Wax pens have become one of the most popular ways for cannabis enthusiasts to consume their cannabis extracts. They remove all the fuss of conventional “dabbing” - read more in our “What Is Dabbing” article - and allow you to use cannabis extracts anytime, anywhere. 

In recent years, we’ve seen a few wax pens come and go in the UK. Some have been remarkable devices that not only provide great flavor and cloud production, but also last the test of time. Others have fallen short regarding quality of build. Poor quality wax pens often burn out quickly, or stop operating all together shortly after first use. A bad wax pen could also consistently taste nasty, with an overbearing flavor that is foreign to the cannabis extract being vaporized. 

There are a few things a customer should know before searching the market for a good quality wax pen. We hope to shed light on the things we think are important, and offer some additional tips on how you can further enhance your wax pen experience once you’ve acquired a good quality device. We’ll finish this article with our top 5 wax pens in the UK. 

Buying High Quality Cannabis Extracts

Before you being your search for a premium wax pen, the material you’re looking to vaporize should be the highest quality available to you. Cannabis extracts are concentrated forms of cannabis resin. This means that every compound found in the plant that’s extracted will be concentrated at some stage in the production process. Unfortunately, not all cannabis is grown with the love and care that you’ll find in our offering. Contaminants, such as heavy metals, pesticides and even unwanted cannabinoids can find their way into your cannabis extract. Some of these impurities can be very dangerous to consume, so it is worth taking the time to ensure that the cannabis extracts you’re buying are as clean as possible. Here are some cannabis extract buying tips that we recommend:

• Ask for 3rd party lab tests - these can show the presence of heavy metals, pesticides, even unwanted cannabinoids. Many of our customers are looking for cannabis extracts that are rich in CBD, and void of THC. There could be a handful of reasons that one might not want to accidentally take a big dose of THC, only trusted brands will be able to offer you this insight. 
• Buy trusted extraction methods - certain extraction methods are less risky than others. In the underground cannabis market, butane extract products - otherwise known as butane hash oil - are some of the riskiest to both produce and consume. They use butane solvent to wash out all cannabis compounds, and require a butane purging process to make the product safe for human consumption. Unfortunately, due to the limited resources of the illegal cannabis market, there’s no way of knowing that all butane is removed. Inhaling it can be extremely toxic. We advise buying extracts that are extracted using Critical CO2, solventless extraction, and only advise buying BHO products from reputable brands that operate in the legal space. 
• Cannabis awards - another way to vet a cannabis extracts reputation is to see how the cannabis community ranks them among other reputable brands. There are plenty of cannabis cups that operate in both the legal and illegal scene, Secret Sessions Cannabis Cup is one that we have seen The Goods win cups year after year. 

For CBD extracts, we highly recommend The Goods for offering all lab tests, GMP certification (guaranteeing consistency), accredited cannabis awards and amazing flavors. 

What Makes A Good Wax Pen

Wax pens are simply a battery and an atomizer. The battery stores power to operate the entire system, and the atomizer offers a surface for cannabis extracts to vaporize over. Some wax pens - such as the Dynavap range - don’t use batteries and operate using only heat via a flame, or induction heater. Some devices have overcomplicated wax pens, such as the PuffCo range, that charge extremely high prices for devices that we constantly hear break or fail to clean properly. We believe in keeping things simple and fair priced, and that the wax pen doesn’t need to try to be more than an energy source and an atomizer. 

A Good Quality Wax Atomizer

There are many ways to make a good quality atomizer, but they all need to reach a common goal. Here are some points that we look for when deciding on if a device has a good quality wax atomizer:

• Leak-free design
• Can be used at any angle after initial melt
• Compatible with solid and waxy concentrates
• Replaceable pre-made atomizer coils
• High quality coil, quartz or ceramic
• No dyes, glues or other solvents

These are all basic requirements that we look for before we even start to test a wax pen. Once we’ve established that all these boxes are ticked, the only way to know if the atomizer vaporizes well is to try it out. 

A good quality atomizer will provide desirable clouds depending on the power setting chosen. We like the lowest setting to offer gentle clouds, with a high purity of flavor from the cannabis extract. A medium temperature setting should offer thicker clouds, and still come through with a clean flavor. We’d expect the highest temperature setting to offer thick, milky clouds, and perhaps slightly more subtle flavor, maybe even a kick to the back of the throat. What’s important too, is that the cloud and flavor experience remain consistent throughout use. Some wax pens offer one nice hit, and follow with disappointing subsequent hits. 

A Good Quality Battery

We’ve already mentioned that some wax pens don’t even use batteries, but for those that do, we’d hope for a long lasting power source. The battery is also where brands can offer a more personal touch, adding unique designs and textures. Here are some features we look for in a good battery:

• 3 heat settings (votage based)
• Stainless Steel build
• Stylish brushed finish - or other textures
• Excellent battery life - 10 sessions is an great number to achieve
• Short battery charging time - less than 2 hours is good
• Airflow isolated from battery

5 Best Wax Pens You Can Buy In The UK 

1. Coil King AIO Wax Pen - £30

Coming in 3 beautiful colors, the Coil King AIO (all in one) comes at the top of our list for being not only the highest performing wax pens we’ve tried so far, but also incredibly cheap. By taking a no-frills approach, they’ve focused on the things that matter, such as a deep oven for large dabs, an incredibly high quality leak proof coil, built in dab tool within the silicon mouthpiece and more. The battery can power up to 12 sessions, and the device can be cleaned simply by using the “burn off cleaning” method - much easier than ISO cleaning the device. 

The clouds that come off this device are very impressive, we’ve not seen something this small offer so much power before. It can be used with a glass bong if you so choose due to the well designed mouth pieces that have a graduated slant. 

Customer Review: “Love this, it's now my goto 'going for a stroll' device, and I guess also my goto travel device when that becomes a thing again. Seems ridiculously well designed and made for the price, can't recommend highly enough. My only issue is how noisy the airflow is, could be because I'm sucking too hard, but yet that's petty!”

2. Utillian 2 Wax Pen - £45 

The Utillian 2 could have come in first place, but its exterior build quality was just so slightly less premium than the Coil King AIO. Perhaps you’ll disagree though, as we’ve heard countless times how people love the satisfying magnetic design of the Utillian 2’s components. There are almost no screwed components with this wax pen - something that sets it apart from the competition. The mouth-piece is made from glass, which is an excellent material for terpene rich vapor to pass through. This will provide for cleaner hits and more flavorsome experience. The device comes with a nice travel box that will help you keep all its components clean and organized for portable use. Unlike the Coil King, which comes in some flashy colors, the Utillian 2 is very discreet and sleek looking. We imagine it being something that could blend into any environment without giving away its purpose for cannabis vaporization. 

3. Linx Ember Wax Pen - £30

The Linx Ember was once the most impressive portable wax pen on the market, however, times have caught up with this ultra small on-the-go dabber. It still reigns supreme in terms of being the smallest wax pen we’ve seen that can offer the consistency and power needed for a good vaping experience. It features a recessed atomizer, that ensures no leaks or spills, and can be used at any angle like the other wax pens featured. There’s a vapor window too, so you can check in on how much cannabis extract you’ve got left during your session. Like the other devices, it features 3 temperature settings, and the power can be held for 12 continuous seconds allowing for some pretty heavy hits. The wax pen is made of medical grade stainless steel, free of paint and plastics, ensuring you’re not inhaling any nasties. 

Customer Review: “I've been interested in shatter and wax for a while now but it seemed quite technical and even after watching the video, it just seemed a hassle.

Well, not anymore! This pen is amazing. Easy to use and only a tiny bit of wax used for an instant relaxing feeling. Hurry up and buy one before they all sell out....you will not be disappointed 😁.”

4. Dynavap “M” 2021 Wax Pen - £56

You might be asking yourself, why have Hemp Elf included a dry herb vaporizers in their list of best wax pens in the UK? Well, we recently got off the phone with Dynavap and they wanted us to know that they prefer their devices to be called “vaping pens”, perhaps a wax pen isn’t too much of a stretch? 

The thing is, when combined with the DynaCoil, the Dynavap devices become one of the most powerful wax pens you can fit in your pocket. The Dynacoil is a tiny coil of titanium that fits perfectly into the bowl of all Dynavap devices to allow them to vaporize cannabis extracts. It can handle all types of cannabis extracts - liquid and solid. The difference between the Dynavap and the other devices in this list is that it is powered by a flame or induction heater. There is no battery attached to the device. This adds a major benefit - it never has to be charged and could potentially last you a lifetime. The device does take a bit of getting used to, and we’ll admit that you probably won’t be taking your best hits right out of the box, but you’ll learn in no time. The Dynavap community is extremely supportive, and you’ll find many people in their online community eager to help you get the biggest, best hits from your device. 

Customer Review: “Hits your real hard with thick clouds when used properly, takes a few tries to get the first clouds right and proper, but once I managed I knew I was satisfied with the DynaVap.”

5. Dabamizer Atomizer Tip - Coming Soon

The Goods are launching a brand new dab atomizer concept that features a tiny atomizer tip that goes on top of any 510 thread battery. We can’t reveal too much, however we’ve tried it and it’s one of the coolest things we’ve seen come out in this space. We’ll keep you posted as we learn more. The device should be ready for purchase in a few months and will be the lowest price wax pen atomizer on the market, featuring only the most premium materials.