What’s up vapers!
Here at VapeFuse, we are constantly getting new vaporizers in to review and possibly stock on the website.
Because we’re dealing with these vapes on a daily basis, some of the words used in our reviews may not make any sense to a vaping novice.
One of the things that we’re constantly coming across is vaporizers, like the Storz & Bickel Volcano Classic shown above, that claim to be ‘full-convection’ or offer ‘true-convection technology.’
This relates to the way the device heats and atomizes your herb, with the two major heating styles utilized in the production of vaporizers being generally either convection or conduction heating.
The simplest way to describe convection heating is to first describe conduction heating. When you’re thinking conduction heating, think of the way a dab rig works.
You get your torch, heat the surface of your nail to the desired temperature, and then apply a viscous material to the heated surface to generate a vapor.
Any time that direct contact is being made between your herb or concentrate and a heating element, you can classify it as a conduction heating device.
Most wax pens or vapor pens on the market employ a similar heating technology to atomize their concentrates.
These conduction heating elements are generally referred to as atomizers, which are generally found included with mod box vaporizers, e-cigarettes, and most concentrate vapes.
Equipped with a coil or element of some kind, these pens and mod vapes heat up to crazy high temperatures and directly heat the contents to generate a vapor.
Convection vaping is a lot trickier to define, with this largely owing to all of the market confusion surrounding the term.
It involves heating the air and surrounding atmosphere around the herb mix in order to generate the vapor, as opposed to having a direct heated contact with the herb itself.
True convection vaporizers like the Arizer Solo II pictured above have absolutely no contact between the heating chamber and the herb, with the Solo II’s glass aroma tube being used to strategically place the herb between your lips and what’s basically a heater without a fan.
Other equally effective employers of true convection vaping technology are the X Vape FOG and the Flowermate Swift Pro.
The FOG is the older brother of the X Max Starry, which utilizes a hybrid vaping technology (convection + conduction) for lesser results.
Not to discount the Starry, as the device is capable of blowing huge clouds, but with convection vapor, it’s all about the taste, and vaping connoisseurs would shun the thought of combining the two techs.
Another portable known for utilizing a hybrid convection/conduction heating technology is the Crave Cloud Portable Vaporizer. This little portable features a bottom-loading ceramic chamber similar to that of the DaVinci IQ.
With the Crave Cloud, however, the ceramic baking chamber reaches ultra-high temps when generating vapor, so although there is minimal contact with the herb itself, the chamber becomes so hot that it itself will begin to bake the herb.
When you’re talking true-convection technology, few do it better than the Flowermate Swift Pro. The sleek little portable utilizes the power of three separate heat points to generate an immaculately sweet vapor.
The embedded ceramic heating elements heat the air you’re pulling through the chamber while subsequently applying heat to the stainless steel screen and interior chamber wall which help with a consistent stream of vapor.
Notably, the best examples of convection vaporizers are the Volcano Digit and Arizer Extreme Q, which are some of the most simple and user-friendly devices on the market.
Both come equipped with internal air heaters and fans that filter air from underneath the device, heat it, and then subsequently expel it through the herb in the chamber and into a collection bag.
Throughout the whole heating process, there is zero interaction between the herb and the heating element, which is likely the cause of the amazing flavor profiles that both of these vapes exhibit.
While there are a bunch of vapes on the market that claim to offer ‘true-convection heating,’ that may not always be the case. While all of the devices pictured above do offer such technology, there are many more that do not.
If you’re looking to purchase a full-convection vaporizer, or are interested in finding out more about heating tech, drop me a line in the comments section below and I can help you out!
