideal device. It absolutely improved every aspect of my herbal experience. Of course YMMV but I’m a convert.
I used to exclusively use a bong, now I exclusively use a Volcano. It took a couple weeks for me to get accustomed to it, they’re different, but I haven’t gone back to the bong in over two years.
I will say, the Volcano is the only vaporizer I’ve tried that comes close to having the same in-your-face “fuck I’m high” feeling of a bong hit. I’ve tried a lot of different hardware, but the Volcano is unique imo.
It was hard to justify the absurd cost of the Volcano, but I slowly saved up for it, caught a Black Friday sale to save like $200 and it’s now one of my most prized possessions. Solid investment. Fucking love this thing.
deleted by creator
I got the plenty and the Volcano, my volcano gets used daily, my plenty gets used a few times a year when I’m in between volcano bag orders. For either device the dosing capsules from storez and bickel makes them more efficient.
If you hate the original Volcano bags as much as me, I highly recommend Best Boons. They’re a much better material and super quiet compared to the crinkly assault on my (and my cat’s) ears.
Dry herb vape through a bubbler/bong >>>>>
Absolutely. I use the might+ dry herb vape and an adapter to use it with a bong cost me around $15AUD delivered. The mighty+ is smooth and amazing anyway, but the bong and adapter get rid of any coughing at all after huge rpis.
I know lots of others answered but I’ll try to sum up some notes for you:
-
Combustion releases a ton of extra stuff including a toxic cocktail of carcinogenics and carbon monoxide which are bad for your body. Some of these chemicals release the instant euphoric feeling followed by sedation. People who try dry vaporizing are expecting the same exact effects, when the reality is that it is cleaner and different.
-
Different temperatures extract different active compounds from the herb. In general terms a Sativa vapes great at lower temps (300-385F) while Indica and CBD strains work better at higher temps to extract that sedation and pan relief you get from the herb. This means you can essentially “customize” your high to what you want/need at that time. If you have a hybrid for example you could cook out the low temperature sativa side in the morning, then cook the same herb at night to extract the indica side of the herb.
-
Not all dry vaporizers cook at the same rate. They are essentially miniature ovens. Many people buy cheaper weaker underpowered devices preheat them and suck away like they’re hitting a waterpipe - this drains all heat out of the oven faster than the shitty heater can recover temps. The secret here is to either get a higher powered device, OR learn how to slow your roll and take a gentle sip (filling your lungs over 20 seconds instead of filling them in 3 seconds). This is partially why you hear people say vaporizers suck - because they are not obtaining a full extraction before they think it’s finished (since they’re getting no more vapor it must be fully cooked!).
-
Unlike smoking where you can “Green out” from smoking too much (due to excessive carbon monoxide poisoning which causes you to start vomiting if you smoke too much too frequently), dry vaporizing does not do this. You can essentially get MORE medicated than possible with combustion because you’re not inhaling all that nasty toxic shit.
Dry vaporizers come in many shapes and sizes. Some cook faster, some produce tastier vapor for flavor-chasing snobs like myself, some produce bigger clouds, others better for social gatherings, or more stealthy, faster extraction, etc. Most of us true ents have multiple devices in our collection depending on our needs at the time.
LPT - you can pair almost any vaporizer with a waterpipe for some epic vaporbonging action. Price does not equate to performance, there are many other vaporizers besides “ball vapes” that can totally get you where you need to be. Hell on vacation when my preferred portable failed (bad battery), I bought a shitty no-name $85 vaporizer at a smoke shop and was able to make it work for my needs until I got back home lol.
If you let me know more about your budget and what you want to do I can probably set you on a better path than a ball vape - I’m personally not a fan of them for novice users for several reasons.
Thanks for the information. I personally have never smoked. I have had edibles of different types and a few disposable vapes. I know they suck but Im gonna get every last drop out before i throw them away. I mostly asked out of curiocity since I had found a youtube channel complaining about dry herb vaping even though it seemed perfect in my more health concerned mind.
Oooo you’d be the perfect candidate to try dry herbal vaporizing. 95% of the time those negative complaints you see are from hard core daily smokers who expect the exact same results… unaware of the fact that dry vaporizing does not yield the exact same results because it is a cleaner way to extract the actual active compounds.
The problem is most stoners confuse the affects of the herb itself… with that of combustion and inhaling carbon monoxide and carcinogenics. For people in that situation, I actually advise a one or two week “t-break” to let the body fully detox so they can fully enjoy the dry herbal vaporizing.
Prefilled concentrate “vapes” are a completely different ballgame. I equate those to eating junk food - because they taste great and produce awesome clouds… but they are never “full spectrum” - the extraction process to produce the concentrate doesn’t extract “everything”, and temperatures used in some extraction processes can actually cook off some of the lower temperature affects. This is why I personally prefer dry vaporizing. I made the switch 11 years ago and haven’t looked back - the only time I combust is socially with friends when they’re passing around something smokeable - but even then it’s a rare occasion (I just hate the taste/smell/effects when combusting).
Not all dry vaporizers are crated equal. Back about ten years ago, there were many cheap no-name vaporizers which were terrible some vaporized extremely slowly (a session could take 20+ minutes for a full complete extraction) - there were even some like the “Atmos Raw” which was claimed to be a dry herbal vaporizer - in reality it was an ecig vaporizer and it had an attachment which would physically burn the herb until it combusted - it was not an actual “Vaporizer”. But I know many people who paid $50+ for the Atmos Raw because it was the cheapest “vaporizer” they could find (and there were groupon deals and such offering them for $25, it was sad)
If you’re “vaporizer curious” I would start with something like the Xmax V3 Pro or PlanetOfTheVapes One vaporizer - both are great entry level devices which perform well for the price (they are not the best in the industry, but certainly good beginner vaporizers).
Alternatively, there is another brand of Vaporizers made in America called the “Dynavap Vapcap” - which is pretty much unlike any other dry vaporizer on the market - it mimics more of a single-hitter from the combustion side of cannabis in the way it looks. It’s not a “traditional” vaporizer in any sense of the word - but there is a reason why it has developed a cult-like following since it’s release eight or nine years ago.
Thank you for the advice. I am even more curious now after finding there are many herbs that can be vaped which seems like a whole rabbit hole to go down and explore.
Personally I stick to the plain old devil’s lettuce. Vaporizing pipe tobacco can be enjoyable if it’s flavored, but yeah I don’t bother trying many other herbs lol.
The fun part is the leftovers - unlike smoking you can re-use your leftovers from the dry vaporizer (I call it ABV - Already Been Vaped, others call it AVB - already vaped bud). It’s already cooked so you can eat it straight (some people add it to yogurt, others mix it into smoothies or chocolate milk, some make “firecrackers” with crackers and peanutbutter/jelly for example) - the results tend to be more sedative than usual.
I personally have used a sous-vide to make budder using cooked herb which set up in silicone molds. I then make rice krispy treats using the budder.
Sounds delicious. I have heard that once you start vaping a bowl in a vape, you have to finish it in one siting or rest of the bowl will be wasted/taste horrible. Is this true? I hadn’t seen that any where else.
I have heard that once you start vaping a bowl in a vape, you have to finish it in one siting or rest of the bowl will be wasted/taste horrible. Is this true?
So the answer is “kinda”.
As mentioned, different temperatures extract different active compounds from the herb. It also cooks different flavor terpenes which affect how the vapor tastes.
When you load and electronic vaporizer, run a partial session, turn it off and then restart at the same temperature, you will find vapor production seriously diminished, and vapor taste changes to more of a “burnt popcorn” flavor.
You have several options in this regard:
-
Temperature-step. Some people enjoy a low temp session in the mornings, and then cooking the same load in the evenings for sedation. This works because you’re cooking a new set of compounds. The vapor flavor and production still changes, but it’s not quite as bad.
-
Microdose. There are different methods of microdosing with every vaporizer but basically you are cooking only as much as you need for that session and then reloading each time you use the device. This is great if you’re a flavor chasing snob like myself lol.
Now there are always exceptions to the rule - butane powered vaporizers don’t exactly play by the same set of rules. If you load up a Dynavap Vapcap take a puff and then let it cool down, you won’t notice a huge change in performance later when you re-heat the device. But that’s also because it’s not a flavor-chasing vaporizer, and instead it roasts the herb during the heatup phase which slightly alters the taste anyway - and the heat penetrates to the core of the load much quicker with a butane torch
-
-
pax 2 not as good as bong. but good
in my experience they don’t compare really. Bong hits are high temp with percolation while a dry vape is low temp. I never had good luck substituting one for the other but I do love both. obviously a vape has the benefit of more discretion
I have fallen in love with hitting my Dynavap through a 12" beaker bong. Basically it’s the best of both worlds in my opinion. Amazing flavor, good solid throat hit, dense clouds, and I love taking a couple big full flavor rips from the full size bong. Adding a little bubble hash ups the ante even further. The Dyna B is only like $40 as well, it really is a great entry to vaping.
I’m sure everyone is different but I smoke far less and enjoy the high more now. I had basically quit smoking via combustion entirely and was dabbing 6-7g of concentrates each week. I spend prob 1/3 less than i used to, but I could and should be spending less. Now that I can actually taste the flower though, I’ve been buying smaller quantities… of more expensive weed.
The fact that I switched from dabs (and lots of them) to vaping flower says a lot. I still mix it up with dabs (esp for flavor) but the high from vaping flower is just a more well-rounded effect.
There is an adjustment period where the hits don’t feel as satisfying as smoke (or a thick dab) at first, but that passed quickly for me.
I have tried a whole selection of dry herb vapes (desktop and portable), sadly I have some weird allergy, using any of them causes mouth sores for me. Totally fine when I burn, use a pen, tincture or edibles, but something about heating the terps to that temperature and the slow inhale, fucks my mouth up. I loved the Volcano, although it’s loud and expensive. I’ve also used a Pax3 with a rubber adapter and air pass through lid, this worked well in a bong. I like the supposedly healthier consumption, but I can’t seem to not have the mouth issues.
I have an airizer Vtower with the whip attachment, then a bowl piece for my bong that the whip connects too. I fill by bong with vapor and its nice and cloudy usually, and pull it like any other. I get 4 to 5 of them from the same amount of weed as burning one.
They do hit a little different. But if you get a Volcano style vaporizer and take the whole bag, it will probably be a bit stronger than a single bowl would do you
I’ve got a firefly 2 I don’t use anymore because it needs maintenance, a firewood 5 and a firewood 7. I love them all. I hardly do any consumption besides dry herb vape anymore.
There’s a mouthpiece you can hook up the FW7 to a bong/perc but I haven’t gotten it. When I upgrade to the FW9 (or whatever they’re at when I have the money) I’m going to get that.
You don’t need a giant ball vape to have a good bong rip. Sure I’m biased as a Qaromashop distributor but you can get medicated just like bong rips from our stuff even the small setups. The only differences are the tar and how much better it tastes.
