Vaporizers vs Water Pipes: Which Are Better?

Any marijuana enthusiast has smoked out of a water pipe, aka a bong at some point in their lives. Smoking from a water bong was the established and favored method of inhalation all the way from the early 80s until the mid-2000s. There were several reasons for its popularity, which included both health and recreational aspects. Today, bongs are still frequently used by weed fans throughout the world. However, there is a new device stealing the spotlight – Dry herb vaporizers. The first modern vape was invented in China around 2001, but it was not used on a widespread basis until 2008. Now that we are in the year 2019, marijuana vaporizers are just as recognized and utilized as bongs, maybe even more so. This begets two questions: what is the difference and which is better?

Water Pipe

A water bong is a combustion-based device that utilizes water filtration to eliminate some of the toxins produced by this heating method. The idea is that when you light the marijuana on fire, the smoke will pass water first, which will cancel out a little bit of the tar, ash, and butane. The water also adds a cooling element that is supposed to reduce throat burn. There is also a variety of bongs with different percolators, which may provide additional filtration of carcinogens. The overall benefit of bong use is that it’s better for one’s health than a traditional glass pipe. Heavy hits are not burning hot, and therefore, it tastes better. Now let’s analyze how a vaporizer compares.

Vaporizer

A marijuana vaporizer is a mechanical device that uses either convection or conduction heating methods to produce pure THC vapor. Convection heating involves indirect heating, while conduction directly heats the herb, but neither of these methods burns the flower. The use of a vape eliminates the creation of smoke, tar, ash, and the other 4,000 carcinogens associated with smoking.

Marijuana vaporizers typically offer pre-set or precision temperature control, which allows users to specify their perfect temperature, and avoid overly warm vapor. They also come in a multitude of sizes, ranging from desktop units like the Volcano, which can be used at home for amazing joint sessions to ultra-portable and discreet vapes such as the Atmos Micro Pal. The advantages of using a weed vaporizer are numerous- it eliminates combustion, allows for temperature control for enhanced flavor, and can be as portable or as large as a user requires.