Vaping from a weed pen can offer great benefits and some new challenges along the way. Unexpectedly hot or potent hits can cause uncomfortable coughing fits, and for beginners it can be difficult to get the perfect throat hit with new dry herb vaporizers. If you're curious about how to not cough when using a pen to vape weed, you've come to the right place!
We'll talk about expert tips to avoid harsh hits that can trigger coughing fits, and we'll talk about how to tweak your pulls to give you a more satisfying throat hit.
Why Do You Cough When You Vape?
There are a lot of reasons you cough when you vape. It could depend on your temperature settings, the kind of device you're using, or even what specifically is in your device.
Hot Hits
If you start vaping weed at a high temperature setting, you may cough on that first drag. Hot vapor can irritate your lungs, triggering a coughing fit. If you're new to using a dry herb vape, then start at a low temperature and work your way up to avoid surprise hot hits.
Too Much Vapor Too Quickly
Sometimes getting a pull off of a weed vape can require some extra effort, which makes it easy to unexpectedly get a big mouthful of vapor unexpectedly. Filling your lungs with an enormous hit can definitely make you cough.
Burnt Hits
If your conduction plate is dirty, or if you are vaping your bud on a wax temperature setting, you can scorch your weed. Getting a nasty mix of burnt smoke and hot vapor will make just about anyone cough. Convection vapes will usually avoid this issue but be careful with conduction vapes or vapes that are made to use weed and wax.
Old Weed or Low-Quality Wax
Old, dry weed or low-quality wax can create harsh vapor which can make you cough. If you're sure the device is clean, and coughing hasn't been an issue in the past, it might be time to get some new bud or live-resin wax.
What Can You Do to Avoid Coughing When Vaping?
Don't worry! If you hate coughing when you vape, there are ways to avoid it.
Vape At Cool Temperatures
You can't get surprised with a hot hit if you don't vape at high temperatures. Set your dry herb vape to a low setting, and if you don't get enough vapor, slowly increase the heat until you hit a nice middle ground of comfort and vapor production. Cannabinoids vaporize at different temperatures, so changing the heat settings will make a huge impact on your vapor.
Take Smaller Hits
Taking several small, quick hits instead of one, big hit can help avoid coughing fits. You'll get increased airflow with the vapor, so it will be less likely to irritate your lungs.
Clean Your Vape
If you keep coughing because your vape tastes burnt, and lowering the temperature didn't fix it, you may just need to clean your vape. This is especially true of conduction vapes, where bits of bud may get stuck on a hot plate, burning, charring, and covering the plate with burnt, sticky residue.
What Is a Throat Hit?
The term "throat hit" refers to how vapor feels in your throat when you take a pull off of your device. It can refer to any kind of vapor, though veteran vapers are used to seeing it used often for e-liquid vaping.
Throat hit is important for vapers who are interested in transitioning away from smoking weed to vaping weed. How smoke feels on the back of your throat is very different from vapor, and the difference is often enough to discourage weed smokers from sticking with weed vaping.
What Is the Perfect Throat Hit?
The perfect throat hit is whatever you want it to be. Maybe you enjoy the softer throat hit that dry herb vape is known for, or you may prefer the more present sensation that traditional smoke provides. There isn't a "wrong" kind of throat hit, though you may need to take some time adjusting your device to get the kind of throat hit you're looking for.
Steps To Get The Perfect Throat Hit
Getting the ideal throat hit with a weed vape can be tricky, but there are a few tricks you can use to tweak your pulls to make them more satisfying.
Adjust Your Airflow
The amount of air mixed with your vapor will have a huge impact. Less air will make your hits smaller for a softer throat hit, while more air will help make larger vapor clouds and a stronger throat hit. If you want big, satisfying puffs, you want as much airflow as possible!
Adjust Your Temperature
Higher temperatures make more vapor, which makes it easier to get larger, thicker puffs that have a stronger throat hit. Lower temperatures give cooler, thinner vapor, so the throat hit won't be as intense.
Change Your Device
If you aren't getting the kind of throat hit you want, regardless of what you change, you may need a different device. A convection vaporizer will usually provide a smooth, flavorful experience, but if you want a harsh throat hit, then a conduction vape may be a better option.
Even the best portable vaporizer might not give you the throat hit you need if you want enormous plumes of vapor. You may need to consider a desktop vape, which is a large, powerful, stationary device that can produce an enormous amount of vapor.
Different devices provide different experiences (and different throat hits), so keep that in mind if you're shopping for a new one!
Conclusion on Avoiding Coughing When Using a Vape
Nobody likes to cough when they vape, and nobody enjoys missing the throat hit they like. As long as you are patient with a given device, it's not hard to avoid coughing fits and finding out how to get the kind of throat hit you want. Good luck with your experimenting!
