Weed tips
10 Tips for Buying a Dry Herb Vaporizer in Canada 2021
Let’s talk about vaporizers. Every marijuana enthusiast worth his salt has heard of them by now, or possibly even has one at home. Frankly, every Canadian weed lover should have one at home. Why? Dry herb vaporizers are not only much much better for your health than smoking pot, but they also allow you to consume your weed in a much more economical way.
There’s a lot to consider when buying one – functionality, quality, wow factor. After experimenting and trying out hundreds of vaporizers (product testing is important!) we will give you all the best tips and tricks before you ever buy a herb vaporizer.
We’ll go over price, types of weed vaporizers, and other things you might not know about cannabis vaporizers. Let’s get right into it!
Price
To be honest, many of us look at the price right away. While it’s tempting to buy something cheap, it might just be worth it to buy something nicer for the long run. Like any piece of tech, a higher price usually indicates higher quality and performance. When it comes to weed vaporizers, this is absolutely true in most cases!
Between $60-$100 you’ll find some quality budget dry herb vaporizers which will get you to where you want to be, however, they’ll be lacking in features like battery life, vapor quality, flavor, smoothness, and more.
The $100-$200 area is the sweet spot for herb vapes. Here you’ll find units with hybrid heating technologies, good battery life, a better build quality, and overall better performance than budget units without breaking the bank
At the $200+ price bracket, you’re getting into high-end territory. While this cost seems wild to some, you absolutely get what you pay for when it comes to high-end vapes. Units like the Storz & Bickel Crafty+ will last a lifetime and deliver a high which other units simply can’t match. In fact, we’ve been using two Storz & Bickel Mighty devices (which our entire team considers to be the best portable vaporizer on the market) for more than 5 years and they’re still running like on day one. On the contrary, many of our cheaper vaporizer options didn’t survive more than 12 months. Two words: German engineering.
There are not many vapes under $50 that can be recommended. They almost all perform poorly or even have safety hazards. There are exceptions to this rule, though it’s highly recommended to spend just a little more and getting something far better.
Buying a weed vape is an investment and hopefully one you only need to make only once. The money you’ll end up saving by vaping weed is huge and it’ll pay for itself in no time. Almost everyone who buys a budget herb vape is either dissatisfied or ends up upgrading further down the line. While they’ll definitely get the job done, they truthfully pale in comparison versus mid and high-end units.
This full vaporizer buyers guide goes into excellent depth about all types of vaporizers and will help narrow down the selection.
Heating technology
There are different heating technologies in herb vapes? Yes and surprisingly, they’re quite different!
Budget dry herb vapes often use conduction heating tech. This is the cheapest to manufacture and gives a decent hit. It’s not the most efficient and the flavor you get from your herb isn’t as nice, but it’s easy to use and costs the least to manufacture.
Mid-range vaporizers often use hybrid heating tech. Hybrid is a combination between conduction and convection. It’s an excellent style of heating and even some of the best high-end units use hybrid heating.
High-end vapes almost always use either hybrid or convection heating. Convection gives superior flavor and is most efficient with your herb, however it often requires a little bit of technique to get the best hits.
It’s highly recommended to go for something with hybrid heating tech. It delivers great vapor quality, hits hard, offers good battery life, and is consistent. This best portable dry herb vapes section covers all the best vaporizers to worst around!
Portable vs desktop
What kind of toker are you? Do you usually hit it at parks or sesh indoors? Groups or solo use?
Desktop vaporizers aren’t limited by batteries and size. Almost universally, desktop vaporizers hit harder and better than portable vaporizers.
With that in mind, a desktop unit needs to be plugged into the wall and can’t be brought outside. If you’re a performance lover and want an excellent budget vaporizer, the Arizer Extreme Q is the #1 for that.
If you like to be out and about going to a friend’s apartment, the park, or outside the bar, then it only makes sense to get a portable dry herb vaporizer.
Most portable vapes only have bowl sizes adequate for 1-2 people, however some high-end units from Storz & Bickel have large chambers that can get a small group fairly high. In the end though, desktop vapes rule for heavy hits and group sessions.
Herb vapes, wax vapes, oil vapes
Too many vapes out there to choose from. It’s confusing and the differences are outlined here:
Dry Herb vapes: These use the regular old flower. Grind it up, put it in the chamber, heat it up and boom, ready to go! Many dry herb vapes can also vaporize wax, but not nearly as well as a dedicated wax vape could.
Wax vapes: These use a highly concentrated form of cannabis. Wax, live resin, rosin, BHO, shatter, etc. They’re often more portable and can give you heavy hits. Quicker and more powerful than dry herb vapes, wax vapes are immensely strong though they’ll raise your tolerance quickly and you can’t use dry herb in them.
Oil vapes: Extremely portable and stealthy, these tiny little things are the size of a pen or Pez dispenser. Also using an extremely concentrated yet stripped down form of cannabis, you get a very powerful hit which is extremely easy to achieve. However, you can only use oil with an oil vape and many people very much don’t like the oil vape high.
When it comes to dry herb, there’s nothing quite like vaping the raw flower itself. The flavor, the smell, and the effects all provide for a really fantastic experience.
Wax vapes are great for those times where you want a monster hit in a small form factor. Cleaning is a bit annoying and frequent reloading is a hassle. Always buy high-quality concentrates if going for a wax vape.
Oil vapes are insanely portable and stealthy. With that in mind, low-quality oils are common and potentially dangerous. The high is very different and many people find it unpleasant. Still, the convenience and tiny size is a big draw and from time to time I’ll take one if stealth is a necessity.
Heavy hitting vapes
If you’re a heavy cannabis consumer, there’s no better time to get a vape than now. There are plenty of monster hitters out there that put smoking to shame, will save your lungs, and save you lots of money in the long run.
If this sounds like you definitely go for a desktop herb vaporizer, high-end herb vape, a manual herb vape or even a wax vape if you want those mega-hits.
Look into unique vapes like the Dynavap M, Sticky Brick, or VapBong for the heaviest hitters out there – they’re perfect for those looking to become ex-smokers!
Cleaning supplies
You’ll have to clean your vaporizer from time to time. Depending on the device this will be every few sessions or once in a blue moon. Cleaning usually consists of brushing some herb off the mouthpiece screen and getting rid of residue which takes seconds, however deep cleaning will certainly be needed once in a while.
Regardless, stock up on a bottle of isopropyl alcohol and cotton swabs. A bottle of iso will last endlessly and keeping your vape minty clean will maintain performance, keep flavor at its best, and prevent defects. There are specific cleaning guides out there for each herb vaporizer, and in essence it’s all pretty simple.
Get a good grinder!
If you’re going to buy a weed vaporizer, you’re definitely going to want a grinder. That is unless you love meticulously cutting herb up with scissors.
A good grinder will fluff up and shred your herb into a perfect consistency for vaporizing. The difference really is night and day and it cannot be stressed enough how important this is. Hand-trimming or snipping just doesn’t give the right texture for vaping in 95% of cases.
Don’t buy the cheapest plastic grinder around – they’re known to break off small plastic shards. Inhaling melted plastic microparticles is not good for your lungs. Spend a little more and get a quality metal grinder – it’ll last a lifetime and perform much better.
Using a bong with a vape is heavenly!
If you’ve got a glass piece already then you’ll be thrilled to know that many herb vapes out there will work with it. Some vapes come with a 14mm or 18mm water pipe adapter (WPA) which will fit on your bong. Others you’ll need to buy a separate adapter or invent one of your own.
A bubbler is also an amazing accessory for any vaporizer. This is a small glass device that sits atop your vaporizer and allows the vapor to pass through water before entering your airway. You can achieve higher temperatures, bigger clouds and ultimately one smooth experience. Some brands have their own bubblers while others are universal and require a water-pipe adapter. Sips from the normal mouthpiece for a good time, rips from a bubbler for a great time!
Warranty
Accidents happen. We’ve all unwrapped a shiny new piece of tech only to have it come faulty from the factory. As frustrating as this is, it can happen from time to time.
With most warranties being through the manufacturers you will want to choose a device that offers a simple and easy exchange policy that will grant you that peace of mind. Even if your unit fails after a month or two of ownership, either the manufacturer or store will cover you.
Choose a reputable seller and we’d recommend picking one local to your country. If you buy a weed vaporizer in Canada, then it’s easier to ship one back domestically!
Temperature settings
When it comes to temperatures there are two options – full temperature control or present temperatures. While there absolutely is merit and value in having that complete control, you’ll find that preset temperatures are inclusive enough to not even notice the difference.
The same few temperature settings are usually chosen when it comes to vaporizing. Rather, temperature range is more important and choosing a device which covers low and high settings adequately is key. Still, accurate and complete control is useful and if you’re a total flavor tasting lover, then it’s highly recommended looking into a vaporizer which offers full control to enhance your experience.
The bottom line
We hope this guide helped you find the best herb vaporizer around. If you’re looking to buy a weed vaporizer in Canada (or anywhere else), ensure you buy from a reputable retailer, pick up a grinder, and some cleaning supplies as well!
Shop around, find the right unit for you, and invest in the best one possible – you’ll end up loving it and it’ll make the transition from smoking to vaping weed more pleasant.