More cannabinoids (and terps) equals more vapor?

[2tiki]

It could be my imagination, but I would swear that I've noticed some flower produces much more vapor for the same amount of flower of some other types, and it seems like I get more from the higher quality flower.

I assume (but don't know for sure) that mostly the vapor is made up of cannabinoids and terps, and probably moisture from the plant.

Does anyone know if there has been any scientific research to know for sure if you do get more vapor from a plant with higher level of the compounds we want? If so, does the moisture content of the plant have a big effect on the amount of vapor produced?

 

[Radwin Bodnic]

I have flowers that have a very low cannabinoids level (around 10% all in) yet that are very sticky and produce a lot of dense vapor.
I have flowers that are bone dry, very fluffy and hairy (not dense buds) that vape smooth but not as dense, yet they knock me out with small amounts (I don't know the cannabinoids rate).
From my experience vapor density mostly comes down to curing, maturity and ambient temperature.

 

[Cheebsy]

For me, yes, you're totally correct, better buds give more vapour. I haven't had any of my buds tested, but I do squish my own and have an idea of how much they yield. Each strain is different, and the ones that yield more concentrate always produce more vapour. I have to say though that this isn't always desirable because I can strip any flavour out before the load of finished making the last toke or two a bit miserable. This is where one hitters come in to play with multiple smaller loads.

 

[hotmeals]

I've always thought that it's just down to how much resin the bud contains, regardless of how potent the resin is. I haven't noticed a correlation with cure or moisture content other than moister bud being more forgiving, making it easier not to go too hot too fast, which I feel can cut the vapor production short.

 

[2tiki]

I've always thought that it's just down to how much resin the bud contains

Isn't the resin mostly made up of the compounds we want in our system? All the different cannabinoids, not just THC, as well as the terps? I guess maybe that should be a different thread, "More resin, more cannabinoids?".

 

[hotmeals]

Isn't the resin mostly made up of the compounds we want in our system? All the different cannabinoids, not just THC, as well as the terps? I guess maybe that should be a different thread, "More resin, more cannabinoids?".

I think it's enough to be considered "mostly", but far enough away from 100% to make a significant difference. I don't know what makes up the remainder though and I could be totally wrong.

 

[gheebee]

For years now I have been operating under the assumption that over time and on average the potency of the flower available to me has only been increasing, something I’ve been unscientifically gauging based on how “frosty” the flower looks to the naked eye, how much vapor it produces, and the high it gives. They’re variables that seem to increase more or less lock-step with one another and now with dispensary flower and their labels with cannabinoid breakdowns I feel like I can only see it more.
Regarding flavor and terpenes I do not think that they affect the amount of vapor and they don’t seem to necessarily increase with trichomes and cannabinoid percentages to me, they seem to affect the quality (to me, flavor) of the vapor more than anything. Going by the labels higher terps always seem to correlate to better flavor and lower terps in flower with similar cannabinoid percentages seems to make more or less the same amount of vapor. My understanding is that terpenes are a lot more volatile than cannabinoids and this seems to correlate with experience as well in that flower kept long enough can lose a considerable amount of flavor and smell but it takes a lot longer for the amount of vapor and its overall potency to decrease, to me.

It's not the scientific response that was wanted but I've thought a lot about this over the last decade or so...

 

[hotmeals]

I'm usually looking for old school strains with no trace of Cookies in them, which usually allegedly test significantly lower in cannabinoids and terps than more modern strains. For example, I currently have one strain which is supposedly over 30% THC, but I don't think it looks or feels more frosty / resinous, nor produces more vapor than another strain I have which they say tested below 20% THC. My absolute biggest vapor producers always seem to be the buds that appear nicely frosty / resinous like the others, but are denser than the others. I assume this is largely because the denser bud will tend to have more resin per volume, and I can fit more of it into the same size bowl, but I have never done weighed comparisons. Maybe at some point today I'll try that.