We are so excited to enter a brand new year of vaporizer technology and take a look at the best dry herb vaporizers in the UK - 2022 might just be the most exciting year for cannabis yet. 2 years of lockdowns and heavy cannabis consumption have had a big impact on how the general cannabis community consumes their herb. We’ve seen cannabis users who had previously combusted cannabis, now discovering the many benefits of vaporizing cannabis flower instead. Whilst we are waiting on new data to come out, it should come as no shock that vaporizing cannabis has exploded in popularity. A 2015 study on cannabis consumption revealed that 61% of cannabis consumers reported lifetime use of a vaporizer to administer cannabis. 

With such a surge in demand for high quality vaporizers, not just in the UK but globally, we’ve seen manufacturers step up to meet the demands with high quality products. That’s not to say that we haven’t seen some old favourites fall behind in the race to invent the best vaporizer. One of the biggest problems electric vaporizer companies have faced is the regulation of integrated mobile apps that work with vaporizers.

In November 2020, Apple removed the Pax app from the app store, meaning that Pax users couldn’t adjust the temperature of their devices to the precision that the app allows. App integration looked like it was going to revolutionise the way we use our vaporizers - it’s hard to come by someone that will use a vaporizer without being in close proximity to their mobile phone. This app integration was going to help users make fine tuned adjustments to their vaporizers without needing excess buttons, and help them track their usage to discover which cannabis strains work best for them. 

Now that the focus of these manufacturers is becoming more clear, our opinion is that 2022 will see more technical improvements in vaporizer hardware. The cannabis community isn't as likely to fall for short lifespan, cheap, low quality vaporizers. It's likely that some brands that had found success selling these type of vaporizers will start to struggle. It’s not as hard to find good vaporizers now, and it doesn’t have to be expensive either! 

We’re going to talk through the best dry herb vaporizers available in the UK, starting with our favourite. Some vaporizers are hard to compare because they go about yielding the same quality of vapor through completely different processes, and sometimes it takes a subjective opinion to decide which process is superior. Let’s jump right into our top 5 best dry herb vaporizers available in the UK.  

1. Dynavap - The Best All-Round Dry Herb Vaporizer

The Dynavap is a battery free vaporizer that uses a combination of conduction and convection vaporization to yield high quality vapor anytime, anywhere. The actual device is extraordinarily small, in fact, the team at Dynavap would be more inclined to call it a vape pen than a vaporizer.

The Dynavap is operated without the use of electricity. In order to use the device, ground cannabis flower is filled into the Dynavap oven and the “cap” is inserted, containing the ground flower. When the device is full of cannabis flower, it needs to be “turned on”. Due to the fact that the Dynavap is battery-free, it vaporizes using a more manual method than most vaporizers available in the UK.

A 3 flame butane torch lighter is used to project heat at the tip of the Dynavap where the ground cannabis is stored. This heats up the “VapCap”, a portion of the vaporizer that holds all the technology that lets you know when their herb is ready to be consumed. After 3-6 seconds of holding the 3 torch lighter against the Dynavap, 2 fast paced clicks will be heard. These first 2 clicks let the user know that the device is ready to be sucked on. 

Vapor is drawn out from the mouth end of the Dynavap, with the option to apply pressure on the airflow hole to customise the size of the hit. Typically, the Dynavap will produce 1-2 thick flavoursome clouds of vapor before it needs to be reheated. Users will know when to reheat the device because similar to the heat up process, 2 consecutive clicks will be heard when the device has cooled down. 

The Dynavap can offer one of the most intense terpene experiences from the vaporizers on the market. The flavour that comes from the Dynavap will almost equally match the smell of your cannabis flower. Further to that, the Dynavap can make a small quantity of cannabis last a very long time. The oven can store about 0.1g of cannabis flower, which is technically a micro dose. Many users share their experiences of getting incredibly high off of small qualities of cannabis in the Dynavap - something they’d find hard to achieve with any other device. 

Cleaning the Dynavap is very straightforward, and it's easy for users to achieve a thorough clean. Cleaning is a necessary part of using any vaporizer - cannabis naturally produces very sticky resin that can only be removed by materials cannabis is soluble in. The Dynavap is completely modular, so when it is time to clean, all components can be removed and bathed in ISO. The only parts we’d leave outside of the ISO bath is the cap and O-ring, which can be cleaned manually with a Q-tip that has been dipped in ISO. 

The Dynavap is  incredible value for money when comparing it against its competitors in the UK market. Last year's Dynavap M 2021 (which will be unchanged going into 2022 so it’s not too late to get one), is on sale for £56 right now. It can be used anywhere - the living room, or a hiking trip in the wild.

2. Storz & Bickel Volcano - Best Desktop Dry Herb Vaporizer 

For many years, the Storz & Bickel Volcano was famously known as the godfather of cannabis vaporizers. It was invented by the German company in 1998, with a unique patented detachable balloon chamber which proved to be unique back then, and interestingly remains unique over 20 years later. It is famously big, and therefore not a vaporizer suited for portable use. 

The Volcano vaporizer must be plugged into a mains electricity supply in order to operate it. The Volcano comes in several different models, however the basic functionality is the same among them. The volcano makes vaporizing cannabis very easy - one button turns on the heater, the other button turns on the airflow fans. Users can adjust the temperature by spinning the analogue dial or adjusting the LCD screen. Due to the Volcano's simplicity, it is often recommended as a medical vaporzer to new and older consumers of medical cannabis. Overseas, in Canada, they've fully adopted the Volcano as an approved medical vaporizer. 

In order to operate the Volcano vaporizer, the oven heat up button must first be switched on. By doing this, the Volcano will begin to heat up to the desired temperature. The volcano takes approximately 5 minutes to heat up. Once the Volcano has reached the desired temperature, the volcano bowl should be filled up with ground cannabis flower and inserted onto the top of the volcano. The Volcano bag is then inserted onto the top of the Volcano oven so that all 3 components are connected. Finally the Volcano fans should be turned on to allow warm and thick cannabis vapor to fill up the Volcano bag. 

Once the Volcano bag is full of thick cannabis vapor, it is ready to be inhaled at a relatively slow pace. This is a unique feature of the Volcano, as it is unusual to find vaporizers that let you take hits at your own pace. Usually, consumers are constrained by the fact that vaporizers stay on until their countdown runs out and auto shuts-off. The Volcano bag can be used for 15-20 minutes until the vapor gets stale and might need changing. 

The volcano has the ability to hit very precise temperatures, and for that reason, it has one of the best flavour profiles,in the vaporizer world. It uses a form of vaporization technology called convection, which pushes hot air through a mesh bowl of cannabis flower. This method of vaporization is better than the alternative - convection - because it prevents the emergence of “hot spots”. Hot spots emerge when vaporizers apply too much heat to a particular portion of the oven, causing burning and inconsistent vapor production. 

The flavour and potency that can be experienced from the Volcano is among the best in the scene. The risk of combustion is very low, and with a huge range or accurate temperature options, it’s very easy to curate a custom vapor experience with the Volcano. 

Cleaning the Volcano is relatively straightforward, as the flower never makes direct contact with the heating element. The Volcano oven will accumulate most of the residual resin that comes from heavy use of the device. In order to clean this, the oven should be disassembled and soaked in ISO. The volcano bag should be replaced every month or so, it will look dirty after heavy use and at that point should be swapped for a new bag. 

The Volcano by Storz & Bickel is not the cheapest device on the market, with the basic model coming in at £320. However, there is no other vaporizer that can offer the quality of vapor, convenience, or longevity of life like the Volcano. It is somewhat of a luxury, but if you are already a heavy user of herbal cannabis, be that CBD or THC, then this device could change your entire relationship with the plant.

3. Mighty by Storz & Bickel - A Quality Portable Dry Herb Vaporizer

The Mighty is a convection vaporizer built to act as a portable version of the Storz & Bickel Volcano. The Mighty isn’t the smallest vaporizer in the world, especially when you compare it against the  Dynavap. The device uniquely uses pre-filled vape pods to micro-dose cannabis on the go. 

The Mighty operates similarly to other electronic vaporizers. Before turning it on, its dosing capsules must be filled with ground cannabis so that there is material to vape. According to online forums, the Mighty capsules can hold approximately 0.2g of ground cannabis flower. Once the capsule is filled with herbs, it should be inserted into the Mighty oven and the system should be closed off. The Mighty is turned on by holding the only button located on it’s side. It benefits from having haptic feedback, so every interaction with the Mighty’s buttons will yield a vibration. This a great feature for a portable vaporizer that might accidentally be pressed while in the pocket. Once the device is on, the temperature can be set using arrow buttons located on its front side. After setting the temperature, the Mighty will begin heating up to get ready for the session.

The device heats up in approximately 60 seconds, and this can be increased by using the Superbooster mode; clicking the temperature button 3 times. The Mighty will make a buzz the moment the desired temperature has been reached to let the user know that it is time to take some puffs. The device will remain hot automatically until its internal timer turns off. At this point, the device will cool down unless prompted by the user to heat back up for another consecutive session. 

Often, people are surprised by just how dense the Mighty’s vapor is. As with all convection vaporizers, the herb gets consistently heated up. It has a the ability to carry through the flavours really well, unlike low quality vaporizers that often miss the mark on terpenes. The device uses small refillable capsules, perfect for a micro-dose. However, somehow, the Mighty can turn a small amount of ground cannabis into a huge vapor experience.  

Cleaning the Mighty is not the easiest task unfortunately, but thankfully, a regular cleaning habit can prevent any irreversible issues. The capsules can be soaked in an ISO bath and left to dry for a few hours to clean. The general Mighty unit however, will need to be opened up from the top section, so that an ISO dipped Q-tip can scoop out the residual cannabis resin. If the build up is bad, the Mighty can unfortunately become very difficult to clean. 

The Mighty sits at £254.99, which makes it a fair priced vaporizer if we were to compare it against other high quality portable vaporizers. It does require more steps than the Dynavap and certainly costs more, however it is incredibly easy to use and can prove to be more convenient than most other dry herb vaporizers on the market. 

What Will Be The Best Dry Herb Vaporizer In 2023?

We can only hope for more dry herb vaporizer innovation in 2023. As more countries legalize cannabis, we’ll see an increase in the number of new consumers/inhalers who might want to consume without subjecting themselves to the harms of combustion. This inevitable increase in demand will push brands into creating new, unseen technologies to compete with each other. We strongly believe that Dynavap and Storz & Bickel will lead this race to the top because they’ve found the perfect balance between quality and practicality. Battery-free and convection based vaporizers seem to be what we have to look forward to next year!