Vape Pens & Vaporizer Pens

All About Vape Pens

Vape pens are a step up on the ladder of personal vaporizers as they are slightly more complex than basic e-cigarettes but they are simpler than the advanced portable vaporizers and box mods that have become widely popular today.

There are many reasons that you might choose to purchase a vaporizer pen for day-to-day vaping. Take your time and explore the huge range of options now available to you.

What is a Vape Pen?

As you may imagine, the name “vape pen” gives away one of the key characteristics of the devices we are discussing. They are small, pen-sized vaporizers that are designed to fit easily into a pocket or purse. Most of these vaping devices are hardly larger than the average ink pen, usually only a little bit longer. Some newer devices have a wider body, which definitely makes them larger than an ink pen, but they still maintain the same functions and layout as a smaller vape pen.

While most e-cigarettes rely on pre-filled cartridges to function, pens are among the first devices that will allow you to refill your tank with any vape juice of your choice. In addition, some vaporizer pens are designed to be used with other media besides vape juice. This added level of autonomy gives you more freedom with flavors, nicotine strength and other factors.

How Does a Vape Pen Work?

These devices work similar to an e-cigarette and an advanced personal vaporizer. A lithium ion battery is used to power a coil with the press of the firing button. As the coil heats up, a small wick draws e-liquid up to the heat and begins to vaporize the liquid. As this happens, you take a draw on the mouthpiece, which pulls air across the coils and picks up the vapor. The vapor is then delivered to your mouth and lungs. At first, learning to coordinate your firing button with your draw feels a little odd, but once you have the two in sync, the experience is very similar to smoking.

If you are using a dry herb or concentrate vaporizer, your device will use a slightly different method of heating. Most of these devices use a small heating chamber to release the vapor without the raw material coming into contact with a coil, where it could burn.

What Parts Does it Have?

It is important that you know all the parts of your device before you begin using the device. Starting at the bottom you will find the body of your vape pen. The body actually holds the battery. Some vaporizer pens have removable batteries, but most are built in so you won't have to worry about purchasing batteries separately. The firing button is located along the side of the battery body.

Next you will find either the tank or the heating chamber. The exact layout of your device may vary slightly by manufacturer. If your device is designed for use with e-liquids there will usually be a clear glass tank, which allows you to see how much e-liquid is currently inside, or at least a cutaway that lets you check the e-liquid level on the go. The tank is also where you will find your air ports, so you can adjust how much air flows through your device, either making it easier or harder to draw.

Depending on what type of device you have, you will also have an atomizer or clearomizer in the mix. These terms refer to the heating units. In some cases the atomizers come with coils already installed and you simply screw them on and off of your device. This is great for beginners. However, for more advanced users, you can also choose rebuildable options that allow you to manually change coils and wicks, giving you a little extra freedom with how you vape.

Atop all of this sits the mouthpiece. Mouthpieces come in many different sizes and materials. Some materials handle e-liquids better than others. Some materials are prone to giving off a taste that changes the way your vapor tastes. You can also change the width of your mouthpiece and the height to adjust the heat and air flow.

Types of Vaporizer Pens

As mentioned above, they come in many forms. The type you choose will ultimately decide what and how you vape. The three main types are: e-liquid, dry herb and concentrates. Here's a breakdown of what you can expect from each one.

E-Liquid

E-liquid pens are the most popular style in use today. Many people choose vape pens of this type because they are trying to quit smoking but smaller cig-a-like products did not provide a robust-enough vapor cloud or throat hit. These devices have recently expanded to include some advanced features such as temperature control and sub-ohm vaping, but you can also purchase many vape pens that are simple plug-and-play devices.

Dry Herb

Many dry herb vaporizer pens are making their way onto the market now that marijuana legalization is becoming more common. For those who use medical marijuana, dry herb pens offer an easier way to consume MMJ without having to smoke. This is especially important for those with asthma or other breathing problems because the vapor is less irritating to the lungs. In addition to MMJ, dry herb pens can also be used with a number of other herbal blends for the purposes of aromatherapy.

Concentrates

Concentrates are products that are derived from plants and herbs. There are a number of concentrates made from marijuana and other plants. This includes essential oils. While these products are used for the same purpose as dry herbs, your vaporizer needs to have a specialized chamber to use concentrates without making a mess. You may find some dry herb pens that come with a concentrate attachment, allowing you to use one pen for both functions. However, specialty pens that are designed solely for concentrate use tend to be much more effective at vaporizing these products because of how the heating chamber is designed.

Their Benefits

There are many benefits that vape pens have to offer over traditional tobacco products and other e-cigarette devices. First of all, they are more portable than large vaporizers, but they are more powerful than basic e-cigarettes.

In addition, they can save you money over cigarettes and cig-a-like products with cartridges because you are reusing almost the entire device so you only have to pay for e-liquids.

Here's a look at some of the other benefits:

1. Vape pens produce larger vapor clouds than cig-a-like products. This is because you have more control over the power produced, the airflow and the type of e-liquid being used. Each of these factors can impact the size of the vapor clouds and whether or not you get a full hit each time.

2. If you felt like something was missing the first time you used a cig-a-like, it may have been the lack of throat hit. Traditional cigarettes provide a slightly harsh throat hit as you take each hit, but cig-a-likes tend to be very light on the throat. A vape pen kit provides a more powerful throat hit so you can feel the vapor that you're drawing and you won't have that empty feeling.

3. These devices also provide a better means of delivering nicotine to the body. Many new vapers discover that they actually need e-liquids with less nicotine than they first expected because the nicotine is absorbed differently in vapor form than it is from cigarette smoke.

Transitioning from a Mini/Cig-A-Like Device to a Vape Pen

We have compiled some tips from the experts about how to successfully transition from a mini or cig-a-like device to a vape pen. While many of the functions are the same, there are a handful of things you should know before you begin.

First of all, we recommend having your local VaporFi representative walk you through the process of assembling your vape pen kit for the first time. They can help you identify each of the components and learn how they fit together. They will also instruct you on which parts of the vape pen you will want to clean on a regular basis. For instance, cleaning out your tank and mouthpiece is a necessity, but you should also wipe down your connectors regularly to avoid corrosion and maintain good connectivity.

Make sure you know how and when it is time to swap out your atomizer or replace your coils and wick. Letting these things go too long will leave you with a bad burnt taste similar to a cig-a-like cartridge running out of liquid.

Next, you will want to choose a good tobacco flavored e-liquid to start with. Now that you have a refillable vape pen, the whole world of liquids is open to you, but we find that many people who jump into a wild flavor first are less likely to complete the transition because the whole experience is too different from smoking. Instead, work with a tobacco- or menthol-flavored vape juice that is similar to your cigarette profile, and then work your way out once you're comfortable with your device.

Other than that, most of the functions of your vaporizer pen are similar to a cig-a-like so now it is up to you to adjust the settings up and down until you get it just right.