Cannabis Vaporizers: Exploring Different Types

Where there’s smoke, there’s fire. And if you’re not into either, there’s cannabis vaporizers. vaporized cannabis means a smoother hit, less coughing, a different experience, and no smell sticking to your hair/clothes/living space. Some concentrates offer a far more potent 90% THC content, while vaporizing cannabis flower offers a less harsh inhale and a more clear-headed experience. 

All cannabis vaporizers work on the same principle. Instead of using fire to combust the plant matter, a heated plate evaporates the hash oil or resin, allowing you to inhale only cannabinoids without the burnt carbon from plant matter. Many cannabis vaporizers also give you temperature control, which means more choice over the intensity and flavour profile of your experience.

So what are your options when it comes to choosing cannabis vaporizers? And which cannabis vaporizer is right for you? 

Portable Cannabis Vaporizers:

1. Standard Vape Pen

When it comes to price, portability, discreteness, availability, variety, and ease of use, a cartridge-based vape pen is one of the best cannabis vaporizers you can buy. While they’re not typically the fanciest or most durable among cannabis vaporizers in terms of flavour or effects, it’s hard to find an easier way to get cannabis from Point A (A pen) to Point B (Lungs). 

Vape pens consist of two parts. There’s a pen-shaped battery pack (often referred to as a 510 thread, for the size of attachment) with a button that activates the heating plate. Some pens even eschew the button for a “draw to activate” model that turns on when you inhale. Then there’s the cartridge, which is a glass tube of cannabis oil with a mouth piece on one end and a threaded metal base plate on the other. 

Standard 510 vape pen cartridges are interchangeable, so just pick a strain that sounds good, screw the cartridge into the battery, hit the button, and inhale. Some vape pen batteries also have adjustable heat settings so that you can control the density and intensity of your hit with a couple taps of the button. Some brands of vape pen do not use the standard 510 thread attachment. These specialty vape pens, like PAX, use proprietary pods or insertable cartridges which may not be interchangeable between brands.

Benefits: Cheap, easy, discrete, portable, plenty of variety

Drawbacks: Less potent or terpene-rich as other options, especially on the cheaper end

2. Live Resin/Rosin Vape Pen

Cannabis vaporizers like vape pens vary in quality. At the lower end, your vape pen cartridge will be made of solvent-derived cannabis oil with terpenes added in for aroma and effect. At the higher end, your vape pen cartridge could contain potent and aromatic live resin or rosin, which will contain a far higher THC content and be bursting with natural terpenes. 

Among cannabis vaporizers, live resin and rosin cartridges come at a higher price point, and not all vape pen batteries will be able to properly vaporize the thicker concentrates. You’ll need one that can handle a higher voltage, so be sure to check with your budtender. ‘

Benefits: Discrete, portable, flavorful, potent, superior experience

Drawbacks: Less availability, more expensive, fewer choices

3. Dry Herb/ Flower Vaporizer

Buying cannabis vaporizers doesn’t mean that you have to give up the flower. While most cannabis vaporizers use some form of concentrate, flower vaporizers (also called a dry-herb vaporizer) use the same ground up bud you’d pack into a joint or a bowl. Dry herb vaporizers use a hot plate or bowl to vaporize the cannabinoid and terpene-containing trichomes off the plant without burning it. This means no smoke, a smooth hit, and minimal smell. 

As an added bonus, the THC in the toasted plant matter becomes “activated” which means you can use it to infuse edibles or brew it into tea. 

Benefits: Hand-held, all natural, no smell, no harsh smoke, smoother experience

Drawbacks: Not as potent as concentrate or smoking weed (although that’s a benefit for some)

4. Dab Pen

Much like a dry herb vaporizer, concentrate vaporizers or “dab pens” use a hot metal plate or coil to vaporize cannabis. Dab pens are specifically made to vaporize thicker concentrates like wax, shatter, budder, bubble hash, or or whatever else. These cannabis vaporizers include a temperature setting that allows for control over your hit, whether you’re looking for a smoother, more terpene-rich low-temp dab or a heavier, high-temp dab. 

Benefits: Hand-held, discrete, easy to use, takes all different types of concentrate

Drawbacks: Not as powerful as a dab rig, harder to clean 

5. Hybrid Vape Pens 

Hybrid Vape Pens are cannabis vaporizers made to handle both dry herb and concentrates like wax or shatter on the same heating plate (some models have interchangeable attachments for each type). They’re a great option for those that like variety with their cannabis, but won’t vaporize either dry herb or concentrates as well as cannabis vaporizers made specifically purpose-built for one or the other.

Benefits: Can vaporize both concentrates and cannabis flower

Drawbacks: Not as good as cannabis vaporizers built for one or the other 

6. Dab Straw

A dab straw is a thin tube of borosilicate glass with a heating surface on one end and a mouthpiece on the other. Instead of placing the concentrate in a dab straw, you heat the tip with a torch, then lightly draw it across the surface of your concentrate as you inhale on the mouth piece. There are also electronic versions, which use a battery to heat the tip. In terms of cannabis vaporizers, it’s a little more complicated than a simple dab pen, but is more portable than a dab rig.

Benefits: Portable, gives you the full dab experience

Drawbacks: Requires a dab torch to use, difficult to accurately dose

Table-Top cannabis vaporizers 

1. Desktop Dry Herb Vaporizer

A non-portable version of a dry herb vaporizer, a desktop cannabis vaporizer is a boxy or conical device that runs off the same concept: grind up your herb, place it on the heating element, inhale the vaporized terpenes and cannabinoids, usually through a hookah-like tube and mouthpiece. You can pack more herb into it than a portable device if you want to take more hits or share it with friends. 

Benefits: Better temp control, durability, larger capacity

Drawbacks: Higher price point, can only use in one spot  

2. Dab Rig or E-rig

Essentially a bong for concentrates, dab rigs  offer the best cannabis vaporizer deliverability. Take a small chef’s butane torch, heat up the metal or glass dab nail, then touch a small amount of concentrate to the rim with a dab tool (essentially a dental pick), and inhale. The vaporized concentrate percolates through the water, giving you a cooled, smooth, potent lungful of high-THC concentrate. Again, there are also electronic versions which use a battery to heat the atomizer (the surface where concentrates are vaporized).

Benefits: The most potent experience

Drawbacks: Vapour can be harsh if the dab nail is too hot, takes some practice to learn

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a Cannabis vaporizer?

A cannabis vaporizer is a device that uses a heated surface, usually a metal plate or coil, to vaporize resin or hash oil, which is then inhaled.  

Can You Use Vaporizers for Both Flower and Concentrate?

Yes. There are cannabis vaporizers that are specifically for vaporising the resinous trichomes off cannabis flower, cannabis vaporizers that are specifically for vaporising cannabis concentrate, and some that can do both.

How Much do Vaporizers Cost?

The cost varies depending on where you live and the quality of the device you are purchasing. A vape pen will usually be the cheapest, while a table-top dry herb vape will be the most expensive. 

If you prefer a smoother, more discreet cannabis experience that’s still tasty and potent, try one of these cannabis vaporizers and see where it takes you!