Getting smoked out doesn’t mean you have to spark up.
By Sean Tirman, Amanda Reed, Tyler Chin, and Mitch K oil pen battery
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It’s never been easier, or more acceptable, to access the healing properties of cannabis. However, not everyone you meet will be okay with you ripping a bong or hitting a pipe. Some people simply can’t stand the smell, no matter how much air freshener you spray. That’s where weed vapes come in.
Vaporizers offer a level of discreteness that joints, bongs and pipes can’t match. Even better, vaporizing weed can get you higher while using less product. To find out which brands make the best weed vapes, we tested an assortment of options from the biggest names in vaporizing.
The best way to get a feel for how a given cannabis vaporizer works is by using it regularly, which is exactly what our testers did with their respective vapes.
Many of our picks were tested for months or, in some cases, years. Special attention was paid to the vapes’ user-friendliness, convenience, portability, battery life, vapor quality, bowl size and even efficiency.
Learn more about our testing methodology and how we evaluate products.
After more than six years on the market, the industry-leading Pax 3 weed vaporizer has finally, officially, been supplanted by the next generation from the same brand.
Called the Pax Plus, this vaporizer can still do everything that its predecessor can do — smoke both dry herb and concentrate, swap modules on the fly, work with a single push of a button, heat to exacting temperatures, super simple USB charging, etc. But it’s slightly smaller, the pieces are easier to swap out and the instructions are clearer.
As good as it is, however, our reviewer found that the changes, while numerous and varied, are somewhat incremental. That is to say, users of the Pax 3 will probably find the Pax Plus to be very familiar and, perhaps, even a little lackluster in its suite of upgrades.
Still, the 3 was such a great weed vape that to improve on it at all is an achievement. And that makes the Pax Plus worthy of the top spot on our list.
You’re guaranteed to be satisfied if you purchase any G Pen vaporizer for your flower but the G Pen Dash is especially good for beginners purchasing their first vape or for tokers looking for something simple, discreet and affordable.
The controls are easy — press the main button five times to turn on and off and press it three times to change between three heat options — and the buzzy haptics, combined with the aluminum alloy body, give it a nice feel in the palm of your hand.
This battery-powered weed vape from Storz & Bickel uses a combination of full hot air convection heating and additional conduction. That ensures an efficient vaporization from the first draw. It has an LED screen for precise temperature control.
Our tested found it to be large (so it isn’t great for travel use) but it is effortless to use, lightweight and doesn’t heat up in hand. It also offers precision temperature every time you use it. If you can afford it, this is the best weed semi-portable vape you can buy.
While it is named similarly to our best budget vape, the G Pen Dash+ is a completely different beast. That’s a very good thing, in this case.
Much more feature-rich and user-friendly than its smaller, cheaper sibling, the Dash+ offers a far greater swath of capabilities that translate to an overall better experience. The one downside: it’s much larger that its namesake sibling.
If you can look past the size increase, however, this vape stands among the best of them, perhaps even beating out the Pax Plus for some users (especially those in search of a clearer, more fleshed-out user interface).
It’s not without issues, our tester found, as the magnetic cap still heats up too much and is easy to knock off. But features like a flat base, which make it easier to load, make it well worth it.
The DaVinci IQC is truly a vape designed to share. It features an antimicrobial mouthpiece, large bowl, eight-minute session length, solid battery life and incredibly full vapor that can get a whole group toasted with straight flower.
Out of the box, the IQC is incredibly intuitive to use, and if you want to adjust features like session length and temperature intervals, an app is available for iOS and Android. The glass-lined ceramic bowl on the bottom of the device is fairly easy to pack and keep clean and the wide ceramic zirconium vapor pathway contributes to a cool smoke.
Our tester found that the IQC produced incredibly cool, flavorful and full vapor when sipped on. There were also impressed by the volume of vapor output. It’s the first dry herb vape our tester reported was able to do smoke tricks on.
Although we haven’t tested the ShareSafe antimicrobial mouthpiece under a microscope just yet, the FDA’s approval of the material gave our tester peace of mind when sharing with friends.
If you’re a fan of good-looking gear of any kind, the AirVape Legacy Pro might be the vape for you — so long as you can afford the price tag. It’s made with high-end materials (like ceramic, vegan leather and 24-karat gold plating). It almost looks like a sleek piece of musical equipment. Better still, it is super simple to use, even for a first-time user, as our tester discovered.
It has a big, powerful battery, ultraquick heating — one of the shortest our tester experienced — and it pulls a great amount of smooth vapor, even right out of the box.
Unfortunately, the way the bowl works makes it easy to make a mess of (the whole front panel opens up like a door and the bowl is situated toward the bottom, facing out). But, besides that minor annoyance, our tester had nothing but good things to say about this luxurious vape.
There’s so much to love about the Starry: it’s incredibly portable, made of quality materials and the price is absolutely unmatched. It’s one of the best conduction vapes under $100. Additionally, it comes with a concentrate cup that fits perfectly into the flower chamber, allowing you to enjoy a dab if you want.
Our tester’s favorite feature was the 5- or 10-minute shutdown timer, which tells you exactly when it’s going to turn off automatically. And, with an anodized aluminum body, magnetic lid enclosure and ceramic zirconia mouthpiece, it feels luxurious without breaking the bank.
Storz & Bickel’s first new product in nearly a decade, the Venty was worth the wait — at least according to our tester.
While this devices definitely sits at the very tippy top of the price pyramid, checking in at an eye-watering $449, the technology might make the cost seem more than worth it to some. That’s because this is the first-ever vape with an adjustable airflow, and it can heat up in just 20 seconds flat.
Its larger size makes it more suitable for home use but the smoothness of its hits, convenience of its speed and a robust battery make for an exceptional overall package.
The Launch Box, much like vinyl records and cassettes, gives a slow, analog feel in a world filled with fancy digital tech. And, much like its name suggests, it will send you to the moon.
It’s made by local artisans in San Diego, California, from natural and renewable materials. There’s also a quote on the back of the Launch Box, along with the company mission:
LOVE IS that which enables Choice LOVE IS Always Stronger than fear ALWAYS choose on the basis of LOVE
More than a vape, it’s a conversation piece, and it provides a completely different experience compared to other vaporizers on the market, our tester found. What more could you want from an object in your home?
As a portable convection vaporizer, the Tinymight 2 boasts quick heat-up times and outstanding vapor quality in both session and on-demand modes — but that was the case with the first model. What’s new for the second generation is an impressive number of fine detail improvements: an added stirring stick, a mesh filter over the heating element, easier battery removal, USB-C charging and a beautiful American walnut body.
While the iterations are a testament to handmade craftsmanship, the underlying power and efficiency remain the main selling point: with an easily adjustable temperature range from 250º to 460º Fahrenheit, the portable, battery-powered Tinymight packs performance comparable to power outlet-attached desktop vapes.
While it’s hard to poke holes in the Tinymight 2, it is brutally efficient at turning your herb of choice into an absolute lung buster. As a convection vaporizer, the Tinymight can rip through an entire bowl of dry herb in just two pulls, which makes you question if you’re vaporizing for the experience or the effects. Conduction vaporizers like DaVinci’s IQ series or Pax line offer better flavor over a 5-to-10-minute smoking experience, but the Tinymight is a better match for the heavy user looking for a quick hit.
Unlike the original Puffco Peak, the Peak Pro has a sensor in the concentrate chamber that communicates with the device, keeping the temperature at where it needs to be regardless of how much you inhale or how much concentrate you put in. This offers a controlled and consistent dab experience, our tester found.
The app allows for setting a custom temperature outside of the four pre-programmed heat settings, the ability to save custom heat profiles and flashy functionalities like LED customization (although the Stealth mode is useful for public dabbing).
In terms of downsides, our tester found that this rather expensive offering is also a pretty big pain to clean — although skipping on the frequency won’t affect the quality of the device as much as its appearance.
“Vapor the way you like it without the need for apps or gimmicks,” reads the product listing for the Solo II. Using the Solo II mirrors that phrase: the Solo II is tanky, frill-less and delivers clean, smooth vapor thanks to its hybrid heating system.
Our tester says they wouldn’t use the Solo II outside of their house because of the glass tube but it can be done. Make sure to use the included stainless steel filter screens, or you will accidentally breathe in a small fleck of cannabis.
“Building something for the flashy look doesn’t give you the best experience,” Andy Lytwynec, vice president of Canopy Growth (which owns Storz & Bickel), told Gear Patrol. That’s absolutely true with the Volcano Hybrid.
Although the Volcano resembles a Subaru Outback, it’s considered the Rolls Royce of cannabis ingestion. While testing the Volcano Hybrid, our tester wrote “I am so upsettingly stoned” in their notes.
The Hybrid differs from the Volcano Classic with the inclusion of a digital display with custom temperature settings, the addition of a hookah-like tube for more casual consumption when you don’t want to use one of the famous bags and app capabilities for Android users. Having a Volcano is a stoner flex, and there’s a reason why.
The Roam is perfect for dabbing on the go or if you’re just very clumsy and don’t want to break a concentrate vaporizer that’s primarily made of glass. It’s compact, spill-proof, heats up fast, has a great LED screen and comes with a sturdy travel case. Plus, it’s incredibly easy to use. This was the first product I tested and I had never used a concentrate vaporizer before, let alone hit a dab. The included shovel-like dab tool also rocks, rivaling all other included dab tools with concentrate vaporizers.
Instead of choosing a conduction vape or a convection vape, go for a hybrid, which brings the best of both words — conduction heat is applied directly to the dried herb, and convection heat circulates hot air to avoid burning. And if you’re going for a hybrid, opt for G Pen’s Elite II.
Too many hybrid vapes are bulky and unsightly but the Elite II manages to be portable and discreet. Our tester liked how quickly it heats up so you can get to vaping right away. With its easily controllable interface, you can target specific temperatures for a variety of terpenes, which is a huge plus.
Davinci’s Miqro-C is a small-but-mighty weep vape for those who aren’t looking to take bong-sized rips on the daily. With its easy-to-use design and well-built body, the Miqro-C is the weed vape our tester finds themselves grabbing for a quick dog walk or late-night stroll.
The vape actually makes vapor taste good to the point that you actually start to get cravings for certain terpenes. You’ll need to charge this thing pretty frequently, but you can always buy an inexpensive second battery to go on a vaping marathon.
Our tester found that this vape is great for casual users, as it is easy to use, portable, discreet and easy to clean. However, the small battery needs to be recharged often, which is a bit of a drawback.
While they certainly aren’t our favorite form of partaking in the enjoyment of THC, there’s no denying the convenience and simplicity of a solid vape pen, like the Pax Era Pro. The more expensive of the brand’s two weed pens, this one has a longer battery life — good for 250 puffs per charge — and boasts haptic feedback for even simpler use.
It’s also worth noting that Pax claims that its pods are made from food-safe, medical-grade materials and are “free from harmful heavy metals, toxins and contaminants.” That gives them a leg up in a sea of competitors and lends credence to the device being a little more expensive than others. Just keep in mind: you can only use Pax Era pods with this device.
Probably. According to Mitch Earleywine, professor of psychology at the University at Albany, SUNY, and author of Understanding Marijuana, data from his lab shows that switching to vaporizing decreases respiratory irritation and increases lung volume in heavy users. And, compared to using oil vape pens that work with a 510 thread battery and a cartridge, there are proven health benefits to ingesting cannabis via herbal and concentrate vaporizers.
However, Earleywine says to keep the temperature low to prevent lung irritation.“Those who are careful not to overheat the plant are bound to see respiratory irritation improve in as little as a month,” he says. “Those who crank up the temp likely do not benefit.”
Besides purchasing from reputable brands, Earleywine says to “start low and go slow” to prevent getting so high that you start thinking too much about climate change.
“Users suggest that they are accustomed to smoking and knowing the magnitude of the effects fairly quickly, often within a minute,” he says. “In contrast, they describe vaporized cannabis as ‘a creeper,’ in the sense that the subjective effects get larger over the first 15 minutes or so. Many claim their first use of the vaporizer led them to ‘over-medicate,’ so to speak.”
There are also significant ethical considerations to ingesting cannabis. BIPOC are still disproportionately affected by petty drug crimes while states legalize marijuana. Work toward restorative justice by making regular donations to mutual aid groups that help incarcerated people or organizations like the Last Prisoner Project, which works to permanently reverse the injustice toward those who have suffered criminal convictions due to the War on Drugs. Additionally, you should support companies that donate to or have cannabis criminal justice reform initiatives in place.
Unlike bongs, pipes and joints, which use a direct flame as the means of releasing the cannabinoids in marijuana, convection and conduction vaporizers use heat — more like an electric oven than, say, a campfire.
Conduction vaporizers use direct heat contact to release the cannabinoids in marijuana. However, the direct heat means that there’s a possibility you could burn your weed. These devices tend to be cheaper, portable, heat up faster and tend to be easier to use.
Convection vaporizers, on the other hand, use the transfer of heat — think of it like cooking something in an air fryer — to heat up the cannabis. Instead of directly heating the weed, heating elements in convection vaporizers heat the air, which is forced around and through the herb. Convection vaporizers tend to be more expensive and less portable than their conduction counterparts but provide better vapor quality and flavor along with even heating.
Hybrid vaporizers use both convection and conduction, sometimes swappable, sometimes in tandem.
Dry herb refers to pulverized or ground weed, which is placed into a weed vape, then cooked at a certain temperature until vapors are released. When people talk about “flower,” this is usually what they are referencing.
Concentrates, which are typically used in vape pens (usually cartridges) but can be used in other vapes, as well, are exactly what they sound like: concentrated weed that usually comes in a kind of gel or sometimes crystallized format. The plant is treated so that only the desired compounds from the weed are extracted, hence its condensed form. Dabs, for instance, are a type of concentrate, as is hash oil.
Hybrids are somewhat uncommon, but they do exist. Essentially, these combine both dry herb and concentrates so that you get the best of both worlds. Pax’s new Inflused Flower Pucks are a good example of this type. Usually, this type is used in dry herb or hybrid vaporizers, and not in vape pens.
It’s difficult to say any is better than the others. With dry herb, you have to deal with carrying around all that herb, but it’s also mellower than concentrates. Concentrates are more discreet, but because of the way they’re treated, it’s possible that they can become exposed to heavy metals, toxins or carcinogens. Concentrates also provide a much more potent effect on the user. And hybrids, while having the upsides of both, also come with their own downsides, including their rarity.
Looking for more vetted cannabis recommendations? Check out our guides to weed strains, rolling papers, bongs, storage containers, grinders, electric weed grinders, pipes and cannabis apps.
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