Vaporizer Buying Guide

Things to consider when purchasing your first vaporizer, in what most consider to be order of importance:

• PRICE! How much does price drive your choice? You can get a very good vaporizer for as little as $150, or you can spend upwards of $700 if price is of no concern. Just remember, more expensive does not equal better in the vaporizer world.
• Delivery system. In what social settings will you vaporize the most? If you’re a big social user, then consider a bag delivery system (Extreme, Volcano, Herbalaire, Vapormatic, etc.). All of these units also have an option to use the whip, except the Volcano.
• Efficiency. Do you have tons of tobacco or herbs and just want the biggest inhales attainable, or are you more concerned about making your tobacco/herbs last, or are you somewhere in between?
• Manufacturer. Make sure to buy something from a reputable manufacturer (All the vaporizers for sale on VapeNow.com are manufactured by reputable companies with which we have frequent contact). Don’t buy something cheap that you don’t know where it came from. Chances are it may have come from China, where it has been confirmed that some models are made with lead paint in the vapor path.
• Learning curve. Do you want something easy to use (usually means less temperature and delivery options, but not always), or are you comfortable with a steeper learning curve?
• Temperature control. Do you want a digital control with the temp readout, an analog control with just a dial, or no control using a unit that is preset at the factory? Any vaporizer worth its salt will produce vapor regardless of the temperature control feature, but more control can be good if you will be vaporizing different types of tobacco or herbs.

I suggest you sit down and answer these questions yourself before buying anything. Start with price, because if it’s out of your price range, none of the other variables matter.

Once you have answered the above questions, it’s time to start reading about different vaporizers in our Staff Review Section and online forums. Fuckcombustion.com is an especially good forum. Don’t jump to a thread and post your questions without first reading the thread or, at least, using the search function to find answers. Most of your questions have already been answered in these threads. If you can’t find the answer to your question, go the ‘Ask the Vaporists’ forum and post it up there. Most of the members here want to help you, but don’t want to clutter up model specific threads with repeated questions.

Here are our opinions on a couple of units to give you an idea of how to think about a vaporizer when purchasing it:

Purple Days

• Pros: Great company, great price, unbeatable efficiency.
• Cons: Not the best party vaporizer, but it can be done.
• Neutral: It has no temperature control, which can be a good thing. The lack of a temperature control makes the learning curve easier, but makes it less adaptable for other herbs.

Extreme
(Store Listing)

• Pros: Has a whip and bag delivery system, great customer service, very versatile with tons of bells and whistles like a remote, moderately efficient.
• Cons: Is not the best on the market for either whip or bag delivery, but is the best at doing both.
• Neutral: It is a new design that is going through some growing pains in terms of manufacturing defects, but the company’s unsurpassed customer service more than makes up for it.

VaporGenie

• Pros: Good company that will send free replacement screens and mouthpieces, truly portable and does not need electricity, great price, moderately efficient.
• Cons: Can use up a lot of butane, can burn your tobacco or herbs, semi-steep learning curve.

Silver Surfer
(Store Listing)

• Pros: Cool design, good price, might be the thickest vapor available on the market, customizable.
• Cons: Low efficiency.

This is not meant to be an exhaustive list of good vaporizers or their features. We have used all of these vaporizers, so the points made here are from experience. This list was done to give you an idea of how to best think as someone who is new to vaporizing. Good luck, and remember to post a review of whatever you buy, especially if we don’t already have one on the site for the model you chose!