Why go with a conduction device?

Penny Wise

Penny Wise

Active Member
Hey guys! I've been vaping about 8 months now but really only used a DynaVap M for most of that, which is my only experience with a conduction vape. While it's great, best bang-for-buck that'll ever be found in this community, there are definite downsides that I notice vs. my Splinter Z's convection-style heat. As I see it, the only reason to go with a conduction over convection device is price; conduction vapes are almost always cheaper.

The biggest exception I've found to that "rule" is the PAX line though, which confuses the hell out of me! Why is one of the more expensive vapes on the market conduction heat? (Note: I didn't say better, I said more expensive. ;) ) There's also the Mighty/Crafty and many others which are hybrid-style devices; that seems to make more sense to me, getting everything out of the herb and all that.

Is the biggest draw to conduction vapes the price point they're at, or are there other benefits I just haven't experienced cos I've only tried a DynaVap?
 
KeroZen

KeroZen

Chronic vapaholic
Conduction vapes are more battery-efficient, that's a strong advantage for a portable device.

They also don't require long inhalations, nor give the infamous impression of "sucking a hair drier" that a lot of convection vapes can give. On the other hand unless you crank the temperature up from the start, they tend to produce less dense vapor and smaller hits (hence why you don't have to inhale for so long, it just wanes down pretty fast and you need to wait before taking the next hit)

They can work with shorter stems, making them more compact / pocketable. They are also probably much simpler to design.
 
Vaporware

Vaporware

Well-Known Member
They also seem to have somewhat different effects to a lot of us. I think it has to do with exactly what gets vaporized cooking in an oven (conduction) vs a stream of hot air (convection).

If you’re going to use your material up all at once I think a hybrid system may get the most out of it, and some of the most popular devices such as the Mighty are hybrids (VapCaps also have a smaller convection element), but I do generally find full convection more effective and enjoyable than full conduction. Conduction may help me get to sleep a bit better though.
 
Monk Debate

Monk Debate

The monks do be debatin’
Battery life is a huge component of a portable vape and conduction wins hands down on that score. Also the consistency of the vapor is significantly better with conduction, and you’re not going to worry about combusting. So it’s more foolproof and easier for novices or those who just want the same result every time.

The Pax is as expensive as it is because it’s framed as a premium product, with the slick design, ease of use, and accompanying app. The method of heating isn’t a part of the price equation in this case.

I do find a significant difference in the high I get from one heating method versus the other. With convection vapes, the high comes on slow, building in intensity to a peak and then waning, and I ride it like a wave. With conduction, it tends to come on all at once, stays at the same level most of the high, then tapers off.

The only hybrid I’ve used is the Fury 2, which is not a top of the line vape. It’s my least favorite of the vapes I currently own (Splinter Z, Dynavap, Dreamwood Glow, Fury 2), but I doubt that’s due to the hybrid heating. I’d love to try a Mighty but that’s a lot of money to spend for something I might not prefer to my current favorite vapes.
 
little maggie

little maggie

Well-Known Member
Dynavaps are considered hybrids not pure convection or conduction. I think this is an individual issue. Over time I've rehomed almost all of my conduction vapes. I have a couple of plug-in logs that I rarely use. My favorites are the Z, which you own, and the Iheat and Nomad. All convection.
 
Penny Wise

Penny Wise

Active Member
Based on y'all's (is that how you do that word?) replies, I found the most inexpensive conduction device on the market that's actually worth shit and bought it. I got the Boundless CFC 2.0 and it hits like a train.

@Monk Debate, I see what you mean about the difference in highs between conduction vs. convection now. I'm finding almost the opposite of what you do; conduction gives me a body stone that ramps up slowly and sorta immobilizes me (mentally and physically) for a sustained period, then drops off; convection is much faster and has a higher peak before it slowly drops off. The hybrid device I have, DynaVap M, seems to give me a bit of a combination of both though it seems closer to a straight conduction high.
 
Monk Debate

Monk Debate

The monks do be debatin’
Penny Wise said:
Based on y'all's (is that how you do that word?) replies, I found the most inexpensive conduction device on the market that's actually worth shit and bought it. I got the Boundless CFC 2.0 and it hits like a train.

@Monk Debate, I see what you mean about the difference in highs between conduction vs. convection now. I'm finding almost the opposite of what you do; conduction gives me a body stone that ramps up slowly and sorta immobilizes me (mentally and physically) for a sustained period, then drops off; convection is much faster and has a higher peak before it slowly drops off. The hybrid device I have, DynaVap M, seems to give me a bit of a combination of both though it seems closer to a straight conduction high.
Click to expand...

The Dynavap gives me a conduction high, way different than my convection devices. Fury 2 is more in the middle for me.
 
Penny Wise

Penny Wise

Active Member
That's good to know, I've been wanting to look at the Fury 2. This is just a rabbit hole. LOL!

I've heard bad things about something in the Fury 2's glass coming apart after someone left theirs a little bit unclean for a while after vaping a few bowls. Does that sound like it could happen and if so how likely is it? I swear they said it was something to do with a glass "screen."
 
Penny Wise,
Monk Debate

Monk Debate

The monks do be debatin’
The Fury 2 has no glass in it, so it must have been an issue with either the first party glass stem or a third party stem.
 
ginolicious

ginolicious

Well-Known Member
If you are considering the fury 2 take a look at the Vivant Ambit. Thing hits like a train. It’s a hybrid device.
 
ginolicious,
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Penny Wise

Penny Wise

Active Member
ginolicious said:
If you are considering the fury 2 take a look at the Vivant Ambit. Thing hits like a train. It’s a hybrid device.
Click to expand...
The Ambit's apparently been discontinued, I don't see it on Vivant's site. The RIFT looks neat as hell. I love the triple chamber. That'd be nice for dosing CBD leaf or extract. Thanks for the tip! :)
 
Penny Wise,
Baron23

Baron23

Well-Known Member
I don't find too much of a difference between effects of conduction vs convection. YMMV but to me its more a matter of strain and temp rather than heating method.

I far prefer convection in my desktops for the generally open air flow, better taste, and more flexibility with load size. But desktops are just that, mains powered devices without worry about battery capacity or performance.

I really don't find myself using portables all that much anymore (just getting old and vaping at home mostly by myself) but when I do, in electronic vapes I prefer something like the Mighty with IMO true hybrid heating. Mostly convection at first with conduction kicking in more later in the session as the unit's bowl gets up to temp.

I do have some full convection electronic portables. Two GH's which are back for RMA (again) and will probably remain there for the duration of this geological era as Hopper Labs continues to peer into their navel and F' up...well, pretty much everything a manf should do.

I also have a couple of MV1's. Works well but would agree with anybody who thinks they are a bit fiddly and hard to get really full extraction with really even AVB. Please, I'm looking for an argument, but this is my impression having owned two of them.

To me, the VapCap is mainly conduction with small amount of convection...but mainly conduction. I do love the Ti tip with my Lucid IH and DDave wand on an FC-188. Pretty much the only way I use it these days.

Full convection and "on demand" in portables is just still a tech challenge. They just don't have energy to waste like a plugged in desktop will have and hence they are more easily influenced by owner technique, particularly draw speed and length.

Battery development and increased capacity is an industry entirely separate from vapes...we just use the fruits of efforts aimed at batteries for other broader applications. But, battery state of the art is, to my mind, the key limiting factor in portable electronic vapes.
 
KeroZen

KeroZen

Chronic vapaholic
Well, I got plenty of really nice on-demand convection vapes. Most of them work really well so I don't think it's still a tech challenge anymore. But yeah they just have a shorter battery life compared to conduction ones.

That being said, most people are perfectly happy using say the Splinter or the Imp on a 3-cells mod, and that get them through the day. You just have to sacrifice on the portability / stealth front.

I prefer single-cell devices and living with the burden of having to swap the cell more often. But apart from beta testing new products, it's been ages since I used any of my conduction units. Only convection devices in my daily rotation... ah, excepted for concentrates when I use the Cerawax, but it's only for special occasions.
 
Seek

Seek

Apprentice Daydreamer
Conduction vapes are smaller (heater and bowl are not separate, and the heater is smaller, and they can have smaller cooling mouthpieces).
They are also faster to heat up, use less energy and require less insulation - all of that is giving them advantage in portable vaping.

Until recently there have been no convection on-demand heaters (like splinter or grasshopper).
MFLB (a conduction on-demand vape) has been around for a while.

Conduction vapes are better for people with little lung capacity because they give you the most dense vapor instantly at the beginning.
So if you can only take that, then you would like conduction ones better.

And conduction vaped are typically a lot cheaper and easier to R&D.
 
K

key_investment

Member
conduction heats up the bowl / surrounding area, convection (volcano/herbalizer etc) heat up the air.

Personally conduction is probably the best in portables. Convection for desktop.
 
GoldenBud

GoldenBud

Well-Known Member
key_investment said:
conduction heats up the bowl / surrounding area, convection (volcano/herbalizer etc) heat up the air.

Personally conduction is probably the best in portables. Convection for desktop.
Click to expand...
Portable convection devices work as great as desktop devices, just in most cases you will have to pack smaller bowl, trying to pack it far from the heater. in most portable convection devices it's better to pack no more than 0.1.
smaller heater hence smaller bowl

but the portable convection devices, imho, delivers much better effects than the conduction ones.
 
Seek

Seek

Apprentice Daydreamer
Proper convection requires a lot more space and power (as the heat is more indirect) than conduction.
The heater and bowl are 2 separate places - more space.
In conduction vapes, you are collecting the hot vapor with cold air, mixing the temperatures.
Conduction vapes heat up herbs with the air, so then both the vapor and the air stream collecting it are hot...
...making the output hotter and requiring more cooling space - a bigger or more complex mouhtpiece or a water tool - more space.
So the space and power requierement is I think what makes convection more suitable for desktop vapes and conduction for portables...
...at least until some battery revolution comes by, when they become tiny light cheap fast-charging and long-lasting, and could free all that space for heater and mouhpieces.
 
KeroZen

KeroZen

Chronic vapaholic
The Nomad is smaller than most of my conduction vapes, and provides pure convection with adequate cooling and acceptable battery life... so, it's perfectly possible.

The Imp and even more the Impcognito are quite compact too.

On top of that, conduction vapes use the same 18650 cells usually, meaning the space used by the battery is exactly the same.
 
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