1. Adjustment from smoking
If you smoke a lot of potent cannabis and suddenly switch to a vaporizer, it’s possible you might not even notice the high immediately. It can be quite a subtle thing so it might be an idea (shock horror) to take a little break to let your body adjust to ‘not smoking’ so you will get more from your first vape hit. Obviously, this is going to depend a lot on which vape you end up using, but a short break of a day or even half a day may help you to properly appreciate what vaping is all about.
2. Maintenance
Some vaporizers are going to need regular maintenance. Some not so much. For example, if you use a portable like the Ploom Pax, that actually comes with a cleaning kit including pipe cleaners, and if you are a heavy toker then you are going to find yourself cleaning out that shaft every few days in order to keep the vape running at optimum.
This is not the case for other portables such as the Arizer Solo, so bear this in mind when considering what vaporizer will suit you best.
Desktop vapes tend to require less cleaning than portables. This site has some decent marijuana vaporizer reviews.
3. Subtlety
The thing about smoking a doob is that everybody within 20 metres or so of you is going to know what you are doing. That is not the case for vaping. You’d be amazed at the places that you can do a vape without being noticed. Clearly the popularity of vaping for cigarettes means now that you won’t immediately look like you are up to something that might be seen as suspicious. Whereas you had to pop out for a smoke before, there’s none of that involved with vapes, and you can even get away with having a quick blast in the supermarket if you like that sort of thing.
4. Differences in strains
There is no doubt about it that some strains go better in the vape than others. It’s like some strains were actually made for vaping because of the substantial effect and marvellous taste, whereas another strain might not quite tick the same boxes. Some weed is just better off being smoked in my humble opinion.
The only way to work this out is to find your favourite vaping strains and stick to those if you want to avoid all combustion. Remember if you do end up smoking a doobie or two and then going back to vaping then it’s not the end of the world.
5. Costs
If you can get into vaping long term then you are going to save a fortune on your weed, no two ways about it. Depending on the vape I would estimate that you will end up using a half or maybe even a third of the amount of weed that you would if you were smoking. And you’ll be just as stoned, but generally speaking in a more manageable way.
This is a significant factor for many people, and you will just be amazed at the differences possible in consumption, especially if you are used to smoking weed pure in a spliff. Your herb will stretch out for much more extended periods
6. A wider range of cannabinoid consumption
Because cannabis contains at least 113 identified cannabinoids, it always has slightly different effects. These cannabinoids all have different temperatures which they burn or boil at, so when smoking the herb a certain amount of cannabinoids are just not going to be present as they will have been burned off when a certain temperature is reached.
This is just not a problem with vaping as the temperature can be set to a preferred level and you will get to consume a broader range of cannabinoids just by merit of the fact that you are not burning your weed. You will absorb more of the medical qualities of the cannabis, and your skin will improve (from not smoking) I promise. Find out which vape is best for you here.
7. Going back to smoking can taste like a bonfire
Do be aware, once you are used to using a vaporizer that your taste buds and lungs adjust to it. Things (not sure what, exactly) start to grow back in your lungs that were being burned by regular smoking so, if you go back to a spliff after a long time vaping, you are almost certainly going to notice a kind of burning feeling in your lungs (mmm) and the weed that you are smoking is going to taste like a bonfire. Yes, disgusting. This taste pretty much shows you why you have been vaping all that time. It can be quite disgusting so do be careful swapping between smoking and vaping if you’ve been purely vaping for some time.
8. The effect can be adjusted by a change in temperature
One of the wonderful things about (most) vaporisers is that they can be adjusted. This changes the effect – as mentioned above different cannabinoids have different temperatures that they burn off at. Some people like to use low heat on their vape for a better taste whereas if you have been a cigarette smoker for many years, you may prefer to put the temperature up a bit, so you get something that feels more like a ‘hit’ in your throat. Everybody has their own favourite temperature.