Getting into cannabis and herb consumption can be daunting because of the sheer number of products and proposed experiences out there. Even when you single things down to just vaping, there are multiple ways to get the hit you want.
As you do your research, you’ll probably find yourself asking the following questions:
- Should I choose a single-purpose or multi-purpose vaporizer?
- What is the difference between the two?
- Why would I choose single-use over multi-use or vice versa?
- What are some of the cost implications for going one way or another?
We’re going to try to answer those questions (and a few others that pop up) in this article today.
Single-Purpose
Single-purpose vaporizers are specifically designed for one type of product, whether it be wax, oil, juice, or dry herb.
- Dry herb: When you want to vape dry herb vs smoke it in a pipe, the idea is not to combust it, so you’ll want to get a dedicated dry herb vaporizer. For additional information on dry herb vaping, check out this article.
- Waxes: Generally speaking, vaporizers that are made for waxes get up to higher temperatures to make sure that the wax burns to the right amount. These work by the wax contacting a coil, which then creates a combustion like experience. The coils accumulate build up and need to be changed often. Some also have options to preheat the wax and provide a little better airflow around the wax for a more enjoyable experience.
- Oil: Vaping with cannabis or CBD oil is the most common way to vape. Some vape pens let you fill your own cartridges with the oil of your choice, but usually people buy the pre-filled cartridges, either 510 or pod style, at a dispensary that you just have to plug in. Using oils lets you customize the experience a little more because adjusting the voltage can affect the smoothness of your hit. (For more information, check out this article on power and voltage.)
- E-liquid (juice): E-juice is a liquid that is made from water, propylene glycol or vegetable glycerin, flavoring, and substance. Devices that vaporize e-juice let the user be in control of the flavor, texture, and type of substance (marijuana or tobacco) unlike some of the other devices.
Multi-Purpose
Single-purpose vaporizers are great if you know exactly what you want, but if you like different materials of consumption and don’t want multiple vaporizers, a multi-purpose vaporizer may be a good option for you. The challenge here is oftentimes products that claim to do everything do none of them great. Since different products perform differently under certain conditions, you should look for a vaporizer that lets you change a lot of variables. Chamber types, power levels, temperature options – you need to take all of these things into account when shopping for a multi-purpose vaporizer.
Single-Use
The name might seem like you can only use this kind of vaporizer for a single hit or experience, but that’s not the case. Another word is disposable. When you’re looking into a single-use or disposable vape pen, most offer between 100 and 200 hits.
- Pros: A single-use vaporizer is great, especially if you’re just starting out vaping. They only typically work for oils and are pretty inexpensive ($10-50 per pen). You don’t have to worry about changing out or recharging batteries because you just throw the device away after the product is gone. There are also a ton of different brands and flavor possibilities out there, so you can experiment and figure out what you like.
- Cons: While they are less expensive upfront, using disposable pens will cost you more in the long run and are wasteful with batteries. Also, they’re not as customizable as multi-use pens, so it’s harder to tweak your experience to just how you want it.
Multi-Use
Multi-use devices can be both desktop and portable and are generally able to accommodate multiple forms of your preferred material. These can plug into the wall for unlimited access to power, or they can come with rechargeable batteries for something that’s more on-the-go. Because they’re designed to handle different kinds of vaping, they often come with accessory kits to make the vaping experience as pleasurable as possible.
- Pros: Multi-use devices handle multiple kinds of herb (wax, oils, dry herb). They also offer the greatest amount of customization and versatility and have the potential to pack a ton of power. Multi-use devices could save you more money in the long run.
- Cons: The biggest con is that they are significantly more expensive upfront and may not be as compact as single use. Also, if you know you generally just prefer either flower, oil or wax, you’re usually better off going with a dedicated single-purpose unit.
At the end of the day, the kind of vaping device you choose depends on your preferences. Multi-purpose, multi-use devices will give you the best customization experience and can save you a lot of money if you’re a frequent user who likes to use wax, oil and flower, but single purpose and single-use devices are highly portable, tend to be effective at their dedicated purpose and a lot less expensive in the beginning.
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