Mainstream opinion on vaporization

1337Dude

Well-Known Member
Something that I have noticed about vaporizing, living in Seattle, is that popular opinion on it isn't very high. I work at a pizza place with 50+ employees and have talked to most of them about vaporizing.

"I used to vaporize for awhile but then it stopped getting me high so I switched back to smoking"

"I think its sort of a fad/gimmick, nothing compares to a good bong rip"

"I tried my friend's Volcano once, it was okay"

These were the average opinions on the subject. There's also a fair number of people who haven't really tried it more than a couple of times. Probably 4 out of the 50 people own a respectable vaporizer, and I'm not sure if anyone there actually vaporizes on a regular basis (such as I) as opposed to smoking. Most people are mostly aware of 'the Volcano' and many think it's the only vaporizer worth buying.

Older people are more likely to look down on vaporization too. Of the handful I talked to (who were 35+), they all appear to be unaware of it, or aware of it but completely belittling of it. For some people, the idea of smoking and marijuana are completely intertwined and inseparable. My dad, for example, won't even take a dab of hash if offered to him. He just says "it does nothing for me, and it irritates my throat" - and then goes off to take a bong rip from his bong that hasn't been cleaned since he purchased it years ago and continues to disgustingly hack his lungs out.

Despite the benefits of vaporization being significant and blatant, I feel like people in general don't want to change. I have a theory: whatever that is more instantly gratifying is to be more popular. Food, music, smoking, whatever it is - people want instant gratification. The "buy-in" price for a decent vaporizer is too much a leap of faith for some people - or the benefits just don't seem worthwhile, even to people who use marijuana on a daily basis. Whenever I explain the concept of 'efficiency' and 'getting significantly more for your money', I get the impression that the idea goes over their head or they believe I'm exaggerating the benefits.

What are the popular opinions on vaporizing where you live?
 

luchiano

Well-Known Member
Most people just like to do what they are used to, with everyone around them does, or what they see someone who is well known that they like does. It's how life is. The only people who are open to change for the most part, are people who are very logical so they do what makes sense, people who like different things, and people who are young since they want to say they are doing something different from the people who came before them.

I think with vaping most want that harsh effect from smoking, and if you don't put the temperature high, they don't get it so they think something is wrong or they just look at vaping as a novelty and smoking the real deal when it's the other way around if you are speaking in potency. If they have been smoking for a long time, it would be hard to convert them to vaping unless you do it in the right setting such as a night where you all are just chilling, having some drinks, watching something on tv, and you just bring it out with no hype, that will most likely get them to like it. I've learned being humble with the things you do brings more converts to your side because, they aren't expecting anything when you are. I've had people think my herb was weak because it wasn't pretty or gave a headrush only to have them blitzed out of their minds in the middle of the blunt asking "what kind of herb was that". I also had people who didn't like bongs who would tell me blunts got you higher then bongs JUST to go against me since they loved blunts so much. When we did puff bongs you could clearly see they were nice but, that ego just wouldn't let them keep doing bongs, so they would just waste herb on big blunts. I guess that's life.

I just like to shock people who think they know what herb can do, so they talk shit, until they meet me. MUAHAHAHA.
 
Something that I have noticed about vaporizing, living in Seattle, is that popular opinion on it isn't very high. I work at a pizza place with 50+ employees and have talked to most of them about vaporizing.
I guess you didn't realize that a good number of forum members are located in the Seattle and the metro area? The lack of vape enthusiasm amongst Pagliacci (Zekes?) employees is not an indicator of the city's attitude in general.

I personally have tried enough vaporizers that I completely "get it" when someone says they don't like 'em. I agree with them on about 90% of models that exist.
 

1337Dude

Well-Known Member
I guess you didn't realize that a good number of forum members are located in the Seattle and the metro area? The lack of vape enthusiasm amongst Pagliacci (Zekes?) employees is not an indicator of the city's attitude in general.

I personally have tried enough vaporizers that I completely "get it" when someone says they don't like 'em. I agree with them on about 90% of models that exist.



Going by the utmost basics of statistics (how to 'sample'), you can't simply determine that vaporizing is popular in Seattle because this forum has a lot of people from Seattle. To properly gauge an opinion, you must take a sample from a pool that represents the people in the area. The people who post in the forum don't represent Seattle, nor do they come close to representing the general opinion on vaporization. Seattle is a *huge* city. There would have to be thousands of members here from Seattle for me to be convinced that vaporization is popular in Seattle. I've worked at this pizza place (family-owned business, not a chain like Zeek's or Pagliacci's) for 3 years and a lot of employees have come and gone - I've also talked to tons of people at my school and neighbors. I could probably say I'm weighing 100s of opinions from people who live in Seattle.

Obviously my sample size isn't very big, nor is it supposed to be representative of Seattle (just the part of Seattle that I live in and frequent) but it's enough to gauge some sort of opinion on the mainstream thoughts on vaporizing. Most people, even people who smoke marijuana on a regular basis, have no idea what it even is. It's crazy to think about because marijuana is *extremely* popular in Seattle, so it's funny that most people (ranging from high school students to middle-aged folk) don't understand or know much about vaporization at all.

I totally agree that a lot of vaporizers suck, but you can't argue with the simple science (so simple a child could understand) of why vaporizing has significant advantages that outweigh smoking. All you have to say is "a lot less THC gets combusted, you get a lot higher for the amount of herb used". It's like telling someone who's going to X grocery store that they could go to Y grocery store which is right around the block and save half their money, while getting identical (or even better products), and then that someone still goes to X grocery store for the rest of their life. It doesn't make sense and makes me feel like I'm a little crazy.


I wish vaporizing was more popular in general simply because I'm angry at myself for not discovering it sooner. If I had known known about vaporizing and its benefits years ago - I'd probably feel a little bit healthier and would have spent half the money that I've been spending on weed all these years. I don't try to convert other people to vaporizing, I just tell them that I enjoy doing it regularly versus smoking and tell them the benefits its given me. If someone had told me the same thing years ago - I would've converted. But even with vaporizers gaining significant public notice over the past decade, I'm just not satisfied with the public's reaction to them. But then again - most people I've talked to about it also smoke cigarettes daily - so I'm probably expecting too much from people.
 
Last edited:

hoptimum

Well-Known Member
The less "popular" it is, the more invisible I am when I vaporize in public. Having said that, it seems to me that the ecig style vaporizers will be the crossover devices because people are already familiar with the concept of nicotine ecigs. Unfortunately, most ecig vaporizers suck, so people who have bad experiences with them might get turned off to vaporizing altogether.
 

11eleven11

Well-Known Member
I feel the same way sometimes. Feels like this:

KlKSv.gif
 

Tweek

Well-Known Member
Almost everyone that I show my vapes to for the first time, thinks it's ridiculous. Reasons range from cost, size, time, looks, effect, etc, etc..basically, most folks just don't see the justification in spending a couple hundred or more on a vape when they can just buy herb and quickly roll a joint. Some will say they find a joint more hard hitting. There are also alot of pot smokers who feel that smoking pot is healthier compared to smoking a cig, and therefore don't see any increased health benefit.

I can sometimes understand their POV...I always feel ridiculous filling a Volcano bag. And the last time I was around a campfire, by the time I got my fidgety PAX going, they already had a joint started...kind of embarrassing after I told them the cost, and gave them the pitch for vaporizing over smoking. :spliff:
 

VaporsVaporizer

On the Stoop
I've been vaping since 2002, i'm one of those older people ;) and i don't care what the popular opinion is about vaping Vs combusting. I have converted many of my friends to vaping, not all, but quite a few. They all use my vape when we're outside and i have it :lol:
 

SD_haze

Well-Known Member
I feel the same way sometimes. Feels like this:

KlKSv.gif
This is so appropriate I'm laughing my ass off.

I've met plenty of Californians that don't like vaporizers but I feel more people I meet do respond positively (here anyway).
 
SD_haze,
  • Like
Reactions: macbill

Seren

Away with the fairies
Vaporising seems to be gaining a little in popularity in my social circles here in the UK, but the majority of my friends who participate in taking the herb still prefer combustion - whether that be joints, pipes or bongs. I must admit it took me a long while to make the switch too. I have one friend who has been vaping for about 10 years now. I recall him encouraging me to give it a try when he first started - I took one hit, said it tasted like freshly mowed lawn cuttings, and that was that. I was somewhat lubricated with JD and had already been blazing all day - so I guess the timing of my first try was particularly bad. I just didn't see what all the fuss was about.

For me, the attraction to vaporising became strong when I decided to give up smoking cigarettes. It seemed pointless to give up cigs only to be putting tobacco in my doobies. I had no desire to give up the herb, as I much prefer the herb to a glass of wine for relaxing after a hard days work - it also helps lots with my insomnia. Given my preferences, and that I had read a lot about the benefits of vaping over combusting, a vaporiser seemed the obvious way to turn. Since buying my first vape I have only tried combusting once - I didn't enjoy it one bit - which kind of surprised me - as I used to be one of those people who thought nothing could beat a big fat joint.

I have tried switching family and friends on to the benefits vaping offers in terms of health and cost savings (in the long-run anyhow). But only a handful have actually tried it more than once. I guess, as the saying goes, each to their own! I envisage that vaping will become increasingly popular, especially now that electronic cigarettes are really taking off in the UK and the rest of Europe. Time will tell as they say!

:) :2c: :peace: :leaf:
 

mvapes

Scratchin' Glass!
Accessory Maker
That was a great post @Seren

Vaporization has changed the game for me. I'm a bit of a tech geek and I love MJ, not only is vaporizing a healthier alternative to using but it married 2 of my favorite things together. It's much more to me than just a delivery system, it introduced me to all of you - finally for the first time I feel like I fit in. Granted, my wife get's pissed at all the time I put into my hobby/medicating but in reality she see's how much I enjoy it.

I'm so glad to see the industry growing as fast as it is.
 

max

Out to lunch
"I used to vaporize for awhile but then it stopped getting me high so I switched back to smoking"
"I think its sort of a fad/gimmick, nothing compares to a good bong rip"
"I tried my friend's Volcano once, it was okay"
That first comment is a little weird, but other than that I attribute opinions like this to a lack of understanding of what vapor and vaping is, compared to smoking. A casual 'vaping try' is going to be disappointing for a lot of smokers, since they're used to getting the smoke byproducts and believe the resulting effects are due to mj instead of smoke. The right way to give vaping a good try is to lay off the smoke for a while and do nothing but vape. Once people start getting the cleaner high and realize that different temps produce a slighty different effect, returing to smoke is often a nasty, negative experience.

We also have to remember that some just like smoking, often including the experience (certainly easier), the taste (yuck), as well as the couch lock effect. Which vape is used for the vapor intro can also be a factor. A small hitter that requires multiple hits for a good effect certainly won't be as impressive as a massive hit from a model like the Cloud. Some models also have a learning curve and newbies sometimes don't even really get a decent amount of vapor due to improper use.

I know what the vaporizer market looked like 6-8 years ago though, and it's now huge, in comparison, and continuing to grow. Definitely not a fad. Lots of people, including me, are not even able to tolerate smoke on a regular basis, but have no problems with vapor. Vaping is going to continue to grow its rep as a cleaner and safer way to partake.

Seren said:
It seemed pointless to give up cigs only to be putting tobacco in my doobies.
Good point. That UK thing of mixing the two smokables makes a difference when you've decided to quit those nasty cigs. :ugh: ;)
 

deadheadbill

I can see clearly now the smoke is gone...
Which vape is used for the vapor intro can also be a factor. A small hitter that requires multiple hits for a good effect certainly won't be as impressive as a massive hit from a model like the Cloud. Some models also have a learning curve and newbies sometimes don't even really get a decent amount of vapor due to improper use.

I find that to be very true. When I have shared my MFLB, Iolite or VB 2.0 all I have gotten is polite responses. However, when I break out the LSV/bong combo everybody has been like DAMN!! so this is what vaping is all about.

I did share my MFLB with a friend once as we were leaving the pub together. He called me about 5 minutes later and said "dude, I didn't think I was getting high till I got to the second or third stop light and then I was like whoa I'm stoned". :)
 

JJSeattle

Active Member
In Seattle, over 50, smoking since a teen, my first experience with a vaporizer was this past May and I haven't smoked since.

When I checked into vaporizing a number of years ago, the price of the units was daunting, now with great vapes like the Extreme Q which can be had for $150ish on eBay and is easy to use for a beginner, I think we will see more people come on board. It takes a bit of getting used to but once you figure it all out then it's great and def a cleaner high.

When I went for my MMJ authorization the Dr suggested I look into vaporizing so I don't develop COPD. Doing some research I thankfully found this place which is so helpful.
 

1337Dude

Well-Known Member
That first comment is a little weird, but other than that I attribute opinions like this to a lack of understanding of what vapor and vaping is, compared to smoking. A casual 'vaping try' is going to be disappointing for a lot of smokers, since they're used to getting the smoke byproducts and believe the resulting effects are due to mj instead of smoke. The right way to give vaping a good try is to lay off the smoke for a while and do nothing but vape. Once people start getting the cleaner high and realize that different temps produce a slighty different effect, returing to smoke is often a nasty, negative experience.

We also have to remember that some just like smoking, often including the experience (certainly easier), the taste (yuck), as well as the couch lock effect. Which vape is used for the vapor intro can also be a factor. A small hitter that requires multiple hits for a good effect certainly won't be as impressive as a massive hit from a model like the Cloud. Some models also have a learning curve and newbies sometimes don't even really get a decent amount of vapor due to improper use.

I know what the vaporizer market looked like 6-8 years ago though, and it's now huge, in comparison, and continuing to grow. Definitely not a fad. Lots of people, including me, are not even able to tolerate smoke on a regular basis, but have no problems with vapor. Vaping is going to continue to grow its rep as a cleaner and safer way to partake.

Good point. That UK thing of mixing the two smokables makes a difference when you've decided to quit those nasty cigs. :ugh: ;)

Totally agree that times are beginning to change. With public acceptance of MJ (social and government acceptance), I think people can now begin their education on MJ consumption. I don't own a medical card myself so I'm glad to hear people are being recommended vaporizers by their doctors and by their dispensary staff.

Also, the comments I get about people trying vaporizing before and then switching back is probably one of the more common responses I get. I think it's people who tried taking the plunge, but didn't buy a worthwhile vaporizer so they switched back to smoking thinking they've experienced it all.
 
1337Dude,

Tweak

T\/\/34|<
I can sometimes understand their POV...I always feel ridiculous filling a Volcano bag. And the last time I was around a campfire, by the time I got my fidgety PAX going, they already had a joint started...kind of embarrassing after I told them the cost, and gave them the pitch for vaporizing over smoking. :spliff:

This ^^^^^

I feel vaporizing is still in its infancy. Until they make a portable vaporizer that is stealthy, fast, easy to use, with a long lasting battery that can be bought for a decent price, vaporizers will be seen as a novelty. IMO the VXC is a game changer. It is so simple to use and takes away from all the hard work and lets you enjoy the vapes. It's too bad they cost so damn much and have experienced a manufacturing problem.

As has been stated already, people will always try and save some money. This results in bad first experiences with vaporizing and completely turn the individual off to the idea.

I keep trying to pitch the idea of getting a nice e-cig to so many people. I would love to switch. But they have already tried the expensive ($20) e-cig at the gas station. :shrug:

I used to think that combusting flowers wasn't as bad for you as cigs. In my experience I was completely wrong. Now that I exclusively vape, my morning cough has completely disappeared. Maybe it was the shitty unflushed crap though, IDK.
 

1337Dude

Well-Known Member
This ^^^^^

I feel vaporizing is still in its infancy. Until they make a portable vaporizer that is stealthy, fast, easy to use, with a long lasting battery that can be bought for a decent price, vaporizers will be seen as a novelty. IMO the VXC is a game changer. It is so simple to use and takes away from all the hard work and lets you enjoy the vapes. It's too bad they cost so damn much and have experienced a manufacturing problem.
Why is vaping hard work and how does it take it away?
 
1337Dude,

vapirtoo

Well-Known Member
All of my close buddies that I've known for 40+ years have switched over to vaping with my
MFLB being the intro vape. They now own volcanos, paxes and solos. They all switched for
the health benefits as we were all terrified of smoking MJ but refused to stop.
As old ass athletes, we could feel the slow tightening of our breathing due to smoking.
Vaporizing immediately opened up our lungs while also kicking all of that carbon monoxide
out of our circulatory system. WE WERE SAVED. :clap:

Other people, young 20+, old 50+, have stated that after a session, that was the highest
they have ever been on MJ, but they went right back to combusting.

Personally, I revel in its exclusivity. It is sort of an entrance exam.
 

Tweak

T\/\/34|<
Why is vaping hard work and how does it take it away?

With most vaporizers you have to learn the technique to hit it optimally. Can be a real turn off to noobs.

The VXC requires no technique, very little cleaning, no stirring, no draw speed adjustment, no "optimum" load, and creates consistent clouds until the material is finished. Add in the Cloud Buddy, all the user has to do is lift a glass stopper to clear a water pipe, simple. You can hit it as fast as you want or as slow as you want, the vapor output is the same.

My SSV can create some big clouds but requires me to set the heat just right and have the optimal load. Then if I draw too slow, I take the chance at combusting. Too fast, wispy hit. Add in holding the wand constantly and worrying about blowing into the tube or stopping mid hit using a bubbler (blow back). Then there is the stirring every other hit.

I love both vapes, but the VXC is effortless. I can even load multiple ELBs and swap them out on a whim.
 
I've found some resistance among more casual smokers because they're reluctant to shell out the cash for a vape when they only smoke every so often from a cheap piece or joints or whatever. On the other end of the spectrum, you have the hardcore smokers who are accustomed to smoking blunts or bongs and don't want to give those methods up. I was sort of in the middle when I switched to vapor. I smoked daily but very small amounts and used a basic glass pipe 95% of the time.

I know some people who smoke regularly and reported not getting high from a Volcano. I dunno how that's possible, but I've showed them all of my vapes and while they thought they were pretty cool, they didn't seem all too receptive to switching.
 
letter never sent,
  • Like
Reactions: vapirtoo

lazylathe

Almost there...
Other people, young 20+, old 50+, have stated that after a session, that was the highest
they have ever been on MJ, but they went right back to combusting.

I agree with this statement!
My buddy has been smoking joints for more than 15 years.
Whenever we are together he uses my vapes, Inhalator, Vapolution 2.0, E-Nano, and he loves them!
I even gave him my Inhalator to try and get him to stop combusting, but he always goes back to combusting.
His excuse is the speed, it takes him a few seconds to load a one hit pipe and blaze.
Even though the Inhalater is ready in a minute and can give you a much greater effect than a single rip, he says it is just too long.

I love that i do not cough my guts out anymore when vaping, unless i try and do a one hit wonder and finish the stem in one go...

Some people will never change and there is nothing you can do to change them.
I still miss sitting around outside smoking a joint, it was a great tradition and we had many good times but in the case of health i stick to my vapes!
 

grokit

well-worn member
I am the only full-time vaper that I know around these parts, although there is a someone that likes to hookah tobacco but still combusts weed. I have a few friends that vape when they are around me, and I am a curiosity when I whip out a portable vape amongst combusters but there's always some that want to give it a try.

I think vaporizing is like a lot of things that first take of in progressive cities, and in general gets adopted by more conservative cities and rural communities later. I am in a decidedly rural community but a comparatively progressive one.

I still do a bongload once in a blue moon if at a friend's if it looks good, just to remind myself that I still hate it; it's not just the taste but the feeling I get now. It's like I'm not just high when I smoke compared to vaping, I also feel toxic and slow and overall shitty. When I smoked I avoided pipes except for keif or the green hit, greatly preferred a joint or bongload.

I bought my first vape in this same small community, but from a vendor at a big music festival that used to come here. That was in 1996, and it was a joke so it hardly converted me but it was 17 years ago. It was one of those early conduction jobs with a small hot plate inside of a glass globe with a hose coming out, more of a novelty that was fun for hash once in a while but not a serious tool. Ff to the 21st century, and I picked up an original herbalaire but didn't have much luck with it. The bags all had leaks and I didn't really get much out of the direct draw but I probably wasn't doing it right.

Sometime after that I got my first ssv and it was love at first vape! I vaped full-time for a year or three, and went back to combusting because I was using too much material. Yes that's right, I stopped vaping because I liked it too much:rolleyes: Also I had no clue how much abv I was wasting so that was part of it. But this past winter things changed for me, I went to vaping full-time because combusting became too toxic for me to handle anymore, along with a few other consumable things in my life.

Sometime after re-adopting the ssv I got my pax and discovered fc, and the rest is a blur. As an ssv lover I of course had to pick up an lsv and adapt my bong, then I went crazy with the sublimator and the search for a portable I could live with etc.

The community where I live gets vaping, but for various reasons are slow to change their ways of doing things in general. Old habits die hard sometimes, I love new things so I think that helps. Sorry this turned into kind of a narrative on my own evolution of vaping, but I think that evolution was somewhat stymied by the local mainstream opinion on vaporizing!
 
Last edited:

Quetzalcoatl

DEADY GUERRERO/DIRT COBAIN/GEORGE KUSH
I still do a bongload once in a blue moon if at a friend's if it looks good, just to remind myself that I still hate it; it's not just the taste but the feeling I get now. It's like I'm not just high when I smoke compared to vaping, I also feel toxic and slow and overall shitty. When I smoked I avoided pipes except for keif or the green hit, greatly preferred a joint or bongload.

...

Sometime after that I got my first ssv and it was love at first vape! I vaped full-time for a year or three, and went back to combusting because I was using too much material.

...

The community where I live gets vaping, but for various reasons are slow to change their ways of doing things in general. Old habits die hard sometimes, I love new things so I think that helps. Sorry this turned into kind of a narrative on my own evolution of vaping, but I think that evolution was somewhat stymied by the local mainstream opinion on vaporizing!
I'm the same way! By myself it's vaping 100% of the time. When I'm with friends I almost always have my vape with me, or we'll have edibles to eat. I can count the number of times I've smoked since getting a vape on one hand. It just feels too gross/murky now! Even the indicas get this toxic gross heavy feeling to them, much unlike the cleaner stone of vaping. I get this weird mental cloudiness even with good indicas when I smoke them now, and I feel like it's a bit harder to function compared to vaping.
 

CG420

Over the horizon u can see the edges of the Earth
My opinion on vaporizing has grown more positive in the last few years. I was introduced like many of my friends to the Volcano. Back then, we used to use about a little over half a gram and get stoned off quite some bags. I have always liked vaporizing as it seems much more noticeably healthier to be doing this instead of quick torching a bowl to the dome. I used to own a Extreme Q and it was worth it on my budget in 2012. I was like fuck it, there's a remote, whip, and bags so I'm good to go. A year later I found out about Thermovape Cera and jumped the bandwagon for that and got myself both cores for flowers and concentrates. After that I bought a Volcano cause I missed the experience but now I say it is an annoyance and I don't use it as much anymore nowadays. But boy vaporizing had never felt so much cleaner. I end up buying a Sublimator and now I'm waiting on the Herbalizer. I guess I got a thing for vapes since I've been on FC for a little while as well. I just live for the flavors everytime I pick up from the clinics now. I find myself buying only grams compared to buying eighths of all sorts which saves me money on the long run with my Sub.
 
Top Bottom