TommyDee
Vaporitor
I suspect there is a transformation that happens when the vapor hits oxygen making the vape more visible. I find that doing direct draws as heating to produce very little cloud but a very effective extraction and delivery.Hitting with a fully open air port results in what I call Shandy vapour.
True you get a big cloud but it is not dense it is diluted and that makes a huge difference to the effect.
I also find that strains vary greatly at what temperature the vape is released. Some have a lot of vape at the terp level where others are whispy. Some have clouds forever and others just truncate at the higher temps. Several strains have a 'dead zone' between the money hit and the late releases. Some simply don't have a lot of vape.
Wide open air ports don't do it for me. Seems that once the draw has taken on oxygen, it also has trouble condensing on lung tissue.
I suspect oxidation also plays a role in the reek. Funny how right next to someone vaping, there is very little scent. Yet, in the corners of the room where the vape is getting stale, you might as well smoke a joint. Smells about the same.
These nuances make for such varied opinions regarding device performance. For me, it is about the hurt a device can induce in my lungs. This tells me just how dense the vape really is. Open air ports cause no hurt at all. That's a good thing for a lot of people. For me it means I've under-medicated.