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

[Spy Car]

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.

 

[Flotsam]

Probably the people that have the best pulse on this are the people who work at the Dispensaries and sling the weed. I have had conversations in MD and you get the impression that while there are people that vape with some device it is not prevalent over smoking it.

I think for consumers of concentrates it would almost be exclusive with some sort of vape being used. Or they live for their Dab.

Unfortunately i have seen these Dispensary guys continuing to push Carts and i told my Budguy barista the last time that i didn't want anything to do with Carts. But for some people you would have to be specific, Like flower vaping, concentrate vaping or oil (Cart) vaping to really get the question answered. Speaking about Budguys or gals sometimes the advice or recommendation is not the greatest in terms of being true. Probably not a job i would want to do, i do think working in a Production facility might be fun and i am really dying to find a Grow Tour if i can ever find one.

I would also wonder if the transfer is mostly people who already smoked cigarettes and then moved on to e-cig vaping. I would think they would be among the most initial early adopters.

There has been so much PSAs and the movement against tobacco vaping that could be a major factor against the adoption of vapes for Cannabis use & think that the same problems exist. Who knows that might be the case against at least some Carts for cannabis as well? But the knowledge spread is not the greatest.

 

[badbee]

From what I've seen most older users are familiar with the Volcano, Vapor Brothers and Magic Flight and aren't aware of any advancements beyond that. They think of vaping as a weird niche thing that younger users play with before they give it up. They put it in the same mental category as home made gravity bongs. Staff at dispensaries here in WA think they know about dry herb vaping but it's mostly urban legend and bad second hand information, they have little to no personal experience.

 

[Photonic]

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.

 

[Octavia]

At least in my circle of friends, folks only know about Pax and Volcano when it comes to dry herb vaping, and when I refer to vaping weed, they assume I mean carts. The dispensaries I frequent usually have a tiny selection of passable vape gear like Puffco, Pax, an enail of some sort and occasionally Xmax stuff, but doesn’t appear to have much turnover.

I’ve seen a few folks palming a Pax (or similar) device when I’ve walked through neighbourhoods and parks, but the vast majority of stoners I notice are still combusting or using carts. Not sure if that’s because vapes are less noticeable than smoking or if it’s just uncommon. In my area most stoners seem to prefer to partake in out of the way places and I only really notice the smokers, or folks coming from/going to their smoke destination.

 

[sansei]

I'm in NYC and everyone who I know who partakes are either combusting or consuming edibles. When I thought/heard of vaping, I still have the juul cart thing pop in my head. I must admit, I have never done any independent searching for facts, but all the bad press surrounding them many years ago and all can think is ewww. I certainly did not think 'oh, this is perhaps a healthier, more efficient way to consume'. Anyway, I think I might be rambling now, but I hope you can make sense off my answer. My consumption via DHV is going great tonight!

 

[Knewt]

I live in Utah and only medical is legal here. With medical it is illegal to combust flower. Flame based vaping is also illegal. My circle of cannabis flower consumers is 1, and I only vape.

 

[TigoleBitties]

I remember starting a thread where I asked something along the lines of "Do you know anyone in your circle of friends that owns more vapes than yourself?"

Immediately the answer came back as no. Simply because people on FC rarely knew anyone else who owned or even knew what a dry herb vape was! Forget about possibly meeting someone with more vapes than themselves.

It was then that I realized how much people on here are unicorns in their friend group. Here in Montreal, where weed has been legal in Canada since 2018, you would think that DHV would have greater penetration but it's all still carts or combustion mostly with dab rigs and concentrates getting more attention along with edibles and sprays.

No one I've ever met outside of one Pax user had ever heard of a dry herb vape. I still find it sort of crazy that people wouldn't consume weed this way. It's like drinking instant coffee because you don't know that machines exist that brew freshly ground beans.

 

[Grass Yes]

I remember starting a thread where I asked something along the lines of "Do you know anyone in your circle of friends that owns more vapes than yourself?"

Ever met anyone with worse VAS than you?

I'll qualify the thread title a little more. Have you ever met anyone with worse VAS than you and it WASN'T through meeting them online in a forum like this. I'm talking just meeting someone out in the wild like at a party or something and it turned out they had worse VAS than you...

fuckcombustion.com

Immediately the answer came back as no. Simply because people on FC rarely knew anyone else who owned or even knew what a dry herb vape was! Forget about possibly meeting someone with more vapes than themselves.

Ever meet a rando vaper?

Everyone I know that dry herb vapes I either met here on FC first or is a friend I converted. I'm in a legal state. I've never once been somewhere out and about and ran into anyone using a dry herb vape. When I go to the dispensaries the bud tenders have no clue what I'm talking about. Every...

fuckcombustion.com

 

[2tiki]

I've been to huge 420 events in which people brought single glass rigs costing thousands of dollars, and the most expensive flower and concentrates, and not a single one had a vape on them unless it was just an oil pen/cart. One event they had a crazy sculpted joint that cost more than the most expensive vapes on the market, just the one joint. (it was massive and looked insane, but what a waste of flower)

I used to know a guy that has a volcano but still mostly uses oil carts and combustion from a bong, and another guy that has a MFLB and I think uses it most of the time he uses MJ. But neither seem to have much interest in learning about the other options available.

Since it's legal here, I have also noticed more and more people that just take edibles at night.

 

[chillAtGVC]

I live on the West Coast of Canada where weed consumption is pretty high. The stores and the smell of combustion are everywhere. That said, I don’t know anyone who part takes more than once in a while, other than me, of course. There are a number of stores around selling a wide selection of dry herb vapes, but I’ve never seen one used other than in my hand. Even the people at the dispensary I sometimes frequent know very little about it. It seems to combustion and edibles are the more common method of consumption.

 

[mazinho420]

I convinced a few of my friends to vaporize. I showed them my collection and advised them on choosing the most suitable one for them. Apart from them, I personally don't know anyone who has given up burning.

 

[gheebee]

The only people I know who own vaporizers are the people that I gifted them to.

 

[Spy Car]

I'm finding it very interesting that the lack of penetration I'm seeing in Los Angeles is pretty much the norm elsewhere.

Somewhat odd.

I wonder how long it will take before it becomes "mainstream" to fuck combustion entirely, and especially with flower-based vapes rather than concentrates?


Bill

 

[TigoleBitties]

I'm finding it very interesting that the lack of penetration I'm seeing in Los Angeles is pretty much the norm elsewhere.

Somewhat odd.

I wonder how long it will take before it becomes "mainstream" to fuck combustion entirely, and especially with flower-based vapes rather than concentrates?


Bill

I'm looking at cutting edge vapes like the new Bowle 2 that are capable of instant on-demand hits (like 1-2sec heatup). I think these types of vapes that are as quick as carts and nearly as simple to operate - may have a chance at the mainstream market but more evolution is still needed.

If vape tech like what's in the Bowle 2 is further miniaturized to the size format of say, a Pax, and the price point comes down as well.... I think DHV may get over the hurdles required for adoption by the mainstream user.

 

[borbjorbis]

Couple thoughts.

It's surprising to me how few people really think about the myriad health problems associated with combustion until they actually start to catch up with them. There's still somehow this strange myth that since it's not tobacco, it's healthy. I regularly see people online say "don't smoke cigarettes smoke weed."

The average person's imagination is pretty limited when it comes to DHV; they mostly just think of either the Pax or the Volcano (and like GPens or the Yocan Vane... *shudders*). Most people haven't even heard of Arizer or DaVinci. People can be pretty stubborn in their ways, and the thing is, ripping a bong IS faster and more immediately gratifying than any of these devices. If you're not taking the health-side seriously, if you're used to chucking huge clouds, and if you don't have any sense of what a good vape is... it's pretty hard to acquire the activation energy to convert.

On the topic of the average person's imagination: when I first started researching vapcaps, I had no idea wtf I was looking at. Nowadays, I have to explain it to people as like an "analogue Pax" all the time. The research barrier to entry is legit, and the resources for learning about DHV are diffuse, scattered all over the Internet – not many people have the wherewithal or drive to do the requisite research. It would be awesome if we could stick a true heavy-hitter in each dispensary so that people can get first-hand experience with what vapes have to offer. I think a lot of people's mental horizons would immediately expand after just one hit of a ball vape. Or like a BAKx, can you imagine?

Part of the joy of the hobby for me has been making my way through the ranks from the Pax to the vapcap to the cutting-edge summit, before scaling back to my personal microdosing niche with the Vapman. I feel I've really developed a sense of the history and progression of DHV along the way, and that's enriched my experience ten fold. But as far as converting people goes it'd be best if we can just plop them right at the top.

That said I have noticed an uptick in Lobo users amongst the "normies" (hate the term but I'll use it here to refer to the general consuming public). I'm 24, and there's definitely a "dominant culture" I perceive amongst young cannabis users online (if anyone here knows who Dope As Yola, Erick Khan, and Fulcrum are – they're not the epicenter of the culture per se but definitely figureheads). It seems like POTV has started penetrating into that mainstream market, the best since Pax, and since they are closer to the hobbyist world compared to other mainstream DHV companies, I have some hope that public awareness will increase. Most recently, the popular YouTuber Cewpins has become a real advocate for vapes after years of talking down on them, and while his knowledge of the space still seem pretty limited from my perspective as a hobbyist, it's a good sign that people can change.

But the research barrier to entry is still high, and unfortunately not many people have the curiosity to make that first leap (not saying that as a condemnation of these people, only as an observation of conditional circumstances).

 

[Fartfart]

Mid Atlantic area here, during the past 20yrs met 3 others, 2 knew about the Volcano but never used, 1 tried to sell me his Dynavap.

 

[darbarikanada]

I'm in Seattle; people are mostly smoking, using cart pens, doing medibles. I occasionally smell what's probably a vaporizer, but virtually never see anyone using one.

 

[Cheebsy]

UK here. I know 3, yes an entire 3, people who vape.... Sometimes. They all have a mighty, and one had a couple of DVs and one of my old extreme q s... Every one of them still smokes though.

As @borbjorbis mentioned above, I didn't even know vapes other than EQ, volcano and mighty existed, let alone could be a replacement for smoking. It's only my researching nature that brought me here and enabled my conversion away from smoking. I'm forever grateful for the knowledge over gained through these boards and I feel a shit load more healthy because of it.

 

[borbjorbis]

As @borbjorbis mentioned above, I didn't even know vapes other than EQ, volcano and mighty existed, let alone could be a replacement for smoking. It's only my researching nature that brought me here and enabled my conversion away from smoking. I'm forever grateful for the knowledge over gained through these boards and I feel a shit load more healthy because of it.

One problem I see with a lot of vapor enthusiasts is that, when someone new asks a question that seems simplistic or dumb from our perspective, a lot of enthusiasts will just tell that person to "do their own research."

The thing is, research is really hard to do online! We have years of experience with these things and have strongly formed opinions and nuanced perspectives. Unless you're just naturally that type of person, it's hard to know what questions to ask and what resources to look for.

I'm not suggesting that we should give super detailed responses to every question – if anything that might scare off potential converts. But it would be good to approach these newcomers with empathy and try our best to point them in the right direction in a concise manner.

 

[Shit Snacks]

Furthermore the entire review industry online is compromised, vapes are no exception to that... It is an uphill battle, most stoners really don't care to learn something new, or all the maintenance involved, despite the many potential benefits... Most that I know who have gotten into vaping at all, likely through me, never stopped smoking, and often find their way back there regardless (yeah if not carts) I'd argue a place like California is even worse because it's so accessible, yet knowledge is so limited

 

[Rodney]

I am in the UK and the problem here is that people think that chocking yourself, making your heart race then coughing and falling about is getting high. I was one of these people and smoked soapbar hash then went on to combusting as much weed in one go as I could in a gravity bong (bucket)

I would combust and combust and think that me coughing and making my head feel like it was not my own was me getting high and this is what most people in the UK are like so when you let them use a vape say Tinymight2 they tell you "this is shit" and "build a joint build a joint"

People do not even give it a chance as they have no clue and do not care for their health or wallpaper (as it gets all tar from combusting) they do not even care about their pets or family members who need to inhale all the combusted smoke.

I tried to tell people and watched as guys I know now have COPD due to not switching to vaping.

The other thing is at first when I wanted to switch to vaping it was hard as i bought 3 dodgy $20 vapes from Amazon and as you guys know they do not work and was only after I bought the XQ2 then found this community that I was able to fully stop combusting and only vape.

I think we need to stop the war on drugs and start educating people so people know the facts then can act how they want to.

In the USA where it is legal they should be heavily pushing for vaping over smoking and educating people at every dispensary asking "will you be using a vape to consume this sir?" and handing out leaflets so people know where to get vapes and info on vapes. Would save a whole load of money on people with combusting related health issues.

 

[Radwin Bodnic]

I'm in an illegal country and i know a few peoples who have vapes, but only one that vapes 100% of his consumption. He uses a mighty and don't care learning anything else about vapes. I can't blame him though, the weed he grows is so good that any vaporizer would look excellent with it. And the mighty is easy to use and durable.

It's a different feeling when you don't have to pack any vaping gear when going to a friend's and still can enjoy top-tier vapor.

 

[Flotsam]

in another country does using a Vape of mostly common type more Stealth than smoking as well. Do many people even know what that is?

 

[eyevape]

Germany here. I know a lot of stoners, but almost no vaporists. Few are interested, sharing a bowl with me ever once in a while. But the most common reaction is to deny the benefits and thinking of dry herb vaping as a complicated thing to do. Often it’s perceived as associated with those awful liquid nicotine vapes that taste like blueberry pie and make your lungs go popcorn. Also they don’t want to miss out tobacco, as „that's just part of it“ (what you heard about European spliff culture is true). It’s a conservative point of view, but I try hard not to convert anyone. Nobody wants that, it’s one reason why for example vegan folks get so much hate.