Vaping weed doesn’t reek. There’s no smoke to tear up your throat. And unless you make a spectacle of it, dubbing yourself that asshole, it’s subtle. Those who vape their cannabis often do so because the dosage is easier to control—chalk that up to the wonders of technology—and the effects feel less jolting than more traditional means of getting high. (Although, folks who don’t regularly partake might find vaping to be more intense than smoking, according to one study.) To be fair, you do lose that transformative experience of coughing your esophagus out over a poorly wrapped joint or getting so high off of one rip from a communal bong that the stars fall to Earth and the moon waves hello. Hey, sacrifices must be made.
Vapes make dry herb, concentrate, or oil hot enough to activate the THC that sets you sailing, but not so hot the cannabis combusts into smoke, defeating the entire purpose of vaping. To broadly summarize the tech in the least boring way possible, there are two kinds of vaporizer heating systems used to extract high-making chemicals and flavor from cannabis: one that uses conduction heating and one that uses convection heating.
Conduction vs. Convection Heating
Conduction heating puts your weed in direct contact with the vape’s heating element—like its coils—often getting you a faster heat time. However, if your product is too close to the heating element for too long, it’ll burn. (Simply shifting it around in the vape’s chamber is an easy fix.) Convection vapes tend to be more finicky and more expensive, but oftentimes are worth it for the vapor alone, especially if you prefer using dry herb. With these, the weed product doesn’t come into direct contact with the heating element. Instead, very hot air from the heating element circulates through the vape with every pull, indirectly vaporizing the product. On one hand, your product won’t combust, and the vapor is more even and flavorful. On the other, convection vapes can take longer to fire up, so patience is a virtue. These days, vapes can stick to one type of heating system or the other, but many market themselves as neither or both.
Vaping vs. Smoking
If you’re here, you’re likely already sold on vaping cannabis in one of its forms. But we’d be negligent to not quickly run through the science of weed vaping. Going the smoke-free route with a vaporizer is considered “likely less harmful than smoking” marijuana, because smoke itself is bad for your lungs. You know, the whole Joe Camel thing. The CDC has linked lung illness and some deaths to vape products with THC—remember the vape outcry of 2019?—but the big asterisk is that the THC products to blame were for the most part acquired from bootleg, black market sources. The lesson here is: Don’t be an idiot about where you get your oil. And because, annoyingly, marijuana is still illegal under federal law, hard-hitting research about vaping it remains scarce in these early days of legalization.
Vaping and Social Justice Reform
Speaking of legalization, getting high continues to be something of a political act, not just in terms of fighting for legality, but in terms of fighting for social justice in the cannabis industry. Even as it booms, the industry is rife with inequality, serving the well-funded startups and venture capitalists more than it does the grassroots efforts that made cannabis legit. Buy a real nice vape for yourself, then make the effort to purchase product from dispensaries and companies that fight for incarcerated people locked up for nonviolent drug offenses, invest in the BIPOC communities that are being boxed out of the industry, or fund political initiatives to end the so-called war on drugs, which has long given police an excuse to target people of color.
We figure you just want to vape, but vape smartly. Here are 14 of the best—and best-looking—weed vaporizers you can get right now. Pair one with quality flower, concentrate, or oil, and get to it.
The VapCap M is the best dry herb vape less than $100.
The Dynavap Vapcap M is a portable torch powered vape. It produces some of the quickest and tastiest vapor available.
I consider the VapCap M a must-own vaporizer, as long as you’re comfortable with small pocket-torches.
Vapcap Vaporizers come in a variety of upgrades and options.
Xvape Starry
The Xvape Starry is a Pax-Killer. This ONE-HUNDRED DOLLAR vape comes with a nice 4-piece grinder AND a tight-vac dry herb storage container.
The Starry features full temp control, magnetic mouthpiece, and a removable 18650 battery.
I like the vapor from the Starry better than I like the vapor from a Pax. This is a fantastic value from Planet of the Vapes.
Fury 2
The Fury 2 is a powerful little dry herb by Healthy Rips. Before the recent price drop, this vape was $150 and selling like hotcakes. Its hybrid heating offers the most pleasurable vapor of any vape on this list.
The Fury 2 bowl holds as little as 0.5 and as much as 2g – small enough for microdosing and big enough for sharing.
Flowermate V5 Nano
Flowermate was the first reliable budget vape and the V5 Nano is the latest iteration in that classic design. The V5 Nano is a basic conduction vape with full temperature control and a removable 18650 battery.
You’ll get about 5 bowls per charge and each bowl will give you about 8 minutes of vapor.
This vape is easy to use, easy to clean, and easy to share. Vapor taste and quality are good enough.
Available at Puffitup and Planet of the Vapes
Arizer Air
The original Arizer Air may not have the sexy colors and fancy full temp interface as the newest Air II, but it literally vapes exactly the same and there’s really no point in spending the extra money.
The Arizer Air has the lowest maintenance of any vape on this list. The stem packs 1-2g of dry herb and produces about 10 minutes of vapor.
The Air takes a minute or two to get fully heated and it will take 8+ minutes to fully extract the bowl.
The all glass vapor path produces pure tasting vapor and is incredibly easy to clean.
Available at Puffitup and Planet of the Vapes.
Boundless CF
The Boundless CF is an easy to use dry herb vape with a larger bowl than the other vapes on this list.
The hybrid conduction/convection oven holds 2 – 5 g of dry herb / cannabis and heats up in about 30 seconds. Expect 6 to 9 minutes of thick and tasty vapor.
The Boundless CF is perfect for heavy users, groups, and vapor bonging.
The manufacturing of the v5 nano is terrible. It will cook your bud and deliver zero vapour. The borosilicate glass mouthpiece struggles to fit onto the device. It ripped off a chunk of the metalic filter and cap as I unscrewed it off. Aside from overheating, quick battery drain and poor charging. Never buying their product again.