Around 15 years ago, I learned about dry vaporizing, but I never gave it a try. A year later, I bought a cheap knockoff vaporizer from a local smoke shop, and it turned out to be terrible. Funny enough, I recently dug it out and found it still sucks (laughs).

Then, about a decade ago, a friend introduced me to the Pax1 vaporizer, and I was blown away. It was a game changer—a portable, handheld device for dry herb vaporization. From that point on, I was hooked. I started with a Davinci Ascent, created aftermarket accessories for it, and eventually founded Delta3DStudios. Now I get to play around with various dry herb vaporizers and come up with ways to improve them or make them more user-friendly.

Transitioning from smoking to dry vaporizing can be challenging for some. Many heavy smokers claim that dry herb vaporizing doesn’t give them the same “hit.” The truth is, their bodies are used to the effects of a toxic mix of carcinogens and carbon monoxide. Fortunately, I had an easier transition. My partner didn’t allow smoking indoors, but they let me vaporize indoors during one cold winter. I quickly adapted to the vaporizer, and it had a positive impact on my health, which I hadn’t anticipated. First, my sense of smell returned with a vengeance. I didn’t realize how much smoking had affected it. Additionally, as someone who frequents the gym, I noticed an increase in endurance and lung capacity. My lungs felt lighter. This is just my personal experience, but the difference between smoking and vaporizing was incredible.

At this point, I’ve handled countless vaporizers, and I’ve lost count of how many devices (working, dead, broken, etc.) I have in my collection (which I use to test new accessories for the market, haha).

Here are some tips from one enthusiast to another:

• Different temperatures extract different active compounds from the herb. Low temperatures work best for sativa strains, while higher temperatures are better for indica and CBD strains. You can vape a hybrid strain at low temperatures to extract the sativa side and at high temperatures to extract both sides. You can also start at a low temperature for one session and then increase the temperature for the next session.

• Every device performs differently. Some are stealthier, some heat up faster, some produce larger clouds, some provide tastier vapor, and some are easier to clean, among other differences. There is no such thing as a “perfect” device for everyone in every situation. I use different devices depending on my mood, location, and whether I have guests. Some of my favorite butane-powered devices are not meant for sharing because they’re prone to combustion, which affects the flavor of subsequent sessions.

• It’s not recommended to reheat the herb at the same temperature, but you can have one session at a lower temperature and then increase the temperature by 20 degrees Fahrenheit or more for each subsequent session.

• Don’t jump straight to the maximum temperature, especially with portable vaporizers. Enjoy the journey. Start at a low temperature, around 300 degrees Fahrenheit, and gradually increase it by 10-20 degrees every few minutes.

• Temperature sensors usually monitor the heater’s temperature, not the core temperature of your herb. If you take hard or fast draws with many devices, you might cool down the heater faster than it can recover the temperature. Depending on the device, try slowing down your draw. I recommend a draw speed of 15-20 seconds to slowly fill your lungs. Of course, high-powered desktop devices may allow for harder draws, but I’m speaking generally.

• Many portable vaporizers have underpowered heaters due to size constraints and power limitations imposed by lithium power cells. It takes some time for a portable device to reach optimal extraction temperatures. Therefore, it’s especially important to start at a low temperature, like 300 degrees Fahrenheit, for the first 1-2 minutes before increasing it to your desired level. This helps the device “preheat,” allowing it to adjust the temperature faster when you start taking longer draws at higher temperatures.

• With regular use, people often build up a tolerance to their usual device. Load sizes, temperature settings, draw patterns, and more become habitual. By switching devices once or twice a year, you can “reset” these tolerances. It doesn’t have to be an upgrade to a more powerful device. Sometimes, switching to a weaker, budget-friendly device can help reset your body’s tolerance. I do it often to avoid overmedicating. So, don’t throw away your old devices—cycle through them from time to time!

• Vaporbonging is another fun way to enjoy vaporizers when pairing them with glass. However, keep two things in mind: Firstly, you don’t need excessive filtration. Conditioning the vapor with moisture is enough; massive percolators and multiple water chambers can strip the vapor of its flavor (which can be useful when vaping unpleasant-tasting hash, for example). Secondly, while cold glass and ice may be enjoyable for smoking, they cause vapor particles to condense into larger particles, resulting in more throat irritation. Therefore, when vaporbonging, use warm or hot water in the glass pipe instead of cold water and ice.

I could talk endlessly about this topic—I spend way too much time experimenting with and studying these devices and the wonders of this plant. Feel free to ask anything you’d like. I no longer contribute to Reddit, so I’m happy to share my knowledge here!

I’ve been exclusively using dry herb vape for a few years now. My favorite devices are my TinyMight 2 and various configurations of Dynavaps, but I also own or have owned lots of others, butane and desktop vapes, you name it. Welcome to the club! What device are you using?

My top tips:

• keep your herb hydrated with a Boveda pack. Dry weed vapes worse.
• Temp can change the high. Different chemicals vaporize at different temperatures.
• Save your vape poo. You can eat it for sleepytime fun.

Dry herb vaporizers are great! I personally have had three and I love them. My main devices are a dynavap vong that I use exclusively through glass with water and a Davinci IQC which I use when out and about or if I’m hanging out with friends. Dynavap is heated with a torch so temp settings aren’t existent, but I usually use my Davinci right around 300.

Low temperature dry herb vaping and especially through water are the only ways I can consume cannabis besides edibles as i have very sensitive lungs. Happy to answer any questions you guys got about either device I mentioned, too. Also, if you’re wondering, no: I am not in any way associated with any vaporizer or other cannabis-related company.

Thanks for the great post! I’m happy to see this place hopping today!

So I will start with a few anecdotes. I normally smoke daily after work. A joint or two, couple bowls, etc. And I regularly vape oil cartridges in between times I can’t smoke or just need to calm my anxiety.

I’ve never taken to the oils. Even with small hits it’s always really irritated my lungs. Not that smoking doesn’t, but nothing like this. Not to mention how many crappy carts I’ve had that leeched into the mouthpiece. Popcorn lung indeed. Ugh.

I hate to say, I kind of had a similar experience with the dry herb.

A little info on my lung health, I was a 20 year tobacco smoker, not herbs since HS. Quit tobacco 10 years ago. Started cycling, running, etc. So I have decent cardio, and smoking doesn’t jive as much with this lifestyle, but you know… I don’t enjoy edibles much. But I swear vaping is harder on my lungs or am I just doing it wrong?

I also got a massive headache, but I hadn’t eaten anything all day until right after so…

I think I’d say some thing kind of like no two are the same in a way. And by that I mean that each one has a little bit different technique. So that a bad experience with one might be because the vape itself is a piece of crap, or because of a technique issue.

All of that said, it is definitely worth the patience, worth it to your health, to vape instead of smoke though. So be willing to try a couple of different techniques when it comes to packing, or when it comes to how you inhale, to get the most out of the experience

As far as sessions. I filled the bowl 3 times and just maxed out the timer (8min I think) and landed around 370 going from as low as 300 and as high as 450. Seems to jive with a few articles I skimmed. And that seemed to taper off flavor and effectiveness and the material seemed like a good used up brown. I’ve been collecting spent in another jar to see if I can use it for something later and inspection to see if I’m really getting the most of it.

I’ve bought and sold on many vapes over the years looking for my perfect combo but I think I’m content until I move somewhere I can have a dedicated ball vape area setup. My final combo is Underdog daily driver, Volcano Hybrid for groups, Dynavap M w/ induction heater for travel. Happy to answer questions about any of my experiences though.

Portables: Firefly 1, Pax 2, Haze Dual v3, Dynavaps M & Omni

Desktops: Generic box vape from headshop, Da Buddha Vape, Arizer Extreme Q Tower, Underdog, and Volcano Hybrid.

Congrats! Which device did you get?

Everyone posting about theirs is definitely convincing me to get a nice one. I love flower, and absolutely prefer the high I get from it, but living in an apartment makes flower hard to smoke.

What does everyone recommend for a good one? Price doesn’t really matter, as I’d like to have a buy once, cry once moment instead of shitty ones breaking on me (like e-nails).

The best part about going with the vape. Is that I can use it in my condo now. I never wanted to smoke in here because I didn’t want to stink up the whole building. Even though some of my neighbors do occasionally. But I just don’t want to be that guy and I also don’t want to annoy my wife who doesn’t like the smell…

She didn’t notice when I did it in the other room. She didn’t notice when I did it in the kitchen next to the living room. And then she didn’t even notice when I was doing it on the couch next to her because she was on her phone instead of watching TV. So I’d say that’s a win!

380F is my preferred sweet temp. 400F if you’ve already vaped with the stuff and you don’t want to swap it out just yet.

Try to keep everything you’ve vaped. ABV can double with butter and make some wicked edibles.

I’ve had poor luck with most portables. The original Pax was decent but stopped working shortly after its warranty ended. I had various cheap ones from local shops. I also had a launchbox which was ok but also broke pretty quickly.
Now as for “desktop” vapes. I have had an original (non digital) Volcano for years with just a few problems. I did have to send it back once to get fixed as it would just heat up to top level regardless of the knob settings. I also had some issues with the switches for the fan, but they are cheap toggle switches that I was able to buy on amazon for a couple $ and replace myself (twice in 5 or so years).
I hope to get a portable of some kind when the volcano eventually dies. Might go with a Crafty or a Mighty from the same company that makes the volcano (STORZ & BICKEL)