So, generally, vapes are going to do just that – vaporize things so that there isn’t any smoke left. This, however, is not always the case. There are two kinds of dry herb vaporizers available on the market – convection and combustion vaporizers. While these two might sound extremely similar – and to be clear they are not extremely far apart – the combustion will produce some smoke and the convection will produce vapor. Make sure to pay attention to the type of vaporizer that is being offered and to ask if it is combustion or convection. No one wants to get home or open their package and find that the wrong vaporizer has been purchased. That isn’t to say that this will cause a large number of problems and there are increasingly more convection than combustion vapes being offered but it is always a good thing to be cautious and double-check before buying.
Combustion vaporziers, as mentioned earlier, are the ones that produce smoke. This is because they do not vaporize the dry herb in the same sense as the convection vaporizers. Rather, these vaporizers simply place a unit in the actual chamber to burn the dry herb that it contacts. This is why combustion vapes are best used when the dry herb is finely ground and easy to pack and transfer heat and flame from. With less finely ground herb, clumps can only partially burn or clog up the heating chamber somewhat significantly (especially if not cleaned properly).
While this is not true vaporization, many early vapes were made this way because the technology was not efficient enough for convection. The AGO Vaporizer is a combustion vape and will produce a smoky flavor instead of the lighter, air-like quality of the vapor from a convection vape. Again, there is nothing inherently wrong with a combustion vape. It is just important to note that it is not a *true* vape.
These kind of vaporizers are called convection vapes. That term ring a bell? It should, it is the same process (most likely) that the oven in most homes use to heat and cook food. Convection vapes, operating off the same principle, use incredibly hot air in order to vaporize the dry herb inside the heating chamber. So, much like a combustion vape, having properly ground herb is going to be helpful and making sure not to overpack so that the air can evenly heat around the dry herb. That being said, this super-heated air is going to prevent the creation of smoke and will give the user that familiar, vape-taste that is increasingly more common as the convection technology gets much better. This is obviously a better choice for those that want to move away from smoking entirely or those that think conventional smoking is too harsh for them. Not to mention, this can be a bit more discrete as it is vapor and not smoke that is being produced. The E-CLIPSE, Titan !, and Titan 2 are all excellent examples of convection dry herb vapes. They hit hard, taste great, and do it all in a way that’s more discreet than a one-hitter.
Below are just some of the more immediate differences between smoking and vaping for quick reference.
Smoke is going to be much smellier. It is going to be more pungent and will certainly last longer/linger around the area more. So, for example, smoking inside will stink longer than vaping will.
Many people prefer the convection method of vaping dry herb over combustion simply for health reasons. The fact of the matter is just this simple – smoking will always be worse for the lungs than vaping will. There really is no way around it because smoke is just not good to inhale even in small amounts.
Discretion is certainly important. As mentioned earlier, smoke lingers more than vapor and certainly is more pungent. Wanting to be able to remain more discrete is an important consideration when choosing between smoking and vaping. It isn’t to say that one is inherently wrong but vaping is certainly more discrete.
Something to consider is also flavor. Even if the health reasons don’t bother someone, plenty of people prefer the taste of the vapor over the taste of the smoke. While vaping dry herb doesn’t have fruity flavors associated with it, for those that despise smoking vaping is certainly going to be a better choice taste-wise than a combustion vape.
Variety is another thing to think about when choosing what kind of vape. Vapes are now more commonly sold as convection items. So, when choosing which one, make sure to keep in mind that there are more options for vaping available. Not to mention, the convection vapes are increasingly being improved upon while combustion vapes are not nearly as hot of a commodity (and therefore not updated as frequently) because vapers prefer convection, on the whole, than combustion.
Maintenance can be somewhat easier with a convection vape rather than smoking or using a combustion vape. That is because the smoke itself produces a larger amount of resin. Convection vaping produces little, if any, residue or resin. This is HUGE depending on how attentive someone is to the amount of resin buildup and mess. If someone would rather have a cleaner, overall, way to consume dry herb than vaping is probably the way to go (convection, that is). That doesn’t mean vaping doesn’t require maintenance - vapes also need to be maintained and cleaned regularly. They just aren’t as messy.
Written By: Robert H.
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Here we will be drawing a few short comparisons to highlight the differences between certain vape models and the (in)justification behind their price tags. We will be taking a closer look at why less is more, and why it would be a wiser investment to at least start off with a dry herb vaporizer.
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