Have you tried to stop smoking weed through vaping, only to give up and be frustrated with the experience? You're not alone, since smokers often have a hard time moving from pipes and papers to a vaping device. However, if you knew how to find the best vape for heavy smokers, it might be easier to stick with vaping!
In this article, we'll talk about what to look for in a vape for a former heavy smoker, and why it matters to take your time to pick the right one.
What Vape Should a Heavy Smoker Use?
Are you a heavy smoker? This can be hard to determine with weed, since there's a lot of variables that determine how much you end up smoking. If you smoke cheaper weed, you may smoke more to get the same high as top shelf strains. You may have a naturally high tolerance, or you may overestimate your weed consumption compared to others.
Keeping those factors in mind, we'd consider heavy weed smokers to have at least two of the following qualities:
- Daily smoker
- Smoking several times a day
- Smoking more than 7 grams a day (or a quarter ounce)
If you smoke with pipes, you may find the transition to a vape to be very natural. Both involve the ritual of packing and enjoying a bowl (for vapes, it's the heating chamber). The ritual of smoking can be missed as much as the throat hit or the high, so packing the heating chamber can help to replace your smoking ritual.
How to Choose A Vape For A Heavy Smoker
The best vapes for heavy weed smokers are the ones that eliminate the pain points of a traditional dry herb vaporizer. These are usually devices with power batteries, large heating chambers for bud, and are easy to use in public. Of course, keep in mind that different devices will fit different people's needs, so be sure to consider what you specifically want before making a purchase.
There are also some unexpected choices for heavy weed smokers. A vape that can use wax might be a great idea, since concentrates have high amounts of THC, so you can vape less for the same (or even much stronger), high.
What To Look For in Your Vape as a Heavy Smoker
Here are some potential features or even device designs that might appeal to you as a heavy smoker:
- Long battery life or removable batteries
- A large heating chamber
- Able to produce vapor quickly
- The ability to vape wax (if your tolerance is high)
- Variable heating options (so you can experiment to find the best throat hit)
- A discreet design that's easy to travel with
If you consider yourself a heavy smoker, but only enjoy your bud at home, a desktop vaporizer might be an option for you. Keep in mind that you cannot use this style of device on the go, but they're unmatched in how much vapor they produce in a single setting.
What Does Mouth to Lung Vaping Mean For a Heavy Smoker?
Mouth-to-lung vaping (or MTL vaping) describes how you are supposed to take a draw from your device. MTL vaping means you'll draw vapor into your mouth first, and then inhale that vapor after holding it in your mouth. This term is usually used for nicotine vapes (since different devices are designed for different inhalation methods).
For a convection vaporizer, you can choose how you want to take a draw. We recommend using the MTL method, since it mimics how weed smokers take their hits. It also helps to avoid taking in an unexpectedly hot and harsh hit, which can cause irritation or a coughing fit.
Why Does the Right Device Matter?
If you're serious about reducing or eliminating the amount of weed you smoke, then finding an ideal device is incredibly important. If you haphazardly buy a vape and it's annoying to use, the odds of you getting frustrated and going back to smoking are high. Take your time to consider what you want, and make sure to avoid impulse purchase decisions.
Can I Quit Smoking With Vaping?
While there's not much research about whether vaping weed can help you stop smoking weed, anecdotal experiences seem to say yes. Vaping provides the same level of high as smoking, and sometimes a stronger high if you don't smoke regularly. Vaping dry herbs can help replace the ritual of smoking weed, too, since you're still packing a bowl and vaping leisurely.
It's possible that vaping weed can help you stop smoking, and considering the dangers of smoking anything, changing to vaping seems like a safer choice.
Factors to Consider In Vapes For Heavy Smokers
Here's a final list of factors to consider if you're a heavy smoker looking for a vape:
- How easy it is to use the device (the easier it is, the more likely you are to use it)
- Battery life or exchangeable batteries (chronically having a dead battery will discourage vaping)
- Adjustable airflow and temperature (the more you can customize your experience, the better chance you have to stick with vaping)
Remember, if you're a heavy smoker because you have a high tolerance, then consider moving to more powerful forms of THC. For example, wax concentrates are very powerful and are vaped instead of smoked. Vaping a small amount of wax may be a more convenient, less frustrating choice than vaping large amounts of bud.
Takeaways: Be Patient and Make The Right Vape Choice
At the end of the day, you have to remember that there isn't a one-size-fits-all device for heavy smokers. You need to take time to think about the features that will keep you vaping and keep you away from smoking, even if that means paying more for an ideal device.
In general, look for devices that are easy to use, easy to clean, produce vapor quickly, and have variable heating adjustments.