This is so frustrating. Are there any obvious mistakes newbies make that I might be making?
Sorry you're having troubles, but that's an excellent question! Most guys seem to assume it can't be them, they must "have a bad one" (even though the evidence that such units are rare indeed).
Yes, there are several popular new guy problems you may be repeating. First off, you want to be loading bud, not "leaf" in there. There's only a tiny mass in the load, the THC content has to be rich or you run the risk of not having enough good stuff available. Try a load or two of the best herb you can get. Dig for a prime nug or two?
Next it has to be well cured. Favor the 'over dry side' of things here. You want it to crumble in your fingertips.
Then grind it up at least 'medium'. Solo will do intact buds once you're up to speed, but for now go for every advantage you can get. Pack it snug enough so you notice some restriction over an empty bowl, not a whole lot bit if you sense none, put a bit more in.
Let it sit 'at temperature' a minute or two before hitting. Remember, heat makes it into the load through conduction (which means time). You won't get full production until the glass of the stem is hot on the inside as well as the outside. Only then can the herb near it reach the magic temperature.
Hit it slow and steady. There is no cherry, skills you learned in blazing are not only not appropriate here, but work against you. Vapor can only form so fast, take it as it comes, unlike blazing where you get more fire and therefore heat with harder hits. Here you get red in the face and thinner hits for all the huffing and puffing.
Don't judge the high by your blazing experience, they're not the same. A large part of 'getting off' when blazing is your body's understandable reaction to sucking all that nasty stuff in. You can (and do) get a rush off that alone that your mind links to getting high. It may take days or weeks of vaping only (don't cheat and blaze or you get to start over.....) to break that link, once that happens very very few go back.
Stick with it, it's worth getting on board. You can save money on your weed bill, savor the taste and other fine points of the herb and live longer enjoying it......not a bad combination.
Best wishes.
OF
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