Beginners Guide to Concentrates?

[Galactus]

So next week im heading out to the big CO for a long weekend getaway.
I have some friends out there that can help me out and go to some local dispensaries for me. At first i was thinking about getting a lot of green and bringing it home but then i thought concentrates would be nice too mostly because its supposed to work better and probably easier to transport back home. The only problem is i know nothing about concentrates. Can someone explain?

I plan to use it with my SSV at home so i have some room to work with, not much travel. If i do travel id probably pick up a good concentrate portable vape. I also am planning on picking up a nice piece of glass so if i am moving straight to concentrates then could someone explain which concentrates are best for vaping with glass? Can someone explain how much you use per 'bowl' (?) The only concentrate i could buy after i get back from Denver is keif from some friends so could someone explain what the difference is from kief, oil, wax, bubble, budder, shatter, nectar ect.?

Sorry if this comes back to be really noobie but after searching through the forum i really couldnt find anything on concentrates that fully explained what they are and how their used, maybe i just over looked something.

But what about smell and storage? Is the smell more or less than bud? im guessing it completely depends on the type of concentrate. What about potency? Is that the same way?

How much do you use weekly/monthly? trying to get an estimation on how much to buy.

Thanks in advance, even if its just a link to another website i couldnt find, i just honestly know nothing about concentrates.

 

[fake name]

Ok.

The best concentrates for glass is a hard question. Are you planning on getting a dome/nail set up to dab? Or do you mean to just smoke it out of a bowl piece? I would recommend a nail and dome conversion for the glass, you can get one for around $25ish on ebay, and then you will need a blowtorch. If you are confused about nails and domes just do a search on youtube for "dab" to see someone do it.

As for how much per "bowl," this depends on how you are consumming it, as well. If you are using a nail or on a bowl then just a little, like .05 grams. A little gets you a long way, which is why smoking hash oil is predominantly called dabs/ dabbing. In the vape you can use a little more, but not much more and make sure it is sandwiched between herb because it melts and becomes runny wet from heat. If you are smoking it on a bowl make sure to have it on top of herb for this reason also.

Now, the fun part, the different kinds of extracts. The first thing to understand is the difference between hash and hash oil. Hash is (typically) mechanically concentrated down to the point of just the trichrome. Bubble hash/ice hash/ full melt are the hashes you will probably see in CO, and they are all cold water and screens technique concentration. This will work best inbetween herb in the vape or ontop of a bowl, it tends to be less melty. By weight ice hash tends to be about 60ish% cannabinoids, about 3 times as strong as good herb. Kief would fit into the hash category.

On the other hand, you have hash oils. Hash oils are (typically) chemically extracted past the trichome, making them even purer. There are a lot of types and they are all in CO. Shatter is the oil in a solid glass like consistency, tends to be very pure and many people judge it based on how see through it is. Wax is whipped oil, giving it a wax like consistency. Wax often looks yellow, can be anywhere from stretchy (taffy) to dry and brittle. I would personally recommend shatter over wax. Budder is wax, and I believe so is nectar. Oils work best (ime) on a nail set up, and I think a lot of pen vapes focus more on the oils than the hash. You can still vape and smoke it, just use a little and sandwich between herbs. Oils run the gambit on potency, but good oil will be around 80-85% cannabinoids by weight. Stronger than hash, normally, you only need a little bit to get you where ya going.

Smell is different based on process and strain. Some smell stronger than bud, some weaker. Some have a very light spicy scent that most wouldn't relate to cannabis. For storage, an airtight light proof container would be best, or at least airtight and amber hued container. For long time storage maybe keep in the freezer? I think the cold will help it last but I am not entirely sure about this.

I use about half a gram a week ot concentrates, which I tend to save for night while using flowers throughout the day.



A note about concentrates, in many States they are more illegal than bud, so if travelling with it I suggest looking into the law and knowing the risk.

 

[Galactus]

oh wow thanks, that was extremely helpful. Ill probably go nail and dome for my usage then just vape it from there. And as for the concentrate ill probably go oil, seems like it would be the best for what i want out of it.

really kinda noob question but could i use a nail/globe with my ssv? like is that possible, just using the ssv as a heating element and putting the oil on the nail and inhale out the glass? Or would the oil not get hot enough to do its job because its backed up against a ti nail?

mod note: Please do not make back-to-back posts, use Edit instead. Two posts merged.

 

[Malloy1]

Can you dab shatter

 

[Galactus]

i really can dab anything at this point, i have a week before i go and get everything i need in Denver.
Honestly what im trying to accomplish is reducing the smell in my apartment so its really not noticable and it seems concentrates are the best way to do this.
Right now im using mendo grinded flowers and through my ssv and that causes a small but noticeable smell in the room i use it in.

 

[fake name]

Can you dab shatter

Yes, I highly recommend it. It can be a little tricky to get on the dabber sometimes, though.

really kinda noob question but could i use a nail/globe with my ssv? like is that possible, just using the ssv as a heating element and putting the oil on the nail and inhale out the glass? Or would the oil not get hot enough to do its job because its backed up against a ti nail?

I don't know but I suspect it wouldn't work that great. The nails get real hot from the torch, butane burns at 2500°f, so I don't think you would hit the desired temp for dabbing, 1200°-600° f (hotter than needed for vaporization but the oil actively cools down the nail).

 

[Galactus]

so what if i just vaped shatter then filtered from there? Like put the shattered into the ssv wand and then ran the tubing through some filtration. I saw some Youtube videos of that and it seemed to work pretty well. Like would that be the most optimal usage?

 

[fake name]

^^^Yeah, that should work fine, I just suggest sandwiching it between actual herb, by itself it becomes very runny so may and probably will make a mess. You could sandwhich it between abv (already been vaped) weed, just something to suck it up before it reaches the point of vapor. I think I read somewhere of people sticking it in loose cotton and into a vape, but I haven't tried this and I have no idea where I saw it or for what vape it was used.

 

[Galactus]

ok thanks thats probably what ill do.
I knew that it would dissolve pretty quickly and could ruin the screen so i figured if it was going to go out and run in the wand why wouldnt in run on the nail? but then again what do i know haha

 

[GR]

I just picked up this for my DBV http://www.planetvape.ca/volcano-solid-valve-liquid-pad-set.html they will need some trimming to fit the wand and I have not tried them yet. I have tried oil in the DBV by mixing oil with ABV, might as well vape the flower first IMO, but I find it a bit wasteful compared to doing a dab. These pads for the Volcano might do the trick to be able to do straight oil with less mess and less waste. Probably get to testing this week.

ok thanks thats probably what ill do.
I knew that it would dissolve pretty quickly and could ruin the screen so i figured if it was going to go out and run in the wand why wouldnt in run on the nail? but then again what do i know haha

It does get messy and one of the silicon hoses is so flavored and stained from the oil vape I won't use it for flowers, the glass pieces clean easy in ISO and hosing is cheap enough to get plenty of extra.

 

[fake name]

ok thanks thats probably what ill do.
I knew that it would dissolve pretty quickly and could ruin the screen so i figured if it was going to go out and run in the wand why wouldnt in run on the nail? but then again what do i know haha

The nail is designed to not let it run, the only spot for it to run would be the other surface of the nail head. Most heads of nails are convex or rimmed to not allow running of the side. Also, the heat of the nail is higher than that of most vapes, so it turns to vapor near instantaneously. So it has nowhere to go that's not as hot, except a little up the dabber.

Oils can def be weird when youre use to flowers, I been there.

 

[Galactus]

so would a nail and vapor dome set still exhale vapor? i was under the impression it was more smoke than anything and that would be counterproductive for me.

And what i meant by run i guess was 'vaporize' like if it would vape in the vape wand with a cotton ball why wouldnt it vape 6" down the tubing on the nail.

 

[treeman]

Having used oils a reasonable amount in my DBV, log vape and solo I can say with some confidence that I find dabbing to be MUCH more efficient in how high it gets me for the same amount of oil. I can do absolutely minute dabs and get a decent high, whearas I have to put more in vapes with less of that room-spinning mind fuck and instant-MELTEDness that comes from dabs.

I've found that on the whole if you waaay overheat your nail the tail end of the dab might combust, but very little. On the whole I consider dabs as vapor, I positively can't stand smoke and dabs always seem smooth enough.

 

[Galactus]

Having used oils a reasonable amount in my DBV, log vape and solo I can say with some confidence that I find dabbing to be MUCH more efficient in how high it gets me for the same amount of oil. I can do absolutely minute dabs and get a decent high, whearas I have to put more in vapes with less of that room-spinning mind fuck and instant-MELTEDness that comes from dabs.

I've found that on the whole if you waaay overheat your nail the tail end of the dab might combust, but very little. On the whole I consider dabs as vapor, I positively can't stand smoke and dabs always seem smooth enough.

So just heating the nail and dabing it would be about the same as a full power ssv exhale smell wise?

 

[fake name]

Thick vapor, not smoke, unless I'm mistaken. As long as the nail isn't too hot, which shouldn't be a problem using butane. Propane or mapp gas it may be a problem, I've seen a flair up from a ti heated with mapp on youtube the other day. The only time ive seen actually flame personally is heating up the nail again, if some didn't vape all the way the torch will cause small combustion of what is left. The taste of the smoke from this is very different than from taking the dab, which is why I believe it is vapor off the nail.

 

[treeman]

At Galactacus
I'd say possibly less as I tend to hold my dabs in for a good 10 seconds, after which there is very little visible (smellable?) exhale, on the vapes I tend to blow clouds that smell. I think dabbing is probably less smelly but as long as its straight concentrate without flower in there I doubt either would smell too much.

 

[Galactus]

Ok, because iv gotten mixed answers from a lot of different sources and i trust you guys the most.

Because for 1. i hate when my room smells like pot. Its something i do and i enjoy doing but when people walk into my home i dont like them thinking "oh he is always high" - regardless if i am or not hehe.

Secondly, with the recent trip the price of bud is easily less than half of what i pay here so bringing some back would certainly save me some 'green'.


So this is where iv been lead to believe that shipping concentrates back, while more 'illegal', is relatively safer and more convenient because either way, flowers or oil, i wouldnt send back more than a half Oz due to local laws really kick in after the .5oz mark is reached regardless of either.


So to ask bluntly, how/would you ship concentrates?