Vaporizers vs. Vapes: What’s the Difference?

What’s a vaporizer?

A vaporizer is a device that is typically used to inhale plant substances, like cannabis. When it comes to vaporizing cannabis, either dried flower or some extracts can be used in the device. Known for its ease of use and portability, vaporizing cannabis is an almostsmokeless process (meaning it produces very little smoke on the exhale) and can heat up dried flower or cannabis extracts without burning it.

Cannabis vaporizers come in many different sizes and formats, designed to be used with various substances. To minimize confusion in the category and to help make shopping easier, we have purposefully and clearly named our vaporizing products with you in mind.

Here’s a list of all the different vaporizers we carry and a clear explanation of each:

1. Dried Flower Vaporizers

Often used as a replacement for smoking joints or pipes, a dried flower vaporizer can be used by simply loading it with dried flower (make sure to grind it first). The vaporizer heats the dried flower to a temperature that’s high enough to decarboxylate the THCA, changing it to the active THC form, but not high enough to burn the flower.

2. Extract-Specific Vaporizers

If you’re interested in consuming extracts (also known as concentrates) this could be a good gadget to explore. An extract-specific vaporizer can be used with various extracts such as hash, shatter, rosin, wax, kief and live resin by loading the extract into the chamber, where it will be heated to the point of vaporization. However, it’s important to know that dried flower can’t be consumed using these types of vaporizers.

3. Dual-Purpose Vaporizers (Dried Flower Vaporizers with an Extract-Specific Attachment)

If you’re someone who  wants the ability to flip between different formats on a single device, dual-purpose vaporizers are worth taking a closer look. These types of vaporizers come with extract-specific attachments allowing users to switch between dried flower and extracts if they so choose. When shopping, make sure you read the product description carefully to ensure you’re selecting a vaporizer that has both functions.

4. Vape Devices

Handheld or pen-shaped, a vape device is a type of vaporizer used to consume cannabis distillate. The act of using a vape device is colloquially referred to as “vaping”. Vape devices, also known as vape pens, are battery-powered and come in two different formats: disposable and refillable. Disposable vape batteries come with prefilled cannabis distillate inside and are a one-time-use option. Refillable options require users to recharge and refill using pre-filled cartridges of cannabis distillate. When shopping for refillable vape batteries, pay close attention to what type of pre-filled cartridges it takes as some batteries are only compatible with specific cartridges (510-thread is most common).