From tabletop terps to purse or pocket-sized puffs, plug-in and portable cannabis flower vaporizers offer health-conscious connoisseurs loads of options for combustion-free consumption either at home or on the go.
Cannabis flower continues to dominate total sales in regulated markets from coast to coast, but cannabis vaporizers are quickly climbing toward the top. With radical innovation in cannabis flower vaping technology hitting the scene in recent years, now flower tokers can have the best of both worlds.
Combustion vs. Convection: Why Choose to Vaporize Cannabis Instead of Burning It?
Cannabinoids like THCA are not ‘activated’ until they are heated to a specific temperature, at which point THCA becomes good ol’ THC and you become good ol’ baked. That, friends, is why we steal each others’ lighters (nothing personal, I just needed it).
Electronically temperature-regulated cannabis flower vaporizers allow the user a level of control over their dose size, vapor flow, and max temperature that, when dialed in just right, can provide a highly flavorful and potent smoke-free experience.
Fans of cannabis flower vapes report better flavor, a more immediate onset of desired effects, fewer health risks or respiratory issues, and more discreet and convenient delivery of the full spectrum of cannabinoids and terpenes when compared to lighting the same weed on fire in a paper, pipe, bong, or bubbler.
Are you ready to put this high tech to the test? We can help you find the best.
Finding the Best Portable Handheld Battery-Powered Cannabis Flower Vaporizers
If ripping or sipping cannabis flower vapor if your favorite form of consumption, or if you are trying to figure out if it is right for you, it is crucial to choose the right hardware.
Who here hasn’t had the unfortunate experience of choking down a lungful of boofy weed vapor that tastes like a hybrid cross of overcooked Orville Reddenbacher popcorn blended with fresh cut grass? This is the direct result of using subpar tech, or loading it with subpar weed, or both.
Thankfully, some of the most respected brands in the cannabis vaporizer space have stepped up and have crafted some new options from the ground up with a focus on optimizing the components of their products specifically for top shelf weed.
When shopping around for your ideal handheld cannabis flower vaporizer, there are some crucial features that you should insist upon:
- Brand – The vaporizer hardware market is flooded with trash. Be sure you stick to a known and trusted brand like Storz & Bickel, Davinci, Arizer, GPen/Grenco Science, etc. These companies have “skin in the game” as well as a respect for the cannabis industry and conumer. They craft “cannabis-inspired” hardware, rather than some half-baked effort to repackage irrelevant e-cig tech. Better products, better customer service, better warranties… easy decision.
- Chamber Size – Bigger is not necessarily better in this case. You want to find the smallest chamber that still allow you to get a good enough dose for your needs. Too big of a bowl filled with too much reefer will inevitably lead to incomplete vaporization and wasted weed. The best selling options on the market tend to range from 0.2 grams to 0.7 grams, so don’t let a sub-1g capacity scare you off.
- Temperature Range – The best cannabis flower vaporizers will offer the user the ability to regulate the temperature of the unit’s heating element within a specified range. Basically, you want something with a range instead of one pre-programmed temperature. Anything between 100F and 500F will give you a better chance at better flavor and effects. Make sure your buds are ground down super fine and aim for the lowest effective temperature possible.
- Battery Life – Convection/Conduction heating certainly sucks some power. Some of the most popular options readily admit that you might only puff on 4-6 “bowls” – or 40-90 minutes – before the battery dies. Knowing beforehand that you only get X number of chokes per charge, you can hopefully avoid unwanted “surprises”. No matter which brand or cannabis flower vape you choose, that sucker is inevitably going to run out of power at the worst time (when you just want a hit!). So, the key is to find one with a good battery life and a good…
- Charging Time – When your battery does eventually run out of juice, odds are high that it won’t occur right when you were ready to be done seshing for the day. So, an efficient and rapid re-charge time is essential. Almost all of the best selling brands on the market offer USB or USB-C charging ports on their units and recharge times seem to range from 90-120 minutes. Nobody said there’d be math but, simply speaking, if you know your unit only kicks out 4 hits before it needs to be recharged, and if you know that it will take 120 minutes to recharge, and you know that you like to have more than 4 hits every hour and a half, you might need a faster charging time.
- Price – Let’s face it, price will probably be a big determining factor when choosing which cannabis flower vaporizer to purchase. As with all things cannabis-related, though, you will definitely get what you pay for in this case. If the price is too good to be true, it’s probably not the unit for you. It can be hard to swallow, but you can expect to pay anywhere from $350-$550 (msrp) for a reputable/functional cannabis flower vape. Just another reason to stick to trusted brands.
Tabletop / Desktop Cannabis Flower Vaporizers Remain a Popular Option for Connoisseurs
For those who prefer to consume their cannabis in the privacy of their own home, and who have a few extra bucks in the budget, a larger cannabis flower vaporizer might be just what the doctor ordered.
Most of these units will plug into a wall outlet, rendering battery life and charging times irrelevant. This added power can allow for larger loading chambers or bowls, and can efficiently vaporize all of the material inside with little or no waste.
These units typically utilize one of the following delivery systems:
- Whip – A long, flexible, hose-like apparatus connects the cannabis flower vaporizer to the user’s tastebuds. Picture a tradtional hookah and you’re on the right track. The whip will require routine cleaning.
- Bag/Balloon – The cannabis flower vape will cook up with flavorful vapor and emit it into a clear plastic bag that is attached to the device. As the vapor seeps into the bag, it will gradually fill and become opaque at which point it is removed from the machine and placed on the comsumer’s lips whereby it gets inhaled until the bag is flat and empty again.
- Glass or Plastic Mouthpiece Attachments – More akin to a typical bong or dab rig, borosilicate glass mouthpieces provide a bit more class than a sticky whip or a forbidden balloon. Glassblowing artists can even create custom attachments for you heady homies. Glass mouthpieces with aestheically pleasing designs and even functional water diffusion/percolation can upgrade your experience with a desktop cannabis vaporizer.
To be honest, these are all a matter of preference – do you, boo!
The Bottom Line on Cannabis Flower Vaporizers
Perhaps the best advice we can give to cannabis connoisseurs looking to level up their flower vape game is to ignore the fact that most of these products boast the ability to vape both buds and concentrates or extracts. While the prospect of stacking both weed and hash into your vaporizer chamber might be alluring, the fact is that there are better options out there for vaping cannabis concentrates and extracts. You risk “gumming up the works” when you start switching back and forth, so we highly recommend keeping one vaporizer for cannabis flower and another for cannabis concentrates.
Talk about the best of both worlds!
