Vaporizers are a fairly new invention, but they have quickly captured the hearts of many cannabis enthusiasts, and for good reason. Vaping cannabis offers many attractive benefits over smoking it while giving the same, if not better, experience for many. In this guide, we’ll be tackling one of the most popular vape devices – cannabis oil pens. Many people favour these devices for their convenience and portability, among many other reasons. So let’s take a look at cannabis oil vapes and their many advantages.
Why Vape Weed?
If you’re a regular cannabis smoker, you might be thinking to yourself, “Why try vaping in the first place?” That’s a good question. The reason why you should still give vaping a try is its unique advantages that benefit both casual and experienced cannabis users alike:
- Vaping is better for your health: While vaping is a relatively new method of consuming cannabis, there’s no question that it’s a much healthier alternative to smoking. When smoking, the cannabis is lit on fire, burning it, which creates smoke that can harm your lungs.
- Vaping enhances the experience: The high temperature that cannabis burns at when being smoked can destroy many of the more delicate compounds in the cannabis plant. When you vape cannabis instead, you get a cleaner, fuller hit that gives all the unique flavours of each cannabis strain time to shine. The multitude of vaping devices and products also gives you more room for experimentation.
- Vaping is more efficient: Many studies show that vaping produces more substantial effects while using less cannabis than smoking.
- Vaping is more discreet: Granted, vaping cannabis won’t be a 100% aroma-free experience, but the smell doesn’t stick to your skin, clothes, and furniture in the same way that smoking does, and the vapour dissipates more quickly.
Top 3 Reasons to Use Cannabis Oil Pens
Are you convinced yet? If you want to try vaping weed, cannabis oil pens are an excellent place to start, and here’s why:
1. For Convenience
Often regarded as the next evolution of cannabis devices, many regular cannabis enthusiasts choose oil pens because they’re straightforward to use. The quick and efficient heating elements of vape pens, coupled with the pre-prepared oil cartridges, means that you can start a weed session much faster—no need to roll up a joint, pack a bowl, or look for your lighter or papers.
Unlike older vaporizers, modern vape pens are also sleek, light, and compact, making them the perfect travelling companion for those who prefer to take their cannabis on the go. It also means that they’re much more discreet. A high-quality pen coupled with premium cannabis oil can easily fit in your bag or pocket while also making the weed smell much less noticeable when you use it.
2. For Flavour
Another reason why many people gravitate towards vape pens is the broad range of available strains and flavours. From clean, pure hits of THC to unique flavour combinations that retain the essence of a strain, you have plenty of choices to try out and have fun with.
Keep in mind that some cannabis vape manufacturers use cannabis distillate, which sacrifices terpenes (the compounds that give cannabis strains their natural flavours and scent) for pure THC. Some manufacturers make up for this loss by adding terpenes later on, but they can’t compare to the real thing, and because of this, natural flavours are almost always the preferred choice.
3. For Potency
Since oil vape pens use cannabis extracts, they are more potent than dried cannabis flowers. Isolates and distillates usually pack the most punch since they contain pure CBD and THC, while full-spectrum oils, like CO2 oil, offer a more well-rounded experience that balances potency with flavour.
Regardless of the type of cannabis oil you vape, the higher degree of potency means that a little product will go a long way. Whether you’re looking for instant relaxation or pain relief for your medical condition, you should expect oil vape pens to give faster, more robust results.
CO2 Oil vs. Distillate
CO2 Oil
CO2 oil is the common name that refers to any cannabis concentrate that uses CO2 (carbon dioxide) as a solvent. Oils extracted with C02 are generally considered higher quality than oils that used a solvent such as butane (known as butane hash oil). While CO2 oils are more expensive and labour intensive to make, the extraction process is much safer while being safer for consumers, too, as there’s no risk of consuming residual butane or propane in your CO2 oil.
What is Supercritical CO2 Extraction?
When you compress CO2 gas at extremely high heat and pressure, it turns into a “supercritical fluid.” Cannabis oil manufacturers submerge the plant matter in this fluid to extract all of its natural compounds, including cannabinoids and terpenes.
Afterwards, they lower the heat and pressure to revert the liquid CO2 to its gaseous state. As it evaporates, the extracted compounds remain behind.
Supercritical CO2 is the most preferred extraction method because the process doesn’t damage the active cannabis compounds. The CO2 solvent also evaporates completely, so the final product remains in its purest form.
Distillate
Distillates are an even more concentrated version of cannabis extracts. While manufacturers can use several different concentrates to create distillate, let’s use CO2-extracted CBD oil as an example.
What is the Distillation Process?
After the CBD is extracted via the process above, it needs to be further refined, so the CBD oil is heated until it reaches CBD’s boiling point. After this, the CBD evaporates and accumulates in a second container, while other components in the oil remain behind.
The end product is CBD distillate. It’s a clear and mostly tasteless concentration of CBD, reaching purities of over 90% or higher.
Manufacturers use CBD and THC distillates (which are made the same way) for their vape cartridges or as additives for oral drops, edibles, and even dog treats.
Distillates are typically a runny, translucent, and lighter in colour than CO2 oil.
Which Is Better?
It all boils down to personal preference since neither one is the “better” choice. If you want a more classic experience where you get to enjoy the unique flavour profiles and the full benefits of the cannabis plant, CO2 oil vape pens might be more suitable.
If you want to ingest large amounts of a particular cannabinoid like CBD or THC, and you can forego the taste of weed, distillates are the better choice.
Pricing can be challenging to assess because while oils are usually cheaper, distillates’ concentrated nature means that you need less product per session.
We recommend giving both options a try to discover the better fit for you. If you want the best experience, be sure to buy your products only from reputable sources.
Types of Cannabis Oil Pens – Disposable, Reusable
Disposable Oil Pens
Disposable oil pens are like the training wheels of cannabis vaporizers. These pens are often the easiest to use and require very little maintenance. If the pen is draw-activated, simply inhaling from the mouthpiece vaporizes the oil automatically, and many modern pens come with lights to signal when one dose is complete.
These pens are also much more affordable. High-quality products like HAAZE’s disposable pens use CO2-extracted oils that should last you over a hundred doses.
These pens are great if you don’t use cannabis very often or if you want to sample a brand’s offerings. If you like it, you could invest in a reusable pen from the same manufacturer.
Reusable Oil Pens
If you’re looking for a vape pen that will last you a long time, consider getting a reusable oil pen. While these devices do have a steeper initial price, they are the most cost-effective option in the long run.
Using them is just as convenient as a disposable pen because most use refill cartridges that you can easily switch out once the cartridge is done, eliminating the need to prepare, measure and fill your device with oil.
A majority of these pens also follow the industry-wide standard called “510 threading,” which gives you the freedom to use any refill cartridge with any battery as long as the threading matches.
How to Use Vape Cartridges
While cartridges are incredibly intuitive and straightforward, knowing the basics of using them will help you get the most out of every purchase.
If you buy a stand-alone cartridge, you will need to have a standard 510-threaded battery so you can connect them together to create a working vape pen. You can’t use one without the other.
- Charge the battery: Before you use a new cartridge, it’s a good practice first to charge the battery entirely to avoid disrupted sessions. Attach the battery to a compatible charger and remove it once the indicator light turns on.
- Attach the cartridge: Remove any packaging and screw the cartridge onto your battery. Be sure to make a properly connected and fully-secure connection.
- Activate the battery: Depending on the model you have, some batteries require a few button taps to activate, while some turn on automatically. Most batteries have an indicator light that turns on when it’s active. If your device has adjustable power, turn it down to its lowest setting and start from there.
- Inhale: Hold down the button (skip this step if you have an automatic pen) and softly inhale through the cartridge’s mouthpiece. The battery light should turn on, and the vapour should start entering your lungs. Exhaling and observing for vapour is a simple way to check if your pen is correctly working.
Keep in mind that while cartridge devices perform similarly, there may be slight variations on how to operate individual models. Always follow the manufacturer’s suggestions listed on the manual or packaging.
Refilling a Vape Cartridge
Refillable cartridges are essentially empty standard 510-threaded oil tanks that have a built-in wicking and coil system. Since you can fill these with different oils and distillates of your choosing, they offer a higher degree of customization than a pre-filled cartridge.
These cartridges have a limited lifespan because of their coil system. However, high-quality units still hold up well, even after several uses, because they utilize modern coils to withstand higher voltages much longer.
Here are some steps you can follow for a successful refill:
- Unscrew the cartridge’s mouthpiece.
- Carefully pour the oil into the tank between its walls and the chimneys using circular motions. Avoid getting liquid in the central hole. For more control and precision, consider using a syringe.
- Don’t completely fill the cartridge. Leave some room for when you screw back the mouthpiece, but make sure to cover the wicking holes. Otherwise, it might overflow.
- Wait between 10 to 15 minutes to prime the coil properly, or you might get a burnt hit. Using a thicker oil or distillate might have a longer priming time.
- After a couple of refills, the flavour becomes fainter and gets replaced by a burnt taste. Now is the time to replace your cartridge with a new one.
Cannabis Oil Pen Recommendations
The Unicorn Hunter Disposable Vape Pen
Unicorn Hunter’s vape pens only use naturally-occurring terpenes to enhance the flavours of their oils. They only use 99.9% pure distillate, with no unnecessary additives. Try out their addicting and memorable flavour combinations: Death Bubba, Girl Scout Cookies, Kings Kush, Pineapple Express, and Watermelon.
This pen is also draw-activated, where all you have to do is inhale from the mouthpiece to turn on the heating mechanism and immediately produce vapour.
HAAZE only uses CO2 extraction for their oils, which arguably provides the most potent, highest quality oil product (learn why below). In particular, this pen comes with an organic, full-spectrum oil that gives the full benefits of the cannabis plant.
The HAAZE Vape pen also uses a ceramic heating element that provides fast and even heating, an adjustable airflow cartridge that’s easy to use and completely leak-proof, and a quick-charging lithium battery.
Conclusion
Cannabis oil pens are the modern way to toke without the smoke. They’re convenient, portable, effective, and easy to use. What more could you ask for?
At Budmail, we only provide the highest quality offerings that will ensure your satisfaction. Check out our full list of thc vape pens in Canada. You won’t regret it!
