Vaporizing medical cannabis is one of the healthiest and most efficient ways to get all the therapeutic benefits of cannabinoids and terpenes. However, many medical marijuana patients are put off by the high cost of some of these whole flower vaporizers.
Luckily, you don’t need to break the bank when you’re out shopping for a quality vaporizer.
Continue reading below to find out the best bang for your buck vaporizers on the market today.
What Is a Whole Flower Vaporizer?
A whole flower (or dry herb) vaporizer is a device that allows you to smoke medical marijuana without combustion. That means you get only the important compounds like cannabinoids and terpenes and nothing else.
Dry herb vaporizers use conduction or convection heating to vaporize cannabinoids and terpenes. Conduction heating is like heating something on a frying pan—basically, the medical marijuana heats up with direct contact with the heating element.
Convection heating is when the device circulates hot air around the weed, heating it up indirectly.
These devices aren’t to be mixed up with other vaporizers like “vape pens,” which are used to smoke concentrates like CO2 extracts or wax.
Why Are the Advantages of a Whole Flower Vaporizer?
Since there’s no combustion, a whole flower vaporizer is technically healthier for you. When we usually smoke medical marijuana, we’re setting the plant material on fire—also known as combustion.
Once the cannabis is lit, we draw cannabinoids, terpenes, and other plant materials straight into the lungs. The hot and dense smoke can easily irritate the lungs, especially after a long smoke session.
Dry herb vaporizers don’t combust the cannabis but heat it up just enough to get the cannabinoids and terpenes to become a vapor. Users find that vaporizers are much easier on the lungs.
The other advantage of whole flower vaporizers is their efficiency. If we think about lighting cannabis on fire, it’s literally exploding.
The intense heat from combustion destroys a portion of the cannabinoids. Dry herb vaporizers don’t have this problem because the temperatures are never as high as a fire.
That means you get more out of your medical cannabis when you vaporize it rather than combust it.
The Best Budget Vaporizers
The only problem with whole flower vaporizers is that they can often be costly. Portable and desktop units can easily run $200 or more for the top-of-the-line models.
However, as the popularity of vaporizers has skyrocketed, more affordable units have entered the market.
There are two types of vaporizers, either portable or desktop. Which one is best for you depends on a few different factors.
Portable Vaporizers
Portable units are often the most popular types of whole flower vaporizers because they can be used on the go. Most portable vaporizers fit in the palm of your hand and consist of a battery, a chamber, and a mouthpiece.
These devices are durable, discreet, and easy to use. One of our favorites at the moment is the Utillian 421. Despite being much cheaper than a deluxe vaporizer, it has many of the same features.
Simply load up your medical cannabis and start vaping in 60 seconds at the push of a button. The Utillian 421 has five different temperature settings and uses convection heating.
Get up to an hour of vaping on a single charge before needing to plug it in. If the Utillan 421 ends up being your whole flower vape choice, don’t forget to consider the Zeus Bolt 2 Grinder with some of that money you saved! It is made of Aircraft Grade Anodized Aluminum, has diamond cut teeth to grind the perfect herb consistency for flower vaping and has an airtight magnetic lid. We really enjoy the removable screen feature that catches those all-important trichomes for later use.
If you’re looking for a device that performs way outside its price range, look no further than the AirVape XS GO. This sleek device uses a combination of convection and conduction to deliver perfect heating. You can’t beat the size of the XS GO’s extreme portability, and the tactic feedback is a cool feature.
One of the advantages of having a mid-tier vaporizer is that you don’t need to hassle with temperature settings. Most affordable portable vaporizers have pre-set temperatures, making them a breeze to use.
One of the best examples of this is with the Flowermate Slick. This slick vaporizer is all functionality and no-frills.
Featuring three tuned-in temperature settings, the Flowermate Slick can fit easily in your pocket. It requires only one button to turn it on, and you can get up to 9 sessions per charge.
Desktop Vaporizers
If you’re looking for an affordable vaporizer to use at home, then a desktop vaporizer will be right for you. Desktop vaporizers are only for home use but have a few key advantages over portable vaporizers.
For starters, desktop vaporizers don’t need to be charged, and they’re usually much easier to handle. On top of that, the vapor that comes out of desktop vaporizers is cooler.
As we mentioned before, hot air from combustion can irritate the lungs. However, at higher vaporizing temperatures, the hot air can do the same thing.
With most desktop vaporizers, there’s a whip or a bag to cool down the vapor from the vaporized medical marijuana.
One of our favorite budget desktop vaporizers is the convection heating Arizer V Tower. Even though the Arizer is an affordable desktop vaporizer, that doesn’t mean it compromises on quality.
With precise temperature controls, this whip-style desktop vaporizer is easy to use and clean.
If you’re willing to spend a little more on the upgraded version of the Arizer V Tower, then the Arizer Extreme Qmight be for you. We know that this unit costs quite a bit more than everything else we’ve mentioned, but it’s totally worth it.
The Arizer Extreme Q uses convection heating to vaporize any medical marijuana perfectly. The device comes with glass components and balloon bags for when you need loads of vapor.
Get Vaping
As you’ve seen from our list, both portable and desktop whole flower vaporizers can be affordable. However, it’s up to you to decide which type of device is right for you.
Before deciding on the perfect dry herb vaporizer, you’ll need to have a stash of flower from your favorite medical marijuana dispensary in Florida.
If you don’t have a medical marijuana license or need to renew yours, Compassionate Healthcare of Florida can help. Get your medical marijuana license today so you can get to vaping with your brand new vaporizer.
