Howdy! My older bro around the same age is also in the same boat - they are still at the early stages of giving up the bottle. I really want to introduce them to this miracle plant - but I'm still holding off a bit longer before anything haha.
Smoking sucks anyway - it stinks, and it's terrible for your body. Dry vaporizing and edibles is the way to go. Fun part about dry vapes is that you can use different temps to choose what sort of affects you get from the plant.
Venture bros takes me back to a different era - I love it. I grew up watching Johnny Quest haha.
Coming from dry herbal vaporizing, no. I have found some concentrates are more "Full spectrum" than other concentrates.
A lot of it comes down to how it's extracted from the plant. Temperature and pressure can alter what gets extracted into the concentrate.
Personally I equate most concentrates to junk food - yes they taste great, but they don't give you the full nutritional content of a healthy salad.
Same with dry herbal vaporizing - it lets you extract everything you want from the plant, directly. Yes it's not as concentrated and for a dabber they probably won't get much enjoyment from dry vaporizing since it's a slower extraction. But after having "dabbled" with a bunch of different concentrates myself over the years, I'm perfectly content with dry herbal vaporizing.
Just my $0.02
Vapcap for the win. I'm about to enjoy my 2020 Vapcap-M which was personally gifted to me by George (founder and inventor of the Vapcap) - we go way back (both of us were founding our businesses in the same year and experienced challenges dealing with financial BS like Paypal suspending our accounts).
Look into dry herbal vaporizing instead of using concentrates for more consistent results. Different temperatures cook out different active compounds from the flower.
This lets you select your favorite temperatures depending on time of day or mood/strain. For example if you only have indica-leaning hybrids but want the uplifting euphoric affects of sativa, you can vape the hybrid at lower temps to extract the sativa side. You won't get as much vapor but it will only release that side of the herb.
If you desire sleep, I'd be focused on higher temp vaporizing with a CBD or indica dominate strain.
So when dry vaporizing we are basically doing the same thing...... except much hotter - we're talking closer to 150c and hotter to release the vapor from the herb.
In fact, we use different temperatures (between 150c and 220C) to release different medical benefits from the flower (low temps around 150C for more uplifting cerebral effects, and high temps over 200C for more pain relief and sedation).
Recently picked up a 1g preroll of cannabis from the dispensary and left it in my car for a week (ambient temps around 41°). When I went to smoke it, it smelled the same and looked the same (was in a sealed plastic container) but it had no effect whatsoever. Does THC degrade at high ambient temps?
Yes something will start to degrade at 40c, but what you experienced is not that......
Fun story for you:
I had a similar experience in Las Vegas. While attending a CHAMPS trade show (420 industry b2b event) in Las Vegas, the different recreational dispensaries were giving away free pre-rolls and large discounts to any customer who had a CHAMPS badge from the show. Since I don't combust (dry vaporizing only), I took the free pre-roll from one dispensary and emptied the shake. Then I cooked it in my dry herbal vaporizer.
Except I got literally zero vapor!!!! I honestly thought my vaporizer was broken. Until I reloaded the device with some fresh top-shelf flower and boom, I got a ton of vapor. As it turns out, the dispensary I visited was extracting all concentrate from the herb to sell wax concentrate to customers. The leftover shake from that process was put into pre-rolls and sold as cheap 1g smokes despite the fact that they contained essentially zero active compounds.
To the average smoker, its cheap and it produces smoke (plus the combustion creates a toxic cocktail of carcinogenics and carbon monoxide can yield temporary euphoric and sedative affects which fools many ents). But with my dry herbal vaporizer I immediately noticed the problem.
So to answer your question, no I highly doubt that leaving a pre-roll in a car at 40c would cook off ALL active compounds. Maybe some low-temp terps, but not everything.
Does that dispensary also sell concentrates? It's very likely they are trying to double-dip by selling both the concentrates and the trash shake as pre-rolls so they can increase profits. And I'm sure the local government doesn't care that they're misleading customers - because they're still earning tax revenue and all that jazz.
If you don't believe me, it would be really easy to test with a dry herbal vaporizer - put some of that pre-roll into a dry vaporizer set to 200C and start cooking - do you see much vapor production? Or does the device produce practically zero vapor? That'd be because there are no active compounds left to extract at those temps.
Just my $0.02
Hey that's awesome - happy to hear you made the switch. For sure the Vapcap is a unique vaporizer in this industry, I knew when I handled my first vapcap (the og glass model with metal cap) it was going to be a hit as soon as I saw people modding the design and the metal versions hitting the market.
George (the inventor and founder of Dynavap) and I actually go back a ways - we both founded our business in the same year and got kicked off paypal around the same time :lol: I have an original first-gen titanium Omnivap and currently enjoying a 2020-M which was personally gifted to me by George at an industry trade show in Vegas (ah I love how small-business this industry was a decade ago haha, it's a lot bigger now than it used to be for sure).
Cheers to your health!
Around 15 years ago, I learned about dry vaporizing, but I never gave it a try. A year later, I bought a cheap knockoff vaporizer from a local smoke shop, and it turned out to be terrible. Funny enough, I recently dug it out and found it still sucks (laughs).
Then, about a decade ago, a friend introduced me to the Pax1 vaporizer, and I was blown away. It was a game changer—a portable, handheld device for dry herb vaporization. From that point on, I was hooked. I started with a Davinci Ascent, created aftermarket accessories for it, and eventually founded Delta3DStudios. Now I get to play around with various dry herb vaporizers and come up with ways to improve them or make them more user-friendly.
Transitioning from smoking to dry vaporizing can be challenging for some. Many heavy smokers claim that dry herb vaporizing doesn't give them the same "hit." The truth is, their bodies are used to the effects of a toxic mix of carcinogens and carbon monoxide. Fortunately, I had an easier transition. My partner didn't allow smoking indoors, but they let me vaporize indoors during one cold winter. I quickly adapted to the vaporizer, and it had a positive impact on my health, which I hadn't anticipated. First, my sense of smell returned with a vengeance. I didn't realize how much smoking had affected it. Additionally, as someone who frequents the gym, I noticed an increase in endurance and lung capacity. My lungs felt lighter. This is just my personal experience, but the difference between smoking and vaporizing was incredible.
At this point, I've handled countless vaporizers, and I've lost count of how many devices (working, dead, broken, etc.) I have in my collection (which I use to test new accessories for the market, haha).
Here are some tips from one enthusiast to another:
Different temperatures extract different active compounds from the herb. Low temperatures work best for sativa strains, while higher temperatures are better for indica and CBD strains. You can vape a hybrid strain at low temperatures to extract the sativa side and at high temperatures to extract both sides. You can also start at a low temperature for one session and then increase the temperature for the next session.
Every device performs differently. Some are stealthier, some heat up faster, some produce larger clouds, some provide tastier vapor, and some are easier to clean, among other differences. There is no such thing as a "perfect" device for everyone in every situation. I use different devices depending on my mood, location, and whether I have guests. Some of my favorite butane-powered devices are not meant for sharing because they're prone to combustion, which affects the flavor of subsequent sessions.
It's not recommended to reheat the herb at the same temperature, but you can have one session at a lower temperature and then increase the temperature by 20 degrees Fahrenheit or more for each subsequent session.
Don't jump straight to the maximum temperature, especially with portable vaporizers. Enjoy the journey. Start at a low temperature, around 300 degrees Fahrenheit, and gradually increase it by 10-20 degrees every few minutes.
Temperature sensors usually monitor the heater's temperature, not the core temperature of your herb. If you take hard or fast draws with many devices, you might cool down the heater faster than it can recover the temperature. Depending on the device, try slowing down your draw. I recommend a draw speed of 15-20 seconds to slowly fill your lungs. Of course, high-powered desktop devices may allow for harder draws, but I'm speaking generally.
Many portable vaporizers have underpowered heaters due to size constraints and power limitations imposed by lithium power cells. It takes some time for a portable device to reach optimal extraction temperatures. Therefore, it's especially important to start at a low temperature, like 300 degrees Fahrenheit, for the first 1-2 minutes before increasing it to your desired level. This helps the device "preheat," allowing it to adjust the temperature faster when you start taking longer draws at higher temperatures.
With regular use, people often build up a tolerance to their usual device. Load sizes, temperature settings, draw patterns, and more become habitual. By switching devices once or twice a year, you can "reset" these tolerances. It doesn't have to be an upgrade to a more powerful device. Sometimes, switching to a weaker, budget-friendly device can help reset your body's tolerance. I do it often to avoid overmedicating. So, don't throw away your old devices—cycle through them from time to time!
Vaporbonging is another fun way to enjoy vaporizers when pairing them with glass. However, keep two things in mind: Firstly, you don't need excessive filtration. Conditioning the vapor with moisture is enough; massive percolators and multiple water chambers can strip the vapor of its flavor (which can be useful when vaping unpleasant-tasting hash, for example). Secondly, while cold glass and ice may be enjoyable for smoking, they cause vapor particles to condense into larger particles, resulting in more throat irritation. Therefore, when vaporbonging, use warm or hot water in the glass pipe instead of cold water and ice.
I could talk endlessly about this topic—I spend way too much time experimenting with and studying these devices and the wonders of this plant. Feel free to ask anything you'd like. I no longer contribute to Reddit, so I'm happy to share my knowledge here!
I make budder using a sous vide with mine:
Seal in a bag. Set SousVide to 180F and submerge bag for 4 hours (depending on how you seal the bag - you might need to do a lower temp for longer)
I then pour the contents into a french press and strain into silicone butter molds. I toss that into the freezer to set up. After about an hour I crack open the silicone molds - the butter has solidified, but all the sediment and water settles to the bottom. So I gently crack open the molds and pour out this black-ish water (alternatively you can let it fully freeze as an ice cube at the bottom... then later pop it off as you thaw out the budder - either way works).
When baking with budder, I always stay at 325F and extend baking times by 25% to ensure the active compounds aren't cooked out.
Although one of my favorites is rice krispy treats since they use a lot of budder. Careful though - they can be extremely sedative.
I work in the industry and have owned/handled countless vaporizers (lost count around four dozen). Unlike oil vapes, dry herbal vaporizers perform very differently.
Dry herbal vapes come in many shapes and sizes - from stealthy portables to massive desktop units. Some are stealthy, some taste better, some cloud chase faster, some have better temperature regulation, etc.
The thing to understand is that for most ents who use dry vaporizers, we have multiple in our collection because there is no "perfect" device for every scenario. PLUS it's best to switch up devices a few times a year to avoid building up a "tolerance" to the device (it's mostly psychological due to the habitual use of the device - load sizes, temps used, draw patterns used, etc).
My advice would be to start with a good entry level budget-friendly device. Get your "bearings" on how dry vaporizers perform so you can then make a more educated decision when buying a second device (maybe you want one with a larger oven, or faster extraction, etc) - it's a lot easier searching for comparison reviews where people say X device is different from Y device in such ways.
Like feel free to ask me about a bunch of different devices, I'll be happy to give you the pros and cons to that device (assuming I've handled it).
For a novice user, I have three suggestions:
Xmax V3 Pro - great entry level device, removable 18650 battery (easy to swap out batteries and keep vaping), two cooking modes "session" (my favorite for the device) and "on demand" (less efficient, but pushes heater to heat up faster for a quicker "puff")
POTV One Vaporizer (HealthyRips Fury Edge device with a few revisions for the specific vendor). I'd say it cooks a bit more efficiently overall than the Xmax v3 pro, but non removable battery is bad thing to some people
Dynavap Vapcap-B - a great budget friendly device that's awesome when you learn how to use it. It's an analog device with a cult-like following these days for good reason - it performs unlike most other devices on the market lol. They're a fun device for off-the-grid use because it can be heated with so many different methods (electric induction coil, cigar torch, campfire coals, tea candle, even a magnifier and sunlight!). I think a Vapcap belongs in everyone's collection (I even have a first-gen Omnivap from Dynavap which is made out of Titanium making it more indestructible lol)
Well, I discovered dry herbal vaporizers about a decade ago. Bought my first started making accessories for it..... and the rest was history.
These days I have literally countless dry herbal vaporizers in my collection. Aside from edibles, dry vaping is the only way I do it. In order to avoid building up a "tolerance" to the device, I make it a habit to cycle through devices once or twice a year switching to something else (sometimes more powerful cloud chasers, other times very discrete under-powered handheld devices).
I truly enjoy switching vaporizers because it allows me to reset my habits (load sizes, temperatures used, draw rate, etc). Sometimes I can cut back to less than a gram a month (once or twice a day medicating) and other times I can 'burn' through a lot more lol.
When it comes to the style of dry vaporizer, sometimes I enjoy direct draw, or I enjoy vaporbonging with a waterpipe. For social gatherings, I pull out my Arizer XQ2 and start filling balloons for friends so everyone gets their own bag of vapor to enjoy at their own pace.
Neither, I prefer dry vaporizing to combusting these days - it's healthier, tastes better, and I can customize what the affects feel like (different temps cook out different medical benefits from the plant)
But I still enjoy combusting socially when someone is passing something around, but I absolutely prefer flavor chasing with a dry vape