How to Select a Vaporizer

Rather than smoking your tobacco or herbal blend, do your respiratory system a favor and vaporize. Vaporizers are devices which intake air, heat it via a heating element, and run the hot air through your herbs, thereby heating the herbs to temperatures at which their liquids, which contain all their active ingredients, are evaporated and given off as vapor instead of combusted to produce smoke. By eliminating combustion, vaporization cuts down on the harmful health effects of smoking. With hundreds of different vaporizers on the market, finding which one is right for you may seem difficult, but with the proper guidance you will be able to choose the one that best suits your needs.

Instructions

• 1

  Consider your budget. Commercially available vaporizers vary greatly in pricing, from $60 for an inexpensive generic unit to $600 for a professional high-grade, brand-name device. When deciding how much to invest in your smoking apparatus, remember that you get what you pay for. Seek the highest quality vaporizer you can afford and browse through online forums and reviews to determine the reputation of the vaporizer you have in mind.

• 2

  Determine which type of vaporizer you would like. Vaporizers are generally divided into two classes of delivery systems: the direct-inhalation whip style versus the forced air bag-fill design. Direct-inhalation whip style vaporizers utilize a system whereby the user inhales manually, controlling airflow by the use of his lungs only. Forced air bag-fill style vaporizers utilize an automatic air pump system which fills up bags with vapor. Some versatile vaporizers, such as the Herbalaire and V-Tower Extreme brand models, are capable of utilizing both the direct-inhalation and bag-fill systems.

• 3

  Deduce whether or not portability is an issue. Most vaporizers are electronically powered and therefore require an electrical outlet, but if you will be vaporizing on the go, consider purchasing a portable vaporizer that is powered by butane, such as the Iolite, or a lighter flame, such as the Vapor Genie.

• 4

  Decide whether or not a learning curve would be an issue for you. Direct-inhalation whip style vaporizers provide thicker, richer inhalations than the bag-fill style vaporizers because the air pump increases the air to vapor ratio, but whip vaporizers may have a slight learning curve to them. Take the vaporizer's ease of use into consideration.

• 5

  Determine what type of temperature control you would like your ideal vaporizer to utilize. Vaporizers vary in temperature control options, from digital control with temperature readouts to analog control via a simple dial. Any functional vaporizer will produce vapor without combustion, but it is beneficial to have more temperature controls if you plan to vaporize different herbs because the ideal vaporization temperature varies with each herb; the right temperature for one herb may be too high or too low for another herb.