What’s the most versatile gadget that you can add to your collection of vaping gear? Is it a rebuildable atomizer? Maybe it’s a resistance tester. How about a bottle of menthol vape juice for perking up those lackluster vape juices?
Here’s our pick, and it’s something that you may not have considered before. Our take is that the most versatile vaping tool you can add to your arsenal is a dry herb vaporizer.
That’s certainly the case if you’re a fan of herbal smoking products, but what you might not realize is that a dry herb vape can also have several other interesting uses. In fact, a dry herb vape can be a very compelling purchase even if you’ve never used herbal smokables before and have no intention of doing so.
This article will explain why a dry herb vape is such a worthwhile purchase for almost any vaper. First, though, let’s learn more about what dry herb vaporizers are and how they work.
What Is a Dry Herb Vaporizer?
A dry herb vaporizer is a device that heats a ground herbal material – most commonly cannabis – to the point at which it releases its active compounds as vapor. Just like e-liquid vaping, dry herb vaping began as a way to consume herbal products without burning those products and without inhaling smoke.
A few dry herb vaporizers are desktop models that plug into wall outlets, but most vaporizers are portable and run on battery power. Most people prefer portable dry herb vaporizers, but there is a market for the larger and more expensive desktop vaporizers due to their increased power and larger herb chambers.
How Do Dry Herb Vaporizers Work?
Most dry herb vaporizers work via conduction heating. You load your ground herbs into a heat-resistant chamber made from a material such as stainless steel or ceramic. In addition to being impervious to heat, the herb chamber is also non-reactive and won’t alter the flavor of your herbs in a negative way.
A heating element transfers heat to the herb chamber, which transfers heat to the herbs via physical contact. A dry herb vaporizer usually gives you some form of temperature control, which allows you to customize the intensity and quantity of the vapor.
Some vaporizers – particularly desktop models – transfer heat to the herbs via convection heating rather than conduction. Some convection vaporizers use fans to force the air through the herb chamber. Others rely on the air pressure that you generate when you inhale.
While convection vaporizers are typically larger and more expensive than conduction vaporizers, some people prefer convection vapes because they extract the beneficial compounds from herbs extremely efficiently.
What Can You Do With a Dry Herb Vaporizer?
The reason why a dry herb vaporizer belongs in your vaping arsenal – even if it’s just a low-cost one that you’re only intending to use in an emergency – is because dry herb vapes can do a lot more than you might realize.
When talking about the uses of dry herb vaporizers, people usually focus on the herbal aspect – but that’s only one part of what a dry herb vape can do.
You Can Use a Dry Herb Vaporizer for Herbs
Obviously, the most popular use for a dry herb vaporizer is to vaporize dry herbs. Most commonly, when people talk about dry herbs, they’re talking about cannabis. Both THC and CBD vaporize when they’re heated, so a dry herb vape makes it possible to extract the compounds you want from your herbs without inhaling smoke.
That’s especially helpful for frequent herb users who might otherwise be inhaling smoke several times per day. Using a dry herb vaporizer is also more discreet than smoking because the scent that it releases is usually mild.
You can use any herbal smoking product in a vaporizer, and if you’re an e-liquid vaper, you’re going to learn in a moment why that might be significant for you.
You Can Use a Dry Herb Vaporizer for Herbal Extracts
In addition to whole flowers, many dispensaries also offer cannabis extracts. Created by exposing cannabis flowers to heat or solvents, an extract is an oily or waxy compound that can be an extremely potent source of THC, CBD or both.
Although it’s usually best to vaporize extracts with a vaporizer designed specifically for the job, many modern dry herb vaporizers can work with extracts as well, further adding to the versatility of a dry herb vape.
You Can Use a Dry Herb Vaporizer for Tobacco
If you’re a nicotine vaper, the most significant feature of dry herb vaporizers is the fact that they can work with loose-leaf tobacco. Now, your first reaction to that statement might be that, as an e-liquid vaper, going back to tobacco is the last thing you’d ever want to do. The legal side of the e-liquid vaping industry, though, is one that’s still developing.
The PMTA deadline for vaping products is only a few days away, and while it does appear that many companies will be submitting premarket applications for their products, there’s no guarantee that those products will ultimately be approved by the FDA.
What would you do if you could no longer get your favorite e-liquids? Would you give up and go back to smoking? With a dry herb vape, you can vaporize tobacco instead of smoking it. Since loose-leaf tobacco is already approved for sale – and the FDA doesn’t regulate vaporizers – you don’t have to worry about this solution disappearing in the future.
You Can Use a Dry Herb Vaporizer for Aromatherapy
One thing many people don’t realize about dry herb vaporizers is that you don’t have to use them for direct inhalation at all. Some vaporizers actually come with glass dishes – Arizer is particularly famous for this – that you can fill with things like lavender flowers or citrus peels.
Just fill the dish and turn the vaporizer on, and within a few minutes, your home will fill with the pleasant scents of your aromatherapy herbs. While you’re not likely to buy a vaporizer for that purpose, it’s certainly fun to know that you can.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]