Whip vs. Bag

Looking to step up from my Magic Flight to something more suited for home use. I have read that it is difficult to get a nice, thick vape from a Volcano. Any Volcano owners out there confirm this? Also curious to hear from people who have tried both a bag and a whip. Which do you prefer? Thanks.

Whip.

But what I REALLY prefer is neither a whip or a bag, but instead, a glass on glass connection to a bong.

Whip all the way to heaven.

Both are imo getting archaic. I think these styles will disappear (or get rare) in the future. Direct draw vapes with cooling, especially GonG based are the future as it seems.

I disagree that you can't get thick hits from the Volcano. But bag hits are definitely more airy than from a dedicated whip vape like da buddha. Personally, i think the direct draw from the solo is tastier than either. Having said that, they all get the job done. Theyre just different.

Any particular reason as to why you're going for the Volcano? Both the Extreme Q 4.0 and the HerbalAir can do bag and whip at significantly less (as in, half the price of the Volcano or even less.)

Depends on the environment. If you're vaping with a lot of people, bags definitely win out, thanks to their portability. The downside to bag vapes is the wait time required by the air pump (they can also be noisy). Whip vapes are good for immediate thick hits and can be hooked up to a bong. However if you're into waterpipes, there are better options available. If you still want some degree of portability, but bigger clouds, the solo would be a good option.

I prefer my Volcano less and less these days. It's a great unit, but I prefer the vapor to air mix I can get with a whip vs bag.

The Volcano is the best at doing one thing, blowing vapor into bags efficiently and with ease. The other devices make performance compromises, in my opinion. That said, is a bag machine enough, even if it's the best? I would argue no. I would also want a whip device or a direct draw like a log or a solo for shorter, richer individual sessions. I view whips or direct draw as essential and bags as a nice to have, but everyone has different priorities. If price were not an issue or if you stumble upon one cheap, the Volcano is best in its class, though.

I have used a volcano maybe 20 or 30 times? Vancouver BCMP has the "Vapour Lounge" and lets you use them for $5.

Personally, I've always had a blast with Volcanos. But part of the reason is because it's a bit of a novelty I don't do all the time. The bag process can be tedious and it basically requires you to blow a full bag for any sort of decent vape build up, meaning you got to finish the bag.

I recently bought a Silver Surfer (by 7th floor) and I enjoy it a lot more. There is a bit of a learning curve, but don't worry. I got roasted with it on my first night. All I'm doing now is learning how to be more efficient/ get more roasted. the whip is also nice because you can vape at your own pace (harder to do with a bag). I find I can get much larger hits too from a whip. The Surfer and all other whip vapes can also be hooked up to glassware. They generally also are a 1/3 of the price of a volcano.

I've always enjoyed the volcano, but it functions best as a party device. Whip's are much better for personal use.

You don't have to blow a full bag...the trick is to turn the air pump on for a few seconds, then attach the bag (for the thickest bags, wait until you see vapor forming).

Ah well. I don't own a volcano and my trips to the lounge where I use em are not consistent enough to remember the tricks I learn on the Volcano (those nights are fairly hazy)

What's the least you can fill into a bag and still have good results?

I would say a .2 is plenty to fill up a good bag. I grind all of mine up and put it in a pill bottle and use a 1/8 tsp spoon. Enough to cover the bottom is enough to give you a good bag. If it is 3/4 or 4/5 full, then you can get 2-3 really thick bags. I'm a recent buyer of a digital volcano, and it produces a nice high and is cool but I'm already looking into an LSV/Cloud for a better air/vapor ratio. Its great for party settings though everyone loves it.

It's no secret that the Volcano has something going for it. It's just a reliably-built unit, there's no point in arguing against that, but there's something else about the LSV and the Cloud that the 'cano can't touch on. You won't be disappointed with either of them, or a Silver Surfer if you're okay with whips. Although, if you've got the money and are serious about getting a Cloud, there's no question about it...

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I tend to agree with you. After using other vapes I'm well aware of the limitations of the Volcano. It's certainly not the last word on vapes, not even close. The price is out of whack with the other options, which keeps the volcano out of most people's arsenals. Overall, though, I think that a lot of people consider bags to be the Neanderthal of vaporizers and sort of an evolutionary dead end. So although it seems like people are averse to the price, a bigger factor might be their aversion to bags vs whips and direct draws.

Agreed, and thanks for highlighting a different perspective. I never thought about it that way actually, in regards to bags being thought of as "old-school" tech by some. Around my parts people love getting a bag of vapor, some going so far as to only imbibe using only that method, so I forgot to give that consideration.

I do like the Extreme Q 4.0 for being both whip and bag to give a choice, although some would argue that there's other vaporizers that do only bags better, and other vaporizers that do only whip better... I do like the luxury of choosing, but like I said, if the Cloud is getting serious consideration, it's hard to come up with a lot of reasons as to why not. Including the glass bamboo pathway and the tech used to vaporize, as well as how kick-ass it is You just have to be careful with it, a fair bit more so than with the Volcano I would think... but that .2 would def. put you on Cloud 9 (hehehe)

Just some info about the LSV. My friend went ahead and ordered one and it arrived yesterday and I tried it out. It hits as well as the surfer, my issue with it was it was not very good for a long vape session as the device got a bit uncomfortable to hold due to the heat. I feel like it is also more likely to get dropped than other vapes.

Go check out some of the newest posts in the SSV thread. There are some photos of how Vitolo combined the SSV unit with LSV glassware. It looked pretty dope.

Yeah, but where the LSV really shines is when using it with glass and not having to have vapor going through a long whip. That would be pretty tough to do with a SSV, eh?

Here is Vitolo's post. Now, this would require more set up but it seems like it could be a fun alternative to the whip.

Either way it was just an idea. I go agree LSV is probably more convenient with glass.

Here's what I would find kind of objectionable doing it the way Vito does it (Vito, pls chime in here). I've found that when using the wand, it's best to use it inverted so that bud doesn't fall back onto the screen in the heater cover. Now yeah, after the first hit, the bud kinda sticks in there, but being that I like to stir between hits, it never really gets a chance to stick, so for me, using the transfer wand as Vito does in these pics just wouldn't work for me.

But yeah, the LSV really shines with glass.

I never did like whips or bags and I guess that's one of the reasons I stuck with the PD for so long, and now, lovin' my LSV.

I rarely use my LSV transfer wands, but when I do, I haven't noticed any difference whatsoever if I keep it inverted it not.

I tended to prefer whip vapes for a number of years and have recently switched to a volcano. You can get thick tasty hits from a volcano, you just need to use a higher temp and leave the air pump on for a few seconds before putting the bag on. Worth mentioning I owned an extreme Q for years and thought the bags were horrible but the volcano has changed my mind.

As much as thick clouds of vapor are nice, bag delivery provides the least resistance when pulling which makes a big difference for some people myself included. My lungs get really tired of working for every hit and being hunched over a water filtered or whip vape, at the end of a session my lungs always hurt, no more with bags.

If I had to suggest a vape, I would say go with a used volcano. New they are overpriced but at $300 for a used one is a great choice. And if you don't like it, just resell it and get your money back. Not many other vapes retain their value like that.

I used my zephyr Ion for about a year (VERY similar to Volcano) until I recently started my YouTube review channel, now that I'm testing a bunch of whip style units, I'm defiantly become a fan. The bag gives you a really nice experience, taste, and quantity... but the vapor is definitely more potent out out of a whip style. A SSV, Hot Box, Vapolution 2.0, or even a Vapor Brothers wooden vape is going to be a good whip-style session.

At the same time, there are too many satisfied Volcano owners for it to be a gimmick. They typically last a LONG time, and the quality is second to none on the vaporizer market; especially the digital units.

-PS, Vito is the grandfather of the Vape World; definitely got me interested in doing reviews.

mod note: Please avoid back-to-back posts, use Edit instead. Two posts merged.