Hey canna soor, thanks for the very detailed write up, its great.
Im also very keen on low temp vaping. I first starting off at 6 when i got the vape, but didn't get what i was looking for as i was still learning the ins and outs of the log vape.
I realized that 7 on my dial is where you get reliable vapour on the first hit. But im going to go back to the 6 range and try my technique to try to get some terpy hits.
Can I ask why you take 12-36 hits per temp step. Do you find that it is healthier on the lungs, rather then maxing out the lungs for a one hitter.
I haven't tried the nano xl with multiple pulls yet, Ill have to try it out with shorter pulls. Im sure it will make the hit more comfortable.
So, I think my practices result in part from being someone who has never vaped with anyone else, and who knows no vapers in person. In addition, I am not so interested in super-speedy results, or in huge clouds for their own sake. And finally, maybe from being raised by someone from the Great Depression (USA economic phenomenon), so I tend to be very frugal, at least about some things.
I look at visible vapor as a sign that I am "blowing away" some Good Stuff™, i.e., cannabinoids, terpenes, flavonoids (I think these are different?). The idea of taking a huge rip and blowing out huge clouds just strikes me as insane, like taking some fancy liquor and chugging a bottle of it so that most of it runs down your shirt. Why would I want to waste it like that? I still understand the impulse, and when I blow out visible vapor, I still take it as a sign that the device is producing well … I just don't want to waste anything good that I don't have to.
I have to admit, I've never really thought about it from a health perspective (as you suggested): just never really occurred to me. (I think of vaping as so much healthier than the alternatives, and so much better tasting, as being worth it no matter what.)
But I have to say, I really probably developed that insight about wasteful clouds in retrospect. The main thing that happened at the time (or rather
kept happening) was that I would find some excuse to lower my temps, reduce my load, temper my tamp (!), quit stirring so much, etc., various little aspects of the process which all converged on a "little, low, and slow" approach. These days, if I stick to regimen, I rarely see any
visible vapor … and that's great! The high comes on a bit slower, but is well-established 1/4 to 1/3 of the way through the process. And it also still builds in the latter part, and comes to a very nice, consistent crescendo.
I guess another aspect of this all is my recent retirement: I am no longer urgent about much at all, but especially the vaping process: I have plenty of time to spend on it, and to get it as right as possible (at least from my own personal perspective of "right"). I mean, I still occasionally start at a somewhat higher temp, partly when I really don't have as much time, e.g., when I don't have 3 hours to spend before bedtime on getting high. But then again, on most nights (or days!), I have plenty of time. I usually do other things, of course, while vaping: reading, music, etc. But I try to exploit the rhythms and focus in a way that maximizes my goals for the session. Sometimes that means vaping relatively casually while I attend to other things. But I try to focus solely on the flavor experience for at least good parts of most sessions, and for the better part of some (if not all parts of all sessions). And I only have so much attention: I can't really focus on the vape if I am also reading heavier stuff, or reading anything and listening to music at the same time.
(I don't suppose the people who are kayaking, or snowboarding, or flying off mountain sides on bush bikes, really worry too much about and the finer points of the
vaping experience: they're interested more in their "main show" and that's of course just fine.)
I suppose some other "special circumstances" contribute to my approach. I live in a small city (about 170K pop.) that has 50+ dispensaries with recreation-legal herb of a huge variety of strains, from many different farms. I keep tabs on dispo inventories with tools like Leafly, Dutchie, and WeedMaps, and I have developed a few shortcuts so that I can quickly run through and see what's new and available at almost all of those stores. (Not to mention occasional side trips to nearby cities, including Portland, which has many, many more shops.)
I haven't tried to count lately, but I am probably 15-20 minutes away from 400+ strain choices; more if you count combos of farm and strain as different.
That level of access, plus the good luck of landing on the E-Nano relatively early (it was my second vape, after the Magic Flight Launch Box), led me to become obsessed (well, in a non-technical sense) with flavor. I had no idea when I got back into cannabis after 25 or so years that I could get such flavors. (Even the MFLB made me realize the potential.) I buy almost exclusively in single grams, in order to maximize the number of different strains I can try. I am constantly bumping up against the limits of my storage system, seeing lots of new strains I want to try and can't justify the purchase of, since I already have so many on hand (about 80 at the moment). I get to sample about 3-6 strains per day, depending on number of sessions (1-2 usually) and different combos of vapes and stems (usually 2-3 Nano stems per session, sometimes a "sidecar" or two in the Lotus, Milaana, Sticky Brick, or the MFLB). But all of that amounts to only about a gram or so per week, and my costs are not that high, partly due to small loads and partly to good prices (I average less than $6 per gram, so something less than a dollar a day over the year).
My only real problems have to do with wanting to
Try All The Strains!! (like for Pokemon) and, lately, with some mailing issues (I can't really get mail easily at home now, so hard to order vapes & supplies). I've seen quite a few strains come onto the scene, pique my interest, and then disappear before I have the time and storage situation to justify trying a new one.
But I have also found lots that I love, and would get again if I could. Some are easily available as they seem to be local favorites (like
Northern Wreck), or just so well-known and loved more broadly that they can always be found somewhere (e.g.
Blue Dream).
OK, back to reality here (not actually medicated at the moment, but perhaps last night's leftovers are still making me a bit over-verbal
).
Regarding temps, Nanos are notoriously difficult to compare, not just because of different models, stems, accessories, etc., but because the device is analog, and so a given temp like "7 on the dial" is likely to be very different on two different Nanos (or so I hear). I almost never go as high as 7 anymore, usually topping out at 6.2 or 6.5 after a pretty long run.
I can't speak to your device or situation, but
if you have the time (and that's very much a personal thing), I would recommend trying a long, slow sesh or two, starting at least a full step below your usual (6 instead of 7, or even 5.5). I start around 4.7 these days, higher if I want a faster run. And don't pack too much: even others seem to agree with me that, down to a surprisingly low limit,
Less Is More with regard to the flavor you get from a given stem or bowl.
What I notice is that if I start higher, the run will be shorter by about a corresponding amount: so I usually end up at 6.2 or 6.5, even if I start at 5.3 or 5.6 instead of lower. Lower starts can be
just a hair "wispy", but are not usually so (and my tastes have adjusted). Higher starts of course have more "oomph" at the beginning … but they run out of good flavor more quickly, "spending" it all at the front, and then they hit that "burned popcorn" flavor.
When I
do start higher up, I usually regret it at least a
little from a flavor perspective. Sure, I get
stronger flavor to start, but not necessarily
better, or
clearer. And when I start lower, I get a better profile all the way along: less "burned popcorn" toward the end, and more just … I dunno … not "fresh", clear flavor (at the end), and not as distinguishable (can't as easily tell one
Jack Herer variant from another), but they are still
enjoyable, and vary a bit from strain to strain. (I know this specifically
because I put 2-3 strains up "against" each other in these compare-and-contrast sessions.)
Regarding the "multiple pulls/shorter pulls" issue: on the Nano I take only about 1/2 to 2/3 of the pull that I could, if I wanted to hit as hard as possible (at full lung capacity). They're not exactly "sips", at about 15 seconds each, but they are not "heroic" hits that strain my system. (Maybe that's the age & retirement effect again.) And I find that a small amount can last a
looong time in terms of number of hits, if you start low enough on the temp dial.
OK, I've gone off again—sorry about that!
But I urge you to try those lower temps and lighter loads, at least if you have the time for it.
.
