Pen-vaporizers, do they work?

[SmokingBud]

Hey everyone!

I am new to smoking in general and after reading about the harm smoke can do to your lungs I decided to switch over to a vaporizer. Because of the price, I have been looking at these small, pen-like vaporizer. I recently read something about them not being as good as a "real" expensive (those big ones like volcano) vaporizers and actually combusting the weed inside of it.

My question is, do they work or should I save up to buy a "real" vaporizer?

Also, I am considering buying the Flowermater Aura, because I got a sweet deal for it. Is this a good place to start?

Thank you for reading.

 

[MoltenTiger]

I am one puff into my Grasshopper chamber.
So far it's got me as grilled as a cheese sandwich should be

I believe the Flowermates are a good starter, but honestly I would jump straight in to a proper, tried and trusted unit rather then stuff around with the beginners lacklustre models.

Consider the Grasshopper, Mighty/Crafty, CFX, Arizer Air/solo for a portable,
or you could try the EQ for a desktop at a good price, but I'd recommend going proper-portable and never looking back.

I'll add; there's many good places to start with vaping, hopefully some others chime in with the other go-to models, I can't remember them at the moment

The best thing to do is start though, especially if you're just starting with cannabis. There's really no point busting your lungs up with smoke, you'll just end up worse for wear and burn through more herb and dollars. Spend them now and start on the right track

 

[Delta3DStudios]

My question is, do they work or should I save up to buy a "real" vaporizer?

So really there's only one pen sized vaporizer worth considering for dry herbs - that is the Grasshopper vaporizer.

There is one other pen sized vape on the market - the V2 pro, but it's super shitty compared to the Grasshopper.

If you can't afford the GH or don't want to wait that long for one (current wait time is about 8 months, but that's shrinking fast as they catch up on preorders) then I would suggest going for something else

You pay a premium for stealth size, if stealth is not a major concern, I highly suggest considering an alternative vaporizer.

One of my classic favorites for newbies is the Arizer Air - it's just an awesome vape for a great price.

 

[phattpiggie]

The answer to your question is yes they do work.

The Aura looks okay for the money but I haven't tried one so can't comment on it's ability to do the job.

@MoltenTiger recommendations are all well liked, again never tried them, but a little more expensive than the Flowermate.
As @Ratchett says the Hopper being the most 'pen' like.

Xmax or Storm are basically the same thing, both are good Aura sized portables, plenty of flavor and clouds.

You've mentioned a portable but then you mention 'real' vaporizers. Volcano which is a home unit.

There is a huge amount of info. here and plenty of people who are more than willing to help you but take everything people say with a pinch of salt.
No offense intended towards anyone but we are all different.
Needs, preferences and abilities vary from person to person.

Here are a couple of 'for instances'.
I could recommend butane powered options but you may not be comfortable with using a device which requires a bit of dexterity, a powerful butane lighter and sometimes a steep learning curve.
Portables need you to be on top of charging and/or battery, sometimes multiple battery, management.
Home devices tie you to a mains power supply.

My advice would be to take a step back and think about what your needs are.
I wouldn't rush out and buy the first one you see, have read about or that looks a bargain.

As Molten says you are headed in the rite direction and will benefit form a healthier way to enjoy MJ and whatever device you decide on will pay for itself in the end.
I used to smoke 3-4 grams a day I now use the same amount in a week.

 

[Baron23]

Great advise above.

Mr. Piggie is right...we are all different to some extent and in particular many of us have widely different desires and use cases for a vape, differing dexterity and other physical limitations (or not), and different priorities.

I do agree with Ratchett that for an electric herb vape in a pen form, the only one I think really works well is the Grasshopper but I would NOT advise a new user to sign up for one due to the shipping delays and, while I have one and absolutely LOVE it I also think its lack of maturity, as a product and as a company, still limits it to early adopters and experienced users. Six months from now, hopefully that's a different story.

Unlike some others, however, I like the approach of getting a decently priced and workman like portable vape and see how you like vaping. If you do like vaping, then perhaps this initial portable will be relegated to the second string team but you will most likely continue to use it and appreciate it (at least that's my experience).

I think the Boundless CF/CFX and the Flowermate 5.0/Pro are good conductive workman like vapes that will get you in the game for a reasonable amount of money. I'm sure there are others but these are two that I think are easy to use, can find a lot of reviews on, and are reputed to be pretty solid (well...I have a Flowermate so my first hand experience with that unit is that its solid).

It is a bit overwhelming, you can believe about 10% of the hype in manf/reseller advertisements, and there's a bunch of jargon created in the vape world that once decoded ain't hard to understand but can be baffling at first.

Good luck, come back, as questions, others with more WAY experience than I are on this board and are quite willing to be helpful.

Cheers

 

[SmokingBud]

Thank you all for the information and advice. I must say I do really appreciate the time you guys put into your posts.

First of all, I am a simple man. I want something that works. What I mean with the word "works" is that it actually vapes. I am somewhat scared that I might buy a small pen-like vape that doesn't actually vape and I still get the harmfull smoke into my lungs.

Firstly, all I want from my vaporizer is that it works, meaning it actually vapes my herbs, which means I get all the benefits from vaping and avoid all the harm from burning. Secondly I don't need anything flashy or big that costs alot of money. Something small that actually works is just fine for me. Considering I am completely new to this, I don't think I need the big fancy things. Thirdly, I do not mind all the things around it like battery time, learning how it works, buttons etc... How it looks doesn't matter. There is no need for me to have a camouflaged vaporizer.

Like I said, I am a very simple man. If you ask me what kind of car I want, I would say one with four wheels. What kind of vaporizer do I want? One that actually does what it is suppose to do.

Thank you all again for helping me out.

 

[MoltenTiger]

If all you are after is one that works, I'd recommend having a look at the different units mentioned here, and then posting some links to the ones that stand out to you.
Different units suit different styles, so trying to decide what style you want to use is probably the most important detail to figure out. But without being able to try the different styles easily it's pretty hard to know whats best - to buy or recommend.

 

[Squiby]

Firstly, all I want from my vaporizer is that it works, meaning it actually vapes my herbs, which means I get all the benefits from vaping and avoid all the harm from burning. Secondly I don't need anything flashy or big that costs alot of money. Something small that actually works is just fine for me. Considering I am completely new to this, I don't think I need the big fancy things. Thirdly, I do not mind all the things around it like battery time, learning how it works, buttons etc... How it looks doesn't matter. There is no need for me to have a camouflaged vaporizer.

I don't like battery operated vapes. The need to charge, keep track of, replace and rotate batteries and the need to always have access to electricity does not appeal to me. So, I prefer the manually operated vaporizers.

I drive a jeep with a manual transmission. It gets me where I need to be with no extra bells and whistles. I have always driven a manual. I like the control it allows.

If you don't have your heart set on a battery operated vape, then a simple manual vape might fits your needs. No bells and whistles and works. Less stuff that can go wrong.

My three favourite vapes are the Lotus, Vapman and the Vapcap. The Lotus and the Vapman were my daily drivers, but once I got my Vapcap, they were put away. All three are excellent vapes. I will give you their specifics and why I like them. From your description you want something...

Affordable
Small
Simple design
Won't combust

The Lotus

The Lotus is a sleek, beautiful, pipe style vaporizer. It works by drawing air over a heated plate which you heat with a jet flame butane lighter. It has the largest bowl of the three. You place your herb in the bowl, place the cap on top and heat the cap for a few seconds and then begin to draw while still heating with the lighter. As you draw on the pipe the heated air extracts the various cannabinoids.

I have combusted with the Lotus - once - when I was learning how to use it. It has the highest potential to combust of the three. It also has the largest bowl. It is an excellent vape.

It is a beast!

Although fairly easy to use, it is the most difficult to learn in my opinion.

The basic cap and aluminium stem set up sells for $110 USA.

The Vapman

The Vapman is a groovy little vaporizer. It is the size of an egg. It comes with a smell proof water proof plastic container the shape of an egg which floats. It is a great vaporizer to take fishing.

The Vapman uses a single jet flame butane lighter.

While the Lotus uses hot air (convection) to vaporize, the Vapman uses both convection and conduction. You fill the cone shaped bowl and twist the midsection/mouthpiece into place. Then heat the bottom of the cone for 5 seconds or so, then draw. It has little tubes that draw air up through your herb while also "cooking" the herb in the bowl. It has an advantage over the Lotus in that you do not have to draw and heat at the same time. Heat then draw.

You can combust if you heat the bowl too long. The learning curve is learning when to stop heating. I have never combusted using my Vapman.

It sells for $85 for the basic model and $126 USA for the classic model.

The Vapcap

The Vapcap is the smallest vape of them all. It is the size and shape of a cigarette. The vapour from the Vapcap is very very smooth.

The advantages the Vapcap has over the Lotus and Vapman are that it has a heat indicator and that it can be heated with any heat source, such a jet flame lighter with 1, 2, 3 or 4 jets, a simple bic lighter, a campfire, candle, stove element etc.

It has a cap that clicks when you have heated it to vaping temps. You can control the heat temp by where you apply heat on the cap. As it cools down the cap clicks again indicating that it can be heated again. As long as you heat to the click, you will not combust. I have never combusted with the Vapcap. Like the Vapman, you heat, then toke. It is very easy to operate.

The Vapcap has a modular build so you can customize the look to your personal preference.

An accessory dugout is available to house your Vapcap and your herb. Very handy.

There are several models available and range from a glass model for $30 to wood body, titanium bowl version called the Ti Woody for $75 to the all titanium model for $150 USA.

It is small, simple, efficient, affordable, attractive and my favourite vaporizer.

http://www.dynavap.com/videos/

There are threads for all these vaporizer on the FC forum. Read through some of them to get a sense of what appeals to you. Ask questions about those that interest you. There is a plethora of choices out there and it may take some time to figure out what best suits your needs.

My recommendation is to get the super inexpensive Original glass Vapcap. For 30 bucks you can get a good sense of vaping for very little investment.

 

[DrNick420]

For concentrates yes if you get a big battery and a ceramic atty. With ecig mods being huge and ridiculous now and people puffing obnoxiously sized clouds at 200 watts, and we need only 12 watts (usually less than half of this) for great oil vaporizing.


for flower i have tried my friends ss grasshopper once and it was okay but nothing special

I don't like the pen form factor personally. I prefer to have something a little bigger that can push good power and has a good interface, i like using a divine tribe on a 150w ecig battery for that reason.

 

[Baron23]

Just to be clear (and forgive me, Nick, if I am stepping on your toes) but Dr. Nick's post above was about vaping concentrates (by the by, I run DT 2.5 on 100w TC box and love it...for jsut that, shatter and wax).

I gather, as it would appear others, that you are look for a vape for dry herb, yes?

So, a few reasonably affordable battery operated portables have been mentioned already.

Squiby went to the butane torch vapes, something I didn't think you would be interested in but if you are, please speak up.

I also have Vapcap in both the OG ($30 model) and the Ti Woody (more like $80 I think). These hold very small loads but are also, IMO, very efficient. I like hand torn in my OG the best (still trying to get to be one with the Ti Woody but its new to me). This a very different direction and, unlike Squiby, I did combust with a Vapcap on my first load but this was pure operator error.

Cheers

 

[blackstone]

Even though it worked for me and I made the transition, I feel I started out wrong by trying to get the cheapest functioning vape.
I ended up with my first two being a rubbery tasting fake, followed by a fault ridden lip burner! (cost €200 to learn that much, almost premium vape money!)
But a year and a half later I know more, and there's more available for low budgets.
I was recently trying to find a decent low price unit to fool around with, and bearing in mind I haven't owned some of these, (just going on general opinion for some models) I would probably advise the Flowermate 5.0s/pro/mini for being well priced, reputable and functioning. (dpvapes in the UK also has a great price on these)
I would probably not advise the Aura as the mouthpiece was destined to crack itself and it might run a bit hotter mouthpiece than the other FMs but maybe I'm wrong?
The Boundless vapes seem good for the money, they look to me like a Mighty with a different shaped bowl that gets hotter much quicker.
Then I must recommend the Solo (or Air) for vapor quality and dependability, and if the price new is off putting (PlanetVape Canada does good on these new) you can really depend on most secondhand Arizer models.
The Storm, Vapman, and Vapcap are all great contenders also.
I had all these in competition for my bucks with the Iolite and the Iolite Wispr butane models at the time, these two are also discounted at regular holidays, check the Iolite FB for more. But they don't do Paypal and I was afraid they'd run too hot at the mouthpiece.
So I just ended up buying pouches and accessories for some of the vapes I already have!
But you get to benefit from the info I gained (hopefully!?)

 

[wrigleyvillain]

In a nutshell dry herb "pens" are false marketing though real vaporizer attachments for dry herb exist for ecig "box mods" or you can find a decent unit like an X-Max Pro V2 for ~$60 if a VapCap and such is 'too much' for you. Less than a branded pen too in many cases.

 

[little maggie]

Some simple vapes: already suggested is the dynavap. It uses butane but is a great way to try vaping since you can get the glass model for $40 or a sturdier one for about $80. Of the inexpensive vapes the Boundless CF is pretty simple: open the lid, put some herb in and use the built in mouthpiece. A bit better than a flowermate.
Don't get confused by all the ideas for mods on vaporizers. While some people want to perfect them and do things to improve them most, including the 2 I mentioned are simple to use. Another older, basic and simple one is the arizer solo or the smaller version the air.
You can spend a lot of money on vaporizers and get one like the mighty but the solo/air is often at the top of recommended vaporizers for beginners as well as old timers.

If you don't want or need a portable, you can't get anything simpler than a log- either the underdog or enano. And they are beautiful.

 

[slatihe]

Umm... Yea for a pen vape, the grasshopper is bees knees. It's not really ideal for group sessions..But for personal vape? Yeah. It's a pen and hangs with hi, nano, and milaana (ugh, I liked USB but refer to it as 2x4). It's definitely not cheap though...

I think you're specifically asking about dry herb carts for like ego type e cig pens, right op?

I don't know about them.... I mean I guess it's possible for really small amounts but I've yet to see one that's that grate and not made of questionable materials...

If you are interested in 510 tank like things to vaporize herb with, then I've read grate results with making one in DIY bully thread...

Also I've tried the BOOM Nova tank "proto type" and... Well it's ok I guess. If you don't mind the "nero" film technology for the coils... And they can burn out fast. For the got It works pretty good on a wattage/voltage mod with at least 35 watts, if put a screen inside the bowl. Tastes ok... Heats up fairly fast. Is convection but has a bad heat spot if you don't use an extra screen on bottom of the chamber aswell but if you do it becomes a bit of conduction vape and takes longer to heat up... The coils are dirt cheap, just buy at least two extra packs, seriously. Some burn out right away some last for good while if your care full and use them with the minimum wattage necessary for your set up, herb, n' vape needs. Was like $30 us plus shipping. Coil pack was like $5.
Might help you with the bully making thing... Maybe.

I'll post links if your interested in those.

Sorry for long post. Hope it was helpful.

cheers.

 

[VapourHaze]

Only pen for dry herbs that works is the grasshopper.

 

[Mr. Me2]

Let me join the party and add my 2 cents... I agree with @VapourHaze that the gh is really the only worthwhile pen style vape.

Good and varied suggestions here. Recommendations would be easier with a little more info from you, like budget, and planned use (solo or with others).

I suggest you spend a little time on Buzz Danklin's site (vaporizer wizard.com). He's done tons of reviews, and rates each vape. And includes prices too. It will help you narrow your search quickly.

But come back here before you buy. We can help direct you to the best prices and service (Puffitup, anyone?)

 

[ghost]

I've never used a grasshopper, but I'll take the word of the other users that say that it is the only pen vape worth using.

What I have found personally is that not only are most of the what is considered the "pen" style vapes complete crap, but they are likely dangerous since they are all cheap China vapes with internals covered in grease/oil, and glue and whatever else, and off-gas visible mystery vapors, which you are inhaling.

I have bought and tried the following 4 pen type vapes:

Xmax V2, Imag Plus, Herbstick Eco, Flowermate V3 Air


When you first buy one of these, it is recommended to do several high temp burn offs with the mouthpieces removed. When doing so on ALL 4 of the vapes I listed above, not only could you smell whatever toxic crap was buring inside of them, but if you shine a flashlight over them while the heater is on, you can actually see a stream of vapor coming off of them. I did 10 burn offs on each listed above, after which they were all still visibly off gassing.

Its your health though, so if you don't care, then go for it. But know that you have been warned...

 

[wrigleyvillain]

Good to know about the X-Max. I need to test that for myself. I wonder if same deal with Flowermate 5s?

 

[Vapor_Eyes]

There's lots of great suggestions above, as usual from this great community. I recommend you stick around, it really is great here.

I love my butane vapes a lot, but I don't think they're best for a beginner. They can be a bit tricky, even for an experienced vaper.

I don't recommend buying a cheap vape to start. Buy good, buy once. You can waste a lot of money on cheap vaporizers. At the same time I don't advocate getting the top of the line at first, unless you know exactly what you want from a vape. You might spend a lot of money on a Mighty which is a great vape, but it might turn out to be too big for your needs.

I say get a nice solid vape to get you vaping in the meantime. This will give you time to figure out exactly what you want in a vaporizer. It will also give you a solid backup vape that you're familiar with if you decide to get a second vaporizer.

I can't recommend the Boundless CF enough for a first vape. It is a great value and has zero learning curve. It's not picky about grind size, how full you load it, etc. It puts out vapor no matter what. It also has amazing battery life and is rugged and durable.

It would make a great backup vape if and when you get a second vape. It's always best to have a backup in case you have issues with one vape. Also, they all work a little different and it's fun to play around with new ones.

The Focus and the new Focus Pro model are well liked around here and have more of a pen form factor than the CF so they may be more to your liking.

Both of these as well as most of the other vapes mentioned here are available at puffitup.com. Use code FC-1 to get 15% off. @PuffItUp has great prices, stellar service, and insanely fast shipping. They're the Amazon Prime of the vape world. Last time I ordered from there I also ordered from Amazon and puffitup shipped first by several hours.

 

[TheWhisper]

Thank you all for the information and advice. I must say I do really appreciate the time you guys put into your posts.

First of all, I am a simple man. I want something that works. What I mean with the word "works" is that it actually vapes. I am somewhat scared that I might buy a small pen-like vape that doesn't actually vape and I still get the harmfull smoke into my lungs.

Firstly, all I want from my vaporizer is that it works, meaning it actually vapes my herbs, which means I get all the benefits from vaping and avoid all the harm from burning. Secondly I don't need anything flashy or big that costs alot of money. Something small that actually works is just fine for me. Considering I am completely new to this, I don't think I need the big fancy things. Thirdly, I do not mind all the things around it like battery time, learning how it works, buttons etc... How it looks doesn't matter. There is no need for me to have a camouflaged vaporizer.

Like I said, I am a very simple man. If you ask me what kind of car I want, I would say one with four wheels. What kind of vaporizer do I want? One that actually does what it is suppose to do.

Thank you all again for helping me out.

You want a vaporizer that just works, is not finicky, is not specifically made for stealth (but is still small enough to be highly portable), and that has good battery life?

The Arizer Solo is what you want (provided you're not 100% set on the pen form-factor). The Arizer Air is a bit slimmer, which might benefit you more.

 

[ghost]

You want a vaporizer that just works, is not finicky, is not specifically made for stealth (but is still small enough to be highly portable), and that has good battery life?

The Arizer Solo is what you want (provided you're not 100% set on the pen form-factor). The Arizer Air is a bit slimmer, which might benefit you more.

I'd agree with this. The Solo is a great all around portable vape. I got a Solo almost 4 years ago, and while others have come and gone, the Solo is still in my regular rotation.