by Ed Rosenthal
Grenco Science microG
MSRP: $99.95
Type: micro vape pen
For use in: anywhere
Use with: medium-to-thick essential oils, shatter, wax, honeycomb, or high-grade bubble hash
Heating element: steel alloy
Grenco Science microG Description
Another extremely stealthy, well-made unit, Grenco Science’s current generation microG pen comes with a host of upgrades over the original, highly successful microG. Chief among them is what they call the “microG tank.” That’s the part that gets hot and vaporizes concentrates. The new microG comes with four stainless steel tanks, each containing a metal coil that heats up when electric current passes through it. Each one screws onto the battery unit, which is an innovation over the older method of squeeze-holding the tank against the battery by way of a rubber gasket. The new microG tanks and battery unit thread easily and tightly, and the entire device feels more solid than your average vape pen. The black mouthpiece slides down over the tank, and the kit comes with five mouthpiece sleeves for sharing. The microG recharges through a mini firewire connection and comes with a USB adapter as well as a wall adapter. Rounding out the kit is a microG tool on a keychain, two glass containers for holding wax, and some alcohol-soaked “G Tips” for cleaning the tanks.
Grenco Science microG Review
This is another game changer of a device that is going to become the default mode of consuming cannabinoids for a whole different set of people than your stereotypical stoners.
There’s nothing about the thin, small device that screams “weed.” Professional working women can stow a microG in their purses and innocuously vape at lunch. The sweet light vapor dissipates immediately into the air, and doesn’t smell like pot. The black, hard yet grippy cover feels like it won’t slip out of your hand, but the stainless steel underneath makes it feel solid and well built.
The microG is an award-winning wax-only micropen.
Photo: David Downs
We charged the device for two to three hours for the first couple uses, and a red LED on the bottom turns off when the battery is full. Unlike other vape pens, the microG automatically shuts down charging when the battery is full, so you don’t have to worry about forgetting, overcharging, and ruining the pen.
The device features a lock/unlock mechanism so you don’t accidentally turn it on in your pocket. Click the steel “micro” button five times fast to disengage the lock. At first, we ran the microG dry just to see how the steel coil performed. It quickly got red hot, without sizzling, popping, or fuming—exactly what you want to see in such devices.
The microG excels at vaping honeycomb, shatter, medium-to-thick oil, and high-grade bubble hash. We’d avoid using low-grade bubble hash because the residue in it will stick to the inside of the tank and degrade the coil faster. (Coils last about four to six weeks depending on use and cost $14.95 to replace.)
After loading up the tank with a tenth of a gram of high-grade hash, we pressed and held the “micro” button for 10 seconds while we softly drew air from the mouthpiece. If you listen closely you can hear the coil vaping the hash with a sizzle. The microG generates a thin, narrow stream of vapor that you can hardly tell you are inhaling. But when you exhale, out comes this large-sized vapor hit. One puff should be enough for most people, and each tank can hold maybe four or five hits’ worth before you need to refill. It takes some practice to get deft at loading the tiny tank with the precious hash, but in a day we got good enough to do it in the dark at concerts.
The downside is that great concentrates are not nearly as prevalent as flowers, and you can’t use the microG with flowers. Grenco Science makes a version of the microG for flowers, as well as larger-sized units that feature a steel tank that you pack with herb. A heating element inside the tank toasts the herb.
The microG kit offers some of the most bang for your buck in terms of tanks, chargers, containers, and cleaning equipment. (You’ll want to clean the tank with the alcohol-soaked “G Tips” to remove any residue around the threads and battery connection. Don’t swab inside the tank. It’s too sticky; you’ll clog the tank with cotton. Also, don’t steep any microG components in alcohol. You’ll damage them.)
By far the best accessory you can get is the microG travel case, which is the size of a cigarette case and molded to fit the battery, tank, and mouthpiece, and comes with a tiny USB charger. A loaded microG case with a gram or two of CO2 honeycomb is literally all you need for a two-week vacation. Electrical parts come with a one-year warranty.
Vaporite Sapphire
MSRP: $49.99
Type: vape pen
For use in: the home; on the go
Use with: semifluid oils
Heating element: battery, wick, steel coil
Vaporite Sapphire Description
A key member of the vape pen family is “oil tank”–style devices that work with semifluid cannabis oil like BHO or CO2 extracts. These amber-colored, potent oils are sold at major dispensaries in the United States and must be poured into the oil tank. The Vaporite Sapphire vaporizes your oils and e-juices using a convection current generated by the Sapphire’s “clearomizer,” or oil tank. Vaporite has been focusing on affordable vaporizers for over ten years, and the reasonable $49.99 unit comes in black, blue, red, green, and silver. Like many in its class, it features a rechargeable lithium ion battery, which screws onto the oil tank, which in turn screws into the mouthpiece. You unscrew the mouthpiece to dribble oil in and refill the tank, which holds up to 1.6 mL of THC oil or e-juice. The Sapphire measures five inches tall and a half-inch in diameter, and since it looks just like an e-cigarette, it is very stealthy.
Vaporite Sapphire Review
In a crowded field of oil tank–style vape pens, the Sapphire stands out as especially easy to reload. A lot of pen vapes require several steps of disassembly to refill, but with the Sapphire, you just unscrew the mouthpiece and load it up. You’ll have a harder time finding oil that’s the right viscosity to flow into the Sapphire.
You want something runny enough that it can be squirted, or funneled into the tank, but thick enough that it won’t leak when the pen is accidentally inverted.
We had to put our syringe of THC refill oil in a Ziploc bag and place it in hot water to warm it up enough to flow into the tank, and even then it wanted to gunk up the top rim instead of flowing down into the bottom of the tank. A little more time warming in the baggy and some centripetal force got things down to where we wanted them to be. Inside the tank, two wicks soak up the oil and transfer it through osmosis into the tank’s central heating area.
Click the power button five times rapidly to unlock the battery, and the LED light on the bottom of the Sapphire will flash a few times. Then simply place your lips on the mouthpiece, press down on the power button while inhaling gently for about five seconds, release the button, and exhale. (The device’s auto-shut-off kicks in after 12 seconds of power.)
You can see thin vapor fill the empty space in the tank, which is a great form of visual feedback. We were very satisfied with the size of the vapor hits we could get off the Sapphire, as well as how smooth, cool, and light the vapor was without sacrificing potency at all.
The Vaporite Sapphire is an inexpensive oil tank–style vape pen.
Photo: David Downs
The lithium ion battery has more than enough power to keep the average person stoned on hash oil all day. It recharges in two to three hours via USB (with or without an AC adapter). The Sapphire is smart enough to auto-sleep after three minutes without use. The battery lasts about 300 charges, and replacements are cheap.
Bottom line, the Sapphire is a dirt-cheap, medium-quality, oil-tank vape pen that we love to have in our toolkit.
The Vaporite Emerald is a mid-level flower pen.
Photo: David Downs
Vaporite Emerald
MSRP: $99.99
Type: vape pen
For use in: the home; on the go
Us
e with: flowers
Heating element: ceramic oven, stainless steel coil
Vaporite Emerald Description
The Vaporite Emerald is part of a line of pens for flowers (Emerald), waxes (Ruby), and oils (Sapphire) carried exclusively at VaporNation.com. A solid, accessibly priced, stealthy pen vape that takes flowers, the Vaporite Emerald really typifies a subset of the pen market. It costs under $100, is the size of a large pen or highlighter, and comes in black, green, silver, or blue. It’s lithium ion battery–operated and rechargeable, and vapes (or sometimes burns) flowers by way of a stainless steel coil inside a ceramic chamber. The exterior is rubber-cased steel, with an LED light on the bottom and another on the center button. You charge the device via USB with or without an AC adapter, and you turn it on or off with five swift clicks to the center button.
Vaporite Emerald Review
The Vaporite Emerald isn’t meant to last through the years, but at $89.99 with online discounts, you can afford to burn through one each year. It has a paltry, 90-day warranty on the battery, but that’s typical for this class, which all seems to come out of the same factory in China, with different labels. The technology involved isn’t rocket science, and competition has brought prices down.
A rocket is a good way to think of the Emerald. The components stack on top of one another like an old rocket, with the battery at the bottom, followed by the herb chamber, connector, filter, and mouthpiece. The Emerald uses standard 510 threading so it can pair with other accessories that do as well. The trickiest part of the Emerald is the tiny, disposable ceramic screens. They have to be inserted in the herb chamber at the bottom against the heating coil so they can act as a buffer that keeps the red-hot coil from directly contacting and burning the flower.
We first tried to use the Emerald without the ceramic screen and got a smoky thick hit equivalent to puffing on a joint. We also blackened the inside of the heating chamber. D’oh.
But with the ceramic screen in there, the Emerald actually works as a decent vaporizer, delivering light, sweet, potent vapor hits. The device came out of the box with a charge, and we were vaping in seconds with two to three pinches of herb in the chamber. Just hold the center button down for a few seconds and softly inhale the vapor. The device automatically shuts off if held for longer than 12 seconds, and auto-sleeps if not used for three minutes. It takes 2–3 hours to recharge the battery, which is good all day. The battery lasts about 300 charges, and Vaporite parts are among the cheapest to replace, which is good because the ceramic heating chamber only lasts for about a month of regular use. Cleaning after every use with the included brush prolongs the oven’s life-span.
This thing is stealthy! It looks like any other e-cig, and so long as you blow vapor and not smoke, no one in public is the wiser. For a middle-of-the-road flower pen vape, we were very satisfied.
Ploom Pax
MSRP: $249.99
Type: portable
For use in: the home; on the go
Use with: flowers; plus high-grade bubble hash and/or kief
Heating element: nonceramic tuned thin film; stainless steel
Ploom Pax Description
The reigning champ of portable flower vapes is the Pax, designed in San Francisco by Ploom and manufactured oversees.
It’s a high-quality, long-lasting, chic device, about the size of a squat flashlight, that easily fits in your palm. The Ploom Pax is a conduction vape, with a tiny oven in the bottom hooked up to a built-in, quick-recharge battery. It’s officially for use with tobacco, but its compatibility with pot is widely known.
Finely ground herb goes into the oven in the bottom, which is secured by a magnetized plug. You click the rubber mouthpiece on top to turn on the Pax, and it heats up in seconds. A tiny little LED on the body goes green when it is ready. Softly drawing on the mouthpiece delivers ample vapor hits. The Pax has three temperature settings, which are adjusted by a switch hidden in the bottom. It comes in green, blue, purple, and black, with a 10-year warranty on defects.
Ploom Pax Review
The Pax makes its case for quality right from the simple, minimal packaging. It comes with a small charging dock, instruction manual, and cleaning brush. It’s weighty at 2.6 oz, and it feels solid. The outer shell is bead-blasted anodized aluminum, like an Apple MacBook, so it’s built to withstand the inevitable drop. All plastic components are food-safe engineering plastics, and the vapor path is constructed entirely from medical-grade components.
We love how smart this thing is. The lithium ion internal battery charges in its dock in under two hours. The Pax has smart-charge technology, so the device can be charged in any state—full or empty—and cannot be overcharged. It also has an onboard accelerometer, so if it sits still for 20 seconds, it goes into standby mode and lowers the oven’s heat to 302°F (150°C). If it sits still for three minutes, it shuts off. You can also shake the Pax to check the battery life. The four tiny LEDs flash green when full, or glow red when drained.
The Pax represents the high end of the portable flower vape market.
Photo: Ploom
The Pax’s three settings are low (370°F [188°C]), medium (390°F [199°C]), and high (410°F [210°C]). We recommend setting it to medium to start. The oven in the bottom can fit about three-quarters of a gram, and you’ll want to fill it up halfway or more. (It’s a conduction vaporizer, so the heat is transferring off the walls of the steel box onto the plant matter.)
The two neodymium magnets that secure the oven plug are incredibly strong and sub-flush with the housing, so you don’t have to worry about it popping off in your pocket.
The Pax heats up rapidly, in under 30 seconds, and drawing softly yields a thin, flavorful vapor. You’re not going to get fat, thick hits off the Pax—it’s not that kind of device. But the vapor is just as potent. A fully charged Pax will last one medium-level smoker for about one day of use. Heavy tokers wish it lasted longer. But you can also mix in some high-grade bubble hash or kief for stronger hits. Use hash that’s going to leave very little residue, and don’t use any oil or BHO. When it gets hot, BHO liquefies and goops things up. You clean the Pax with the included brush every dozen or so uses, and it also comes with a packet of mouthpiece lubricant, if you find the on/off switch sticking.
Our biggest complaint is the lack of visual feedback when hitting the Pax. Actually seeing the vapor or smoke is such an intrinsic part of smoking or vaping, and is crucial to titration. Sipping on the Pax provides no such information. Only the taste, temperature, and lung-feel of the vapor gives you any clue as to how big a hit you took—until you exhale, and by then it’s too late. The Pax is also less stealthy than some of its competitors. But those are minor issues. The Pax is a luxury item for dedicated connoisseurs, and neophytes love it, too.
Nectar Collector.
Nectar Collector’s Rocket Girl by Laceface, Raven Johnson and Kristian Merwin
Photo: Wasatch Glassworks
Chapter 6.
Dabbing—
The Gear
Accessories for consuming marijuana concentrates are as old as the substances themselves, which go back for thousands of years, but consumers today are witnessing an explosion in dab gear with more products hitting the market every day.
Dabbing is the act of vaporizing concentrated cannabis. Most often people use special pipes designed or modified to consume concentrated cannabis products. The term “dabbing” presumably comes from the tiny amount (“dab”) of concentrate needed for a single dose.
This honeycomb has ideal dryness and a great, light color.
Photo: David Downs
Dabbing is a way to consume large amounts of THC and other cannabinoids with radically less smoke. For example, patients with Crohn’s disease or multiple sclerosis can use one dab instead of smoking an entire joint in order to get the same relief from stomach pain or muscle spasms, respectively.
To use the Dab Straw, heat the tip and dip into an extract. Inhale through the mouthpiece just like a regular pip
e.
Marijuana concentrates offer potent levels of cannabinoids and intense medicinal or recreational effects, with just a fraction of the vapor or smoke volume and attendant irritation of raw cannabis. Modern marijuana averages 12% THC in the raw flowers, but modern concentrates can be four to six times that potent. Instead of smoking a joint, dabbers enjoy just a tiny sip of flavorful, cool, ultrapotent hash vapor.
Dabbing is to marijuana what hard liquor shots are to beer. In addition to having clear medical applications, dabs are used by recreational smokers for many of the same reasons: They offer powerful effects with less smoke. Dabs get you very stoned, very quickly.