For Perspective: How Common Are Dry-Herb Vapes Where You Live?

[Flotsam]

i can tell you from 4 different states NY CT MD & RI that no one seems to emphasize or even suggest trying vaping
you're on your own

Geez i hope this country has no hate on vapists or vegans

 

[Grass Yes]

I exclusively vape because I enjoy it more than smoking or edibles. I've never seen any convincing study that shows dry herb vaping is less dangerous than smoking.

There is a streak of vapers who feel like they have to evangelize vaping. That would definitely deter me if I were not interested in dry herb vapes. So I just let folks do as they please and I don't try to convert them.

Also, I think to most people this looks a lot like

 

[florduh]

I've yet to meet someone in real life who vapes. I can't even get people to load their own dabs vs buying carts.

I exclusively vape because I enjoy it more than smoking or edibles. I've never seen any convincing study that shows dry herb vaping is less dangerous than smoking.

Exactly this. If some nerd scientist discovered combustion is better for you, I wouldn't give a shit

 

[topographic]

I think there is a perverse industry incentive to *suppress* adoption of dry herb vapes. Combustion is inefficient. Why would plugs and dispensaries encourage customers to buy *less* flower? (For me, that made Snow's article on DHVs even more amazing. I went out of my way to find his flower after another FC poster explained who he was.)

At an eclipse festival of 2017 in Oregon, I noticed a man near a music stage who seemed to be kissing a small two-stroke engine. Up until that point I had never seen a Mighty or any other portable flower vape, though I had built many DIY waterpipes since college and had seen a photo of the Volcano. Before returning to California, I bought a PAX 3, my first dry herb vape. An organic farmer in Mendo laughed when I showed it to him. I replied that as great as his weed was, I had asthma and my smoking days were done.

 

[Gorf]

I know one other vaporist, and I got him into it. His first vape is a TM2, and he'll be fully off of combustion soon.

 

[florduh]

I smoked a cigarette last weekend while out for some brewskis. Two things I noticed. One, it was disgusting but tasted better than a pre rolled joint to me. Two, it gave me a great buzz. I'm a regular nicotine consumer. Mostly Zyns with some light vaping here and there. The crazy thing is... a single cigarette only gives you 1-2mg of nicotine. As a 6mg Zyn upper deckie regular: L O L. Yet I got a great buzz. There's gotta be some sort of poison involved in the act of combustion that makes brains feel good

 

[chillAtGVC]

I wonder if part of it might be simple lack of awareness of the possibility. When I came off a very, very long tea break at the end of last year I started combusting again because that’s all that I knew. Right now, I can’t even remember how I found out about DHV. It might’ve been on some Reddit forum for mail order marijuana in Canada. Once I did a little research and realized what it was I was all in.

 

[Rodney]

I smoked a cigarette last weekend while out for some brewskis. Two things I noticed. One, it was disgusting but tasted better than a pre rolled joint to me. Two, it gave me a great buzz. I'm a regular nicotine consumer. Mostly Zyns with some light vaping here and there. The crazy thing is... a single cigarette only gives you 1-2mg of nicotine. As a 6mg Zyn upper deckie regular: L O L. Yet I got a great buzz. There's gotta be some sort of poison involved in the act of combustion that makes brains feel good

Is because it chokes you and stops much more oxygen getting to the brain and makes your heart race that you get this buzz. Is the same when we take other drugs then smoke a cigarette and get this massive rush/buzz.

It just seems to feel good hurting ourselves and starving the parts of the body that need oxygen and that gives us a massive rush/buzz.

Is so so masochistic to smoke cigarettes imo especially the people who cant get a buzz from a normal cigarette and smoke and unfiltered tobacco rollup or joint, it is literally killing ourselves for that extra big buzz by overloading our systems with smoke.

I have seen a lot of different things huffed for a buzz and all it is as I have described above.

Also in the bedroom chocking seems to be something people enjoy for pleasure.

 

[darkstar72]

Not common around here. I think dispensaries are not going to push efficient consumption tools.

 

[florduh]

Is so so masochistic to smoke cigarettes

I mean don't get me wrong. Cigs are gross. Even cheap menthol e-juice vapes offer a better experience in every way. I was just surprised that I got buzzed at all given the low nic content of cigarette smoke and my sizeable tolerance to nicotine. I think some people are hooked to whatever is going on during combustion. Doesn't make sense to me, but may explain why some people insist on combusting

 

[cx714]

A health scare made me swear off combustion but a lifetime of edibles was never in the cards. So I found my way to shit factory vapes then quality factory vapes then small batch then bench-made— a solo journey that took commitment, opportunity, and nontrivial sums of cash.

It’s neither a well-traveled nor well-marked road because, really, who sparks a doobie for the harm reduction? To me, even the flavor and efficiency are just terrific (and unexpected) value-adds. But to those still smoking I say, if it means a few less drinks, by all means blaze away.

 

[eyevape]

I think some people are hooked to whatever is going on during combustion. Doesn't make sense to me, but may explain why some people insist on combusting

I agree. That buzz is a thing. Took me almost 3 years from start vaping to stop combusting. There may also be that kinda masochistic part that @Rodney mentioned.

 

[Rich of the Apes]

DHVs are perceived as being a pain in the ass as compared to dropping a pinch in a bowl and firing it. Non-believers don't appreciate the ritualistic nature of some of the steps that must be gone through with our equipment.

 

[SlickHenry]

Definitely in a tiny minority in my neck of the woods (UK). Friends still combust mainly because of cost, knowledge and no need for a large initial outlay. Had a conversation with a friend and he was quite dismissive of vaping in general saying he likes the head rush effect of smoking. They will still have a toke on a Dynavap when passed but they don’t seem particularly bothered either way. I am not the sort of person to push my opinions on them so just let it lie.

I have only seen one person vaping locally in all these years (Puffco Proxy) on a park bench outside but the smell of weed is everywhere entirely from people smoking. My local smoke shop has a small vaping section that I saw when I popped in to get a Vaponic. Their range consisted of some old Dynavap models and a Volcano. The shop assistant had to go to the basement stock room to find the vaponic as wasn’t on the shelves! The guy working there preferred vaping but did both. He said that vast majority of people that came in bought smoking paraphernalia.

Feel like it’s a niche hobby, which is really strange to me as it is the best way to consume in terms of flavor, effects, health and it‘s a lot of fun. Anyway I always feel welcome here!

 

[BushRanger]

Where I live, the guy that works in headshop, says the most selling thing is cheap Chinese meth pipe lol. If they ask for dry-herb vape they usually don't wanna spend more than 100$.
Most people are combusting, telling they once had/tried a vape, but they didn't like it much, as they probably didn't researched enough before buying or got some muddy gear.
Have few buddies that are vaping tho...

 

[Sparkpug]

Here in New Mexico practically no one uses a dry herb vaporizer. I think most see "vaping" as using carts. One of the two dispensaries I use does sell a Pax and Volcano. I don't know if that's good or bad. I hate both of them. Everyone I know smokes their flower and the one friend who was familiar with the E-Nano is "afraid of the smell" and uses carts instead. A guy I play WoW with told me he started vaping to reduce the effort needed to get high ie walk the dogs while smoking a joint. He also uses carts now too.

I took my E-Nano with me to a dispensary once but practically everyone seemed to be of the opinion that it was too much work and it's too expensive so it's just easier to smoke. Like the poster above and others mention, people want as cheap as possible.

The only person I know who truly vaporizes is because I turned him onto it by sending him an E-Nano and thoroughly going over how to use it. Says he will never go back to smoking. But he would never get there on his own. He has no problem spending hundreds on flower but never thought twice about how to use it. Saturday afternoon I'm taking an XQ2 to my next door neighbor's house to see if it works for her. She got her card and wants to try a bag vape, and learned about it from me talking about it.

Feel like it’s a niche hobby, which is really strange to me as it is the best way to consume in terms of flavor, effects, health and it‘s a lot of fun. Anyway I always feel welcome here!

That seems to sum it up.

 

[vapviking]

As individuals, we've almost all had to approach this as some kind of wilderness expedition. Generally, no one is out promoting the dhv industry except through very narrow channels.
Forums like FC have been some of the most homogeneous and pervasive information exchanges, indispensable, but that's not really saying much.

I think the folks with some answers about degrees of adoption are the bigger manufacturers like S&B, Pax HR, as they know generally where and in what numbers their products sre selling. And the bigger retailers...

Part of the initial stigma for me was in the transition to a process that involved a device at all. The points of reference were, like heroin "works", hookahs or crack pipes.
Was a huge leap from a joint to a Pax, for me in 2013. But when I did try, my conversion was instantaneous

Here in NY, asking a bud sales person about dry herb vapes has been a waste of time. I should think they could take a leap and put a 50 dollar V3 Nano on the shelf?
Conversation piece?

 

[darkstar72]

I was thinking... Low temp convection offers a better buzz in my opinion. That's why I vape. Better euphoria vs couch lock effects.

 

[The_M]

I have opposite experience, being in CA, everybody have DHV, friends in EU have DHV, I’d say majority in my circle consume using sort of DHV

 

[dudeweed]

I'm really curious about the the regional penetration of dry-herb vaping as an alternative to combustion in different parts of the world.

And that would be both the penetration in your "circle"--did you or a friend introduce dry-vapes and change you in-groups habits (or not)?--but also the general penetration in the culture.

I will say that I'm really surprised just how little penetration dry-herb vaping has here in my corner of Los Angeles. I've been taking devices around with me, visiting multiple dispensaries and headshops, and basically no one working in the trade knows the first thing about these devices.

Dab units, like Puffco Peaks or Carta 5s are rather more familiar among "advanced users" and one can pick up nectar collector/dab straws and torch-driven dab rigs for concentrates, not to mention wide use of 510 battery-based carts, but dry herb? No.

There seems to be very low penetration in my world. It is curious, but living in Los Angeles (I'm a native) I typically feel as if I'm living in "the future" compared to the rest of the country when it comes to cultural changes, but not this time.

I wonder if there are pockets in the USA or around the world where dry-vaping has moved out of very narrow niche use and into the mainstream. Perhaps Cleveland? I dunno about that one.

In any case, I'd love to gain some impressions of how much penetration dry-vape has made around the world.

Please share if you care to add your perspective.

Thanks!

Bill

ETA: For accuracy's sake, I do have a good buddy who acquired a Volcano about 15 years ago (and he now has a Volcano Hybrid. So I've been "exposed" to the concept for all that time (and filled many a balloon). But that exposure did not expecially penetragte, and I had no desire for a device with this sort of form-factor and use-culture.

If there is one dry-vape that enthusiasts are familiar with, it would be the Volcano. But that's about it, generally speaking.

I’m in the north of the UK.

We had snoop dogg g pen like 10 years ago which sucked. Then I got a mighty about 6 years ago, nobody knows what it is. I used to just use it in public and people assumed it was a nicotine vape.

I’ve now got a tempest and a B1 and nobody I’ve spoke to knows what it. Anyone who sees it in person is mystified and anyone who tried the B1 has been extremely impressed.

But then they hear the price and their interest dies down

 

[2tiki]

I think it also doesn't help that some 420 influencers with hundreds of thousands of followers (or in a few cases, over a million followers) will sometimes get paid to promote super low end vapes and they will gush about how great they are (in any video they are paid to do so), then I'm sure tons of people buy the vapes and think, "Wow! They said this a one of the best vapes out there, but it sucks. I guess vapes suck."

Honestly, if it wasn't for this forum, I might still be using vapor genie I stumbled onto at a head shop in a record store almost 20 years ago. It was better than combustion, but I am so glad to have insanely better options today.

 

[Rodney]

I think it also doesn't help that some 420 influencers with hundreds of thousands of followers (or in a few cases, over a million followers) will sometimes get paid to promote super low end vapes and they will gush about how great they are (in any video they are paid to do so), then I'm sure tons of people buy the vapes and think, "Wow! They said this a one of the best vapes out there, but it sucks. I guess vapes suck."

Honestly, if it wasn't for this forum, I might still be using vapor genie I stumbled onto at a head shop in a record store almost 20 years ago. It was better than combustion, but I am so glad to have insanely better options today.

EXACTLY - this is why I bought the honeystick vape and it was the worst thing ever and made me think that it was vaping that was rubbish and not the vape. It was this nice looking geeky influencer girl, she only had 30k subs but she seemed so so genuine.

 

[pop22]

Here in upstate NY (at least where I'm at) dry herb vaping is essentially non-existent. Very few know what it is, other than maybe recognizing the Volcano.

Funny, I live almost to the Canadian border in a very small town and probably 20% of the people here vape dry herb. And I've been promoting it since I had my DaVinci Ascent. And it seems to me, the people in this state working in dispensaries have no training at all. Luckily, I rarely use them and don't really need to.

 

[TigoleBitties]

I think most people I know who use weed seem to "just want to get high". They don't see it as any different than wanting to get blind drunk. If you just want to get high, DHV seems looks like a chore when you could combust and be high in 2 seconds.

I understand that this is a thing for the young, having been there myself during my own days of binging. However even back then, I never saw using weed as a great way for "checking out of reality" and disconnecting the way you can with alcohol.

As soon as I started using it in moderation I came to see how useful it could be compared to just greening out all the time. When I read a bit more and grasped it's medicinal possibilities, it seemed jarring that I would have to combust it always to get the benefits.

I probably started out with a bias that I was going to find a way to consume it in a more healthy manner no matter what, but I was lucky that my first vape was an OG Solo. It was more than good enough for me.

 

[borbjorbis]

I'm in Ohio for the month and I just bought weed from an OH dispensary for the first time, and I was surprised to see that the little sticker on the mylar indicates that the flower is for vaporization. Also was surprised that they sell by the 10th haha

https://imgur.com/gzqe2TC

I wonder what regulations led to that line on the sticker. I know that medical programs sometimes insist that patients vaporize, maybe it's just a relic of that?