Cannabis has been smoked or vaped in flower form for thousands of years. Even our ancestors would prefer vaping, by heating up rocks in fire pits. They would then put the herbs on the rocks and inhale the vapors. However, with technological innovations, flower herbs were made into concentrated oil. The process can be lengthy, but needs to be done with extra caution. A lot of users prefer using dry herbs while others live by waxes. There is no good or bad in between either one, it just depends on your preference.
What are Wax Concentrates?
Wax is not smoked in the form we do with tobacco or marijuana. Wax can resemble transparent oil or dark oil. Some come in the crumble form, which is a bit harder and thicker. Marijuana concentrates are made primarily from butane or Co2. It is followed by a process of extracting the butane back out. Wax is the strongest form of THC you can have, as some go up to 99% THC.
Wax Vaporizers
A wax vape pen is an electrical device that uses a battery and heating coil. Your concentrates are loaded into the chamber and turned into vapor by a simple click of a button. Wax vapes come in different sizes and shapes, but they generally resemble a pen. This helps makes them portable enough to take anywhere. Benefits of dab pens span much further than smoking. Knowing how to use a wax vape pen can dramatically increase your vaping efficiency. This means getting the same effects while using less material.
Benefits
- Eliminate Toxins: It isn’t a mystery as to what smoking can do. Smoking can be very harmful to your throat and lungs because of the temperature of the smoke.
- Preserve Wax: Smoking marijuana oil can easily burn through a gram from a dab rig. Dab vapes use very little concentrates. Adding a little dab is more than enough for 2-3 hits. The oil tends to run off to the side of the atomizer that heats up your wax. You can then scoop up the running oil and re-apply it back to the coil.
- Save Money: You will easily save money in the short and long run by using a wax vape. Rather than buying expensive glassware, vaporizers are much more cost effective. On top of that, you won’t have to use a lot because the chamber doesn’t hold much. However, it does the trick if the device is efficient enough.
- Flavor: Vapes give you the chance to change the temperature. Since smoking creates higher temperatures, it can burn the material. This causes the vapor to taste different. Using a vape and changing the temperature to what you’re comfortable with will give you a chance to experience unadulterated flavor.
Tips on Using it
Just like everything else, learning and optimizing is key to be more efficient. Often times, it is usually not the vape unit that’s not efficient enough, but rather the vaper.
- Don’t mix herbs if your device is only for shatter or crumble. You can get specific units that are both for flower and concentrates.
- Make sure your wick or coil in the atomizer is juiced up with oil. Don’t let it go dry.
- Even if you have a deep chamber to pack, make sure not to overpack and leave some room for airflow from the atomizer.
- Always remember, you get what you pay for. A very cheap vape will be, well, cheap. You shouldn’t necessarily chase price either. Usually the units around $60-100 are all you need.
Difference between Dab Pen and Dab Rig
Some may be used to using a dab rig which is the main way wax is smoked. It is a water bong that gives you incredibly strong hits. Using a torch, you heat the nail until it’s very hot and you dab it right on. This can provide some health hazards. Benzene is a chemical compound that is created when your dab rigs burns over a certain temperature. Even though cannabis has lower levels of Benzene, it is still something to think about. For the most part, using a wax vape pen gives you the option to change your temperature heating option.
One of the advantages of using a portable dab pen over the rig is the portability aspect. Having a glass water pipe that you take everywhere with you is going to be tough. Not only can you not take it everywhere but it’s made from glass. The smallest thing you hit it into and it can shatter. They’re not cheap to begin with either. Wax vaporizers cost anywhere from $10-$400, but you do not need to spend anything more than $80 to get something top of the line.
Pre-filled Cartridges
There are also pre-filled cartridges you can use. These are cartridge that are filled with oily wax. They do not need specific vape pens to work, but most are 510 threaded. This means they work with just about most vape pen batteries. Simply screw it on and vape away. Pre-filled cartridges are the most incognito way to vape. They look exactly like the vape being used by the person next to you. On top of it, it doesn’t really smell or look suspicious.
You can buy cartridges and fill them yourself or you can purchase them from your local medical marijuana dispensary or legal recreational store. All you need to use them is a vape battery. Just screw it on and activate the power button to heat it.
