Wow, I went through this for about 15 years
@ClearBlueLou. I JUST stopped smoking completely in November and I don't miss it at all!! I was an all day, everyday smoker for 25 years who loved the rituals and routines of smoking. I honestly never thought I would quit rolling joints and smoking herb!! Let me tell you a little about my journey and maybe that will help you take a week to make the plunge and adjust. It's worth it!
I purchased a "box" style vaporizer many years ago when I got the first urge to "Quit smoking" and start vaping. That was a no go and I felt joints got me so much higher and were just as efficient (neither were at all lol)
So that lead me to the VaporTower. Not much hype on that one years ago, but it was decent. It was an upgraded box vape with a hollow ceramic rod that got as hot as you wanted it to, and an upward facing bowl and a whip with 2 screens sandwiched together. It sort of reminded me of a whip style Volcano (which I wanted but couldn't afford back then). It gave satisfying hits and got me very stoned! But it was a different high and with most of my smoking taking place on the road, vaping was still a novelty. (I should try this vape now with a DDave mod, I bet it STILL rips )
So many years later I gave it another shot with the Pax 1. Now I did like this thing and it got some use, but it wasn't enough to make my stop smoking weed altogether. It's bowl was too big and too much draw resistance to be perfect for me and like you said, I always got "higher" with a joint.
Well a few years passed and was getting into dabbing and enails, so that led me here to these fine folks. After discussing the Liger hybrid nail and other concentrate devices I started researching the different vaporizers. This time I didn't go in trying to quit, I went in trying to find even MORE ways to enjoy the fantastic flower I get these days.
So I bought an Underdog and a Haze V3.0. I was so into playing with my 2 new toys that I just didn't smoke for about a week while I vaped everyday playing with my 2 sweet new toys! Well after a week I was over at a friends house and rolled a joint...YUK I thought to myself! I asked my buddy if that weed tasted like shit and he said no, it's fantastic. Then it hit me, I don't like smoking anymore. I continued to smoke that joint but it wasn't nearly as enjoyable as it was a week earlier? Something happened in that week of non-combustion that I really can't explain. Before that week it seemed like I was getting higher smoking, but after that week there was no comparison! I got SO MUCH HIGHER vaping and it was so much more flavorful and enjoyable. I was amazed at this revelation and wondered why this epiphany had never hit me like this before?
I honestly think it takes at least a week to purge your system of the toxins and carcinogens to be able to feel the benefits of vaping. And trust me, you will get higher off of the same exact weed after the transition. Take it from a very heavy tolerance user, concentrates and vaping are definitely the way to medicate. I enjoy my beautiful crystal laden flowers so much more now! If someone tried to catch them on fire I would feel like they were wasting it.
First things first: CONGRATULATIONS on being smoke-free
not a completely unfamiliar story, with compressions and expansions...
I started out - and remain - a completely hopeless joint-roller; typically I learn fast and can get wicked good at things in short time, but not this. Pipes have always been my weapon of choice, and one-hitters/bats/tiny-chillums/whatevertheyare. Like you, I've been a regular daily consumer since '80, and have enjoyed the accumulation of skills and practices, my ways of going about it all, the knowledge base acquired and refined.
Somewhere in there, vaporizers...and while I understood the concepts & application, I just couldn't dial in the process or the hardware (lack of hands-on time, I'm sure - hands-on, one way or another, is required to be any good at anything). Plus, they were expensive & I had a kid in college, but still: pipe or joint or one-hit or shotgun, all good.
Comes e-cigs, and I caught on REAL fast, but I seemed to be the only one around here - and again expensive AND confusing, BUT it opened the door to the magickal world of extracts and concentrates. I learn and I do, as is the way of my people (
) - and discover along the way that I have
no way to non-combust ANY of this stuff...which is what brought me here.
My first step away from the match was my sub-ohm rig. It is a self-contained starter kit with a big tank, and I bought it expecting that I could get this whole e-juice'n' tincture thing dialed in quick and be done.... HA. Still mostly work-in-progress, so that can't be my go-to, but it's a nice unit, I've gotten fairly comfortable with it, and I've been able to cut way back on tobacco, too, so just letting that happen.
By this point, smoking anything sets off way more coughing than I feel like dealing with anymore, so I HAVE to stop, or at least change HOW I do things ASAP, so yet another trek up Mt. Learning Curve to Vape Peak (or is it 'peak vape'?)...aaaand it's too steep right now, need to give my lungs some rest. I put vape research on hold, pulled myself away to search for a simple, flexible, serviceable, CHEAP piece of glass that won't drive me crazy & give me at least an adequate and effective alternative. Got wound a little too tight over it, too, messed with my perspective. The 420 celebrations/sales kinda broke the spell, and I was able to re-conceive my needs and see a different solution.
So for me, this recent glass chase has been an essential first step to getting the rest done. At the very least, I can toke well-filtered leaf-burn while I work out new ways with extracts and my new toys, and get a little healthier and more comfortable while I sort things out. And, now that the shopping is done, the dithering and circular thinking is behind me.
I really do feel like i lucked out tremendously on the 4/20 sale - hope everyone finds something that gives them some excitement and anticipation like I'm feeling. One thing about this is I've learned that not all glass is crazy expensive and crazy delicate. I really must credit the folks here @ FC: y'all're a hip crowd, well-mannered and well-informed. I've learned A TON since I arrived, and I can feel that learning-curve rush coming on as my packages get closer..... Eventually, there will be a vapor apotheosis (I hope!) - I may be actively investigating now, but I still see and hear and read; it'll all be put to use.
Thanks for sharing your story with me, I enjoyed it so much I made my own...
Oh, I wanted to add on the 'getting more high' thing, it seems tiny doses of almost any mixture of fume and/or tincture and/or oil gets me THE MOST blasted, hands down, every time, compared to almost
any quantity of any one. Too early to tell about shades of distinction & such but I plan on looking into it....
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Didn't mean to sound annoyed or rude. But I went from about 1oz of weed and 2 grams of wax (really, not kidding) smoked and dabbed every week all the way down to about 5-7g of weed a week, no wax, and significantly improved highs and general function.
I don't think you need a tolerance break to appreciate vaping through water or anything. But the VB1 is honestly pretty outdated tech. Hit an Herbalizer, Cloud Evo, any of the Log Vapes, even a Boundless CFX through a bong with good weed packed...and there's really nothing like it.
I wish I had more logic and science to back me up but all I have is really strong feelings about vapor-bonging haha
Not at all - I didn't take it amiss - didn't want to give the wrong impression, myself. We are good!
even with my mad-kitchen-science approach to these things, I have noticed greatly improved mileage when extracts are in play (a honey drop on a one-hit are great for that
). I expect that with better tools further improvement is possible.
Definitely taking notes on the vapes & issues and tech, just not focused on it for now. Thanks for all your comments!
