Vaporizers heat dry herb, oil, or concentrate to a temperature high enough to activate your favorite herb without combustion so you can get the best out of your vape session. But you already knew that, right?

Here, we share the top 5 vaporizer brands (so you can get your hands on one of these vapes ASAP). Pair that with the highest quality flower, oil, or concentrate you can, and then give it a rip.

If you want to give up smoking cannabis, get a vaporizer that delivers on high-tech. Vaping weed won’t make you reek like smoke. It’ll be kinder to your throat and lungs. And, it’s more discreet. When you vape cannabis, the dose is easier to control, and the effects are smoother than smoking.

We did want to quickly explain the tech. There are 2 kinds of heating systems used in vaporizers to extract maximum potency and flavor: 1) conduction heating and (2) convection heating.

Conduction Heating vs. Convection Heating

With conduction heating, your herb contacts the heating element directly, like the coils in a vaporizer. This often indicates heating up quickly. However, if your herb gets too close to the heating element for too long, it could burn. An easy fix is to shift the herb around in the chamber.

Vaporizers that use convection heating are more expensive, but worth it for the vapor quality, especially with dry herbs. Your herb doesn’t contact the heating element directly with this type of vape. Instead, hot air circulates throughout the vape with every inhalation which indirectly vaporizes the herb. On the plus side, the vapor is very smooth and flavorful without combustion. On the minus side, convection vapes take longer to heat up.

Headshop’s Top 5 Vaporizer Brands for Quality & Value

1. G Pen

G Pen was the first vaping company to offer a tank system designed for essential fluids and aromatherapy regimens. Their mission is to create the most advanced, high-powered vapes with innovative technology at a price anyone can afford. With their line of vaporizers for dry herb or concentrate, there’s a device for everyone. We recommend the following vaporizer by G Pen:

We recommend the G Pen Connect Vaporizer

The G Pen Connect is a small convection vaporizer for concentrates that is very easy to use. The Connect can be adjusted to your ideal settings with three time-controlled settings activated by a button on the back of the device. With the G Pen, there’s no screen, but the LED "G" light lets you know what’s up. This vaporizer only takes proprietary G Pen cartridges (not a bad universe of cartridges to find yourself in).

2. PULSAR

Always at the forefront of the vaping industry, PULSAR is a veteran at designing and developing quality devices for the modern-day smoker. Recognized and respected for their APX line of vapes, they also offer other products and accessories. Their focus is on delivering exclusive, leading-edge products at the most reasonable prices. Consider the following vaporizer by PULSAR:

We recommend the Pulsar Flow Vaporizer

Pulsar's Flow vape is suitable for newbies or budget-conscious users. The device takes 30 seconds to heat up dry herb in its convection-heating chamber. The battery has five intensity settings and lasts for multiple sessions. The vapor quality is decent, and it more than gets the job done. 

3. DaVinci

The DaVinci brand is known for relentless innovation, constantly advancing the cannabis experience through meticulous design, engineering, and technology. Drawing from a history in hardware component design and manufacturing, DaVinci has focused on creating the most advanced and trusted products including the DaVinci Classic and the DaVinci IQ. We recommend the following vaporizer by DaVinci:

Vessel - Air [Jade]

Headshop

No reviews

$20.00

Pipe by Vessel [Rose Gold]

Headshop

No reviews

$70.00

Alchmey Naturals Broad Spectrum CBD Gummies - THC Free

Headshop

No reviews

$4.99

Vessel - Cone [Onyx]

Headshop

No reviews

$49.99

Vessel - Mill [Beechwood]

Headshop

1 review

$39.00

O.pen 2.0 Variable Voltage 510-Thread Battery

Headshop

No reviews

$29.99

We recommend the DaVinci IQ2 Vaporizer

The sleek and stylish DaVinci IQ2 conduction vape for dry herb has its own app to optimize settings. It also has a zirconia pathway to preserve the purest vapor flavors, also known as the "flavor chamber", as well as an airflow dial to control the dosage and vapor. It has some heft to it but is pocket-sized. Plus, it just looks really dope. This complex device lives up to its name and will not disappoint!

4. PAX Labs

PAX Labs has curated award-winning vaporizers with full flavor pods to make enjoying cannabis safe and easy. Over the last decade, they have created next-generation devices that deliver the highest quality through design and technology innovations. Trusted by millions of consumers across the nation, they’re the #1 cannabis brand in the U.S. Consider the following vaporizer by PAX Labs:

We recommend the PAX 3 Vaporizer

Considered the ultimate cannabis vaporizer, the PAX 3 is well known for all the right reasons. It’s a super popular vape for dry herb that uses gentle and even conduction heating for minimal waste. It’s high-tech, yet user-friendly, and gorgeous as well. The PAX 3 takes about 15 seconds to heat up and runs for 90 minutes before needing a charge. It’s easy to stash or show off in the latest colors of Sage, Sand, or Burgundy. You can get the 4-piece basic kit or the 8-piece full kit.

5. Firefly

Firefly achieved its goal of enhancing people’s lives with the best vaporizers in the world with its first product, the Firefly. Immediate praise came in from the New York Times, Wired Magazine, as well as from connoisseurs and vape experts. Firefly is the first and only vaporizer company to win “the Good Design Award” in 2014. We recommend the following vaporizer by Firefly:

We recommend the Firefly 2+ Vaporizer

The FireFly2+ is one of the “coolest” vapes for the in-crowd for dry herb and wax, and what we would consider a pro-level vaporizer. It’s a deluxe device designed for the high end, with convection heating that gives every inhale its own cycle of heating and cooling. That’s one of its major features. And, even though it uses convection heating, it only takes a few seconds to heat up. The only thing is, size-wise, it’s a large vape not meant to be hidden.

Wrap it up

We based our recommendations of the top 5 vaporizer brands on quality, performance, features, reliability, durability, and positive reviews. We hope it helps inform your buying decision!