Your favorite Northglenn vape shop is here to walk you through a heated (get it?) debate: vaping vs dabbing.
So you want to get higher faster. We have some good news! Vaping and dabbing are great ways to explore new frontiers. Both require less marijuana to get the job done.
And if you’re looking to minimize the health risks of smoking, you’re in luck. Vaping and dabbing both have a long list of pros over smoking a joint.
But what’s the difference between vaping vs dabbing, and which method is best for you? There are a lot of variables at play.
Let’s get to it! By the end of this article, you’ll be an expert of the vaping and dabbing worlds.
Vaping vs. Dabbing: The Short Answer
Dabbing is a more concentrated form of consuming weed, so one hit of dabbing will get you higher than one hit of vaping. Dab rigs use conduction heating, while herb vaporizers use convection heating. Herb vaporizers are healthier than dab rigs, but both are healthier than joints. There are many different substances that you can dab, including wax, resin, oil, budder, and shatter.
Dabbing 101
Dabbing is when you heat a dose of your substance of choice (wax, oil, etc) on a nail and inhale it through a water rig. The nail is heated as high as 700 degrees F!
Dabbing will get you very high because the substances you dab with are so concentrated. Meanwhile, the water rig is designed to make your hit less harsh. Without the water rig, the high dabbing temperatures would really be a bummer for your lungs.
The concentrations used for dabbing can contain up to 90% THC, so newcomers beware! But this extreme THC level might just be the cure for your high tolerance.
People typically use butane lighters to heat up their rig, which can be more intimidating than your classic Bic. It might be helpful to have a buddy the first few times you dab until you get the hang of it yourself.
Vaping 101
When you smoke, you combust the plant and breathe in the resulting carbon compounds. This combustion is what causes the buildup of brown substances on your glass pieces.
Vaporizing your weed instead of smoking keeps your cannabis strain more intact because you’re steaming the cannabinoids rather than burning them. These preserved cannabinoids will get you higher than you would get while smoking the same amount of flower.
And since you’re not combusting your flower, you inhale fewer carcinogens when vaping.
It is also the best way to taste the flavors of your strain: the pour-over single-origin coffee of the weed world.
Conduction Heating vs. Convection Heating
Let’s dig into the topic of conduction heating vs convection heating.
Conduction Heating
Conduction heating is when you put a substance directly onto its heating element.
Using the example of a dab rig: a nail is heated up with a torch until it’s scolding. Then wax is put on the nail and it releases the herb’s active compounds into the air.
Since the nail is so hot when you put the dab on it, you might hear a sizzling sound or see black char. The char will build up on your rig and need to be cleaned after each use.
Convection Heating
Convection heating is when the heating element in your vaporizer warms up the air surrounding the flower instead of putting it right on a heating element.
When the air surrounding your weed gets hot enough, it steams the flower and releases its active compounds.
Because convection heating is slower and uses a lower temperature, no char is created.
What About My Health?
Something that a lot of weed aficionados don’t think about often enough is their health. Let’s go over the dangers and benefits of vaping and dabbing.
Vaping
When you use vape devices, there is no combustion, hence no release of carcinogens. That is, as long as you keep your vape at an appropriate temperature. If you go above 390 degrees F, you might end up consuming benzene (a known carcinogen).
In order to stay safe, you also need a dry herb vaporizer that doesn’t have any plastic in the chamber, because otherwise, you would end up inhaling the plastic’s fumes.
Herb vaporizers are generally safer than dab rigs.
Dabbing
Dabbing may expose you to more carcinogenic compounds than vaping because of the higher heat levels.
In addition, because dabbing gets you high so quickly, you might get higher than you planned- which is never fun.
However, you are inhaling less smoke when you dab because small amounts of resin will get you as high as larger amounts of weed.
Final Thoughts
Now that you know the ins and outs of vaping vs dabbing, you can make an informed decision as to what method you want to try out.
But before you Google “Vape shop near me”, consider that the only way to know which method works best for you is to, well, try both!
You might fall in love with holding a torch to a nail and getting high as a kite. Or maybe you’ll be enamored by the buttery smooth hits that herb vaporizers provide.
Keep in mind that both methods will get you higher than a joint, so if you’re used to smoking your flower, start small and build from there. Nothing is worse than finding yourself overly intoxicated.