Vaping
Vaping is the process of heating botanicals or concentrates to temperatures that create vapor without combustion. Instead of burning material, you're heating it just enough to vaporize the compounds you want while leaving behind the plant matter.
Key features:
- Heating without combustion
- Temperature control for different experiences
- Works with flower, concentrates, or both
- Produces vapor instead of smoke
- More efficient compound extraction
The temperature threshold matters. Combustion (burning) begins around 450-460°F, producing smoke along with its associated byproducts. Vaping keeps temperatures below this threshold — typically 315-430°F for flower, 450-650°F for concentrates — so you're vaporizing compounds without burning plant material. This fundamental difference affects everything: flavor, efficiency, and what you're actually inhaling.
Different materials require different approaches. Flower vaping uses dry herb vaporizers with chambers designed for ground botanicals. Concentrate vaping uses dab rigs, e-rigs, dab pens, or cartridge systems — devices that handle oils and extracts. Some devices work with both through the use of swappable chambers or accessories. The heating method varies, including conduction (direct contact), convection (hot air), and hybrid systems that blend the two.
Temperature control lets you customize your experience. Lower temps preserve delicate terpenes for incredible flavor and lighter effects. Mid-range temps balance flavor and density. Higher temps extract more completely with fuller effects and less emphasis on flavor nuance. This control is vaping's major advantage — you can't adjust combustion temperature, but you can dial in the exact experience you want.
Building your vaping setup: Your setup depends on what you're vaping. For flower, you need a dry herb vaporizer (portable or desktop), a grinder for consistent texture, and cleaning supplies. For concentrates, options include dab rigs with torches, e-rigs with electronic heating, dab pens for portability, or cartridge-based systems with batteries.
Many people use multiple devices for different situations — a desktop for home sessions, a portable device for on-the-go use, and perhaps a pen for ultimate discretion. Understanding temperature ranges and their impact on your experience helps you maximize the benefits of whichever system you choose.