OK whippersnappers
. . . my
As usual, sticks gives good advice. The Q's flexibility is its greatest strength. There are indeed many variables at work, from the vaporizer to the setup to the material to the user style. The good news is that you can find a method that works just right
for you, the bad news is that with all the nuances it usually takes some experimentation to find it (but it's fun trying) . . .
IME there's no gain to using the elbow pack with the bag, if anything it works against you. The cyclone is designed in particular for the bag. The tight mesh elbow screen creates back pressure into the bowl; this is what creates the "cyclone" effect of swirling herb, the more thorough air/material contact provides better extraction. Which fan level works best is a function of the herb characteristics (e.g., density, dryness) and the size of load. Fan 3 will blow thru a smaller load of dry herb; you won't get good circulation and will need to stir several times. But fan 1 can't handle a fully loaded bowl. I usually load .2-.3 and use fan 2, with a couple stirs. At 190C the vapor will be thick, the second bag just moderate, the third bag whispy thin but even so there are still some goodies in there. I might increase the temp on the 2nd & 3rd bags, but I never go above 210C and my abv is always dark brown.
With the whip and the cyclone, allow the bowl to get hot and the herb to thoroughly warm up; I stir at least once before hitting. Some turn the Q on at a high temp just at first to accelerate heating the glass. If the herb is dry (not powdery) and not ground too fine, and the bowl not overloaded, you should get the cyclone effect with the whip, too. (For me, that's .15-2g) Pulling hard or sharp, again depending on the herb and grind, can result in the elbow screen getting clogged. Taking a long slow even pull will give a nice cloud. It's useful to see how variations in technique work. From there one can graduate to the elbow-pack.
About the thickness of the cloud . . . first, of course comparing vapor to smoke is apples-oranges. Smoke will always be more dense, it contains gases and residuals like tars & ash that don't exist in vapor. Water can filter the thicker particles, but a lot if not most still gets into your body and those nasty additives actually affect the high. With combustion you not only get an "all at once" effect, the "all" includes compounds (benzenes) which while adding a slight glue-sniffing lift, are also a detriment to your health. Vaporizing in contrast is only "all at once" if you are a real power hitter using a high temp, and it still won't include the benzene effect. It's more gradual - and it can be controlled for different effect one session to the next. Another consideration is absorption. IIRC even with smoke the absorption of canniboids is <50%. A huge thick cloud that the user cannot pull down deep and hold results in a lot of actives being lost with exhale. There is no "thickest = best" automatic rule for everyone. We're all different. For those having a hard time coming from combustion, I suggest starting at a high temp to approximate the smoking experience and then work down from there. But I think the consensus is that it is much better to start vaporizing as an entirely new experience with a blank slate, avoiding comparisons to combustion, which means starting at lower temps experimenting with technique, learning the vape, then increasing the temp, until you find
your own personal sweet spot.
Enjoy the journey of discovery.
