Vape Pen 101

There are a few different types of cannabis vape pens: 

1. Disposable - this is usually going to be the most cost effective, they can come in distillate as well as live resin. 

2. Cartridge - These are attachments that contain the product that you attach to an external battery 

3. Pods - these are specialized cartridges that have to be used with specific pens such as COCO Pods and Pax Pods.    

Disposable Carts - 

This would have to be my least favorite product to purchase as a consumer, while they are often cheaper and the most convenient option for on the go, they do tend to have the most issues. One of the biggest issues I have with disposable pens is how wasteful they are, while you don’t have to charge the batteries usually (though shout out to the companies who sell rechargeable ones), at the end of the day you still end up throwing all of that hardware away once you have finished consuming the product. I have often found that the ones I have purchased also died before I was able to finish the product inside which was frustrating due to the amount of wasted product I was left with. 

I often get to hear about the issues that people have with disposable carts, but I have almost come to expect it. One of the biggest complaints I have heard, aside from the one listed above, would be the fact that disposables do not seem to hit as hard and give the same effect. I hear people stating that they have to use more products and take more than what they would normally have to. For this reason I would not recommend a disposable for anything other than a good road trip companion. 

While I sound harsh, that doesn’t mean that the products that go into them are not quality products, it just means that you get what you pay for. It is to be assumed in all cases, if you are paying less, you are most likely getting exactly what you pay for. 

Cartridges - 

I am not a huge distillate fan personally, I much prefer live resin carts, Carts are a replaceable piece that may cost more upfront, but usually come with more product and better quality equipment. This is an attachment that you will put on an external battery, there are a variety of companies that are constantly coming out with the next best thing in batteries. My favorite thing about Carts in general is how discreet they are. You can’t light up a joint in every situation, but it is easy enough to pop your head out a window or door to hit this vapor producing product.  

A side note, the basic function of a vape pen - a vape pen consists of a heating element that heats up the cannabis oil around it to produce the desired effect of medicating oneself. It often smells less offensive, doesn’t cling to clothing, and its vapor dissipates quickly making it incredibly discreet. They are small items that are constantly lost in my car and purses, but when I find them, boy am I happy. 

Thanks to many companies producing Live Vape Carts, I do tend to keep one on my person for times I am at the park with my kiddos or at a family function. It helps keep me consistently medicated in a discreet way that helps keep away unwanted negative criticism. IYKYK. (If you know you know) 

Pods - 

Much like the above cartridge, pods function the same way, they come in a variety of strains and levels, live and distillate. The biggest downfall to these is that they are not interchangeable with other batteries, this means that they can be difficult to find because not every store will carry them. I have tried a variety of the different pods such as the Bellos from COCO, the PAX pods by Lotus, and the Airo Pods. While I have been pleasantly surprised by all of the above, the fact that they are a specialty product makes it a bit more difficult for me to justify the investment. 

I would like to tie this blog back to my blog on oxidation, one of the biggest issues that people have with carts. Disposables, as mentioned above, are where you will find the biggest amount of oxidation. This means that the color of the oil has changed and a minuscule amount of the thc has been converted to CBN, lowering the THC percentage in very small amounts. It is the reason that when you pull out that disposable it is not as pretty as the cartridges you have gotten. 

Now before anyone gets up in arms about this post, I am not hating any type of product. I myself have purchased an ungodly amount of disposable pens in my hayday. These are things I simply wish I had known when I first started smoking, I wish I had known the difference between live and disty, aka distillate, I wish I had known how to get the wasted oil out that way I wasn’t throwing away usable product, but I didn’t know. Now that I do, I am able to make educated decisions on the products I am buying, the companies I am supporting, and the chemicals that I am putting into my body. 

What else do you guys want to know more about?

Let me know!

Til Next Time

The STL Stoner Mom