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With weed use now legal in 21 states and counting, folks have been looking for new-and-improved ways to get their fix, and weed vapes have become one of the leading methods of THC delivery—living proof that Silicon Valley isn’t completely evil.
There will be weed enthusiasts who argue that a perfectly hand-rolled artisanal joint is the one true way to get high, or that a brain-frying resinous dab is the future-stoner’s THC delivery device of choice. But for the average joe just looking to pull a few hits—on a weeknight, at a party, in the middle of a concert once you’ve made sure security isn’t looking—it’s all about portable, pocketable vaporizers.
The most intricate let you control damn near everything: how how much weed you use, how hot your favorite strain burns, how high you get. But not all vapes are the same, maaan. You can go simple and inexpensive, or app-controlled and finely calibrated, or sexy and intuitive, but not all at once. Here, we dive into the wide world of vapes.
The Best Weed Vapes, at a Glance
Look past the smoke, and get straight to the picks. Here are the weed vapes you’re going to love for every kind of session:
How does a weed vape work?
Cannabis vapes function via conduction heating, convection heating, or a hybrid of both. Think of conduction like the stovetop, with heat coming from direct physical contact to a hot surface, and convection like the oven, where the air itself is heated. Both have their advantages, but convection or hybrid models are the most popular today, providing the best quality vapor and maximum flavor. Conduction vapes, on the other hand, often give off thick clouds as temperatures can be more easily cranked up and maintained. It’s all about preference.
Other common considerations include size and portability, design and how easy it is to clean after multiple uses, and whether it’s covered by warranty. And as with many modern gadgets, battery life and ease of charging are also top of mind for shoppers.
Is using a weed vape safer than smoking weed?
Vaping has exploded in popularity over the past couple decades, and not only as a means to an oft-fruity nicotine buzz. Heating cannabis up to a point where the cannabinoid and terpene content is vaporized but the carbon itself isn’t burned allows for an arguably healthier and tastier experience. We say “arguably,” because it’s important to note that the scientific community still has much work to do to determine vaping’s long-term impact on health.
“As we look ahead, tastes are really starting to emerge,” Steven Jung—CEO at the leading weed vaporizer brand Pax—says. “Consumers are moving away from demanding only high potency and big clouds. They increasingly see vape as a better-for-you category, without the harmful byproducts of combustion.”
“Appetite for ‘clean weed’ is accelerating quickly, as discerning consumers bring the same expectations to cannabis that they have for other products in their lives,” Jung says. “They want better quality, higher levels of purity, and hardware that’s made with better materials and temperature control.” The current consensus among the medical community is that vaping is healthier than smoking for the simple reason that many of the harmful elements in whatever is being heated up don’t end up in your lungs.
So whether you’re looking for a desktop unit to rip high-THC concentrates from while binge-watching Yellowstone, or a small and discreet portable unit to fill with low-test CBD flower for your walk to the dog park, there’s something out there for you. We tested a variety of options to, ahem, pull together this list of the absolute best weed vapes that you can puff to high heaven (any of which would make great gifts for the stoner in your life this holiday season).
The Best Weed Vape Overall: Pax Plus
Start talking vapes with any user and the name Pax is almost certain to crop up. Like its basically ubiquitous e-cig Juul, each of Pax’s herb vaporizers is small, uncomplicated, blessedly discreet, and—more than anything—a thing of beauty, like a gleaming alien tube. Not to sound high, but it also just feels nice to hold.
New as of this fall, the Pax Plus replaces the Pax 3 as the brand’s top-shelf device, adding “Experience Modes”—like stealth, efficiency, and boost—which kick the vape into pre-programmed settings like drive modes on a car. Only four temperature settings means you might not have the perfect option for your favorite Wu Dank strain, but that’s in keeping with Pax’s Apple-esque belief that less complication is better.
It’s a best-of-both worlds flower- and concentrate-compatible vape, and on the design front the Plus looks somehow even sleeker than its predecessors thanks to its brushed matte finish. Still, it carries on some of the best features of the Pax line, like a button-free interface that activates and adjusts itself simply by pressing the mouthpiece. Other perks: the re-designed oven that’s compatible with the company’s new pre-packaged infused flower, the two-plus hour battery life, and the unimpeachable 10-year limited warranty that ensures you’re guaranteed at least a decade’s worth of premium pulls. It’s maybe not as efficient as the lightning-fast Firefly below, but it more than makes up for it in aesthetics, size, and simplicity in getting you high.
The Best Weed Vape for Heavy Hitters: Mighty+
Storz and Bickel has been at the forefront of the cannabis vape industry for decades thanks to its flagship product and head shop legend, the Volcano, but the German brand also makes one of the best portable vapes out there. An upgrade from the tried-and-true Mighty, which was the brand’s first battery operated device released in 2014, the Mighty+ uses conduction and convection to vaporize product (flower or concentrate). It juices up via USB to nearly a full charge in about the span of a 45-minute TV episode, and offers at least an hour of non-stop tokes per charge—which is considerably more than its predecessor.
It’s solid in the hand but still small enough to stuff into your pocket, provides great big pulls with seemingly no restriction to airflow, and is handsome in a retro-modern way, like Captain Kirk’s Communicator. Beam yourself up.
The Best Weed Vape for Beginners: Xlux Roffu
With the options for legal weed continuing to expand at an incredible rate, it can be difficult enough to decide what flower to purchase, let alone how to consume it—especially for beginners. Whatever strain you’ve opted for, the Xlux Roffu vaporizer from Cali-based XVape will help you make the most of it with a pure-convection heating style, a simple but durable metallic design, and an easy-to-use OLED screen display.
Wade rather than dive into the world of weed vapes with inhalations that are more on the flavorful side than super thick and cloudy, removable batteries, and interchangeable heating chambers with a funnel to help pack everything in nice and tight.
The Best Budget Weed Vape: DaVinci Miqro
When pocket space is limited, opt for a compact unit like the Miqro-C from DaVinci. At about three inches tall and one inch wide, the Miqro-C is just a little larger than a standard lighter. You won’t need the fire, though, as the vape uses pre-set conduction temperature “smart paths” to find the right heat and an adjustable pearl that can be lifted or lowered to tamp down product, adjust airflow, and optimize the transfer of heat to the ground flower and/or concentrate loaded in the chamber.
As a smaller unit, large hits will feel slightly warmer than from some of the more sizable options out there, but it’s all smooth and highly flavorful passing through the ceramic path and mouthpiece. Pack a bowl of the top-shelf, draw lightly, and settle back to enjoy the flavors. Worst case scenario: If it somehow fails you down the line, take advantage of the five-year warranty for tuneups and replacements.
The Best Vape for Concentrates: G Pen Roam
Whether shatter, wax, rosin, butter, oil, or beyond, there’s a growing array of THC concentrate options on the market. Those who have a dab rig—a type of heavy-hitting water pipe used for cannabis extracts—set up in a prominent position in the kitchen or living room might consider a portable water-filtered concentrate vaporizer like the G Pen Roam. With a variety of top-shelf features baked-in (namely, a sturdy aluminum shell, quartz atomizer, internal spill-proof borosilicate glass water tube, and crystal clear LED display screen), the Roam allows for super tasty sessions with clean, filtered flavor—even at low temperatures. It also charges via USB, whether you’re keeping it close at hand in your home office or juicing it up in the car.
In its automatic setting, which is probably best for group hangs, the atomizer stays hot for 30 seconds before switching off. In manual mode, you’ll need to hold down the button to activate the heater. True dab aficionados, however, may prefer to go turbo with the Max mode that boosts temps to 800 degrees Fahrenheit for the cloudiest experience. As with all concentrate devices that risk being gummed up by viscous liquids, cleaning is a must and should be done after every few uses.
The Best Convection Weed Vape: Firefly 2+
With more licensed processors zeroing in on terpene content and profiles (i.e. the cannabis strain’s specific botanical aromas, taste, and effects) than ever, finding a device that maximizes on flavor is huge. The Firefly 2+ is one of the biggest stalwarts and flavor fiends on the market, and has been a heavyweight in the weed market for years. The original Firefly was actually created in 2013 by a former Apple product designer and has since run through a few different iterations before the launch of the Firefly 2+, a breath-activated gem of a vape that heats up in as little as three seconds.
It requires you to hold it like an actual pipe, cradled in your palm, which does make it a little more obvious in a setting where a quick puff might be frowned upon. Not planning to toke in public? Great, then you’ll probably appreciate the Firefly 2+’s big advantage: you can start and stop your session instantaneously. Whereas most other weed vaporizers begin cooking your green as soon as they’re turned on, the Firefly fires up when you touch the sensors on either side. That means minimal wasted green—regardless of whether you’re setting the temperature through the brand’s companion app or via the device’s presets. We recommend a slow, steady inhale with an occasional stir for best results. And though less-Zen stoners will find the need to stop and stir the bowl every few pulls slightly annoying, but really, what’s the rush? You’re sitting at home, getting stoned.
The Best Conduction Weed Vape: DaVinci IQ2
Putting a torch to a piece of glass or ceramic may be one of the best ways to enjoy a conduction-based toke, but it’s not the only way. DaVinci has done a great job packaging conduction vapor into a portable unit with the IQ2. The DaVinci IQ2 is not the sexiest, or the most technologically impressive, or the most intuitive vaporizer here—but it’s a close second in all three, and one of the best at one very important thing: making weed taste good.
The discreet looking DaVinci IQ2 is a little bigger than its predecessor, but also easier to clean and generally more enjoyable to use. The pebble-smooth vape uses a zirconia air path that won’t inflect the flavor and retains heat, and combined with the ability to set hyper-specific temperature settings, ensures you get a grade-A, Michelin-starred hit of O.G. Kush every time. It features a removable battery that powers up via micro USB in two hours, a neat in-app dosage control that predicts how much THC and CBD is being consumed per draw, a variable air draw to adjust flow, and a pod for concentrates. Heads up, though, because as discreet as it is, as a conduction vape it also creates a bit more smell than its convection brethren. Feeling fancy? There’s also a brand new $499 IQ2 carbon fiber special model that the brand says disperses extra heat—though we just think it looks cool.
The Best Hybrid Weed Vape: Arizer Solo 2
Manufactured in Canada’s tech hub of Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario, the Arizer Solo 2 is a popular option for its combo of convection and conduction heat, speedy heat-up time, as well as its lengthy battery life (a whopping three hours per charge). For all those reasons, it’s been the brand’s best seller since its release in 2017. Settings like temperature and session timing are easily adjusted on the LED screen, and it can even be used while charging so you never have to wait around.
Does it look like a standard tobacco vape or power bank like some devices? Hardly. It’s got a separate body in black or blue and a longer glass mouthpiece that you pack product into the base of. But will it yield thick clouds of tasty vape? Hell yeah, it will. Plus it’s half the price as its top-shelf competition like the Mighty+ and includes a two-year warranty.
The Best Battery-Free Weed Vape: Dynavap M
Simplicity is the name of the game with the Dynavap M. But if you’re heading off-grid where battery charging isn’t possible, you can still get your fix with the Dynavap M, a pen-sized metal unit that uses any heat source (butane torch or induction heater are recommended) and conduction heating to vaporize cannabinoids and terpenes.
Made from medical-grade stainless steel in the U.S., the Dynavap M is super simple, affordable, and compact, comparable in size to a Sharpie. If it weren’t for the fact that you had to carry a torch around with you, it’d also be one of the most discreet options. Just load your ground flower or concentrate into the cap end, replace the cap, heat it up over an open flame, and draw.
The Best Tabletop Weed Vape: Storz and Bickel Volcano Hybrid
On the opposite end of the portability and affordability spectrums is the aforementioned Volcano from Storz and Bickel. As one of the industry’s first and best vapes, it has been embraced by enthusiasts and the medical community alike as one of the preferred cannabis consumption devices. In Canada, for example, national health authorities named the Volcano as the preferred method of medicinal cannabis consumption.
The Volcano Classic desktop unit that’s been around for decades uses convection heating solely and still works wonders, but if you’re looking for the ultimate vape experience, check out the newer Hybrid Volcano that also adds conduction heat elements. The plug-in unit creates vapor that’s either drawn automatically into a “valve balloon” that you can hold in your hand and inhale in sips or all at once, or through a tube kit that you can inhale directly through. There’s also an app that lets you adjust settings and even operate the device remotely, allowing you to fill the balloon via smartphone while you’re out of the room. That’s one smart feature that helps justify the sky-high price, though most people will probably prefer a portable, less onerous device for vaping on the go.
The Best Vape for Cartridges: Pax Era Pro
Cartridge vape pens are unbeatable when size and discretion are priorities, which is to say pretty much anytime you’re out and about. Pax’s Era Pro looks a lot like the brand’s popular Juul, meaning it’s super low-key, but vaporizes cannabis oils via cartridge rather than flavor-infused tobacco products. Another advantage of this style of vape is that, because the replaceable cartridge also doubles as a mouthpiece, you don’t have to spend any time cleaning. Just swap the cart and vape away. One downside: This model doesn’t accept industry-standard threaded “510” cartridges, but requires the brand’s proprietary pods, which are a bit more pricey and less available. But considering the already accessible price point, that premium for the cartridges might be a worthy tradeoff.
