Using vaporizers has been considered the new norm especially when it comes to later generations of dry herb consumers. However, one cannot deny that smoking from a pipe has its own allure. Today, we will look into what dry herb consumption method is better; smoking from a pipe or vaping from a vaporizer.
Let us find out...
POWER OF THE HIT
One of the most common reasons for consuming dry herb strains is taking advantage of their properties, whether that be CBD or something else. The natural psychoactive ingredients in your botanical plant matter, CBD or THC. The main components in the herbs that you feel when you inhale the smoke or vapor from your pipe or vaporizer. And while it will have the same boiling point whether you use a smoking pipe or a vaporizer, the effects from hitting either of them are significant.
When hitting from a smoking pipe, whether you are using a bong, a water pipe, or a one-hitter, you can get one or at least two significant hits. The amount of smoke that gets into your body is so substantial that the amount of psychoactive compounds can knock you off your socks. Moreover, smoking pipes can reach high temperature levels quickly and when you expose your dry herb strains to high heat, it intensifies and amplifies the psychoactive compounds giving you a relatively strong head high. On the other hand, using a vaporizer gives you small amounts of vapor slowly. That said, you inhale the vapor gradually which then gradually introduces THC into your system. This makes for a slow but steady high. Plus, because the vaporizer does not abruptly heat the herbs like smoking from a pipe does, the psychoactive effects are not as intense.
On that note, smoking pipes are often the choice of many recreational consumers while dry herb vaporizers are the better option for medicating patients.
Which brings us to...
PURITY OF PRODUCT
The end product you get when you use vaporizers is vapor. Vapor is cleaner because vaporizers work by heating the herbs without getting to the point of combustion. Many high-quality vaporizers use devices outfitted with convection ovens or chambers. That said, convection heating offers superior vaporization of ground botanical plant matter as it uses and capitalizes on the power coming from heated air. Air can better permeate the ground material, thus, producing better vapor quality as the herbs get heated and vaporized evenly with very minimal waste and allowing you to inhale a final product that is fit for medical consumption.
On the other hand, you get a very different kind of product from smoking. Smoking requires the herbs to burn to extract the active ingredients. When you burn herbs, you get a harsh product as smoke can be very irritating on the throat and lungs. Depending on your tolerance and if you are used to smoking, it can get you to cough or get teary eyed. This effect is something some consumers look for as it gives them a sense of edge when they consume their dry herbs. Another difference between smoke and vapor is that smoke can carry free radicals, as when the herbs are burned, they are broken down to the smallest atom which causes the molecules to become unstable that result in these free radicals. Free radicals will not immediately cause harm, but studies show that constant exposure to them has led many researchers to believe that they cause cancer.
CONVENIENCE AND PORTABILITY
Depending on your preference, using a smoking pipe or a vaporizer can be more convenient. When using a smoking pipe, all you need to do is pack your bowl and light it up. Smoking pipes with water filtration systems like bongs will require a little more preparation. You will have to fill the bong with water, and in some cases ice, before you pack the bowl and light it up. When using vape pens, you do not use a lighter but instead use a battery powered or an electric heating element. That said, most vaporizers will require to be plugged in or recharged before use. Instead of getting on-demand sessions, you will have to plug the device in first or recharge the battery. However, vaporizers can be very discreet as they produce less dense clouds and they do not smell that much. That is why many consumers bring portable vaporizers with them so they can take their sessions almost anywhere they go. Vaporizers will leave no ash when you vaporize, and the heated herbs will stay inside the chamber until you remove it.
FLAVOR RETENTION
Arguably one of the best reasons why many smokers have switched to vaporizers, vaporizers offer better tasting flavors than smoking pipes. Especially when you use vaporizers that have preset temperature settings or those that run on precision temperature controls, you can set the temperature down to a low setting as some of the flavonoids and terpenes that give your favorite herbs its flavor and aroma are released at a lower temperature level. Active ingredients like Pinene and Limonene are extracted at a lower temperature range. Pinene, the active ingredients that give the herbs that pine fresh scent is released at 311° F. Limonene, a citrusy compound is activated at 349° F. When using a vaporizer, you can opt to trigger these active ingredients which can make your sessions more fun and rewarding. When you smoke the herbs, you are exposing your herbs to high temperature levels. Just imagine that a standard Bic lighter can produce heat as high as 3,590.6° F. Moreover, the smoke can mask the flavor of the herbs and give it a burnt taste instead.
VAPE VERSUS PIPE CONCLUSION
Selecting between a vaporizer and a smoking pipe all boils down to your preference. What we can say is that if you are conscious about your health, vaporizers are quite the clear choice. On the other hand, if you value potency and the harshness of smoke, picking up a smoking pipe for yourself is not all that bad.