Vaporizers eliminate many of the byproducts of smoking or incensing. When you smoke herbs or essential oils a significant amount of the active ingredients are destroyed due to the high temperatures that combustion occurs at. Vaporizers conserve more material and you use less material.

Smoking the old fashioned way creates a strong odor no matter what plant materials are burned. Through the vaporization process only almost transparent vapor remains.

There are many different types of  vaporizers, and they all have different set-ups, styles and methods of operation.

The range of prices is tremendous with vaporizers. High priced units generally have more parts and technical know-how incorporated in the unit. Some less expensive methods can yield good results. Personal preference plays a role in deciding which type of unit to buy. If you can try out different types, that obviously is the best way to make a choice and distiguish between the various options.

Forced Air Vaporizers are generally the most expensive and these convection vaporizers force hot air over the herbs. Some force hot air over the herbs to fill a bag with a powerful pump. Others use a much lighter forced air. Some use pumps, which usually provide a stronger more consisent air flow, while others use fans which provide more of a passive air flow. 

Standard vaporizers require you to manually pull the hot air over the herbs.

Digital Vaporizers use a digital readout vs an analogue dial.

Portable vaporizers are getting a lot more popular and now there are several types of portables.

The choice between vaporizers comes down to personal preference and money. Testing the different types is really the best way. In other cases, people find the need to buy many vaporizers, each filling a different use.

The more expensive vaporizers are generally built better, and they have better reliability. All of the vaporizers we sell are proven over time. Many vaporizers use a glass handkit and with most of these you have to draw air through a food grade tube. This tried and true design is used by more vaporizers than any other.

Inexpensive vaporizers generally work, but the materials and quality may not be what it is with more expensive models. Handheld units provide great convenience, and they are getting better and better, but they generally do not have the same performance as the table top models. Portables have some great functionality, but they generally don't have the same output or the air flow is not quite what it is with a larger unit.

The Volcano is the standard for therapeutic applications, and it represents a lot of the over-all market. The Volcano is a workhorse that provides unsurpassed performance. However, the Volcano is expensive and cumbersome, and it takes some effort to get it set up and running, even though it is very easy to use. Yet, the Volcano provides unsurpassed performance and it works for a wide range of applications.

Different vaporizers have different strengths and weaknesses, and some people prefer certain styles over the others. No vaporizers are best at all things.

Check out some of our other articles for more information.