The year is 2022, and innovations in how one can consume weed continue to accelerate. A device that continues to rise in popularity is the dry herb vape pen. This portable vaporizer has made enjoying your precious dry herb easier than ever. With all the new designs and features being released, it can be hard to understand exactly what the best dry herb vaporizer for you is and what you need to know.

A dry herb vape pen is a portable vaporizer that heats dry herbs to precise consumption temperatures. The “pen” term refers to its counterpart, the dab pen, used for mobile concentrate consumption with its slim pen-style design. Some vape pens offer dual use for concentrate and dry herb, while others are intended for one or the other so be sure to view the product’s specifications.

Dry Herb Vaporizers apply conduction or convection methods to a heating chamber using battery power. The technique used changes the way heat is applied to your dry herb, which creates subtle differences you should know about when looking to buy vaporizers online

Conduction: The traditional conduction heating method has been widely used in vaporizers for a while now and remains the most popular. Conduction heating relies on a heating element to directly contact the heating chamber where your herb is contained. This allows for fast heat-up times and thicker vapor clouds as once the heating chamber gets hot, it stays hot. This also means that the heating chamber is constantly hot even when you’re not drawing. This can waste herb when not inhaled, so conduction vaporizers are typically best used in quick sessions. A conduction vaporizer is the most affordable option.

Convection: For those who enjoy the flavor of their terpenes and taking your time between draws, then a convection vaporizer is best. This is because a convection vaporizer evenly distributes hot air throughout the heating chamber on-demand. This uniform heating is better at maintaining lower levels of heat to prevent combustion, therefore preserving the pure flavor of your flower. A dry herb vaporizer that uses convection typically has longer heat-up times but at the benefit of enjoying your flower on-demand. With this being said, convection takes the cake for those wanting to experience the pure flavor of their buds while minimizing the risk of inhaling nasty chemicals created by combustion.

Hybrid: A hybrid oven takes the best of both worlds by applying conduction and convection to hit that sweet spot of flavor and vapor richness. Using two heat sources in the device can better maintain heat levels to prevent combustion while evenly heating your flower with full extraction. A dry herb vaporizer that showcases the power of hybrid heating is the Mighty by Storz and Bickel.

Portability: It’s no surprise that a dry herb vape pen is meant to be portable, but there are a few essential factors to note. These vaporizers tend to be slightly bulkier, but not all dry herb vapes are built the same, compare the Mighty+ to the Crafty+. The Crafty+ has a decent size to store in a pocket or even for carrying in hand. In comparison, the Mighty+ is a whole unit with a much more noticeable signature. Both devices are considered portable, but the size and added weight can be the difference in making your choice. Added size typically means extra benefits such as a more powerful battery and LED display. A dry herb vape pen typically has a built quality durable enough to take minor accidents that could occur, especially on the go.

A cleaner smoke: When using a bong, pipe, joint or blunt, you’re combusting the dry herb or burning it. This process of combustion readies the cannabinoids and terpenes for you to consume. However, two drawbacks occur during this process; because of the high heat, a percentage of cannabinoids is lost, and extra harmful chemicals are released. When using a dry herb vape, the intention is to heat the flower to levels just below combustion and vaporize, not burn, the cannabinoids and terpenes. This creates a much less harsh vapor than smoke and carries less harmful, unwanted chemicals.

Efficiency: With vaporization, you nurture your dry herb with heat to fully extract the active chemicals you are seeking. This slower approach ensures your temperatures rise gradually and don’t get too hot, risking burning cannabinoids and terpenes off. This makes owning a dry herb vape an excellent option for those looking to get the most out of their precious flower.

Discreetness: Bongs, joints, blunt and pipes, while we love them, it’s hard to avoid the sticky smell they create. Also, glass isn’t usually something you want to be carrying around with you, especially if it’s not clean. The dry herb vape pen is an excellent solution to these two problems. Not only is the amount of vapor compared to smoke significantly reduced, but the actual chemicals from vapor are much less likely to stick to your surroundings. To top that off, the dry herb vape pen’s portable design lends itself to an easy-to-carry around build that doesn’t stand out as a cannabis device. For example, the G Pen Dash vaporizer can be hidden in the palm of your hands.

Better Flavor: If you want to experience the authentic flavor of your flower, a vaporizer is what you need. Even with a glass bong, you cannot get around burning your flower unless you’re operating an e-nail, which vaporizes. Most dry herb vape pens will also have heating presets at temperatures to avoid combustion best and keep your terpene profile intact.

Maintaining dry herb vaporizers is easy and essential to get the best experience. A consistently cleaned dry herb vaporizer ensures no waste is being mixed with your fresh flower and that your device is ready to go at a moments notice. Depending on the specific dry herb vaporizer you are using, maintenance instructions can vary, such as method and frequency of cleaning. Please refer to the device’s user manual for details. Below we will go over general steps when performing maintenance on your dry herb vape pen.

1. Wait for the device to cool down. Right after a session, a dry herb vape is still hot as they can heat up to 400°, wait 10-15 minutes for it to cool down before proceeding.

2. Open the heating chamber and use a brush (a cleaning brush with bristles is often included) to clear out any waste from inside. A build-up of this waste impacts the flavor and performance of the hit and the longevity of the hardware.

3. After our heating chamber is cleaned, we want to make sure the screen in our heating chamber isn’t clogged with debris. Carefully use a thin object or a cleaning brush to poke out built-up residue without damaging the screen.

4. Remove the mouthpiece and, using a cotton ball or Q-Tip, clean the inside and outside of the mouthpiece with warm water or isopropyl alcohol depending on device user manual instructions.

The dry herb vape pen is here to stay. It is an affordable and healthier way to consume dry herb; it’s hard to say why you shouldn’t switch over. These weed vapes are also perfect for everyday use with the added benefit of discreetness. It all comes down to how you like to enjoy your tree, so many products are coming out every year it’s essential to know those differences so you can get the best bang for your buck. While the dry herb vape can seem like a hefty initial investment, you save money and ingest less harmful toxins in the long run.